Like I said previously, I've had some problems with my feet. But what I didn't say is that I also have problems with my knees. They just don't work like they used to. I can't get up and down very well. When I say down, I mean I can't get down in the floor and then get back up unless I have something to get hold of and pull myself up. And I can't climb up on a step- stool, ladder, or go up stairs-- without support either. And I have to be careful when I sit down that my bottom is not lower than my knees or it's a VERY difficult for me to get up. Personally, I think a lot of the "damage" I have in my knees has come from my work both from abuse on the one hand but also because of just standing relatively still on concrete for long hours for years.
But, I've gone part time at work and the days I do work are not as long in hours as they used to be. So I DID START my walking plan. I live on the lower side of a circular road. From my house around the back side of the circle and up a hill then back to a level area is right at half a mile. Last Monday I began my walking regimen by going up that hill and then just a little further along the level at the top, then turning around and coming back. The whole walk takes about twenty minutes and it has been quite an effort for me. (That really bugs me because if there was thing I was when I was younger it was a walker. That incline would have been nothing for me to scale.) Anyway, I keep telling myself that it takes 21 days to make something a habit so THE IMPORTANT THING is for me to FIRST create the walking habit. I can still remember back when I did have that habit and if something interfered with my walk it seemed like a vital part of my day was missing. So right now I'm aiming to get that habit built into my life.
HABITS HAVE A MOMENTUM OF THEIR OWN. Once I get the habit established, then I can increase the amount of time I walk. But right now I'm still battling my unenergetic self (my feelings) to just get out there and walk. I "don't feel like doing it" so I don't want to. But I have pushed back on my feelings now and done it for eight straight days. I have 13 more to go and then I'll see if it's really true whether I "have the habit".
I just now did a quick search on the validity of that much quoted axiom and found, if you read my link, that it's not really true. But I need to do it anyway. And this article does say that they are splitting hairs about whether you're establishing a habit or a routine or ritual. Habits are mindless. Routines are determined changes. Oh, well. I was hoping for the mindless change, but I suppose life doesn't ever really work that way. However, I DO KNOW that I didn't even use to have to think about hitting the road first thing. It was built into the way I did things in my mornings and when I missed a morning of doing it, I went all day with that feeling somehow there was something important missing from my day.
Monday, February 27, 2012
Friday, February 17, 2012
The Plan vs. The Reality
I meant to start in February with walking every day that I did not have to go into work really early (which to me is 9AM. I know that's not "really early" but by the time I get up, get my devotions done, get ready to go and drive 30 minutes to work, it's "really early" for me to try and also fit in walking in the morning.)
Well, that didn't happen. I have excuses. Just excuses. Mainly I get sidetracked into doing things that are easier to do. It's not easy to break out of old habits and begin new ones.
But, my memory is kicking in now. I do remember that one issue I had with walking was that right around the same time I was thinking I'd begin a walking "program", I also began have some serious foot issues. I have a "deformed" foot. I have hereditary bunions. Foolishly, at 18 years old I had surgery on one of those bunions so that it would not project so noticeably. (My issue back then REALLY was how my foot LOOKED.) The surgery must have severed something in my foot which would allow me to move that big toe to the right. Over the years (I'm almost 66 now) that toe has progressively drawn to the left. But in the past few months, another issue began to surface. My toe next to the big toe began to pull to the right and up UNDER the big toe. This progressed to the point that I was having PAIN in my foot because of the lapover. I am on my feet all day at work and by the time I could get off my feet, I am ready to just let them rest for awhile instead of starting a walking program.
I've tried to realign the toes by using those cushioned toe thingy's you can buy at Walmart. (They are called Toe Bandages and the package says "Wrap toes in cushioned comfort with soft slip on bandages.) They are circular. I managed to pull my second toe back into proper alignment by slipping one of those bandages over it and the third toe. Doing this for awhile-- plus prayer-- has at least (finally) alleviated the PAIN I was having in my foot. But then, I got sick. So, go figure. Excuses. Excuses. Excuses.
But I have for the most part watched my calories. By "watch" I mean I have written down what I am eating and I am trying to keep up with -- at least approximately--the number of calories I'm eating per day.
I have found in the past that just doing a count of calories in my head before I actually eat something is a strong deterrent to eating things that are HUGE calorie hogs-- like pieces of thickly frosted cake or cupcakes or even doughnuts (which are often available on the breakroom table at work because of birthdays or other events).
I started my calorie counting on January 30. I had lost 8 pounds by last Saturday. I haven't done as well on my eating this week mainly because I excused myself for eating "comfort food" while I've been fighting off a chest cold. And whatever this "bug" is that I'm fighting is making me VERY weak. I must have strength for my work so... like I say, excuses... for eating too many calories. However, I did check my weight this morning and found that I'm only up half a pound. So maybe if I'm careful today, I can at least be back on track in the morning (my weigh in day) and keep forging ahead.
I am teamed up with some others in a scaleback effort in the state. We are each supposed to lose at least ten pounds in three months. That doesn't seem like an unreasonable goal but it does require vigilance. I cannot continue to eat like I was eating before and achieve weight loss.
Leaving out the scaleback effort, I need to do this for myself since I have been given the figures that show I am "prediabetic". That needs to be a wake up call. Diabetes is nothing to play around with.
Hopefully, by next week, I'll feel better and with my foot doing much better, I might convince myself to start that walking effort that I meant to begin at the beginning of February (and continue for the rest of my life).
Well, that didn't happen. I have excuses. Just excuses. Mainly I get sidetracked into doing things that are easier to do. It's not easy to break out of old habits and begin new ones.
But, my memory is kicking in now. I do remember that one issue I had with walking was that right around the same time I was thinking I'd begin a walking "program", I also began have some serious foot issues. I have a "deformed" foot. I have hereditary bunions. Foolishly, at 18 years old I had surgery on one of those bunions so that it would not project so noticeably. (My issue back then REALLY was how my foot LOOKED.) The surgery must have severed something in my foot which would allow me to move that big toe to the right. Over the years (I'm almost 66 now) that toe has progressively drawn to the left. But in the past few months, another issue began to surface. My toe next to the big toe began to pull to the right and up UNDER the big toe. This progressed to the point that I was having PAIN in my foot because of the lapover. I am on my feet all day at work and by the time I could get off my feet, I am ready to just let them rest for awhile instead of starting a walking program.
I've tried to realign the toes by using those cushioned toe thingy's you can buy at Walmart. (They are called Toe Bandages and the package says "Wrap toes in cushioned comfort with soft slip on bandages.) They are circular. I managed to pull my second toe back into proper alignment by slipping one of those bandages over it and the third toe. Doing this for awhile-- plus prayer-- has at least (finally) alleviated the PAIN I was having in my foot. But then, I got sick. So, go figure. Excuses. Excuses. Excuses.
But I have for the most part watched my calories. By "watch" I mean I have written down what I am eating and I am trying to keep up with -- at least approximately--the number of calories I'm eating per day.
I have found in the past that just doing a count of calories in my head before I actually eat something is a strong deterrent to eating things that are HUGE calorie hogs-- like pieces of thickly frosted cake or cupcakes or even doughnuts (which are often available on the breakroom table at work because of birthdays or other events).
I started my calorie counting on January 30. I had lost 8 pounds by last Saturday. I haven't done as well on my eating this week mainly because I excused myself for eating "comfort food" while I've been fighting off a chest cold. And whatever this "bug" is that I'm fighting is making me VERY weak. I must have strength for my work so... like I say, excuses... for eating too many calories. However, I did check my weight this morning and found that I'm only up half a pound. So maybe if I'm careful today, I can at least be back on track in the morning (my weigh in day) and keep forging ahead.
I am teamed up with some others in a scaleback effort in the state. We are each supposed to lose at least ten pounds in three months. That doesn't seem like an unreasonable goal but it does require vigilance. I cannot continue to eat like I was eating before and achieve weight loss.
Leaving out the scaleback effort, I need to do this for myself since I have been given the figures that show I am "prediabetic". That needs to be a wake up call. Diabetes is nothing to play around with.
Hopefully, by next week, I'll feel better and with my foot doing much better, I might convince myself to start that walking effort that I meant to begin at the beginning of February (and continue for the rest of my life).
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