gwennefarrell

Today is Canada Day, a day when Canadians get to celebrate the wonderful country where we live. This morning I did a 2+ hour walk to the beach and back and the promenade was packed. There were all sorts of arts and craft vendors along the way and they were setting up for the fireworks that will happen tonight. Fortunately the weather has decided to cooperate and I’m sure all the families down at the beach will have a fabulous time.

I have one more day left in week 4 of my 6 week challenge and I can’t believe how far I have come with my fitness during that time. I am enjoying my morning fitness classes and have kept my commitment to attend at least 3 classes a week (this past week I made it to 6 but next week it will be 3 because I am heading to the trailer). But it is the the work outside of the gym that has really ramped up. I am back to where I was 2 years ago in terms of walking and each week I seem to push myself farther.

Week 1 of the challenge I walked 72k steps (which was still 10k steps per day) and 48km. Week 2 I doubled that doing 141k steps and 95km. Week 3 I did even more walking 170k steps and 113km. This week I have really pushed because as of right now I am at 205k steps and 136km (note, still have walking to do today). Each week I add some time to my walking and some days I just push myself as hard as I can. For example, yesterday I managed to walk 24km which for my American friends is about 15 miles. This past week I had committed to a 16km walk every day yet Monday was the only day I did less than 20km. I’m going to work hard at keeping that up next week and then I will bump things up so that I am doing a few super walks (for me that is a walk of about 3 hours) to work on endurance.

So yeah, I am definitely back in the game. My motivation level is so high right now and I plan to keep it that way. Only 2 more weeks before my weigh in and I am already in the headspace that it doesn’t really matter how much that scale has moved, what matters is I am proud of the hard work I am putting into this.

To end I have a funny story. Yesterday I went to walk Miss Keeva and found out that the elevators in her building weren’t working. So, I walked up the 4 flights of stairs to pick up Miss Keeva and of course at the end of the walk it was back up those stairs. I said to her owner, apparently I really picked a bad day to have walked 23km before having to take out Miss Keeva.

Happy Canada everyone!

Over the past week I have really kicked things up a notch. Last week I did a fair amount of walking, at least 16km each day. My goal was to do the same this week but all of a sudden on Tuesday by time I was done walking for the day I was just short of 30k steps and 20km. I decided to do a few minutes on the treadmill and lo and behold I had hit those numbers. I felt pretty good about that so yesterday I thought hey, why not do it again. The end result was 31k+ and 21km. Now I am determined that for the next 3 days I keep that up and I am confident that I can do it.

This week I will be taking an early morning class at the gym 6 days (the Sunday class doesn’t challenge me enough). Each class I go to I try and push myself just a little more. Even things that are out of my comfort zone I am trying to make myself do. On Tuesday at the Power Strong class there was a lot of exercises that involved kneeling and I decided I was going to push through the pain in my bad knee and get it done. I did that and later realized it was a very poor decision.

Tuesday was also my Caregiver Support group that I facilitate. The weather was awesome so I walked there which took about an hour (I had already done another 1 hour walk). After the session I walked back home and that is where the problems began, my knee was killing me. This isn’t about overworking it, it was about kneeling for some time on a knee that is not only full of arthritis but also scar tissue which is rock hard. Imagine kneeling for any length of time on rocks, that is what it feels like to me only the rocks are actually in my knee.

I was talking to my husband about this and he told me how proud he is of how hard I am working but reminded me that I have limitations no matter how healthy and fit I am. I had to agree with him. So, yesterday I spoke with the instructor I deal with most of the time and advised I just can’t do anything that involves kneeling. She told me that was good to know and that she would work on some modifications for me so that I can still get in the same workout. I mentioned it to today’s instructor who said she would do the same for me. Neither one questioned me about this, they just committed to find a work around for me.

Ultimately it reminded me that I have limitations and that is ok. This is not an excuse in any way, rather it is just my reality. I still intend to work as hard only some exercises I am just going to have to do differently.

Yesterday I started week 4 of my 6 week bootcamp. At the end of each week I have to submit my goal for the coming week which of course should always be a commitment to improve. This week I have opted to set my goal as walking 16k each day this week. I am well on my way and I really appreciate the weather cooperating. My only challenge is tomorrow when I have a zoom meeting from 9:30am-1pm. I think I have a schedule worked out to still be able to get in the walking I need to do.

The other thing I have to log as part of my weekly check-in is how much water I have drank on average each day. While as part of my program I am supposed to drink 2 litres each day (8 cups) the actual recommended amount is 2.7 litres (11.5 cups) each day. Now hold on a second, I just simply can’t do that. Just the fact that at my age I already tend to pee a lot, if I drank that much I probably would never be able to do a 1 1/2 hour walk. It would also mean I would be up all night which would not be great given my challenge sleeping.

So what to do? Well I did some research and it is not about drinking WATER, it is about taking in fluids. Ok, that’s better because I do drink tea, coffee and non-alcoholic beer on top of the water I drink. I decided to look into this via a reliable source, the Mayo Clinic. According to their website if you eat a lot of fruits and vegetables which can have a high water content and you drink sufficient other fluids then you are likely well hydrated. Oh, and in during research I learned that it is a myth that caffeine is a diuretic so that coffee and tea that I drink absolutely counts towards fluid intake. When I take that into consideration and the fact that my meals include a lot of fruits and vegetables I figure I am getting the right amount of hydration.

There are a couple of things that indicate if you need to hydrate more. The first is do you get thirsty. If so then drink more fluids. The second is the colour of your urine. As a guide, if your urine is completely clear it could indicate that you are drinking too many fluids. If it is pale or transparent (i.e. a light yellow or amber) you probably are getting enough fluids especially if you are not thirsty. Urine that is dark yellow is a sign that you are probably not getting enough fluids. There are other colours and indicators but I thought I would stick to the 3 simplest indicators.

For me I apparently am well hydrated and need to stop worrying about how much ‘water’ I drink each day. I’ll just keep doing what I am doing as I forge ahead on this journey.

A final note, the above information is based on the research I have done (you know, Dr Google). If you are concerned about your own outcomes please consult a medical professional.

So my husband and I went to the food truck festival today but we’re a bit disappointed. This wasn’t a really large food truck group as compared to other events that we have gone to so there wan’t the usual variety. We wondered around for a while then decided to go to a noodle restaurant we had seen the other day. I only got through about a 1/3 of my bowl but that was plenty. I did really enjoy the meal but I did have to calculate the nutritional values for my app.

I mentioned in my last post that when I come to my trailer I tend to get a little too far into the relaxation vibe. I also tend to eat less than healthy food while I am here. This trip I was determined to stay on track especially with exercise. I reminded myself that I am back to my old mantra of no excuses, I have to stay on this path.

I am proud to say that the mission has been accomplished. I have walked at least 3 hours each day that I have been here! Today I even walked the 7 km from the trailer to the food truck festival. This is no small fete since most of that walking was done on a major highway. I have actually really enjoyed getting to know the main street on the little island where we have our trailer. Some of the houses and property in this area are absolutely stunning.

As far as eating has gone, I’m a bit surprised at how well I have done. Now don’t get me wrong, I have eaten a total of 5 potato chips and today I had 4 plain mini donuts (even mini donuts have a lot of calories in them). Of course there was also today’s lunch which was higher in calories than I would normally eat but that’s ok. I have made sure to log everything in my nutrition app and my calorie deficit for the week as of yesterday was higher than my goal. That means while I can’t do any crazy eating today, I can still end the week in a good place.

The bottom line is that I did it. I absolutely managed to stay on track by just using my strong sense of determination. Yes, mission definitely accomplished.

Yesterday was the summer solstice and all of a sudden today we have beautiful weather. Seriously, after several days of cold and rain it was like a switch was flipped. We are now in for several days of awesome summer weather and I can’t wait.

Now it worked out well that the weather is so good because my husband and I have headed up to the trailer for a few days. The problem is when I get here and the weather is nice I tend to just sit around having some adult beverages watching eagles catch thermals. It is just so relaxing sitting on the patio listening to some good music why on earth would I want to work out? On top of that I tend to not eat as well as I should and usually things like chips are involved. However, this time I am determined I am not going down that path.

So what am I going to do? To start with, I only really bought healthy food to consume over the next few days. This includes fresh veggies and awesome proteins like salmon. To stay away from heavy breakfasts (you know things like bacon and pancakes) I have already prepped hard boiled eggs. While I do still intend to have a few cocktails, it will usually be vodka with Club Soda. As well, I have lots of my beloved no-alcohol stout which clocks in at 30 calories per can (and no sugars).

That just leaves exercising. I have already scheduled that in my head and I refuse to let my laid back setting get the best of me. I plan on at least 3 hours of walking every day (ok, a little less today but I did an hour bootcamp workout at the gym this morning before we left). The game plan is up at 5am to put in 1 1/2 hours first thing. The rest of the day might be 3 shorter walks or another long one, we’ll see but I know I need at least 1,000 exercise calories burned each day. Saturday we’re going to a food truck festival which is at a park 1 1/2 hour walk from the trailer so I will walk there and depending on what I choose to eat I might walk back as well. All I know is I refuse to ruin the progress I have made this far.

About a year ago I ran a 1/2 marathon and as I passed a group of cheering volunteers I told them what I lacked in speed I made up for with determination. Right now I have the same determination to stick to my goals as I had to complete that run.

Yesterday I was out for a walk with the seniors’ walking group that I lead. They are all aware that I am doing a 6 week bootcamp and are looking forward to hearing how it all turns out in the end. While we were walking yesterday one of them noted that my butt is getting smaller. It was nice to hear that because I know I have worked hard for the past 2 weeks and while I am noticing some differences it was uplifting to have someone else validate it.

I also received an email from my bootcamp liaison yesterday saying she had just seen my weekly check-in forms and that I am doing excellent. Now she only sees things like how many classes I am attending and if I am keeping to my calorie goal but has no idea what else I am doing. I told her that currently I am walking a minimum of 10 km every day and she marveled at how I was able to do this given I had been recovering from COVID. I explained my mantra is no excuses and I am sticking with that until I meet my fitness and weight goals.

I came to realize that I had lost that mantra. When I first got serious about getting healthy and fit I was diligent. Every day I worked at improving my fitness and I was really cognizant of what I was eating. But then things changed. The pandemic bubble that I had been living in for 2 years burst and life started getting back to normal. My husband retired and moved home permanently which gave me a great excuse to go back to some bad eating habits. Last September I twisted my ankle a bit and so that gave me a reason not to work as hard. And while the beginning of the year I vowed to get back on track, it didn’t really happen.

Finding this bootcamp has taken me back to where I was when I started on this journey, I really want to do it. Every day I review my stats for the day (calories in, calories burned, time in zone minutes, distance traveled and number of steps) and I find myself excited to do the same tomorrow. I am back to planning what each day will look like including what I will be eating and how I will get all my workouts done. I have had to be flexible owing to COVID and the health emergency with my brother but really, in 2 weeks I have missed 1 day where I didn’t exceed all of my goals. This time I know if I let up even a little I can end up back where I was 3 1/2 years ago and I don’t want to be there ever again.

This all means, no excuses, I can find a way to do this every day. More importantly, I can find a way to keep myself excited about what I am doing and those 2 things are going to get me to my goals.

I’m just going to get right to it this post. Today I had the best workout I have ever done. It was a fitness circuit and it was the first time with this instructor. She was amazing! I introduced myself before the class started and identified that I was new. She checked on me throughout the workout giving me some tips and pointers. She also quickly realized I was modifying the exercises where necessary (I don’t do work on the floor because in between stations you only had 10 seconds and with my knee it takes me longer than that to get up) and she helped me make sure the modifications would work. By time the session was over (and that hour flew by) I felt great! Definitely going back to that class next week.

So week 2 of bootcamp is winding down. I am pretty happy with how I have done especially exercise wise. I had to miss 2 days at the gym this week, one because of COVID self isolation and the other because of a family emergency. That however did not stop me. I have met my goal this week of at least 3 hours of exercise every day. As a matter of fact yesterday (not a gym day) I walked nearly 20 km and 30k steps. I haven’t done that much walking in a single day in more than a year but you know what, it actually felt pretty good. Days when I go to the gym it is an hour workout there and then 2 hours of walking. Some days because of a busy schedule this week instead of hour long walks I have broken it into two 1/2 hour walks which works just as well.

I have also done really well with my food. I’m avoiding snacking though when I need something especially after a good workout it is a small handful of nuts. I have also started tracking my calorie deficit each day and I am proud to say I have met my goal every day this week. I know I am only 1/3 of the way into this program but if it keeps going as well as it has the past 2 weeks then I am sure I will enjoy the remainder of the time. I will note that I have not gotten on the scale. I decided when I started this that I was not going to weigh myself until the end of the 6 weeks. My fear is if the scale isn’t moving or not moving as much as I want then I will lose my motivation and I have no intention of doing that.

Tomorrow is my ‘treat’ day, well sort of. We are going to the Farmers’ Market and then out for lunch. I’ve already calculate the calories in my lunch so have planned out my other meals for the day to ensure I can still meet my goals. While we are going to a craft brewery I will be skipping the beer as it has too many calories but fortunately for me this place also has craft whiskies so I can afford to have one of those. It will be a nice change and I figure well deserved.

Ok, my apologies to anyone who was looking for a post on Tuesday, the day just got away from me. I really don’t know how I have managed to end up with at least 1 Zoom meeting every day this week (today it is 3 meetings). About 1/2 the meetings are for my business but the other 1/2 are volunteer organizations (those ones do not make my husband happy). Unfortunately add the meetings to my workouts and my time is being squeezed a bit.

I have been lucky with my bout with COVID in that it has (so far) not been too bad. I am now down to just really having a bit of a cough but otherwise I am pretty good. However, I did the right thing and self isolated for 5 days meaning there was no gym time. Despite this I still have managed to work pretty hard over the last week. In particular, I have done an awful lot of walking but I actually believe this is what has helped keep me feeling better. As a matter of fact, I am now up to 3 hours of exercise every day this week whether that be at the gym or just doing brisk walking.

I will acknowledge that yesterday I feared things were going off track. I was at my early morning boot camp and about 1/2 way through I all of a sudden felt extremely nauseated. I opted to leave the class and head home where I drank several glasses of water. Turns out I may have let myself get a bit dehydrated (funny since I have been drinking more fluids daily the past 2 weeks than I ever have before) because after the water I felt much better. After that I still managed to get in 11km of walking done by the end of the day. Today I was back at the gym bright and early and there were no issues so next step is to get my walking in.

I know that had I not been determined to be successful at my 6 Week Challenge program that I probably would have given in to COVID but I am so motivated right now that it just wasn’t an option. I truly hope that at the end of the challenge all of this has been worth it.

So when I started not feeling well on Thursday I sent my husband out on a mission to get me some cold relief medications. In particular I wanted sugar free cough syrup which I know can be hard to find so I checked and found a local (large) drug store that said it had 5 bottles in stock. Apparently there was a run on cough syrup because they had none when he got there an hour later. He then spent the next 2 hours determined to find some. Eventually he did and I was so happy because as I mentioned after doing serious ab work over 4 days coughing was not a fun experience.

On Thursday when I really wasn’t feeling well I decided despite the fact this all felt like a bad spring cold manifesting itself the same way all my colds start, in my throat, that we are living in a different age right now so maybe I should start testing for COVID. We have tons of COVID test kits in our house so no big deal. I also realized that for the next few days I should probably stay at home even though I had things planned. Oh well, fairly confident after 3 days of testing I will be fine.

I did my first test on Thursday and it was negative. I did another test yesterday and still negative. Today was to be my last day of testing and I was pretty cocky until I saw the 2 lines in the test cassette. What the hell, after all this time and so many shots I tested positive for COVID. I got my husband up and he claimed I gave him the plague as he was coughing. I told him he likely had COVID so insisted he take a test. I also got my brother to test since he was in Mexico with us for the last 5 weeks. So far they both tested negative but I am not confident they will remain that way though my brother has already had COVID so may be a little more protected.

The irony to all of this is that on Monday I had my 6th shot. Now I know some of you reading this might jump on that fact and think see, the vaccine doesn’t work. I want to differ with you if that is how you think and explain what my experience has been. My throat started hurting a bit on Tuesday and again I thought it was a cold coming on. The only really bad day I have had was Thursday with a sore throat, fever, aches (though again those could be from some intense workouts) and a cough. By yesterday I was feeling better (I admit I lost my voice for a bit) and did nearly 2 hours on the treadmill. By this morning I am down to a bit of congestion and even the cough has immensely improved. The vaccine did exactly what they said, it significantly reduced COVID symptoms which for me is now like a minor cold. Really, it was only 1 day of being somewhat ill. To me, that means that the vaccine works.

I’m looking on the bright side, this week I got not only a booster shot but also developed anti-bodies. Maybe getting COVID the same week as the booster was actually a positive.

Day 4 of bootcamp and I wasn’t really fond of this class. It was a brand new instructor and she wasn’t great at demonstrating what we were supposed to do. Moreover, she didn’t advise how to modify exercises in case you physically couldn’t do them. For example, I don’t kneel because of the arthritic knee and she had a lot of segments where you had to kneel. Fortunately one of the experienced attendees kept bringing up the question of how do we modify this so that I could still participate.

A couple days ago my throat started to get sore, not anything horrible and I thought either it is the effect of the wildfire smoke or I was getting a cold (colds for me always start in my throat). It still wasn’t too bad this morning so I went to the gym. When I got home it was like hitting a brick wall! Not only did I all of a sudden become congested but I started coughing. I immediately looked up the difference between COVID and cold symptoms and while there are a few that are different there are a lot of similarities. One difference is with COVID you have muscle aches. The problem with that one is because of 4 straight days of bootcamp, all my muscles ache.

I decided it was time to put the breaks on. There were no further workouts today as I know this is not the time to push myself. Because my abs have been worked more than they have been in years, every time I cough it is agonizing. Thus I sent my husband out to find sugar free cough syrup (yes there is such a thing and it has no real calories). I spent the day laying on the couch and plan soon to just crawl into my bed for the rest of the night. Finally, I cancelled tomorrow’s bootcamp and may have to do the same on Saturday. Oh and for those wondering, yes I did a COVID test and it was negative but of course I need to do that again tomorrow and Saturday.

The disappointment to me is I was on quite the roll. I was motivated and proud of what I had done the past few days. However, I recognize that there is nothing I can do about this. Wait, yes there is, I can keep on track with my daily food goals and continue to log what I eat. While I know I need to both control my diet and to exercise I figure 1 out of 2 right now is not bad so I am resolved to stick to the right path.

Here’s hoping I continue to test negative and that this cold works its way though its course quickly and I can get back fully to my 6 week challenge.