White Orchid Melody

In addition to financial fitness for the new year, physical fitness will also be a goal.  I will definitely have some baby weight to contend with, so getting back on a lower calorie meal plan and into an exercise routine will be tops on the to-do list. 

I was using the weightwatchers.com “core” plan last summer and had lost excess weight and felt really good.  Basically it is about eating whole foods: all the fruit, veggies, and beans you want and a limited amount of whole grains.  No processed crap, easy on the sugar.  There is wiggle room, of course.  One can’t live life without chocolate!  But moderation is key.  In contrast, refined carbs have been my comfort food throughout this pregnancy.  That is natural and normal as your body needs the extra fluid and calories.  But my body won’t need all that after the baby is born.  So, I plan to get back on a healthier track with my eating habits.  Then, when the doctor gives his okay, start up strength training and jogging again.  Now keep in mind I haven’t jogged since I got pregnant, so I’ll be starting from scratch! 

http://whiteorchidmelody.com/blog/2007/09/16/how-to-start-jogging/

Yeah, I’ll be doing that again.  Walk, jog, walk some more.  I figure it will take a few months just to get back in good enough shape to get in 15 to 20 miles a week in the form of 3 to 5 mile outings.  Then I’ll start to increase my mileage and I’d like to train for another marathon.  I had about 10 or 15 extra pounds on my frame when I trained for my first marathon.  And we were rehabbing, so I was eating really crappy food like pizza and bean burritos all the time.  I think if I can get down to a good base weight before I start the marathon training, I can improve my time.  Marathon training is not a time to try to lose weight, as your body needs lots of calories to deal with the stress of those long runs.  But losing the weight beforehand can really help once you start the training.  I read in a magazine that one extra pound of body weight puts 4 pounds of pressure on your knees while walking and 25 pounds of pressure on your knees while jogging!  That should be incentive to lose a few pounds!  Anyway, I might consider doing the Lewis and Clark Marathon again.  Really it is an awful course, but it is in September, which might be a good time frame.  There is also the Chicago marathon in October, but the weather is so unpredictable…I could end up running in extreme heat or extreme cold, you just never know!  Otherwise, there is a marathon in Huntsville, AL in December.  I could stay with my family in Alabama and go to that one.  I’m not sure how I feel about travelling to race though.   Then again, I might just take it easy and do a half-marathon for Lewis and Clark and then train up for the St. Louis Marthon next April.  Or maybe the baby will really hate going on jogs with me and I won’t be training for any races!  Things are pretty unpredictable as far as that goes!  But those are my goals none the less.

It’s been a crazy sort of week.  Last friday night we babysat a friend’s 2 year old.  Sounds scarier than it was.  She is actually really smart and communicates well.  The whole frustration with small children, I think, is their inability to communicate what they do and do not want.  So, we had a good time.  Then Saturday morning, we met Brian’s aunt and uncle for breakfast.  They were driving their RV through town on the way back to Minnesota.  We had breakfast at the historic Bevo Mill.  We’d never eaten there before.  It was really nice.  They had a great brunch buffet and were smart enough to seat the pregnant lady right in front of it!  I didn’t have to eat for about 8 hours after that!  (which is a big deal for me, I’m on a 2 hour feeding schedule!)  After breakfast we visited with them for awhile and then had to go to an appointment to show one of our apartments.  It seemed to go well.  We had another showing Tuesday, so hopefully one of the two will want it!  It will be a relief to have everything fully occupied!  Sunday we just worked around the house.  We are reorganizing our closets, which we thought would be a weekend deal, but it has taken about a month already.   Brian also started staining the furniture for the nursery.  Everything is coming along slowly but nicely.

The one-car simple living experiment is still going well.  Although, I think we’ll be making some adjustments to our schedule.  I’ve been running errands on Monday afternoons after I finish teaching.  This is such a headache for me.  First, I am not used to fighting afternoon traffic.  Second, the area where I get my groceries is under construction.  The combination is horrible!  It takes so long to get to the store and back home.  I would just shop elsewhere, but Trader Joe’s is so much cheaper than the other groceries.  So, I had a bit of a meltdown Monday when I was tired from teaching and running errands and then knew I had to go home and make dinner.  I came home crying (its the hormones!) and told Brian that someone else needed to make dinner.  So we ordered pizza.  But that is only a temporary solution.  We can’t eat out or order out every day I’m tired, because that would be every day.  We need to get a deep freezer so I can start cooking things up one day a week to have quick meals on hand.  That is going to be more important as I become more physically limited in the next few months.  Then after the baby, well, let’s just say Brian doesn’t really cook.   So, the plan of action is to have the vehicle every other friday to run errands and then cook like crazy one weekend a month to freeze for those “I’m exhausted” emergencies.

So then Tuesday, I go out to the garage to get my bike out to go to the gym and discover that our garage door is all smashed in!  Thank goodness we’d already sold the car!  Our garage opens up to an alley.  The neighbors across the alley don’t actually use their garages, so I knew it wouldn’t have been them.  However one of them is having some work done in the back, a wall built and the yard levelled.   So, I thought it might have been his workers.  I went and talked to him about it and he said, no, his workers weren’t there on Monday.  However, the contractor had advertised for free dirt and someone had come by to get the dirt.  That was the most likely suspect.  No one else would have been trying to back up or turn around in a 10 foot wide alley.  But seeing as how they weren’t noble enough to leave a note, we’re out the money for a new garage door.  We filed a police report, but the officer said unless someone saw him do it, or the guy admits it, we can’t really do anything.  Grrrr!  The joys of city living.  These are the sort of things that make me wish I lived out in the country somewhere! 

Relative to the start of the week, the rest has gone smoothly.  Yesterday was my last day of riding my bike to the gym.  I have a week more to work there, but I’ll have the vehicle all next week as Brian will be in training at his job.  It hasn’t been too bad, really.  In fact, I’m pretty sure it was good for me :)  But I need a nap after biking 40 minutes and working out between my classes.  It leaves me pretty worthless in the afternoons.  Maybe I’ll continue riding my bike for exercise while the weather is nice.  We’ll see.

“Now if you are going to win any battle you have to do one thing.  You have to make the mind run the body.  Never let the body tell the mind what to do.  The body will always give up.  It is always tired in the morning, noon, and night.  But the body is never tired if the mind is not tired.”

     - George S. Patton, U.S. Army General, 1912 Olympian

One of the biggest problems facing America today is obesity.  Much of the problem can be contributed to our diets, but modern conveniences also play a part.  We drive everywhere, take the elevator or escalator, sit at a desk all day.  It is no wonder our bodies can’t process all the food we eat!  Doctors recommend at least 30 minutes of exercise most days of the week.  This could mean a gym membership; but in the quest for simple living, how about simple exercise?  What is easier than putting on shoes and going outside?  No fancy equipment necessary.  Your outside enjoyment could come from walking the dog or kids around the neighborhood.  But for those looking to get more of a cardio workout or even lose fat, jogging is a better option.

“I only run if someone is chasing me!”

That used to be my motto, and I’ve heard it from plenty of other people.  Jogging or running can seem very painful and out of your range of possibility.  But I’m here to tell you, it can be done!  As with any other quest for personal development, it is best to take baby steps. 

I’d always been intrigued by the idea of running, and after reaching my all time high weight back in 2004, I figured it was a good time to give it a shot!  I found an article in Prevention Magazine that outlined how to go from a couch potato to a 5K in a few months.  Basically, the system was this:

Level 1: 3x week, walk to warm up for 5 minutes, then walk 4 minutes, jog 1 minute, repeat 4 times, cool down for 5 minutes (total workout 30 minutes)

Level 2: 3x week, walk to warm up for 5 minutes, then walk 3 minutes, jog 2 minutes, repeat 4 times, cool down for 5 minutes (total workout 30 minutes)

Level 3: 3x week, walk to warm up for 5 minutes, then walk 2 minutes, jog 3 minutes, repeat 4 times, cool down for 5 minutes (total workout 30 minutes)

Level 4: 3x week, walk to warm up for 5 minutes, then walk 1 minute, jog 4 minutes, repeat 4 times, cool down for 5 minutes (total workout 30 minutes)

Level 5: 3x week, walk to warm up for 5 minutes, then walk 1 minute, jog 9 minutes, repeat 3 times, cool down for 5 minutes (total workout 40 minutes)

So the idea is that after acclimating to level 5, you could run a 5K, which is about 3 miles. 

The amount of time you spend at each level is up to you.  You have to listen to your body so as not to get hurt, but push yourself at the same time (see quote at top).  I would say a couple weeks at each level should be sufficient.  If you want to progress more gently, increase the number of days a week you do each run before progressing to the next level.  For example:

Week 1: Level 1, 3x week
Week 2: Level 1, 5x week
Week 3: Level 2, 3x week

….and so on.  I found that I had to take it slower in the beginning, but once I got up to 1 minute of walking with 4 minutes of jogging, moving to 9 minutes of jogging wasn’t much of a leap.  And then I progressed to being able to run around my local park without stopping (1.5 mi or 15 minutes).  Then, one day, I felt energetic and did two laps for a total of 3 miles.  Much of it was working through mental, not physical barriers.  The body will acclimate to anything you throw at it, given time.  I found this out last year when I decided to train for a marathon, but that’s a whole other can of worms.  (Couch Potato to Marathon Training Plan, coming soon!)  You have to be a bit masochistic to go there! 

I challenge you to give jogging a try, and autumn is a great time for it.  What doesn’t kill you, makes you stronger.  And you might even find that you enjoy it!  A morning jog around the park is a great way for me to clear my mind.  When I had a corporate job, it was an essential part of my day.  Those days I didn’t jog in the mornings, I could tell a huge difference in my outlook and attitude.  I was much more irritable.

If you find it difficult to get out the door, find a time in your day that you can commit to your exercise.  I found the best time was morning.  If I waited until later in the day, I’d be too busy, or too tired, or would have eaten something weird and just not feel like it…all sorts of excuses!  But if I just got up a half hour early, the reward lasted all day.  So, if morning is your time, set out your clothes and shoes the night before, so that everything is ready to go when the alarm goes off.  Put the alarm across the room, and put the clothes next to it.  That way, you get up, turn off the alarm, and get ready.  No thinking required (and no opportunity for excuses).  If you aren’t jogging everyday, get up early anyway, just to establish the habit. 

If you are still lacking in motivation, find a buddy to jog with you.  This is fairly easy if you are both new to jogging.  Start the plan together, and enjoy the moral support!  It is much easier to get up and get out of the house if you know someone is waiting on you.  If you go it alone for the training plan and then want someone to jog with on a regular basis, check out local running clubs or running websites.  They usually have buddy lists set up for people looking to partner up.  The listings are based on speed (min/mi), so you can find someone close to your pace. 

Speaking of pace, don’t even worry about how fast you are going when learning to jog.  It doesn’t matter.  You get the benefit of 3 miles no matter your pace, so just do it!  I’m incredibly slow, but found out that I can go for a really long time at that pace.  You only have yourself to compete with (unless you just want to race).  If you get to a certain distance and don’t want to increase further, then you could work on picking up speed.  It is good to keep challenging yourself.  And if you are trying to lose weight, it is essential to change up the routine so as not to plateau.  But remember, baby steps!  Don’t try to run really fast and really far right from the start.  It won’t be fun and you won’t get very far, literally.