Perdido Bay Trail

This past Sunday I agreed to go on a 7+ mile hike with my youngest son.  I figured with me walking on the treadmill for an hour a day and walking the dog, I would be prepared for this hike.  I also figured it would take us about 3 hours max. It took us 5.5 hours…not what I expected.

I was SO WRONG!!!  After about 2.5 to 3 miles, fatigue set in.  I had to take frequent rest breaks.  I had episodes of shortness of breath which I attributed to the heat and humidity.  I drank lots of water, but still felt wiped out for the remainder of the trail.

I did manage to finish, thanks to the patience and encouragement of my son.  And, yes, I am going to do the trail again….when I am better prepared.  I plan to utilize shorter trails until this coming fall when I will again attempt this trail.

I did manage to get some photos of our trek.  There were places with standing water that we had to either walk through or find a way around.  Part of the trail passes the beach and part is a savannah like area…grasses and pine trees and no shade.  There were tons of tadpoles, baby toads and adult toads along the way.  And, of course, way too many gnats, mosquitoes, and no see ’ems flying around, biting and sucking blood.

ETA: Pay careful attention to your clothing.  Wear lightweight, comfortable clothing.  I wore jeans and a t-shirt.  The t-shirt was fine, but after a couple of hours the jeans felt like they weighed a 100 pounds.  And use an insect repellant and a sunscreen.  I did have on my Tilly hat which protected my face and neck.

Working Out When You Really Don’t Want To

We all have our little routines when it comes to working out.  And for the most part, I’m sure we stick to our routines for the duration.

But on occasion something happens that interrupts that routine or makes us unable to even do it for a day or two.

Recently I was sick and unable to get on the treadmill.  Towards the end of the illness, I was able to start walking my dog again.  But getting on the treadmill has really been hard for me.

My mind has come up with every excuse available and then some to avoid the treadmill.  But I have forced myself to get back on the treadmill.  Some days I can do 30+ minutes, some days only 10 or 15.  And THAT’s OK!

Some time on the treadmill is way better than none at all.  So I will continue to persevere and drag my lazy bohunkus to the treadmill and workout.  I will refuse to believe the lies my brain is telling me and in the end I will be glad I didn’t listen to those lies.

A Couple of Thoughts For a Healthier You

And:

A year from now you will wish you had started today on your road to a healthier you.

I started over a year ago trying to get healthier. I walked the dog. I moved more. But I really wasn’t losing any weight or inches.

Then I began using My Fitness Pal to monitor my food intake. It was eye opening to say the least. I realized I was eating way more than I needed and most of it was not healthy. So now I watch what I eat. No food is taboo, but some foods are better choices than others.

I also began using the Couch to 5K free app for my phone. I hit a few bumps along the way….shin splints, knee injury. Now I have advanced to the 10K trainer.

Am I slim and trim? No….not yet. You see I’m older and it takes more effort on my part to increase my metabolism. Is it hard? Yes, I force myself every day to get on the treadmill and then take my dog for a walk. Have I noticed any changes? Yes!! I move without fear of falling. I can sit on a low sofa and get up by myself without my knees buckling under me. I have greater endurance and I’m stronger. My blood pressure has gone down and so has my average heart rate. I am breathing better. I can bend over and tie my shoes without becoming short of breath. I’ve lost a few inches, so I can wear clothes I couldn’t get into before.

So folks, get up and get moving. You will be glad you did.

My Fitbit One Tracker

Several months ago, I got a Fitbit One tracker to keep track of the number of steps I take on a daily basis. I set it up on my computer, and then downloaded the app to my smart phone. I find I check it frequently just to see how I have done with being active.

Initially, it was all I could do to get in 5000 steps a day. I was struggling to make 4000, let alone 5000. Then I started doing the C25K on the treadmill. That helped a lot. For awhile I was averaging 8000 steps a day, but I knew I had to increase it and strive to reach my goal of 10,000 steps a day. Well, I am doing that now. It’s easier to reach that goal on days I do the C25K. On my rest days, it is a little more difficult. So I am trying to do more on my C25K days to make my average be at 10,000 steps a day.

My next goal is 15,000 steps a day. I think as I increase the running time with the C25K program, that will be an achievable goal.

I did make it to 15,000+ steps the other day. It took me all day to do it. My Fitbit said, “Yay! Champ! Next goal 20,000 steps.” Now tell me how does one get 20,000 steps in during the day? It was all I could do just to get to 15,000.

C25K

Several weeks ago, at the urging of my youngest, I started C25K (couch to 5 K). First, I downloaded the free app to my phone. Then I began with Week 1 Day 1. At my age, I didn’t think I should begin with running. So when the program said to run, I just power walked. I managed to get through Week 4 before I twisted my knee. Not enough to incapacitate me, but enough to know that I had done it.

Well a week goes by before I can get back on the treadmill. In the meantime, I walked the dog a few times, but nothing strenuous. So this morning I started back at Week 1 Day 1 and I RAN! Yes, I ran! I’m not fast by a long shot, but I managed to get my old heart pumping and worked up a sweat.

My goal is to actually run a 5 K sometime in the future. It won’t matter if I come in last; I just want to finish.

Wish me luck.

Oh, BTW, this is my little mutt.

Fear of Losing Someone

Recently, youngest was complaining of his heart pounding. This is odd, because he’s not overweight and he’s a runner.

I’m a retired nurse, so I asked him the usual questions: “Is it racing?” “Any chest pain?” “Any shortness of breath?” To which his answer was, “No, just pounding. I can feel it.” So I told him he should get it checked out. But in the meantime, maybe he should eliminate caffeine and nicotine from his daily routine.

He did that and things seemed to be better for awhile. Then one day at work, it started pounding again. So he went to Urgent Care where they did an EKG….Findings: normal rhythm and rate. He was somewhat relieved and so was I. But I kept searching the recesses of my brain trying to recall anything that might cause his heart to do this crazy pounding thing.

Then a couple of nights ago, we were all in the ER because he had an episode of tachycardia (rapid heart rate). Again they did an EKG with the same results. He did have evidence, so to speak, as the EMTs hooked him up to a monitor and ran a strip showing the rapid heart rate. Of course, by the time he got to the ER, it was slowing down.

After a few hours, we were sent home. In the meantime, I’m still racking my brain trying to come up with a possible cause for this cardiac anomaly. But exhaustion overcomes me and I fall asleep for a few hours.

The next day I wake up still thinking about this problem and rightly so. I’m his mom and no mom wants to think about losing their child regardless of the child’s age. So I continue to rack my brain and out of no where a single word pops up…potassium. So I did a little research.

I finally remembered that potassium has a lot to do with how one’s heart works and deficiencies can cause all kinds of problems. But most folks get enough potassium in the foods they eat daily.

Then I remembered youngest ate a lot of potassium rich foods when he lived at home, but he recently moved out (into an apartment with his older brother) and he was evidently not eating right. So I texted him about potassium, sent him several links, and told him to at least get some bananas and oranges. He did that and also checked his My Fitness Pal account, where he logs his food intake. He checked back for several weeks and found that he was getting less than 400mg of potassium daily and on some days none at all. The daily required amount, depending on what site you check, can be 2000mg to 3500mg.

So now he’s checking not only calories on the foods he eats, but also the amount of potassium that particular food has.

I am hoping this is all that is needed to set him right. He did say that he has had no more tachycardia episodes and the pounding episodes have lessened a great deal.

BTW, he does have an appointment to see his doctor on Tuesday. Keeping my fingers and toes crossed for a good outcome.

Gadgets for Weight Loss

What kind of gadgets do you use to help you with your weight loss?

I have a couple of things I use. One, I have a treadmill that I use on occasion. It’s a great machine, but it is really boring. I have taken to using a DVD player while walking on it, to distract myself from the monotony of exercising on it.

My latest gadget is a FitBit One tracker. It tracks the number of steps you take everyday, the number of calories you burn, whether or not you are going up stairs, etc. It is rechargeable and holds a charge for about 5 days. I like that…no running to the store to find batteries for it. It syncs with your computer, wirelessly, so you can get on their page and monitor your progress. It’s tiny and clips to your clothing. It also resets itself to zero at midnight. You can wear it to bed and monitor your sleep patterns. So far I don’t see a need for that as I’m retired and can take a nap if I don’t get my required number of hours.

My goal with newest little gadget is to reach 10,000 steps a day. I know I am far from that goal, but I plan on increasing my steps little by little.

I would really like to reach the point that it doesn’t matter what I eat/consume, my activity will outweigh/outnumber the calories taken in.

Wish me luck.

See ya on the good side of healthy.

Jump Starting the Weight Loss

Since Thanksgiving (2012) I have gained a lot of weight. Some I previously lost and extra. Not a good thing at my age. I also quit smoking and have found that I tend to munch on snacks absentmindedly. Also not a good thing.

Well I decided to try a smoothie type diet. I read up on smoothies and liquid diets. There is all kinds of information out there, pro and con. One of the main things is that it is difficult to get enough protein and nutrients with some of the smoothie diet plans out there.

So this is what I have done:

For breakfast I have a protein smoothie consisting of soy protein powder mixed in water, a fruit (usually a banana), a raw egg white and a low cal sweetener, like stevia. Then I serve over crushed ice.

For lunch I have a protein veggie smoothie. Again, I use the protein powder, multiple vegetables (cooked or raw), and sweetener, all well mixed in the blender. Served over crushed ice.

For dinner, I have a regular meal, trying to be sensible in the portions and calorie counts.

In the last 4 days I’ve lost 9 pounds. That’s a great jump start. But I don’t want to continue losing 2 or 3 pounds a day. I want to ease that back down to maybe 1-2 pounds a week. Rapid weight loss of 10-20 pounds initially is ok, but to continue this rapid weight loss for any longer would be a severe health risk. I’m trying to be healthy not become anorexic.

So how do you jump start your weight loss?

Getting Re-motivated on My Healthy Journey

Since Thanksgiving of 2013, I have gained weight. That was due to over eating and, especially, eating things I should only eat in moderation, once in awhile. Our weather didn’t help as far as my walking regime is concerned. One day it’s freezing, the next it’s in the 60’s. Then it’s raining cats and dogs. Go figure.

Well, now it is time to get re-motivated. I’m starting off with trying to eat right and drink more water. Next are my kitchen sink exercises. These are exercises that can be done at the kitchen sink, especially good for older folks, like myself, who find it hard to get down on the floor and worse yet, get back up from the floor.

Place your hands on the rim, at each corner of the kitchen sink. Spread your feet to shoulder width apart. Now squat, only as far as you can go comfortably and get back up from comfortably. That may be only an inch or two to begin with. Do 9 squats.

Keeping your hand position maintained. Step back about a foot, keeping your feet shoulder width apart. Do 1 push up (lean in to the sink, bending your elbows, push out, straightening your arms).

Next, do 8 squats and 2 push ups. Then 7 squats and 3 push ups. Continue this way until you are doing 1 squat and 9 push ups.

Doesn’t seem like much, but believe me you will feel it later. This is especially good for older folks like myself, who are losing strength in their arms and legs.

My next goal is to get back up to par with my walking. Of course, here the weather during the winter is unpredictable. But I have no excuse. I do have a treadmill and I need to get on it.

Now that I have put my goals in print, hopefully, I’ll be able to stick to them.

Wishing you all good health.

The Munchies! OMG!

Recently, hubby and I quit using tobacco products. Yay! We are using e-cigs, so we still get the nicotine, but in a safer format….and before someone starts warning about the propylene glycol being an ingredient in antifreeze, you need to look at what else it is used in and has been approved by the FDA.

I digress….I am here to talk about the munchies. Quitting tobacco has opened us both up to these insane, incredible desires for munching on any food available…healthy or not healthy. So we have had to arm ourselves with some tactics to defeat the munchies.

1. Get up and do something outside if the weather permits.

2. Clean house, vacuum, dust, sweep, etc.

3. Drink more water.

4. Take a drive somewhere.

5. Have low cal snacks available…carrot sticks, celery sticks, sugar free popcicles, watermelon cubes, cucumber slices, pickle spears, low cal fruit, etc.

6. Exercise a little more.

These are just some of the things we are attempting to do to keep the munchies at bay. And we still have not gone back to the tobacco.