2021 is a wrap, 2022 is going to be better!

 Toward the end of the year I had been feeling more and more like my old self. I would still got tired but not as easily and not as often, and when I did I didn't need as long to recover. I was quite relieved considering how I'd felt most of the year.
I had started working out again. I eased into it by doing those "monthly challenge" workouts. September was legs. October was abs. November was arms. With each workout as I felt up to it I'd add more than just whatever the daily challenge was. December I had picked a full body challenge and was really looking forward to it. Yes, you read that right. I was looking forward to it! I was starting to really enjoy the workouts and see some progress physically, even if the scale wasn't really moving :/

Then at the end of November I had another appointment at the health centre (DHS) to go over my latest labs. It was a bad news/good news/bad news kind of visit. The main issue the nurse practitioner I'd seen the first time seemed to be under control, possibly resolved.
But he had two pieces of bad news, one which he prescribed meds for immediately and the second he said meds "might be avoidable if you can lose about 15lbs and make some significant dietary changes in the next three months". His tone suggested he doubted it.  

Well, now I was looking forward to that December challenge even more! My weight at DHS was 209lbs, when I got home I weighed myself immediately on my scale so I when I checked in over the next three months I'd know exactly what my progress was. My scale read 206 (a bit happier with that number lol). I should note that the scale at the DHS was just a regular ol' digital scale, so I'd think fairly safe to compare to mine (a Renpho)  I immediately set a goal of 191 in my Fitbit app (15lbs!) and linked my Fitbit and MyFitnessPal apps to work together - I find it easier to log food in MFP.

I cleaned up my eating, still allowing for little moments of temptation, and worked hard in my December workouts. By the end of December I was down 7.2lbs!

For January I've picked another full body style workout challenge, but a bit tougher this time. I'm still focusing on eating better, but enjoying my food too. And I find that I'm looking forward to my workouts so much that rest days feel weird lol

So, while 2021 may have been a tough year, I'M going to be the tough one in 2022!

A quick update

 This past week I finally got the Holter monitor that was requested by the nurse practitioner in May. Yes, MAY.

While I'm grateful for technology, I'm also grateful I only had to wear it for 48 hours (a friend has to wear one for 8 days!!). It wasn't horribly uncomfortable. It was slightly in the way when I tried to ride, and I wouldn't have wanted to do a serious training ride or a competition run with it.
Also inconvenient was that I needed help getting a bra on with it, the wires were in the way unless I put my bra over them and then that was painful as all get out.

It was starting to get very itchy where the leads were attached, which I thought was just a reaction to the tape. When they were removed however they left roundish red marks, almost like burns. Some were worse than others. And they have been a bit painful for the remainder of the evening, hopefully tomorrow they'll be better.

 When it was removed today I was told it is usually 10 business days for the results to get from the cardiac specialist to my family doctor, and of course then they'll need to set up an appointment to discuss the results with me. I'm also due for an appointment with them to check the progress I've made since my last visit. I'm happy to say I am somewhat better!  I still get tired very easily but not as drastically or as easily as before. I do still need a recovery day if I do anything that tires me too much. The best description I've found is that I'm like an older cell phone. I do pretty good when my battery is full but that battery drains really fast!

Well... it's been awhile!

 I have no clue if there is anyone out there that will read this. 

This blog didn't have a lot of followers ever. 

And then I kind of got un-inspired writing here. 

This could just end up being a personal journal, left open for anyone to read.

I need this space for myself, I know that writing it out will help keep me motivated... once my health gets back on track.

I have lost and kept off (on paper) almost 40lbs over the last few years. I'm pretty proud of that. But over the last few months I've found myself tired, weak, and a host of other symptoms.  I finally got some testing and results. It's nothing contagious, it's manageable, and I will be back to my old self it'll just take some time. 

In the meantime I'm putting out to the universe that I will hit that goal of losing and keeping off 50lbs this year!

Not Resolutions - GOALS!

It's that time of year again... resolution talk everywhere.  For myself, I prefer to make goals.  To me it seems less vague, something actionable and more accountable.

Last year I managed to check off some goals and others I missed, some just barely (like missing winning a buckle by 0.026!)  In regards to fitness and weight loss I missed out on a big goal but by such a smidge... if I had lost 0.1 of a pound more I would have reached a big milestone!  But hey, I didn't put on any weight over the holidays either! :)
A few of my highlights from last year:
Do something that scares you (boudoir photo shoot!)
Qualify for Prov. Finals (I had two horses qualified, entered on one)
Make a short go (for the first time ever I qualified for short go!  And not just one horse but two, at our district finals - where I just missed the buckle)

So the last few days while I've been making that 2017 goal list I'm working on breaking a few bigger goals into smaller ones.  And thinking about action plans to get there. 

Do you have any goals you'd like to share?

Online fitness coach 'review'

Last time I had posted I was thinking about working with an online fitness coach.  Well I did, but...

I'm glad a paid the discount rate she had as an introduction offer.  The plan provided was solid, however there were a few issues with it.  It was tough, but like Marge said if it started out too easy or I was able to attain it too soon there wouldn't be a challenge, but it looked really freaking tough.  So I tweaked things (like slightly less weight or fewer reps) and worked with what I could do with the goal to try to do full reps/sets and weight by the end of the month. 
There were a few things on the plan that IMO shouldn't have been there for someone with plantar fasciitis and bone/heel spurs, especially when I was worried about re-injury (and yes those were disclosed).  Explosive moves like jump squats for instance.  So again, I modified and worked with what I could do.

Also I should have done my homework better and found out what there was in the way of support and motivation, after all that's part of the reason I wanted a coach!  These days anyone can look up and research different fitness plans and put something together for themselves, although yes a coach should do a better job than something you put together yourself.
Anyway, back to support and motivation... my impression from Marge was that this coach would check in on you fairly regularly via text/email/Facebook and that she was pretty encouraging.  Yeah, like I said I should have checked that out and gotten more specifics about it.  So far the contact has been the few Facebook messenger messages when I was first interested, then an email with a questionnaire, I returned the questionnaire and e-transferred my money.  Then on June 2nd I got my plan, June 6th she sent an email checking on me (I replied on the 8th) and on June 15th a second email checking on my progress (again I replied 2 days later).

Marge's experience seems to be totally different, and for that I'm happy for her.  However I can't help but wonder if it's because I'm a "big girl" and Marge is smaller,fitter, and more athletic; or if it's something else entirely. 

So in the end am I happy with how this went?  Honestly, no.  Not unhappy enough to share her name or business name.  I just think for the money spent that it wasn't worthwhile (and I'm so glad it wasn't full price!).  And honestly with Hubster being out of work since mid January for medical/injury money is a bit tight right now and I feel a bit selfish for having wasted this money on myself.

Beauty

What is beauty?

Is it a size of clothing or a number on the scale?

Is it attention from the opposite sex?

Nope it is none of these things. Well at least it's not for me

Last weekend I completed my first ever half marathon, that is 21.1km. This gave me plenty of time to reflect on many things. Beauty is one that came up lots.

A little history for you. I have never been happy with my body and I was taught at a very young age that I was not beautiful. Well at least how I understood it.  I think I was 12 when I started my first diet. I have continued to yo-yo my entire adult life. In January when I started training for my half I hated the way I looked. Now thou look out I am hot.

I have lost a little weight and my body has definitely changed the way it looks. However that is not what makes me feel beautiful.

I can now look at myself in the mirror and love every inch of my body. Don't get me wrong I don't always love every inch and there are things that I would still like to change. My beauty is different and deep.

I can and did run, be it slowly 21.1 km and I can lift more then my body weight.

I could tell you how and why I see so much beauty in my body.  That would make this post very long and more then likely you would stop reading way before the end.

Next time you are standing in front of the mirror instead of think I wish this looked like that or if only I was so many pounds light. This about everything your body can do.

Not only the big things like bein able to lift a 40 pound saddle above your head onto the back of a horse or that you walk around the pasture for 20 minutes catching that hard to catch animal. Think of the small things. Standing up and hugging a loved one, being able to walk across the house to make a sandwich, pushing a grocery cart without using an O2 tank.  I was taking far too many things for granted.

Make a list of all the big and little things your body can do and remind yourself daily about it. There are lots out there who can't do the little things we take for granted. Find your inner beauty and you will be so surprised at how beautiful you become on the outside

Needing a push

I've been so plateaued for so long now... not being able to run lately has not only been depressing but it's totally stalled out my weight loss.  (and yes, I need to pay more attention to my food!)
Then today when Marge was out doing a saddle fit on my new horse (haha surprise!!) and giving me an extra set of eyes to see if his joint supplements are helping or if that's just my wishful thinking (they seem to be working!  but we're going to tweak his program).  Anyway I'm off topic (sorry, horses!)... SO while Marge was out helping with Frosted Flake (not his real name) she twirled in the barn and said "Hey!  Does my butt look smaller!?"
I had to laugh, but then I said I thought maybe it did.  And that's when the seed that had been planted a few weeks earlier started to germinate...
You see, a few weeks ago I noticed that both Marge and her sister-in-law SZ had liked a Facebook fitness page.  Then today when Marge asked about her booty and said it wasn't from pole or silks, that it was from working with this new trainer I asked if it was the one from the FB page and she said yes.
She went on to tell me how much she loved it.  I asked a ton of questions and thought it over for awhile.  I know a friend that's a runner and has used an online running coach with great results, but I wasn't too sure how that would work with a fitness coach.
I mulled over the conversation with Marge and then took the plunge and sent a PM.  Which was answered quite quickly  a pleasant surprise for a Friday night (I think within an hour).
Via email a questionnaire was sent, which I am working on - and trying to be brutally honest with.  I'm going to give this a shot and hope it pushes me over this plateau!