There’s always going to be something

I’m just emerging from a real struggle to keep on going. Exercising that is.. not life or anything. I’m pretty fantabulous about life; just not so about changing my lifestyle. I did think I had hit a point of ‘That’s it!’ But as with all change there does drag along a fair shake of ‘ this is just too much’. It scares me a little (read: A LOT) Change means – well change and also the risk of failure! Will I be unsuccessful at this expectation to get healthy. It is mentally hard to push myself.

My struggles this week were not helped by having a migraine. The horrible throw-up, light sensitive, motion wary, no one make a sound around me type of migraine. This is when the strong drugs come out. My sister commented about an article discussing the relationship between mood disorders and migraine. “I believe migraines CAUSE mood disorders. That type of pain just isn't normal and so it drives you loony” That’s what I had.

There are 2 horrible side effects of taking migraine narcotics such as percocets & demoral
1. Your body craves more so you have to wean yourself off the medication. It is a delicate dance of want vs need.
2. It makes me really really.. what is that word that rhymes with witch.. yeah. That’s me. Not conducive to change.

I’ve emerged from it and feeling better. I’ve actually lost 4 lbs. I do tend to favour soups and liquids when my head hurts and my stomach wobbles. Nevertheless I also had an unreal hankering for poundcake. That’s beneficial to a better health. Hah.

After decades of addiction my eldest sister finally quit smoking. I know it was hard for her but one observation she made about it has got me thinking. Whenever she had quit before; something stressful happened. Finally she said. “There’s always going to be something” Then she quit.

So maybe I need to work that into my daily affirmation. There will always be migraines, school projects- all due at once, tornado attacked bedrooms, laundry mountains, volunteer guilt, family troubles and turmoil’s, fat food indulgences and just bad days. I just need to keep at it; one work out at a time.

That’s my plan and I’m sticking to it!

My Secret Weapon VS. Mother Nature

Mother Nature has come to visit with me for a few days. Usually this ordeal is my excuse….err NEED to wear old flannel PJ’s, laze in bed reading highly educational books {eh.. the nerd in shining armor was Very educational} and munch on bad foods washed down with chocolate…The only exercise I would have is turning pages and unwrapping food.

But not the Treadmill goddess! No! I say! No more and I have a secret weapon that I unleashed this week. Yes my friends, I have taken over my kids Wii with its sensational Fit game + board. (I can assure you that I have no affiliations with entertainment systems or Nintendo. I lean more to anti video games because I am addicted to pc games and don’t want my children to follow my path of destruction.)

You do have to go thru the Wii hall of shame however as you set up your little you which they call ‘Mii’. That is fun; picking your colours, your face and so on. Then on the Fit game you must stand on the board and it weighs you; figuring out your BMI. Clear the room for this – and for the privacy types you can password your mii..like I did. I was shocked at my Body Mass Index.

I was so relieved to discover that I am not on the worst level. I am only ‘very high risk’ at Obese Class II instead of the mortifying ‘Extremely high risk’ at Obese Class III.

I cannot imagine the heights of my joy when I move up to only ‘High risk’ with Obese Class I. It’s a light at the end of my tunnel I must say.

Okay. Back to the shaming stuff.. (Yeah, that’s not it. ) after it displays your weight and BMI you see your Mii transformed from a comely small Mii to a FAT Rolly Mii. That’s a little too true to life for me.

I decided to work-out on the Wii ignoring the evil glances from my treadmill. There is yoga, aerobics, strengthening exercises and balance games. I was sweating after 20 minutes. I am seriously out of balance. Ha ha!

The bonus of this is that it gives you time credits so you know how long you worked out AND you can add to it ‘other exercise’ to include any treadmill time! It tracks your progress and lets you make a goal. I'm so doing this the days I need a break from the treadmill (Sorry baby)

At the end of the session you can stamp on the calendar that you worked out that day! I can’t wait to reach the level of my 7 yr old son so I can get the smiley stamp!! :)

Find out your BMI (BREAK MY ILLUSIONS!) by checking out
http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/bmi-calculator/NU00597




Health Risk Classification According to Body Mass Index (BMI).
Classification
Source: www.hc-sc.gc.ca

Meeting Murphy:

"Whatever can go wrong, will go wrong," is an adage I grew up with called Murphy’s Law. In my twenties I heard a little ‘extra’ to this quote."Whatever can go wrong will go wrong, and at the worst possible time, in the worst possible way."

I’m certain an ancestor of mine wrote this. My husband however claims it was his irish ancestors. (On a side note; He is a little more fond of his Scottish background than the Irish. You must understand he grew up with Irish jigs and lots of green; both of which he loathes now. He usually only claims his Irish side when troubles arise ) Nevertheless, I’m doubly screwed I think

Its rather telling than many sayings I learned in my childhood were along this particular inspiring frame of thought such as; “If it rains, it pours” “Death comes in three’s” “bad things happen to good people” and many more.

I know your thinking; Whatever! Did you exercise or is this your flimsy excuse for ducking out? My dear friends. I did not exercise on Friday. Oh no! Murphy’s law was enabled and I spend the whole day alternating between the Master Throne and the Master Bed. My husband kindly cracked the windows open and kept me supplied with liquids. The good thing about this was I was so ill I didn’t notice any muscle pains. “If you have lemons than make lemonade”

So Saturday then? Alas.. I was running around Saturday but I had the forethought to wear my daughters pedometer and walked almost 2 miles before the thing broke. (Ahah!) So in a way I did exercise. My stomach was still a teensy weeny bit off so I decided to give the treadmill another day off. I kept telling myself that it was a smart decision.

The decision not to exercise plaqued me all night. It is amazing how much emotional traumu I associate with exercising. Ovbously some self esteem issues buried beneath but I’ll only share the juicy tidbits... eventually.

Despite a slight headache from a rotten night of sleep; I prevailed and got back on the treadmill today. Killer work-out so I hope that helps me sleep better. 2.2-3.8 on the treadmill scale killing 160 calories.

There was a surpise for me when I went to the basement. While I had been sick, my husband had put up a huge picture of a beach up in front of the treadmill. I had bought the picture from Ikea ages ago for this exact purpose but never put it up. This is much more pleasant than looking at bare concrete walls. I do love my Irish-Scottish mixed up man. “Tell me whom you love and I'll tell you who you are”

Ps. I’m not making this up! I went to spellcheck this and my spellcheck is NOT Working! So screwed…

On the road again:

I have been inspired by the blog of “Red” and her struggle with exercise issues and life. I have decided to try to chronicle my road back to a healthy lifestyle. I’ve struggled with weight since grade 5. I was always 5 or 10lbs heavier than my friends…that ratio increased as I aged and bore 3 children.

I was widowed at the age of 33. I found the strength to get in better shape, work out daily and eat healthier. After all, I wanted to be there for my children. I did not want them to become orphans. My munchkins at that time were 2, 6 & 8.

I bought a treadmill and exercised every morning; occasionally twice a day. I ate much healthier over-all (Chocolate was allowed but better quality; less quantity) I had yogurt based protein shakes for breakfast and healthy choices for lunch and dinner. Along with the bonus of feeling energetic and healthy I lost a great deal of weight. I’m embarrassed to admit I lost almost 70 lbs. Sounds great but I had weight to lose! I could go camping, hiking and had energy to take my children places by myself.

I was blessed enough to also find a fantastic man to marry. I got pregnant in our 2nd month of marriage gaining 12 lbs but at just under 20 weeks our son was born stillborn. I suffered severe post natal depression and gained back another 25 lbs! 37 lbs back on my frame! I can relate now to Oprah saying recently ‘How did I let this happen?” ...

Today I went on the treadmill again after about 2 years of hiding it under boxes and draping comforters over the handles. I only did a 30 minute run at speeds of 2.0 – 3.6. I was sweaty, stinky and to my shock, discovered that the running causes me to break wind. (Thank goodness it’s in the basement) I had made a 30 minutes work out play list to encourage me to , as my children would say, “Move it!” It felt wonderful! Why had I avoided it for so long?

Still with the adrenaline fading I realize that this is only one day. I’m on the quick road to the 40’s. My joints will hurt. I remember getting bored of my music but that was a few years ago and now we have the methodology of itunes to change the pumping music around and keeping things fresh. I know to take a hot bath after a hard work out.

When I wake up it will start again; will I go on or won’t I? I will need to fight to keep myself motivated and inspired. After all, tomorrow is another day..