Day 4

Up at 7 a.m. and it's 32 degrees outside.  I'm sure the strawberry fields are covered in their protective ice, that means they are going to be so super sweet this harvest. 

After a really nice day of rest yesterday, I am ready to go.  Once I get my shower in, I'll be working on getting in some steps before I tackle a house project.  My house is under major renovations right now so all I have to do is pick one.  There is no shortage of work to be done around here.

My plan today is to try to make up for the steps I missed AND get my steps in.  That's a big goal for one day, but who knows, maybe I'll stand up and grab that walker and it'll be a piece of cake.  Or, I'll grab my walker, get about 200 steps in and say to myself "what the hell were you thinking?"

Update:

I was right, I got about 200 steps in and said "what the hell were you thinking".  I had to force myself to get more than that down for the day.  I keep forgetting how out of shape I am since I had so much down time after my injury.  Must remember these things before I go making statements I can't live up to!

I'm just proud I got over 300 in today!  When I get better conditioned and lose some lbs I will keep adding steps to make up for the ones lost.

Step count today:
307
99,393 steps to go

Day 3

It's Day 3 of 2010 and I have spent almost the entire day in bed.  I figured I would take this one last day before it's back to school and work to rest and recharge my batteries.

I feel terrible for falling behind in my steps already but as important as it is for me to get my steps in, it's equally as important that I rest, and today I am tired.

Baby, It's Cold Outside

I like the cold weather.  I was born in one of the coldest states in the country where actual temps drop well below zero and wind chills can freeze human skin within seconds.  I can take it, I'm a Viking. 

Today, however, my body just doesn't wanna. 

Things move slower when it's cold, including me.  My molecules aren't bouncing around as fast as they would on a normal warm Florida day, and it's slowing me down considerably. 

In contrast, my hometown is right around -35 degrees right now, and here in Florida it's around 35, but it's all relative.  When you go from 75-80 degree days and 50-60 degree nights to 50 degree days and 34 degree nights, it's quite a swing.  Thank goodness for my coffee to keep me warm and the constant reminder it could be much, much colder and the ground could be covered in ice and snow.

Speaking of the ground being covered in snow, I swear it could have just as well been yesterday with the amount of friction I was fighting against that broken caster.  My arms are still screaming at me.  I must get that fixed, but in the meantime while I save my pennies to do it, I will have to start using my good old reliable recumbent exercise bike again.  Then I will have no excuses why I can't get my walking in for the day.  I think if I had tried to walk yesterday my arms would have just gone limp in protest.  My legs were ready to go, but my triceps felt differently.  Walking puts a lot of strain on my shoulders and triceps, so I thought it best to not tax the only two limbs I have left beyond their breaking point.  I'll make up for the missed steps.

Getting back to the cold weather -- it's only supposed to get colder over the next few days.  The local farmer's are in a frenzy, staying up all hours of the night watching the temperature, ready to turn on the sprinklers as soon as it hits freezing to coat the precious strawberry crops in a blanket of protective ice.  Funny how the very thing that could totally ruin them is exactly what protects them this time of year.  Not only does the ice protect them from the freezing air, but it makes for a super sweet harvest in the coming weeks.  Yum.

Strawberry Shortcake here I come. 

Day 2

On an absolutely perfect day, I hit the park.  My plan was to climb my bridge and do four miles in the chair.  My first plan went to hell when halfway to the park I realized I had forgotten my crutch.  OK, so I'm not climbing the bridge today, I can live with it, I'll just get my steps in when I get home.  After getting to the park and getting in my chair, something feels "off".  Each time I push forward, it's as if the chair is coming right back at me.  It's almost like someone is pulling me back as I try to push forward.  I look down and I see that one of my casters has come off its bearing which is causing friction and cannot be fixed.  I need a new caster that I can't afford.  I trudge on anyway.

By the time I get done with the two miles, both my shoulders are cramped up tight and my forearms feel shredded.  It was the hardest two miles I've ever done.

Needless to say on a day when it was all I could do just to get the motivation to go to the park in the first place, I'm done for the day.  I'll just have to make up for not getting my steps in some other time.  My arms hurt too bad and I'm completely worn out.

99,700 steps to go.

Making Each Day Count

I've always wanted to start a year by making each and every day count for something.  No matter what I do, I want to look back and know that each day mattered.  It doesn't always have to mean hard work or something spectacular, it could mean spending the day with my daughter doing the things she enjoys... but to me, that would be spectacular.

So far this year (which we are into by one day) I have done just that.  I really tried hard yesterday to make it a day worth talking about.  I took 300 steps for the first time since hurting my knee, managed to work on my kitchen floor, and did the normal every day mundane things in between (like taking down the Christmas decorations).  I worked on my diet plan and mapped out how to approach that in a way I think I will have the most success, and I just prepared myself in general for the year ahead.

I even managed to have a comical rant about being fat and entered it into my other blog:
Thoughs on Being Fat

Apparenlty, I have surpassed my anxiety and have just moved right on to the gotta-do-what-you-gotta-do phase. 

My mother even moved into her own apartment yesterday... so there is another milestone to start the year.  We do miss her around here, but it's also nice to have our own space back.  Afterall, she is just right down the road.

I'm really looking forward to the next 364 days and what they will bring.

Day 1

1:00 P.M.

150 steps taken with my walker so far today...

I knew I was going to be out of shape, and I assumed my legs would have lost a significant amount of strength since the knee injury set me back so far, but in contrast my legs seem to have not lost a whole lot of strength at all.  I am out of shape, that's for sure, and the added pounds I am working to lose don't help matters, but my legs seem to have faired pretty well during my down time.  Every step of the 150 I have taken so far I took with my knees bent so I really feel it in my muscles.  The idea is to walk like that for every step and not let the knees hyperextend at all. 

6:00 P.M.

150 more steps taken for a total of 300 today.  That really felt great!

99,700 to go.

Thoughts on Being Fat:
http://nevergiveupblog.wordpress.com/2010/01/01/thoughts-on-being-fat/

2010 - Here We Go...

I quite literally have butterflies in my stomach as I write this.  It's the start of a New Year, and for me, the beginning of a long and arduous journey.  Both of my goals for this year are for the best, and once achieved will make me feel like people must feel when they climb Mount Everest or sail around the world, but I can't help but be nervous.  The weight loss part isn't easy, but it's very doable, and the walking part is extremely difficult, but also very doable.  I just get scared I'm not up for the challenge.  A small part of me wonders if I can actually force myself to be so disciplined and strong every... single... day.  Another part of me tells that part to stop whining and get to work!

I get very annoyed at people who complain.  I have nothing but admiration for those who are dealt a shitty hand but remain positive and strong and do what's necessary without a whole lot of fanfare.  I like to think I am one of those people, but sometimes I doubt even that.  Even just writing in this blog I feel like some form of a whiner, and that kind of pisses me off.  I know writing is cathartic, that's why I do it, but when does it go from cathartic to just plain pissing and moaning? 

On that note, I am not here to whine or complain or be one of those people.  I'm here for myself first and foremost so I have an outlet to express how I feel about all of this, and secondly, I'm here for anyone who needs a good kick in the ass to get started on anything they need to get started on to better themselves.

This year is going to be hard, but I want it to be.  I want it to kick my ass and make me wish I had never drummed up this terrible idea to begin with.  I'm not afraid of the work... I'm afraid to fail, but I guess that fear is what will propel me forward and keep me moving.  I guess that's why I started this blog in the first place; to have a handful of people beyond the ones who are close to me that I don't want to let down.

So, today marks the first day of the rest of my life.  It will be interesting to me to see what I am writing about on January 1, 2011.