Phase 2 / Workout 4 - Beginning to appreciate my progress

I let a big gap develop between workouts. Physical therapy did happen last Thursday (and I do not record the details of those results). However, I can say my ankle is improving despite some continued but diminishing pain. My knee is definitely the more compliant patient.

My reading in the Complete Idiot's Guide: Glycemic Index Weight Loss has confirmed and clarified what I suspected about my progress. My doctor also alluded to it during my last visit with her. My metabolism has increased or become elevated... oh, it's just better. 


Although I didn't lose much weight in the first months of this project, my exercise did count for something. Muscle mass, more dense than fat, increased in my body. I am certain I lost fat and got somewhat smaller visually, the change on the weight scale was marginal because muscle is heavier per unit of volume (if you had a marble made of fat and a same-sized marble made of muscle, the latter would weigh more). All this to say, I lost some of my marbles and gained some better ones.


This also explains how I could be away from exercising with no change in my eating throughout the majority of December, and not gain weight during the entire holiday season.


I have finished reading through chapter 7 of my book and I've found some potentially helpful supplementary resources in line with my winter goals. One, I will mention here. On Facebook, the Glycemic Index page contains discussion and resources for people who are pursuing healthier eating habits using Glycemic Index/Load. 


My experiences at the University of Phoenix. where students are required to write and post substantive answers to instructor questions and responses of fellow students in the on-line classrooms, motivated me to look for a place where I could participate in constructive discussions on this topic. Although I joined the group a few days ago and the most recent posts were many days earlier at the time, when I checked in today, I found two fresh posts there. Both were questions, to which I knew a good answer from yesterday's readings. 


I initially returned to the page to see how vibrant the discussion was because I wanted to question a paradox I found in my reading concerning pH balance (I will explain in a future post). I didn't want my post to just sit out there unanswered. I observed that many people have been posting to this page but few recent posts had responses. So, I decided not to post my question there at this time. But...


Since the best way to prove that you know something is to share it with someone else, I wrote responses to two of the questions. This was easy, especially since I would not be  graded by a professor. Still I wanted to give it my best as if a professor was reading. In this forum, one or more probably will. With book in hand, I dove in and attempted to respond to the two questions posed. After all, these would not be my answers but what I learned from my studies. You already have enough information to find the page on Facebook. I am interested to see if you agree with what I wrote there.


My results for January 19th (Phase 2 / Workout 4) are:

Time: 20 min. 
Average Speed 15.2 
Distance 4.9
Calories 135
Average Heart Rate 126
Watts: 77
Level: 4 (Program: Manual)

Do something beautiful for your heart today.

~ Cheryl ~

Phase 2 / Workout 1 - My (late) mom's birthday & a breath-taking story from childhood

I felt it was necessary to honor the memory of my mother, who battled back successfully from heart disease, by starting back doing my workouts on her birthday. If I hadn't done it today, I would have found it easy to procrastinate tomorrow.

Yes, I have been going to physical therapy and I did walk for 40 minutes in my neighborhood just after Christmas but I didn't log any distance or step measurements. Tonight was my first official night back doing what I had been doing apparently rather well in 2009. I imagine I can only improve upon my previous work - keeping it humble of course - by finally embracing an eating budget and losing some weight!


I expect that my feet, which had started to swell slightly in recent days, will begin to look normal as early as tomorrow morning. Over the holidays, I discovered another way I had improved that was previously untested.


Here is the background: Our family was on the way to New York for a funeral. My 100 year-old aunt Evelyn passed away the day after Christmas and her funeral was two days before New Year's Day. Anyway, the drive north took us through the Baltimore Harbor Tunnel, which I have ridden through countless times since I was too small to notice.


As children, my brother and I were always in learning mode with our mother, the conscientious teacher. I think she decided that if she was teaching children (as excellent as she was at teaching), her own children would get the best from her - the most - her all. Everything she could find to teach to us, anywhere at any time, we were learning. And it was fun. So, we were learning about tunnels (waterways, fish, boats, bridges, etc.) as we went through the tunnel on vacation trips to New Jersey or to visit relatives or see Broadway Shows in New York.


I was fascinated by the fact that we were driving under water but not getting wet. Although I couldn't see the water, I knew we were under water. And I wanted those bricks to be clear so I could look at the fish. I got it into my elementary-aged head that I should hold my breath always when I am under water. 


From then on, nearly every trip we took through that tunnel I held my breath (even a few years ago when I was driving to Philadelphia alone). Back then, I didn't always tell anyone, I just held my breath. Sometimes, the rest of the family noticed I was no longer participating in the conversation and I would have to explain once I started breathing again. From the moment our car was underneath the first part of the structure to when we cleared the other side, I was holding my breath (or trying). No air went in or out. I didn't always make it. Sometimes traffic was heavy and slow but often I would still be holding my breath seconds after we were under the sky again.


On this most recent trip, I held my breath through the tunnel without telling anyone as we traveled northbound. I failed miserably. On the return trip south the next day, I introduced my nephew, who is 12 and appropriately competitive [he's a boy], to my breath-holding practice. It was not hard to challenge him to a contest.


I remember my personal record from years ago was 1 minute 35 seconds. I didn't expect to do any better or even come close (maybe a minute or a minute 5 seconds). My nephew didn't last for 60 seconds. Well, I broke my own record and held my breath for 1 minute 45 seconds!  I attribute this to the work I did in the fall (presented in previous blogs below) and am sufficiently motivated to continue through the winter. 


My nephew is probably practicing holding his breath right now.


My results for January 10th (Phase 2 / Workout 1) are:

Time: 20 min. 
Average Speed 13.2
Distance 4.2
Calories 110
Average Heart Rate 117
Watts: 54
Level: 4 (Program: Manual)


Do something beautiful for your heart today.


~ Cheryl ~