BellaOnline Forums Health and Fitness Exercise Lori's Exercise Journal-Ongoing

I hope it's ok for me to post here in a separate thread. I didn't want to hijack Terri's thread!

She inspired me to pay attention and to journal my exercise efforts. I love to move and yet I can't seem to maintain a regular exercise schedule. Here are my effort for the past three days. None of them include any formal exercise since I have been babysitting my grandnieces:

April 1: 90 minutes (at least) of continuous housecleaning that included mopping floors, scrubbing bathrooms, raking leaves and washing the artificial lawn with water and a broom (back and forth). I knew I expended energy because I was out of breath and tired!

April 2: 30 minutes of brisk walking...through the IKEA store. Yes, brisk because I had left my nieces with my friend at the play area while my daughter and I raced to find a set of measuring cups and get back to our group ASAP. But we couldn't find the cups, got lost and we whizzed up and down, back and forth, trying to find our way! If you haven't been to an IKEA, it is a very large store with meandering walkways and stairs. LOL. Yes, I was out of breath and tired!

April 3: So far, only 10 minutes of strolling--uphill--in the park to get to two playgrounds. But there's still time for me to do something else after dinner. Yoga?

Gosh, I see how vital it is to keep track of my exercise because I need to get in regular and sustained sessions and not only these daily little movements.

Lori, actually you have done some good workouts. Cleaning and running after kids require lots of movement and burn calories.

I used to go to Walmart to walk all the time. It was after my back surgery and I felt unstable. At Walmart I could use a cart to keep my balance and it's a huge store.

I will keep watching your thread but you are welcome anytime to post on the Exercise thread. It's for everybody.

Thanks, Terri. I'll post in both!

April 4: Took my three chis out for a morning walk. Because they were frightened of some barking dogs behind a fence, I began to run a little. It felt so good that I kept going. Running a short bit, walking, running again, walking.

The overall distance was only one mile but it's a start. The dogs and I just loved it.

Next time, I'll time myself to get a baseline then see if I can either improve on distance or time.

What is a good time for a one-mile walk? Run? What is a good amount of exercise (30 minutes, 45 minutes, 1 hour?)

Lori, I always caution on doing too much too soon, because of safety. It's great that you were able to do what you did today. Before I could tell what a good pace and duration might be I would need to know your overall fitness level. Such as have you been exercising before this and how much; do you have any health issues; how do you feel after the walk/jog? Stuff like that.

If you want any advice I'll be glad to give it, if you're comfortable giving me background info. Of course you can always send it to me privately. You did great, congratulations!

LOL. Boy, were you right, Terri! My thighs were sore the next day! haha. Because I had to get up early to take my aunt to a fasting blood test and then more x-rays and errands, I didn't have any free time to exercise until that evening. So I decided not to go out at all and let my thighs rest.

April 5: Rest

April 6: One mile walk/run with dogs. Dragged my hubby and daughter along with us so I had to run to a corner and then walk back to them, etc. so it was probably more than one mile but not much.

Tonight, we'll be in the backyard working with the dogs (training) and I'll be sure to get everyone to do some yoga poses to stretch. Maybe I can challenge my family to do some push-ups. We have no upper body exercise.

Can you recommend some for those without a gym? I had some stretch bands but donated them a while back when I did join the gym.

As for me fitness level:

I am 52. My work now is fairly sedentary (computer work). I have diabetes with some neuropathy in my feet/toes and fingers. I have exercised on and off in a gym, but not regularly or sustained as a lifestyle. As a youth, I was very active and had a busy child-rearing phase. But for the past ten years, exercise been sporadic and minimal. I noticed that I do okay on level ground but when I walk with a friend uphill, OY! I get out of breath fast and my legs ache!

The good news is that after those little walk/runs, I feel good. No shortness of breath, chest pains, light-headedness. I only run until my breathing become rhythmic and I need to focus on breathing then I stop and walk until my breathing returns to normal. Then, I wait a while and run again.

One mile is quite short for a walk/run so I doubt if I'm putting myself in any danger but I know I do have high triglycerides and cholesterol. But if my "feelings" are any indication, I have zero pain while I'm walk/running. No cramps, no joint pain.

And afterward, I feel really great!

I only wish I could jump into a pool of water to swim! That would be nirvana.

Thanks so much for your help! I'm wondering if I should keep a log/journal. I'd love to log in my stats (weight, etc.) to see progress but I'm thinking it might be better to focus on fitness level instead of weight.

Definetly keep the log. You will want to go back and look at your stats. It can be very motivating. I record what I eat and exercise everyday. It helps me stay on track. Here is one of my articles you might find interesting:
Keeping a Fitness Journal

It sounds like you are managing the one mile walk/jog well. I wouldn't try to increase yet. Try making it a habit first. How many days a week do you plan on doing it? You can let yourself be flexible.

Your right upper body work is important as well as abs. I have an article waiting to be released "Get Rid of Under Arm Jiggle". It's coming up soon. But Push-ups are probably the best upper body exercise you can do.

You might also, want to think about your abs sometime in the future. I have two articles that could be helpful in that regard:
Your Core Source of Strength and Stability
and
Pilates Workout at Home

I have another article that is four walking programs for beginners. I may go ahead and release it this week. You might find something useful.

Let me know whatever I can do to help. I enjoy helping people set up workout routines and get healthy. One more caution, don't try to do everything at once. If you want upper body work just stick to the push-ups for now. If you want to do ab work pick a couple of the exercises to do regularly. You might want to do the arms and abs on off days of your walk/jogs, just so you don't get overwhelmed. But right now the most important thing is stay with the walk/jog, you don't have to add anything yet, and make it a habit. You're doing great!

Thanks for your support and interest, Terri! It really motivates me!

I will keep this online exercise journal but I'm nervous about keeping a food journal. It won't be very inspiring to anyone and it will be embarrassing, truthfully. I eat really unwise things. I pop a lot of things in my mouth without thinking. A bite of this, a bite of that. And it all adds up.

For example, I had a nice lunch with 1/2 a sandwich, 1/2 salad with water. But then, it came with a small bag of chips so I ate it. My husband had a big breakfast and only wanted a snack so he ordered--yikes--a caramel latte and a cinnamon roll. So of course, I cut a small bite of the cinnamon roll and ate it. Then, I ate another small bite. ha.

Came home and my son had a large bag of Doritos on his desk and I ate a handful. I am a total crunchy junkie and I didn't prepare anything to keep on hand. My usual soybeans, kale chips, etc. I like the good stuff but also eat the bad stuff.

As we were at the checkout stand, I read a magazine title that said, "Dr. Oz reveal your hidden fat sources!" I said, "I want to know what my hidden fat sources are!" And my husband said, "It's right there. The chips." Sad but true.

My food journal will be horrifying.

I need ab work. That's where all my fat is! So I will add ab work and arm work on the alternate days. I am so excited, Terri!

I don't put my food journal online. I'm like you, it would be horrifying. Overall I eat a well balance, healthy diet--but my deep dark secret is that occasionally I will have donuts for lunch!

We-ell then...I might be up to a challenge, if you are. hehe. You post your TRUE and HONEST food journal and I will, too.

Of course, this is entirely unfair since you exercise so much, you can eat anything you want.

Is anyone else up to a food journal challenge? Maybe I will post one in another forum that deals with food and diet. Wellness forum?

Sorry, no challenge. My eating habits are very near and dear to me, and crazy to the rest of the world. But I would love to read yours.

I'm sure you'll find some takers. It's actually a great idea, for the brave!