Sunday Rambling 11/25/07

From here in rainy Memphis and beyond:

First things first: Congratulations to Trainer Rachel, who placed first among women in the Thanksgiving Day Turkey Trot here in Memphis. Way to go, Rachel!

Speaking of trainers, Fitness Together – Germantown is hosting two open house nights this week. Stop by on Wednesday (11/28/07) or Thursday (11/29/07) to meet the trainers and the new manager. As I understand it, they’ll be doing mini-fitness assessments and, perhaps more importantly, there will be snacks! Oh, and I’ll be there, too, sharing tales of my journey so far. You’ll find all of us (and the snacks) at 7655 Farmington Blvd, Germantown (directly behind Autozone).


Shanna Thompson at LifeScript.com published this great little workout when you need something on the easy side, as I do just now


Memphis blogger Paul Ryburn had this interesting idea for downtown Memphis. I only wonder why we couldn’t expand it to points east of downtown as well.

I’ve been following an interesting story around the ‘net today. It started when I found this article on 3 Fat Chicks. I’ve never heard of Kimkins or her diet, but it’s looking like a lot of unhappy people are now unhappier. I find myself conflicted between feeling sympathy for the desperate people who bought into this woman’s ridiculous scheme and feeling something closer to anger toward them.


And something on the silly side, I had my blog “rated” and here’s the result:

I don't know what it means, but I’m sure it’s about as scientific as Kimkin’s diet. :)

The Woes of the Developing Athlete

Alt. Title: The Toes of the Developing Athlete

For years I've had horrible toe pain caused, I thought, by ugly corns on both pinkie toes and lately by corns between my toes. You can imagine how much the addition of extensive walking and workouts helped the problem. On my long Sunday walks, I can hardly feel my toes at all by the time I'm finished. The process of getting to numbness is excruciating.

But, no more! I saw a podiatrist a few weeks ago and he diagnosed bone spurs on both pinkie toes. He recommended a procedure I can't pronounce, but basically it involved making a small incision on both pinkie toes (5th toes in podiatrist-speak) and shaving off the bone spurs. Ooh! Ouch! The whole idea of it made my stomach churn, but the idea of pain-free walks was really appealing. Throw in the concept of corn-free toes that might look semi-attractive in sandals, and my decision was made. On last Thursday, I went to my podiatrist's office and had my toe bones shaved. Ooh! Ouch!

The past two days have not been fun. I'm supposed to stay off my feet as much as possible, and I have to wear goofy black sandals thingies. They may protect my feet, but they're killing my legs. (Apparently there are muscles in my legs Ashley and Rachel haven't found yet. But let's let that be our little secret.) Vicodin helps during the roughest times, but I don't like the groggy aftermath. Today, I've managed with Tylenol, and I'm hoping to continue that.

When the podiatrist suggested the surgery, my first question was, "How long before I can work out?" (Which goes to show the difference six months and 56 pounds can make!) Dr. K. says it will probably be three weeks before I feel like doing anything in the way of exercise. That's a little scary. I've stocked up on fresh fruits and low-cal snacks and so far there haven't been any food melt-downs, but I'm a little nervous about it. I'll have to come up with some distractions.

That's all for now. If anything exciting happens, let me know. I'll be sitting here with my feet up.

Youth and Obesity

Interesting article from Reuters about the growing number of obese children. Timely article, too, considering that I just had lunch with 100+ teenagers at McDonald's. I was there for the Apple Dippers, which are a nice 100-calorie dessert to follow the tuna-and-wheat-cracker entree I had prepared for myself. The kids were there for the fries, apparently, judging from the number of trays I saw with the telltale super-sized red cartons on them. It also seemed as though most trays had large sandwiches like Big Macs or Quarter Pounders on them. That's a lot of fat calories for lunch. Curious, I asked one of their teachers if any of the kids had ordered salads. At first she said 'no', but then she remembered seeing one (ONE) walnut-apple salad. She also said she had seen several kids with yogurt parfaits. So that's what, 4 or 5 out of 100 kids. And as I was leaving, I saw two of those yogurt parfaits sitting untouched while their purchasers finished...you guessed it, their super-sized fries. Oh well, it was a better choice than the Big Mac combo, I suppose.

If I had had access to the fast food and convenience food options these kids have (not to mention the funds to purchase them), there's no telling how big I would be today. When I was their age, canned fruit (as opposed to fresh) was about the worst dietary choice I could make. Pizza, burgers, and such were available, I just usually didn't have any money with which to purchase them. For that matter, neither did my parents. "Snack Night" was a big deal at our house. We each got to pick one thing that we wanted, and Dad would go to the store and purchase just those things. Mom would almost always get a Butterfinger candy bar, my sister asked for Hostess Twinkies, Dad would get some sort of Hostess product, and I would get the Hostess Banana Flip. It only happened about once a month, and the whole excursion probably set Dad back about two dollars, but it was A Very Big Deal to us. Limited snacking--what a concept!

Obviously, I lost my way somewhere along the line, and for that reason, I can identify to some degree with teenagers today. It's easy to get caught up in doing what everyone else is doing, and not really considering the long-term consequences of what we're doing. I can only hope that we somehow "fix" the system so that these kids have a good shot at long, healthy lives.

The whole experience reminded me of my own commitment, so I took the stairs back up to the office. Seven flights, all uphill. :) It wasn't pretty, but I made it. I definitely need to continue to do this, at least once a day.

Interior Redesign

Leo at zenhabits.net had a great little challenge today. I'm still mulling over a few things, but the overwhelming thing that jumps out at me is how badly I want to truly have nothing to do. To get there is going to require a LOT of lists and streamlining and thinking, but I'm really feeling geared up about it.

Imagining what I would do if I had nothing to do reminded me of a fun little exercise I did a year or so ago. I pulled out pen and paper and made a list of things I would do if I won the lottery. When I finally put the pen down and reread what I had written, I was amazed to see that quite a few items were within my reach. (Thing Glenda the Good Witch: You've had the power all along, my dear.) Back then, I think Hire a Personal Trainer was #3 on the list. I messed around before I actually did it, but I finally bit and it's been life changing. Really life changing. With the coaxing of a friend, I'm now considering actually becoming a Certified Personal Trainer sometime next year. I'm still at the exploratory phase, and I have along way to go until I've reached a comfort level with my own fitness, but I'm definitely feeling a little buzzed by the idea. At minimum, just completing the curriculum would give me information I really need to maintain my own fitness level.

I love when things like this happen. Out of the blue, an article or idea comes along that completely changes what I think I know about myself. Amazing!

When Owwies Strike

I'm not sure how I did it, but I somehow injured my finger and developed an infection. This is my pinkie finger on my right hand. It is currently about the size of my index finger on my left hand. Painful doesn't begin to describe it. I had to get a shot and everything, but the good news is that my finger hurts so badly that I didn't even notice the aftereffects of the shot.

Try as hard as I might, I could not justify this owwie disrupting my workout schedule, nor did it seem severe enough to warrant having a hot fudge sundae. At this point, I might consider soaking my finger in a sundae, but that's all.

It sure doesn't do my nice new manicure justice, does it? Sheesh.

Lessons from the Road

One of the reasons I love to take road trips (besides the whole anti-flying thing) is that I think a lot. I think about myself and the world around me. I solve all my friends' problems, and I write delicious stories in my head. It's a great way to unwind.

On this trip, I once again did not come up with solutions to any of the world's pressing issues, but I did figure some things out:

• Despite knowing better, I'm really still hung up on the numbers on the scale. I've had my blood pressure medication reduced by half, I've lost 20 pounds and almost 20 inches, my resting heart rate is down to 72 (from 80), and I've dropped 1.5 clothing sizes. But for 500 miles, I obsessed about the fact that I'd only lost 10 pounds in the six weeks I've been working with the trainers. I don't know how to fix this, or even if it can be fixed, but I do know I don't like it.
• Something I have long suspected, but only verified with this trip, is that convenience stores and truck stops haven't caught the clue bus on healthy living. I stopped at six different stores on my trip, and other than a few bruised bananas, water, granola and energy bars (most the high-cal variety), and a few other items, there wasn't a healthy item in sight. Where are the individual 100-calorie snacks, low-fat yogurt, apples and oranges, and soy milk? These folks could make a fortune off of this stuff. (I feel a letter coming on.)
• McDonald's catches a lot of flak for their mostly-grotesque menu, but they saved my bacon on this trip. So to speak. Between the fruit & yogurt parfait (160 cal./2 g. fat) and the apples (35 cal./0 fat), I was able to have healthy breakfasts and snacks on the road. (We're not counting the "country breakfast" I had on Sunday, my free day.)
• Exercising on the road is a hit-and-miss prospect for folks like me. My first hotel didn't have an exercise room (boo LaQuinta!), but since I was in a first floor room, I did some tricep dips, some old-fashioned jumping jacks (trying to atone the lack of cardio), and some push-ups. The second hotel was connected to an athletic club, but I never made if over there. I got all dressed to go, but I just couldn't make myself do it. I factored in all the walking I'd been doing, threw in a few crunches, push-ups, and bridge lifts, and called it all exercise. The last hotel did have an exercise room (yaaay Holiday Inn Express), and I did some time on the treadmill and the bicycle.
• The aforementioned hit-and-miss exercise schedule will make you pay when you return. I did my first trainer session today, and I thought I would DIE. I have so far to go.

See? No major revelations or resolutions. Just random thoughts and observations.

Like a Bad Penny

I turn up again. I didn't realize until today that I had completely forgotten to post a progress report. Or two.

What's a real pity is that there's definitely progress to report. My blood pressure has gone from being high to being too low. For weeks now, it's been fluctuating between 80/50 and 94/60. My Before BP was usually high 120's/80's, and that was with the medication. So apparently they weren't lying when they said regular exercise and a healthy diet will help your blood pressure. :)

Because my energy level was so low, I went to see my primary care physician last week, and---*drumroll--- he halved the dosage on my medication! I think I might be on my way to getting rid of the prescription all together, which would be so very cool.

Dr. S. also informed me that I've lost 21 pounds since February! What's so especially wonderful about that is that I suspect I actually gained some weight in March and April, so it's possible I've lost more than 21 lbs. since May 8th. I have my first "fitness assessment" with the personal trainers next week, six weeks after starting this exercise program. I'll be sure to post a report. I've lost a size for sure, and am well on my way to being another size smaller.

I really can't believe how easy this has been. There have been moments here and there that have been difficult, but overall, the combination of sparkpeople.com, the trainers, and the support of truly wonderful friends has made this transition to a healthier me so much easier.

If you're one of those wonderful friends, I love you and I thank you from the bottom of my healthier-already heart!

Free Time, Brought to You by Lifeblood

I saved a life today. Or so the folks at Lifeblood assured me. In exchange for saving a life, I get a night off from exercising: Lifeblood's orders! So now I have free time until 9:00 and House Hunters on HGTV, and I thought I could take up your valuable time with some ramblings...

As one might expect, the experience of giving blood was not without incident. I might have caused a minor scene when the lady next to me (I mean elbow-touching close) started eating a bag of Fritos and wave after wave of the greasy, fried smell breached the gap and threatened to asphyxiate me. Fortunately, I was able to move, though not without a wee altercation with some guy who had appointed himself Cot Police. It all worked out though.

While I was lying there s-l-o-w-l-y saving a life, I did come up with a brilliant idea. But first, a caveat: I fully support medical leave for pregnancy. I think it's one of the best ideas since pantyhose or Tampax. Until now.

My idea builds on the original concept of medical leave for pregnancy by incorporating it with the concept of crop subsidies. You know, where the government pays farmers for crops they don't plant? In my new plan, women who choose not to have children will receive medical leave for not having children! To be effective and fair, there will have to rules:

• Enrollment will require a visit to the gynecologist to determine whether or not the enrollee is not having a vaginal delivery or not having a C-section, but the office visit will be covered by her medical plan. If no determination can be made, the proram will split the difference by awarding the enrollee seven weeks leave.
• Enrollees are limited to two non-pregnancy leaves, except in Utah, where four leaves are permitted.
• Unplanned non-pregnancies are not covered by this program.
• The program does not extend to childcare programs or absences for tending to a sick child. (Note: It is believed that this savings in lost wages and productivity is what will make the plan attractive to companies, so don't push it!)

That's as far as I got before they told me I could leave, but I'm going to keep working on it. (Should a holiday be declared in my honor, I'd like for it to be held in March.)

I briefed my manager on the fundamentals of the plan, and--good news!--she didn't say no. She gave me a benefits card, but unfortunately it was the number of the Employee Assistance Program rather than the Benefits Coordinator. I'll get the right card tomorrow.

And with that, my free time is up. Happy Friday Eve!