Okay, Enough Time Off....

Whine, whine, whine!!! I feel like the last 3 weeks I have been on a death spiral. I pulled or tore my left calf muscle so I stopped walking. That somewhat depressed me so I started eating crap to make me feel better; you know, comfort foods. That made me feel better for about 30 minutes, then I would weigh myself the next morning and... well, you know, no weight loss and even some gain! That made me depressed again so, you guessed it, I ate more comfort food to make me feel better! Then it would start all over again! I'm getting dizzy going around in this circle... I'm tired of whining about my aches and pains and I just need to get back on track! So, the bad news is... I haven't lost any weight for 3 weeks! The good news is, I only gained about a pound during that time, so I'm still down about 14 pounds from August 2nd when I started this journey! So, time to lighten up and get moving again!

Some great news came from my cardiologist Dr. Miller. I went in to follow up on my Stress-Cardiolyte test (heart), my Carotid ultrasound (carotid arteries) and my ABI (leg circulation). He said my heart looked great! I had stents put in 5 yrs 7 months ago and I thought I would be starting with more problems. He said he could see no evidence of additional buildup or problems!! (shout for joy!!!) My carotid arteries looked good and my blood circulation in my legs was also good! No restrictions from Dr. Miller!! Whoo Hoo!! That means, if I can get my other muscles in shape, I can still walk in the St. George 1/2 marathon! That also means, I still have a lot of work to do to get ready and my leg is still not up to 100%. (more whining!)
I decided that I can't continue to use that as an excuse! I can swim, bike, spin, use the elliptical, etc. and that is exactly what I am going to do.

There is a new SL County recreational facility that opened up near my work. I went to see it on Thursday and got excited about it. A great lap pool, indoor track (small), aerobic workout equipment, free weights and other equipment for strength training, basketball, etc. I was excited! I decided to purchase a gold corporate membership which gives me access to all SL County recreational facilities (16 in all). I would use at least 3 of them each week for different things.

So, starting Monday, it's back on track for me! If my calf muscle still hurts, I'll do other things but I can't continue to not work out and to continue to eat crap! Monday, it's off to the races again, exercise every day, eat right, eat less and get ready for St. George!
Another "by the way", anyone who wants is welcome to come to St. George and walk with us! Some family members have already committed to come also, some are thinking about it. Please come and have fun even if you are just a spectator! We need all of the encouragement we can get! Especially me. I will be walking all of the way and hope I can make it in 3.5 hours but we'll see. As I mentioned before, I'm not in this to make any particular time, just finish!

I'll try to do better at keeping you posted on my progress. Another good note, it was great to see all of my siblings and spouses at Uncle Andrew's funeral, I'll post a picture of us taken that day. It was really nice.

Confessions........

Okay, I think I broke most of Harry's Rules this past week. It wasn't intentional....well not completely but either way, I'm paying the price. If you don't know what Harry's Rules are, you should read the book "Younger Next Year". A link is on the sidebar. Anyway, here are his rules and my lack of progress this week as well as my excuses... which are really in-excusable!!

Harry's Rules:

1. Exercise six days a week for the rest of your life!

Note: I pulled a muscle in my left calf again and it's still killing me. I know, I know! I should swim, bike, spin, etc... some of the healing sports.. but I didn't and it's been several days since I did an aerobic walk... Yes, I'm ashamed of myself and that's why I'm confessing!

2. Do serious aerobic exercise four days a week for the rest of your life!

Note: See note above.. no need to make up another lame excuse!

3. Do serious strength training, with weights, 2 days a week for the rest of your life.

Note: I'm looking for a trainer!

4. Spend less than you make!

Note: Believe me, if you don't do this one, it can really effect your health!

5. Quit eating crap!!!!

Note: Okay, I've really blown this rule this week. I've eaten a lot of pasta, mexican food, pizza, brownies, etc. I'm a stress eater and I eat comfort food when I need consoling. The pulled muscle made me very discouraged because I still desparately want to walk in the St. George 1/2 marathon in January. I'm in jeopardy of not being able to do it if I don't start walking again! So, instead of doing something else, I turned to comfort food and I've gained a couple of pounds back! I should go on the "Biggest Loser" show!

6. Care

Note: I think I've done pretty well here.. I really do care about my family, friends and everyone else..

7. Connect and commit.

Note: I try to do this daily with my family, my church, my work and my service club (Lions). My problem is that I connect and over-commit and then kill myself trying to do it all! I need to learn the "Good, Better, Best" lesson and stop filling my life with so many good things that I don't have time for the better and best things!

Okay, that is all of Harry's rules and yes, I broke most of them this week! I need to keep reminding myself that this is a lifetime program and not a sprint. I need to stop kicking myself for not walking and eating too much this week. I just need to start again and chock it up to a weeks vacation and go back to work!

On a lighter note, Becky and I had a great time tonight going with all of our kids and grandkids to pick pumpkins for Halloween! It was a lot of fun and it made me happy!

Until next time!

Caio!

P.S. "Note:" is really sometimes just a note, sometimes its an excuse!

Lizzie, aka Queen Elizabeth

If Drew Carey can do it...

I was somewhat blown away when I saw the photo of Drew Carey on the cover of Parade magazine on September 26th and read the article. I felt like it was talking about me... same age, exact same weight (at the start), heart stents, diabetes, out-of-control eating, etc. And he lost 77 lbs. and is still going strong! I hope I can stay on track and do as good..

So far? I've lost 15 lbs. and the last 3 Saturdays I've walked about 5 miles each and about a 4 mph pace. Becky and I have committed to walk/run in the St. George half marathon in January! Whoo hoo! That is a goal to shoot for and a good reason to keep up the walking and exercise and the weight loss. I have a long way to go to get in shape but I'm slowly making progress.

This past week has been a bit challenging. On Monday, I pulled a calf muscle in my right leg so I took off a day of walking to recover. I did a short walk on Wednesday (2.5 miles) and felt pretty good so I walked again Thursday and pulled a muscle in my left calf!! So I took Friday off so I could get ready for Saturday! I think I need to do more stretching and warm up! Also, I need to do some cross training and work on strength training. Biking would also be good but I need to get a bike. I think I'll go shopping this week and see what I can find. Or, I could just ride my unicycle! I wonder if they would let me ride that in the half marathon! Only it's much harder than walking until you get better at it than I am now! I'll post a video when I get a little better so you all can laugh at seeing an old balding fat-man riding a unicycle!

I did go in and have a stress test and had a bunch of pictures taken of my heart. They inject you with a dye or something, take some pics at rest, then put you on a treadmill and inject you again when your heart is pumping at 85% of maximum. Then they take pics again to see if your heart is getting the blood it needs to function properly. I also went in and had my carotid arteries checked (ultrasound) and my legs checked out. I want to make sure I'm okay to continue working out and preparing for St. George. I go see the doc again in a couple of weeks to get the news about all of the tests. One good thing is that after the tests, they let me go home! If there was something terribly wrong, they would have kept me there or sent me straight to the hospital. That's what they did 5 1/2 years ago when I had a stress test and found my heart problems. They didn't let me go home and after an extremely painful shot in the stomach, the doc sent me straight to the hospital where the next morning I had two stents put in the artery feeding the lower half of my heart. The surgeon said I was extremely lucky as it was 98% blocked and that I could have had a massive (and probably fatal) heart attack any day. I don't think it was luck, I think someone was watching over me.

Eating is still the hardest challenge for me! Or should I say controlling my eating is the hardest thing! I don't seem to have any trouble eating whatsoever! I do pretty well if I pack a lunch to take to work. If I don't, I go out for lunch and always seem to eat like its my last supper! I've got to stop that if I'm going to continue to lose weight. Exercise alone isn't cutting it, I've got to stop eating!

Looking at the positive, I'm still walking, I've lost 15 lbs. so far, I'm off my beta-blockers! I've dropped 2" off of my waistline and I'm feeling a lot better! So now, I just need to keep going!

Puerto Vallarta 2010 - Fun!

Back on Track

I love September!  Temperatures start to drop to bearable levels, flowers are still out in full bloom and I don't have to mow the lawn as often!  Actually, its the month I got married (had a great anniversary with Becky) and it's perfect weather to get outside and do things without getting too hot!  It's the time of year that gardens are producing and we can eat vine-ripened tomatoes, fresh herbs and salsa fresca... mmmm.  But, I need to cut out the corn chips and remember, "younger next year!"  Cut out the crap!

This has been a great month even though I haven't met all of my goals, I have managed to stay the course to some extent.  My goal during our trip to Puerto Vallarta was to not gain any weight!  I failed miserably at that due to my legendary lack of willpower whenever mass quantities of free food is around.  Going to an all-inclusive resort with 24 hour buffets and ice cream and anything else you can imagine is really not good for someone trying to be careful in what they eat.  Okay, confession time, I gained 5 lbs. back of the 10 lbs. I lost.  So, I didn't stick with my goal of not gaining weight but on a positive note, I did workout every day and kept up the walking.  That was a big help.

Good news is that over this past week, I have managed to lose the 5 lbs. back again and have walked (with vigor) every day this week and am feeling good!  Back on track and back to 10 lbs. down from my starting point!  Whoo Hooo!  I walked 4.88 miles Yesterday with my daughter Jenny and her hubby Asiel in roughly 1 hr. 15 minutes.  Jenny is trying to get me to commit to walking/running a half-marathon in January in St. George.  I think I'm going to go for it as that is also one of my goals for the year.  I don't know if I will be able to run much but I think I am going to do it anyway.  Jenny is an inspiration to me since she has really gotten back into shape since she had little Ky Ky.  Any other encouragement would be welcome!

Even though our vacation proved to be a little set-back on my weight loss goal, we had a great time!  I'll throw in a few pics.  One night we sat in an outdoor dining area (covered) and watched the most fantastic thunder storm I think I've ever seen!  Lightning hitting the water about a half mile or so off the beach and then producing an immediate CRACK and BOOM!  It was awesome to watch lighting hit the water although maybe dumb to sit there while it was so close!  I couldn't help myself since it was great company, great food and great entertainment!  I think even the Mariachi band was there that night serenading us with that wonderful music.   Anyway, we had a great time and we even did a zip-line canopy tour!  Of course I had to have the harness made for the el Grande Hombres!  Or in my case, I would say the el Gordo Hombre!!  But not next year!!!!

On another note, I went to see my cardiologist and he is taking me off of the beta-blocker meds!  Whoopee! That was one of my other goals is to get off of some of my meds!  He says that I can walk or run in the St. George half marathon!!  I told him that I would probably just walk and his first question was "why?"  I told him because I wasn't in shape and would probably just walk it.  He said that having stents in my heart shouldn't preclude me from participating.  So, basically, I can do what I want and what I feel comfortable with!  That's good news to me and its "off to the races" and lots of preparation!

Anyway, its been a great few weeks and we even got a new puppy in our house.  Her name is Queeen Elizabeth (Lizzie) and yes, she has taken over our lives and is the queen of the house!  I'll post a few pics for you!

So, back on track and no limits from the doctor!!! Atsee Ideee!

Whooo Hoooo - 5K Every Day!

    This week has gone much better on the exercise front... well, at least the walking front.  I've walked 3+ miles every day and it felt great!  Today I walked 4.4 miles at a 3.9 mph average.  I actually ran a little ways which is good for a fat man!!  Tomorrow morning might be a little tricky since we have to leave for the airport at 7:30am and I'm still packing at 11:20pm tonight!
    We're leaving for Puerto Vallarta for 7 days..  I can't wait to get there and kick back.  The only problem will be curbing my eating since we will be at an all-inclusive resort with all of the food you can eat 24/7.  I love it but I'm a little nervous about what it will do to my weight.    Ok, my goal is to NOT gain any weight!  This morning I weighed 250.8 lbs.!!!   That's 11 lbs lost since August 2nd!  For me, that's awesome!  I'm already feeling much better and healthier...more energy, but I still have a long way to go!  As they say, every journey starts with a single step and since I have a month behind me, I feel like I've taken a giant leap!  During the month of August, I still only missed one day of aerobic exercise!
     Getting down to 250 is a milestone for me!  Last time I went to see the doctor, I vowed that when I got on the scales, they wouldn't have to push the lower weight past the 250# mark!  Well, I'm going back in a few weeks and I need to lose a few more pounds to compensate for the weight of my clothes!  Or, I could just strip down!  That would scare them to death!  I do have an appointment with my cardiologist on the 17th!  I hope he can reduce some of my meds and will clear me to work out harder.  
    Wish me luck since this will be a week of temptations!  It will be fun though and I fully plan to exercise every day for at least 45 minutes or more!
     Have a good week and VIVA La Mexico!!!