Rebuilding Momentum, and The Vegas Dress

I had a bit of a setback in my health and exercise routine last month. My MD had prescribed a medication to help me sleep at night, since my insomnia had reached the level of “persistent and acute.” She said it would take two or three weeks of continuous use before we would know whether it would work, starting out at a low dose and bumping it up until it was working consistently. While I had noticed a wee bit of a slow-down at the lowest dosage, and a little more drag at the medium dose, the higher dose pretty much laid me out. I was on the couch for the better part of a week with fatigue, muscle soreness, chills, and very low energy/motivation, before it occurred to me to ask the pharmacist if this could be a side effect of the medication. Yep, depression symptoms are not unusual when starting this med, and could continue for a few weeks. Not being will to waste a month or so of my life in the couch, I stopped taking it. It was another three days before I had a semi-normal day, though ten days after stopping the medication I am definitely not back to my pre-med peppy self. I feel like I’ve slid back to my pre-exercise days and am having to start over, which is kind of disheartening. Most annoying, my body has lost its craving for exercise, so I’m relying on motivation alone to get me moving. But, I’ve got a pretty strong physical base built up, and my last couple of workouts have been stronger than they were when I was medicated. I’m hoping after another week or so the meds will be flushed out of my system entirely, I can beat off the rest of the “blahs” with my big, fat walking stick, and get back to living fully again. So, there.

Despite this little setback, however, I can report that progress has definitely been made. When I began walking last November I consistently weighed 156-158; I’m now weighing 151-153. I’ve gone down two belt notches, no longer have a noticeable bulge over the top of my jeans, and even have the beginnings of a waist now. For the month of January, I ranked 104th in total FitPoints for my YMCA facility (52nd among female members, 16th among women in my age group), and should reach 10,000 lifetime FitPoints in the next week or so (and that's after an inconsistent January). I’m consistently pushing 15,000 lb on the weight machines each visit, and have managed to get to the Y three days a week most weeks. To get fully back into the swing of things, I need to do an hour of walking on my non-gym days, and do some Yoga a few days a week. That should just about do it.

So, I’ve got a few short-term goals in mind to help keep me motivated and moving in the right direction. I’d like to have enough energy and vitality to easily make it through a long day without pooping out before bedtime (the kids’ bedtime, not mine). I’d like to get down to 140 lb by summer, and feel comfortable wearing my bathing suit when I take the kids to the pool. I’d like to be comfortable wearing a workout-type spandex top and bottom when I work out, and not feel quite so much jiggling when I walk hard on the treadmill. And, I’d like to be perfectly comfortable wearing this dress in public on a date with my husband. I mean, without sucking in my gut the whole time.

The Vegas Dress

Hubby, being the darling, sweet, loving hubby that he is, bought this little number for me during his last business trip to Vegas. He was a bit optomistic about the fit, and I have yet to wear it. That will be remedied soon enough.

As Chris says, there are many things we just don’t have any control over as we age. But, then, there are plenty of things we do have quite a bit of control over. We may as well grab the reins, take charge of what we can, and determine our own quality of life to the greatest extent possible. So, giddyup, girls. Let's get on with it!

Two-Week Follow-Up

Today I met with my Wellness Coach at the YMCA. It’s been two weeks since she set got me set up on a workout routine and we talked about some goals. She nudged up my five existing Cybex machines to two sets on each, adjusted the range of motion on the leg curl (currently my mortal enemy), and set me up with two new machines; the back extension and the abdominal. We set a new short-range goal of doing cardio three days a week, which I’m already doing…even through the holiday busyness. She also gave me the green light to start bumping up the weight on the machines by 5 lb increments if I feel like I need a little more push. After our meeting, I hit the treadmill for 45 minutes, then went back to the Cybex room and did one set on each of the two new machines. Since I’ve got back “issues”, I wanted to get a feel for the movement the machines require and be sure I don’t have a dorsal revolt tomorrow, before I try two sets next workout.

So, what results have I seen in these two weeks? Well, it’s hard to draw a line between the last two weeks of weight training, and the weeks of walking I had done previously. But, overall, I feel good. Even on “bad” days when I’m having some annoying premenopausal symptom (like aching legs, headache, nausea, lower back pain, etc.), I feel better than many of my pre-exercise “good” days. My energy level continues to hold at a pretty high level, at least based on what I’m used to. I can go all day without completely exhausting myself. My mind is clear and eager to tackle intellectual and creative pursuits (even when I don’t have time to indulge in them). My jeans fit nicely, even though I haven’t lost more than about 1 lb. Even Brother Bear commented today that I look trimmer. And, of course, Papa Bear definitely appreciates the changes.

But, there have been two pretty significant changes. First, I have been sleeping. I mean, really sleeping. I had gotten accustomed to a “good” night of sleep meaning I slept deeply for about 3-4 hours before waking, then spending the rest of the night in a state of restless half-sleep. For the past week, at least five nights I have enjoyed a state of deep sleep for 5-6 hours before waking. You wouldn’t believe how much more energy and enthusiasm I have in the morning after a “decent” night of sleep. I daren’t even imagine what I could accomplish in a day after a full 8 hours of deep, restful sleep.

Second, I’ve turned into a gym rat. I actually WANT to be in the gym. I WANT to be exercising on the machines. I WANT to be blazing a trail down the treadmill, pushing up my heart rate and feeling my legs work. (Oh, I guess there’s one more change; it’s taking more exertion to get my heart rate up to my target zone. I may even break into a trot next visit, just to see if I can.) I’m even preferring the treadmill to walking in the park, simply because it’s more comfortable (yesterday’s “high” was just under 50, and the trail at our park is currently under construction). I'm actually feeling impatient to get to my next workout. I was just at the Y working out this morning, and I want to go again. Right now. I want to get in there and start bumping up the weight on those bloody machines. I wish I had more time for classes and other challenges. Weird, huh?

In some ways, I think I may have created an advantage for myself by being pretty much sedentary for the first four decades of my life. I’ve waited until I’m on the verge of falling apart physically, feeling really run down and weak, before starting an exercise regime. The turn-around, being able to see and feel noticeable, life-improving progress in a fairly short period of time…well, that’s a huge motivator. I can see where folks who have been athletic their entire lives might start getting a bit deflated as they start feeling the effects of age. Same exercise, same effort, but continuing to decline in strength and endurance. Me…I can only improve from my original starting point. Even as I continue to age, I’ll be better off than I was six months ago. Nice.

The other part is, my time at the gym working out is “me” time. I’ve spent the last ten years very focused on caring for my family. My “me” time has been in bits and snatches, here and there, fitting in around my other obligations. Trying to read and study classic literature, study classic guitar technique, write, and maybe even read a little something frivolous from time to time, but mostly my time has not been my own. My time at the gym is not time being taken away from something else I’d “rather” be doing like hanging out with friends or going to a movie. I’ve had so little time away from my family, all on my own, to do exactly as I like for an hour or two, that this time spent on the treadmill is actually a blessed break for me. A full 45 minutes to listen to a full lecture from The Teaching Company without interruption (I’m currently working through my 2nd listening of “How to Listen to and Understand Great Music"). No one wanting my attention. No one needing my help. Everyone else at the gym pretty much ignores me, and I actually really like that.

So, my challenge beginning next week is to keep up with regular exercise and trips to the Y once we're back to homeschooling. I am deeply blessed to have a husband who fully supports my physical metamorphosis, and who has a schedule flexible enough to help cover things at home. Even so, I may have to let some things go to allow enough time for regular exercise. May have to get up earlier in the morning (which will be distinctly do-able if I'm sleeping better). But, with the loving support of my dearest, it is possible. Look out, 2010, here I come!

Restless Leg Syndrome

I’ve had mild bouts of RLS off and on for several years now. But it was so random and intermittent and mild, I’d forgotten about it, or that I had it, until the other night when at about 3:00 am I suddenly woke with the overwhelming need to hop out of bed and do a hundred jumping jacks or go mad. Oh, yeah, RLS. Maybe that’s part of the whole insomnia thing.

So, what is RLS? According to The John Hopkins Center for Restless Leg Syndrome, RLS has four primary features:

• Uncomfortable sensation in the legs with a clear need or urge to move the legs
• The symptoms are worse at night
• The symptoms come on with rest
• The symptoms are relieved with movement

Kind of strange, huh? But, unless you’ve actually experienced RLS, it’s really difficult to describe or explain. Basically, “If you do not move the effected limb, you will go insane” is pretty close, and it lasts for hours, mostly in the middle of the night. Makes sleeping kind of – well – not possible. And, it can also affect the arms, though that apparently is not as common. Unless you’re me. Thus, the burning desire to perform jumping jacks in the middle of the night. And I don’t even like exercise. May also explain my deeply felt desire for aggressive walks now that I’ve started walking. I can feel my thighs begging me for a nice, hard pounding down the path for an hour…or more if the rest of me can keep up.

Now, lest you think this a one of those “It’s all your head, dear” kind of things, I personally know two women with RLS, both of whom have been put on medications used to treat the involuntary tremors of Parkinsons Disease. That’s kind of knarly. You can find more info at the John Hopkins site. Apparently it often strikes during middle age and gets worse as you get older. Yipee. Needless to say, I’ll be bringing this up at my appointment with my MD next week. Along with the perimenopause thing. In the meantime, I’m not sleeping much, so I may as well blog…..