End Of Year Ramblings And One Resolution

(photo credit - blog.medi-share.org)

There haven't been very many posts on this blog in the last year, and I'm hoping to remedy that in 2015. My main goal for 2015 is to stop procrastinating. Not really procrastinating, More like I need to stop giving myself a time limit on when things get done by. Example, I like to get the Mileage Monday posts up early Monday mornings, like before 9 AM. But who says they can't be uploaded until Monday 11:59 PM? It's still Monday right?

Just because I have a set time in my head doesn't mean it has to be done by then. If it's late, who really cares? As long as it gets done, that's what matters. I'm holding myself back...again...with the "all or nothing" mentality. I used to do that with losing weight long long ago. I'd lose a few pounds, then would get stuck for several weeks, so I'd give up. That's pretty much what I'm doing now with "deadlines".

Yes, deadlines are good to have, but to have them be so strict is pointless. I need to be more relaxed (in more ways than one) with when I post things. I have a long long long list of posts to write, but nothing gets done because of my "deadline" issue. So no more deadlines. Just do it and don't worry about how long it takes.

I have a major backlog of pictures from the virtual walk site, but that doesn't mean I've been exercising regularly. Again, my whole "deadline" problem. The deadline I give myself with workouts is I need to start by a certain time. When that start time comes and goes, I start the procrastination process. I need to retrain my brain by telling myself that as long as my workouts get done that's the important thing. I don't have to do it by a certain time (although I love getting my workout done by 8 or 8:30 AM). That's sometimes not realistic.

I'm not making excuses anymore (not that I did here on the blog) for why I'm not getting things done. I'm tired mainly of my "things get in the way/people are coming over" excuse. If people are coming over, so be it. I'm not letting that be an excuse to take the day off from exercise. If people are here when I need to get in the shower, so what? Other people are not the problem, I am the problem. I shouldn't let anything or anyone get in my way of doing what I need to or want to get done. I'm too worried about what other people are doing or thinking. I'm too worried about what the dog is doing for Pete's sake.

So that's pretty much my ramble for the day. I haven't made up any New Year's resolutions. I don't usually wait until the new year to start before I start working on a goal. But this year I am making a resolution to stop worrying about "start and end" deadlines. And to stop procrastinating when those deadlines come and go.

I need to really start implementing the "What You Can When You Can" attitude. I've already written about the WYCWYC strategy, I just need to put it into practice.

Hope everyone has a great new year and a fantastic 2015!

Mileage Monday: Let's Try Again

First of all, this post's title now has two meanings. The first reason for the post's title is the fact that this post is a day late. My computer lost Internet connection as I was writing this post. I kid you not. I was in the process on inserting the pictures from the virtual walk site, when I got an error message saying I lost connection. Everyone here lost the Internet, but when the router rebooted, mine didn't come up. Turned out to be a loose cable connection (outside somewhere) to my machine. All fixed now though. Just annoying to yet again have a plan of mine disrupted. Seems like every time I make a plan, something always pops up to disrupt it.

The second reason for the title of this post is exercise related. I was all gung ho about my new workout plan. Get up every hour and get on the elliptical. I should have waited until my upper back was 100%. I did get on the elliptical every hour for about 6 minutes (did two tenths of a mile in that time), and by 2 PM that afternoon, my shoulders were screaming at me. So, I needed a little patience.

I am back into my routine now though. Only just. I did a mile yesterday (Sunday) and a mile today (Monday), and I feel pretty good. Upper back is all better. I am also very pleased that my stamina didn't go down the toilet after my exercise hiatus. It's been, what, three weeks or so since my back went wacko, and I am still able to do 1/2 straight. Big smile at that.

So, my plan is to do at least 1/2 mile on the elliptical most days of the week (saying every day is unrealistic), and then maybe another 1/2 later that morning or one of my Leslie Sansone DVDs. Other than that, I will be getting up every hour. Not on the elliptical, but just marching in place. I think that will be easier. We'll see though.

I'm still going strong on the virtual walk site. The last few weeks I've not entered any mileage, but I still have a back log of pictures to share. So let's get to it!

Mile 831.8 (3.1 miles as I marched in place while watching Biggest Loser)

Mile 832.8 (elliptical for 1 mile)

Mile 833.8 (elliptical for 1 mile)

Mile 836.2 (Leslie for 2.4)

Mile 837.2 (elliptical for 1)

Mile 838.2 (elliptical)

(photo credit - Virtual Walk site)

There ya have it! A day late, but it's up. I am very very very happy that Google's Blogger platform saves drafts frequently so I didn't have to write all of this twice. Normally, I write my posts on Evernote's desktop software (I love Evernote!!!!) and then copy and paste it to Blogger, but decided not to this time. Lesson learned, but Google's Blogger is awesome.

Mileage Monday: New Workout System

In my last post, I mentioned that I needed to move more during the day. I work out yes, but that's only for 45 minutes to an hour. The rest of the day I spend sitting. That's not healthy. For the last few days, mainly today, I've been getting up every hour and I do two tenths of a mile on my elliptical. That takes me about 6 and a half minutes to complete.

Today was my first full day of doing that, and I really like that strategy. I think it's going to work well for me. I have one muscle in my back right under my left shoulder blade on the outer side that is threatening to cramp up or spasm, so the last two tenths of a mile that I did, I did not use the arm poles. That seemed to be OK. Time to break out the heating pad soon. That one muscle has been giving me problems since last week's upper back strain.

Two problems I guess. Problem one, if I don't move frequently, my upper back muscles between my shoulder blades get really stiff and they ache. So I move every hour. Problem two, if I move every hour that one muscle is going to get ticked off and cramp up. I'm doing my best to drink more water. That's one thing my chiropractor asks me frequently. He said drinking more water should help ease up with the muscle cramps. So, once again, I'm trying. So far, I've had about four cups. Not bad, but not terrific either. I just downed another cup right now after reading that, hehehe. So, I'm up to five cups.

So, that's my new strategy. I've gone a total of 1.2 miles so far today. I'm about to get up and get another .2 mile in. I'm not going to use the arm poles this time either.

I've been slacking with my Mileage Monday posts. So here's some pictures from that site. I've got a few week's worth of pictures to get caught up on.

Mile 819.4 (Leslie for 2.3 miles)

Mile 820.4 (Elliptical for 1 mile)

Mile 822.8 (Leslie for 2.4 miles)

Mile 823.8 (Elliptical for 1 mile)

Mile 826.4 (Leslie for 2.4 miles)

Mile 828.6 (Leslie for 2.4 miles)

Oh, I forgot to mention. Since my last Mileage Monday post, I've passed through Springfield, KY and Mackville, KY, both in Washington county. I have about 6.5 miles to go until I get to Maud, KY also in Washington county.

Get up and move every so often if you're able. Take a five minute walking break and just go! That's what I'm going to do right now!

Keep moving!

World Cerebral Palsy Day 2014 (warning long)

(photo credit - http://wellnessdocdfw.com/back_pain__upper)

Last year, I wrote something for World Cerebral Palsy Day. In October 2013 I posted a chart of some statistics about CP, along with where I fall in the various categories. I found out about the yearly event two years ago.

This year, I struggled to figure out what to post. Until today actually. I don't think I've really written about this topic in depth. Aging and cerebral palsy. I've mentioned that my aches and pains have gotten more frequent in the last several years, but haven't really related it to my cerebral palsy, just with my aging.

Why am I bringing this up today? Because I hurt. A lot. Plain and simple. Why do I hurt? Because on Sunday, I stumbled and had to catch myself from falling. I was going into the laundry room and lost my balance. I caught myself by grabbing the door frame. My upper back and arms tightened up like usual when I catch myself. No big deal.

Monday comes along and my upper back is a little sore, and it hurts ever so slightly to turn my head. I thought all day "What did I do?", and couldn't think of anything. Until that night, when it happened again only not as severe. A light bulb turned on. "That's what I did!"

Then comes Tuesday. My husband and I took a walk in the early morning with our niece. We brought the two dogs with us. Jax (our dog) was wearing a prong collar because he's just a tad hyper (sarcasm). Every time Jax yelped (he got too far ahead and pronged himself), I would jump and have to fight not to fall. In doing so, I would cling to my husband's arm (in the past when walking with my older sister I would hold on to her upper arm, and when I did this she called my hand the claw because I would cling so hard).

I jumped and fought about four or five times. Didn't fall once, but it was annoying. I thought maybe the "jerk move" was back, but it didn't quite feel the same. I thought about it Sunday as well, and if it was the jerk move, it was only a slight case of it.

Wednesday morning comes along, and I could barely sit up in bed. My upper back screamed every time I tried to sit up. I finally managed, but it took a while. I wondered "What did I do?". My husband enlightened me by saying "You went for a walk.". Well, just going for a ten minute walk wouldn't put me in major pain like this. Then it dawned on me. All the fighting to stay upright that I did. Yup, mystery solved.

As a kid when I fought not to fall, I don't remember any after effects. Heck, sometimes I didn't bother to fight and just fell. Sometimes it was easier to fall and get it over with. Now I fight like the dickens not to fall. When I did fight as a kid, I never hurt like this. My age is catching up to me.

In a little less than two months I'll be officially "over the hill" (is that what they still call 40?). Everybody is different. Some people turn 40 and have no aches and pains at all, others have a whole bunch of aches and pains. Is it genetics? Is it how active a person is or is not? It is a disability? What is it exactly that have certain people hurt more than others as they age?

For me, I think it's a combination of my cerebral palsy and the fact that from age 19 to 30 I basically wasn't physically active. If I had stayed active during that time, would I hurt this much? My CP affects my left leg and right arm. Basically from both my hips down and also my neck are my painful areas. How I hold my body puts strain on muscles and tendons that a "normal" person doesn't experience. In order to not fall, I lean over so I can grab something, or I'll place my legs in an unnatural (yet more stable) position to have better balance.

In doing so, the tendons, ligaments, and muscles shift and strain aggressively. Over time, this makes it painful to do certain things. I did some pretty decent damage to my knees during the years I wasn't active. I went to physical therapy for my knee pain in 2000 and was prescribed exercises to improve the muscles. I still do those exercises to this day, and I rarely have knee pain any more. It's actually my left hip that I worry about now.

In 2008, I got off my butt, lost 35 pounds and am more active than I was. I still am not as active as I should be. I exercise for an hour maybe, five days a week. But I still sit the rest of the time. I need to get up and move more. Not just during my workouts. I need to get up and move every hour at least. I need to make that a daily habit, to get up every hour for 5 minutes at least. March in place for five, jump on the elliptical for five. Something.

I don't know if implementing that strategy will help with my pain or not. Please don't think that I'm in pain all the time. I'm not. But lately, when I am in pain, it hurts way worse than it used to. Right now, if I move and the pain hits, I have to hold my breath until it passes.

Not sure where I've going with this. Just sharing my experience with cerebral palsy and aging. To put it bluntly, it sucks. I've been sitting here in my computer chair (probably the most comfortable place for me to sit), and I know once I start to get up it is going to hurt like a you know what. So here goes nothing!

What You Can When You Can (#wycwyc): Putting It Into Practice

(photo credit - livinggratitude.wordpress.com)

I first heard about the What You Can When You Can philosophy through Roni Noone's blog Roni's Weigh about six months ago (at least). WycWyc (/wikwik/) as it's otherwise known is a fabulous way of thinking. Most people today have so much going on, they don't know which way is up. Kind of like juggling balls. Trying to keep all the balls in the air all the time is tough. Whether you're a working mom (or dad), or a stay at home wife (or husband), or whether you work from home and have no kids (like me), everyone gets flustered and thinks they don't have time for things...such as exercise.

I mention that I work from home...I should clarify....I am working at working from home. What does that mean? I enjoy writing. I like to write for this blog. I like to write articles for certain sites. I like to write little blurbs for other sites. Do I do it as often as I want? No. Can people make a good living from doing what I want to do? Certainly! Freelance writers on the Internet can and do make a very good living. The main thing is to DO IT.

Procrastination is a killer. I am struggling big time right now with procrastination. Now while I don't have a "real" job, I still do housewifely duties. I make sure our place is kept somewhat neat and clean. I don't intend to get into all of the nitty gritty details here, but my husband and I do not live alone. We share a house with his parents. It just works out well that way for now.  I don't clean the entire house (although I would love to), but I do make sure our area is clean. I also do some mad, mad, mad cleaning when everyone is out.

On top of that, my husband and I have one dog and one cat (my in-laws also have a dog of their own and a parakeet). So, all those animals can make for not only messes, but they also takes up a lot of time and energy. Particularly our dog Jax. He's an attention hog like nobody's business. Especially in the mornings.

So I'm not only using the WycWyc frame of mind for getting exercise in, but I'm also using it for writing and getting more serious about it. If I only write 1 or 2 hours a day, so be it. It will increase the more I do it. It will eventually pay off, literally, in the long run. One of my main goals is to get some sort of residual income so I'll be making money without having to do anything. That's a long term goal obviously, but it can be done. People do it all the time.

Start out slow, and things will increase over time. Just like losing weight. I didn't lose 35 pounds over night. It took me a little less than a year. The point is I made it. And now I do what it takes to maintain that weight loss. Same goes for my writing plans. Do what it takes to get to where I'm comfortable, and then do what it takes to maintain that.

I have no illusions, it will take long hours and loads of work in the beginning, but in the end it will be worth it. Just like it was with the weight loss. Lots of work and determination, but it got done. I also have no grand expectations about how much I'll be earning. Some people writing online claim to make a 6 figure income. I highly doubt I'll get that much ever, but one can dream right?

So, What You Can When You Can is my motto from now on. In more ways than one. Exercise, writing, housework, and pet care. Those are my main focuses in life these days. And the main thing I need to eliminate is procrastination.

Keep Moving and keep doing whatever else you do too!

Mileage Monday: Keep On Keeping On

Another Mileage Monday, and more pictures! Things are going well on the exercise side of things. I've skipped a few workouts here and there, but for the most part, I'm consistent. I'm still only doing strength training twice a week. That seems to be working well for a while. Mondays and Thursdays or Tuesdays and Fridays are the days I aim for. If I miss Monday, that it's going to happen Tuesday. Cardio happens about 4 days a week lately. Hoping to increase that again.

Week before last I mentioned I had 1.1 miles to go until I hit the next town on the virtual walk site. I said I would push myself to get in 1.1 miles on the elliptical, when normally I only do 1 mile even. Well, not only did I do 1.1 miles that day (which was exciting), I also stayed on the elliptical longer than I ever have on NordicTrack A.C.T. elliptical. I made it to 1100 revolutions before I had to take my first break. I know I've made it to 800 revolutions (1/2 mile) in one shot, and I want to say I've made it to 900, but I don't think so. Very exciting indeed, and I surprised myself.

So, since my last Mileage Monday post, I've passed through Burgin, KY in Mercer county and Harrodsburg, KY also in Mercer county. Next up is Mackville, KY which is about 5.8 miles from where I am on the map. I've gone a total of 817.2 miles since I started back in April of 2008. Slow going, but great motivation still. Here are the pictures!

Mile 810 (elliptical for 1.1 miles)

Mile 812.4 (Leslie Sansone for 2.4 miles)

Mile 814.8 (Leslie Sansone for 2.4 miles)

Mile 817.2 (Leslie Sansone for 2.3 miles)

(photo credit - Virtual Walk site)

Keep Moving!!

Mileage Monday - Back To Strength

My efforts to make friends with my hand weights again is going well. Last week I managed only one day, but that's OK. I want to take it slow. This week my plan is two days. I already did my strength routine for today, and I'll do it again on Thursday. Then next week I may try for three days. We'll see.

I do find myself enjoying my strength training workouts more since I've cut out the ab routine. I had such a long ab routine (20 minutes just for ab work), that I found myself really dreading strength training days. For now I don't plan on adding any ab work back into my routine. I may pick and choose a few moves to add back in further down the line.

I'm doing OK with my cardio workouts. I have to say it again, if I don't get my workouts in early in the morning they tend not to happen. I had a few days like that last week, and I regretted not getting those workouts in. So far so good this week.

Since my last Mileage Monday post, I've passed through Burgin, KY in Mercer county, and I have about 1 mile to go until I reach Harrodsburg, KY in Mercer county. It's actually 1.1 mile I have left to go. I plan on doing the elliptical tomorrow, and I typically just do 1 mile on the elliptical. I may have to push another tenth of a mile to get to the next town. I've been thinking about increasing my mileage on the elliptical for a while, so this might be a good excuse to do that.

Here are the pictures I have from the virtual walk site for the last week.

Mile 805.6 (Leslie for 2.4 miles)

Mile 806.6 (Elliptical for 1 mile)

Mile 809 (Leslie for 2.4 miles)

(photo credit - Virtual Walk site)

Make it a great week, and Keep Moving!

The Return! Mileage Monday

Well, I've been back from vacation for several weeks, and you're right, there's no vacation recap yet. I know I said I'd have it up soon after I got back, but it's not. It's an overwhelming task I admit it. I think of the overall picture of writing three or four posts all at once, and it's daunting. I need to look at it one post at a time, sit down, and just get it done. I've already got the web links for everything, I just need to write them up. And I was smart this time around. Rather than trying to remember where and what I ate after I got back from vacation, I wrote it all down that night.

It is coming, I just won't put a due date on it. I stress myself out that way. I'll write it when I write it. But I will write it. Had some adventures, that's for sure.

Back to Mileage Monday updates. I said I would make friends with my hand weights when I got back from vacation, and well, I did my best. The hand weights aren't the problem, it's the crunches that did me in. I think I'm going to get rid of a lot of my ab routine. I strained my neck pretty good, and aggravated a pinched nerve I have from time to time. I couldn't turn my head for about a week, well maybe not a week, but a good 4 days at least. I did go to the chiropractor, and he got it all sorted out.

Apparently, my lower back was in rough shape, because he said it was way out of whack. I didn't realize it because I had so much pain in my neck. He said "pain masks pain", and he's right. He spent longer than usual on me, and he had to do the ultrasonic therapy (heat therapy) twice on me, because I had pain still. It took several days before I could really turn my head (also bending my head backwards was painful) again. Even now, it's not quite right. A lot better than it was though.

So yes, ab routine is going away for a while. I'm not too bothered by it. My abs are strong as it is. The elliptical and Leslie Sansone DVDs take care of any ab work also. Particularly the elliptical. I'll give my hand weights another go this week and see what happens.

I've gone several miles on the virtual walk site since being back. I've now gone a total of 803.2 miles, and since my last Mileage Monday post, I've passed through Bryantsville, KY in Garrard county. I have about  3 miles until I get to Burgin, KY in Mercer county.

Here are the latest pictures!

Mile 797.8 (Leslie for 2.4 miles)

Mile 798.8 (elliptical for 1 mile)

Mile 799.8 (elliptical for 1 mile)

Mile 802.2 (Leslie for 2.4 miles)

Mile 803.2 (elliptical for 1 mile)

There ya go! Hope everyone is having a great Monday so far. Keep moving!

Mile Monday And Adios!

I'll be leaving tomorrow morning for vacation for a little over a week. I had planned to get some posts written to upload while I was away, but that didn't happen. I got distracted by errands and other things, and well, it just got away from me. I only got in one workout also since last week. But that's OK, I don't want to be worn out while I'm gone.

I plan to write up a recap of my vacation when I return, and I have a few other posts to write up when I get back. Hopefully our flight back East will be uneventful, unlike last year when our flight was delayed an hour and we missed our connecting flight in Dallas. Spent 6 hours in the Dallas airport waiting on standby. Wasn't fun. Hopefully everything will go smoothly this time around.

Here's the lone picture from the virtual walk site from last week.

Mile 795.4 (Leslie Sansone for 2.4 miles)

(photo credit - Virtual Walk)

Have a great week and a half, and I'll see you when I get back! Keep moving!

Mileage Monday!

This might be the last Mileage Monday I post for a few weeks. I thought I had more of a backlog of pictures, but looks like I'm all caught up after this post. Next week, I'll be out of town for about nine days, but I should have at least 4 or 5 pictures, so I might squeeze in one more Mileage Monday post before I go.

Still going strong with my cardio workouts. Strength training is another story. My hand weights and I need to become reacquainted when I get back from vacation. I haven't done consistent strength training since late November 2013, maybe even October. So, it's time to get back to it. At least I'm back into consistent cardio workouts, which for me is more important. Strength training is important, but for me to keep moving is even more so.

I've also been fairly good at getting my workouts done in the morning. I may even start earlier than I do now. Normally, I wake up, have coffee right away, and check email. I get sucked in, and that's my problem. If I get up, get dressed, and get my butt on the elliptical or some other workout, I can get all that out of the way, and THEN have coffee. That might be tough. We'll see. I can be a zombie first thing in the morning. Don't talk to me until I have coffee, or you might lose your head. Nah, I'm not that bad. We'll play it by ear though when I get back. I need a cut off time in the morning though so I don't get sucked in.

OK, on to the pictures from the virtual walk site!

Mile 782.6 (elliptical for 1 mile)

Mile 785 (Leslie Sansone for 2.4 miles)

Mile 786 (elliptical for 1 mile)

Mile 789.6 (Leslie Sansone for 3.5 miles)

Mile 792 (Leslie Sansone for 2.4 miles)

Mile 793 (elliptical for 1 mile)

I will try and have one more Mileage Monday post before I leave. I also plan on writing up some posts this week to auto upload while I'm gone. Maybe do a few posts this week, and a few posts while I'm gone. I do have things I want to write about, I've just gotten side-tracked with other things. And of course, I will be writing up a vacation recap when I get back. Within a few weeks of returning if not sooner.

Keep moving!

Mileage Monday!!

Where does the time go? I blink and it's been a month since my last post? Wow. Sorry about that. I need to give myself a big kick in the rear as far as this blog goes. I've neglected it far too much lately. Since my last Mileage Monday post, I've passed through the town of Bighill, KY, Berea, KY, and Kirksville, KY, all in the county of Madison. I have about 6.5 miles until I reach Bryantsville, KY in Gerrard county.

I'm sill going strong with my elliptical and my Leslie Sansone DVDs. I feel like I have a lot more stamina now than I did a few months ago. I'm still taking breaks every quarter mile on my elliptical, and that frustrates me. I don't get how I once was able to do a full mile with no stops. That was on my old machine. As soon as I got my new machine about three years ago, I haven't been able to do more than half a mile straight. I don't get it. But that's OK. As long as I keep moving, that's all that matters. I can still do 65 minutes straight of Leslie Sansone.

Lots of great pictures from the virtual walk site lately too. I'm excited to share these, they're very pretty. The virtual walk site is still a great motivator to get me up and moving. Here are the pictures!

Mile 771.6 (Leslie Sansone for 3.7 miles)

Mile 775 (Leslie Sansone for 3.5 miles)

Mile 778.6 (Leslie Sansone for 3.6 miles)

Mile 779.6 (Elliptical for 1 mile)

Mile 780.6 (Elliptical for 1 mile)

Mile 781.6 (Elliptical for 1 mile)

(photo credit - http://exercise.lbl.gov/index.html;jsessionid=1F4E2B8269D80C6DF557FB31D1D6D77B)

And there you have it! Hope everyone is having a great Monday. Make it a great week! Keep moving!

Mileage Monday

It's time for another Mileage Monday post. I skipped the last few weeks it seems. I'm still moving right along across the country on the virtual walk site. I've been entering my mileage consistently now for five years. Hard to believe, it only seems like yesterday that I found that site. Pretty good motivator to keep moving.

Since my last Mileage Monday post, I've passed through Bighill, KY and Berea, KY both in Madison county. I have about 1.9 miles until I reach Kirksville, KY also in Madison county.

I made up my mind about the dilemma I've been having with my Leslie Sansone DVDs. I've decided to go with the mileage from my FitBit. It seems very accurate every single time I do the DVD. Always 3.6 or 3.7 miles for the "5 mile" DVD. I'm also doing my best to get in 10,000 steps a day. And on the days I do Leslie's "5 Mile" DVD I make it. Just doing the DVD gets me up to 8,000 steps.

I'm also going to incorporate "march in place" breaks throughout my day to get up to 10,000 steps. If I notice I've been sitting too long, I'll get up and march in place for 10 minutes. I'll try to do that once every hour. See how that works.

On to the virtual walk pictures!

Mile 258.8 (Leslie Sansone for 2.3 miles)

Mile 759.8 (elliptical for 1 mile)

Mile 762.2 (Leslie Sansone for 2.4 miles)

Mile 763.2 (elliptical for 1 mile)

Mile 766.8 (Leslie Sansone for 3.6 miles)

Mile 767.8 (elliptical for 1 mile)

(photo credit - http://exercise.lbl.gov/index.html;jsessionid=1F4E2B8269D80C6DF557FB31D1D6D77B)

Very pretty area. I wonder what it would be like to actually be on that road. It always looks so quiet and empty.

Keep moving!

Explaining The "Jerk Move" Better.

(photo credit - eofdreams.com)

I had a really rough week last week with my balance. The "jerk move" returned with a vengeance. I actually think it was creeping up on me over a few days, and I didn't notice it until it got BAD. I haven't had it that bad since January of 2013. I'll try and explain what the "jerk move" is a little better than I did before.

What do I feel when the jerk move happens? I feel like someone has a grip on my left hip and is tugging me to the left and backward. It normally happens when I try to take a step with my left foot. My left leg will not swing forward far enough, I'll hesitate, and I'll sort of do this funny looking jerk. After I jerk, I can move for a little bit, until it happens again. I'll often feel this tugging sensation just standing in one spot

Another thing that happens during this"bad balance" time is what I call "spontaneous sit downs". I'll stand up and immediately sit back down uncontrollably. This jerk move sensation is uncomfortable and very annoying. There's absolutely nothing I can do to stop it other than getting my butt into the chiropractor ASAP. And that's what I did.

I talked with my chiropractor back in January 2013 about what would cause this. He said it stems from my neck being out of alignment in a certain way. I always thought it was from my lower back or hip being out of whack. I feel it in my hip and lower back because those muscles are compensating for the bad balance and trying to fight not to fall.

This past Tuesday I went in to get this issue fixed, and I had giant knots in my left hip and lower left back. He worked on that area for a while, and while it was a bit painful, it also felt good to have that area relax. Even now, about five days later, I still feel achy and stiff in that area. I'm also dealing with the lingering lack of confidence due to this.

I'm still anticipating the tugging feeling so I'm hesitating with my movements. Particularly when I'm not wearing shoes. But I don't feel that tugging sensation, so my mind is just being mean to me. I just need to work through it, and keep moving.

Hopefully this is a better explanation than my last attempt. It's hard to explain exactly what it feels like. This is as close as I can get.

Short Mileage Monday

I found myself whining when I first started to write this entry, so I scrapped it. Let's just say, I only got two elliptical workouts in and a few very slow bike rides (riding while other people were walking). Hopefully this week will be more productive as far as working out goes. Seems like as soon as I make any kind of plans to exercise at a certain time, somethings pops up, and I need to reschedule it. We shall see what happens this week.

On to the virtual walk pictures that I do have.

Mile 755.6 (elliptical for 1 mile)

(photo credit - http://exercise.lbl.gov/index.html;jsessionid=1F4E2B8269D80C6DF557FB31D1D6D77B)

Mile 756.6 (elliptical for 1 mile)

(photo credit - http://exercise.lbl.gov/index.html;jsessionid=1F4E2B8269D80C6DF557FB31D1D6D77B_

Do what you can when you can is becoming my motto these days. Until then, keep moving!

FitBit One: Experiment Results

(photo credit: Me)

Ok, so I'm done with my FitBit One experiment. I did have varying results, especially with the Leslie Sansone DVD. What I did with the DVD portion of the experiment is I used the 5 Mile Fat Burning Walk DVD. I did mile 1 three times. I wanted to be sure I did the same movements and steps, so I just replayed the same mile.

The first time I ran through it I wore the FitBit One on my shoe. Next time through, I wore it on the waistband of my workout shorts. The third time through, I wore it on my bra. Here are the results.

On Shoe

Mile 1 - Steps: 1,001

Mile 1 - Mileage .44

On Waist

Mile 1 - Steps - 1449

Mile 1 - Mileage - .69

On Bra

Mile 1 -  Steps 1534

Mile 1 - .73

So, as you can see, no matter where I wore it, her "mile" wasn't exactly a mile. Which I've known for a while because I did the test with my FitBit Force. I found it surprising that I got the least amount of steps with it on my shoe. Which leads me to the question: What counts as a "step"? Is it one step per foot (left foot one, right foot two) or is it one step per revolution of both feet (one step every time the right foot hits the ground)? Does that make sense?

I was pleasantly surprised with the waistband number. Considering my initial test, when it didn't register any steps, it was a nice surprise. The bra result isn't too surprising. 

Now, what about the elliptical? I switched the FitBit's position every .25 mile. I do 400 revolutions every quarter mile. Here are those results.

On Shoe

Steps - 602

Mileage- .27

On Waist

Steps - 844

Mileage - .37

On Bra

Steps - 835

Mileage - .36

Interesting results again. The shoe isn't surprising. Remember, when I take a break, I'm still taking steps to walk to my seat. Although with the shoe results, I don't see how I got an extra 200 steps. 

I think from now on, I'll be wearing my FitBit One on my bra. That way I know it won't get squished or fall out when I'm playing ball with the dog on the floor. I will have to be careful if I lay down on my stomach. That's rare though.

This was a very fun experiment, and I'm pleased with the results. The FitBit One is definitely very motivating and helps me get up and move more.

How about you? How do you define a "step"?

Keep moving everyone!

Mileage Monday And Pre-Experiment Thoughts

In my FitBit One review, I told you all about the experiment I was going to do. Well, the Leslie Sansone portion of the experiment is done, and I found it interesting. I'll do the experiment on the elliptical tomorrow and then share all of my findings.

For now though, here are my saved pictures from the virtual walk site. I've now passed through Wisemantown, KY and have about 7.15 miles until I get to Bighill, KY in Estill County.

Mile 749.6 (elliptical for 1 mile)

Mile 750.6 (elliptical for 1 mile)

Mile 752 (Leslie for 1.5 miles)

Mile 753 (elliptical for 1 mile)

Mile 754.8 (Leslie for 1.8)

(photo credit: http://exercise.lbl.gov/index.html;jsessionid=1F4E2B8269D80C6DF557FB31D1D6D77B)

Stay tuned for my experiment results. It should be up tomorrow sometime. I plan on getting my workouts done early from now on. And of course as soon as I say that, something will happen that will make me postpone. That always seems to happen. As soon as I make plans, or tell my readers I'm going to do something, something always makes me have to postpone. Life happens though, so I try not to make "promises" anymore with my postings here.

Keep moving!