It's been a crazy time, as they say. My husband and I traveled to Texas for a couple of weeks this month, and I've been on a few (fruitless) interviews.
Physically I'm doing pretty great. My weight hasn't changed more than a pound or two, and I've, for the most part, maintained my exercise program. I'm still running, although at this point, I should probably have progressed more than I have, but I'm giving myself a break. The holidays, traveling, and day-to-day life tend to get in the way, and I've still managed to progress in my Couch to 5K program. I'm now running 8 intervals of 90 seconds with 60 seconds of walking, which sounds kind of lame, but I assure you, is HARD. By the end, I'm sweating and panting and praying for death, but it is a great feeling of accomplishment.
My doctor's appointment is at the end of next month, which is why (in part) I am looking for a new endocrinologist. When ever I call, they can't be bothered to call me back, once when I was looking for my path report (which was negative by the way). The office is incredibly disorganized, and I think that the doctor needs to limit the number of patients he takes on ... I made this appointment right after my surgery in October, and he wanted to see me in 8 weeks.
My last endocrinologist was a great doctor, but there was an incident. The nurse was out during my last appointment, so he took my blood sample. As he was preparing to take my blood, I noticed that he did not have gloves on. When I questioned him, he said, "I don't need gloves, I'm really careful." It kind of skeeved me out, and I haven't been back since.
To sum up, keeping the weight maintained, working out, eating better (I still cheat ... I'm eating chocolate covered almonds as we speak), and feeling pretty good.
Sunday, December 20, 2009
Thursday, November 5, 2009
Couch to 5K to Shin Splints
After having my surgery, I promised myself that I would get myself into shape, which for the most part I've done. I am maintaining my weight, eating better, and exercising regularly. The only thing to do now is to set new goals.
I'm going to be 40 next year, and have been saying for years that I'd like to be one of those hot-looking, healthy 40 year-old women that you see all over South Beach, jogging and walking their dogs. You know, the annoying ones. Years ago, I ran track, and have done one 5K race, but running never took. I would walk 4 miles, go hiking, rollerblading, take aerobics classes (God, I miss my 20's), but rarely ran.
Today I started the "Couch to 5K" plan. If I'm being honest, I started the week before the first week of the plan, since I couldn't complete the first day. What I was supposed to do was 5 minutes of walking, followed by 8 reps of 60 seconds of running and 90 seconds of walking. I immediately pulled a muscle in my right shin, and couldn't start running again until I hit the second mile. The last mile, I did 3 or 4 reps, so I didn't give up, but this is obviously going to be tough for me. Despite my not-so-auspicious start, I am going to continue the plan, and maybe give myself a little extra time to get myself conditioned to the point where I can actually run 5K.
On January 24th, I am signing up for a 5K in Miami. I find that I do better when I've set short-term goals for myself, and I think it would be great, and not too far off the mark to be able to run 3 miles by January, if I stick with the program. I'll try to track my progress here week to week.
I'm feeling pretty good, with short bouts of bleh. What helps is the exercise, I think. Sometimes it takes all of my strength to motivate to workout, but once I'm in the gym, or on the track, I feel amazing, and my general demeanor is pretty great for the rest of the day.
I also am happy to report that my scar looks better every week. I have to admit that I'm not as great about putting Vitamin E on it 3 times a day as I should be, but I make sure to keep out of the sun, and it is slowly fading. By next year, maybe it will be a faded memory.
I'm going to be 40 next year, and have been saying for years that I'd like to be one of those hot-looking, healthy 40 year-old women that you see all over South Beach, jogging and walking their dogs. You know, the annoying ones. Years ago, I ran track, and have done one 5K race, but running never took. I would walk 4 miles, go hiking, rollerblading, take aerobics classes (God, I miss my 20's), but rarely ran.
Today I started the "Couch to 5K" plan. If I'm being honest, I started the week before the first week of the plan, since I couldn't complete the first day. What I was supposed to do was 5 minutes of walking, followed by 8 reps of 60 seconds of running and 90 seconds of walking. I immediately pulled a muscle in my right shin, and couldn't start running again until I hit the second mile. The last mile, I did 3 or 4 reps, so I didn't give up, but this is obviously going to be tough for me. Despite my not-so-auspicious start, I am going to continue the plan, and maybe give myself a little extra time to get myself conditioned to the point where I can actually run 5K.
On January 24th, I am signing up for a 5K in Miami. I find that I do better when I've set short-term goals for myself, and I think it would be great, and not too far off the mark to be able to run 3 miles by January, if I stick with the program. I'll try to track my progress here week to week.
I'm feeling pretty good, with short bouts of bleh. What helps is the exercise, I think. Sometimes it takes all of my strength to motivate to workout, but once I'm in the gym, or on the track, I feel amazing, and my general demeanor is pretty great for the rest of the day.
I also am happy to report that my scar looks better every week. I have to admit that I'm not as great about putting Vitamin E on it 3 times a day as I should be, but I make sure to keep out of the sun, and it is slowly fading. By next year, maybe it will be a faded memory.
Thursday, October 29, 2009
Medication Issues
Today I called my doctor to refil my prescription, and apparently there is a problem with my medication. The receptionist informed me that the generic medication that I've been taking for the past 25 days of so "isn't as good" as the Synthroid that I had been prescribed. I was told that the doctor insists on his patients taking the namebrand medication.
Yeah, that's great lady. I'm a firm believer in generics. I buy generic cereals, pastas, and pain relievers. I drink store brand milk, eat store brand baby spinach. I don't see the point in spending extra money because the company on the label did a kickass commercial.
I didn't request the generic, but the pharmacist switched it out, and I appreciate it. Money is tight. I haven't worked in almost a year, and my husband is leaving his job shortly. I realize that I probably only saved $5, but I find it hard to believe that the FDA approved a medication that wasn't as good as the original.
I worked out again today ... 45 minutes of walking at a brisk pace, which was tough to do considering it got up to 90 degrees today. Next time, I'll wait until the sun goes down.
Yeah, that's great lady. I'm a firm believer in generics. I buy generic cereals, pastas, and pain relievers. I drink store brand milk, eat store brand baby spinach. I don't see the point in spending extra money because the company on the label did a kickass commercial.
I didn't request the generic, but the pharmacist switched it out, and I appreciate it. Money is tight. I haven't worked in almost a year, and my husband is leaving his job shortly. I realize that I probably only saved $5, but I find it hard to believe that the FDA approved a medication that wasn't as good as the original.
I worked out again today ... 45 minutes of walking at a brisk pace, which was tough to do considering it got up to 90 degrees today. Next time, I'll wait until the sun goes down.
Wednesday, October 28, 2009
Again, for me only
... but really, who's really reading this blog anyway?
Today:
20 minutes of really sad pilates. Although I will say this ... I really, really needed to stretch out. My hip keeps clicking, and yesterday I felt like I was working out hunched over (I have a slight issue with my sciatic nerve). It wasn't my best effort, but at least I did something. Tomorrow, back to the routine.
Today:
20 minutes of really sad pilates. Although I will say this ... I really, really needed to stretch out. My hip keeps clicking, and yesterday I felt like I was working out hunched over (I have a slight issue with my sciatic nerve). It wasn't my best effort, but at least I did something. Tomorrow, back to the routine.
Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz
My whole life, I've considered myself an insomniac, a trait I shared with my sister and two brothers. The four of us, when living at home, would stay up until 2 or 3 a.m., watching television, eating crap. All of my sibilings still suffer from insomnia. My youngest brother works for a hospital, and often works the overnight shift, simply because he's awake. My sister takes herbal supplements to help her get more sleep. My other brother sends many of his emails overnight, when most people are asleep.
I became aware of what sleep deprivation could do a person, not because of what I was going through, but because a friend suffering from post-back-surgery pain developed sleep deprivation psychosis. Friends and family received barely discernable emails and phone calls. Texts were sent at all hours, in all caps, accusatory and paranoid. He became manic, grandiose, and would tell friends that he had developed relationships with important people in the Boston area, none of which existed. When I would call him to check on him, he would accuse me of being "one of them," meaning that he felt his family and friends were trying to hurt him in some way. He was finally forced to seek help, and now is slowly recovering from his mental break. The medication he is currently taking makes him move a bit more slowly, but he is sleeping, even for 3 or 4 hours per night.
As I was diagnosed with hyper-thyroidism, I did research, and found that a lot of patients had suffered from insomnia. I thought that was interesting, but as I had been an insomniac for years, I didn't think that I would ever be a big sleeper. It drove my poor husband nuts, since he is a fairly light sleeper, and I would constantly wake him up, watching television until the wee hours of the morning.
Following my surgery, I was getting more sleep than usual, but I attribute that to recovering from general anesthesia, and my body needing extra sleep to recover. But since then, I have been sleeping. A lot. I have a hard time staying awake past 11 p.m., which I had to do last night, because I needed to wait until midnight to take my medication. I easily got eight hours of sleep, which I've been doing every night since my surgery.
Yet another benefit ...
I became aware of what sleep deprivation could do a person, not because of what I was going through, but because a friend suffering from post-back-surgery pain developed sleep deprivation psychosis. Friends and family received barely discernable emails and phone calls. Texts were sent at all hours, in all caps, accusatory and paranoid. He became manic, grandiose, and would tell friends that he had developed relationships with important people in the Boston area, none of which existed. When I would call him to check on him, he would accuse me of being "one of them," meaning that he felt his family and friends were trying to hurt him in some way. He was finally forced to seek help, and now is slowly recovering from his mental break. The medication he is currently taking makes him move a bit more slowly, but he is sleeping, even for 3 or 4 hours per night.
As I was diagnosed with hyper-thyroidism, I did research, and found that a lot of patients had suffered from insomnia. I thought that was interesting, but as I had been an insomniac for years, I didn't think that I would ever be a big sleeper. It drove my poor husband nuts, since he is a fairly light sleeper, and I would constantly wake him up, watching television until the wee hours of the morning.
Following my surgery, I was getting more sleep than usual, but I attribute that to recovering from general anesthesia, and my body needing extra sleep to recover. But since then, I have been sleeping. A lot. I have a hard time staying awake past 11 p.m., which I had to do last night, because I needed to wait until midnight to take my medication. I easily got eight hours of sleep, which I've been doing every night since my surgery.
Yet another benefit ...
Tuesday, October 27, 2009
Workout
This is more for me than anyone else:
30 minutes on the treadmill
15 minutes on the elliptical
weights
abs
... hungry.
30 minutes on the treadmill
15 minutes on the elliptical
weights
abs
... hungry.
Crazy Couple of Weeks
I'm just back from my whirlwind trip to Boston. I always complain about the weather, and yes, we did have a couple of crummy days, but October is my favorite month in New England. The leaves changing color, the smell of fall. It is really amazing.
I generally felt pretty good over that week. We stayed in hotels over four days of our trip, and I made sure to work out each day that we were there. Part of my choice to maintain an exercise regimen is to avoid weight gain, but part of it is to also keep my energy up. I have to say it worked: my husband remarked that I seemed like my old self, that I seemed pretty "up."
I've also been pretty careful about my overall eating habits. I won't say I'm dieting, but I'm definitely making sure that I eat breakfast every day, which started out as a struggle. I developed horrible eating habits over the years. I'm trying to avoid snacking between meals, and stop eating for the day with dinner. Yes, I had dessert when we ate dinner with friends and family, but no midnight popcorn, and no chips in the middle of the afternoon.
My scar seems to be healing pretty well, too. I'm still a little weird about it, and wear high-necked shirts to cover it, but I'm getting over it. I got some DermaBlend a couple of weeks ago, and I'm surprised how well it works, although it can look a little heavy. I'm trying to remember to put Vitamin E on it at least twice a day, but I have to admit, I'm a little lazy about it.
Now I have to get back into the swing of my workout routine, which starts back up tonight. The Biggest Loser always inspires me!
I generally felt pretty good over that week. We stayed in hotels over four days of our trip, and I made sure to work out each day that we were there. Part of my choice to maintain an exercise regimen is to avoid weight gain, but part of it is to also keep my energy up. I have to say it worked: my husband remarked that I seemed like my old self, that I seemed pretty "up."
I've also been pretty careful about my overall eating habits. I won't say I'm dieting, but I'm definitely making sure that I eat breakfast every day, which started out as a struggle. I developed horrible eating habits over the years. I'm trying to avoid snacking between meals, and stop eating for the day with dinner. Yes, I had dessert when we ate dinner with friends and family, but no midnight popcorn, and no chips in the middle of the afternoon.
My scar seems to be healing pretty well, too. I'm still a little weird about it, and wear high-necked shirts to cover it, but I'm getting over it. I got some DermaBlend a couple of weeks ago, and I'm surprised how well it works, although it can look a little heavy. I'm trying to remember to put Vitamin E on it at least twice a day, but I have to admit, I'm a little lazy about it.
Now I have to get back into the swing of my workout routine, which starts back up tonight. The Biggest Loser always inspires me!
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