Sore and happy...

13,123 steps today....I cannot believe how much I walked! Thats almost 7 miles. 7 miles on my leg. I have to admit it, I am in pain. But I also feel like I accomplished something and now that I have my ice wrap on, its not so bad. The dog enjoyed herself immensely and she even made a new friend. This friend came along right after she lost her beloved ball and tossed her a new one that she had found near the tennis courts. I love it when life works out because beasty was not happy about her lost ball.

Eating has been going well too! I have to pack my lunch for work, and I've been really good about choosing healthy and filling foods. I don't want to undo the work I've been doing so it's getting easier to eat right and drink lots of water.

Now I just need to get enough rest. Tonight, I don't think that will be a problem. I'm exhausted!

Mud Baths and Milk Bones

So today for exercise I decided to walk the dog on the mile loop around the lake. We ended up going around both "lakes" (one is much smaller than the other) and I had a lovely time. The dog however had an amazing time! Apparently she enjoys her exercise already, and doesn't need to force herself to get up and move like her trusty biped (aka me). She even went above and beyond her usual run after the tennis ball, and decided it would be great to add in even more cardio by swimming. By the time we were done with the smaller lake her lovely blonde self was black. Not just dirty but muddy and slimey. It was gross! However, she must know how good mud can be for the skin because she kept going back in. Next it was time to go around the other lake. At this lake she proceeded to perform the cleansing rinse. I'm sure her skin feels divine, and her muscles strong because she continued to run after the tennis ball.

A person could learn something good from this kind of walk. First, find an activity you love. The dog loves chasing tennis balls and could do it all day if you were willing to keep throwing them. Second, don't forget to vary your activities. Swimming is a great addition to any fitness plan and I hope it gets warm enough for me to swim soon...it has been a really cool summer so far. Third, don't neglect your skin. Drinking water is great for the skin, but I have really dry skin, so facial treatments or emu oil is a good thing to remember for those really dry days. Forth, Its ok to get dirty and sweat. A good shower afterwards makes you feel clean, and helps to keep your muscles from getting too tense. Finally, as she is demonstrating right now, rest is important for muscle recovery. Get enough sleep. Personally, I don't have the time to take a nap today, but you can be sure that I will try to get to bed at a decent hour tonight.

Now, the cat on the other hand...so far all she's shown me is the importance of a good stretch and how too much sleep can make for a grumpy girl. On that note, I should probably wake her up! TTFN!

Call me consistant...

Life is crazy right now. But I have been sure to get in my three Ws work, walk, and water. Zumba toning class was yesterday and I made it through, but barely. I forgot my sneakers at home and ended up having to wear my sandals because I can't walk properly without shoes. Sandals are definately not good for zumba. They just don't have enough support and they are too bottom heavy. This resulted in my having a super sore knee today and my deciding not to go to class tomorrow. I don't want to injure myself so I'm going to stick to walking this weekend. My work schedule will only allow me to zumba once next week, but I can walk everyday.

For the past three days the pedometer has counted between 7,000 and 8,000 steps. That is still short of the 10,000 I've read you are supposed to walk each day, but I'm happy with it. Work has been gearing up and the hours are going to be crazy for the next six weeks, so any time I'm not on my butt working I try to walk. I've also switched to drinking water exclusively. I will have milk in my cereal but find myself reaching for a water bottle when I'm thirsty.

Tomorrow I am going to take the dog for a long walk before working another 6 hours. I hope she is up for it!

The line...

My feet are killing me. Sometimes I have to push myself harder, and tomorrow I have to remember to let up a bit. Not permanently, but for a day or so because my feet and legs are swollen. It's probably from the sudden increase in walking. Another lesson learned, it takes days like this to figure out where the line is and how much I can push before crossing it. Today the line was crossed. Tomorrow I hope just to touch it.

Walking, walking, walking

Most of us do not walk enough. We drive everywhere and sit down when we get there. We have food delivered and spend most of our days stationary. It's crazy to think that I have to make a conscious  decision to get up and walk. But, I do. I have to remind myself to move. I have to choose do get up off my butt and just do it! I bought a pedometer a few days ago and today finally took it out of the package. Why do I do this? Why put off the things that are easiest and jump feet first into the difficult? First it was the water bottle, then the pedometer...starting to recognize a pattern here? I'm seeing the behavior now, and hopefully by staying mindful I will be able to stop doing things like purchasing something that should help me, and then waiting to use it. I could have been recording my steps for three days already! I could be well on the way to seeing how much more effort I need to make in order to walk enough each day.

Today, with a 9 hour training, I walked 5220 steps while wearing the pedometer. I took it off when I changed out of my work clothes and forgot to put it back on, so I won't have a perfect recording. However this is a good indicator of what my days will look like for the next week if I don't supplement by walking before or after work. Luckily for me, I will be dog sitting for the next week so it will be built in. Because my days are so long, I will be taking her out in the morning and then again when I get home at night. No worries, she will be taken out mid-day as well. I'm nearly 5000 steps short of where I should be each day. My feet hurt already, I can't imagine walking more, but I know I can do it if I keep trying.

Toning sticks....more than your average maraca!

Today was my first time doing zumba toning with the toning sticks.  A little over a month ago I tried to do the class without the sticks but I wasn't far enough along in my recovery to keep up or do many of the steps. I was proud of myself for trying, but knew deep down that there was more work for me to do before I could go back and do it all out. Today I gave it my all. My leg is doing pretty well, and I feel ready to move past everything that happened this past year. I just had to wrap my brain around the idea that I really am ok now...and the things that aren't are moving in the right direction.

Now, back to the toning sticks. Toning sticks look like a hand weight (a very light hand weight) with two balls on the ends. That is not the only difference though. They have beads inside so they sound like  maracas! At first I wondered why they were so light? Half way through the class I was sure they would have to scrape me off of the floor in mere seconds. Those things got heavy fast! I wanted to stop. I wanted to shower and call it a day. But, I couldn't do that. I promised myself that I would push. I know that my body is stronger then I give it credit for. So, I pushed through it. I did all of steps, though some of them were sloppy (I would get confused and sort of flub my way though..practice makes perfect and all that jazz). I kept my sticks up over my head so much longer then I thought I could. Most of the time I was sure my upper back would explode along with my arms, butt and abs. My thighs were shaking and yet, we kept smiling. Everyone in the class was feeling beat up and we kept going. By the end we were all tired and happy that we had done it. I will definitely be doing it again, though not until Thursday because of my work schedule.

Just like so many people have told me and as I've experienced in the past, having my water bottle with me at all times helps me to remember to stay hydrated. I drank five 20 oz bottles of water today! So all in all today was a good one where I did positive things for my body. Yay me!

Cake...

So zumba didn't happen today. I did go, but when I got there nobody else showed up. It would have been me and the teacher. I'm not good enough to feel comfortable with that much one on one attention, so I made the decision to go without doing the class. I just don't feel like having someone be able to watch me closely the entire time. Part of the draw is knowing that nobody is really paying super close attention to what I am doing. Sure, the instructor will glance at you, and sometimes give you some help if you look like you are struggling, but she is not staring at you the whole time. I will go tomorrow and do the toning class instead. Not to miss my workout  I stopped at target for shampoo on the way home and ended up walking the mall to be sure to get some movement in.

I will admit I splurged today, but it was a tiny splurge. Today was my graduation party, so I celebrated my hard work with my friends. I did not over eat, but I did have  a piece of cake. However, I had already decided one piece of cake was just fine before had I even arrived, so I had a plan and stuck to it! One piece, and that piece was divine! If I'm really going to change how I approach healthy eating and exercise I know I can't make myself feel deprived. That is a guarantee that I will mess up and feel super guilty at some point. Guilt does not do anything to improve my self worth, so its better to allow treats on occasion. As long as I remember to keep them as an occasional thing, it will be fine.

I feel like I'm getting a grip on things and I'm so excited to see life continue to get better and better as time goes on. I just have to stay in the moment and breathe.