Slow and steady progress

Two posts in one day? Wow, I must be sidelined from my normal activities. :)

I have been slowly changing my eating habits since July and although I have only been walking lately, I am starting to see a slight difference. It was noticeable when I compared a photo from July 2013 to one taken this past weekend. While I haven't dropped sizes, my clothes are looser and there is a definite difference. See the photo below. It looks like I am on my way.



- Trying to shed my potato skin and find my inner skinny fry.

RICE RICE Baby

This past Saturday, I participated in a 10k race. Due to an arthritis flareup in my feet, along with shoes that should have been retired, Monday and Tuesday were extremely painful. When topical ointments (bio freeze) and anti inflammatories (800mg of ibuprofen) only masked the pain, I realized I needed to approach this from a different angle.

While I have increased my Omega 3 Fatty acids in recent months, I have also begun following a more balanced diet with plenty of fruits and vegetables. This change has helped, but if I am to actually run a 10k at Disney World in January, I need to give my joints some rest.

The first thing I am doing is wearing my air cast boot for at least two weeks to alleviate pressure on my joints. The next step is to change the shoes I wear for work. I currently wear slip on shoes which according to The Arthritis Foundation are the worst shoes someone with osteoarthritis (OA) can wear. I plan on doing more research to find the best shoes for me.

Finally, I will limit my high impact exercise for the next month and concentrate on swimming and elliptical training. I need to take care of my body and can no longer suffer through the pain. I guess that is one of the joys of getting older.

My lovely footwear for the next two weeks;



- Trying to shed my potato skin and find my inner skinny fry.

Trying to run with osteoarthritis

Two years ago I was suffering from severe foot pain after completing a ten mile race. When the pain did not subside after two weeks, I visited my doctor hoping to uncover the problem. The X-ray uncovered a small stress fracture, a heel spur and the start of osteoarthritis. Due to the extra sixty pounds I carry on my frame, I knew I was susceptible to a host of ailments, but I never thought I would get arthritis in my feet.

Apparently this is quite common in overweight individuals, especially women. I have been researching my options in dealing with the arthritis while running and have discovered that I could treat this by changing my diet. Omega 3's are essential in maintaining joint health and I found some organic chicken nuggets at Costco that are both high in Omega 3's and gluten free. Win win! I also read that broccoli may also help ease joint pain caused by arthritis. I have a huge bag of frozen organic broccoli from Costco in my freezer that just became more important.

I have been eating the nuggets and broccoli for dinner most evenings and have found that my heel spur does not ache as much. Whether or not this diet change will help long term is yet to be seen, but if I can lessen my pain and get out on the road running again, it is worth a try!



- Trying to shed my potato skin and find my inner skinny fry.

Goal found

I had a roll of negatives transferred to a cd this week and one of the images struck a chord with me. I remember how I felt back then and although I wasn't skinny, I was still healthy and confident. In order to reach this goal, I have 50 pounds to lose.

Now that I have this goal I feel like I am on my way. Here we go everyone!



- Trying to shed my potato skin and find my inner skinny fry.

Easter got me

So I've been trying to be good about watching what I eat, but I've found that if you don't log the calories immediately, you tend to fudge over items you have eaten. (I can't even write a sentence without mentioning food; I need help). While out to dinner with friends Saturday night, I was logging my food as we are and I was surprised by the actual calorie counts.

For example, I didn't realize that even with hollandaise sauce, asparagus is only 43 calories for 3 spears. My filet was over 700 calories before i counted the blue cheese crust. My meal at Gibson's put me over 790 calories for the day!

For my Easter meal, I managed to stay within my calories by filling up on steamed green beans and tomatoes. I was still able to have ham and potatoes, I just made sure I had reasonable portion sizes. I need to rethink my eating habits.

My chiropractor has asked that I only work out one day a week for the next two weeks. She is afraid I will get ambitious and overdue it and possibly get injured. Luckily I have a huge paper due, so this will be easy to accomplish.

Reinventing my eating plan will be tough but apps like Lose It make it easier and hold me accountable. Especially when my friends harass me.

- Trying to shed my potato skin and find my inner skinny fry.

First day back in the fitness center

I used to belong to Ballys for a low monthly fee of $15 for the rest of my life. I hadn't been inside a Ballys in year but I kept the membership just in case. When my debit card was stolen, the pre-authorized payments ceased and given the subsequent sale to LA Fitness, I lost my lifetime membership. Where am I going with this? Well, as a student at DePaul, I am allowed to use their fitness center for a daily fee of $6, or a quarterly fee of $82, as long as I am a student.
I've been going to DePaul for over two years yet until today I never set foot inside the fitness center. I had decided to make a change in my life this year and the first step is rebuilding my strength and endurance. The fitness center is amazing with all of the latest equipment and fancy locker rooms and aquatic area.
I put my items in a locker and headed up to the cardio and weight machines. I settled in on a "gazelle-like" machine which I thought would be a easy lead into cardio. After about five minutes, I realized I was more out of shape than I thought. I decided to move to the weight machines to help rebuild my muscles. I spent 45 minutes using all of the machines and discovered I did not lose as much muscle mass as I had previously thought. Once I finished with weights, I went to use the elliptical machine facing the DePaul campus. After a mere 10 minutes at a 10:35 m/m pace, I realized that I probably shouldn't overdue it on my first day back.
I stopped by the grocery store on the way home and found that my usual cravings for brownies or any other sweets had diminished. I came home, took a nap for about 90 minutes and then took my dogs for a 45 minute walk. When I returned I made dinner and found I wasn't as hungry as I normally was. This exercise thing might have a positive effect on me after all. Taking the first step is always the hardest.




- Trying to shed my potato skin and find my inner skinny fry.

Getting Lucky...Again

This past weekend I participated in Team Ortho's Get Lucky 7k for the second consecutive year. As I have been working on a paper for school, I really hadn't trained for the race at all, but I figured it was only 4 miles and I should be able to complete it without too much trouble. What I did not anticipate was a cold front moving into Chicago the morning of the race.
Unfortunately the race was not the only thing I didn't prepare for. I forgot my gloves and did not wear the inserts for my shoes. As I crossed the start line my only goal was to finish with a sub 14 minute/mile. The first two miles went easily and I was on track with my pace. I stuck to my walk/run method and felt strong. At least until the start of mile three...
We turned and headed north along the lakefront and were faces with cold winds whipping off the lake and snow pelting our faces. This change in the weather proved tougher than I thought as my pace slowed to an 18 m/m pace.
While I was not proud of my time, I am proud that I finished. This race was what I needed to get myself back in gear. I have 65 days until the Soldier Field Ten Miler and I plan on actually training for this race. I am on my way to becoming the healthy person I want to be.



- Trying to shed my potato skin and find my inner skinny fry.