I'm encouraged that I have lost 9 pounds over the last two months! I still have a long way to go, but it is good to make progress. I am finally able to wear my wedding band. Previously my hands were too swollen for it to fit. Now I can wear it during the day (and take it off at night because my hands tend to swell some while I sleep). Hopefully I can get back to wearing it 24/7.
I have been walking (with some short spurts of jogging uphill) over the past 2 months. In August I walked 16 times, burned 5,969 calories, and climbed 2,780.6 feet in elevation (according to my handy dandy Runkeeper app on my phone). Since one pound of fat is about 3,500 calories, I burned almost 2 pounds of fat by exercise and probably trimmed the rest of it off by eating more sensibly.
Starting to exercise takes patience. I did have about 10 days where I didn't walk at all and it allowed my muscles to heal up and stop being sore. I still wear a knee brace on my right knee (and probably always will). It just needs a little bit of support, especially if I jog any.
My youngest Yorkshire Terrier, Izzi, has tons of energy. This week I started taking her on the first half of my walk to help her burn off some of her endless energy. She walked 1.73 miles today and still wanted to play later!
Wednesday, September 20, 2017
Thursday, August 24, 2017
Making Progress
Well, I'm making progress! I've been watching what I eat (but not doing anything crazy). The biggest change is that I have started walking a lot. If I walk my entire subdivision it is 3.45 miles. So most days I have been walking all of that. Some days I walk more. today I walked 4.24 miles and burned 495 calories! A long time ago a personal trainer told me that the only way to get rid of fat is to "burn it off with cardio." That means walking, running, or other aerobic exercise. I can feel it in my legs, sometimes my ligaments are sore. I also usually wear a knee brace on my right knee because it is a little weak.
A friend of mine helped me put new tires on my bicycle and tuned it up. I haven't gone riding yet, but hope to start soon. That's another form of exercise that will hopefully be gentle on my knees. I will keep you informed of my progress.
Speaking of progress, I am down to 198 now, which is a loss of 6 pounds! I'm still shooting for a final weight of 170 and want to maintain it. Once I reach that weight I will probably start working on my one mile run. I have always wanted to run one mile in less than 5 minutes. My best time was when I was at Georgia Tech and it was 5:12 (SO close!). I'm making progress!
A friend of mine helped me put new tires on my bicycle and tuned it up. I haven't gone riding yet, but hope to start soon. That's another form of exercise that will hopefully be gentle on my knees. I will keep you informed of my progress.
Speaking of progress, I am down to 198 now, which is a loss of 6 pounds! I'm still shooting for a final weight of 170 and want to maintain it. Once I reach that weight I will probably start working on my one mile run. I have always wanted to run one mile in less than 5 minutes. My best time was when I was at Georgia Tech and it was 5:12 (SO close!). I'm making progress!
Tuesday, August 8, 2017
Little by Little
A couple of weeks ago I went on a much needed vacation. Usually on vacation I eat like a pig and stay away from a scale for a while! But this time I tried to eat in moderation (most of the time). We stayed in Augusta house sitting for my in-laws for 6 days. During that time I decided to start walking. On Monday through Friday that week I walked at least 3 miles each day! Needless to say my muscles were a bit sore. I took off the following Saturday and Sunday. Then on Monday my left knee started hurting. So, I wore a knee brace for a few days and took it easy.
Now that I am back from vacation and my knee seems to be doing better I went walking yesterday (2.76 miles). My goal is not to go fast, but to build up strength & endurance. Today I took my bicycle to a friend's house and we worked on it for 3 hours (putting on new tires, adjusting the cables and tensions, checking the brakes, and cleaning up everything). It has been many, many years since I rode my bike. But now I have bike riding as an option for exercise. That should help my knees and also be enjoyable.
One of the things I realized while walking during vacation is that 3 years from now will be my 40th anniversary for hiking the Appalachian Trail. So I decided that I want to spend the next 3 years getting back into shape. And on April 12, 2020 I will climb Springer Mountain, which is the Southern Terminus of the Appalachian Trail in Georgia. It will be 40 years to the day when I first climbed that mountain on my thru-hike. I also decided that on September 4, 2020 I will climb Mount Katahdin in Baxter State Park, Maine. That will be 40 years to the day of when I completed my thru-hike. I know it is 3 years away, but it is a goal to shoot for!
I also realized that much of the Appalachian Trail can be "day hiked". That means you don't have to carry a backpack with camping gear as long as someone drops you off and picks you up along the way. In order to get ready for the 2020 hikes, I will probably do some day hikes. I did quite a bit of hiking on the Appalachian Trail both before and after my thru-hike. I'm going to go back and reconstruct all of the hikes that I remember. I'm pretty sure I have done all of Georgia in pieces, all of the Smokies, from South of the Nantahala River to Fontana Dam, a week in Virginia, and some other hikes. It's a long shot, but perhaps I could eventually day hike most (or all) of the Trail again in pieces. That would probably take the rest of my life to do!
And a weight check, I'm at 201 right now. I went up a few pounds right after my vacation, but I have already trimmed them back off. I'm making progress little by little!
Now that I am back from vacation and my knee seems to be doing better I went walking yesterday (2.76 miles). My goal is not to go fast, but to build up strength & endurance. Today I took my bicycle to a friend's house and we worked on it for 3 hours (putting on new tires, adjusting the cables and tensions, checking the brakes, and cleaning up everything). It has been many, many years since I rode my bike. But now I have bike riding as an option for exercise. That should help my knees and also be enjoyable.
One of the things I realized while walking during vacation is that 3 years from now will be my 40th anniversary for hiking the Appalachian Trail. So I decided that I want to spend the next 3 years getting back into shape. And on April 12, 2020 I will climb Springer Mountain, which is the Southern Terminus of the Appalachian Trail in Georgia. It will be 40 years to the day when I first climbed that mountain on my thru-hike. I also decided that on September 4, 2020 I will climb Mount Katahdin in Baxter State Park, Maine. That will be 40 years to the day of when I completed my thru-hike. I know it is 3 years away, but it is a goal to shoot for!
I also realized that much of the Appalachian Trail can be "day hiked". That means you don't have to carry a backpack with camping gear as long as someone drops you off and picks you up along the way. In order to get ready for the 2020 hikes, I will probably do some day hikes. I did quite a bit of hiking on the Appalachian Trail both before and after my thru-hike. I'm going to go back and reconstruct all of the hikes that I remember. I'm pretty sure I have done all of Georgia in pieces, all of the Smokies, from South of the Nantahala River to Fontana Dam, a week in Virginia, and some other hikes. It's a long shot, but perhaps I could eventually day hike most (or all) of the Trail again in pieces. That would probably take the rest of my life to do!
And a weight check, I'm at 201 right now. I went up a few pounds right after my vacation, but I have already trimmed them back off. I'm making progress little by little!
Friday, July 21, 2017
Time To Start Again!
One of the things I learned on the Appalachian Trail was to never give up! Some days were tough, but I just kept going. It was an important life lesson! For those who read this blog, I have been silent for quite some time. The main reason is because my Dad went into the hospital on Dec 6, 2016 and (other than 9 days at home in March) he was in either a hospital or rehab until June 26, 2017. The good news is that he is finally home and is much improved.
Because of this, I have had terrible eating habits and have put on weight. For the first time ever my weight went over 200 pounds! Last week I started walking again and started trying to eat better. I started at 203 pounds and have lost a grand total of one pound so far. But it is a start. My first mini-goal is to get below 200 pounds (and stay there). But I still want to get back down to a healthy weight of 170. So stay tuned for more updates from time to time. God bless!!
Because of this, I have had terrible eating habits and have put on weight. For the first time ever my weight went over 200 pounds! Last week I started walking again and started trying to eat better. I started at 203 pounds and have lost a grand total of one pound so far. But it is a start. My first mini-goal is to get below 200 pounds (and stay there). But I still want to get back down to a healthy weight of 170. So stay tuned for more updates from time to time. God bless!!
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