If ‘insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results’ then 2014 is the year I do everything differently.
Starting 2014 off with a cleanse and 30 days of healthy eating.
Also starting 2014 by setting up a blog to document the journey and adventure.
Bought a Fitbit Flex to track everything and shame me into being more active and document it.
I have a major goal this year to Walk Across Spain on the Camino de Santiago.
I am having some doubts about going to Spain. I feel like I’ve had my life on hold taking care of Mom and now I just really want some independence and the thought if getting an apartment and being able to have friends visit seems like the best way to do that, however, it very well could delay being able to go to Spain.
In addition, I haven’t traveled abroad at all and the thought of being able to travel and what all I could do with th $5-6k that it will take to go to Spain. I could work out a couple of trips with friends instead. Not to mention maybe losing my job if I leave for a month.
So much to consider but at the same time these are not really problems, but considerations and I’m very happy to have them.
I am averaging 12k steps this week and have maintained my total 8.5# weightloss for a week. I only went up and down by1#. I have finally taken the time to set the stride length settings on my Fitbit and figured out how to enter activity correctly.
I just bought a windsurfer and am feeling really great right now, so can’t wait for the weather to warm up a bit so I can try it out. I haven’t windsurfed much, and that was over 20 yrs ago!
I finally feel like I have some momentum. Last week I worked 6 straight days (first time this year) and got in about 72 hours at work, but I also got in a lot of miles. I finally am starting to feel better when I walk more. Since I work 10-12 hour shifts, walking about 3-5 miles with a lot of standing, I have been trying to work out more to gain some stamina and its finally working. Plus I finally have hit the middle mark of my weightloss goal.
When I’m working out now, I am imagining my body getting stronger and tighter. I close my eyes as I pull and push the arm levers, feeling the muscles tighten through my arms, back, torso and abdomen, imagining those muscles getting more pronounced and dislodging the fat cells to burn them off. And dropping under 160 for the first time this year feels amazing. I’ve lost 8.5 pounds and I have 8.5 more to go. Oh and my hip flexor pain has not been present in several days!
The highlight of my week was on Saturday, I stayed over at a friend’s house but due to a miscommunication, I woke the next day without a way to get to work. Fortunately, it was a beautiful day and I had 6 hours to get 9 miles. So I walked the first 3 miles and ate lunch. Then walked another 3 miles which put me over halfway there but the last 3 miles are the toughest with a lot of hills, so I called a cab, because I still had an 11 hour shift ahead of me. I finished work at midnight and was very tired, but I bounced back with a good night’s sleep. Bummer that I just missed getting my first 20k step day by 1,091 steps.
Feeling great today! Yesterday I had great motivation and met all three of my goals. I did 5 miles, over 30 minute workout and 10k steps. Since I’m not working much, it dawned on me that working out should be my priority. I should just get up and get it done. I just realized that the last month or so has been kind of depressing and the best antidote is to it is exercise.
ON the upside, the ice is melting and should be gone today, so no more excuses. I did walk down to the water and checked all the neighbors’ docks for ice or wind damage, but really was just trying to get a picture of the pelicans but they weren’t in our cove. I’ll keep trying though!
Its been hard to be motivated, but I’ve had a fairly good week of activity, 25 mi for the week. My goal is 35 mi per week, so still have some work to do. I have discovered that the Fitbit isn’t that accurate when you are carrying stuff in your hands it doesn’t count your steps accurately, also when you’re working out, it isn’t accurate if you’re not moving your hands. But this is good because then I’m more active rather than less. I’ll take it. Now counting calories is tiresome, but it is the only way to keep some type of score. I was sick last week and got into bad habits or rather fell out of my good ones. But at least my weight is fairly static.
Today I went out to Ha Ha Tonka State Park and hiked 2 trails and got in about 2.5 miles.
Finally got a break in the weather! It was 65 degrees today and since I was going to be out near one of the State Parks in my area, I decided to do some hiking. This was a steep area, so it was a good workout even though I only did about an hour.
frozen lake view
I woke up today really motivated and when I stepped on the scale I was down another pound for a total of 7 since Jan 1st. I had a great workout today too.
I got a good deal on a Gazelle from Amazon and first use felt pretty good until the next day and then the backs of my calves were sore. I’m still fighting this head cold, so am going to lay low today and try to just get over this crap. But at least now I can work out despite the freezing weather.
Ugh, busy weekend and got a head cold to boot. Then its been frigid outside on my two days off, but at least I’ve basically gotten over the head cold and head back to work tonight. I got in 22 miles last week, mostly from working 3 nights.
One good thing was I decided to go ahead and buy a Gazelle from Amazon to get me moving on my days off. Between my Mom’s poor health and my need to get in shape for the Camino, this seemed like the best thing to buy to help us achieve our goals. It is low impact, which we both need, but its still a cardio workout and it was a lot more affordable than an elliptical machine. It will be delivered tomorrow, although I work the next 4 days and won’t need it, hopefully my step-dad and I can get it together and Mom can start using it right away.
On the upside, I am down 4 pounds since the first of the year. And I actually am doing rather well with the calorie counting on the Fitbit. Although last night I slacked off admitting to my late night snacking. Since I work the next 4 days, I’ll do much better as I control my snack options at the bar and am usually too busy to eat much anyway.
Ok, I probably had a little too much fun yesterday in KC and was dragging a bit. But I went by REI anyway and tried on hiking shoes and backpacks.
I still think its too early to buy hiking shoes and Laura at REI agreed with me. I told her that I bartend and am on my feet 30-40 hrs a week and right now my main concern is work shoes. I have a nagging pain on the inside top of my right knee and a hip flexor issue on the left. She had me try on a pair of black leather Keens and wow, did they feel good. So I am hopeful that I can resolve those two issues with proper work footwear.
Back packs were another issue, Steve measured me and to my surprise I need an extra small frame. They only had two packs that would fit me properly and once loaded with 18 pounds, I walked about the store and quickly my left hip flexor was aggravated. The first pack (Magenta, yuck) wasn’t the best fit, but when he switched me to the other pack, it did feel better but by then my hip was so sore, it felt sprung again. Oh and I got a different guy after the first walk about, so he agreed with me that maybe I should wait a few more months to pick out a pack and it may not hurt to wait until I have my shoes broke in a bit.
Well at least my concern over the pack is totally justified.
Walking With Net in 2014 