I'm In a Relationship!

     Yes, friends! I am in a loving, supportive workout relationship! She's the wife to an amazing husband and mother to three wonderful kids. She's my next door neighbor I've mentioned in my previous posts as O. Our relationship has progressed from cordial neighbors to friends and now workout buddies!

      It all started last week when my sisters Tee, Jay and I decided to eat clean and exercise beginning the first of June.  Currently we're between three different programs--Fit Girl, 21 Day Fix and the LoseIt! calorie counter. Since we didn't have all the clean foods we need to complete any one of the programs, we decided to use what we had and practice portion control (something that's been a struggle for me my whole life). My younger sister Tee put together a workout schedule for us with circuits and stretches she found online. We were ready to roll.

     The second day, Tee and I ran into my neighbor O at our usual spot over the wall. In the recent months we've taken great joy talking for at least an hour about life, kids, our struggles, and with that I consider her to be a good friend. We told her about the diet and exercise program we've embarked on and she immediately wanted to be part of it. O and I talked in the past about exercising together, though I was intimidated about doing so because of how knowledgeable she and her husband are in fitness; I didn't think I could commit. But with the wedding coming up I knew the heat is on, and I needed as much motivation as I could get.

The faces I see in my nightmares.

     With our initial meet up, Tee had shown her the schedule and we told her a bit about our plan. O is around the same size and body type as I am, and has a lot of great advice for getting into shape. I was relieved to hear it's been a struggle to get the weight off recently (yay she's human too!) and looked forward to the motivation. We decided to exercise three times a week together--the three of us agreed the accountability would be good and we wouldn't flake out on each other. Since Tee had something to do the next day, O and I decided to meet up at her house at seven to start out our program.

      It took me forever to fall asleep. 'Could I keep this up? What if I oversleep and miss the whole thing? I don't want to disappoint her.' Luckily the next morning my eyes popped open at 6:15 and I got my things prepared to go over. We decided to start with the hardest workout I had: the Biggest Loser cardio. This dvd works me every time, and I'm left shaking and afraid. I hopped the wall and was greeted by their family dog when I walked through the door. "Are you ready?" O asked, setting down cups of water she made us on the tv stand. "Yep" I replied, nervous to begin my day with a truly brutal workout. And with that, we began.

      My body remembered that workout. I started feeling my quads tighten and my breath becoming labored. I remembered everything: the difficult squats, lunges, shadow boxing and the blessed rests. I was pouring sweat half way through. I looked over to see how O was doing, and was puzzled as to why she wasn't dying. After the half-hour workout ended, my face was red and my legs rendered useless. O on the other hand seemed surprised at how fast it ended. "Wanna do a quick circuit?" she asked. I agreed, but inside I was screaming out NO PLEASE I WANT TO GO HOME.

     I need to keep up with this lady. She's older than I am, has way more responsibilities and demands than I do. There's no way I can wimp out. We went out into her garage where her husband kept all his workout equipment. We did 50 jump rope rotations, held ten pound bumper weights (that I had no idea existed until that day) over our heads and lunge walked to one end of the garage, ran down to the end of her lane and lunge walked back to the garage. We did that circuit three times. Three times! And the best part was I didn't die!

      My takeaway from that day was that I need to be challenged. I've always started, stopped then started again. I've never advanced or improved in any of the exercising I've done in the past. With all the initial fears and hesitations, I couldn't ask for a better situation right now. I'm blessed with support in my house and next door, for which I am immensely thankful. O and her family are such a huge blessing, and the timing in so many ways seems right. Divinity works in mysterious ways, and this setup is no accident. I'm scared and excited and grateful and tired. So until next time, I bid you goodnight~

Cheers,
The Daughter

Four Months Gone--Here's What's Happening

     I once read dieting is the same as anything else one wants to succeed in--it takes practice. Though I haven't updated this blog as faithfully as I would've liked, I'm thrilled to say this hasn't stopped me in my continued pursuit of health, nor will it stop me from continuing to update posts, no matter how far between they are.

   
      We're almost to the middle of 2015! How the months continue to fly! As for my weight, I'm averaging around the same as my last post, between 206-208 pounds. It's maddening how close I am to being under 200, but it gives me a goal within my reach to look forward to.

     I've been working out on and off the past few months, not consistently enough to show significant progress. Maintaining is okay for now, but I'm looking forward to getting the ball rolling again. The past months have been a whirlwind. Spring is a huge birthday time in my house--there are are three birthdays in April alone, including mine. There's been a funeral, performances, rallies and me and my younger sister both got our wisdom teeth removed last month.  Unfortunately, attention to my health has faded a bit with all the excitement, however getting back on the horse is part of life.

    Our progress has slowly built since there's been a lot of sickness going around our house again. My poor mother is still recovering a bit, but she's vowed to take it slow and build up gradually, contrary to going hard and burning out too quickly (she and I have both been guilty of this). For the past two weeks, I've been taking to walking, particularly in my neighborhood. There are a lot of hills where I live: some rolling, some steep, others winding. Reaching the top of one is always nice, but the best part is in the decline when all you do is follow your legs.

     Just last week we returned to our beloved park, and warmly welcomed back by the park keeper. "No news is good news," she said, "nobody died." We were happy at the report. We walked together for half an hour before mom decided it was enough; I continued for a few minutes more. As I jogged along the side of the park parallel to the road, I heard a car honk and turned to see an uncle behind the wheel of a tourist bus waving and giving me thumbs up for support. I looked around to be sure it was intended for me, but neither saw anyone in front or behind. That was an experience!

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     As if I didn't have enough to motivate me, one of my dearest friends is getting married and asked me to be her bridesmaid! I'm one of four gorgeous ladies who have the privilege of standing by this lovely lady's side on her wedding day. I have to admit, the first thing I said to her when she asked was "I gotta go work out!"

     A few days later we'd gone to the bridal shop to help her decide on a dress and try on bridesmaids dresses. I'm not the most fashionable girl around, so the whole process was nerve-wracking.

Congratulations M&W!

I'm also on the bigger side, so finding dresses in certain styles in my size was...difficult. The bride requested all of us pick out whatever style we felt most comfortable in and we'd order it in the same color. I've never tried on so many dresses at one time in my life! High-low, a-line, short, long! And none of the dressing rooms had mirrors so I had to be extra careful lest I walk out with the back of my dress be stuck in my underwear!

      We all decided on one style--a sleeveless, knee-length number in a dark red. Again, since this was my first time doing something like this, I wasn't aware measurements were required to be taken. The sales girl called us all over one by one and measured bust, waist and hips. She asked which size I wanted, to which I replied 16, a size smaller than what I tried on. She made a face. It looked like a mixture of surprise and worry. It gave me even more anxiety. (How does the alteration thing work again?)

     Never the less, I'm excited. Experiences, successes, failures and everything in between!

Sickness/Updates/Zumba Fun

     Wouldn't you know it? At the peak of feeling your best and making changes for the better, you go ahead and get sick. There is no greater motivation killer than days in bed and your body craving unhealthy comfort foods to get you through it. My poor mother really got the brunt of sickness with a one-two punch of strep throat and the flu. After a slight fever and aching body, I went to the doctor (which I haven't done in years) and he gave me some antibiotics as a precaution. After the bad news I went home and treated myself to some piggies-in-a-blanket and the Hobbit appendices.
   

     I'm still recovering, I obviously haven't exercised in the past few days except yesterday I was able to do some light work in the yard. I've been able to keep logging with LoseIt! And earned some challenge badges (but now I think they're just giving them away.) Going to keep at it and update when I can!



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      I started the above post a few days before this one, and I was wrong about sickness being the greatest motivation killer. This past week we got some bad news about a friend of our family who went to be with the Lord. Though I hadn't seen her in a few years, I mourned. I won't share too much, but this lady meant a lot to our family, and I believe it won't be long before we are able to see each other again. I haven't logged LoseIt like I had in the above post, and for the past few days just been in comfort mode.

     We had gotten the chance to walk the day before yesterday in the graveyard where my grandparents are buried. It sounds morbid, but it's pretty customary for people in Hawaii to hang out at graveyards with their family and loved ones, sometimes eat lunch. It's a good place to remember, which my family and I've been doing the past few days. Remembering the good old stories, singing and thanking God.

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Pretty much sums me up. PC TheMetaPicture

     It's 9:30 PM. I needed to work out. I wanted to do something that wouldn't make me miserable. Biggest Loser was eliminated right away. I wasn't really in the mood for yoga, so I reached to the top of  my movie shelf and out of a dusty box came my old Zumba dvds. A few years ago my mom and I decided to take the leap and get the dvds after I'd gone to some classes at my local rec center and LOVED it (though the demographic consisted of women twice my age.) Doing it at home would be just as fun, and I don't run the risk of being secretly recorded by a random stranger (true story--a sad, but true story.)
     
     The Zumba craze, both in popular culture and my own conscience, has since died down. I don't even remember the last time I did it. I always did the easiest dvd, but I wanted to switch it up and opted for the twenty minute workout. Five minutes in reminded me of why I stopped doing it. Even in the sanctity of my own home I was embarrassed by my flailing limbs and poor ability to follow the repetitious steps. All I could do was laugh to myself. But at some point you say, ah! whatever! Which brings immediate and immense enjoyment. I cumbia-d and salsa-d myself silly and was reminded of how much I love to dance--even if I'm terrible at it! After the twenty minutes, I searched on youtube for some fun k-pop Zumba routines and was successful~ I don't know if it was the change in the routine, but I think the Zumba dvds might stay off the top shelf for a while :)

Cheers,
The Daughter

PSY's "Gentleman"! It's a fun song and easy routine, try it out! From CrazySockTV

Catchup Diet

    I read a quote recently that caused me disappointment: you can't outrun a bad diet. Essentially if you want faster results, it would help if you ate a diet that would support your body instead of eating what you want and trying to exercise it off. I know what you're thinking--well duh. I know all this stuff too, I guess I wanted to skate by with exercising a lot and being able to eat whatever; it worked for me in the past. In any case, I'm catching up my diet with the exercise I've been doing and it's been a little difficult.
     I decided to get back on LoseIt! after several e-mails harassing me about joining new challenges and updating to Premium. In fact, I accidentally joined the Make Healthy Happen challenge; I'm not sure what it's about but I'm down to do it as long as I don't lose any money in the process. (They didn't ask for any card numbers did they?)
     The first few days ended in candy canes, but I'm improving. This morning started out with a kale-banana-honey-chia smoothie that tasted like it was good for me. I'm a texture person, so the banana and chia seeds gave the consistency was similar to pudding-- not something I'm looking forward to in my smoothie. After watering it down and plying my parents with some, I managed get the majority in my system. It could be the power of suggestion, but I think the random bouts of chicken-skin is my body's way of shimmying for joy. I've done something good for myself today.
   
     Over half my house has been stricken with various illnesses, so I've been taking a break from strenuous exercise the past few days. I'm hoping to begin again soon, I think my body misses it.

Stats: 206.7 pounds--down about three pounds since the beginning of the year~!

My Challenge Accepted Badge! Yay…?

Pounding the Pavement…Literally.

 

    This was my final day of Jury Duty.  Because I went to court this morning, I missed our normal walking time.  Daughter and I thought it would be nice to try and get an afternoon walk done in celebration of the end of Jury Duty and the continuation of our fitness goals for the day.  We embarked on our walk at 4:02 pm and upon arrival at our "special place" we found a very different dynamic.  Instead of finding the "Top O' the Mornin'" crowd of cheery hearts hungry for fitness, friends and  fellowship, we stumbled upon those poor so-and-so's who worked all day at a job they hate, drove home in bumper to bumper and needed to get this walk/run done so they can get dinner made, get to bed and do it all over again tomorrow.  No offense, but this was a very different crowd.  These people didn't smile; well, not naturally.  Some were no-nonsense, get-out-of-my-way-I'm-trying-to-walk-here individuals, while others were there with their designated walking partner to blow off steam with every step, so forget any response from them to my "Hi, how ya doin." We also encountered families with kids or pets on the path and in the park.  Fathers trying to train their sons to throw the football correctly and pet owners who were taking their pets for the Cesar Millan prescribed walk that all good pack-leaders perform daily.  Apparently, some of those pack-leaders were not so responsible because on one of our laps, I saw that someone's pet befouled the walking path with no attempt at clean-up, something the AM crowd would never allow.

     Maybe it wasn't just the PM crowd that made my normally heavenly walk a hellish trek.  I found that with every step I took, I was feeling a kind-of energy hemorrhage which was foreign to me.  It was a chilly afternoon so I did feel the stiffness and soreness that comes with age, however, I fully expected to walk that off after a few minutes of cardio which increases circulation and provides a sense of well-being.  Perhaps my jubilance over the completion of my jury duty assignment and celebratory sugar fix was to blame.  In addition, I was up frequently throughout the night before taking care of a sick grandchild. It seemed that with every step I took, my legs got heavier, my breathing got more laborious until I even felt wobbly and wondered if I could finish the last 2 laps with daughter who in contrast, was jogging and thoroughly enjoying her time on the path.  I watched her almost effortlessly, like a gazelle glide down the straight stretches of the path with an air of tranquil beauty.  She seemed to channel some ethereal plane that translated her to heights unknown, well, unknown to me at the moment.  I was awestruck at her exuberance.  Why was I in agony,while she was in bliss.  I did not want to quell her enthusiasm so I completed the remaining laps and hobbled over to the car for a quick stretch before abandoning this awful place to take refuge in a hot shower and oversized sweat shirt.

     Needless to say, this walk was very different from the majority of my experiences on "the path of life."  When I perused my past blog posts, I wondered who that  "crazy lady" was and what was she drinking?
I will say no more signed, The Mother.

Progress: 1 hour without vomiting, voiding or evacuating. Success !  Until next AM walk.

Morning vs. Afternoon/Kismet Meet-Up at the Back Wall

Mountain view! Can't even tell there was a storm recently.

     Two days in a row! I've got a few posts to catch up on; Mom's posts have been on fire. Though my niece is on the mend from a cold, we've been able to pursue our health goals with help from my awesome sisters T and J. So glad she's feeling better.
      Madre and I were able to get about a forty minute walk in Sunday morning. There was a raging storm the night before, so there was trash and debris everywhere. During our chat, Mom would occasionally pick up bits of trash we would see around--lids with the straws still attached, fast food wrappers and the like. I'm proud to say this is a common practice for her and it inspires me to do the same. It really is a privilege to visit and use a park as beautiful as this one, and it's important to do our part and keep it clean. I'm guilty of overlooking these instances, focusing more on the workout or bits of conversation. I'm lucky my mom looks at these outings as an overall experience rather than just a workout. In this spirit, my mother is also readily able to talk to the people we meet along the way, bidding them hello and flashing a warm smile, while I follow her cue a step behind.  I tend to shy away from social initiations while sweaty and out of breath, but mom in her graceful way adds an air of friendliness wherever she goes.

     Today we went spur of the moment this afternoon--a rarity since that is a busy time for us both. It was unexpected how the experience differs between morning and afternoon. Mornings, as described in previous posts, haven't too many people, besides the regulars on the path. We were surprised to see a lot of people at the park, mostly using the path while a man and his son rode pocket bikes on the field. The demographic of people changed as well. Morning park goers seem to move at an easier pace, rising early to greet the sun and start the day. The afternoon brings out men and women coming home from a busy day at work and catching a quick jog; others are friends meeting up and families going for a work out then hurrying home before sundown. I, inspired by other men and women, even jogged some of the straight portions of the path to keep up with the frenzied afternoon pace. Mom didn't care for going in the afternoons, but after a while (mostly the endorphins kicking in) I found the experience exciting and enjoyable; I'd definitely go at that time again.

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     Yesterday, halfway out my back door to hang some laundry I heard the voice of our next door neighbor wishing my family and I a happy new year. Miss O is a beautiful, outgoing woman with a wonderful family and the best dog you'll ever meet. I also find on occasions when we do talk, there is a bigger reason for doing so, and this time was no exception. Among the many subjects we touched on, we got on the subject of taking better care of our bodies. We shared our dieting woes of wishing for food that was both flavorful and healthy, as well as our confusion over portion control (what does a fingertip's serving of cheese actually mean? Is it the length or the width?) It's encouraging to know I'm  not the only one continually struggling with these issues, though I feel I have fewer excuses for my lack of body maintenance.
     Just today we met again over the back wall where Miss O lent me a book of weight training exercises for women. Weight training is something I haven't been comfortable with since I know nothing about proper technique, but I'm hoping this will bring me to another level in my fitness. I usually shy away from fitness commitments of any kind, however I think it's good to have as much support and accountability as possible. I'm happy to have another ally on this journey and look forward to learning and accomplishing as much as possible on the way.

     Here's to all the women and men making changes, taking risks, failing and succeeding. Let's keep the momentum going strong. For what it's worth, I gotcho back!

Listen to Richard!

     God Bless,
     The Daughter

The Path Less Traveled

The Path

Daughter and I decided to get an early start on Sunday.  We had a storm the night before.  As we approached the park, we saw toppled trash cans, fallen trees and other debris which hinted at how powerful the storm was.  The sun was out but there was still a winter nip in the air that lingered our entire walk.  Due to the unusual weather, we had had several days of cold by Hawaii standards.  In our neck of the woods, if the temperature drops below sixty or seventy degrees it is officially cold.  Our mainland family and friends laugh but for us, it's pretty frigid.  There was no one on the path that morning, just the departure of a young man who had finished his walk and was getting in his car when we arrived.  The stretch was especially difficult due to the cold but it was wonderful to be able to steal away for a brief walk.

     As we started, an air of environmental responsibility descended and we felt it our civic duty to pick up debris and police the area that gave us so much pleasure.  We also thought of our good friend who cleaned the park on a daily basis.  We didn't want her to feel overwhelmed by what would greet her, her first day back to work, after the storm.  Something happens to you when you give yourself over to unselfish acts of kindness.  There was such of sense of responsibility as we strained to pick up as much trash as possible.  A kind of pay-it-forward attitude took over.  With every piece of rubbish I retrieved from the furthest reaches of our walking path, no matter how wet or disgusting it might be, I was doing heaven's work and someone would probably see it.  Witnessing these acts would be so contagious that it would literally change the world.  These are the kinds of mind games I indulge in while trying to get the all-important walk done.  It's usually not about laps or BPMs for me.  My primary goal  is about exploring the spiritual heights and depths of my own mind in a totally, unrelated (to exercise) thought patten.  This conscience practice, I believe, meets the needs of the intangible universe. The secondary effect on my own existence is an elevated heart rate, sweat and an ever-so-slight resistance effect on the large muscle groups in the lower extremities.  After being at the park, I always feel like I have in some way, benefited my whole being; or at least that's what I tell myself.

     Daughter and I had decided to do a forty minute walk because we had a sick little girl waiting for our return.  As we approached the car on our last lap, we realized that there were two  "newbies" on the path.  One of them approached as we commenced our stretching regime.  I looked up at the approaching fitness seeker and noticed she seemed very closed off as I was about to exchange pleasantries with her, which is my custom. I hesitated at first, but in that moment, thought it best as a veteran park user  to instruct her in the happy manners and practices employed by those who use this park almost daily.  I looked her in the eye and said a hearty " Good Morning " She immediately chimed in, "Good Morning….Let's get our move on!"  I then realized, the manner of her previous expression was not an accurate depiction of her true feelings.  As it is with all of us, we make a decision to connect or not.  She was so delightful, joyous and jubilant, I am so glad I didn't let my first impression of her keep me from greeting her. Lady-Love, as I will affectionately call her from now on, said she was just starting to use this park and would see us again.  Lady-Love will be such an encouragement on the path this year….I look forward to many cheerful exchanges with her.

Daughter and I left the park that day feeling good about our ability to help up-keep the grounds,  touch the universe and connect to one of God's Children.

Progress: 40 minutes, good deeds and a new friend.