Not Another Day-Update

Here's the Fat to Fit update.

Sometimes, life smacks you upside the head and reminds you of what is important. This was one of those weeks. I sang at 2 funerals, and heard catastrophic news about someone younger than me who had a heart attack a week ago but no history of heart problems, is currently in Intensive Care on a ventilator and is a single mom to a fabulous young man who has to start school with his mom in the hospital. Instead of starting school with anticipation and excitement, he's living with his grandparents and starting school with worry.

Another friend of mine is also dealing with terminal illness in her family.

In the face of that, my fat ass doesn't matter.

• I missed a couple of days of workout this week because my hip was cranky and the knee didn't appreciate extra reps of the squats. Because of the other commitments in my life this week, some of the workouts were abbreviated, but I did the best I could manage.
  
• We de-constructed my daughter's bunk bed, so I was pulling and hauling on mattresses and other things.
• The kid and I practiced walking to school one day this week, and then went to the park and walked home. We also walked all over the market and a couple of shopping malls.
  
• I've logged 37 hours on Wii Fit since I started and I can now do decent Jack knife exercises. I can almost touch my toes without bending my knees, which for my stiff muscles is a major accomplishment.
  

The weight is all over the map and I'm still not seeing any difference in the fit of my clothes, but other people are.

My daughter now asks me daily if I've done my workout. She asks if daddy has done his. Occasionally, she will do the yoga poses with me and loves to "race" with me when I'm able to do the run. We're leading by example and that's a good thing. We have our challenging, funny, stubborn little girl and we're getting healthier for her. At the end of the day, and in light of the serious health challenges others of my acquaintance are dealing with, it's enough. It may not be perfect, but it's a start.

Instead of whining about lack of progress this week, I am counting my blessings and sending love and prayers to anyone who is dealing with serious illness. Sometimes life smacks you upside the head and refocuses your priorities. This was one of those weeks.

Not Another Day-Update

It's time for a Fat to Fit update.

Since I posted the Not Another Day blog, I have stuck with it. I have not missed a day on Wii Fit, averaging 45-50 minutes. (with a couple of sessions over 1 hour) I've managed to scrape 2 lbs off my butt(although the hormone gods have spoken today and I was up 1.5 lbs by the end of the 45 minute workout...not likely.) My centre of balance is improving, and my pelvic area hasn't locked up.

My 4 year old daughter is an enthusiastic participant, and so is our black cat. It's tough to do Downward Facing Dog when both cat and kid are lying under the "bridge". It's tough to do the Lotus Focus with said kid leaning on one side and cat chewing watch on the other. My daughter loves to "race" with me and although it's only 5 minutes, I am running. She loves to watch me do the hula hoop and she tries some of the yoga poses. She can do the shoulder stand; momma, not so much. It will come. Or not.

I don't feel any better yet. It's an effort to do this every day. Even when I was really fit and working out with cardio and weights (pre-kid) 6 days a week, I never reached the "buzz" that people talked about. I never got energy from working out. I still don't. It's something I need to do. It's not something that I want to do.

I'm more aware of what I'm eating. My husband is actively following Weight Watchers right now and I'm trying to support him by cooking in a more healthy fashion. I've had a couple of really bad days this week where I medicated with food, but otherwise I've been pretty good. On a day when pizza and Marble Slab ice cream were the alternative to mass homicide, an extra 20 minutes on Wii balanced it out. I might not do that every time I food self-medicate, but I am more aware of what I am doing.

I am not an athlete. I never have been-just check my run down of Olympic events. I used to swim a great deal when I was a kid, I've always loved to dance and once upon a time, I was a competition-level ballroom dancer. I never had a weight problem when I was ballroom dancing. Since I stopped ballroom dancing, my weight and fitness level changed in an inverse relationship.

I may never run a marathon, a triathalon or run around the block for that matter. I haven't ridden a bike that wasn't stationary and parked in front of a television since we left Montreal in 1977, and I don't see it happening any time soon. I don't know if I'll ever manage some of the yoga poses. I'm okay with that. I may never do the lotus position or a shoulder stand. I know I will never be able to do the splits. Never have, never will. I'm okay with that. I'm doing the best that I can, and I'm doing it so that I can keep up with my kid and take better care of me. And that's good enough.