Nothing. Went to the doctor and was told that my wrist will heal, but I have to stop using it in order for that to happen. (Yes, the doctor was smiling a bit when she told me that.) She has me wearing a splint 24/7 for two weeks, and expects that it will be ok for gentle use after that.
Showing posts with label injury. Show all posts
Showing posts with label injury. Show all posts
Friday, August 17, 2012
Saturday, August 11, 2012
Emily's week 46
Nothing at all! Wrist is acting up badly and I'm going to the doctor to see if it is strained/sprained.
Friday, August 3, 2012
Emily's week 45
Saturday - hatha yoga (60 minutes)
Sunday - nothing
Monday - nothing
Tuesday - nothing
Wednesday - nothing
Thursday - hatha yoga (60 minutes)
Friday - nothing
I'm working with my teacher to figure out some ways to be more gentle on my wrist. It can be hard to find the line between being gentle and careful with my body, and being lazy.
Sunday - nothing
Monday - nothing
Tuesday - nothing
Wednesday - nothing
Thursday - hatha yoga (60 minutes)
Friday - nothing
I'm working with my teacher to figure out some ways to be more gentle on my wrist. It can be hard to find the line between being gentle and careful with my body, and being lazy.
Friday, July 27, 2012
Emily's week 44
Saturday - nothing
Sunday - nothing
Monday - nothing
Tuesday - nothing
Wednesday - nothing
Thursday - nothing
Friday - nothing
A combination of a camping trip and an ongoing wrist/shoulder injury flare-up kept me away from my practice this week. The wrist is feeling better now though, so I think that I'll be able to start again soon.
Sunday - nothing
Monday - nothing
Tuesday - nothing
Wednesday - nothing
Thursday - nothing
Friday - nothing
A combination of a camping trip and an ongoing wrist/shoulder injury flare-up kept me away from my practice this week. The wrist is feeling better now though, so I think that I'll be able to start again soon.
Friday, July 13, 2012
Emily's week 43
Saturday - vinyasa/hatha yoga (60 minutes)
Sunday - nothing
Monday - nothing
Tuesday - vinyasa/hatha yoga (60 minutes)
Wednesday - nothing
Thursday - nothing
Friday - nothing
I'm injured. My right wrist which had been sore for awhile, has become a wrist that will not take pressure of ANY SORT. Even shifting a manual transmission, or stirring a pot, or running a vacuum cleaner. So I'm backing off for a few days, icing it multiple times a day, and trying to think of ways to lower my stress level, since the weak points in my body tend to do this to me when I've been overstressed for too long. Prayers would be appreciated!
Sunday - nothing
Monday - nothing
Tuesday - vinyasa/hatha yoga (60 minutes)
Wednesday - nothing
Thursday - nothing
Friday - nothing
I'm injured. My right wrist which had been sore for awhile, has become a wrist that will not take pressure of ANY SORT. Even shifting a manual transmission, or stirring a pot, or running a vacuum cleaner. So I'm backing off for a few days, icing it multiple times a day, and trying to think of ways to lower my stress level, since the weak points in my body tend to do this to me when I've been overstressed for too long. Prayers would be appreciated!
Monday, August 16, 2010
Double Workouts!
Grammy and Papa are in town, so I have had a little more free time. Yesterday I walked 2 miles with a stroller and did 4/7 circuits of BFBM (my hips are still tender, so the more jumpy cardio ones are out). Today I walked 2.5 miles and rode the bike about 7 miles. It has been fun to begin stepping up the workouts again!
Kelly- Sorry to hear about the shoes. I purchased some Asics recently from Marshalls because of the price tag (and because I had looked at several places already that day), and I am regretting it already. I have high arches too, and have used inserts in the past to help in shoes that needed them. Where did you research the shoes? I have looked before too and found so many different recommendations that it was overwhelming. Sometimes I think that I had better just pay for Consumer Reports as much as I like researching all of my purchases.
Emily- Way to be so disciplined! And with all the construction that was going on too!
Katie- I'm glad that you are so aware of where you are right now and the pressures around. It sounds like you have made a realistic plan for yourself.
I love Agave nectar too. Actually, I have altered several everyday baking recipes to include molasses, honey and agave nectar instead of the more refined sugars and I love it. (I still eat things with refined sugars in them, but that is definitely something that I ought to cut down on). I began experimenting with them when I was pregnant, and picked it up now that Luke is eating so much more.
Kelly- Sorry to hear about the shoes. I purchased some Asics recently from Marshalls because of the price tag (and because I had looked at several places already that day), and I am regretting it already. I have high arches too, and have used inserts in the past to help in shoes that needed them. Where did you research the shoes? I have looked before too and found so many different recommendations that it was overwhelming. Sometimes I think that I had better just pay for Consumer Reports as much as I like researching all of my purchases.
Emily- Way to be so disciplined! And with all the construction that was going on too!
Katie- I'm glad that you are so aware of where you are right now and the pressures around. It sounds like you have made a realistic plan for yourself.
I love Agave nectar too. Actually, I have altered several everyday baking recipes to include molasses, honey and agave nectar instead of the more refined sugars and I love it. (I still eat things with refined sugars in them, but that is definitely something that I ought to cut down on). I began experimenting with them when I was pregnant, and picked it up now that Luke is eating so much more.
Tuesday, August 10, 2010
When Life Gives You Lemons...
... you may choose to make lemonade with it, but it still hurts like a mother when you get squirt in the eye along the way.
This past week or so was really really hard for me. On the exercise front, I am proud of how I did, and eating too, but everything kind of came crashing down yesterday when I spent an hour trying to calm a screaming baby with the loudest construction happening right below her window, and when she finally went to sleep I totally overate. Then it hit me just how hard it has been the past 10 days or so, and how much I need to process.
I already shared in my last post what had been happening sleep-wise at the start of our vacation. That continued until we came home the following Saturday, although Daniel let me sleep in a separate room a couple nights so I could at least get some more sleep, which helped some (I still woke some though). Thursday I stubbed my toe so hard that I spent a few hours believing I had broken it. This was also scary for me. After talking to a friend who recently broke her toe, and after hours of elevating, icing, resting, etc. the next morning I woke up and it felt a whole lot better - no bruising, no swelling, mobility, etc. I still stayed off of it for 2 more days after that, but now I am quite sure it's not broken and pretty much have full mobility back (in terms of walking around and doing normal activity). I think I just stubbed it really hard.
Layered on top of this was not only anxiety about spending some condensed time with a family member who pushes my boundaries, and around whom I have to work hard to protect those boundaries. I found out that a couple that Daniel and I care a lot about are splitting up, and I also had some painful encounters with 2 other family members who I care a lot about, but who are making or have made bad choices. I've spent most of my life trying to fix them and am only recently realizing how much I have lost by trying to do that, and am now instead trying to just grieve what is not.
And it just hurts.
Most of last week I was not in a position to actually feel that grief - just kind of had to see it, let go of trying to fix it, and then put it away until I could actually process it. But you know, grief just sucks to feel, and it's so much easier to put it out of mind if it's out of sight. So once we were away from the family members and I would have actually had space to process I completely forgot about processing it. Except that I felt depressed. And then starting this past Sunday it started to build more. And then yesterday (Mon) it built even more. When the whole loud construction "nap" was not happening yesterday, and I got so upset afterwards, it was so noticeable to me that I couldn't help but sit back and think, "whoa... ok something is really not ok." Then when I began to write out all that had been going on in the last 10 days, it sank in how much stress I've been under, how much pain I've pushed down, and how much I need to process.
In a lot of ways this shows me that I actually have made a whole lot of progress this past month with my emotional eating. For one thing, I realized that it has been a whole 4 weeks of not overeating at all! That's a pretty big deal for me. For another thing, it only took one time of overeating to realize something was wrong, and I was actually able to identify it and begin processing it. I've battled depression in my life several times, and - although painful - it feels good this time to connect the depressed feeling to actual feelings underneath and begin to stir those up instead of feeling trapped in this numb, dead feeling. At least it feels more alive, and there is some fresh air and hope. But I still hate grieving. Hate it.
Anyway.
Exercise. I am proud of myself for the past week, how I dealt with everything that came my way. Up in the mountains, I was able to do shred a few times (when we were staying in a cabin), I did a couple runs that were really challenging, and I took a few hikes. Yet at the same time I rested instead of working out when I was lacking sleep, and when I injured my foot I completely rested it and didn't do anything for a few days. One of the days I was resting my foot, I did crunches and pushups to challenge myself, instead of giving up on doing a workout completely. I was flexible and enjoyed being on vacation and with others, and didn't go to either extreme of completely abandoning my workouts and overeating, or holding on so tight to my scheduled workouts that my schedule has trouble meshing with the group schedule (both of which I've done in the past). Sunday I was starting to feel the motivational inertia of taking time off from working out (plus the depression), so I figured out something I could do that would still give my foot a break but let me get a workout: I went to the pool and swam some laps for about 25 minutes (which felt great - my triceps were KILLING me!! Shred just isn't the same as swimming!) Yesterday I tried "shred" again, and my foot was fine, so today I did half of my usual run and it is still fine. I think I can go back to normal exercising now. I am proud of myself for not giving up completely, but not pushing myself too hard and listening to my lack of sleep and my injury and letting myself rest.
Eating. I am also proud of how I've been eating, even though I could feel really discouraged that I overate yesterday. Looking back at the last week, I realize how much stress I was under, and am so pleased that I didn't turn to food like I could have. Instead, I realize that I have grown in using my voice to set boundaries (rather than using food to deal with frustration when boundaries are crossed), and in letting go of things I can't change (still far from perfect in this area, but a lot further than I used to be).
This past week or so was really really hard for me. On the exercise front, I am proud of how I did, and eating too, but everything kind of came crashing down yesterday when I spent an hour trying to calm a screaming baby with the loudest construction happening right below her window, and when she finally went to sleep I totally overate. Then it hit me just how hard it has been the past 10 days or so, and how much I need to process.
I already shared in my last post what had been happening sleep-wise at the start of our vacation. That continued until we came home the following Saturday, although Daniel let me sleep in a separate room a couple nights so I could at least get some more sleep, which helped some (I still woke some though). Thursday I stubbed my toe so hard that I spent a few hours believing I had broken it. This was also scary for me. After talking to a friend who recently broke her toe, and after hours of elevating, icing, resting, etc. the next morning I woke up and it felt a whole lot better - no bruising, no swelling, mobility, etc. I still stayed off of it for 2 more days after that, but now I am quite sure it's not broken and pretty much have full mobility back (in terms of walking around and doing normal activity). I think I just stubbed it really hard.
Layered on top of this was not only anxiety about spending some condensed time with a family member who pushes my boundaries, and around whom I have to work hard to protect those boundaries. I found out that a couple that Daniel and I care a lot about are splitting up, and I also had some painful encounters with 2 other family members who I care a lot about, but who are making or have made bad choices. I've spent most of my life trying to fix them and am only recently realizing how much I have lost by trying to do that, and am now instead trying to just grieve what is not.
And it just hurts.
Most of last week I was not in a position to actually feel that grief - just kind of had to see it, let go of trying to fix it, and then put it away until I could actually process it. But you know, grief just sucks to feel, and it's so much easier to put it out of mind if it's out of sight. So once we were away from the family members and I would have actually had space to process I completely forgot about processing it. Except that I felt depressed. And then starting this past Sunday it started to build more. And then yesterday (Mon) it built even more. When the whole loud construction "nap" was not happening yesterday, and I got so upset afterwards, it was so noticeable to me that I couldn't help but sit back and think, "whoa... ok something is really not ok." Then when I began to write out all that had been going on in the last 10 days, it sank in how much stress I've been under, how much pain I've pushed down, and how much I need to process.
In a lot of ways this shows me that I actually have made a whole lot of progress this past month with my emotional eating. For one thing, I realized that it has been a whole 4 weeks of not overeating at all! That's a pretty big deal for me. For another thing, it only took one time of overeating to realize something was wrong, and I was actually able to identify it and begin processing it. I've battled depression in my life several times, and - although painful - it feels good this time to connect the depressed feeling to actual feelings underneath and begin to stir those up instead of feeling trapped in this numb, dead feeling. At least it feels more alive, and there is some fresh air and hope. But I still hate grieving. Hate it.
Anyway.
Exercise. I am proud of myself for the past week, how I dealt with everything that came my way. Up in the mountains, I was able to do shred a few times (when we were staying in a cabin), I did a couple runs that were really challenging, and I took a few hikes. Yet at the same time I rested instead of working out when I was lacking sleep, and when I injured my foot I completely rested it and didn't do anything for a few days. One of the days I was resting my foot, I did crunches and pushups to challenge myself, instead of giving up on doing a workout completely. I was flexible and enjoyed being on vacation and with others, and didn't go to either extreme of completely abandoning my workouts and overeating, or holding on so tight to my scheduled workouts that my schedule has trouble meshing with the group schedule (both of which I've done in the past). Sunday I was starting to feel the motivational inertia of taking time off from working out (plus the depression), so I figured out something I could do that would still give my foot a break but let me get a workout: I went to the pool and swam some laps for about 25 minutes (which felt great - my triceps were KILLING me!! Shred just isn't the same as swimming!) Yesterday I tried "shred" again, and my foot was fine, so today I did half of my usual run and it is still fine. I think I can go back to normal exercising now. I am proud of myself for not giving up completely, but not pushing myself too hard and listening to my lack of sleep and my injury and letting myself rest.
Eating. I am also proud of how I've been eating, even though I could feel really discouraged that I overate yesterday. Looking back at the last week, I realize how much stress I was under, and am so pleased that I didn't turn to food like I could have. Instead, I realize that I have grown in using my voice to set boundaries (rather than using food to deal with frustration when boundaries are crossed), and in letting go of things I can't change (still far from perfect in this area, but a lot further than I used to be).
Thursday, August 5, 2010
Goal Met!
Well, I stepped on the scale for the first time in a few months last night (we are staying at a friend's house), and was very pleasantly surprised! I now weigh slightly less than I did when I got pregnant with Luke. Yay! :)
This would have been an even bigger deal to me in times past because of how focused I used to be on the numbers. While I am very happy, I have realized that I am even happier with the fact that I have become so much stronger and, overall, happier.
On another front, my injury is bothering me less and less each day. I did Shred 1 & 2, lifted some weights and took a walk so far this week. These were modified to accomade my hips as much as I could.
Katie P- I have been thinking about you. Luke was such a terrible sleeper that I often spent half the day mad because of it. You are definitely not alone in that struggle! It is especially hard when other moms are saying how well their children sleep. Luke didn't sleep through the night consistently until about 21 months!
Exercising is tough when you feel sleep deprived too since your body already has a stress. Also, the frustration itself takes a lot out of a person. I am praying for you.
Jessica- What a great feeling! I am glad that you are finding so many ways to challenge yourself, and enjoy it! Also, I almost have enough rewards points from Amazon to pick up the Personal Training with Jackie. Looking forward to trying that one out.
This would have been an even bigger deal to me in times past because of how focused I used to be on the numbers. While I am very happy, I have realized that I am even happier with the fact that I have become so much stronger and, overall, happier.
On another front, my injury is bothering me less and less each day. I did Shred 1 & 2, lifted some weights and took a walk so far this week. These were modified to accomade my hips as much as I could.
Katie P- I have been thinking about you. Luke was such a terrible sleeper that I often spent half the day mad because of it. You are definitely not alone in that struggle! It is especially hard when other moms are saying how well their children sleep. Luke didn't sleep through the night consistently until about 21 months!
Exercising is tough when you feel sleep deprived too since your body already has a stress. Also, the frustration itself takes a lot out of a person. I am praying for you.
Jessica- What a great feeling! I am glad that you are finding so many ways to challenge yourself, and enjoy it! Also, I almost have enough rewards points from Amazon to pick up the Personal Training with Jackie. Looking forward to trying that one out.
Thursday, July 29, 2010
On the Bench
Yep, between the foot and the bursitis, I am truly on the bench for now. The wound to my foot made my bursitis much worse because I could hardly walk on my left side. So, after limping around for a couple of days, my hips have had it. I am frustrated and really can't do anything but lift weights.
I am icing my hips now and taking ibuprofen to manage the pain. Mostly, my focus is to get through the next few days and care for Luke as best I can. If the pain keeps up, I think I'll have to look for a physical therapist around here. I will be so relieved to see Nathan again Friday night!
I am icing my hips now and taking ibuprofen to manage the pain. Mostly, my focus is to get through the next few days and care for Luke as best I can. If the pain keeps up, I think I'll have to look for a physical therapist around here. I will be so relieved to see Nathan again Friday night!
Tuesday, July 27, 2010
New injury and the all natural workout
Well, when it rains, it pours I guess... :)
Today, I was playing with Luke outside at a friends house. While I was walking in he grass, I stepped on a small branch and punctured my right foot. It went in almost an inch I believe and cut through muscle. So, now I am limping.
Oh well. Last week, I took Jess's advice and listened to some old Jillian podcasts. I really enjoyed her podcast on injuries and found it helpful. For cardio today, I did lots of punches with weights. Then I just focused the rest of my workout on abs and upper body strength training.
I was impressed with how much I was able to do! Awhile ago, I would have just sat around for a few days feeling sorry for myself.
Oh, and I had another thought about exercise-
We have a rather large yard for living in a major city (1/4 acre). We thought we would love to have the space and it was definitely a major reason for us purchasing this particular house. What we didn't realize was all the work it took to keep such a yard, in such a tropical climate up. Really, the grass grows noticeably higher everyday! And the weeds can get out of control in no time. This weekend, I left off regular exercise in favor of working outside. It was very rewarding and I enjoyed myself so much.
Most of our neighbors have gardeners who come once a week to care for their lawns (not that we are better because we don't- its more like we are poor and have to do our own lawn). But I did think that it was kind of silly that many people went to the gym to workout when there was so much right outside their door to get them in shape. And... it feels so good to take care of what you have. I think similar things about cleaning. Vaccuming, mopping, bathroom cleaning, heaving laundry around, even cooking.
I have been so envious of other moms who go to the gym when their kids are in school that it is good for me to have these reflections... :) Maybe when my kids are all in school (many years from now), I will get a job doing yards. :)
Today, I was playing with Luke outside at a friends house. While I was walking in he grass, I stepped on a small branch and punctured my right foot. It went in almost an inch I believe and cut through muscle. So, now I am limping.
Oh well. Last week, I took Jess's advice and listened to some old Jillian podcasts. I really enjoyed her podcast on injuries and found it helpful. For cardio today, I did lots of punches with weights. Then I just focused the rest of my workout on abs and upper body strength training.
I was impressed with how much I was able to do! Awhile ago, I would have just sat around for a few days feeling sorry for myself.
Oh, and I had another thought about exercise-
We have a rather large yard for living in a major city (1/4 acre). We thought we would love to have the space and it was definitely a major reason for us purchasing this particular house. What we didn't realize was all the work it took to keep such a yard, in such a tropical climate up. Really, the grass grows noticeably higher everyday! And the weeds can get out of control in no time. This weekend, I left off regular exercise in favor of working outside. It was very rewarding and I enjoyed myself so much.
Most of our neighbors have gardeners who come once a week to care for their lawns (not that we are better because we don't- its more like we are poor and have to do our own lawn). But I did think that it was kind of silly that many people went to the gym to workout when there was so much right outside their door to get them in shape. And... it feels so good to take care of what you have. I think similar things about cleaning. Vaccuming, mopping, bathroom cleaning, heaving laundry around, even cooking.
I have been so envious of other moms who go to the gym when their kids are in school that it is good for me to have these reflections... :) Maybe when my kids are all in school (many years from now), I will get a job doing yards. :)
Inspiring Cuteness
Jess - LOVE IT!! That was hilarious! That poor girl - not only the horrible choker, but... hello?? what was going on with her pants? Were they camo? Or were they shreds of fabric pinned together? And yes, I think if you can't get that move that it is not a terrible thing, as the move was pretty funny :) BUT I think it looks like a great workout, and a really fun way to get some good exercise! Thanks for sharing :)
My hip is better. I am really glad I didn't run on it yesterday - I think that day of rest was just what it needed. It's good for me to write that out and see it (and to have experienced it), because I can tend to drive myself too hard, not believing that rest does any significant good (I take after my dad in that sense - can be a good thing to be so persevering, but it can get out of appropriate bounds real fast). But it's clear to me that resting yesterday did help. I didn't succeed very much at massaging throughout the day - partly because when I tried in the morning I never really found the right spot, and partly because the later part of the day was spent out of the house. The other thing I want to remember in the future is using a heating pad! I finally remembered this before going to bed, and I really believe that's a big reason I feel better today.
So today I debated giving my knots another day of no exercise to work themselves out or not, but opted to go ahead and go for a run, since my hip didn't really bother me most of the day yesterday, and the knots themselves weren't feeling too bad today. I'm glad I did - at this point, nothing hurts from it. I stretched pretty well afterwards (which I'm usually terrible at doing), and massaged my back more. I did crunches (but no push-ups, just in case).
Here is a shot of one of my motivations to get out for a run. This little girl LOVES riding in the stroller. She's usually silently fascinated the whole time, and if I pause at a stoplight and peek in at her, she barely even looks at me because she's so "in the zone" gazing at all her surroundings. I love it.
(not sure why the picture looks so bad - if you click on it, the larger version is much clearer)
I give myself a B for how eating went yesterday. I didn't have any major setbacks, but in the evening I just kind of fuzzed (don't ask me for a precise definition of that word). Part of it was, the snack I chose in the afternoon ended up being quite a bit more filling than I expected, and I wasn't hungry for dinner (which is always a bummer for me - I love eating dinner as a family). And then, I'd tried a new recipe for dinner and not only did Daniel not like it, but I didn't like it! :( One little "loss" I am grieving with letting go of eating a bit more is that when a meal is disappointing, it bothers me more than it used to. It's like I make the effort to not indulge in snacks or nibbles and "save it up" for being hungry for my meal, and when the meal "lets me down," boy is that disappointing! (I'm sorry if this is kind of silly, but it helps me to try and sort all of this out here.) One thing I want to try and consciously do differently in the future if this happens, is to consider not finishing my meal. Last night I finished it anyway, but then felt very dissatisfied even though full. And, more than that, I felt mad! Mad that the meal didn't turn out, and then mad also because now I'm full of food I did not enjoy. This led to nibbling later on in the evening, as if to "make up for my loss" of a good satisfying meal by eating more (which, for the record, does not work). Instead, one obvious option for next time, would be to finish the meal but be more intentional about brushing my teeth or something afterwards and just waiting for the next meal or next time I'm hungry to eat. Or another idea would be to try stopping mid-meal and eating something else, or doing something else with the food. (For example, last night it was an Indian-style meatloaf with curry and a tahini sauce. The meatloaf itself was fine, but there was way too much tahini on top and I didn't like it. So I could probably scrape off the sauce and make a meatloaf sandwich with BBQ sauce or something that would be much more satisfying.)
Another reason for the "B" is that I didn't drink enough yesterday (largely due to being out and about).
One major victory was that I stopped at a place I love to pick up lunch (it's far away and I only go there once a month when I meet with my spiritual director, who is right up the street from it), but didn't eat past full! (which is not easy for me to do at this place) I just kept the rest in the box and had some for a snack later in the day. That's a big deal for me! I also noticed how it wasn't as extraordinary of an effort as it sometimes has been in the past to do that, which is encouraging to me.
Another thing I want to remember that I did today is eating a nice, full, satisfying breakfast (or any meal). If I eat a really good solid meal, I am about 98% less likely to snack between meals, and the amount of food I eat in a day (while still feeling satisfied) is significantly less. Sometimes I just grab something that I know isn't a full breakfast, instead of taking an extra 2 minutes to put together a complete meal, but it's like giving myself an excuse to just graze all morning because I am "finishing breakfast" (this isn't a good direction for me to go personally).
Em - I talked to Daniel about the chiropractor and he said sure! However, I'm guessing that I ought to go in when I'm in pain, right? Not after the fact? Since my hip is feeling better, should I just wait til the next time something goes wrong, or should I go in before that, even if I'm not in pain, just to make sure things are right?
My hip is better. I am really glad I didn't run on it yesterday - I think that day of rest was just what it needed. It's good for me to write that out and see it (and to have experienced it), because I can tend to drive myself too hard, not believing that rest does any significant good (I take after my dad in that sense - can be a good thing to be so persevering, but it can get out of appropriate bounds real fast). But it's clear to me that resting yesterday did help. I didn't succeed very much at massaging throughout the day - partly because when I tried in the morning I never really found the right spot, and partly because the later part of the day was spent out of the house. The other thing I want to remember in the future is using a heating pad! I finally remembered this before going to bed, and I really believe that's a big reason I feel better today.
So today I debated giving my knots another day of no exercise to work themselves out or not, but opted to go ahead and go for a run, since my hip didn't really bother me most of the day yesterday, and the knots themselves weren't feeling too bad today. I'm glad I did - at this point, nothing hurts from it. I stretched pretty well afterwards (which I'm usually terrible at doing), and massaged my back more. I did crunches (but no push-ups, just in case).
Here is a shot of one of my motivations to get out for a run. This little girl LOVES riding in the stroller. She's usually silently fascinated the whole time, and if I pause at a stoplight and peek in at her, she barely even looks at me because she's so "in the zone" gazing at all her surroundings. I love it.
(not sure why the picture looks so bad - if you click on it, the larger version is much clearer)
I give myself a B for how eating went yesterday. I didn't have any major setbacks, but in the evening I just kind of fuzzed (don't ask me for a precise definition of that word). Part of it was, the snack I chose in the afternoon ended up being quite a bit more filling than I expected, and I wasn't hungry for dinner (which is always a bummer for me - I love eating dinner as a family). And then, I'd tried a new recipe for dinner and not only did Daniel not like it, but I didn't like it! :( One little "loss" I am grieving with letting go of eating a bit more is that when a meal is disappointing, it bothers me more than it used to. It's like I make the effort to not indulge in snacks or nibbles and "save it up" for being hungry for my meal, and when the meal "lets me down," boy is that disappointing! (I'm sorry if this is kind of silly, but it helps me to try and sort all of this out here.) One thing I want to try and consciously do differently in the future if this happens, is to consider not finishing my meal. Last night I finished it anyway, but then felt very dissatisfied even though full. And, more than that, I felt mad! Mad that the meal didn't turn out, and then mad also because now I'm full of food I did not enjoy. This led to nibbling later on in the evening, as if to "make up for my loss" of a good satisfying meal by eating more (which, for the record, does not work). Instead, one obvious option for next time, would be to finish the meal but be more intentional about brushing my teeth or something afterwards and just waiting for the next meal or next time I'm hungry to eat. Or another idea would be to try stopping mid-meal and eating something else, or doing something else with the food. (For example, last night it was an Indian-style meatloaf with curry and a tahini sauce. The meatloaf itself was fine, but there was way too much tahini on top and I didn't like it. So I could probably scrape off the sauce and make a meatloaf sandwich with BBQ sauce or something that would be much more satisfying.)
Another reason for the "B" is that I didn't drink enough yesterday (largely due to being out and about).
One major victory was that I stopped at a place I love to pick up lunch (it's far away and I only go there once a month when I meet with my spiritual director, who is right up the street from it), but didn't eat past full! (which is not easy for me to do at this place) I just kept the rest in the box and had some for a snack later in the day. That's a big deal for me! I also noticed how it wasn't as extraordinary of an effort as it sometimes has been in the past to do that, which is encouraging to me.
Another thing I want to remember that I did today is eating a nice, full, satisfying breakfast (or any meal). If I eat a really good solid meal, I am about 98% less likely to snack between meals, and the amount of food I eat in a day (while still feeling satisfied) is significantly less. Sometimes I just grab something that I know isn't a full breakfast, instead of taking an extra 2 minutes to put together a complete meal, but it's like giving myself an excuse to just graze all morning because I am "finishing breakfast" (this isn't a good direction for me to go personally).
Em - I talked to Daniel about the chiropractor and he said sure! However, I'm guessing that I ought to go in when I'm in pain, right? Not after the fact? Since my hip is feeling better, should I just wait til the next time something goes wrong, or should I go in before that, even if I'm not in pain, just to make sure things are right?
Monday, July 26, 2010
Chiropractic and injuries
Katie, I have had regular chiropractic care for the past year. For me, it has made a huge difference. I used to have back pain of some sort most of the time. Going to bed used to be tough because I had to consciously try to relax muscles before I could even lie down properly. And everything would be tight again in the morning! And of course I was having all those knee problems.
One year later, I still have knee problems but only if I'm not careful (as opposed to all the time). And my back almost never hurts, other than normal tired muscles after a workout. It is kind of amazing, really, because I had just assumed that kind of aching knotty back was something I'd have to live with.
Initially I was going three times a week (because my symptoms were considered "acute"). Now I go about once a month, just for maintenance. Sometimes I'm tempted to just not go at all...but then I remember how hard it used to be just to lie down, and how much happier I am when I can exercise and sleep well, and I think that the $49/month price tag is totally worth it. We consider it part of our health care budget.
I do think that chiropractic makes more sense than massage (having tried both) because while massage deals with the symptom (sore muscles) chiropractic deals with the source (spinal misalignment) that is causing the sore muscles. Massage feels great at the time but I didn't find it to be very effective long-term.
By the way, I'm seeing Jason Baietto at Complete Balance Chiropractic in Placentia. He's a Christian, and really cares about his patients. Also, his staff is wonderful, and I've never had to wait more than 7 minutes to be seen. If you want to try it, I'd recommend him.
One year later, I still have knee problems but only if I'm not careful (as opposed to all the time). And my back almost never hurts, other than normal tired muscles after a workout. It is kind of amazing, really, because I had just assumed that kind of aching knotty back was something I'd have to live with.
Initially I was going three times a week (because my symptoms were considered "acute"). Now I go about once a month, just for maintenance. Sometimes I'm tempted to just not go at all...but then I remember how hard it used to be just to lie down, and how much happier I am when I can exercise and sleep well, and I think that the $49/month price tag is totally worth it. We consider it part of our health care budget.
I do think that chiropractic makes more sense than massage (having tried both) because while massage deals with the symptom (sore muscles) chiropractic deals with the source (spinal misalignment) that is causing the sore muscles. Massage feels great at the time but I didn't find it to be very effective long-term.
By the way, I'm seeing Jason Baietto at Complete Balance Chiropractic in Placentia. He's a Christian, and really cares about his patients. Also, his staff is wonderful, and I've never had to wait more than 7 minutes to be seen. If you want to try it, I'd recommend him.
Pressing Through
Friday was (hooray!) the last day of VBS. I'm really glad I was a part of it, but boy did it mess up Naomi's nap schedule (and hence her nighttime sleep schedule :( ). I did Shred Wkt 3 again. This time I actually did all the traveling push-ups and plank rows in the toughest position! That felt good! Otherwise, still using 3 lb weights. I think I did all the mtn climbers in the first set straight through, too, which was a LOT harder than I thought it would be!
Friday we went camping, and sleep was pretty bad - it was very frustrating that our one set of neighbors arrived very noisily at 10:30 pm, an hour after we'd all turned in; and then our other set of neighbors in a huge RV decided to arrive at 12:30 am, and then let their kids run around, screaming and yelling and laughing while they got their RV and generators (?) all hooked up (no joke - it was awful). But I was awake at 6:30 Saturday morning anyway, and lying in bed in a tent is not very comfortable so I decided to go for a run. I decided to just go out 10 min and turn around since I had no idea of distance. I actually came home 1:30 faster than I went out! That was very encouraging. No crunches/pushups.
Sunday I took off, as usual. But that evening we walked half a mile down to Chipotle for dinner and my hip was hurting me. It felt like my shoulder did a few weeks ago - like a tendon was being rubbed back and forth along a sharp bone or something. That's a bad description but it's the closest I can come up with. I tried stretching my gluts, which helped some, but it kept tightening back up. I am pretty sure it's my back again - sleeping in the tent tweaked my back pretty badly, so maybe that's what messed me up. But I think there are knots that are causing surrounding muscles (this time my gluts/hips) to compensate. Right now I have monthly massages (at least for a few more months - birthday gift), but I am wondering if seeing a chiropractor might be more effective. (Any input on how effective that would be, based on the problems I've described having on here?)
So no running for me today until I can get my hip feeling better. :( I actually am really sad about that, because today should have been a running day... if it were Shred, I don't think I'd feel very sad at all. :) I got down to do make myself do crunches and pushups at least, but at the first push-up I stopped, realizing if the hip injury is in fact because of knots in my back, doing pushups might also injure my shoulder like last time. So just crunches. It let me focus more on my form though, and I'm still surprised at how poor it is! So I worked on that. My "workout goal" for today is to stretch and massage as often as I can, and see if I can get the pain to go away by tomorrow.
Eating is always a lot harder for me when I have to cut back on my usual exercise. I think it's the sitting around that makes me want to snack. This morning is already weird because my routine is different, but I made myself brush my teeth after breakfast and then sit down to write this instead of reading blogs and nibbling, while Naomi naps. After this, I want to shower and get dressed, and massage a bit. Other than that, eating has continued to go well. Stress isn't the only reason I overeat, but I have been so focused on that the last couple weeks that I didn't notice myself also wanting to eat for some of the other reasons I have dealt with in the past - like boredom. So I had a few days there where hunger and fullness were fuzzy to me, and I felt a little confused about when and how much to eat. I tried to just keep re-focusing on eating normal-sized meals at normal times. A few times I felt really frustrated because I so wanted to just put something in my mouth, but I knew I was not hungry and it wasn't time for a meal or anything. I resorted to chewing gum a couple times, and ice water and doing something absorbing a few other times. Those things worked. And every time, I was so glad later, because after an hour or two, I would be hungry for my next meal! And that was very rewarding. So I'm continuing to try and take steady steps forward, and to hold my ground as sturdily as I can, without giving up because of the fuzzy times or lapses.
Re: sleep. Middle of the night is better now - other than a few nights last week when Naomi was up (and camping of course), I've been able to sleep through. I stopped taking Magnesium supplements about 10 days ago I think, because they were starting to give me nightmares (at least I think it was because of that - that seems to happen after I take any particular thing for sleep, after awhile). I worried I would start waking mid-night again, but I haven't. BUT I've begun waking early every morning, like 5:30 or 6, when Naomi sleeps til at least 6:30 or 7. That stinks. I think with all of these various sleep problems, that my sleep cycle gets disrupted once or twice, and then gets into a rut. I wish I could get out of this rut - I'm not quite sure what to do, since it seems too difficult to go back to sleep for only about 40 minutes. For now I'm just going to try and nap diligently.
Thanks Emily and Kelly for the input about the bladder issue. I think I will send a message to my midwife and ask her about it, and I have begrudgingly begun to do Kegels when I think of it. I do not love my attitude about that, by the way, but this is at least a start. :)
Jess - Yes, I have a couple weight options - 5 lb dumbbells and 3 lb spaghetti jars. :) I also had lighter spaghetti jars but don't really use those anymore. I'd like to get some heavier dumbbells for just one or two of the exercises (at this point), but haven't gotten to it yet. I've been thinking of getting 7 lb dumbbells, because 2lb seems like a good increase to me - so that it's harder but not so hard that I can't do the exercise properly. But then I'm wondering about getting just 2lb dumbbells, which I could hold simultaneously with the 5lb ones, equaling 7lb. And then maybe getting 10lb dumbbells for the really easy exercises. I don't want to end up getting tons and tons of dumbbells, but it seems like, if I can hold two dumbbells in one hand (I know I can at least do two 5's), that combo could get me pretty far - 2lb, 5lb, [7lb], 10lb, [12lb], [15lb]. Or maybe like Katie J, I'll get 3's instead of 2's.
Thanks for describing your surgery and how you got through it mentally! That is helpful to hear about, and I think if I ever had it done, that the Jesus prayer would really help me too! That's a good idea. And I'm glad to know they hold your eyes open (even if that would be a little scary) - stupid as it sounds, I remember thinking, "I just couldn't hold my eyes open! I know I'd blink and then... what would happen??" :)
Katie - That made me so sad to read your story about how you got chronic bursitis. I'm sorry! :( That's great that you've been able to work around it and still be active, while taking care of that. I mentioned on here before about watching my parents age, and seeing some things I want to emulate and others I don't. My dad was a runner and, in denial of a long-term injury, popped Excedrin on an empty stomach for years, so that he could keep running. When we were vacationing on Catalina Island one summer, his stomach finally ruptured and we all had a very very scary night, including blood everywhere and a life-flight helicopter taking him to the mainland to the nearest hospital. While I wish I could have learned this some other way, that experience really taught me that it's not worth it to me to deny injuries or bully them, but to listen to them. Luke is blessed to have a mommy who can model healthy self-care for him!
Kelly - So glad to hear you were able to eat more like you like this last week, and able to get out a lot and exercise. And so happy to hear you are (now less than) a week away from being all together as a family again!
Friday we went camping, and sleep was pretty bad - it was very frustrating that our one set of neighbors arrived very noisily at 10:30 pm, an hour after we'd all turned in; and then our other set of neighbors in a huge RV decided to arrive at 12:30 am, and then let their kids run around, screaming and yelling and laughing while they got their RV and generators (?) all hooked up (no joke - it was awful). But I was awake at 6:30 Saturday morning anyway, and lying in bed in a tent is not very comfortable so I decided to go for a run. I decided to just go out 10 min and turn around since I had no idea of distance. I actually came home 1:30 faster than I went out! That was very encouraging. No crunches/pushups.
Sunday I took off, as usual. But that evening we walked half a mile down to Chipotle for dinner and my hip was hurting me. It felt like my shoulder did a few weeks ago - like a tendon was being rubbed back and forth along a sharp bone or something. That's a bad description but it's the closest I can come up with. I tried stretching my gluts, which helped some, but it kept tightening back up. I am pretty sure it's my back again - sleeping in the tent tweaked my back pretty badly, so maybe that's what messed me up. But I think there are knots that are causing surrounding muscles (this time my gluts/hips) to compensate. Right now I have monthly massages (at least for a few more months - birthday gift), but I am wondering if seeing a chiropractor might be more effective. (Any input on how effective that would be, based on the problems I've described having on here?)
So no running for me today until I can get my hip feeling better. :( I actually am really sad about that, because today should have been a running day... if it were Shred, I don't think I'd feel very sad at all. :) I got down to do make myself do crunches and pushups at least, but at the first push-up I stopped, realizing if the hip injury is in fact because of knots in my back, doing pushups might also injure my shoulder like last time. So just crunches. It let me focus more on my form though, and I'm still surprised at how poor it is! So I worked on that. My "workout goal" for today is to stretch and massage as often as I can, and see if I can get the pain to go away by tomorrow.
Eating is always a lot harder for me when I have to cut back on my usual exercise. I think it's the sitting around that makes me want to snack. This morning is already weird because my routine is different, but I made myself brush my teeth after breakfast and then sit down to write this instead of reading blogs and nibbling, while Naomi naps. After this, I want to shower and get dressed, and massage a bit. Other than that, eating has continued to go well. Stress isn't the only reason I overeat, but I have been so focused on that the last couple weeks that I didn't notice myself also wanting to eat for some of the other reasons I have dealt with in the past - like boredom. So I had a few days there where hunger and fullness were fuzzy to me, and I felt a little confused about when and how much to eat. I tried to just keep re-focusing on eating normal-sized meals at normal times. A few times I felt really frustrated because I so wanted to just put something in my mouth, but I knew I was not hungry and it wasn't time for a meal or anything. I resorted to chewing gum a couple times, and ice water and doing something absorbing a few other times. Those things worked. And every time, I was so glad later, because after an hour or two, I would be hungry for my next meal! And that was very rewarding. So I'm continuing to try and take steady steps forward, and to hold my ground as sturdily as I can, without giving up because of the fuzzy times or lapses.
Re: sleep. Middle of the night is better now - other than a few nights last week when Naomi was up (and camping of course), I've been able to sleep through. I stopped taking Magnesium supplements about 10 days ago I think, because they were starting to give me nightmares (at least I think it was because of that - that seems to happen after I take any particular thing for sleep, after awhile). I worried I would start waking mid-night again, but I haven't. BUT I've begun waking early every morning, like 5:30 or 6, when Naomi sleeps til at least 6:30 or 7. That stinks. I think with all of these various sleep problems, that my sleep cycle gets disrupted once or twice, and then gets into a rut. I wish I could get out of this rut - I'm not quite sure what to do, since it seems too difficult to go back to sleep for only about 40 minutes. For now I'm just going to try and nap diligently.
Thanks Emily and Kelly for the input about the bladder issue. I think I will send a message to my midwife and ask her about it, and I have begrudgingly begun to do Kegels when I think of it. I do not love my attitude about that, by the way, but this is at least a start. :)
Jess - Yes, I have a couple weight options - 5 lb dumbbells and 3 lb spaghetti jars. :) I also had lighter spaghetti jars but don't really use those anymore. I'd like to get some heavier dumbbells for just one or two of the exercises (at this point), but haven't gotten to it yet. I've been thinking of getting 7 lb dumbbells, because 2lb seems like a good increase to me - so that it's harder but not so hard that I can't do the exercise properly. But then I'm wondering about getting just 2lb dumbbells, which I could hold simultaneously with the 5lb ones, equaling 7lb. And then maybe getting 10lb dumbbells for the really easy exercises. I don't want to end up getting tons and tons of dumbbells, but it seems like, if I can hold two dumbbells in one hand (I know I can at least do two 5's), that combo could get me pretty far - 2lb, 5lb, [7lb], 10lb, [12lb], [15lb]. Or maybe like Katie J, I'll get 3's instead of 2's.
Thanks for describing your surgery and how you got through it mentally! That is helpful to hear about, and I think if I ever had it done, that the Jesus prayer would really help me too! That's a good idea. And I'm glad to know they hold your eyes open (even if that would be a little scary) - stupid as it sounds, I remember thinking, "I just couldn't hold my eyes open! I know I'd blink and then... what would happen??" :)
Katie - That made me so sad to read your story about how you got chronic bursitis. I'm sorry! :( That's great that you've been able to work around it and still be active, while taking care of that. I mentioned on here before about watching my parents age, and seeing some things I want to emulate and others I don't. My dad was a runner and, in denial of a long-term injury, popped Excedrin on an empty stomach for years, so that he could keep running. When we were vacationing on Catalina Island one summer, his stomach finally ruptured and we all had a very very scary night, including blood everywhere and a life-flight helicopter taking him to the mainland to the nearest hospital. While I wish I could have learned this some other way, that experience really taught me that it's not worth it to me to deny injuries or bully them, but to listen to them. Luke is blessed to have a mommy who can model healthy self-care for him!
Kelly - So glad to hear you were able to eat more like you like this last week, and able to get out a lot and exercise. And so happy to hear you are (now less than) a week away from being all together as a family again!
Saturday, July 24, 2010
Injury.. ugh
Well, I mentioned in my last post that I was beginning to feel like an athlete again. This week, that has remained true, but in a different way. This week an old, chronic injury visited me again.
Background: I played volleyball and ran track and cross country in high school- and loved it. When I was finishing my sophomore year, I began to feel a popping noise in my hip on occasion. I thought it might be a problem, but since I experienced little pain with it, I left it alone. This came back to bite me at Biola. My 2nd year, I trained and ran a half-marathon. It was wonderful! It also aggravated the problem in my hips. By the time I saw a doctor about it, it was full-blown bursitis.
Since I ran sooo much in training, I overused the joint. Since I did not treat it early, it is probably something that will be a chronic problem for the rest of my life.
I have learned to manage it during the past 5 or so years so that it doesn't affect my daily life (besides the no running thing). All the new exercises and my increased intensity brought it back to life this week.
It is frustrating, but I have been working around it. I have been focusing on arms and abs, and have been doing things like working out in the yard. So far so good. I never know how long the bursitis will act up, but hopefully I will be mostly back to my normal routine in a few weeks.
Responses:
Jessica- Thanks for the DVD reviews! I think I need the No More Trouble Zones
Wow, you use use heavy weights. My standard set is 3, 5, and 10lbs. The food journaling sounds interesting. How much time would you say that it takes?
Katie P.- I am continually amazed by your reflections. Thanks for sharing! I have thought about the water trick often and have used it successfully once this week.
Emily- Your alternative workout :) sounds like a lot of fun. I think it is something like what Wiggledancing is for me. Glad that you are hanging in there during the kitchen remodel! I keep looking at our aging tiled backsplash and cracked tiles.... :)
Kelly- I hope that you are having a great time on your vacation. It looks like you are getting some "fun" exercise in. Yellowstone is so amazing- we went there as part of our honeymoon. :)
Background: I played volleyball and ran track and cross country in high school- and loved it. When I was finishing my sophomore year, I began to feel a popping noise in my hip on occasion. I thought it might be a problem, but since I experienced little pain with it, I left it alone. This came back to bite me at Biola. My 2nd year, I trained and ran a half-marathon. It was wonderful! It also aggravated the problem in my hips. By the time I saw a doctor about it, it was full-blown bursitis.
Since I ran sooo much in training, I overused the joint. Since I did not treat it early, it is probably something that will be a chronic problem for the rest of my life.
I have learned to manage it during the past 5 or so years so that it doesn't affect my daily life (besides the no running thing). All the new exercises and my increased intensity brought it back to life this week.
It is frustrating, but I have been working around it. I have been focusing on arms and abs, and have been doing things like working out in the yard. So far so good. I never know how long the bursitis will act up, but hopefully I will be mostly back to my normal routine in a few weeks.
Responses:
Jessica- Thanks for the DVD reviews! I think I need the No More Trouble Zones
Wow, you use use heavy weights. My standard set is 3, 5, and 10lbs. The food journaling sounds interesting. How much time would you say that it takes?
Katie P.- I am continually amazed by your reflections. Thanks for sharing! I have thought about the water trick often and have used it successfully once this week.
Emily- Your alternative workout :) sounds like a lot of fun. I think it is something like what Wiggledancing is for me. Glad that you are hanging in there during the kitchen remodel! I keep looking at our aging tiled backsplash and cracked tiles.... :)
Kelly- I hope that you are having a great time on your vacation. It looks like you are getting some "fun" exercise in. Yellowstone is so amazing- we went there as part of our honeymoon. :)
Saturday, July 17, 2010
Whew!!
We have air conditioning again!! Oh man, I almost forgot what it could feel like to actually enjoy being in my house! The repairman came today (so glad I suggested Daniel try calling another place after the first place said they could come in SEVEN DAYS - yuck!). So that has really lifted my spirits. Yesterday was my first day back with Daniel home and not working (he works 4 10's, so he gets Fridays off), and I realized how nice it is when he's around to help with Naomi. We spent the day at Barnes & Noble, though, because the house was so miserable. We still swaddle her for naps and it just felt like child abuse to do it in that heat, but thankfully she can nap fairly well in a carrier so walking around B&N was a much cooler nap option.
My shoulder has continued to have zero problems, and I'm so glad. The knots are pretty much gone by now, so I'm still going gentle with upper body stuff. Friday I did Shred Wkt 2 in the morning, and this time I did the arm work, but no weights (except for bicep curls which never bothered the shoulder). I really felt it in my abs/core this time! This morning I jogged with Naomi, and added a half mile to my usual two, which was exciting. I realized on Thursday that I was enjoying it so much more because I was going slower (to take care of my shoulder). My other runs I've been pleased with my speed, but it's not very enjoyable. I want to do better at including both kinds of runs. This morning I tried starting slow and not worrying about speed, but once I warmed up I was feeling good enough to go faster, so I did for the last 2 miles. Then I walked another half mile home. I did crunches (2x30 normal, and 2x30 obliques), and did two sets of girl push-ups - 10 and then 15. That felt fine, which was encouraging, injury-wise.
Another thing that has been really positive for me this week is related to eating. One of my biggest struggles with eating is eating to soothe myself when something goes wrong. A long time ago I heard the idea of consciously doing something other than eating when stressed (like take a bath, read a book, etc), which of course makes a lot of sense, but has always made me angry and I've never been able to do it (?). I think I discovered this week why I get mad. In high school I lost a significant amount of weight, and felt great about my appearance but was lonely and unhappy in general in my life (partly connected to the amount of effort that I was putting into maintaining my weight loss). Ever since then, I've tended to roller-coaster up and down with my weight. There have been a handful of seasons in my life when I have been really free from this roller coaster - not focusing on losing weight but happy with my body, eating to nourish myself and not overindulging a lot. But I've never been able to stay there.
This week I realized that the idea of soothing myself in some way besides eating makes me angry because part of me is afraid that I will head into that spiral again that I was in in high school - that the perfectionist side of me will take over and take me all the way back to that lonely, unhappy place. So I eat in order to "prove" to my perfectionist side that I don't have to do that. Wow! I didn't realize I was doing that, but since I realized that, I've felt a new degree of freedom inside. Kind of like when you consciously recognize something that used to be unconscious, it doesn't have as much power over you. Eating when I'm not hungry does not help me, and although I do want to hold onto that desire to not be that "perfect", lonely person again, now that I am 31 and not 16, I have other ways to do that besides overeating. This week I tried lying down or massaging my back, or drinking ice water, or watching 10 minutes from a movie I like, to relax me. It has been really great!
Oh my gosh. I just realized that I am twice as old as I was when I was 16.
Anyway, I am holding it gently, but I feel excited about this new realization and freedom, and I feel very encouraged about how nice it was this week to actually do things that cared for me when I was stressed rather than eating.
My shoulder has continued to have zero problems, and I'm so glad. The knots are pretty much gone by now, so I'm still going gentle with upper body stuff. Friday I did Shred Wkt 2 in the morning, and this time I did the arm work, but no weights (except for bicep curls which never bothered the shoulder). I really felt it in my abs/core this time! This morning I jogged with Naomi, and added a half mile to my usual two, which was exciting. I realized on Thursday that I was enjoying it so much more because I was going slower (to take care of my shoulder). My other runs I've been pleased with my speed, but it's not very enjoyable. I want to do better at including both kinds of runs. This morning I tried starting slow and not worrying about speed, but once I warmed up I was feeling good enough to go faster, so I did for the last 2 miles. Then I walked another half mile home. I did crunches (2x30 normal, and 2x30 obliques), and did two sets of girl push-ups - 10 and then 15. That felt fine, which was encouraging, injury-wise.
Another thing that has been really positive for me this week is related to eating. One of my biggest struggles with eating is eating to soothe myself when something goes wrong. A long time ago I heard the idea of consciously doing something other than eating when stressed (like take a bath, read a book, etc), which of course makes a lot of sense, but has always made me angry and I've never been able to do it (?). I think I discovered this week why I get mad. In high school I lost a significant amount of weight, and felt great about my appearance but was lonely and unhappy in general in my life (partly connected to the amount of effort that I was putting into maintaining my weight loss). Ever since then, I've tended to roller-coaster up and down with my weight. There have been a handful of seasons in my life when I have been really free from this roller coaster - not focusing on losing weight but happy with my body, eating to nourish myself and not overindulging a lot. But I've never been able to stay there.
This week I realized that the idea of soothing myself in some way besides eating makes me angry because part of me is afraid that I will head into that spiral again that I was in in high school - that the perfectionist side of me will take over and take me all the way back to that lonely, unhappy place. So I eat in order to "prove" to my perfectionist side that I don't have to do that. Wow! I didn't realize I was doing that, but since I realized that, I've felt a new degree of freedom inside. Kind of like when you consciously recognize something that used to be unconscious, it doesn't have as much power over you. Eating when I'm not hungry does not help me, and although I do want to hold onto that desire to not be that "perfect", lonely person again, now that I am 31 and not 16, I have other ways to do that besides overeating. This week I tried lying down or massaging my back, or drinking ice water, or watching 10 minutes from a movie I like, to relax me. It has been really great!
Oh my gosh. I just realized that I am twice as old as I was when I was 16.
Anyway, I am holding it gently, but I feel excited about this new realization and freedom, and I feel very encouraged about how nice it was this week to actually do things that cared for me when I was stressed rather than eating.
Thursday, July 15, 2010
Good News
The strain in my shoulder/arm is gone today! The knots are still there in my back, though, and I'm pretty sure now that they were probably there before, and that I strained my shoulder when I did push-ups with the knots, not realizing they were there (compensating for the knotted muscles by overusing something in my shoulder). I am so glad! I was really worried yesterday, as I have injured my shoulder before and it was A PAIN to recover from.
So today I did a jog but not abs or arms. (I wanted to do the abs but never got to it.) I'm not sure what I'll do tomorrow yet. I'm still leery of doing Shred, and I'm not exactly sure when/how to ease back into that. I think I'll wait until the knots are gone, and then wait a couple more days to make sure. Maybe tomorrow I'll do Shred sans arms again. Or another jog or walk perhaps.
The other part of my commitment to my body today was to lie down and use the tennis ball on my back whenever Naomi napped. I have done that to the great relief of my back, along with keeping up with my ibuprofen (first time I've used that in over a year! I knew you shouldn't use it while pregnant and for some reason translated that to nursing as well... =p) The tennis ball has helped so much. It can really dig into the knots, and doing it every few hours has seemed good.
In other news it has been HOT. It's honestly not so bad compared to what other parts of the country get in summers (Texas!!), but we live upstairs and our air conditioning isn't working very well (we just realized), so it gets stuffy and yucky. Now we have to try and figure out what needs fixing. It really makes me appreciate that this kind of weather is only starting now, in mid-July, rather than in April like it usually does! Today Naomi and I met friends at the La Mirada water park, and took a cool bath together just now. That helped a lot.
Amie - how is Julie doing? I've prayed for her as she's come to mind throughout the day. I hope she's ok.
Emily - thanks for the caution. After watching Steph go through all her shoulder drama several years ago, I have more respect for the shoulder joint.
So today I did a jog but not abs or arms. (I wanted to do the abs but never got to it.) I'm not sure what I'll do tomorrow yet. I'm still leery of doing Shred, and I'm not exactly sure when/how to ease back into that. I think I'll wait until the knots are gone, and then wait a couple more days to make sure. Maybe tomorrow I'll do Shred sans arms again. Or another jog or walk perhaps.
The other part of my commitment to my body today was to lie down and use the tennis ball on my back whenever Naomi napped. I have done that to the great relief of my back, along with keeping up with my ibuprofen (first time I've used that in over a year! I knew you shouldn't use it while pregnant and for some reason translated that to nursing as well... =p) The tennis ball has helped so much. It can really dig into the knots, and doing it every few hours has seemed good.
In other news it has been HOT. It's honestly not so bad compared to what other parts of the country get in summers (Texas!!), but we live upstairs and our air conditioning isn't working very well (we just realized), so it gets stuffy and yucky. Now we have to try and figure out what needs fixing. It really makes me appreciate that this kind of weather is only starting now, in mid-July, rather than in April like it usually does! Today Naomi and I met friends at the La Mirada water park, and took a cool bath together just now. That helped a lot.
Amie - how is Julie doing? I've prayed for her as she's come to mind throughout the day. I hope she's ok.
Emily - thanks for the caution. After watching Steph go through all her shoulder drama several years ago, I have more respect for the shoulder joint.
Wednesday, July 14, 2010
Listening to Injury
This morning I did Shred Wkt 2 (day 2), sans arms. Or at least mostly sans arms. My shoulder continued to bother me all day yesterday, shooting pain down to my wrist, and by evening it hurt to pick up Naomi and do things around the house, which was semi frightening, since those 2 things pretty much make up my life right now. My shoulder felt strained. So I took some Tylenol before bed, used a heating pad and tried to stretch the muscles around it. This morning when I woke up, it still hurt, and I realized it was connected to a yucky knot in the middle of my back. I'm not sure which came first, the strain or the knot, but I tried laying on a tennis ball some, which helped a bit.
I thought about not working out, and gauged where my heart was at. I felt discouraged and powerless, and I could tell that the injury was leading me toward sluggishness and giving up (rather than driving too hard despite injury, which was the other thing I was listening for), so I decided to work out but totally modify to avoid any pain to my arm. There was still a lot I could do with my legs and abs, and simple bicep curls seemed fine.
I was able to do jumping jacks and high knees for some of the cardio that I couldn't do, and sometimes for the plank stuff I just did lunges with bicep curls, but found that I was able to do most of the workout. And at least I did something. My shoulder feels only so-so now (evening), so I'm going to keep resting it and see how it goes.
I thought about not working out, and gauged where my heart was at. I felt discouraged and powerless, and I could tell that the injury was leading me toward sluggishness and giving up (rather than driving too hard despite injury, which was the other thing I was listening for), so I decided to work out but totally modify to avoid any pain to my arm. There was still a lot I could do with my legs and abs, and simple bicep curls seemed fine.
I was able to do jumping jacks and high knees for some of the cardio that I couldn't do, and sometimes for the plank stuff I just did lunges with bicep curls, but found that I was able to do most of the workout. And at least I did something. My shoulder feels only so-so now (evening), so I'm going to keep resting it and see how it goes.
Monday, July 5, 2010
not just yoga, POWER yoga. :)
Yesterday I did Rodney Yee's Power Yoga: Total Body Workout. It felt good by the end of it (it usually does), but the kids all got up from naps or quiet time before the end of it, so it wasn't quite as peaceful as usual. And I was sore from the Jackie and Jillians workouts last week, so all the stretching was more challenging then usual. Still, a nice way to start the week. I always feel so accomplished after I do the backbends towards the end. I'm never quite sure I'm going to make it (I've cramped and tumbled in the middle of them before). It's a good thing they're towards the end, when he has you all warmed up and balanced, or I probably wouldn't make it!
Do you guys ever do a workout and think, "I'd better enjoy this, because someday my body isn't going to let me do this anymore"? I've been thinking about that recently. You enjoy this body, but its capabilities slowly declined, and how do you wean yourself off of the joys of a willing body? I've had my ability to physically do things taken away at a couple of points in my life, due to injuries and such, but in each case, I could reasonably expect them to return, and they did. But that won't be true with old age.
Though it does seem - in some completely serious sense that I don't think I really understand yet - that the hope of a new body in heaven is part of the answer. I don't think I get that yet. But I can see that it's there to get. Does that make any sense?
anyway, just wondering if anyone else has thought about this at all. It seems we're all close to what you might call our physical peak, and I can see the downhill staring me in the face. Wheeeee! :D
-Jess
Wednesday, June 30, 2010
Day 23
I am going to be so. very. glad. when this remodel is over. I'm discovering that "we'll be there on Wednesday or Thursday" doesn't not at all mean what it sounds like. This whole process is going to be taking a lot longer than initially estimated, and frankly, it is hard to live like this. My whole house is a mess, I'm running out of creative ways to not-cook and still feed my family healthy food, and my routines are shot, shot, shot.
Ok, I'm done complaining now. :)
Water - 80 ounces
GS - yes
Exercise - karate
I am SO sore from karate. And realizing that I'm going to have to be more careful than I'd anticipated with my old shoulder injury. I'm setting that as a goal for myself, actually: part of my return to being a black belt is to work on being confident and secure enough to say "no, I cannot do that; I don't want to hurt myself."
Ok, I'm done complaining now. :)
Water - 80 ounces
GS - yes
Exercise - karate
I am SO sore from karate. And realizing that I'm going to have to be more careful than I'd anticipated with my old shoulder injury. I'm setting that as a goal for myself, actually: part of my return to being a black belt is to work on being confident and secure enough to say "no, I cannot do that; I don't want to hurt myself."
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