Random Thoughts

What a long day. As you may have read in my last post; I had a challenging weekend. I thought I'd worked through most of what I needed to, but today I was hit with a "new" challenge. It's really the same one I've been struggling with for months, but usually something sets me off. Some mishap or maybe even hormones. Alas, there was none of that today. I was completely overcome by a desire to walk out, which of course I couldn't do, so the result was a crying jag in the bathroom. I was able to compose myself until I got home and cried some more until I composed myself and made dinner. My foul mood persisted through most of the evening, but it made me start researching my mystery project again. If I hadn't been feeling so down I may not have found what I've been looking for! My mystery project is within my grasp and at an affordable rate. 

Friday will mark Day 30 on Isagenix and, might I add, my 30th day without coffee. It's still amazing to me that I've gone so long without coffee. I've had my moments where I really wanted to just have a nice hot cup of java, but I resisted. I still have some work to do when it comes to potlucks and big family dinners. I also realized that I haven't been turning to food for comfort. I really wanted to today, but I was completely aware that my foul mood was making me want to eat. Writing and talking are my biggest outlets for my emotions. Instead of turning to food I turn to my phone and reach out to those closest to me. When at home, I find it helps to write a blog post or do research on my mystery project. All of these are helping me get over the really bad food habits I've developed over the years. 

Well, I'm off to bed. I've been trying to get to bed at a decent time the last couple of nights. Getting enough sleep is a part of a healthy and balanced lifestyle! *insert eye roll here* But it's true. I need my beauty sleep. 

I'm going to bed feeling a lot better than when I woke up. I call that progress! 

Isagenix (Writing Challenge - Day 4)

I swear I wrote most of this yesterday! I had a rough day so by the time I got home I was just plain done. So, here's my post meant for yesterday and yes I'll post another for today.

So, in a few days I'm going to be starting to follow the Isagenix program. I'm still learning about it so I won't go into a lot of details. I'll save that for when I've tried the program so I can give you my informed and tested opinion.

However, what's led me to try it is I know several people who are on it and I've seen a change in them. Mostly I've seen their energy level go through the roof. It's helped one friend come out of his shell and really start to promote the products. Not to mention the weight I've seen some people lose.

My first impression is how pricey it is for a month. But then I've tried a lot of other methods to lose weight and have probably spent triple at times.

My main goal here is to just try it for a month and see what happens. Worst case I go back to what I've been doing which isn't working anyway. Best case scenario I have energy and lose weight....hmm let me think about that one? Okay sign me up. Haha. I watched some videos and talked with people who represent the system. If it is as they say then I've got nothing to lose but weight and I'll gain so much more - energy, health, vitality.

Stay tuned. I'll post when I get my starter kit and we can take this journey together. Oh, and my biggest fear? Not drinking coffee. I have to admit that's the one part of this program that scares me. Although, if I'm being honest...I could totally do with less caffeine in my life.

Okay, that's it for what was supposed to be yesterday's post. I'll be back with today's.

Another Great Workout

Image by sun dazed via Flickr

I woke up in a good mood this morning, but as life happens...my coffee maker went kaput and I discovered my expensive headphones have been torn in two. Thankfully my father in law had an extra coffee maker, so that's been replaced. My husband helped me get to the bottom of how my headphones broke - it was an accident, so all is forgiven.

I'm still eating at the table and surprising myself with how little I'm eating. I waited too long to start supper so I was extremely hungry by the time I sat down. I didn't put as much on my plate as I normally do but by the time I finished I was stuffed! Even my husband is surprised at how little I've been eating.

I had such a great workout today. The sweat was just pouring off of me! Here's today's stats:

Barbell Reverse Lunge: 5 sets of 40lbs x 6 reps per leg

NOTE: I have to say a part of me hates exercises where I have to split it per leg. It just feels like more work, haha. I must say other than a few balance issues I was quite please with my performance.

Push-up: 5 sets of 6 reps

I did the girly kind. I tried a regular push-up but just couldn't do it. At least I'm not still doing wall push-ups.

Inverted Row: Goal was 5 sets of 6 reps. I managed 4 sets of 6 and one set of 3.

NOTE: I just about killed myself with these inverted rows. It took me a while but I finally found a way to do them with the equipment I have and then it took a while to figure out how I was going to pull my 230 lbs up. I managed to pull my body off the bench by about an inch. Hey it's a start.

Side Plank: 3 times to a count of 10

NOTE: I can feel my whole body shaking when I do these, but I was surprised that I could do them at all.

PMDD - Warning - Female Topic Below

Image via Wikipedia

Well, I've been slacking with my writing the last couple of weeks. I'm just now starting to feel better, but I'm still really tired. I think my iron may be low again. I have a list of things to blog about now, but haven't had the mojo to write. I figure since I know why I haven't been writing that I'd start there.

I'm not a fan of labels. I find often when we label something we start using it as an excuse. For a long time I just thought I was depressed and just had a bad period. I always had a bad period or at least at the time I considered it bad. Then after Riley was born I had my tubes tied. Everything was fine until February 2008 when I became extremely depressed. I didn't want to get out of bed, I was so tired all the time. I kept it all to myself and got out of bed everyday, not much choice when you have kids. I was there physically but emotionally not so much.

It wasn't until I got my period twice in the shortest month of the year to realize it was all related to my period. That's when I was first diagnosed with Premenstrual Dysphoric Disorder also known as PMDD. We talked about methods to help counteract the symptoms and decided on anti-depressants. I was to take them for two weeks a month - the week before and the week of my period.

This helped get me out of the worst of my funk but by June I changed jobs and no longer had benefits and couldn't afford the medication. So, I started exercising. At first I was just going on walks and then I started biking. In September things got bad again, mostly I had my emotions in check, but I was so physically drained. I found out my iron was really low and it's no wonder with periods as heavy as mine. So, I started taking iron supplements and this helped a lot. 

I was exercising and my period was still very heavy but I only seemed to have about one really bad emotional day the week before my period. For a while things were okay until I got a flat tire, then my bike got stolen and then it was winter. I kinda lost momentum after that. Since then I've been battling getting into the swing of exercising again.  Mostly, I've ignored the problem hoping it'll all just go away.

Lately it seems it's worse again. I start to get really emotional about a week before my period. When I say emotional I mean it's really bad. I'll cry for no reason. The kids will annoy me. I'm angry all the time and honestly can't tell you what I'm mad about. Then of course are the times I do get mad for a reason and I'm like a wild hurricane destroying everything in its path.

I've started to read more about PMDD. I've found some really great information from real women who are also affected by it. Some, use birth control to help regulate their periods. Some use anti-depressants or a combination of both. There is no cure but some women have been able to manage their symptoms well. Others are just trying to make it through the day. 

One big suggestion is to eliminate caffeine as it adds to the irritability.If you follow my blog at all you know how much I love my espresso drinks. So, I researched some more hoping it was just one opinion. Alas, it's a majority. I love my espresso, but I've decided not to completely ignore the facts. I'm no longer going to drink any Red Bull and I'm limiting myself to 1 cup of espresso a day. Now I admit MY cup of espresso is more like a bowl, but the caffeine equals 2 cups of regular coffee. I may continue to decrease my consumption but I love my java!  I'm just not ready to give it up completely. 

Let me break down a typical month for me with PMDD. About a week before my period is due I become extremely emotional. I'm overly sensitive to everything and very easily frustrated. Some months that part lasts only a day, other months the degree varies from day to day but ultimately stays until the last day or two of my period. Also, during this week I find it hard to sleep. I stay up much later than I should. Then I actually get my period and day one isn't too bad, but day two is very heavy and painful. By day three I literally do not want to get out of bed, all I want to do is sleep. I'm completely exhausted and in pain and I have my period for the full 7 days. Finally, my period is over and life starts to get back to normal. Well, as normal as my life gets.

So, that's my story. Ultimately, I know exercise alleviates a lot of my emotional symptoms. I've started going for a walk/jog at night after the kids are in bed. So far this week it seems to be going well. I'll let you know how it goes. When I've got some time I'll add a page dedicated to PMDD and some of the links I use.

How I kicked my own butt....

Image via Wikipedia

So, I've managed to keep my momentum since my last update. Monday I had to work in the office, but brought a healthy lunch and actually ate it instead of buying something. I even went with a lower calorie coffee from Starbucks. 

It's still early on, but I've managed to work out 3 days in a row. I've also managed something else "new". I've eaten only one bowl/plate of food and I haven't binged on anything. Again, I know, it's still early on, but I'm very proud of myself for the progress I've made so far. 

I decided to do cardio one day and weight training the next and keep alternating. Since, I went for a walk/jog on Sunday that meant Monday was a weight training day. As usual an obstacle came up to try and deter me from my path. I burned my left hand while making supper. It hurt so badly I was calling it quits, but my amazing husband went out to "get the paper" and came home with some burn cream. I watched House and then decided I could do my lower body weight training instead of the upper body training I'd had planned. 

My quads still hurt from these:

Dumbbell Squats (Q) with two 5 lbs weights 4x12

Dumbbell Sumo Squats (Q) with one 10 lbs weight 4x12

These exercises are so simple, yet very difficult:

Dumbbell Lunges (H) with two 5 lbs weights 4x12

Straight-leg Dead Lifts (H) with two 5 lbs weights 4x12

I already have fairly strong calves so I didn't do as many sets on my calves:

Standing Calf Raises (C) 2x12

One Leg Calf Raises (C) L-1x12 R-1x12

We had a family crisis at the end of my workout so I didn't do more, although I'm not sure I could have managed more my first time out. I did something right since my abs hurt today:

Crunches (A) 3x12

Bent Knee Leg Raises (A) 2x12

After my workout and my family crisis was over I laid down on the couch and promptly passed out cold. I woke up at 2:30 am and went to bed. It was the best sleep I've had in a long time.

Today's workout was supposed to be walk/jog again but it snowed here in Ottawa which later turned to rain. I considered going outside anyway, but looked up heavy bag routines. I came across this 30-30-30 routine and boy did it kick my butt. 

The first 30 seconds you hit the heavy bag with regular speed. The second 3 seconds is the hardest because you have to be quick. You lift your knees and hit the bag while rotating around it. All this is done as quickly as possible and with your knees as high as possible. The last 30 seconds is knockout punches - hit the bag as hard as you can. Rest time in-between sets can vary anywhere from 1 minute to 15 seconds depending on the workout you're looking for. 

I used my Cardio Trainer App on my phone to determine the 30 seconds. I'm not sure how many full sets I did. When I grew too tired of keeping this up I improvised and went between the three types of heavy bag exercises as I could handle. I started to get really out of breath and a stitch in my side so I ran/walked forward 4 steps and backwards 4 steps. I kept the last but up for about 5 minutes. I lumped this in as aerobics and my total workout was about 20 minutes. 

Date:      Tuesday Apr.27, 2010 06:36 pm
Distance:      1.14 mi
Duration:      00:21:46
Exercise Type:      Aerobics

Right now I'm trying to focus on building a decent routine, one that is reasonable that I can stick to. I feel good about this fresh start, but I've said that before. Well, I'm off to bed - g'night. 

Kids, Sleep and Caffeine!

Image by lighthack via Flickr

What is it with kids and getting them to sleep? I just don't get why they have to fight it every step of the way, even with a set routine kids just HATE going to sleep. It's like they're going to miss something phenomenal like what? Folding laundry or doing dishes?

At this stage in life I'd do just about anything to get more sleep. I think we as adults maybe have it all backwards. We should introduce a daily nap to our lives! Instead we rely more and more heavily on coffee and caffeinated products. Have you tried the new Red Bull Power Shot? Instead of the normal can you get this little shot that is supposed to do you for 5 hours. By the way...the answers are Yes, I did and Yes, it worked. 

The more caffeine we consume, the more we need to get that jolt we're looking for. We're all a bunch of caffeinated junkies. And we all go through the I think I'm drinking too much coffee so I better cut back phase. We end up with headaches and being extremely irritable only to eventually give in and start the process all over again. I must say though as a parent I don't think I could function long term without caffeine. 

In fact I love caffeine so much that the espresso machine I got for Christmas has replaced my coffee maker and gets used about 2-3 times every day (more on a "bad" day). Apparently most people who get an espresso machine and use it once or twice and then let it collect dust. I no longer spend huge amounts of money on fancy coffee at Starbucks or Second Cup. I've been able to create my own peppermint mochas with way less fat/calories/money!

Dignity

I'd like to talk to you about something a little different today. I know the bible says to give in secret, but I want to share something with you.

There is a woman who sits on Metcalfe St in Ottawa. Her name is Mo. She's not homeless per se, but her life is on the streets. I can't explain why, but I feel drawn to her. I used to walk by her everyday when I worked at on Elgin St and I started bringing her coffee and a muffin or bagel. I've stopped to have real conversations with her.

I haven't been by to see her in a long time, between running late and working from home, but I think of her often. This morning I was early for work and went to see her. She still remembers me and even though I can smell the booze on her breath, I care.

We talked this morning, she's sick again. You see a lot of people walk by her and ignore her. People with a cold or the flu walk by her and cough on her. How hard is it to turn your head toward the street instead of the woman sitting on the sidewalk?

I've sat with her, I've hugged her when she cried and I still can't explain why she touches me so. I have to hope that it's some sort of call from God and have faith that I'm making some sort of small difference in her life, even if it's not often.

I admit I don't feel the same about every person I see on the street and maybe I should. I do try to acknowledge their existence. I remember we had a speaker at our church who said even if you can't give them money just give them the dignity of looking them in the eye. I've kept that with me and I try to at least smile and say hello.

Hear, O LORD, and answer me,
for I am poor and needy.
Guard my life, for I am devoted to you.
You are my God; save your servant
who trusts in you.
Have mercy on me, O Lord,
for I call to you all day long.
Psalm 86:1-3