Friday 14 March 2014

Scaling new pinnacles

It is interesting that on days I have done a lot of walking around, that my appetite is greatly reduced. I guess that is because I am so tired!
Today's personal mountain conquered: my fitbit tells me I have done over 10000 steps today - !!! Now, that is absolutely amazing. I did it over several little trips throughout the day with frequent stops so I didn't tire myself out by doing too much.

A trip to the surgery this lunchtime then back home for lunch.
A trip to the dentist this afternoon and back home via the shopping centre.
A trip out to my local pub with a friend for the first time in a year and back home after a sociable evening over a single pint.
Then a few extra steps walking about the house as I was so close, 9600 steps when I got home from the pub. :)

I've checked my calories for the day too, and even with having a pint of beer AND steak & chips for dinner I am still under. And I've had plenty of fresh air, interacted with the rest of the world and been sociable. Marvellous :)

A Very Good Day!

I am very grateful that my local council puts in benches here and there. Having a short rest has really been helpful in my wanderings today.

I kept looking at all the cyclists zipping past. I am SO looking forward to being lighter and more in control of my muscles in a few months so I can get back on my bike. That's going to be me this summer...

Wednesday 12 March 2014

Jill walked up the hill...and trotted back down again!

I am slowly getting activity back into my everyday life. Today it was foregoing the bus in favour of walking up the small hill to the doctor's surgery. Go me!

Helped that this afternoon it was warm, sunny and dry - with a little hint of smoke, which got my mind wondering about that rather than thinking about the steepness of the road I was walking up. It isn't far, less than 1000 steps acording to my fitbit, but it is a little steep towards the last part.

I made it, with a few strategic stops to give myself a small breather of a few seconds. Keeping my pace slow and steady too, so I was giving my lungs the chance to keep up with my leg muscles :)
And then I walked home, via the pharmacy, without stopping once. :D
All these little wins. Reclaiming my life. So good.

Doc is pleased with me. My BP is lower, he is glad I have maintained instead of gaining (my usual pattern for the last few years) and apart from coming back for a blood test to check my sugar, he doesn't want to see me for a few months, hooray!

Thursday 6 March 2014

Doing more in little chunks

Yesterday, my fitbit tells me, I clocked up just over 2.7 miles of walking. I am SO pleased with myself. Over 6,000 steps...

I gave up my car last year, and getting to places I normally wouldn't think twice about is much more of an effort, and quite often I would finesse it by having stuff delivered instead of going out myself and getting it. Witness grocery deliveries and the postie and me being on very good speaking terms! But yesterday, I had a parcel waiting, and because it needed to be sent on somewhere else PDQ, I bit the bullet and planned myself a little day of getting there, getting home, repacking my item, and getting to the post office to send it off. To reward myself, I arranged to meet up with a friend I hadn't seen in a while at a local café, so score as well on re-integrating myself into society. :)

I won't lie. I did take the bus because otherwise I would have been doing far too much at this point for me. As it was I had to stop occasionally to get my breath back, but again, I did it. All exercise is good in my current frame of mind. When I am fitter, I will think about the quality of that exercise :D oohh am quite looking forward to going to a dance class or some activity a few months from now. zumba? aqua-aerobics? a small hike? A smorgasbord of choice awaits!

While I was out yesterday, on the way to the café, I noticed some very cute little watering cans, in bright yellow and red. They have been occupying my dreams last night - perhaps there is some potential there for artistic endeavor. I am imagining them filled with strawberry plants. Or painting ladybirds, flowers and bees on them. Trying out some traditional barge designs. Or at the very least,  sending one as a sweet little present for a small person I know. Along with a packet of sunflower, nasturtium and bean seeds, and a matching rake and trowel. Of course, all this necessitates another little trip, and some walking miles for me... it is nice to find life interesting again.

Tuesday 4 March 2014

weigh-in!

Okay, it has been 6 months since I last stepped on the scales. The beginning of September 2013... Between then and now I have been battling quite severe depression, moodiness, hot and cold flushes, cranky aching joints, inexplicable muscle stiffness - aha, maybe I might possibly be going through the menopause? !!! eureka moment for me once I realised that was what was happening.

Most of last year has been pretty miserable for me. Even having my mum come visit for a couple of months during the summer didn't swing me out of my funk. But these last couple of weeks the clouds have been lifting - both metaphorically and physically. The rain, which has been almost ceaseless for the last couple of months has given way to the odd day or two of sunshine and clear skies. Temperatures are still nippy, but just being outside in the sunhine has been so invigorating.

So. Getting down to business. Today's trip to the pharmacy clocked me up to over a mile of walking. Yay! And I now tip the scales at 351 lbs (that's allowing for all the clothes & shoes I had on today which I weighed separately when I got home! - hey, I KNOW that is obsessive but every little loss counts!)

The good news is I have managed for the first year in many, to keep my weight stable! In recent years my trend has been to put on between 10-20 lbs every year... so I am enormously pleased with myself.

The next few months will bring me many changes - I will be doing a lot more walking around, and a whole heap of swimming. Time to take some measurements this week, so I can see my progress 3 months down the line later this year.

But for now, I am going to sit back, enjoy my lovely cuppa and pat myself on the back for my success at standing still :)

Saturday 1 March 2014

happy shopper

During the last few years I've gotten into the habit of ordering my groceries to be delivered. I still like doing this but today I decided to trot down to the local supermarket with my trusty pink shopper to haul my spoils home instead. It was a gloriously sunny day today, lovely balmy temperature too, a huge change from the chilly sopping wet conditions of most of the past two months. So I followed all that sunshine outside and feel such a sense of achievement. Sure, I puffed away, and I only walked very slowly, and had frequent little pauses, but I did it.

Yay, me!

Next time, I'll wear a few light layers so I can take them off as needed. My lovely purple plaid coat was a trifle overwarm for today! Hopefully, all this exercise will pay off in terms of me getting back into all those gorgeous smaller coats that I already own. :)