Thursday, February 25, 2016

February Check-In

Welp...nothing much has been going on with me, which is probably why I haven't felt the need to blog! But I'm sure I can find SOMETHING to talk about, right?? ....

MILESTONE
My birthday was on February 11th. I'm another year older (yay me!). And I found my first gray hair that day too? Coincidence? I'm "only" 37 so I'm not going to let it get me down.

RUNNING
My running is slightly improving. After gaining a bit of weight in November and more post-surgery, I probably packed on 10-15 lbs late last year. Not that my running was going perfectly before that... I mean, last year I was just slow as molasses. But after the extra weight plus the shoulder surgery recovery time, I just could barely run without wanting to walk. I decided to slow my pace and just hope that getting back into running and losing some weight will help me. And it has been I think. Is it just one? Both? I think probably a combination. Don't get me wrong, I'm not were I used to be at all. But I'm running for the enjoyment of it and hanging with my "semi-back-of-the-packers" and we are a fun happy bunch so it's all good.



WEIGHT WATCHERS
Going really well actually! As of today, I'm down 17.2 lbs total (3.6 lbs lost this past week). 17 pounds makes a huge difference. I have no doubt that's one of the reasons I'm starting to feel a little better and starting to speed up my runs a bit sometimes. All-in-all I'm only slightly down from where I started before I gained all this weight last year. And I'm still about 30 lbs from my goal weight but baby steps. I'll take it. Another 15 pounds and I'll be a happy camper!

They changed the program at the end of last year and decided to incorporate sugar and saturated fat into the way the points are calculated. And wow! What an eye opener! Some of it does feel a bit restricting but I'm fine with the changes. I shouldn't be eating all that sugar and saturated fat anyway! But when you do want an indulgence every once in a while, it can be tough. And I'm from the mind frame of "everything in moderation." So it can be challenging but I fit it in when and where I can to satisfy my needs. I'm still working on fitting in pizza and ice cream though. This has been my challenge. But all in all, I like it. And my fiancé is on board with helping me find and make healthier meals. That is an extreme help!

ACTIVITY
I'm only running about 2 days per week (up from 1 day). But I need to workout ... for my health physically and mentally. I've been loving the bike trainer lately. We have the Wahoo Kickr and I connect it to Zwift on the computer. I love that I don't have to leave the house and I think the program itself is pretty fun. It's a great workout and the kickr adjusts to the hills and definitely can be challenging. So I've been doing this a couple times a week since it's winter and I don't feel like doing outdoor activities.


I've also been doing some spin classes every once in a while (but frankly, I'm been deciding to do the trainer instead lately).  I am trying to incorporate some strength lower body workouts. And I've been walking.

SHOULDER
I think it's getting better. Sometimes I'm a bit frustrated. I'm trying to keep up with my shoulder exercises but I've gotten off track a few times here and there. I know I need to keep up with them. I went to the chiropractor today and she noticed I'm not rotating my shoulder when lifting my arm straight up to the side. I need to work on this and need Derek's help doing it. It's important that I try to keep this going otherwise I won't have full range of motion. So this is a bit frustrating. I want to be normal and fine. Maybe one day. At least I'm not dislocating my shoulder all the time.

WINTER
I'm so over it! :)

Monday, February 1, 2016

Progress

Happy February! It's my birthday month (because you celebrate for a whole month, right)? February 11th is the exact date and...oh... I found a gray hair this morning! Eeekkk! I don't have gray hair so it's kinda a big deal right? Actually, no, I don't care. But fitting that it's in time for my 37th birthday.

Good news on all fronts!  When I went to my shoulder doctor appointment on Jan 4th, I was determined to weigh less for today's doctor's appointment. AND... I weighed in 10 lbs less! Go me! Yes, I'm doing Weight Watchers (again). And yes, it works for me.  (Side note, I'm down officially 8.6 lbs as of last week there but do expect a few more pounds down this week).

My doctor said my shoulder is doing very well. Since I was just shy of 3 months post-surgery (about 1.5 weeks shy), he was still hesitant of letting me do a couple things. Firstly, I still am not allowed to do external rotation since he wants me to be 3 months out of surgery. Since I'm close, he is allowing me to do a slight stretch on that right now.

External Rotation                 
I did ask when he thinks it will be ok to start trying to swim and he said to give it another month. (YAY!!)  He also said to refrain from weights but then did say I could do light weights for bicep curls or bench presses. Although I'm not trying to push anything as I do what things to heal up properly and not get re-injured.

He said something about close to having full range of motion, so I asked when he thought I would have full range back (I figured 6 months). He says generally 4-6 months but since I'm doing so well, he's figuring closer to the 4 month range! Woohoo!! What!? What!? Seriously...my dream. This may sound weird but if you've dealt with all my shoulder issues since July 2012, you would understand!  To one day be as close to "normal" as I can be... it's... I just can't imagine.

ANYWAY... that's all the news from here. As I stated, I'm doing well on the weight watchers/weight loss front. My birthday is in just over a week and I already know I will be having some splurges and I'm ok with that. I will just make the other days "good eating" days.  I may lose slowly sometimes but I think that it's the same ideas as with running...

It's a marathon, not a sprint!

Disclaimer: If you talk to me for the next several months, you will probably only hear about:
       
        1. My shoulder
        2. My wedding
        3. Weight Watchers

You've been warned! :)