So, this post will be long, sorry!
In 1998 I joined a gym, began working out, and lost 30 pounds (I ate a whole lot of Subway . . . before Jared got paid for it - dang it!). I was influenced by military people who were all buff and disciplined. I decided to join the Army reserves at age 24. I worked out daily, I ran daily, I got in amazing physical shape. I went to basic training at age 25 (2000) and performed well. I got in even better physical condition. I got hurt sesamoiditis, plantar fasciitis, and Achilles tendinitis. I could barely walk at the end of basic training. ALL of the cardio stopped - I couldn't walk. I couldn't go to the pool to swim because I couldn't walk from the car to the pool (let alone push off the walls to turn around once I got in the pool). It was the worst pain ever. If you've ever taken time off from running, you know that you lose your fitness so much quicker than you gain it. Much of the foot pain continued for 10 years when I finally got a pair of orthotics and my life changed. As the blurb under my picture on my blog says, I participated in a training program geared for walkers which ended up in a few strides of running by the end. I did my first 10K (walked all but the last 1/2 mile which I ran) in Sept 2009. Between 2000-2009, I gained 100 pounds which is obviously horrible for a number of reasons. When I began training in May 2010 for my first half marathon I had lost some weight . . . which I have gained back (again!). Despite this inexcusable weight gain, I have had pretty good health (for now) - blood pressure is fine, glucose is fine, total cholesterol is fine, trigs are fine, my HDL is 47 which is good but not great. I struggle with asthma which I know has gotten worse as I've gotten bigger. No duh - I know, I'm killing myself. I'm definitely not proud of my body or the very dumb decisions I make on a daily/hourly basis. I am blessed to have access to getting a free lipid panel (cholesterol test) from time to time with my job and about 4 months ago I had an elevated triglyceride level for the first time in my life. I was too ashamed that I didn’t share the results with my doctor. I had it checked again about a month ago (I haven’t done anything to improve my levels in the past 3 months, in fact I’ve probably made things worse since Christmas just shoving one home baked treat after another in my mouth!). It was slightly lower, but still 222 (most people want it below 150). I decided to give both sets of results to my doctor who promptly told me that I needed to start taking fish oil and get it rechecked in 3 months. NICE! I’m 35 years old and now have to take fish oil-isn’t that for the older people? I have a family history of metabolic syndrome and heart disease so I do take all the risk factors seriously so after the blizzard outside ends, I’ll be going to get some fish oil pills (landlocked Indiana doesn’t offer a great variety of fresh fish, sigh). The doctor told me to limit white flour consumption and limit the desserts (totally my fav!).
This was a wake-up call. So begins my personal revolution – with some hesitation. The number of times I have tried to “be all healthy” and failed is too numerous to count. That said, I’m once again going to try. I’m on day 3 of watching the white flour and avoiding desserts. I know life isn’t about deprivation, but I know me and I have to avoid desserts for at least a month or otherwise a little makes me loose all control. So I didn’t have seconds on dinner the past 2 nights (and I apparently didn’t die as a result). I have had a fruit with breakfast each day and veggies with dinner (which isn’t a new thing, but it’s no longer optional). I really think I’ll have to eat a salad daily for lunch in order to be able to get the full 5-9 servings of produce in daily so that’ll be something I work on starting next week (again, the blizzard is really cramping my plans).
So the bottom line, I’m going to be trying to do better. I am worthy and am better than the crappy behaviors I have been punishing myself with. Stay tuned for more info on my plan and hopefully progress! Thanks for taking this journey with me!
Thank you for sharing with us! You CAN DO IT!
ReplyDeleteSeriously! Half the battle is recognizing there needs to be change. Most Americans refuse to do even that.
If it helps, go through your cupboards. Get rid of the junk for real. I think it's too tempting to have around. If you have unopened food you can donate it to a food bank.
And if you and your hubz eat different maybe you can designate one cupboard "your stuff" and put your healthy options in there. LOL.
Good for you! It's so important to recognize the need for change. And with all the work you do for racing, you CAN do this.
ReplyDeleteI promise, too, that you won't have to eat a salad at lunch. A few tips for fruits and veggies: First, a serving is only a half-cup. I eat double servings a lot of time without knowing. Sneak some veggies at breakfast by scrambling egg whites with spinach, mushrooms and tomatoes. Put it on a bagel thin with some cheese and it's less than 300 calories. I also snack on celery and carrots with salsa. Soup is a great way to get veggies, as well. I might post some tips tomorrow so watch out!
Oh man, I feel your pain!! It's so much harder in the winter b/c it's harder to exercise and something about being cooped-up makes me hungry! uhhg!!
ReplyDeleteKeep up the great work; and keep posting your progress!
good luck with your healthy changes!
ReplyDeleteIm finding it hard to get on track with eating and my weight too. The winter makes me want to eat & sleep! lol
Whenever I make a change, I try to remember that rule, of how it takes three weeks to make a new habit. Hang in there, before you know it, it will be easier.
ReplyDelete