Thursday, January 26, 2012

Where Have I Been?



Walking, walking, walking.  That's where I've been.  I get up in the morning and am in a rush to get dressed in my gym clothes (a sorry pair of old shorts and a t-shirt) tie my hair in a hastily thrown-together ponytail complete with a sweat band, all so I can get in front of the TV and be on 'time' for my Walk at Home workouts with Leslie Sansone.  Nothing like having Leslie in your living room to get you ready to exercise.


Teddy and Pudding dogs glance up from their comfy doggie beds to survey my wardrobe and sigh audibly as they turn around and face the other direction.   They don't want to watch the spectacle.  Gotta love Shih Tzus, they have relaxation down to a science.  My frenzied flopping around in the living room doesn't interest them one iota.  Twenty-five days have elapsed since I got on this exercise kick and I haven't missed a day yet.  Ok, so I'm a bit OCD.  I admit it. 

We don't have a bathroom scale, I know, how silly.  We used to have one, but I wore it out years back by:

A. Weighing myself too often
And
B. Weighing too much.  

(If it was a one of those talking scales it would probably say, "Only one person at a time, please!")  

So now the only scale we have is an antique freight scale out in the garage.  Yes, a freight scale.  How's that for irony?  I hopped on it New Year's Eve when we weighed some meat we'd just brought home from the packing plant.   Carl was there and read the number out loud for me.  

I said, "Come again?" 

He repeated the number.  

I said, "Surely you jest."  I kept looking to make sure the meat we were weighing wasn't on the scale with me, I couldn't believe what I was seeing.  Oh, dear.  That's not good.  The old Polar Bear doctor was right.  I have to do something.

He said no, no jesting.  That was the number on the old scale. 

Thankfully Carl didn't make anything of it, but see, he's been married to me for 33 years and he's a Smart Man.  A Smart Man knows instinctively not to exclaim, "Wow! Isn't that an all-time high for you?"  A Smart Man knows this is Dangerous Territory to be in.  Especially if he wants me to cook for him again. 

That was twenty five days ago and I have not been back out to the garage yet for a weigh-in.  I don't want to become super-obsessed with the sheer poundage, I just want to work at getting fit.  At this point, I could not handle the agony of seeing the numbers haven't gone down even a little or worst of all, have gone up!  I do know my jeans are a tad looser, and I'm taking that as a sign all this work is helping.   I keep a diligent food journal and write down the calories in the ketchup.  Having  hypothyroidism makes this all a bit more difficult, too, as my dosage is changed often. 

My friend Nancy suggested I join a free exercise class at our church where I am the among the youngest participants.  I go twice a week with a group of people who are in their 60's, 70's and 80's and believe me, they are in good shape.  It's amazing and humbling to know I find the workout difficult at times.  The leader of our group is in her 70's and can do pushups like a teenager.  Since I cannot do pushups like that, I was simply stunned watching her drop to the floor and give me ten. I struggle through two and that's from my knees, not straight out.  The lady is so fit; I can only wonder what she thinks of me.  (I'm secretly glad she hasn't told me, it would hurt.)

Ironically, the fall down the basement stairs in December was the true catalyst for all this frenzied exercise since there was no way I could sit comfortably.  My rump is getting better, but it's still far from happy about my being seated for any length of time.  When it first happened the only thing that made the injury feel better was walking.  Little, mincing, baby steps to be sure, but the walking made everything better.  I wasn't able to walk much at first, but now am up to five and a half miles again most days, and today, up to eight. I'm aiming for at least sixty minutes of aerobic exercise (per my pedometer) every day.  Leslie does much more than just walk, it's all low-impact, but it sure makes me sweat and I've found muscles I didn't know I owned when I do her floor exercise strength training routines, too. 

So, am I any skinnier?   Looking in the mirror, I'd say, nope, not yet.  I always remember my mother saying when she was around 50 years old  that she was glad she didn't live in a nudist colony.  She said clothes cover up a multitude of problems and I wholeheartedly agree now that I'm 53, too.  If I had to move to a Nudist Colony, I'd be the one living in the hosta bed fertilizing the 'Sum and Substance' hostas nonstop.  Those big leaves would make a great cover up for anyone my size.



We've had a little snow and Joel's taken the 574 out and plowed my walking trails in the Back Eight for me.  I took the snowblower to the other trails around the garden again.  It's been wonderful to be out and about every day for walks with the dogs.  And Carl, sometimes, too.  He has been going with me a few times now, which is great; I know he walks a lot at his job and I don't want to force him to go out again, but he's been enjoying it.  I love to go out just before sunset and enjoy the twilight.
Up by the woods in the Back Eight




 Yep, that's me, snowblowing my walking trails in the gardens. 



 I'm going to keep pecking away at the weighty issues in my life.



I sure do miss blogging and visiting all my friends, though.  Hopefully, soon I'll be able to sit for more than five minutes at a time. 




 I'm more than a little behind in everything this winter!




25 comments:

Alison said...

Wow! I am so impressed at your perseverance, and that you not only exercise indoors to the video, but that you walk outside too. I am such a weather wimp, if it's under 50 degrees, I don't want to be out there walking. Of course, we get a lot of rain too which can make the cold feel even colder. I bet you have lot weight, if your clothes are looser.

Randy Emmitt said...

Karen,
I hear ya! I was on the scales two weeks ago, I'm 6 pounds, yes 6 pounds from my all time heavy weight, I like to stay under that by 20 pounds. The freight scale you talked about reminded me of when I was doing service work in a small town hospital and they rolled a 500+ pound women into the laundry room to weight her. I was so sad for her having to go though that.

Keep it up, stick to it and you'll be happy you did.

Indie said...

I was just starting to wonder where you had gone! What a great thing to be working out every day! I need to start walking or something. This year I tried to start working out on our elliptical machine. It is supposed to be low impact, but somehow I hurt my back so I haven't been on in a week. (I'm too young for back pain!)

The snow looks beautiful outside! Enjoy your outside walks!

FlowerLady Lorraine said...

Dear Karen ~ Way to go girl! Bless your heart for your workouts and for your wonderful outdoor walks. I would love those.

I bet you've lost some weight too.

Love and hugs ~ FlowerLady

Anonymous said...

Keep walking hun walk walk walk walk. I'm with you all the way:)

The snow looks so pretty. Two steps forwards and two steps back... Lift those knees and kick!
Hugs Sue

El Gaucho said...

Glad to hear that you're feeling better and your injury is slowly healing. I'm very impressed with your adherence to the walking/exercising program. It may be hard to stick with it day in and day out, but it'll be a slow steady fight, and you can do it!!

Sue said...

I'm not seeing a weight problem from the photos of you snowblowing your pathways.....but I know how it is if you don't feel like you're the right size. Sounds like you're doing all the right things-good luck on your weight loss. I've only got 30 (!!) more pounds to go. (which might go quicker if there wasn't a chocolate cake on the counter today!)
:)

HolleyGarden said...

I was wondering about you last night as I was walking with Leslie. Good going! I try not to weigh myself all the time, but I find if I don't, the weight creeps up. :( I laughed about the thought of you hiding behind the hostas! haha I would be right there with you! Doesn't it feel fabulous to have your clothes loosen up? Soon you'll be in a smaller size! Wahoo!

Junebug said...

Way to go girl!!! I so wish I had your drive right now. I say, keep it up and stay off that meat scale! Wow, proud of you! Hugs!!

Alison said...

You know that should say "lost weight" right? LOL

deb said...

I bow to you O Great one!

You are doing awesome girl! I sure wish I had your dedication to stick with exercise that long...keep it up!
*hugs*deb

Karen said...

Hi Alison, yes, I know you meant lost weight, but I do have lots of it to lose, too! LOL

Oh, Randy, exactly! I don't want to be that poor lady, either. Isn't it something the way it just creeps up on you? Too bad my investments don't do as well!

Indie, the elliptical machine intrigues me, but every time I've tried one, it bugs my knees. It's probably my form or something. I hope you feel better soon!

Flower Lady, thank you so much for your encouragement! I think of you so often and how you and your DH take such good care of yourselves. You are an inspiration to me.

SueB, oh, bless your heart, I think of you every day as I march on with Leslie. We're Sisters in Sweat my dear friend!!

Gatsbys Gardens said...

Hi Karen,

I hope you haven't broken anything. I fell down a flight of stairs many years ago and my tailbone hurt off and on for a long time. I hope you are on the mend.

Eileen

Lona said...

What a relief to see your posting Karen. I was starting to worry.
Girl you can really make the snow fly. LOL! I have heard of a clouds of dust but not a cloud of snow.
You are walking up a storm. That is a long ways a day with a tender tail bone. If you do not lose weight you are going to be healthier anyway. One little tip: when you are not seeing lost weight from the scale readings then you are losing fat so it is good to take measurements to compare. You will be surprised!
Glad you are okay kiddo.

africanaussie said...

Good for you! you sound as though you are right on track! (literally) I have just come back from holiday with my daughters in Malaysia and Borneo and we walked everywhere - stayed in backpacker dorms that always seemed to be on he third floor too. I lost 3kg and feel great - now I just need to keep it up! I will keep checking on you for inspiration! Congratulations

Diana LaMarre said...

wow, Karen, 25 days without missing one workout! And walking all those miles. That is incredible. You are an inspiration. I am writing this as I eat chips with ranch dressing. I had a late lunch, so decided this would be dinner.

Bonnie K said...

Good for you! Walking has always made me feel better.

Shyrlene said...

That big giant plume of snow is 'the best'! I just love that photo. Congratulations on the perseverance with walking. Go get 'em, Girl! You are more inspiration than you can imagine!

Karen said...

John, thank you for the pep talk. I'm really curious to see what will happen. I have a long way to go, but it all starts with a single step, right?

Sue, thank you, gosh, you make me feel better! I wish I only had 30 pounds to lose. Double it and a bit more and that's my goal. And chocolate cake makes me weak in the knees....but I can't give up everything or I'll never stick to this. I'm going to try everything in moderation (even though so many people say it won't work.) Well, time will tell.

Hi Holley, I think of you when I do Leslie's workouts, too. It's so nice to know other people have seen results with walking at home videos. It gives me hope.

June, thank you...I am actually terrified that I won't make a dent in my weight, but at least I'll give it a try.

Deb, LOL, that's hilarious! I am far from the Great One...but wait, come to think of it, I probably do outweigh everyone right about now. Thank you!

Hi Eileen, thanks for your concern, I don't know if I broke my tailbone or not, but it sure does bother me to sit. Such a pain in the behind!

Lona, thank you, and I'm sorry I worried you! What a good idea, I should have taken measurements before I started this, rats!! I was so shocked to see the meat scale numbers that I didn't want to see what a tape would read IF I could find one big enough to go around me, lol. I'm thinking I'll step on the freight scale sometime in February, but I'm dreading it. In the meantime, I'll keep on walking, walking, walking......

africanaussie, I'm so glad you had fun on your trip. Wow, and you lost weight on vacation, not too many of us can say that!

Zoey, sounds like the perfect dinner to me...Yum! I'm not cutting out everything that I love to eat, I'm just trying to keep to the correct portion sizes which is new for me. I've always had a healthy appetite. Unfortunately!!

Karen said...

Birds, Bees, Berries and Blooms, walking is such good medicine for what ails us, isn't it? I'm not sure why, but it always lifts my spirits.

Shyrlene, glad you liked the snow blowing photo. I only wish I had a cab on the blower because I end up looking like a big, fat Abominable Snowman, all encrusted in frost.

Thank you all for the comments, it's truly inspirational to me. I'll keep on Walkin'.

www.FarmLifeLessons.blogspot.com said...

Karen --- I hope a sit down is becoming easier! A bump on the rump is definitely a painful thing to experience! Keep up the good work. You are so determined at everything you do...to do it well. It is always such a pleasure to come read about your happenings because your pictures are beautiful and your way of telling things has me mesmerized! And I also love the twilight photos...I can see why you love being out for a walk at that time. As for the hostas hiding; I'd pick the English Ivy section so I could wrap myself up in it like a mummy. Haha! No strategically placed leaves thank you very much, I'd just create an entire English Ivy outfit. Yep, that'd work. Thickly wrapped.

Lana

Beth said...

Karen, You're doing a good job of getting fit and you should be very proud of yourself! You seem to have quite a bit of snow. We haven't had much at all, and tomorrow we'll be above 50 degrees. Yay! Take care!
Beth

Beth said...

Karen, You're doing a good job of getting fit and you should be very proud of yourself! You seem to have quite a bit of snow. We haven't had much at all, and tomorrow we'll be above 50 degrees. Yay! Take care!
Beth

Rosemary said...

Hoping your behind catches up with the rest of you soon..........

Rosemary said...

Hoping your behind catches up with the rest of you soon..........