Ugh....

Hello folks. It's been a couple of weeks since I last blogged. I'm home sick today. I caught some sort of stomach bug. Yesterday I started feeling a bit nauseated. Then last night I started getting sick. The only thing that I have kept down is sipping on gaterade and hot tea with honey in it.
This just sucks. I have to really watch my blood sugars from getting too low. My morning blood sugar today was 62. So I've been sucking on these glucose tablets that are designed to raise your blood sugar levels if they are too low. So thats what I've been doing. I'm going to try and drink some chicken boullion this afternoon just too get some substance in me. My friend that lives in Jasper has had this same thing and her doctor told her that it's going around. I was around someone this past weekend that had had something, so I don't know if this was it. I've already taken two showers to see if that would make me feel better. It did initually, but then I start feeling bad again.
So I guess I'll just be hanging out today. I hope this passes soon.

Sunday

Hello there. Even though it has been cloudy at times, today has been a beautiful day.
I slept in til about 9am. Believe me this is late to me. I got up, ate my fruit and took a long walk around my complex. Actually I walked around four times.
Then shortly after lunch, my Dad came over and I took him to this gym that I just joined about three weeks ago. Then we visited for about an hour. It was nice seeing my Dad. We normally don't get to spend a lot of time together so when I do get to see him it's extra special.
I've been doing Ok on this low carb diet. And I have kept up working out. By the end of the year, I expect to loose the majority of my excess weight. I know I've probably said this before, but I really want to loose the weight. Not only for the many things I'll be able to wear but for my health in general.
I won't be so self conscious anymore. Because anybody who has gained weight always feels that no matter who you are. I want to be able to walk down the street with my head held high and a big smile on my face. This is my year.

Friday

Boy, I over did it on Wednesday at the gym. Every time I take a step, just walking my knee pops. I did an hour on my cardio then and I thought I wouldn't be sore. Today when I woke up, my knee just throbbed.
I tried walking around my neighborhood this morning, but that didn't work either. I've taken advil every six to eight hours and still it hurts. I guess I need to get a knee brace the next time I go to the gym.
Not much else going on today. I've been shredding a bunch of financial statements. I'm one of these folks that don't throw away anything. So now, my filing system is just bursting.
Oh and I weighed last Sunday and I've lost 16 pounds. Going to the gym, eating low carbs and just being more active is the result of the weight loss. I've got eighty more pounds to loose. That sounds like a lot, but my dad seems to think that if I continue to do what I'm doing now it may take 6 to 8 months more. I don't see it. I'm thinking it will take at least a year to loose the rest. We'll see.
But I know that I am completely committed to this now. I'm tired of making excuses for myself. Tired of being fat. I have so many cute outfits that I can't wear. Heck, I have a whole wardrobe just waiting for me. And when I go to the gym, I'm not self conscious because I see ladies in there that are even bigger than I am. And everyone are so helpful.
When I joined the gym, I had a fitness trainer design my program. But I haven't seen him since. So when I go to the gym, I work my program which is one the first day I do the 30 minute circuit training. This has different weight machines working your back, legs, arms, shoulders and abs. Then it has a step up bar on the floor where you step up and down. On the second day, I do 30 minutes of cardio, then work on my abs. On the third day I do what I did on the first day. And on the fourth day I do what I did on the second day. So all in all I am working on resistance and cardio. My heart rate was 158 when I started two weeks ago, but now it's 144. The target heart rate for my age is 110, so I've got a long way to go. The higher your heart rate is shows how out of shape you are.
I'm confident that the more time goes by, my stamina will get better.

4th. of July

Happy July 4th. I can't believe it's already July. Too bad it's going to be storming today. I still plan on watching the fireworks over Vulcan park. I'll be watching them on Fox6. I can't remember the last time I ventured out to Homewood to see the show. I think we did that when my nephew was little.
Not much more going on today. I slept in and have been watching movies all day. I didn't go into the gym this morning, giving my knees a break. Yesterday I did my cardio for an hour then I played around with the weights. I feel like I over did it.
My blood sugars have been real good lately. I had to go down on one of my medications because it was making me sick. But otherwise from that my diabetes is going well.
Well I hope everyone has a nice holiday.

Volunteering

Hey! It's the beginning of the month and whats a nice thing to do is to volunteer. I started my first day at the Botanical Gardens. We did Membership Renewal Mail outs. It was a lot of fun. There were about three other volunteers there helping out. I met some of the nicest people. Oh and the staff over there were very thankful that we were there. They have a really neat business office. Every person I met. either in the office or on the grounds were nice.
Then I had a doctors appointment in the afternoon. It was across town. The drive wasn't too bad, just some crazy people on the road.
All in all, I had a pretty good day. I like this new busy feeling.

Wednesday

Hello all. Well I'm on my fourth day to working out. It's going pretty well. I've met my goals everyday
and I have lots more energy. I'm still waiting for this new volunteer job to follow through. I do go on Monday. But after that I just have to see if they will need me. If this turns out to be a job that is
"as needed" then I will find another place to volunteer where I'll be on a schedule.
I have seen two friends that I haven't seen in awhile. So thats been nice. I even went to the park
last weekend and had a good walk. It felt good to be around people again. I've sort of been isolating myself lately.
Nothing else is going on. I hope everyone has a good week.

exercise

Well, I started at the gym this morning. I did a cardio circuit workout that involves eight [ i think ] different machines and a step up where you lift one leg at a time and step up on this block. The machines work your arms, legs, chest, abs and back. Then I rode the bike.
Tomorrow I'll do a 30 minute cardio workout either riding the bike or walking on the treadmill. Then on the third day I'll do what I did today. On the fourth day I'll do the cardio workout and abs. It was really neat, you go in and create your own fitness program month by month. And there's always staff there to show you how to do a machine.
I'm already sore in my knees. I think it will get easier as time goes by. But I'm committed. And I saw other women there that are about my size, so I'm not so self absorbed with the way I look. All I can do is my best. But the key is to keep moving even if I get tired. If I can't do the workout, I should just march in place. I think I can do that...