Getting Fit/Living Healthy

As some of you may or may not know I have been getting into a routine of exercising more to shed a few handfuls of weight I've put on since ???, well since October. I've been pretty good about walking on our treadmill at least three times a week, and when I was in Aberdeen for some Girl Scout training with others in my position I walked during breaks, meals, in the morning, and in the evening. I did finally see my physician last Monday and were trying some different things, but I was a bit surprised to see myself weighing more than I did at the beginning of the month, especially after getting into a walking routine.

I continue to stay in a routine and today I added weights to my walk, using dumbells, holding them while I walk. Let me tell you, I worked up a sweat with those. I walked for nearly 2.5 miles, brining my weekly total to over 8 miles and there are two days left. I'm pretty happy about that!

Last Saturday I joined an online diet/healthy living club call Sparkpeople (sparkpeople.com). The club is so neat! You can have your own blog and be a member of different groups within the club. You can also track your fitness and your nutrition. It even gives you video demonstrations of the different exercises they have listed. During sign-up it will ask you different questions and from there map out your journey. It gives you meal plans, fitness plans, how many calories/fat/protein etc. you should have in one day, and even gives you a grocery list for the week. I've been pretty good getting on every day to log what I've eaten and the exercise I've done. I've met my weekly goals for calories burned and with doing cardio exercises. Woot Woot! Go me! I don't necessarily stick to their meal plan, but I try. I have been pretty good at entering everything I've ate.

So, come Monday morning I'm going to step on that scale and hope to see the numbers go down!

Inspiration

Where do you find your inspiration to go forward everyday? Is it from something you do, from someplace where you have been, or from someone? Do you find inspiration from a book or something you have watched? I think we all find it from different things everyday. Is there anyone who isn't inspired from a beautiful spring day? It is so wonderful outside today. The sun is shining, the snow is almost gone, and the fresh air is so refreshing. What a great source of renewal, that is naturally given to us. Winter does bring it's own sense of inspiration but let's face it, there comes a point when it's just not that inspiring anymore and frankly, gets down right depressing towards the end. So, with today being the first day of Spring, and mother nature giving us a great day for it, get out there an let it inspire you!

no title/human body

Why is it we need to put a title for our blog posting? I spend so much time thinking about the darn title than I do writing the blog. I've been pretty impressed with myself keeping up with this blog. I have created a few blogs in the past, but created them was all I did. I wonder what happens to them? Do they "float" in cyberspace or does someone cancel/delete them if they show no activity for so long? Hmmm, inquiring minds are wondering?

I was talking with a friend (yes I do have friends) about medical related issues and magnesium. Do you ever stop and really think what a wonder the human body is? All these minerals and vitamins our body needs or how taking extra of something can improve your health. I have a herniated disk in my lower back as well as degeneration of my spine. My Chiropractor said it was irreversible but taking fish oil and walking could improve the mushy stuff between the vertebrae. I've been taking the fish oil for a few months and must admit getting out of bed in the morning isn't painful anymore. I have also started a walking routine on our treadmill in the past week and keeping to it. I walked over five miles in the last week and used the treadmill five of the last seven days. Yeah me! I feel so much better doing this.

So, getting back to the vitamins and minerals, such as magnesium. I find it very intriguing how our body produces all this stuff. Now I don't have any desire to study human anatomy or any type of Physiology because that would surely be a failure at my end. I merely find it fascinating how our body works, the complexity of it, it's strengths and it's weaknesses. How do you justify one smoker living until the age of 92 and the other dying at 52, with similar health histories? How is it that some survive cancer for years, but others with the same cancer die at the age of 8?

Well, enough of the mystery. I think we can all just agree that the human body is a miraculous gift given to us by God!

Saturday

Today is supposed to be a sleep in day, it's the weekend after all, no work! So much for that, I was up at 6:15am to let the dog out, then one child was up at 7:15 and the other at 8am. But, I made the most out of it. I cleaned the basement a bit more and made some use of our treadmill. I walked (and jogged a bit) for 45 minutes burning some 200 calories, 500 steps, and a distance of 2 miles. There was a time way back when I was going to the gym three, sometimes four times a week. I felt great and I slept! I slept like I haven't slept in who knows when. So I'm hoping with the use of the treadmill I can get some of that sleeping back. Exercising also gave me some really good energy!

I made a committment earlier this week to exercise more, to use our treadmill as much as possible. You see I stepped on the scale last weekend after some clothes were feeling a little more snug than they used to be and I was right in my thoughts. I have put on some more pounds. After losing A LOT of those pounds over the past few years I am determined to keep as many of them off as I can. I'm not nearly close to my highest, but still, time to get serious and work on losing.

Finally Friday

Well it's been an interesting week to say the least and I'm thankful to have made it through. Although we have a two day break from work I realize I don't really have a break at all because now I have my house job to do full time for the next two days. So I wonder when we truly get "time off" from our jobs. I sit here and listen to the children playing and look around mentally preparing a "to do" list for the weekend.

My daughter has a school dance tonight, then she's spending the night at a friends house, so there's one child. The other two boys are home and wound up with energy. It's wearing me out just watching them. And then there is the fourth child we can't forget about, the husband. He is working till who knows when. Maybe we could find a movie and we could have some semblence of silence in the house, besides sleeping hours, for a little bit.