How Can the Tops of My Feet Hurt?

It’s hard, very hard!  Again the first week of the month has been a challenge.  My body has revolted against my healthy habits.  I go to the gym and come home ravenous.  If I don’t feed the hunger (with lots and lots of food) then I get odd aches and pains making me feel like exercising would be a mistake.  Today while running the tops of my feet hurt, really hurt!  I never even knew foot tops could hurt. 

As you know by now, I’m in it for the long haul and am still committed to my lifestyle changes. Self-talk is something that has really helped.  At times when I let that slip and worry about other things, my motivation and resolve slips as well.  So at night while falling asleep and while running I need to keep my pep talk running. My pep talk consists of where I’ve been, where I’m going and how to get there.  I reflect on what has worked and what hasn’t.  Here’s a review of how I tackled some challenges in January (I need to keep playing these in my head so I can tackle the next bumps with even more resolve.)

"MID-WINTER"
Otis sometimes poses for a really nice picture.

Some challenges in January that I OVERCAME:

• Everyone started week 1 dieting and I was having a hard time (waaah, waaah….I forgave myself & moved on)
• The week I had a cold I discovered that one of the reasons I eat is when I feel a little sick.  It’s logical to think that food would give me energy, right?  So I dabbled in more carbs & calories and eventually went to lunch w/my son for a steamed cheeseburger & fries.  This same week my youngest made Muddy Buddies and they were very, very tasty.  I forgave myself for the burger & fries and portioned out the Muddy Buddies in snack baggies. Then told my 6^th grader how many baggies she had so I couldn’t sneak anymore.
• Went to a club meeting where everyone brings an appetizer or dessert.  Due to my cold that week I had not made anything healthy myself but brought cheese, pepperoni & crackers.  This group tends to share lots of good homemade goodies!  I loaded up on the salad even though it had walnuts in it (which I hate). Then I allowed about 2 T of anything else.  And I tracked every nibble in S Health!  I had a small corn muffin w/1/2 c chili, 2 tortilla chips w/corn relish, 1 oz. cheese, 1 serving of triscuits, 1 c. strawberries, the salad w/walnuts & dressing and a bite of baked brie

I’m still astounded that I’m really committed to eating healthfully and exercising.  My lapses have not been binges.  I struggled with a cold and missed exercise.  Never in a million years did I think I would miss exercise.

I had the first of my 2 annual doctor exams.  It felt so good to show a weight loss from last year! 

The Joy of being Outside!

Who's a Good Boy?

February Already? Time for a Goals/Accomplishments Update

Click here to learn how!

Having a Fabulous February already, are you? I started my day at the gym where I did 40 minutes on the Elliptical and then some arm & shoulder machines.  On the Elliptical I select the “Variety” or “Weight Loss” workout and change the default time to 35 minutes.  Then I press “Options” and input my weight and age.  The machine adds a 5 minute cool down. After a few machines (the twisty one for my muffin top, one that had “shoulder” in the name and another one) I felt a little light headed so decided it was time to come home for breakfast.

My Favorite Breakfast Staples

Breakfast is either Quick Steel Cut Oatmeal (with 1 diced apple, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, 1/8 c. slivered almonds & 1 T Chia seeds) or Eggs & toast (or Protein English Muffin) with 1 T butter.  A few weeks ago I decided the oatmeal breakfast sticks with me longer, but today I went for the eggs & toast since it’s been about a week since I had that and I think the shot of protein in the eggs was needed this a.m.

My dilemma is finding a small snack to eat pre-breakfast on the days I want to go to the gym.  I have tried ½ c. grapefruit slices (in Extra Light syrup, drained) + ¼ c. cottage cheese.  This works, but I still get very hungry while exercising. I’d love suggestions. 

How did I do on those January Goals?

        Goals for January:

•          Two exercise events on the same day  3x/week (Balance Board, Running, Gym)
•          30 mins. HR exercise 6x/week
•          Track food 5 days/week or more
•          Keep calorie count near target of 1850/day
•          Continue to forgive lapses and forge ahead, showing kindness to myself as I would to others.

I accomplished these goals and lost 4 pounds!  Yay!  After a tough time getting on track week 1 and a cold during week 3 I certainly had time to apply my final goal of the month.  I’m somewhat conflicted about the weight loss.  Happy that now that I’m sticking to about 1850 calories/day the weight loss has increased from ½ lb./wk to a full lb./wk.  However it’s still a little discouraging to realize how long it will take me to lose all the weight I want and to hear results of others who seem to drop 10 lbs. their first week on a new program. But I don’t wallow for long.  I’ve never believed in a quick fix or magic pill weight loss method for optimum health.  I know that what I am doing is healthy and allows my body to build muscle while reducing fat.  I know that I can work within my structure and LIVE this way – not just temporarily.  

Here’s a post I put on the #GoRedGetFit group on Facebook.  It had a lot of responses and I want to make sure I keep it handy for reference:

Here's my motivational thought this morning while on the Elliptical at the gym. I'm 51 years old. If I deduct my first 20 years as childhood/growing. I've had 30 great years: career, raising a family, travel, activity (skiing, hiking, adventures), another career. Now I have 30 more years ahead of me: should I be slowing down? NO! Should I weigh this much and just take pleasure in crafts, books & TV? NO! I want to actively make an impact and accomplish just as much in the next 30 years as the past 30! .... This is a high motivation day for me....I hope I can look back on this post when I need it...I hope someone who is low on motivation can feel inspired by this! Let's really LIVE life to the fullest!

Call? Text? Email? How Do You Prioritize so many Communication Choices?

I left a message on a Dad’s landline answering machine about arranging car pool for our daughters.  He never heard the message and laughed that he only uses his cell phone now.

A co-volunteer emailed me at 9:11a.m. with a change in instructions for my volunteer shift at 1:30pm.  I didn’t read my email until 4:00pm

How do we communicate as we approach the year 2017?  Is there an etiquette defined?

Here’s my personal process –not right or wrong, but my way of doing things and why. 

Landline phone – appointment reminders, conversation, middle of the night emergencies. I grew up with a landline and still use it as my primary contact.  For most instances when I give my phone number, it’s not to someone I want to ring my cell while I’m grocery shopping or watching a soccer game. Multi-tasking may be great for some people, but I enjoy single focus in my life – I believe the catchy term is “mindfulness.”

Cell phone – call backs from doctors , customer service reps, etc. (when told to call that number). Texts for anything you need a response to within an hour or so.  I generally will check on my phone hourly so if the co-volunteer had texted I would’ve received it.  My kids know that if I’m driving they need to call because I will not touch my phone while driving (I have blue tooth).  They can also call when I’m grocery shopping or watching a soccer game: different rules apply for those closest in my life.

Email – shopping receipts, meeting minutes, anything that doesn’t need an immediate response. I check my email daily: often early morning then again later in the afternoon.  My job doesn’t communicate with me via email nor does my immediate family for urgent information so I have no reason to monitor my email hourly.

I work as a substitute teacher and I’m not always in a school or location in the school that gets service. So when I spend the day at work, I may get a break to check texts or missed calls but I have no reason to check email.

Social Media Messenging services: I’ll receive Facebook messenger like a text on my phone because I’ve set it up that way.  One of my sons has shoddy cell service in his dorm, so he will send me a messenger  text from his wired computer.  But some people have messaged me through Twitter and Words with Friends: I’m less likely to see those than to see email so besides the occasional “good word!” those methods aren’t effective for me.

Have you experienced communication breakdown in the digital age? How do you prioritize what method to use?

 I could spend another essay discussing the difference between a proper communications in each method: brevity vs. politeness.  Even more on all of the opportunities for personal contact that really should not be missed just because a text is convenient. 

Norwex February Specials ~ Still Clearing the Air

In my mission to spread the Heart Health message, I still believe removing unnecessary potentially dangerous chemicals from your home environment is the best way to create a safe haven for your health so I'm still clearing the air with Norwex!  I no longer have my website, but accept orders via email.

February Specials ~ Join my Kind Cleaning With Norwex Facebook group for an even better deal on these ;)

Every Pet Owner Needs “Pet Perfect!”

We have had a muddy Spring this January!  Thankfully my Pet towel cleans Otis off before he even enters the house.  Unlike the picture, I wrap the towel under him and get all the muck off, then get his legs and paws.  So gentle and removes everything this crazy weather has brought: mud, snow, ice and the dreaded ice melt pellets/salt.  I can use it over and over before having to wash it too - it holds a lot and has BacLock which causes the towel to neutralize any bacteria and prevent it from coming off.

The “Magnetic Duo!” makes a great gift or 2^nd Cleaning set for your Home

My magnetic EnviroCloth hangs out on the side of my fridge – easy to grab at a moment’s notice when flour has spilled onto the floor, the ketchup bottle topples over or chocolate fingers just closed the fridge door!  Teachers love these to hang on their white boards too, they stay handy and clean that board like nobody’s business.

Hold a small party at your home or an on-line party and you could earn some of the Host Rewards listed.  Norwex solves so many problems: glass cooktop gunk, mirror/window spots, dust everywhere, fingerprints/Sharpie on the wall!  I could go on and on – the point is the products sell themselves because they are solutions to pesky home cleaning issues.  More importantly they allow your home to be clean and germ-free without harmful asthma inducing chemicals.  Email me for more information if interested.

Doctor Visit Hacks for Women

In the past I'd arrive to the tiny cold exam room and be told to put on 2 sheets of paper.  One was supposed to be a top and the other was supposed to wrap around like a sarong. Exit nurse - Engage butterfingers as I attempt to unfold the "top" without tearing it. If I managed to get both pieces positioned on my body I would then try to scoot up to the exam table and hear the inevitable rip.  Then I would have to sit with arms fully engaged holding the paper over myself.  I'm not extremely shy, but it's cold and the lights are very bright!

Now I bring my own gown. I keep an old nursing gown for this purpose.  It scrunches small enough to be tossed in my purse.  I think a short cotton robe would be even better (opening in front.)  I still take the sarong-paper sheet for a little extra coverage.  I can pretend I have a blanket draping over my legs.

Prep work: most of us figure out after several years that they will ask the first day of our last cycle, so make sure to have that date in your mind.  I spent years mumbling days before the nurse would point to a calendar as if that would help my temporary mental incompetence.

As I've aged from taking 0 meds and 0 vitamins, they now ask those questions.  And they want to know exact milligrams!  This one I've solved easily by taking a photo of my vitamins (thankfully, no regular meds yet!) before I leave.  I can just pull up the picture on my phone and read it off to them.

My visit today is done and I get to do this again with my GP in 2 weeks.  The good part is I showed a weight loss this year and proudly showed off my Better Homes & Gardens article!

Spreading Heart Health Awareness ~ Better Homes & Gardens Article

My 15 minutes of fame have arrived!  There’s a piece about me in the February 2017 edition of Better Homes & Gardens magazine.  I’m sure it will be a small snippet – the only questions are how small? And which picture was chosen, if any?

(Literally as I was typing, my sister called to say she received her February BH&G and I am in it!)

Back in October I was so motivated by the #GoRedGetFit group on Facebook that I changed the focus of my blog (KindCleaning.Blogspot.com) to identify my heart healthy motivation and goals. Read about it here: http://kindcleaning.blogspot.com/2016/10/gored-getfit-why-its-my-new-catchphrase.html.  

A couple of days later someone from the American Heart Association posted on the board about contacting women who were beginning to get healthy and finding out their “why” for a magazine article.  I was one of the first few to respond with a link to my blog.

Pretty quickly I was emailed by the AHA person and then connected with the writer.  We emailed and had a telephone interview.  I had to send her a handful of photos of myself.

Since my interview I’ve continued to spread the news about Heart Disease with daily exercise Facebook updates accompanied with some Heart Facts; I’ve arranged for both schools my children attend to participate in the Wear Red for Women’s Heart Health Day on February 3^rd; and I’ve taken the advice offered by the panel.  The writer has stayed in touch along the way.  Go buy the magazine!

And I'm actually looking forward to visiting my doctors this month.  Not the exam part, but I know they will see a weight loss and hopefully improved blood pressure.  Coincidentally I visit my Primary Care Physician on February 3rd!  So I'll be wearing Red and handing out stickers and flyers to everyone I meet.

January: The Month of New Diets and Resolutions

On the eve of my 51^st birthday I’ve become quite reflective. What have I done in life? Am I where I should be? Do I have unattained goals that need attention?  Yikes, I think this is where Mid-life crises begin! I’m not interested in spending money foolishly or destroying my family.  My mid-life crisis will result in a whole new me! (Well, I’m still Carol, just healthier and more active!)

Fortunately I can feel a metamorphosis happening. In September, through a sudden loss, I made the mental-physical connections needed to embark on a healthier lifestyle. Different from the 2,452 other times I began a diet, health regimen, exercise program, etc., this time took hold like none before. I’m doing things entirely out of character for me.  For example I used to wonder what the heck people did to stay at the gym for longer than an hour (and WHY?  Didn’t they have other things to do?) This morning an hour flew by and I had more I wanted to do at the gym!  I MADE myself leave though because, yes, I do have other things to do.  And I did all that on just one cup of coffee!  Some other changes:

•          I only baked one batch of cookies over the holidays
•          I allowed myself some sweets on Christmas Eve/Christmas and New Year’s Eve but didn’t gorge on them.  By Christmas night, my body was looking forward to NOT having sugar the next day.
•          I spent hours at ski lodges and did NOT buy anything but coffee from the heavily scented (fatty, sugary) concessions.  One day was particularly hard and I felt the $3 coffee that tasted like sludge was overpriced: until I realized it prevented me from buying a large chocolate chip cookie and decided that was the best $3 I spent.

While celebrating my successes, I will be honest also: I DID eat sweets on other days; particularly the first week of January was tough for me.  When everyone else was ultra-motivated to begin a health program, I had just made it through the holidays on a motivation high so just couldn’t jump any higher which resulted in some lapses.

Goals Review of December = Accomplishments:

•          Exercise 5x/week : elevating my heart rate to 120-150 for 30 minutes
•          Reduce sugar: I’ve worked sweets out of my daily routine
•          Completed that first 5K (which for me, was a tool to get me running)
•          Bought some more tools for success: Passion Planner, Arbonne Protein Shake Mix, work-out clothing
•         Recorded my workouts on FB – for inspiration to others, encouragement to me and accountability.
•          Tracked food 3 days/week
•          I went skiing twice: multiple runs on green and blue trails!  The funny thing is: this activity did NOT get my HR up to Target Zone.  It elevated to about 50% of max HR.

Goals for January:

•          Two exercise events on the same day  3x/week (Balance Board, Running, Gym)
•          30 mins. HR exercise 6x/week
•          Track food 5 days/week or more
•          Keep calorie count near target of 1850/day
•          Continue to forgive lapses and forge ahead, showing kindness to myself as I would to others.

Some books I’ve been reading for inspiration that you may find interesting:

The End of Overeating (click here)

This book puts into context ideas I’ve always known on the surface.  Basically that we (as a society) have become cunningly manipulated into eating more sugar and high fat foods.  It shows how far we have come from what our bodies were intended to eat. It aligns with the current trends of Paleo, Mediterranean Diet, etc. – but is more bare bones and succinct than a “trend.”

No Need for Speed (click here)

This author speaks to the runner that I am. Yes, he says I’m a runner even if I run the same way he began: Wogging = half waddling + half jogging.  His crutch was cigarettes, mine is that ½ tsp. of sugar that I need in my coffee.  We are not perfect, but we’re working hard and accomplishing goals.