Week Five In Review

Well. Let's see- first thing that comes to mind is:

I
Hate
Hormones.

Next up would be:
Damn my back hurts.

Last week was miserable. There may have been a disturbance in the Force, a hormonal flux capacitatior break down, or a screw up somewhere along the way, but I felt like CRAP pretty much all week. (How bad? To the point that I broke down and just BAWLED all over my poor Dear Husband for really no reason on Friday morning. Yeah, it was THAT BAD.)

I scared Dear Husband. Friday night he brought these home for me....

However, I rallied, and made Saturday a better day. Sunday was better still, and I even went and trimmed a horse.

She was a GOOD horse, but.... somewhere along the way, my back (in which there are compressed disc issues in the low back,) decided that it was underwhelmed by my desire to go back to work. I guess pulling shoes from one horse Friday morning (pre-hysterics,) and trimming on Sunday were just too much for it.

Yesterday, I tried to jump with the kids, and about three seconds into it, we sorted out Real Quick that was a Very Bad Idea.

I doubled up on my joint supplement, and am taking the minimum in pain meds, and trying to be Very Careful.

Between the FUBAR in the Cosmos (or just in my old, creaking, protesting, and semi-crippled up body,) last week wound up with me feeling like a whale, frustrated, and really ticked off at my body.

Nightmares, I tell ya, just nightmares.

Today, I woke up somewhat stiff but moving better. Until of course, we went to our first barn call. I had to help hold the "patient" (who was NOT "patient" in the least,) and tweaked my back.. again.

So instead of complaining more, I'll pop another MSM- GLucosamine- Chondrotins- Hylaronic Acid supplement (still under the daily reccomened does by the way,) and I''ll just ease along.

Weight wise? Shoot, I have no clue. *Feeling* like a whale may or may not translate into looking like one. It has been hard as all get out to not over-indulge this week, and dive into comfort foods up to my snout.

Ah well-- this week is another week. Each day is a new day, and we will take it one step at a time.

Be strong y'all, we'll make it!!

It's the little victories...

Last night I attended the awards banquet for the local club show series that two of the girls from the barn showed at. I know a bunch of people in this group, so it was a fun horsey night out. (The 17yr old girl from our barn cleaned up - high point youth!!!)

It was your typical buffet style dinner. The majority of my plate was salad and I just had a bit of the other food (which wasn't stellar). When they announced there was dessert ready, my sugar sensors went on high alert.

I had a look at the dessert table and saw cheap, store-bought pies and cakes. Not worth the calories.

Yes folks, I turned down dessert!

One victory for the good guys! I still feel empowered about that little thing, for some reason.

How is everyone else doing?

Not a happy camper

Ok so I'm not camping, but its true that I'm not happy. I'm actually kinda pissed right now.
Three weeks ago today I slipped in the kitchen at work because one of the dishwasher's wasn't bright enough to realize that spraying water across the doorway is a BAD IDEA.
I was helping the waitresses clean up after the hockey team left and I didn't (couldn't!) see the water. I stepped, slipped and started to fall backwards. I really didn't think that another concussion would be a great idea for my poor head (and those kitchen floors are h-a-r-d!) so I threw myself forward toward the dish pit. I threw the dishes I was holding into the dish pit and grabbed onto the edges with both hands... and shouted a Very Bad Word. So in fact I never did actually fall, but I think it would have been better if I had.
You see as I forced myself forward instead of falling back I could feel, almost hear, the poor muscles in my back. And here, 3 weeks later, they are still letting me know that they are NOT happy.
I barely make it through my shift at work. I have hardly ridden at all. In fact I probably wouldn't except that my hips hurt less when I'm riding and while it doesn't really help my back muscles its not hurting them too bad either.
Worse, I have had to take a time out from the treadmill and any other exercise.
Worser (shhh... for today that will be a word!) is that between TOM and being an emotional eater I haven't been the best about what I'm eating. Too much chocolate, too much fatty/comfort foods. About the only good things are:
1) I am aware of what I'm doing with my eating instead of being in denial. Which means I need to give myself a stern talking to and get on with eating healthier.
2) Although not making the smartest food choices I'm not binging and eating huge portions of said dumb foods.
and finally 3) I know I've been pretty crabby and depressed about my back (funny thing, pain 24/7 tends to make a person crabby! lol) I know that mentally/emotionally at least I've turned a corner. One sign is that I had been avoiding blogs/email/etc and now I'm back and catching up. Another is that Pie is calling me "smartass" on a regular basis again so my sense of humour must be returning! lol

Online Equestrian Fitness Resources

I want to share a few online resources with you guys. They have an equestrian and a fitness slant, so I thought it doubly appropriate! One of my big motivators for being in better shape overall is to improve my riding (and to buy some tall riding boots, who am I kidding? lol). Now, this stuff might not be for everyone, but I just wanted to share some handy resources, just in case someone else found it useful.

(The reason that I’m focusing on the equestrian-type resources right now is that the exercises aren’t hard core. There are a lot of gentle stretching exercises and light callisthenic-type exercises listed.)

One of my goals this week to start adding some basic stretching and resistance exercises (lunges, pushups, etc.) to my routine. I’ve been walking more and watching my portion sizes, but I need more! I feel like a big fluff ball, so I want to start engaging more muscles and start feeling better about that. I don’t intend to get into hard-core weightlifting by any stretch, but I do hope to progress to doing some regular weights exercises over the coming months.

I have become acquainted with a personal trainer in my area that specializes in equestrian fitness. Heather is an accomplished rider herself and does dressage with her Arab gelding. She has all kinds of cool information on her web site, which is http://www.equifitt.com.

Heather has great free monthly “FITTips” that you can sign up for. She has a regular fitness version and an equestrian version. I’ve signed up for both and really enjoy reading them. They are not just about exercises, but about all kinds of tips for riding and staying healthy. There are also a few free articles available, as well as an archive of previous FITTips – some of the topics covered are: stretches for riders, establishing good habits, how to make habits stick, etc.

I find Heather’s writing to be very positive and motivational. Some of the information has a bit of a dressage slant, but is all quite relevant to riding in general. She also writes for a few other publications – check them out if you need ideas about stretching, basic exercises or rider position!

http://www.barnmice.com – a horse message board. Heather from Equifitt.com also blogs here, so check out her writing at “Fit to Ride 1-2-3”. She will also answer questions, so if you were curious about something related to fitness or rider position, don’t hesitate to email her!

Dressage Today Magazine – Fitness Tip of the Month

There are a bunch of books that I found on equestrian fitness with a quick search on Amazon.com, but I wanted to focus on free, online resources…

http://www.localriding.com/exercise-ball.html

http://www.centralequine.com/video.aspx?id=12&type=1 – some videos (haven’t watched them all, so not sure if they are ok or kinda lame)

http://www.equisearch.com – just search for rider fitness on the home page and several pages of results come up. I know what I’m going to be reading up on this evening!

I also have several pages of exercises that I’ve ripped out of horse magazines over the past few years. If anyone is interested in them, let me know and I can scan the pages and email them to you… Sorry this post was so long...! I get all excited about online resources and link and stuff...

I’m interested to see if you guys have any other equestrian fitness links I have missed!

Stupid (?) Question...

Does our SIZE matter, or should we be more aware of how we FEEL? (Stronger? Not as tired? Happier? Not as PMS-y? etc etc..)

Cause frankly, I think I am stuck at this particular SIZE for a while yet.

But I am starting to FEEL better...

Anyone?

No Progress

I am still fat!!

Week Four In Review

Dude- wait a moment here. Did I just type Week F-O-U-R?

*checking back*... Yes, yes indeed I did.

Time flies when you are having fun, huh? (Or to twist that to fit the pace at Command Central, "Time Flies When You Are INSANE".)

Four weeks. So what have I learned? Or accomplished?

Still keeping things KISS.
Smaller portion sizes are getting to be "the norm"
My activity level is gaining daily
I've been riding (!!) more
The jumpoline has had one heck of a work out lately, as the Little Mens and I jump at *least* four times a week together.

Not bad. I feel stronger- may not LOOK much different, but I *FeeL* stronger. Dear Husband, when I asked him point blank how PMS has been on HIS end of things (he usually hates it when I do things like that,) said that I need... NEED... to keep this up as I was no where near as b*tchy and I never really got "mean". I still cried at the drop of a dog hair, and the hot flashes from Hell persist, but I FEEL better. (And as long as I am NICER, everyone around me feels better too.) Dear Husband also pointed out- "Honey, you did not get here overnight, do not expect to change things overnight either." I love that man.

(PMS in this house? Putting-up with Mom Sh*t)

OK- things I have learned:
- If I feel hungry, I try to drink first. Tea, water, hot chocolate, coffee, anything- hunger is not always hunger, it may be dehydration.
- The more I do, the better I feel, the more I want to move/ do.
- Doing jumping jacks on the jumpoline? Dude-- makes your arms feel like they each weigh about 100 pounds. No kidding.
- My biggest battle?
The kids. I kid you not (sorry...) Having two growing boys in the house is tough. I hear two things in my sleep at night (when I can sleep that is,) one being the theme music from Scooby Doo, the other their favorite "catch phrase" of, "Mom!! I'm HUNGRY!" I look at the clock in amazement, knowing it has only been thirty or forty minutes since the last desperate plea for sustenance, and wondering WHERE are they putting it all? Between them, they have four hollow legs.

So of course, as I fix an endless supply of peanut butter jelly sammiches, jello, crackers, etc, the bite here and bite there sneaks up on me. It does not help having one child who will eat EVERYTHING (with Cholula- he even wants Cholula on his sweet treats. Cholula. Its a HOT SAUCE.) and the other child who will eat.... not much. Cub? Loves veggies, meats, cheeses, breads, hot sauce (by the gallon), shoot- if it does not bite him first that boy will eat it. Wrecking Crew? Not so much. His tastes change literally from second to second. Once his plate is fixed though- that's it. He either eats it or he can think about it for a while. I am NOT a drive up/ take out/ have it your way cook shack. You eat what is fixed, or... you don't. Period. The problem with that? I can't stand to see the food go to waste... so I nibble on it here and there.

How to combat that? I take less (or wait and see what he'll eat) on my plate. If he does not eat, I'm good to go. If he actually eats, then I fix my plate.

Sounds pretty weird to say that out loud let me tell you...

Gotta say- this blog? Rocks. Knowing that there are other ladies out there, working together as hard as we are, has been a huge help. Between all of us, there is an incredible pool of knowledge, and I can't thank you guys enough for digging deep and sharing your journey, too.

Stay Strong and Keep Moving Ladies!
~MM

Treadmill?

I am sorry that I haven't been keeping up with you guys here but I've been reading and really appreciate how wonderfully positive you all are. I actually have been doing better with portion sizes and have gotten out for a few walks but have not been doing as much as I'd like to... which is why I have a question...

What are your thoughts on treadmills?

I used to have a bias against them because I love hiking and being outside but lately I'm thinking that I really might benefit from having access to one at home.

I have heard so many people say that they buy a treadmill only to have it sit unused but I'm thinking it might be the solution for me as part of my problem with getting out is weather, access to facilities and the time of day I have the most energy (later in the evening).

What are your thoughts on treadmills? What about fitness DVDs?

Quick Update

So yesterday, I finally did some pilates. And guess what? My shoulder held up and is a bit less sore today than yesterday! Couldn't be from the rice krispy sounds it made while doing pilates now, could it? Nah!! Can't be!

Anyways, I decided to give my shoulder a day of rest today. Don't want to jinx it. I'll do pilates again tomorrow and maybe in a week I can add back in some light weights for strength training. However, I don't think push ups are in the immediate future.

I'm still walking the vineyards. I admit I've been a little lazier this week and drove Dude to the bus or from the bus on occasion. But, I've walked most every day this past week. And, I've taken to feeding Maddie in the barn now that the rains and mud have come. That means I have to walk an extra 50 yards from the garage, where we store the hay to the barn, which is behind the house. It's a bit extra exercise and it keeps Maddie from wasting hay.

Halloween candy got the better of me on the 2nd. I had been content to just sniff it until then. I only had a couple pieces though. I wasn't all bad. Actually, I think I gave in because instead of thinking that I don't want any, I began to phrase it as "I can't have any". Huh. I just realized that as I typed this.

The constant headache of last week is also gone. While it was around, I didn't want to eat breakfast or lunch and fell into snacking attacks in the late afternoon. Now that the headaches are gone, I'm back to eating my normal breakfast of oatmeal with a handful of blueberries or a single serving of cereal and milk. I really prefer the oatmeal and blueberries. Anyways, I noticed that I feel better and don't have the desire to binge if I eat a decent breakfast in the morning.

Ok, that's my update! Anyone have any thoughts on how they plan to tackle eating with the holidays coming up?