Exercise - Are you doing it?

Exercise has always lately been easy for me, but I haven't had success losing weight.  Until now.  I am finally moving the scale.  Guess what it is?  Moving faster, for longer every day.  (Well 5 days a week.)  I walked/ran 100 miles in 12 days.  That is so close to 10 miles a day.  That has been the turning point.  Now I am constantly trying to see how far, how long, and how fast I can go.  My legs and arms are screaming at the end of my first 60-80 minute work out- every day.  And Every day, I know that I will go a second time for another 60 min.

It's hard work.  But you know what's harder?  Carrying 30-40 extra pounds and knowing I am that much closer to diabetes.  So I'm learning to enjoy one hard thing, to avoid dealing with another hard thing.

What are you doing to reach your goals?  How are you avoiding diabetes, heart disease and other weight related illnesses?

What are you willing to do?

It started out as a fluke.  I randomly posted my lunch on Facebook with the caption, 'eat like a diabetic.'  It was meant to be a tongue-in-cheek comment on how boring my meals were.  Then one person said "blog this." Then another, then another.  Enough people asked for a blog, that I thought, "Why not?" So I started logging my meals online. 

I  have to admit that keeping this blog has been more than a little uncomfortable for me.  I am not really a "share with the world" kind of person.  I normally would tell my friends about my diabetes, in person, if it came up in conversation; but to blog about it is so completely open.  Don't get me wrong, I am not a shy person.  I am very outgoing, but I don't share really personal things.

 While I know that what I eat is not necessarily personal, it does open me to a lot of scrutiny.  Especially since I normally take a lot of joy in what I cook and consider myself a good cook.  I also take some enjoyment from knowing that what I make is normally from scratch and my own unique recipe.  What I have shared here so far has been modifications for the changes in sugar and starch, or has been made using "prepared" foods that make things quick for me.  It is actually embarrassing to me.  Funny, huh?

As I move through this journey, I fully expect to learn to cook all my new foods from scratch and to develop recipes that are as tasty as the originals.  And so far, I have been really pleased with the recipes that I have developed and shared.  They are my reality at this point, as is my diabetes.  But I think it is funny, how sometimes I just don't want to share a recipe, because I know that I have used a commercially prepared sauce or a can of soup. 

Sharing my feelings on the day that I realized that I did indeed have diabetes, was completely foreign to me.  I didn't want people to feel sorry for me, but I felt so many emotions at that moment. It wasn't that I wanted to be "honest to my followers." It was more that I needed that outlet at that moment.  Having done that, I was able to move forward.  This blog has helped me more than anything, to keep on track.  To be accountable to so many, has forced better habits of diet and exercise on me.

I have been surprised at how many of my friends have followed my journey.  I have also been grateful.  This isn't the most scintillating of blogs- I mean, it's a food log.  But it has shown me how many people care about me, and that has been humbling.

So I will keep blogging my meals, and thank you for your kind comments and help in keeping me one track. 

How do you start Exercising?

If you are like me, you don't really enjoy exercising.  Or you are busy, or you count house work as exercise, or you have a sore leg or bad back, or ... or ... or....  Also, if you are like me, when you do put in the effort of exercise, you don't see any real results.  I don't lose weight.  I can run for hours and I maintain my weight, where ever I am.  I have come to see this as an asset, for I assume that once I reach my goal weight, I will be able to maintain it by running, but it is a real bummer when I am trying to lose.  I have learned a few things.  Hopefully, these will be helpful to you.

1) You cannot out-exercise a bad diet.  You can't.  Sorry.  This is reality.  To lose weight, you must diet.

2) Exercise is not for being skinny- it is for being healthy and strong.

3) You may not lose weight, but you do change your shape, and for some people, that is enough.

4) If you are susceptible to diabetes or heart disease or a myriad of other health problems, exercise is critical for your quality of life.

5) You can start small.  But you cannot start tomorrow- or you will never start.  Start now.

So how do you start?  Slow.

I didn't want to go to a gym, and I wanted to start alone.  I love the show "Biggest Loser" so I started recording it and watching it while I ran circles in my living room.  Not even kidding.  If I saw the contestants doing squats, I would stop running and do squats too.  I also started recording a 5:30 am exercise program that alternated between aerobics and yoga and I would follow the TV on days that I didn't have a "Biggest Loser" episode to watch.

After about 2 months, I decided to run in my hallway and not watch TV while I did it.  I have a longgggg hallway and it is a wood floor, so it worked out nicely.  I noticed that I was "running" for an hour straight.  I decided to add some stairs, so I would run 20-50 hallways and then run the stairs 5-10 times, then I would repeat it.

Then I got brave.  For my birthday, I asked if anyone would run in the Women's fitness Challenge.  My sweet sister in law, who at the time was training for triathlons volunteered.  She ran that 5K with me and never complained about me being slow or awkward. She cheered me the whole way and we ran it in about 40 min. That was the first time I ever ran in front of anyone, or ran outside.  Outside was really really hard.  But I felt really really good.

I went back to my normal routine of running in the house, but I ran the whole house; upstairs, the hallway, through the living and dining room and the kitchen.  I found that some days, I would easily run for an hour and a half or two hours.  I started watching movies while running.

Then I started getting up at 5:00 so I could walk with some friends.  I had to get up.  There were people expecting me.  We walked while it was dark, so my fear of people watching me exercise was taken care of. We just walked, but I would usually also run for 45 min. at home later, so I was still getting exercise.

I did notice my housework was suffering a bit.  My sweet hubby was very supportive and didn't complain.  In fact, he encouraged the running and said a little mess would not hurt anyone.  He also helped out on the weekends and after work.  (I know- he is darn near perfect.)  But I don't like mess, so I started folding laundry and then making multiple trips running loads upstairs.  I would put one person's clothes away and then run 5 stairs and put another person's clothes away.

Then my friend talked me into boot camp.  Oh MY Gosh!!!!!  5:30 in the morning, and I have never worked so stinking hard!!!!!!  AT 5:30 AM!  I am NOT a morning person.  But we went, and we tried and we looked ridiculous and we jiggled and we tried not to pee while doing jumping jacks and the trainer laughed at us and took pictures.  And then one day, and I told him to get away from me with his camera, I realized that I was talking while doing plank.  That I did side plank without modifying and that he had just told me I was doing a nice job and my form was good.  'Did that just happen?' Why yes, it did.

Boot camp ended and it was a bit pricey for me, so my walking buddies and I started our own boot camp.  We each took a day and came up with a routine and tried to see whose routine would burn the most calories.  And it was FUN!!  Oh my gosh-- it was fun!

Now I look forward to exercise and I am irritated when I can't.  But in my present condition- plank, situps, and hard running are out of the question.  I have a really really modified exercise routine, that anyone could use to get started.  It is all in my house.  No equipment- well except for a good pair of running shoes.  You can find it HERE.

The point I am trying to make is, that you can do this.  It took me more than 2 years to get comfortable enough to go to boot camp.  But who cares.  Yes, my running in my living room was lame, but it did get my heart rate up, it did build a habit, and it did strengthen both my muscles and my resolve.  If you need time to build confidence, that is okay.  You don't have to do an iron man tomorrow, or ever.  You just need to move.