powerful together

Hello, world.

It's been a while (again). I was on a bit of a roll with my posts back in June and then summer travels and the fall semester turned me into a slacker. Now 4 months later I'm finally getting back to posting.

In addition to falling off the wagon with blog posts, the summer and fall have not been good for exercise. I'm going to work to change both of those things and soon.

Friday I was talking with Stacey, and she inspired me to get back to the gym. We're going to be encouraging each other to stay physically active and eat healthily. It's always easier to do these things with a partner in crime, so we're going to keep each other accountable. As my dear friend Laura once said, "We're powerful when we're together." She may have said that in reference to a different friend group, but it's true nonetheless. As with many things in life, exercise and diet are easier when we don't try to do it all on our own.

I've been doing yoga twice a week, and while that's great for flexibility and strength, it isn't enough on its own to keep me in shape. A better diet and some cardio are in order.

So steps I've taken so far...

1. Joined a gym. Yes, I've always had free access to the university's rec center, but the thought of competing for exercise equipment with 20,000 undergrads is not a motivating one. Plus, if I'm paying for the gym membership, I'll be much more likely to use it.

2. I started tracking calories again using the My Fitness Pal app. I've done this on and off over the years and have found that when I use it consistently, it makes a big difference in my eating habits, particularly when it comes to snacking.

3. Bought a new sports bra and yoga pants. You know, because I needed a reward for accomplishing steps 1 & 2... Actually, I had been needing to purchase both for a while now since my existing ones are getting worn and raggedy. Also, I find that I'm more motivated to exercise if I like what I'm wearing. Shallow? Perhaps. But if it helps me get my butt to the gym, I'll do it.

4. Went to the gym for a first workout. Nothing too intense. I went through the orientation for the fitness equipment and then walked 3 miles on the treadmill.

I think that health and fitness aren't always about big steps; rather, they're about many, many little steps that, when taken all together, make a long term impact.

Wish us luck!

resolution update 1

First, thanks to everyone for their helpful and encouraging comments. I think that healthier living is something we all want on different levels. While I stated my resolution in terms of pounds lost, the heart of it is to live a healthier lifestyle. It's not that my current weight or eating habits are so terribly out of whack, but I know that I could make healthier choices. Health is more than the number on the scale.

So how did the the past week go?

I still haven't moved on the exercise front. There's something about the 2 feet of snow on the ground that sap my motivation. I know that's a lame excuse, but I'm just being honest here.

I tried using Spark People to track calories online, and I feel like it's more cumbersome than writing things down by hand. I think that part of the problem is that many of the things I ate weren't in there, so I had to input them manually. I do like how it gives a very visual representation of daily intake. I think I need to go back to the pencil and paper method. Bizarrely enough that seems very simple whereas the online equivalent seemed like more of a chore.

Next week: aiming for action on the exercise front.

belated resolution update

Although generally not one given to making new year's resolutions, this year I decided to set a goal for myself. The goal is to lose 10 pounds, but rather than just throw a number out there, I decided to make a more concrete plan.

1. I would keep track of everything I eat along with portion size, calories, fat, carbohydrates, protein, and fiber.
2. I would try to bring a lunch to campus most days each week.
3. I would exercise at least 3 times per week.

So now that we're a month into the new year, how am I doing?

Well, I started off smashingly with part one. I bought a journal; found several health calculators online to calculate my daily calorie, fat, carb, protein, and fiber intake; purchased a handy, dandy food scale; and began cooking more so that I could be successful at part two. I did really well on this for the first couple weeks, and then I went to Boston for a conference. I knew that it would be extremely difficult to account for my food intake accurately when every meal would be eaten in a restaurant, so I gave myself a reprieve for the duration of the conference.

Big mistake.

I've had a terrible time getting back into the habit of recording what I'm eating each day. It really isn't hard. I just need to take a few minutes after each meal to jot down what I've eaten and calculate the nutritional value. In the meantime I haven't gone overboard on what I'm eating, but I know I haven't been following the intake guidelines perfectly.

As for part three, I haven't really even started that. Between craziness at work and research deadlines that require my attention after work, I've haven't done a good job carving out regular exercise time. I know that when I go I enjoy the workout and I feel better physically. I just need to find the time and make it a habit.

That all said, I'm not giving up on the goal, but I have learned a few things in the process:

1. Visualizing (numerically) what I'm eating is a tremendous help. It may not be motivating for everyone, but I find it extremely useful to see 1) whether I'm eating the right amount daily and 2) whether I'm eating a balanced diet. One thing I may add in is calcium intake because I suspect I may not be getting enough of that.

2. There are some great, free tools on the Internet like Calorie King, which provides nutritional data for just about every food under the sun, and the University of Maryland Medical System Health Calculators. Both WebMD (great portion size guidelines) and the Mayo Clinic (has a great calorie calculator) sites also contain useful tools for understanding what and how much your body needs each day and how to balance diet and exercise.

3. My diet is easier to control when I do the cooking. Even eating other people's home cooking makes it more difficult to calculate. It is so important to know exactly what goes into each meal and how it was prepared. Restaurant nutritional information is frequently available (possibly not entirely accurate) if you look for it, but the portions are so out of whack in most restaurants that it's too easy to overeat.

4. I need to develop some sort of consistent exercise plan. I'm open to suggestions here. I've considered hiring a student trainer from URec because it would be way more affordable than a professional trainer and it might help me get started.

5. I need some sort of accountability. I'm considering posting a weekly update, which may give me the boost I need to keep going.

foot update

The podiatrist appointment went fine. I have sesamoiditis in my left foot. Basically, what that means is that one of my sesamoid bones (two tiny bones located beneath the big toe joint) is inflamed.

It's typically caused by activities that place pressure on the ball of the foot like running, jumping, or dancing. People with high arches (which I have) are more prone to developing sesamoid problems, and frequently wearing high heels can contribute to the problem. The doctor couldn't say for sure what had caused the inflammation, but it's likely a combination of dancing, high arches, and high heels. Sad.

For now I'm wearing an insert in my left shoe that takes the pressure off the ball of my foot and can take OTC anti-inflammatory medicines as needed. I have a follow-up appointment the Monday after Thanksgiving. If the current treatment does the trick, then I'm good to go. If not, there will be orthotics in my future, and that will be a very sad day.

Tomorrow morning at 8:30 a.m. I have an appointment with the podiatrist. For the past year or so, I have intermittently felt a stabbing pain in the ball of my left foot. It happens most often when I'm wearing flat shoes and my foot bends at the ball. I actually have purposely worn heels less often in the past year, in hopes that the pain would stop on its own. No such luck.

I'm afraid that the doctor will say I shouldn't wear heels anymore and recommend that I wear flat, practical shoes with orthotics. That just might do me in for the year.

So to torture myself even more, I "window shopped" at the Nine West website earlier today and found these shoes:



They're so pretty. Flat shoes are never that pretty. If my foot ends up being OK, I'm going to buy them.