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| See below to find out about these pictures! |
I didn't expect this all to go on for so long, but this has been a good exercise for me to go through each component of the Well Update more thoroughly.
Well-Tuned Body
I have been building up from 1 mile on May 3rd with my Fitness walking class to a 15-mile day on September 16th in preparation for the Camino de Santiago from Sarria. I was fine until nine days ago when I started having pain while going downhill in Peavy Arboretum on September 22nd. I had it again after 3 miles on the flat on September 23. I went straight to the doctor on Monday morning and was so glad I did because the IT band was rubbing over the knee, and it had swollen. It is the repetitive motion that did it (coupled by having one leg shorter than the other, tight hips and legs, going on uneven surfaces in places like the arboreteum, etc.). So, I have a plan (already put that in a previous post).
What was so discouraging though was getting on the doctor's scale and discovering I had not lost as much weight as I thought. I have followed my Weight Watchers plan FAITHFULLY since July 27th. I was not weighing because I wanted to do it by "feel," and I discovered my capacity for self-deception is great! I have come to the conclusion that WW is more for people who do not eat very healthy and have a lot of weight to lose, and the "points" reward you for eating healthy things, but I already eat healthy things, and not counting any points for fruit means I don't lose. I LOVE FRUIT more than candy or even ice cream! Fruit is ZERO points. So, I ate a lot of fruit, and now that I am back on LoseIt (free or $20 a year for tons of cool features, but I have mostly used the free version since 2/2010), those fruits were adding a LOT of calories to my day. I had a lot of self-condemnation (even looking at myself in the mirror and scolding myself - yikes), and I was angry that I missed 9 weeks of losing because I was deceiving myself by not weighing. I am tall, and the weight on me just distributes itself. It is just hard to tell when I am losing, but I noticed my rings were not getting looser on my hand, and that usually happens when I lose weight.
I am technically not overweight in the first place but at the top of my ideal weight range, but I always feel so much better in the middle of the range.
I am comparing WW and LoseIt this week, and on their plan, I am eating between 10-14 points while I am following a calorie method in LoseIt. WW gives me 23 points a day plus adds points for all the exercise, and I exercise a LOT. I never used all my bonus points each week, and I was still NOT losing! (Maybe I lost about 5 pounds in 8 weeks? I am not sure because I was deceiving myself by not weighing.) I like WW because it is quicker to log, but I would rather take a little extra time weighing and measuring and losing weight than not losing without weighing and measuring. It has gone much better with LoseIt! I am 10 lbs. behind my goal and wasted time and money, but the self-condemnation is over now. It was a growing experience for me.
About the exercise. I was walking so much. I burn100 calories per mile. I was doing Pilates pretty consistently for the last month, but this new program of stretching and strengthening that the doctor and Jennifer, my adorable physical therapist, have for me take an HOUR to complete! I realize that I was not stretching enough before I went for my walks, and my glute strength had decreased since I was not teaching four classes a week. I need a balance between bodywork and calorie burn. I have done the exercises for six days now, and I can already feel a difference. I am resting from walking for ten days, and I enjoy it. The weather has been beautiful for the last two days, but I am sticking to the instructions.
Speaking of sticking to the instructions, I was given a cream to apply to the swelling in my knee, and after four days of doing this, my knee got all these welts on it and inflamed red. I called the doctor on Saturday night and got a nice nurse who asked me lots of questions and told me I am OK and was an allergic reaction. I think I did not wait long enough to go in the shower after I put it on. The heat from the shower apparently makes it stronger. I am going to discontinue it totally because that was scary! My swelling has also gone down, and I will keep icing it until I see Jennifer on Wednesday.
My back is doing great! I am grateful. The tight IT band is no doubt related to the chain or my left side with tight hips that influence my back on the left side also. So, the exercises help my back also. I feel really good other than the knee.
I have to say that I have loved the rest. Jennifer says I should have been tapering anyway. So, I will just do shorter walks from now on.
Rest and pause. When I did my Corrective Exercise Specialist certification, they made a big deal about an hour of total rest every day, and I am doing that in silent/centering prayer. I think this is important for my body and my soul to have complete inner stillness (of the body), inner silence (of the mind), and inner solitude (of the heart alone with God)! See my article on this on my website:
I think I am prepared in heart, soul, mind, and strength for the Camino. I am praying God protects and guides all nine of us as we go on this dream adventure.
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