St. Paddy's Day...

Happy St. Patrick's Day, especially to those who really embrace it.   It's a dreary day here for us.  It's been a drizzle fest all morning.  Luckily we don't have anything planned, so we aren't having to deal with the damp ick outdoors.

I've gotten about 2/3 of my exercise done for the day & most of what few chores I had to handle are underway or done.  We recently bought a pedal exerciser & it seems to be working well for us.  It may not be as strenuous as the steps, but I can do it when it's crappy weather outside or when I just don't feel up to any thing more involved.  

Some people don't give pedal machine much credit when it comes to calorie burning.  However, they do like it for increasing circulation.  Therefore it's good for helping with high blood pressure & cholesterol.  Regardless, it seems to be working for us so far & it was fairly cheap, just $25 US.  We'll use it til it dies.  If it doesn't die too soon, we'll probably get another 1.

Cya...

1st Steps...

I did my 1st set of steps in a while.  It's supposed to get up to 60 F here today.  Just before noon it was 53.  I decided to take my exercise back out to the steps.  I just prefer the steps to the other routines I've made for myself.   I feel like I get more out of the experience. 

It may have been 53 & that may have been a lot warmer than what it's been lately, but it was still chilly.  I wasn't physically cold, but after a bit the cool air & the physical exertion made my breathing less than great.  I got in the full set, but I felt it.  It's been a while since was doing my steps regularly.

I've decided until it gets warmer, that steps will be a later in the day thing.  Hopefully, by then the air will be warmer.   That will help my breathing from becoming so ragged.    I seriously don't need bronchitis or some other respiratory illness.  I'm also opting for only 1 set of steps a day until I get my endurance back up.  I guess that means keeping my other routines going for the meantime.

Still, I'm glad I got out there today.

Cya...

Everything Counts...

I've read many articles on health, wellness & weight management.  Most of them fail in regards of motivating people to actually get active.  Most suggest somewhere between 30 - 90 minutes of "actual" exercise daily. 

Nobody who isn't already exercising needs to start out with a goal of 30 minutes of exercise daily & certainly not 90.  Few, if any newbies to exercise will be able to or willing to participate in such a regimen.  Still, these hardcore exercise Nazis say it's a must & your breathing should like this & your heart rate like that.  Yada, yada, yada...

Some go as far as to discredit any exercise that isn't intense & for an extended period of time.   That's BS.  Moving, no matter how little it may be, will always be better for your health than staying sedentary.  This is the anti Depeche Mode moral, everything counts, even in small amounts.  

10 minutes of slow walking for someone weighing 200 pounds or about 90 KG will burn about 40 calories.  If you give up a can of soda a day that's around 150 calories (give or take a bit on the kind).  So, if a person just gave up a can a soda & slowly walked for 10 minutes daily, he would reduce his normal caloric intake by 190 calories a day.    That's over 1,300 calories in a week or 5,700 calories in a month.   If everything else stays the same, that would mean losing at least a pound a month.

Maybe in the next month that person can walk 10 more minutes or walk those same 10 faster.  Maybe that person decides to reduce more high caloric food stuffs from their diet.  All of these little modifications add up.  No one got fat overnight.  No one will get thin overnight either.  No one ate their way to being 200 pounds overweight in a month, so why would you think you could lose it that quickly?

My advice on this matter is simple.   Be aware & keep moving.  Know what your eating & drinking.  Keep moving & exercising.  Don't hurt yourself or make yourself take on some freaky diet.  Be patient, if you keep moving, you'll get there.

Cya...

Today...

Today is turning out to be nicer than yesterday.  We had some rain last night & the grey skies have parted.  There's another storm brewing for Tuesday, but that's then.  For now, I'll enjoy the sunshine.  I've gotten about half my exercise in already, which will beat yesterday's total.  I felt like crap yesterday afternoon & got very little done.

My philosophy about exercise & weight loss is simple, "keep moving."  As long as I keep moving & watch what I eat, eventually I will lose the weight I want.  This isn't some race I'm in.  As long as I'm mostly moving forward, I"m OK with that.

I have a telemedicine appointment on the 20th.  Hopefully, everything will go alright.  I have to try & pick up my lab results this week.  Not much else going for me today.

Cya...

Just A Comment...

My roomie & I have been dealing with a lot of things lately.  One of those is our ongoing endeavor to exercise & lose weight.  It's been a regular part of life since last February.  Things we've noted.

1st, you have to admit how & why you got there to begin with.  Did you just over eat?  Was there a reason for the over eating?  Do you have a medical issue?  Is it some combination of things?  Regardless, this answer is vastly important for you succeeding in your goal.

When you've figured out how you got to the point that you feel the need to lose weight, you've got a surprise coming.  There are literally 100's of websites, books & opinions on how to lose weight.  Guess what?  You're going have to try a lot of them until you figure out what works for you.  1 singular point of importance here, nobody else gets to be the authority of your body or weight loss.  How much you cut back on calories or food types is up to you.   Your body will tell you how much exercise it can handle.  Listen to it, even if it isn't very much in the beginning.  If you keep at it, you'll become stronger & more endurant. 

Finally, weight loss is weird.  It doesn't come off like it went on.  My weight went on fairly evenly.   It isn't coming off that way.  My legs & arms are slimming fairly quickly.  My chest & upper legs are starting to catch up.  However, the upper thighs, rear & gut are liking watching some odd ice cube melt.  At least it is coming off slowly.

Often we get ourselves into the messes strewn through our lives.  It's up to us to clean them up.  Sure you can get advice, but you're who's going to have to do the work.

Cya...

Not So Great...

The weather warmed up today & we nearly made it 60 F.  I was feeling better this morning.  I managed to do noon time exercises & went to take my shower. About half way through it, my neck started hurting & my head was pounding.  I must've strained my neck when I was doing crunches on the floor.   I've been doing them mostly on the exercise ball.  My form must've slipped, leaving me with using my neck more than my abs.  Either way, my neck is sore & it compounded my sinus issues.  Once the day warmed up, my sinuses were really acting up.  I hate this, because it messes with my balance & makes exercise on the ball a trip.  

The next several days are going to be warmer like today.  Hopefully, my head's used to it & all of this will level out.  I really need to get my schedule back in order.  But, seriously, it's January & it shouldn't be near the 60's here.

Cya...

Less Trips Perhaps....

This article talks about a new medication aimed at + people on a steady regimen who experience diarrhea for extended periods.  Since I've been on my meds,  I've dealt with a variety of gastrointestinal issues.  If I go more than a few days without a bout of diarrhea or the like, I'm doing damn good.  However, this med is aimed at people who have this issue for than a month at a time.  

Damn!  After a few days of diarrhea I'm depleted & nauseous.  Just the idea of a month long bout sickens me.  The company that's developing this med deals mostly with gastrointestinal diseases/issues.  I guess their the diarrhea experts.  Heavens knows that if your +, you've dealt with the issue.

This is the 1st article I've covered this year.  I'm trying to get back on track with things.  I managed to get through so morning stretches & midday exercise.  I'm aiming at later day exercise as well.  I can't do steps right now.  It's too cold & wet outside.  I have no interest in slipping & hurting myself or catching a cold.

I'm doing my best to let 2013 be it's own thing & leave the issues of 2012 in the past. I'm sure this year will find it's own ways to be irritating, but at least that will be in the here & now & not the past.  I hope all of you had a great New Year & that 2013 will bring you all need.

Cya...

Modifications....

OK, my head's a little out of it today.  We're supposed to hit 70 F today & my body feels like a wreck with all this up & down weather crap.  We had some rain & now we're on a warming trend for a bit.  Every time I get used to the Winter cold, it gets warm again.  It's playing hell with my sinuses.  The cats aren't handling much better.

I am altering my exercise again.  I've been moving more of my routine indoors due to the cold.  I'd like to do more upper body floor exercises, but my floor is hard & the carpet is like sandpaper.  I keep tearing up my elbows & knees.   In order to be able to do this other bit of exercise I've purchased an exercise ball.

My roomie has 1 & uses it frequently.  She seems happy with hers, so I decided to try it out.  I'm looking online at people's routines with the ball.  I'll figure out what I want to incorporate eventually.

Well, I still have things to do, so I'll write more later.

Cya...

Wrap Up...

The 1st full week of December is behind us & it's been a weird month.  It's been way too warm & I've been incredibly busy.  Neither of which I appreciate.  

The warm weather is supposed to drop off this evening.  It's looking like we'll be back to leaving on the faucets at night for a while.  This up & down stuff isn't pleasant.  We've had the windows open the better part of the last month.  Now, it's time to shut it all down again.

Last week was strange for us.  We had something that had to be dealt with every day.  Most people deal with that all the time, but I don't & it left me worn out.  I'm still trying to catch up.  I hate this.  I never realize how off my health is until something like that comes along & smacks me in the face with it.  Hey, wake up you're + & your energy levels suck.  There should totally be little hearts or energy cans you can occasionally jump up & grab.

I got my stretches in & some steps done.  I still have to deal with some household stuff, so I'm not sure how much else I'll get done today.  I really dislike days when just loading the dishwasher is a planned-for event.

Cya...

Continued Modifications...

Both my roomie & I are exercising.  Her perhaps more regularly than me these last weeks.  The thing we're both noticing during this endeavor is the continual need for modification.  We're both constantly tweaking our  routines.  To make them have more impact or simply to get them to fit into our day better.  

I've recently been having issues with my morning steps again.  The light is still a problem for me waking up.  It'll get better once the days start lengthening out again.  For now, I've decided to move my main steps to the midday & move my midday crunches & the like to the morning.  My butt is on the floor when I'm doing crunches.   No need to worry about tripping off of a step that way because I'm still half asleep.

The point is simple, most everything in our lives is a work in progress.  It'll need to be reevaluated & changed  periodically.  Regarding to a physical routine, some exercises may be abandoned altogether & others introduced.  

It doesn't mean you've done anything wrong or that you're failing.  It means you've recognized something isn't working or working as well as it should for you.  You acknowledged the problem & took a proactive stance in correcting it.  Life is about evolution through adaptation, practice & endeavor.  If you want to get nowhere, do nothing.

Cya...

Just Another Day...

Not much going on today.  I've been dealing with sinus issues for a bit.  I should've taken ibuprofen thi morning but for some reason I didn't.  This shifting weather from chilly to warm is being a problem.  It isn't so much the temperature, as the humidity levels & pressure fronts.  Not to mention all this shifting weather is being pushed by changing winds.  The wind has been going for days now, blowing debris.

I keep waking up dehydrated & stuffy.  I drink everything I can when I get up in the morning just to feel human.  For a while I feel like a dried out  sponge with sinus issues. It doesn't make exercise easy by any means.  It's problematic for my sense of balance & it makes me prone to throbbing, head rushes if I lower my head.  As the weather chills this will settle down, but for now this is no fun.  

Cya...

Permission....

I've talked about my decision to alter my schedule so it doesn't leave me running all day.  Somehow, Wednesday mornings always wind up being crammed full.   I was trying to get my regular stuff done, the things that needed to be done on that day finished & exercising.  I was trying to cram way too much stuff in far too little time.  It was rushing me.  I hate being rushed.

I was left feeling tired & irritated.  I wasn't happy that I hadn't gotten everything done that I'd wanted to.  Finally, I accepted there wasn't enough time to accommodate everything & something had to give.   I let Wednesday mornings become a stretch only morning without any further exercise.  

I only did stretches this morning.  I got through the rest of my morning things & got breakfast around.  I managed to gather trash & take it to the curb.  I did all this & I didn't feel hurried or frantic.  I managed to get some steps in later in the morning, almost noon.  

I still managed to get through what I need to do.  I just prioritized for the day.  I have to say giving my self permission not to exercise on Wednesday mornings has greatly improved this day.  I am not ragged or tense.  I did get some exercise in before noon.  I'm very happy with this decision.  What does it matter if I get my morning regimen in, if I'm left stressed, tired & anxious for the rest of the day?  This is a better approach for me.  Sometimes you have to reexamine things & restructure them.

Cya...

Not So Good...

I'm still not feeling that great.  I have a sinus issue going on & it isn't pleasant.  I woke up feeling dehydrated & groggy.  I tried to get more rest last night to help deal with the lack of sleep I got the night before.  Between the stress of Saturday night's storm drive & the sinus problems, I'm still pretty shot.

At least we got the shopping done & I managed to get my flu shot.  That'll probably be all I do today.  My health yucks are killing my exercise.  I thought about doing some steps today by head is not in a good place & I don't trust my balance.  This Fall is being rough on my health.

Cya...

September Exercise Woes...

It seems I'm still paying dues for exercise I did last month.  1st, I got sidetracked by a foot issue.  Which led to me overcompensating & making the other foot sore.  When, that healed up, my allergies kicked in hard, making it hard to breath while I was doing my steps.  But I got back into it.  It seems somewhere down the line, my lunges, reverse ones or something else strained an abdominal muscle.  It's fine most the time.  But if I lean this way & reach with my arm another, then wow, that hurts.  It's better today, but it's hard to exercise & not stimulate your abs.  Maybe tomorrow will be better & I can get back into the swing of things again.  

Cya...

PS:  Sneezes & ab issues are not a good combination.

Just Wet...

It's been drizzling here for days, nothing much just a constant drip.  If you took the past several days rain totals, they may add to an inch, but just barely.  The problem isn't the rain, it's the humidity.  Yesterday, I did my morning exercise step routine & had a fairly difficult time breathing.  I went inside & looked at the weather & we were at 100% humidity.  We've been near that point ever since.  It's not hot, but it isn't being easy to breath in this soupy mess.

I swapped my afternoon steps for kitchen floor scrubbing.  It needed it & I haven't felt like a real floor scrubbing most of the Summer.  It took as long as the steps would have & was about as strenuous.  I should've been able to do that & not really had that hard of a time.  That was not the case, the humidity still got to me & made my breathing ragged.

Atmospheric conditions really hack me off sometimes.  There's simply nothing I can do about them.  I can't change the fact it's been drizzle hell & the air is wet.  It's irritating, because I'm really trying to get my routine back in order.  I can give myself enough excuses not to exercise, I don't need the weather making them for me.

Cya...

Ripples...

For those of you who might wonder what impact you have on the world around you, I've got a point to make.  Not to get all, It's A Wonderful Life, on you here, but our presence & actions do affect those  around us.  I've been writing my blog for about 18 months.   During this time, I've convinced myself I can be consistently committed to something.  

During my 1st year, I suggested to my roomie that she start blogging.  She did & has been for nearly as long as I have.   Her take on the matter is here.  

The point is that since I started blogging, I influenced someone else to do the same.  She eventually came to the same conclusion I did, she could be committed to something she choose to be dedicated to.  From our dedication to these blogs we have both found enough drive to start exercising.   We are both starting to lose weight & become healthier people.  It isn't a quick process, but it is an ongoing process.  One that we probably never would've considered engaging in if not for our blogs.

Recently, we've both been trying to find more of our own voice again.  Particularly in regards to our writing.   We've both entered a flash fiction contest, here.  Her's is The Secret Pocket & mine is entitled Tea Party.  Take a look if you'd like.  You might even enter it yourself.

The point is when I started blogging, I didn't think it would lead to me exercising or entering writing contests.  I really didn't expect it to lead to someone else doing the same.  And I have no way of knowing what impact my blogging has had on others directly or otherwise.  Whenever you doubt your impact on the world, stop & realize the impact may be subtle & unseen by your eyes, but that doesn't mean it isn't tremendous to someone else.

Cya...

Getting Back...

Today was the 1st day since Sunday I managed to do my exercise due to a hurt foot.  I had no idea my body had gotten so stiff in those few days from not doing my routine.   I started & was like OK, everything's going well & then it hit.  Damn, I was stiff & sore. It wasn't from the exercise & it wasn't my foot.  It was the fact for 4 days I didn't do anything & my body had stiffened greatly.  

During this time, I've discovered there are a lot of exercises you just can't do with a sore foot.  Most of my routine requires foot movement or a tension cord going around my feet.  Even push-ups & planks end up flexing your feet.   The only thing I really had left was crunches.

But, I'm going again & hopefully my foot will be fine.  It's going to take a bit to work out this stiffness but it will go.  I'm just glad to back on track again.

Cya...

Ouch...

The exercise routine is once again being suspended at least somewhat for a while.  My foot has been acting up & I've been trying to go easy on it.  There are several culprits to be examined & it might be that multiple ones are guilty.

The exercise, itself, may be responsible for the aching in my foot.  I might have stretched something in a way in which it did not approve.  Then is the possibility I'm just getting older & this is just 1 of those aches that goes with aging.  Several of my HIV meds have joint pain listed as a possible reaction.  I've dealt with those in the past.   It could be a minor flare up of gout.  The humidity & dew points have been high & both are prone to trigger bouts. I've also been on my allergy meds for a while & they have been known to induce a flare up.  Any one or more of these could be why my foot is sore.  It could also be completely unrelated.

This is one of the many things you have to deal with when you're +.  You know symptom "A" is there, but that particular pain could be caused by a host of things or combination of any of them.  Is my foot pain HIV related?  I'm not sure, but it's possible.  Besides the meds possibly causing such pain, HIV can lead to neuropathy.  

For now, I'll give my foot a rest & hopefully it'll let up soon.

Cya...

It's Back...

We had been experiencing rather pleasant weather for the last half of August.  That's gone & the heart is back.  I am not a fan of the pink on the map.  They're saying that we'll have this for at least the week.  Hopefully, after that it'll drop back down into the 90's F.  Last night's dew point was 73 F.  That plays hell with me.  I haven't had a gout flare up in quite a bit.  I try to make sure I don't set one off by what I eat.  But there's little I can do about the weather.  High dew point weather is notorious for setting off gout attacks.

My foot was sore this morning & I had to go shopping.  The foot was a little more sore when we got home, so exercise that requires standing is out for the day.  Maybe tomorrow.  I just hope this is the last of Summer's big heat systems.  Hopefully everyone else staying cool.

Cya...

Onward...

With the temperature dropping, my exercise routine is coming more in line with what it was in early July.   It's taking a while & I'm incorporating a few new exercises.  Let me tell you, getting back into sync helps in matters of feeling better as far as aches & pains go.  However, it's taking some adjusting for my digestive system to get back into the grove more physical exertion.  The extra movement is really helping things along in that department.

I read about people who exercise when they're stressed.  Hah!  I don't.  I won't exercise when I'm freaking out over something.  I don't want to associate this exertion with anything more uncomfortable than it already is.  Physical exertion does nothing for my stress levels.  It just leaves my tired & stressed.  I also don't exercise if I'm feeling physically ill.  Why not?

I'm not at my most fit & I need to focus on what I'm doing when I exercise.  The last thing I need is to lose focus & fall.  I don't want to be exercising & be thinking, "Hurry up, we have to go to the bathroom, like NOW!"  I realize my exercise routine may be tiring & sometimes make me sore.  But, I want the experience to be as pleasant as possible.  I'll never be among those people who loves to exercise.  I just won't.  At the same time, I don't want to dread the experience either.

This my exercise routine & it'll be done at my discretion via whatever methods I choose.  I'll do my best to stick with it & push for results.  I won't make my self miserable though.  I will not let this dominate my life.  I want to exercise to have a more healthy life, not a more obsessive one.

Cya...