Power 90 day 4

Feeling better today and got a great night sleep last night.  When I finally got out of bed after nearly ten hours I decided to get my workout done early rather than give the voices in my head any chance to make excuses.  I did cardio and abs.  I did better in all exercises than I did on day 2.

After having some fish left over from last night’s supper i went for a long walk with the dog, just under 9 km.  My dog loves to swim at every opportunity so I took her to the small pond she loves to swim in.

Calories were on the low side today but I got lots of water in.   The weather looks wet the next few days, which is good as our forests are very dry here in New Brunswick and we can use it.  The downside of that it’s not ideal for walking.  I will still try and get some clicks in but they won’t be the long walks I have been putting in of late.

Off to watch end of rangers game, then off to bed.

Power 90 day 3

Today, I was not able to get my Power 90 workout in, as I have a blinding headache and spent nearly 4 hours in bed today, and much of the rest of the day was spent wishing I was in bed.  I have had a migraine brewing for a few days, and have had moments of it, for 4 days now.  Today was constant pain, except for the 2 hours after I left physio therapy this am.  I did get some relief and was encouraged, but within a few hours it escalated. 

I walked home the 5 km from my physio appointment as it was another absolutely beautiful day, and at 11 oclock  ìt was already warm enough to walk in my shorts and light jacket tied around my waist.   I had a bite to eat and played with the dog for a little bit and tried to get myself motivated to either workout or go for a second walk this time with the dog.  I chose the fresh air and walk in the woods which on a beautiful day I will choose everytime, if I have only the wherewithal to do one of them.  I walked another nearly 6 km on a regular trail, a really nice walk through the woods.  The fresh air felt good, I love walking in the woods, and it is my favorite exercise activity.

When I got home, it was basically just wait til my wife got home from work so I could go to bed, and not leave our princess of a dog by herself to terrorize the cats, lol.  Within minutes of my wife getting home from work I was in bed, where I stayed for nearly 4 hours.  I may have trouble sleeping tonight and I don`t feel much better at the moment so will be signing off in a moment.

I have numerous aches and pains that I have been dealing with for years, surely some of them brought on by the fact that I am carrying 50 lbs of fat around.  The injuries/aches are of varying degrees from restrictive to a nuisance.  I did get some great ideas for stretching my left leg which has been bothering me from glutes to ankle for months since I was doing the couch to 5 km back in October and November of last year.  What I am seeing the physiotherapist for though specifically is about longstanding issues in my shoulders and neck that I believe are not helping all the headache issues.  He has given me exercises and stretches to help stengthen and work the area and I am confident that it will help me on my path to good health.

Lastly, just want to say this 90 days is about getting myself moving more (which I have been doing for a couple weeks) and bringing a little structure to my exercise.  I am in pretty horrid shape atm, and this 90 days is about getting back into the swing of strength training and improving my cardio.  My goal is to exercise 6 days a week (besides the daily dog walks), but I am not going to beat myself up over missing workouts on days l have a jackhammer going off in my head.  In the past I would miss a day or two of workouts, go off the rail with my eats and either quit or start over.  Well that has led me to 13 years of being anywhere from 200 to 250 lbs.  I am taking this 90 days day by day, doing the absolute best I can everyday, and not going to be too hard on myself, but at the same time, be very aware of the difference between “Excuses” and “Reasons” for my actions/inactions.

Ok, thats it gotta get off this computer, watch the end of the hockey games, and try and get back to bed.

 

Power 90 day 2

Long and busy day today. Went for a two hour 9 km walk with my dog, then did my Day 2 of power 90 which was cardio and abs, and then a doctors appointment. Long day, and I am just winding down watching my New York Rangers stink it up.

Eats were pretty good today, and between two walks and my workout I burnt lots of calories. It was a results producing effort today, and that’s all I can ask for. Heads bugging me today, but not enough that I wasn`t able to get the aforementioned activity in.

Had one of my medications increased again today, and I am still waiting for yet more tests and will be going to a kidney specialist in July. This kidney doctor is supposed to be the best around so I am hoping this will result in some answers. I got physio tomorrow morning for some neck shoulder stuff I got going on that I think may be affecting some of the headaches I got. These physio sessions are a workout in themselves so I hope to not be too sore to do my workout tomorrow. Weather is supposed to be real nice so I will definitely be getting in a nice long walk again. Walking/hiking is good for my soul and I will continue to get all the clicks in i can.

Going to go watch the Rangers blow it in the third period will be back tomorrow.

Here’s a picture from this morning, my dog cooling off in a pond about 4.5 km from my house.

Power 90 workout day 1, 100th post

Well, it took me a while to get to a hundred posts in this version of my blog, but here it is.  My plan is to get posting on a more regular frequent basis, and remain accountable to myself, and to the process.  It may not be pretty, but it is my journey to health, bumps, falls, mistakes, mis-steps, successes, health setbacks etc.  It will all be here.

Two days in a row I have tracked my food, every bite going into my mouth.  It has not been perfect, but getting back into the habit of tracking.  I fell out of the habit when i started really feeling sick a few weeks ago, and just as when I tracked everyday for 7 weeks when I started using the Lose it app, the momentum built with each day that I didn’t track, it became easier the next day not to track.  Back on the wagon though.

After posting this afternoon I went for a 2 hour hike through the woods with the dog, zigzaging through local woods, up and down hills on narrow, stump/root filled trails, as well as a groomed portion of what will one day be part of the trans Canada trail.  My back and legs have been bugging me of late with and I didn’t want to workout tonight.  But I put it out there that this was day 1 of Power 90 so I couldn’t miss the first day!  So at 915 tonight downstairs I went and did the workout.  Today was scheduled to be sculpt 1-2, a circuit training resistance workout, but try as I might, I couldn’t find the disk!  So I did the second version of the sculpt workout , titled 3-4.  It kicked my butt but i got it done.  The last time I did the full 90 days of power 90, I actually went 100 days and I lost 30 lbs dropping to a 13 year low of 200.2 lbs.   I am shooting to match that weight by Aug 3, 2013 which will be my day 90, and that is 33 lbs away as of this am.  I can do this!

Ok, it was a long day and I am pooped, time to hit the shower.  I go to the doctor tomorrow, to see about some test results, and see how I am reacting to the change of medication two weeks ago.  I am also waiting to see a specialist, and I hope to have an update on that as well.  Wish me luck.

 

Technical difficulties

Well I have had a boatload of technical difficulties in recent weeks.  I am definately a gadget guy.  I have a laptop, a desktop, a tablet and a smart phone.  I will let you guess how many of these were not working in recent weeks.  Thats right.  All of em.  Well, after many attempts to save the data on the laptop, my main computer, i finally gave up, and formatted and reinstalled the operating system, losing everything, but most importantly my pictures that weren’t saved elsewhere.  The desktop was beyond compare, and I ended up (very cheaply) replacing it by buying one that was collecting dust in a buddies closet.  It’s a few years old, loaded with vista and is wayyyyy out of date but will serve our purposes fine.  I replaced my phone and now its just the tablet that is next. 

Now that I am able to get online again easily, I should be able to resume documenting my journey to health.  It has been slow going and I have been still marred by issues with bloodpressure and migraines.  I have been active, walking a minimum of 7 km every day now going on two weeks, and been doing a workout tape on the days I could.  I have not been tracking still my eating as much as I should, but now that I have the gadgets back in place to do so I will, everyday, no excuses.  Every thing I eat and or drink will be typed into lose it as I do it.  I do best when I hold myself accountable so back to it everyday, no excuses.

The weather here has been sooooooo nice.  I have taken advantage each day walking with the dog as I mentioned, and as soon as I hit publish on this post, I will be doing more of the same.  It’s too nice to be inside even with a nhl playoff game kicking off at 1 pm my time in 20 min.  I will see the highlights later. 

My wife has been away for the weekend with her mother camping, and getting some much needed R and R.  I hope she was able to relax and not worry about dishes, laundry, my health etc and get some real rest she deserves it. My health has affected her just as much as me over the last while and I hope she got the rest she deserves.  She should be home any time now.

Last but certainly not least, a good friend of mine is running his first 5 km race as I type this.  I am anxious to hear his account of how it went.  Take a hop over to his blog and follow his journey if you haven’t already.  It really is how far he’s come.

Off to enjoy the nice weather.  I promise to be back to regular blogging now after months of sporadic posts.  I need to be accountable to have success, and the only way I know how to do that is to write as I go.  I am starting 90 days by the book of Power 90 today, the most realistic program (of the programs i enjoy doing) for my current health, and fitness level (which is awful, lol).  I have been doing the workouts a few times a week for a month, but today I start everyday.  I may miss a workout here and there when my health is not allowing me to workout, but on the days its possible to do it, and not just “I don’t wanna”  I will be doing the workouts 6 days a week for the next 90 days. 

 

I’m alive

This will be a short post, but I hope to be back to blogging regularly, finally, this week. I am 7 days into a migraine at the moment, and due to some health stuff I won’t detail at this time, I am off work again for 6 weeks. I will not be able to exercise everyday, but I will do what I can, when I can. I am so beyond frustrated with this health stuff, but I am ready to stop talking about getting healthy, and ACTUALLY DOING whatever it takes, no matter how long it takes to get healthy. I have to do so, so that I am around for my family for years to come.

I had not tracked my food in a week, and while I was not completely off the rails with my eating (actually haven’t been eating much due to nausea) but I am back to tracking starting today. I am on more blood pressure/migraine medicine, and have had a bunch of tests at the hospital. I am going back to physio for persistent injuries in my neck and shoulders and I am hoping this helps with the headaches as well.

Went for a 8 km walk today, and the fresh air did me some good. Head still pounding, but it seems to be easing off. I am so ready to be done with all this migraine stuff. Soooooo ready.

Another long week

This week has been another long week of migraines. I was in bed for 16 to 18 hours a day Tuesday -Thursday after just making it through a very very long day at work Monday. So beyond fed up with them.

Today i feel much better and got out for a walk with the dog, and tonight I did the circuit weight lifting portion of the power 90 program. I really really enjoy working out with my powerblock dumbbells that are adjustable from 5 to 50 lbs and I don’t regret that rather expensive purchase at Xmas time at all. Now, to just get more use out of them!

Eats have been relatively clean this week, albe it low on the calorie side again. When you are sleeping upwards of 16 hours a day, and are nautious, you are not pounding back calories. Drinking more water remains a big goal for me and something I work at daily. Plan to get it two longish walks with the dog this weekend. Will check in again tomorrow.