Mueller Park Hike

Oh yes.  I finally was able to do a real hike.  I've been itching to get out there and climb some mountains but my feet unfortunately just do not want to play nice.  However, I finally couldn't take it anymore and decided to try a baby hike to see how bad it hurt.  We opted to try the Mueller Park hike as we had heard it was a gradual climb and should be pretty gentle.

The weather was really nice outside.  It was about 90 degrees in the valley so we were looking forward to gaining some elevation so it could cool off!  Luckily the majority of the hike was in the shade.  It felt SO good to be out in nature and enjoying the sights and smells.  It's very therapeutic!  

My feet felt great for the first mile, but after that my achilles tendon in my right foot started getting angry like I suspected it would.  We continued on for another half mile and then turned around.  I was sad to have to stop so soon, but it was definitely the right decision. 

 We were able to get a good look at the fire lines that they recently put in place on our mountain.  I'm not sure how they actually make them, but they are certainly an endeavor!  With all the recent fires happening in our state and neighboring states, I'm glad something is in place to hopefully help in the case that a fire starts in our area.

As we turned around, my plantar fasciitis started flaring up in my left foot.  It was sending a few quick sharp pangs every step or so.  Eventually the angle of the trail changed and that helped to minimize the flareup.  I was grateful for that!

I will probably hike again soon, but first I would really like to get a deep tissue massage to work through the tightness in my problem areas.  I really think it would help!

Are any of you nervous about fires in your area?  I can't believe how bad the fire season has been this year!

Oh, and for my daily weigh-in:
Starting Weight: 162.2
Today's Weight: 158.6

I was on track and under calories yesterday, so I'm not too stressed about the slight gain from yesterday.  Still feeling good!

Raspberries Galore!

Starting Weight: 162.2

Today's Weight: 158.2

Total Lost: 4 lbs (booyah!)

Last night Hubster and I went over to our Grandma's house to pick her raspberries for her.  It was a bit last minute for us so we were in our work clothes and shoes while out in the garden, but we made it work.  I think there is something a little therapeutic about picking produce and working outside.  Being forced to slow down really seems to help me with stress.  Even thought it was hot, it was nice.  I had intended to weed my own garden last night but there were so many raspberries to be picked we didn't get home until 9 and it was far too late to try.  Oh well!

It took us about two and a half hours to pick all the berries.  I picked raspberries for Grandma last week and it took only an hour.  There were SO many more this time around:

Yum.  We will be freezing a bunch of them to use in smoothies, and perhaps I will make some raspberry jam.  I just love having fresh produce!

Weigh-in Wednesday

Yesterday I was on track and even a wee bit under my calorie goal.  I survived dinner with friends and we actually kept it pretty healthy!  Grilled chicken, corn on the cob, and fruit salad (just fruit and yogurt) for dessert.  Yay for that!  Today's weigh-in reflects the wise choices from yesterday:

Original Weight: 162.2

Today's Weight: 158.8

Lovely!  I am quite happy with that.  

Tonight I am going for a bike ride and then weeding the garden.  Our garden this year looks really good!  We've been enjoying the lettuce and kale in our morning breakfast.  It's nice to be able to grow your own food and know that it's healthy and know exactly what chemicals (if any) have touched them.  Plus it's super cheap!  

Do any of you garden?  What produce are you currently enjoying?

Blargh.

Big dinner last night.  Totally went over calories.  Only have myself to blame for this morning's weigh-in:

Starting Weight: 162.2
Yesterday's Weight: 159.4
Today's Weight: 160.2

I'm going to dinner at a friend's house tonight and I'm hoping and praying that my willpower stays strong.  Send good vibes!

Camping in the Uintas

We survived camping!  It was a great night.  We headed up after work and set up camp in a cute little campsite off the beaten path.  We lucked out--I think we got the very best one!  We were nice and secluded.  When Hubster and I camp, we always go for the place where the fewest people are so you won't find us at a campsite with designated spots and restrooms.  We like to feel the wild!

This particular spot we were at seemed to be a favorite among the butterflies.  There were dozens of them playing on the dandelions.  The little kid in my might have been in heaven.  Love it!

Hubster made a delicious breakfast for us (I was in charge of dinner--tin foil dinners with yummy veggies).  For whatever reason, the food cooked while camping just seems to taste so much better than food at home. Has anyone else noticed this?  Yum.

I also spent some time that evening trying to capture the Milky Way in some photos.  It was a lot of fun!  I can't wait to try again in a few weeks when we go to Lake Powell.  Love it!

Also, as for weigh-in:

Last Monday: 162.2

Today: 159.4

That puts me down 2.8 lbs.  I also weighed in today on our fancy (several thousand dollar) body fat scale at work and it says I lost 1.4% from last week.  I'm sure it's not super accurate, but I like the downward trend anyway!

How was your weekend?  Tell me about it in the comments!

Camping Weekend

I'm going camping with Hubster tonight!  Who's excited about this?  I know I am.  We are headed up to the Uinta Mountains for a nice evening in the wilderness.  The last time I was in the Uinta's was during my very first backpacking experience.  I was so nervous to be carrying extra weight and being away from the conveniences of our car, but it ended up being something I really loved.  Sadly, I will be unable to backpack this time due to the foot injuries but I am looking forward to a night out among the stars.  With marathon training last year I didn't get to do any camping and I really missed it.

Uinta's

Ibantik Lake

Sunset in the Uinta's

We haven't mapped out exactly where we are going to camp yet, but I know we can't really go wrong in beautiful mountain regions.  I'm really looking forward to it!

In addition to camping, we'll likely go for a bike ride around the area.  That will mark my third bike ride this week, and I am definitely feeling it in my more...um...sensitive areas?  I WILL get used to sitting on a bike seat!  Just gotta suffer through it!  So far I've done 13 miles on Tuesday, 10 miles yesterday, and TBD today!  Can't wait!

Oh, and as promised, the daily weigh-in (that won't be updated on the weekends because I stay far away from computers on the weekend):

Starting Weight (6/16/12): 162.2

Current Weight: 159.8

Wahoo!  I was happy to see the 150s this morning.  I hope that trend continues.  The weekend is always the hardest!  

What are your fun plans for the weekend?  Share them in the comments!

Busy Day

Not much to say today!  Went for a nice and short (1.6 miles) with a friend last night.  The achilles started getting tight towards the end so I opted to not go farther.  I'm getting closer to figuring out the threshold for it!

Starting Weight: 162.2
Today's Weight: 160.8

Up .8 from yesterday.  Not too stressed about it.

Tonight I bike with Jess!  As you all know, I totally love this girl so I can't wait to hang out with her!



She's probably not as excited as I am...can't imagine why not!

Wednesday Weigh-In

Wahooo!  Day 3 of counting calories and I'm still right on track.  Last night I went for a lovely bike ride.  I pushed myself and ended up doing 13 miles in an hour (keep in mind I was on a mountain bike rather than a road bike).  It felt good to be outside and in the sun.  A little over halfway through the ride my behind started to complain about being on the seat so long, but other than that it was good.  I figure that my butt will just have to get used to it!  :)

Workout Wildlife continued as well.  After seeing the moose on Monday during my hike, I was lucky enough to see some deer last night!  They nearly ran into me!  I hopped off the bike and took a quick photo before they ran off further down the trail.

Bambi!

Sketchy Week One weight loss continues.  I weighed in this morning at 160.0 which means I'm down 2.2 lbs from Monday.  Wouldn't it be nice if weight loss really happened that quickly?  I'm pretty sure I am very close to stalling.  We shall see!

I hope your week is great.  Any fun plans?  Tonight I am going for a walk with a friend, and then tomorrow I'm either biking or hiking with my dearest friend Jess.  It's going to be a good week!

Accountability

In an effort to be accountable and actually keep on track, I've got to actually share my weight and weigh-ins with you all.  Nothing like a little bit of public shaming to keep me focused!  :)

Yesterday I weighed in at 162.2.  Today I weighed in at 161.2.  Yay for first week sketchy weight loss!  I'm sure I'll see it fluctuate a bit in the next few days.  I'll keep you updated with daily weigh-ins much like Ben Davis has been doing.  I think that will help me over the next couple of weeks.

As for yesterday, it was a great day.  First days being back on the wagon always are (minus the hunger pangs)!  I kept my calories in check (under my goal!) and got some activity in.  A coworker and I went "hiking" up in Big Cottonwood Canyon.  I say "hiking" because it was really a fast stroll around a paved trail/boardwalk.  I can't do any hills and I have to take it easy because of the plantar fasciitis and the tendonitis.  This was my first workout since the diagnosis and I was trying to set a baseline.  I did really good for the first 2 miles, but after that the achilles started hurting really badly.  I was halfway through the lake loop so I had no choice but to continue walking and just kind of suffer through it.  I iced it for a long time when I got home.

However, the pain was definitely worth the scenery:

Silver Lake

Silver Lake

We saw a moose!

And he (she?) was so cute!

Please note that I know how dangerous moose are and we were being very very cautious.  We look closer to him than we really were.  We also didn't stay near him for very long.  He was super happy though.  I can't blame him--he picked a great place to hang out!

I think it will need to be a while before I walk more than 2 miles (how depressing is that?), but I'm glad I now know my baseline.  Slowly and surely I will find a way to stay active while nursing my poor footsies!  

Oh, and just so you know, my coworkers have put together a weight loss group at my work.  We are meeting weekly (Mondays--right after the binge full weekends) to keep each other accountable and on track.  We've each made personal goals and have set out plans on how we are going to achieve them.  I think this will really help move me forward.  We also made really dorky and funny printouts to keep on our desks.  I was lucky(?) enough to have my photo selected:

You can't handle this much awesome.

So that lovely thing is printed out on my coworkers' desks with their individual goals to remind them of what they are aiming for.  Hopefully it helps us out!

What tricks are you using this week to stay on track and accountable?

4 Pounds by July 2nd

That's the goal.  Please help me stay accountable for it!  I need help.  As you've probably noticed, I get motivated and then within a week my motivation tanks and I have to start all over again.  I can't keep doing that.  So...short term goal is to lose 4 small pounds in two weeks.  I'll be working out daily and tracking my calories.  I can do this!!

So, I went to the doctor...

...and I have plantar fasciitis in my left foot and tendonitis in my Achilles tendon on my right leg.  This is pretty much exactly what I thought the doctor would say, but it is good to have it officially diagnosed.  Sadly, this confirmation also means I have to face the grim reality that I'm done being a runner for a while.  My doctor told me that I cannot run and that I have to work up to being able to walk 4 miles without pain before I can even think about running.  After walking around a shopping center this weekend and having massive pain afterwards, I am sad to say I'm not even close to being able to walk 4 miles.

I feel like I'm hitting reset.

Even when I can walk 4 miles without pain, the doctor said I can't start running like I'm used to.  I have to run for a couple minutes, stop, walk, then try again a few minutes later.  It's totally disheartening.

However, I want to take this diagnosis seriously and do what I have to do to get better.  If I don't listen and do the things she recommended now, I'll be dealing with this problem for even longer than I already am going to be.  Want to see something a bit depressing?

That's the prognosis for the plantar fasciitis.  The doctor said something pretty similar.  She said my swelling is so bad that I actually have a cyst in my foot.  Lovely.  No wonder it hurts so bad!  My prescription for my anti-inflammatory pills is good for a year.  That's not encouraging!  I definitely don't want to be taking meds a year from now for this same problem.  I'm hoping I can beat the odds and feel better within 4-6 weeks.  Nine months is a long time to wait before I can actually do the things I want to do.  I'm just going to have to learn patience!  :)

So anyway, that's where I'm at.  Looks like I will be doing a lot of weight lifting and walking in my future.  I'm hoping for a speedy recovery.  Wish me luck!

Clean Eating and Chronic Pain

You know how when you are frustrated in the process and sick of repeating the same thing over and over again you just don't blog?  Yeah, that's pretty much where I'm at.  I'm doing the same ol' thing and not really having much to say about it.  Instead of focusing on what I think my readers want to read, I'm going to go back to the beginning and just talk about whatever is actually on my mind.  This started out as a journal for myself more than anything, and that worked for me.

So what's on my mind?

First and foremost, I'm gaining weight.  It's a very very very slow weight gain, but it's there nonetheless.  My typical response to this weight gain would be to hammer out some extra miles and just push it hard for a couple of weeks to shed the few extra pounds.  However, I can't do that.  Why not?  Well, that brings me to the second thing on my mind:

I'm chronically injured.  I've been struggling with foot pain (feels like fire) in my left foot and achilles tendon pain in my right leg for over 5 months now.  It just won't go away.  I've tried resting (read: being lazy) for several weeks to give it a chance to heal itself, but several lazy months later it still is there.  I've tried working out and running through the pain to see if that helped.  It definitely made things worse.  It's a manageable pain during the day, but in the morning it feels horrible and it's impossible to workout with.  The worst part about it is that it pretty much wiped out all the cardio I have access to--no running, biking, hiking, jumping, etc.  I just don't know how to workout hard without engaging the parts that hurt.

So...I'm going to the doctor.  I feel stupid because, like I said, it's totally manageable for day to day stuff.  It hurts, but not at an unbearable level.  It's only when it comes to doing the fun stuff that it really flares up.  Boo!  It's completely disheartening and has definitely sidelined my attempts to get re-motivated and back in gear.

However, I have been focusing on eating healthier over the last few months.  Hubster and I have really upped the amount of "clean" foods we're putting in our bodies.  Our intake of vegetables has skyrocketed (as well as our grocery bills)!  I've really enjoyed some of the meals we've been eating. To be honest, I was expecting to really "suffer" through a clean diet.  I figured the food wouldn't be nearly as delicious as the crap Americans have been eating for years now.  However, I've had some real luck with healthy real food recipes.  I'm really excited about this!  It makes it significantly easier to be healthy when you are actually enjoying yourself!

So that's where I'm at.  I'm frustrated, but still limping along on this journey with an end goal of just being healthy (and enjoying the nice body that comes with that).  It's embarrassing to me that I've been at this for over 2 years now and haven't been able to get it done, but I also am somewhat proud of myself that I keep getting up and brushing myself off and keep getting at it.  I haven't quit.  I'm still focused  on it.  I'll get there.