Archive for the ‘Exercise’ Category

Burning down the house

Posted: August 21, 2012 in Cooking, Exercise, Stubby the Wonder Toe, Weight loss
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You read that right. I seemingly tried to burn down the house today while making roasted cedar plank salmon. I usually rub the plank with olive oil so the fish doesn’t spot weld to the plank and it most it will smolder. This time when I put the plank under the broiler to get a crust on it, well, it was a rather impressive conflagration.

Seriously decent stuff.

I have good news to report, though… Stubby survived his gym session without any difficulties. I found some padded moleskin amongst the foot care supplies and put a piece of that over the bandage to relieve any pressure. I think I might add that to the pre gym workout even after Stubby is better.

I had contacted Ryan (exercise physiologist extraordinaire) with the tale of Stubby. He was in the loop and had come up with ways for me to get my work in without putting too much stress on Stubby. Of course, that just meant extra effort from the rest of me. I spent some time on a seated elliptical and a few go arounds on a rowing machine. Let me just say that I preferred the rowing machine because it didn’t involve basically kneeing myself in the gut on every stroke. I also got a better appreciation of what Olympic rowers do and, well, ouch.

This thing was interesting, but not necessarily fun

The seated elliptical gave a workout, and maybe I will get used to it, but I prefer the good old-fashioned elliptical. Of course, I hated the arc trainer and while I’m still not enamored of that beastie, I can respect the workout. Ryan also introduced me to the dip. In the dip, I have to sit on a bench, then lower my butt below the level of the bench, then l had to lever my bulk back up. If I didn’t know I was fat before, this clinched it. This is going to be the new squat, at least until something worse comes along.

Speaking of fitness, how about a hand for Supportive Partner Woman, who dragged her butt out of bed to be at a Bodyflow class at 8 AM. She claims it’s painful. Or at least her knees claim that, but I’m so proud of her for getting up and going. Read about it here.

At any rate, I need to get myself showered and ready for work. I don’t really want to put the Boot of Shame back on, but what can you do? It seems to be helping, so I can’t complain about that. It’s just uncomfortable to wear.

I leave you with this final thought. It really annoys me when people look at the boot, then look at me and say, “Did you do something to your foot?” I usually explain my blister history and that the boot helps it heal by keeping weight off the toes. Inside, I’m screaming, “No, I just LIKE to wear something this fugly and uncomfortable!” That’s another thing I need to work on… patience. I’ll get there, too.

Oh, and just for the record… a 500 degree broiler will ignite an olive oil coated cedar plank. Trust me… I’m experienced.

Crisis averted

Posted: August 20, 2012 in Disney, Doctors and Dentists and Nurses... oh my!, Exercise, Stubby the Wonder Toe, Weight loss
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It was a half-decent day at the doctor’s office. My weight was up a couple of pounds, but I’m not too concerned about it, since my right foot was ensconced in the Boot of Shame, which feels like it weighs around 40 pounds. The BP was also a little elevated, probably from me being in full blown freakout mode.

The good news came as a result of my labs. One of the key markers for a diabetic is the hemoglobin A1C measurement. This measures the average blood glucose levels over the previous months prior to the measurement.

The ADA (American Diabetes Association) considers an A1C of greater than or equal to 6.5% as a marker for a diagnosis of diabetes. The first time I had this test run, during that fun hospitalization, my A1C was 14.3%. Three months ago, it was 10.9%. Last week, 6.6%. Guess there’s something to that exercise crap.

Cholesterol was another concern. Last August, my cholesterol was 211. Last week? 158. In 2008, my triglycerides were a nifty 257 (which is rather high). Last week? 102. Only weak point was my HDLs are still a little low. That’s something to work on for the next batch of tests.

On the Stubby the Wonder Toe front, Rachel was very pleased with the healing that has been done so far. She cleared me to go back to the gym, just no weight bearing cardio until the blister is healed. Guess that means the stationary bike. Woohoo. I’m not a huge bike fan… would prefer to be on a real bike, except for seat wedge. I’m also cleared to go back to weight training. I’m happy about that… I haven’t been since last Wednesday and I really miss it. Rachel indicated that she felt I should be good to go back to full steam next week, depending on what the podiatrist says on Monday.

One other really need thing is that since most of my doctors are all in the same health group, I’m able to view all my records online. It was pretty cool to see all my labs. The bad part was the pathology notes on the part of Stubby that is no longer. It’s one thing to hear it described to you, but when you read the descriptions, oh boy. There’s something so clinical and detached about it that makes it worse than when you hear it from a doctor. When you see words like osteomyelitis, well, that’s creepy. Just saying.

After the doctor, SPW and I went grill shopping. Sadly, the altar of meat is not in the best shape. I tried to use the side burner to saute some asparagus for SPW and I couldn’t get the valve to open. Found one that we kind of liked, but it’s not on sale yet. Soon. Just hope I can get one that isn’t assembled. I’m not sure I’d trust those brain surgeons with propane. I feel like I’ve accomplished something when I get to assemble it myself.

We headed out to Elizabethtown afterward to pay a visit to the library. I had a book on hold and I picked up a book about Joe DiMaggio’s 56 game hitting streak. Post library, SPW and I swung by Sonic, where she really made me proud. She actually passed on a vanilla malted. I opted for a grilled chicken sandwich and tots, because, well, tots are awesome. Was it the best choice? No, but it was handy and I think we made the healthiest choice that we could.

So, I start back at the gym with Ryan tomorrow. I’ll have five weeks from that point to get my pudgy ass into shape for Disney touring. I feel a lot better about it than my last visit. I realize it will be hot, but probably no World Showcase Death March, so I have hopes that it will work out for the best. It will be a challenge, eating with a healthier slant, but it’s a life change that I need to make, so I’m going to stay on the straight and narrow. My sole exception will have to be our visit(s) to Ohana. Even then, I’ll stick to the healthier proteins.

I’ll keep you posted as to how tomorrow’s session goes. Even if I do take a bike ride to nowhere.

Full blown freakout mode

Posted: August 20, 2012 in diabetes, Doctors and Dentists and Nurses... oh my!, Exercise, Stubby the Wonder Toe
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Good very early morning.

I’m kind of freaking out at the moment. See, I have a doc’s appointment in the AM and I’m sure the scale’s not going to like me. It hasn’t been the greatest food week or two. I’d get back from what I was doing and realize I had to eat some lunch but we didn’t have anything in the house so I’d stop and get something to eat and my blood sugar would be low and OMG look there’s Twizzlers and Twizzlers rock and no fat and should raise the sugar nicely and while I’m here at Sheetz I’d get some chicken fingers because I need to have protein and yadda yadda yadda. Whew.

zAt any rate, the good news is that Stubby the Wonder Toe seems to be healing quite nicely. I’m hoping I can get cleared to go back to the gym… if not for cardio then maybe for some strength training. I really find myself missing it.

I’m going to head to bed and try to actually sleep instead of my usual freakout mode habit of sleeping wide awake.

I’ll keep you posted.

That feeling’s back

Posted: August 16, 2012 in Doctors and Dentists and Nurses... oh my!, Exercise, Foot issues, Futility, Physical activity, Stubby the Wonder Toe, Walking
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Morning.

I’d say “Good morning”, but I’d be lying.

I got home from work last night and removed my shoes and socks, only to discover that I had a blister. A big blister. Right on the bottom of Stubby the Wonder Toe. A large piece of skin had sloughed off and, well, it wasn’t particularly pretty. I was tempted to post a picture, but Supportive Partner Woman (photo critic!) put the kibosh on that. You can thank her later.

GAAAAAAAAHHHHHH!

This has my feelings of frustration and futility measuring off the charts. I’ve been doing this for months and no sign of a blister. I was even at the foot doctor yesterday and he didn’t see anything. The toe was fine when I took a shower yesterday, but somehow, while I was at work, I get a blister the approximate size of Los Angeles County and I didn’t even go for a walk. It’s enough to drive you to drink.

My first thought was, “What’s the point?” Why the hell am I doing all this work? I’ll just get another blister, and another, and another. I’ll never reach my goals. This was followed by a general thought of just bailing on our vacation and letting SPW go by herself. I’m sure if I tried that, she’d hurt me.

These feelings are followed immediately by that sense of loathing. Like Stubby is an actual person instead of a toe. I know I joke that my toe has adopted a gangsta personality, but in reality, it’s just a toe. But I hate this toe so much right now. I hate it more than I hate peanut butter. I DESPISE peanut butter. I even confess to wanting to go to the garage get a saw, and take the whole foot off. Then I can’t get any blisters on the toe, right? Yeah… I didn’t think that was an option.

So, what do I do? I emailed my trainer who is sadly off for a long weekend, and I guess the gym is right out for now. I’ll have to rock the Boot of Shame for a while and just have to keep my calories down if I want to make any progress. I see Rachel, the CRNP extraordinaire on Monday… maybe she’ll have some suggestions. I can’t let the blister stop me, though… I’ve come too far for that. Maybe this is nature’s way of telling me I was working too hard. When this heals up, and it will heal up, perhaps I just start using moleskin every day and padding the hell out of my toe. I don’t know. But I’m going to find out.

Hope you have a better day than mine has started out to be.

Russian spam?

Posted: August 15, 2012 in Exercise, Weight loss
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No, I’m not referring to the “tasty” meat-like stuff manufactured by Hormel… I’m talking about the spam comments I get on this blog. Thankfully, Akismet filters most of them out, but these comments are written in Cyrillic. I also like when you get a seemingly legitimate comment that when you hover over the web address it’s some kind of currency exchange. I’d really like to meet the people who fall for this stuff. It’s like the one time I got a spam email allegedly from my bank. Except they spelled “bank” wrong. I mean if you want to spam somebody, take the time to learn English.

Enough about spam… we are back on the normal trail, finally. Successful sessions at the gym with Ryan the past couple of days. Even started doing some hamstring curls that didn’t feel too bad. Until I got up this morning. Ouch. I still hurt, but as soon as Supportive Partner Woman (making like Julia Child!) gets ready, we’re headed to Hempfield Rec.

It was an early morning for me. I had to get blood work done and I had to fast. When fasting, the sooner the blood is drawn, the better. I was actually pretty hungry by the time I got home, so I had cereal and milk, with a sliced banana. It really went down well. I took a bit of a nap while watching Storage Wars On Demand. No biggie. I probably missed Barry bidding too much for something of dubious value and Dave being a general jackass.

SO, not much to report other than that. Hope everyone’s having a great day!

Wow… what a downer

Posted: August 8, 2012 in Exercise, pet peeves, Physical activity, Walking, Weight loss
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I just reread what I posted earlier and I was struck by how down it seemed. It wasn’t meant to be bitter… I don’t actually know what I was trying to get across, other than it’s NOT futile. It’s a struggle, but most things are.

All in all, not a bad day

So, I went to the gym this morning/afternoon. I wanted to top my previous time best on the treadmill. I started out at around 2.7 miles per hour… faster than my usual walk. Upped it to 2.9 about 7 minutes in, then upped it again to 3.2. It was a good workout… I managed to make it 46 minutes… I’m catching up to my friend Glenn. He’s really been an inspiration to get in some treadmill work. It hurts… I won’t lie, but the pain fades and my ankles will feel better. In fact, the more weight I lose, the better it’s going to be on my joints. I’ve noticed vast improvements in my cardiovascular health… I can walk at a brisk clip, kind of uphill for over two miles and only get to a 120 heartbeat? Wow… whoda thunk?

My biggest gym beefs allude to some people who Supportive Partner Woman (certifiable gym rat-to-be!) has mentioned in the past. Those she refers to as American Stick Insects. These would be the ulta-fit women who show up and make the StairMaster their figurative bitch clad only in spandex shorts, a sports bra and half gloves. I don’t mind that somebody’s fit… I wish I was at the point I could tame the evil beast that is the StairMaster, but what I do mind is that after sweating like the Nototious B.I.G. after he ate a gallon of hot sauce, said Stick Insect did not wipe down the machine, then went to the elliptical and proceeded to pull the same bush league act.

The other people I have issues with are the late 40’s early 50’s midlife crisis guys who walk around like frat boys and act like frat boys, too. SPW (observer of people acting like chumps!) reported seeing the biggest douchenozzle of them all of them go walking out of the gym doing the George Jefferson walk while wearing wraparound shades and his garish yellow shirt. He was probably heading out to his midlife crisis car.

These guys just spend the entire time they are there just trying to show off… it’s kind of, well, immature. Usually I want to gripe about these kids today, but with the exception of some chatty teenage girls who like to text on the elliptical, most of them show up, are serious about the workout, and don’t clown around too much.

Anyways, it’s off to another exciting night at the office. Once again, I apologize for the tone of the earlier post. Anything that makes me healthier is not futile. I know I’m going to have down days, but just have to move on.

That feeling of futility

Posted: August 8, 2012 in Exercise, Futility, regrets, Weight loss
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Ever sit down and wonder, “What’s the point?”

Have you ever been just struck by a feeling that what you are trying to do is totally pointless?

Have you ever been so discouraged for no apparent reason that you start to doubt your own state of mind?

I’ve been there the last few days. I’ve gone through the motions at the gym, worked up a sweat, but have been totally second guessing my reasons for embarking on this journey in the first place. It makes no logical sense whatsoever for me to be feeling this way, but I still do.

See, this is danger time for me. This is the time when I start to snack when I shouldn’t. I’ll start skipping days at the gym. I’ll be “too busy” or some other bullshit excuse. Even if I don’t have a good reason, I’ll take a bad reason and make it sound good, the entire time trying to justify it to myself.

Why the hell does this always happen? I kid you not… if I could just learn to listen to the sheer bullshit I was spewing at times like this, well, I probably wouldn’t be so damn fat.

I guess you could say that my biggest (no pun intended) enemy is myself. It’s not the weight, it’s my mind. How do you battle something that knows everything about you?

Logically, I know I’ve made strides. I’m getting encouragement (thanks, folks!) and not just from the folks I see on a daily basis. Still, the biggest inner voice is the one screaming, “You suck! You’re such a loser! You’ll never amount to anything but a big, fat pig!” and as much as I try to silence that, it screams all the louder. The more I ignore it, the more it keeps eating away at my willpower until eventually, I cave. I always have.

Maybe it’s time to just stop listening to that inner voice, or better yet, bitch slap it into submission. Granted, I have NO idea how to do that, but if this is going to work, I need to figure it out pretty quickly. Maybe I should just write it a memo. I don’t know.

One day at a time, I suppose. This way, if I have a bad day today, I can have a better day tomorrow. Maybe it’s not totally futile.

Kicking my own arse

Posted: August 7, 2012 in Customer service, Exercise, Physical activity, Southwest, Weight loss
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Good morning!

First of all, an update on the Southwest saga. I spoke with someone in their customer relations department and they were very helpful and listened to what I had to say. There was no talk of compensation, I wasn’t looking for money, just an explanation. The woman I spoke to, Lauren, was very candid and described that they had the entire IT team in trying to nail down the issue and to make sure it didn’t happen again. I’m proud of myself for not letting Captain Furious out… the lady was just doing her job and it wasn’t her fault that things got jacked up. Anyway, to make a potentially long story shorter, I received an email later in the day yesterday apologizing for the screw up and that they would be sending me a travel voucher in hopes that I would consider flying with them again. Voucher arrived today and I’m looking at the return leg from Reunion in December.

So, on to more serious business.

SPW (Wearer of very blue Nikes!) and I went to Hempfield Rec yesterday and I got on the treadmill. Instead of setting a time, I just started walking, figured I would go as long as I felt like it. Not counting the warm up and cool down cycles, I kept the speed between 2.7 and 3.2 mph (a good, brisk walk) and stopped around 42 minutes, just because I knew I had to get home, shower up and go to work. This means I’m over half way to my 70 minute goal. I actually felt pretty good afterward… legs and feet weren’t barking too much and what really has shown up is that my heart rate averaged 114. When I first got started on this program, the heart rate would register well over 130 for ten minutes. I’d say that’s a nice improvement in my cardiovascular health.

The downside has been that while it hasn’t been a bad food stretch for me, it’s not been a great one. There’s been some bread being consumed… probably not the best thing for me. I need to refocus on that part of things. See, I had made one of those Pillsbury French loaves for the dinner I had on Saturday, and there were a few leftover pieces. I didn’t want them to go to waste and, well, that stuff is like legal crack, so I eated them.Speaking of mom dinner, both she and my sister enjoyed the food. I got a really lovely piece of sockeye (on sale… boo-yah!) and corn from the Corn Wagon, and threw together a simple, yet healthy dinner that turned out to be really tasty. I even put out shrimp for an appetizer. Of course, there are leftovers, including a giant bowl of salad, so I’m set for dinners this week. Sunday, SPW (Apple tech junkie!) and I went out for dinner. We were in the Downingtown area and found a new location for PJ Whelihan’s Pub. We’ve been to other Whelihan’s locations over the years and I was really in the mood for a burger. I was proud of myself… I ordered the chili as an appetizer and then had a bison burger. Bison is a better choice than standard beef… lower in fat and almost twice the protein. Whatever the nutritional impact, it was pretty dang tasty.

Headed to a rare afternoon session with Ryan today. It’s the only time he had an opening for, so I will have to take some clothes and shower up there in order to make it to work close to on time. I’m going to refocus on kicking my own arse. I let it slide in the food department for a couple of days and it’s not going to slide any more. It can’t.

I’ll keep you posted.

The T-shirt contest

Posted: August 3, 2012 in Exercise, Physical activity, Supportive Partner Woman, Walking, Weight loss
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And, no, it’s not wet. Sorry, folks.

It’s been an interesting couple of days here at MOASTBFFG. A few weeks ago, I wrote about how SPW (possessor of lots of clothes!) and I were cleaning out our closets. I had mentioned finding a stack of t-shirts that I hoped to be able to wear again soon. Soon has arrived. I’ve actually busted out a few more since the Alzheimer’s Walk shirt… one that proudly proclaimed that “REAL MEN WEAR KILTS” and a vintage 2009 Scopa Towers tee. The best was this morning, when I thought I’d wear something new to the gym and found a MouseFest 2008 shirt.

They call me… Tim?

The Binge

This has been the single biggest highlight, other than feeling better. Being able to put on stuff and it’s not too tight. I might not always see it on a scale, but the clothes don’t lie. In fact, for general wear today, I actually fit in a Woot! shirt. That’s worth a… woot? It’s a Monty Python tee, as many of my purchases tend to be. This featuring Tim the Enchanter. I have another that has swallows and coconuts and SPW and I share one with the Knights of Ni. Others that I am looking forward to breaking out would be The Binge, featuring the Cookie Monster. I have a soft spot for goofy t-shirts and I’m really looking forward to wearing much of my collection again.

So, for the first time in years, I made it to the gym for five straight days. Plenty of cardio and lifting, and I felt so good after today’s session, I’m thinking of heading over tomorrow morning for some more cardio. I’ll take Sunday off… since SPW (proud attendee of BlogHer 12!) will be coming home, maybe we’ll journey to the Lego Store and Wegman’s… see what’s going on. I know this will be a great opportunity for her to network and see our friend April, but I still miss her terribly.

Well, I think that might wrap it up for today. I hope to continue to fit in stuff and keep up the good gym habits. I’m not going to lie… it’s a struggle to get there most mornings, and the first ten minutes of cardio is an absolute beast, but if I get through that, it gets a lot easier. I have a new goal to strive for, though… my friend and fellow weight warrior Glenn has recently managed to crank out 70 straight minutes on the treadmill. My personal best is 35 straight. I’m going to strive to get to that 70 minute mark. Maybe not next week, but next month? I’m feeling that anything is possible… if I can get my chubby self into a shirt I never thought I’d wear again, well, I can do more. I have to do more.

July 30

Posted: August 2, 2012 in Exercise, family, Supportive Partner Woman, Travel, Weight loss
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I was feeling kind of down the other day… I wasn’t quite sure why this was until this evening. The date finally dawned on me. July 30. See, July 30 marked seven years since my grandmother passed.

My grandmother and I at my college graduation – December 1999

See, I only ever knew one grandmother. My paternal grandmother passed away many years before I was born, but my maternal grandmother, well, she was a constant in my life. Every up, down and sideways, I could always count on my grammy to be there. She helped all of us through the loss of my dad, and was there when SPW and I got married. There’s a low and a high for you. She was there for every birthday, graduation, confirmation, spring musical, communion, and I’m pretty sure she was at my baptism, but that was 41 years ago and my memory is a little fuzzy.

One of the things that really sticks in my mind about my grandmother… she was a Disney fan. I guess I come by it naturally. One time when she was down with us, I think it was either 1978 or 1982, we coerced her to go on Big Thunder Mountain Railroad. That was amusing… to us. She was slightly less amused.

I got to travel with my grandmother periodically. We took a bus trip through California after I graduated high school that was a lot of fun. We started in San Francisco, went to Monterey, Sacramento and Lake Tahoe, and then headed back through Solvang and ended up in Anaheim. The sad thing is that I was within a stone’s throw of Disneyland and never got there because my grandmother felt that it would be disappointing after having been to Walt Disney World several times. Wish I could’ve made my own decision, though… I’ll get there one day. We did wind up going to Universal Studios Hollywood and that was a lot of fun. I even got to participate in the Star Trek Experience… That was an interesting experience. I got to be the Klingon captain. Woot! One real highlight of that trip was when I took her to the Hard Rock Cafe in San Francisco. For anyone curious as to what my acting “debut” really looked like, I think you could say that I was about as wooden as Shatner… then again, you can be the judge.

Our other big trip together was to Las Vegas. We did Las Vegas style stuff, including Siegfried & Roy, taking the Dam tour, and gambling a little. We stayed at Treasure Island, which was one of the newest hotels in the city, and I managed to get an incredibly bad sunburn, but it was some fun.

One of the best things about my grandmother was how she would take a shine to people. When she was ill and in the home, if Supportive Partner Woman (Bestest ever!) was visiting and a new nurse came in, my grandmother would always introduce SPW as her granddaughter, not as her grandson’s wife or granddaughter-in-law. She was also too generous. If it would snow, I would go to her place and make sure her car was cleaned off and shovelled out, and she would always insist on paying me. I would always refuse, and then the next time I would put on my gloves, there would be money stuck in one of them. If you protested the next time you saw her, she’d give you this little grin and deny it was her. Every time a minor holiday came by, she’d always have a card for you (Happy Columbus Day?!?) with a couple of dollars stashed inside. Just the way she was.

In the end, she left with no regrets. She told me that she had done what she wanted with her life, and she was ready to go. We all should be so lucky to have that much peace and to leave with no regrets.

I’m going to head to the gym now… day 4 in a row. Back is feeling slightly better. The weekend will prove to be a challenge as Supportive Partner Woman (fitness machine!) heads to NYC to attend BlogHer ’12. I’ll miss her terribly, but I’m not going to go on an eating binge. That would be so counter-productive and, well, what would be the point? To just totally scarf down food until I sit there feeling physically sick and mentally guilty? This is a huge improvement for me, though, as in previous incarnations, I’d already be thinking about what I could binge on. Not gonna do it. Never again.

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