Category Archives: Physical Activity and Wellness

Habit Stacking & Putting It All Together

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As I write this, I’m on the last 2 weekdays of my spring break. I’ve rested and restored and ready to do some work on myself again.

Since the end of January I’ve been learning new ways of eating, movement, how to energize myself in healthier ways, and bringing my stress levels down. I am still at 1 cup of coffee each morning either with or after I eat breakfast. I drink more hot tea. I’m getting more efficient at the meal prep and packing my lunchbox for work each day. I’m more aware of my sleep habits, and that will be a daily work in progress. I’ve been moving more, but not as much as I’d like to.

I’ve been focusing on one habit at a time so I don’t feel overwhelmed. And that’s been a good plan so far. Now it’s time to put it all together.

Starting today I’m going to take my blood glucose readings each morning. I’m still pre-diabetic and I’ve been worried about how my 2nd bout with Covid has impacted that. So I decided to face my worry and take my reading, and I’ll do so each morning. That’s one of my most important measures of progress that doesn’t involve the scale. I’m also going to use my continuous glucose monitor again. I got frustrated with it because it would come off like 3 days into using it, and one time it just got jacked up when I was trying to apply a new one. And I discovered that the alarm goes off like I have a big glucose dip when I sleep on my side and on the arm where it’s attached. Not fun at 3am to be woken up by my phone beeping loudly. Anyway, I am looking for weekly improvement in my morning readings no matter how slight.

This is what I want my days to look like by putting all the habits together:

1) Prep my breakfast and lunches the night before.

2) Pack my workout bag the night before. If the weather is good, walk right after work around my school. If the weather is bad, go to Planet Fitness. The goal is 30 min of walking per day, 30 min of strength training 3-4 times per week.

3) Take my thyroid meds with 16-24 oz of water. That’s been a habit for over a decade.

4) Eating a protein rich, savory breakfast. Shooting for 25g or protein for my 1st meal. Drink green tea before and then I cup of coffee with or after my breakfast.

5) Track and hit my daily goals for protein (130g), magnesium, fiber, omega-3, and Vitamin D.

6) Eat every 2-3 hours. Save my complex carbs for later in the day. I learned that this, along with hitting my protein goals, really helps reduce my urge to binge eat at night.

7) Set my bedtime and stick to it. My nighttime routine is non-existent so I’m starting with a set in stone bedtime and then reading to get sleepy instead of being on my phone. I was journaling at night for a bit and I enjoyed that. I shall give that another go and see if that habit can stick.

Those are the daily habits. These are the things that will help with my health goals.

List all my supplements on my white board so I can see them, and/or write them in my passion planner, and check off when I take them.

Use my good water bottle and add my electrolyte drops. My house has a reverse osmosis system and I’m not getting any minerals from all the water I’m drinking.

Meal Prep when I am home on the weekends. Make a double batch when I do cook during the week so we have a meal of leftovers the next day to cut down on my cooking time.

Do a brain dump with my journal and use my wall calendar for appointments and tasks. The mental load of a mom overloads my brain at times. Getting it on paper where we all can see it helps immensely.

I remember the last two times I got really healthy. In 2002 when I trained and focused for Gathering of Nations and I got 1st place, and then in 2009 when I trained and focused for my 1st half-marathon. I used a lot of visualization to picture myself succeeding at those things. It’s time to bring that back and start visualizing myself as healthy and active. Let’s try this and see how it goes. Everything is open to be adjusted or tweaked as I continue with my healing journey.

Recovery From Another Injury

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My left total-hip replacement surgery recovery was going great until January 1st. I was all pumped up to working back into walking for exercise and not just rehab, and then I slipped on the bottom tile floor at the base of my stairs and landed in a crazy hurdlers stretch with my left leg/ankle/foot folded under my left hip.

I’ve not had an ankle sprain that bad in my entire life. I do acknowledge that I’ve never been 52 years old and fallen like that either, so there’s that. I ended up with an inner and outter ankle sprain, pain and discoloration on top of my foot, and pain in my knee, and up into my hip flexors. My foot and cankle were all bruised up, my left knee had some swelling, my hip was sore, and I ended up back to using my cane for almost a week.

To say I was frustrated and discouraged is to put the emotions I was feeling mildly. I was angry that I slipped, angry that my progress back to normal activity and my own physical wellness was abruptly halted. And true to my usual “just push-through-it” self, I automatically shifted to what I could do, and started chair exercises. But that hurt my hip as well so my chair exercise career was short-lived.

I did have it in my mind to let my ankle heal. I stayed off it as much as I could, ice, Tylenol, etc. But 3 weeks later there was still swelling in my ankle and knee and my hip was still sore. So I brought it up to my orthopedic surgeon at my 16-week follow-up last week.

He looked at my x-rays and saw that my new hip was perfectly fine. No damage done there, and what I was feeling was inflammation from some soft tissue damage (sprains and strains). He felt the best course of action was to put me back on Meloxicam for 6 weeks to bring down the inflammation so I could get back to normal. I was bummed when I heard his suggestion. I was on Meloxicam since 2016 to manage the pain in my left hip before replacement. It felt good to come off of it before my surgery in October and know I wouldn’t need it anymore. So this felt like a big set-back. I kept telling myself that it was a short-term course of medication treatment and it was moving me towards full healing. But I still didn’t like it and it weighed heavily on my mind and affected my mood.

I do have to say that I’ve been on it for 6 days, and the swelling and pain in my ankle and knee are much lower. I was able to take my dogs for a walk 2 days this week and the ankle and knee felt good. So that’s a plus. But I’m feeling side effects of the Meloxicam this time around….I have felt tired since last Friday, 7 days now. Even with plenty of sleep, I feel tired. And my stomach is upset for most of the day, which impacts my appetite and what I feel like eating.

Meloxicam is the type of medication where it takes about 2 weeks to build up in your body and reach optimum therapeutic levels. So I have another week to go and I’m hoping I will be used to it and the side effects will go away. I enjoy feeling like moving. I’m able to take the stairs at work without twinges of pain in my ankle and knee and that feels really good. My sister sent me a link to a stretching video and that helped me feel good physically as well.

Sooooooo….I am hoping to write more to help process all this stuff. It’s hard. It’s frustrating. And I’m still learning how to identify what I’m feeling instead of covering it up with positivity or being busy doing stuff. There’s something in all this that is serving as a learning experience for me, about me. My higher power wants me to be healthy and well, physically, spiritually and mentally. Maybe if I’m still enough and don’t fight it, whatever I am to learn about myself will come to me.

Training Updates And Galloway 5K review

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Hello! I have a little less than 2 weeks left of the 8-week wellness challenge and also a little less than 2 weeks until the Shamrock Shuffle 5K!! I have not missed my 2 sessions per week of weight training, and I felt an improvement in my dancing on February 9, when I danced fancy shawl at the Welcome Back Powwow. I can officially last a whole song without my legs giving out. Last year at the end of the season, I was still only good for 3 starts before my legs went. I felt good enough to exhibition with the young girls and discovered I need to work back up to 2 songs. Lol. The legs went about halfway through, but in my defense, it was a very fast song. 😀

The 5K training is a little different story. I haven’t been able to get 3 workouts per week in consistently. My weight training is my priority, and my plan was to run every Monday, Wednesday and Friday. However, I’ve been really sore from the weight training sessions, and so Wednesdays have turned into another rest day. And making my training time a priority on Fridays or Saturdays have been challenging for me. I’ve been able to get 2 running workouts in consistently, and then doing a dance practice or walking my doggies when I can’t make it up to the indoor track. Twice the weather has been nice enough for me to run outside around my neighborhood, but running on concrete is tough on the joints so I try not to do that too much. I stay away from treadmills too because it puts an extra strain on my bad hip. So I do what I can, but I am running behind in the 7-week training app schedule. I’m sticking with what I can do though…not giving up. My goal is to run the entire 5K, but if I have to walk some to keep me from getting injured, then so be it. I’ll be honest, I’m gonna be mad if I have to walk. Lol.

I’m not quite sold yet on the Galloway app. It gives you many training options. You can select the type of interval you want to run, but I guess I’m not used to having that many choices. Lol. I’ve used the Couch-to-5K app and I really liked the scheduled build-up in longer running intervals. With the Galloway App, I have to pick my own intervals, which is good I guess, but I didn’t realize I had options to choose from until I plunked around on the app for a bit. I’m not sure I like him talking through my intervals either. You can synch a playlist with the app, but the app will change the speed of your songs and I didn’t care for the sped up version of “River Deep, Mountain High”. The jury is still out, so to speak.

And I derailed myself from my keto WOE for over a week….I’ve got a good plan in place to address emotional or stress eating, but I still need to find a way to stay with my eating plan while in the midst of times of obsessive beading or sewing. When I’m on a deadline or I just REALLY want to get something done because I’m excited about it, my eating goes right out the window. I’ve created a habit over the years where I’ve paired long crafting sessions with “crafting snacks”….meaning sugary or high carb snacks…..I want and need to create a different association between food and crafting.

So there’s my updates!! Still trying to keep myself accountable and getting back on track instead of chucking it all and staying off track. I have a 5K to run and I am going to shawl dance on March 30!!!! Keeping my enthusiasm alive!!!!

It’s a Journey Not A Destination

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My dad said it best….he said, “I’ll be glad to see 2016 go.” Lol.

This was a challenging year….let’s just leave it at that instead of listing all the woes this year hath wrought.

Some of my accomplishments from this past year: 1) I finally quit binge-smoking for good. I experienced some withdrawal headaches, and the memory of those headaches alone is an effective deterrent. 2) I started taking a magnesium supplement every night. This has helped me in numerous ways and I can do an entire blog entry on the benefits of magnesium in the future. 3) I got back on my daily iron, B-complex, multi-vitamin, Omega 3 supplements, and 4) I finally feel like I’m well enough to see my primary care provider and talk to her about starting to taper off my anti-depressant meds. That feels like a huge accomplishment to me. 5) I feel happy again. I feel positive and I feel capable.

My biggest priority now is continuing to change my mindset. I am focused on not lending any energy to negativity…to not let negativity have any space in my home or in my head….and if it creeps it, to make sure it doesn’t get comfortable and want to stick around. This is a big reason why I’m not making any New Year’s resolutions. I just want to focus on each day as it comes and feel good about each day as it comes to a close. I don’t want to derail my positive vibes if I “fall off” my resolution. Oh, and getting my A1c back down to a normal range is up there too with my priorities. But that will happen with the positive mindset.

I have a big puppy now. His name is Mickey and he was 1 year and 8 months when we met him. He’s a black lab, springer spaniel mix and he is beautiful. He has been a huge contributor to the positive mindset I started to build near the end of this past year. He is beyond cute. He is funny, he is sweet, he is affectionate….and we needed him as much as he needed us. We adopted him from a no-kill pet shelter in Ottawa, KS (Prairie Paws) and bringing him home in November I think was one of the best things we’ve done as a family. He keeps us active because he needs his exercise every single day, and I’ve experienced the stress relief of having him snuggle up next to me. You can literally feel the stress of the day melt away when you pet him.

My wellness journey, my seeking good health, has shown me that being healthy is indeed a journey. It’s not a destination. I’ll never be “there” when it comes to my health, because being healthy is a daily set of goals to be met. The good health is in the day-to-day…making that next best choice. And if you make the unhealthy choice, make the next choice the healthy one. Or make the choice as close to healthy as you can. Wellness does include goals…and when you reach them, you set a different goal in order to continue your journey. Wellness and health are dynamic….they are not static. They continually grow and evolve with us….with our age and with our circumstances. Being healthy is not a place to “get to”…it’s a space to live in each in every day. So I’m all about the journey….the today’s space….with my husband, my Swirlies and my Mickey at my side.

8-Week Wellness Challenge

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First of all, I want to say right off the bat that I have succeeded at losing 17 lbs since my highest weight post-total hip replacement surgery!! That means I lost the 15 lbs I gained post-surgery, plus an additional 2 lbs. I have 5 more lbs to go to hit my 1st major goal. My youngest told me today, “Mom, you’re getting skinny.” Lol. Even though “skinny” isn’t my goal, regaining my health is, it was still nice to hear that someone noticed some progress.

My eating and workouts kind of went up and down over the summer, as those who powwow understand the disruption of routines, driving for hours, dancing all weekend, not always having access to the healthiest of foods, packing a cooler, etc. The healthy habits could have been better, they could have been much worse. I concentrated this summer on not beating myself up over slip-ups and just trying to get back on as soon as I can.

My sister got me in the habit of walking for 45 minutes every morning at work. When she isn’t at work, she texts me to ask me if I went out for my walk yet. Lol. That got me going on the consistent activity. But today I want to write about a wellness challenge that has really motivated me.

Tracy is a woman I went to graduate school with and we both earned our MSWs at the same time. Our kids go to the same school, have played on the same teams, and she is friends with one of my nieces. She encouraged me after learning about my hip osteoarthritis back in 2012 to take her cycling class (which, by the way, was a killer workout) to give my joints a break from running, and she has conquered her own health challenges and surgeries. She is inspiring.

My sister-in-law invited me to participate in an 8-week wellness challenge that Tracy was organizing. She had participated the 1st time Tracy did the challenge and encouraged me and my sister to join. The details of the challenge and the structure really intrigued me, which are explained below.

For 8-weeks, each person can earn a point per day in the following areas: 1) Journaling/tracking food intake and following a safe, healthy and nutritious eating plan of our choice, 2) drinking half your body weight in ounces of water, 3) exercising (and she leaves it to us to determine what we think is a workout, there is no minimum number of minutes required to earn this point) – and with exercise one can only earn a maximum of 5 points per week to encourage rest days, 4) getting at least 7 hours of sleep per night. We all took a picture of our scale with our starting weight and sent it to Tracy, and at the end of the 8 weeks we will take a picture of our scale with our ending weight. We can earn 1 point for each percentage of total body weight we lose. For example, if someone starts out weighing 200 lbs, they would earn 1 point for every 2 lbs they lost by the end of the challenge. We have sheets were we can record our points daily. One can earn a maximum of 26 points each week, and then additional points at the end with our final weigh-in. The people who did this challenge the first time don’t mess around. The previous winner didn’t miss ANY of their weekly points and lost weight. There is a $25 buy-in which is given to the winners at the end of 8 weeks. And she set up a FaceBook page for the members of the challenge so we always get little reminders, or encouragement, or ideas for meals and snacks.

I am used to keeping a food journal, and when properly motivated I can exercise 5 days per week. I was really intrigued with the sleep requirement. My sleep routine has been non-existent for almost a year and I’ve never given it much deliberate thought. I go to bed early when I am exhausted or I push myself and don’t get rest. There is no consistency.

We just finished up Week 2 of the challenge. I think I’ve missed only 1 sleep point each week so far when my schedule was a little off on that day. I have been tracking my food faithfully and paying attention to my calorie goals. I even track my “free days” or free meals. There is nothing like seeing that you ate a DQ Blizzard, or 4 slices of pizza from Rudy’s to make you more conscious of your food choices. I make my water intake daily. I’ve earned 5 exercise points per week. I started using MapMyWalk and synched it to my MyFitnessPal so it automatically posts my workouts and calorie expenditure to my food log. Although I began the challenge intending to do the Metabolism Miracle, my actual eating has turned into more of a carb counting routine. I keep my breakfasts and lunches to anywhere between 5-15 grams of carbs or less, I eat many vegetables, take my vitamins, and if I feel like eating some popcorn or a small handful of chips, or 2 soft tortillas in the evenings, I do it. I usually keep dinners to 2 carb servings or less. And guess what…..my weight seems to be just dropping off!! I believe it’s because the structure of this challenge encourages several healthy habits, not just food and exercise. I think it’s the sleep requirement that’s made the difference with me as well as being mindful of my carb intake and not restricting myself as much as before. My energy is evening out more each day…I don’t have as many dips and my energy lasts longer. And I feel smaller already.

So if you haven’t guessed it at this point, Tracy is amazing!!! This was so needed at this point and time and I’m having fun AND improving my health. Thank you again for organizing this!!

Back To School Motivation

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My kids start school THIS WEDNESDAY!! Although they love summer vacation, they miss their friends. I miss having a routine. We’re all looking forward to the beginning of the school year.

I felt like I was in a good groove at the beginning of summer, but then I started on a new medication for an old condition and it zapped my energy. Although I didn’t overeat because it killed my appetite, it felt impossible to get a workout in, cook, or do anything productive. Not for lack of food, I just felt lethargic all the time. My motivation to improve my health went in the tank for a little while. Thank goodness again for my support team (family). They helped me along in so many different ways. I’m finally getting used to my meds and figuring out different ways to gain more energy, so my motivation has returned.

My sister got me in the habit of walking with her for 45 minutes (using my work’s wellness leave policy) as soon as we get to work. I really look forward to our walks everyday. It’s a nice way to start the day, visiting and cackling around with my sister, it wakes me up and gives me energy, and I feel really good knowing I’m doing something that is making me stronger everyday and helping me battle pre-diabetes. Research has shown that consistent activity is much more beneficial than intensity. Meaning that a person who walks 45 minutes on most days (5-6 days per week) will have greater health benefits over time than a person who runs 3-5 miles 2-3 times per week. I had developed a habit of bringing my workout clothes to work and then getting busy working and not working out. So getting it done first thing in the morning has been awesome. My sister and kids have been the big motivators for the August powwow dance challenge we signed up for. I don’t feel like doing it half the time, but they bug me and I do it, and then I am glad I did. Lol. I can’t wait for the day I’ll feel better to where I am the big motivator again.

I’ve been cooking at home consistently, so I guess I should give myself props for that. That is actually a good indicator of my motivation returning, that I have the energy and make the time to cook. I’ve tried out a new recipe and it turned out great and is so easy! I’ll share it later in another blog entry. My husband told me that they all missed my cooking so we’re all glad my energy to cook has returned.

And today I started an 8-week wellness challenge organized by a former social work colleague. My sister and I, and my sister-in-law are all doing the challenge. I always think these types of things are fun, beneficial, and we’re competitive so that’s fun as well. We are in it to win it!!! Lol.

I’ve learned that my day, and how I feel, and how productive I am, is all set within the first 5 minutes of waking up. I’m doing gratitude writing exercises on most days, and I give thanks as soon as I wake up for everything. I know that the little things I can do each day are all adding up to better health, improving my physical, spiritual, and mental health. And when I feel healthy in all those areas I can be more of service to others.

August Powwow Dance Challenge

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It’s been a busy and eventful summer. So I’m back with this short blog entry while I’m drafting a longer one.

I’ve been traditional dancing all summer and I’ve really enjoyed it! I didn’t think anything could come close to my love of shawl dancing, but I’ve discovered that as long as I’m in the arena and I can move, it’s a happy place. I’ve also developed a deep respect for traditional dancers because dancing this style is much harder than it looks. There is a whole technique involved that I had to learn, and I’m still learning. And those wool dresses are HOT!!

Although I miss shawl dancing, I am determined to get back to it safely, gradually building my strength and stamina. I will most likely dance traditional all fall, winter and spring (with the occasional participation in jingle dress), as I’ll need to be careful on what surfaces I shawl dance on when I first come back to it. No concrete floors until I the new hip becomes used to the high impact activity again.

With those plans in mind, yesterday evening marked my slow, gradual return to shawl dancing. The Swirlies and I and my sister are participating in Jr. Miss Indian Youth of Lawrence- Evelyn SpottedHorse’s August “Powwow Dance Challenge” where we dance for 30 minutes each day during the month of August. The girls were all excited to start and got me going as soon as I got home from work. We all went into our family room and put my iTunes on a bluetooth speaker and we all just danced. I did a mixture of jingle, traditional and fancy shawl. We all just kept moving for 30 minutes.Got a good little workout in, broke a sweat, and the new hip felt good with all the activity.

Such an awesome idea from this young lady. If you want to get in on the fun and fitness, here is the info to get started. We came in 2 days late due to our travels but we will catch up by this weekend.

New Health Challenges To Conquer

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I just re-read my last blog entry from April 8, 2016. I have a topic that’s been weighing on my mind since Monday April 25 – which is truly the day I have been referring to as the “first day of the rest of my life”.

Most of the people that are acquainted with me, know that I teach a culturally tailored diabetes class for a college with a student population that is 100% American Indian. I also teach Basic Nutrition. Type 2 Diabetes in American Indian populations has been my area of expertise since 2005. I love it and have a passion for it because of the strong family history of the chronic disease in my family and because I truly believe culturally appropriate education and family-based interventions can make a difference.

I get my blood glucose tested every year, as recommended by Indian Health Service. I know that preventive care is the only way to not get the chronic disease of diabetes. I’ve had a couple of hemoglobin A1c tests done and my results have always been within the normal ranges. I try to eat healthy and exercise has been a regular part of my life for years. Although sweets and homemade popcorn have also been regular parts of my life as well. 😛

So imagine my surprise when on a Sunday at home, April 24, I realized that my feet were tingling. They felt like they were falling asleep. I knew this would happen if I sat in an unpadded chair for too long, but as I was resting on the couch, I thought back to when I felt my feet tingle at other times. And I recalled that they had felt like that for a few days…no matter what I was doing…sitting, standing, laying down. My immediate thought was “diabetic neuropathy” and I wondered when my last fasting plasma glucose test was. So I called my doctor’s office the next day. The receptionist looked in my patient portal and was able to tell me that my last blood glucose test was during my pre-surgery physical at the beginning of December that is was “out of range”. She didn’t tell me how far out of range, she made me wait until my doctor’s nurse called, which wasn’t for another hour. I spent that hour freaking out and working out my anxiety on the recumbent stepper at my work’s rec facility.

When the nurse called she told me that my last fasting plasma glucose was 102 (anything above 100 could be considered the pre-diabetic range, diagnosed with further testing), which she said was a little high but my doctor wasn’t worried about it. I really like my doctor. I think she is amazingly skilled and I trust her completely. I can only assume that she wasn’t concerned because she knew my my lifestyle and felt it was a healthy lifestyle.  I told the nurse that I knew that was in the pre-diabetic range, and with my family history, I was concerned. So my doctor ordered an A1c that afternoon and I headed to the lab as soon as I left work (you don’t have to be fasting to take the A1c, and it measures a person’s average daily blood glucose levels for the past 2-3 months). I prayed my A1c would be below 5.7, which is the normal/healthy range – it means no diabetes or pre-diabetes. I had 5.5 or lower in my mind. I asked the lab tech if I could wait for my results (I know the test takes about 5-8 minutes to run) and she said I could. I waited and prayed for about 10 minutes after the finger stick. Then a nurse holding a baby and piece of paper with my lab results appeared and told me my results. An A1c between 5.7 and 6.4 means you are pre-diabetic. 6.5 and over means you could have Type 2 Diabetes. My A1c score was 6.1….which is right in the middle of the pre-diabetic range. Imagine the irony….the only thought flooding through my mind on the drive home was “The Diabetes Teacher has pre-diabetes.” I laughed to myself but it was a very bitter laugh. I was upset and disappointed in my myself and everything around me.

I came home and told my husband and children. I told my girls that I needed their support in getting my health back on track. I needed them to walk with me or do some type of activity everyday. I needed them to not complain about my meals being “too healthy” and that they needed to eat more vegetables with me. I told them I didn’t want to develop diabetes, but that I was headed in that direction and I needed to make changes NOW. They asked me if I made healthy changes if the pre-diabetes would be gone. I said yes. They were immediately all in. I won’t lie, it was a tearful conversation on my part. Sara just hugged me for a long time while Shelby told me she would walk with me everyday.

Joe B took them out to practice softball to give me more time to calm down. I started researching to find out if stress was the main cause of high blood glucose in otherwise healthy patients (this was me looking for something/someone to blame…lol). And I found some information that surprised the diabetes teacher.

There are 6 factors that can contribute to high blood glucose (high blood sugar). After reading the 6 factors, I realized that I had FIVE of those factors. The 6 factors are as listed, as well as how they fit in my overall health picture.

  1. Hormonal changes, such as pregnancy, perimenopause and menopause. I have this, I am perimenopausal and have been on a progesterone replacement for a year.
  2. Serious illness or major surgery. I have this, as my  hip replacement was a major surgery and occurred within the last 4 months.
  3. Stress. Always a part of life, but my stress since last October has been much higher than normal. I would describe it as “through the roof”. It’s getting close to being back to what I could consider a more normal level, but the stress was hell for over 5 months without relief.
  4. Use of corticosteroid medications, such as Prednisone. This is the ONE factor I do not have.
  5. Being overweight. Remember, I gained about 15 pounds after my surgery.
  6. Being sedentary. This was me as well. Once my physical therapy ended, I was so frustrated with how hard walking was that my activity levels were hit or miss. Mostly miss.

Finding this information had a very calming effect on me. 3 of the factors were out of my control (the stress I felt was inflicted on me, it took awhile to be able to deal with it), but they were either over or they could be managed. I knew I could change my eating habits and make myself do something most days out of the week. I felt calm enough to start to plan how to deal with this and take control of my health again.

The first thing I did was break out my copy of the book “The Metabolism Miracle” which is a low-carb eating plan designed for people that have what the author describes as Metabolism B (see Diana Kress’ blog page, twitter page, and Metabolism Miracle FB page for some preliminary information and how to order the newest version of her book). Joe B and I did this back in 2013 and we had good results, we just didn’t stay with it. I wanted something that will bring my A1c down in a healthy and efficient manner. I started with dinner that very same night of baked chicken and non-starchy vegetables, and started my next morning off with lean protein and vegetables.

The next thing I did was make a plan to move every day. I packed my workout clothes on the days I did my commute to KC. I walked when I worked in town or got on the elliptical machine at Thorpe Fitness Center. The day after my diagnosis I got on the elliptical for the first time a few months. I stayed on for 45 minutes and it was brutal. I did something every day for 6 days in a row. I was more sore than I could remember in a long time….just general muscle soreness as the new hip joint felt great.

(*By the way, my doctor followed up with me  the next day and told me she felt that my blood glucose was high because of all the changes to my diet and activity stemming from my surgery and recovery. She referred me to a dietician and felt that I wouldn’t have any problem bringing it back down with some changes to my diet and exercising more. She has a lot of faith in me. Lol).

My primary focus is on bringing my A1c score down. I feel like the weight loss is a secondary benefit. If I had trouble staying on the Metabolism Miracle plan before, or if I didn’t have the will or energy to walk, let me tell you this….there is NOTHING that will motivate you more than a diagnosis of pre-diabetes. I have been consistent. I have been diligent. I have been mindful. I share my daily progress with those closest to me. My diet consists of lean protein, non-starchy veggies, healthy sources of fat and LOTS of water. I’m doing all the things I’ve taught and recommended to my students to deal with or prevent diabetes. This was truly the kick in the butt that I needed to get me living healthy again instead of wallowing in my disappointment in how different my life has felt post-surgery. And I have my own cheering section of all 3 of my daughters, my husband, my family and extended family, and my best friends.

I’ve given up weighing myself every other day in order to eliminate potential sources of frustration. My focus is my blood glucose, not my weight. But when I did weigh myself almost 2 weeks ago, I had lost 11.5 pounds and I can fit back into the all the new work and summer clothes I bought last summer. I danced at a powwow last weekend and I had to move my dance belt back in to its original size. Before this, in April when I danced I had to move my belt out to its largest size. I can tell I’ve lost inches but I haven’t measured myself yet to see how many. I have more energy. That darned elliptical and my walking route with all the steep hills is finally getting easier. I tried out the stadium stairs once (they were as brutal as I remember them and I was only able to do one full set) and I am going back again with my daughter as soon as I finish this blog entry.

My good friend Kevin told me that this was all going to be a blessing. That I would be able to use my experiences in my teaching…showing my students and others that I’ve dealt with the beginnings of this disease, and showing them how I managed it. That it can be done. Sharing this experience is the first step.

I am counting the days (64!!!) until I go back for my follow-up A1c. 🙂  I didn’t want to share this at first because I was embarrassed. The diabetes teacher has pre-diabetes. But my maske’ Erica told me that it was nothing to be embarrassed about, it would just show people how hard this disease is to fight….for anyone.

16-Week Follow-Up Post-THR + Recovery Frustration

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Tuesday marked 16 weeks since I had total hip replacement on my right hip. This time I went to the appointment in workout pants that didn’t have any zippers so I wouldn’t have to change into the beautiful mesh shorts the doctor’s office provides to get the x-rays on my hip. The x-rays showed that my hip is healing nicely. There is no loosening of the device from the bone….he noted that my left hip looks bad (as it has since 2012) but he would leave it up to me as to when I wanted to get that hip replaced.

I was looking forward to having my non-impact exercise restrictions lifted and possibly be given the green light to get back to shawl dancing. He did reduce several of my restrictions. I can now squat or leg press up to 100% of my body weight (I was at 50% at my 6-week follow-up), I can pick up or deadlift up to 90 lbs (up from 40 lbs), and I can now do low-impact activity, such as Zumba or the modified T25 workouts, and continue with the walking, elliptical, stationary bike, swimming. I can also get back to pushing a prowler with weights, using my judgement on how my hip and muscles feel. But no attempts at returning to shawl dancing until I am 6-months post-surgery, which puts me at mid-June.

I’ll admit I was a little disappointed to hear that. But I’m realistic enough with myself to know that even in mid-June, had he given me the green light to return now, I wouldn’t be ready. I gained approximately 15 lbs since having my surgery. I feel like my muscle tone is zero. I’ve dealt with weight issues during my adult life, twice gaining and losing 30-36 lbs (NOT including pregnancy weight gain for my 2 daughters), and what feels different this time is that I always felt like I had a base to work from…even if I was overweight and out of shape, I still had a base of conditioning to build on. I don’t feel like I have that base in this instance.

I’ve said this to a few people…coming back after this surgery is harder than coming back after having 2 babies. After having both C-sections, I remember returning to the track to walk….and I couldn’t get my heart rate up enough for walking to feel like a workout, so I started walking the stairs. Not this time…even walking for distance is challenging. My muscles hurt. My arches hurt. None of the work clothes I bought last summer and fall fit me. I had to move my dance belt out when I danced traditional at KU powwow last weekend. And when I weighed and measured myself on Monday, I realized that I am the heaviest I have been in my adult life, not counting how much I weighed post-pregnancy.

This week was tough. I was beyond frustrated. I know now what people mean when they say they “raged inside”. Lol. That’s how I felt. I struggle with having patience, I want stuff to happen RIGHT NOW. So I started using my weight watchers app again on Monday, tracking my points, and my husband got all of us out for a walk after work. Wednesday I felt like I was coming unglued…my frustration with myself was hitting its peak, work stress piled up….I texted my adopted sister, letting her know how unglued I was becoming….lol. Then I grabbed my workout bag and headed for the rec center at my work. When I walked in I saw the recumbent step machine, just like the one they had at my physical therapy place. I used the 15-Minute Rule on myself, saying I would only get on that thing for 15 minutes then I was out of here. I listened to some Queen & David Bowie, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Steve Winwood while I pushed the pedals. Felt my nerves start to soothe. I did 20 minutes on the stepper and then set the machine for another 20. I felt so much better after. I felt like I got a good workout. I broke a sweat and I could tell my muscles did good work without anything else hurting. I felt calm. I felt optimistic. I was able to return to my work station and get a bunch of work done.

Yesterday I woke up not feeling much better than Wednesday. Some good talk about nutrition with MPH students and interns while working a career fair brightened my day. And then I got my family out for a walk while our dinner cooked. And once again, I returned feeling calm. Feeling optimistic. And I slept really good both nights.

Some people operate well by telling themselves “I HAVE to do this. I have no other choice.” I don’t do well with that type of self-talk. Telling myself that only increases frustration. I do believe I can do this now. I believe things are going to be ok. I’m getting back into the habit of tracking my food and generating ideas for healthy meals for my family. I feel like I’m finally ready to return to weight training, which always gave me good results. I am back to believing that walking will do me a world of good until I am ready to do more. I am looking forward to using that recumbent stepper more frequently until I feel like doing the elliptical. I have had several people tell me, “If anyone can come back from this strong, it’s you.”

I just need to keep telling myself that. Each and every day.

7 Weeks Post-THR

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Originally posted to my Facebook page on February 5, 2016

I am just a little over 7 weeks out of my hip replacement surgery and I’ve hit a wall. I’m still progressing, I just feel physically like I got run into a wall. Physical therapy is hard. The past 3 sessions have left me exhausted and sore. I feel fine while I’m doing it, I don’t feel like I’m overdoing it….I’m very careful about that. But when I leave, within an hour of my session ending, I feel like like crud. Yesterday was the worst. I almost didn’t go because I had muscle soreness from Tuesday’s session, but I thought I would feel better after I went. I did feel better for about 45 minutes. Lol. The joint feels fine, there isn’t any pain in the joint itself. It’s all muscle soreness. But it feels different than before my surgery…it feels achy….almost like when you are getting sick.

My kids have had a couple of viruses the past 2 weeks. Maybe I’m just fighting those off. Also I feel like I’ve been super busy at work ever since going back full-time last Wednesday. Maybe I’ve just run myself down. Either way, I’m home today and resting and recuperating and trying to get better.

After my friends saw my Facebook post, they answered with much encouragement, and a suggestion that I may not be eating enough protein to fuel the tissue growth that is occurring in the recovery from my surgery. I was already starting to look at my protein intake as one of the reasons for the muscle soreness and fatigue. So I started a protein shake…and if anyone knows me, they know how I hate having to default to a shake, I would much rather get it from real foods. But I needed to do something quick, and the shakes actually helped!