Menopause Sucks But Happy New Year Anyway!

Change is always complicated. Whether good or bad, it disrupts everything and demands attention.

It seems fair to classify menopause as mostly "bad" change, since it's never discussed and when it happens all the little things will blow your mind since you will have had NO IDEA what to expect. (Hey! I should write a book called What to Expect When You Are Menopausal!)

But I digress. I really just wanted to say Happy New Year and wish you a fit and healthy 2010. It will be a big year for me, one in which I want to make even more strides on the Fitness side of this journal.

Love,
Owlette

Fat or Fit? Exercise. Ugh.

So with this relay marathon coming up, I have been thinking a lot about exercise.

Plus size fitness programs are unique, in that anyone can work out, regardless of their current size. A women’s exercise program that is beyond your current level of physical capability will be frustrating, hard to stick with and could cause you to injure yourself. It’s really important to walk the fine line between pushing yourself to improvement and going overboard to injury and quitting.

Any women’s exercise program should include aerobic, anaerobic, relaxation and stretching. Each type of exercise works together to provide benefits, and to increase fitness and enjoyment of physical movement.

Aerobic exercises get your heart pumping. The goal is to move rhythmically, gradually increasing the pace until you breathe hard, but not to the point of breathlessness.
Anaerobic is muscle building activity. Depending on your current condition, even these toning exercises may make you breathe a little harder and that’s okay. You can alternate aerobic with anaerobic activity or choose a session that includes both.

Relaxation techniques come in different varieties. If you often feel nervous, anxious or worried, you may want to consider a women’s exercise program that includes yoga. Yoga is anaerobic activity that allows you to stretch your muscles and tendons. It will increase your flexibility and improve your posture. Because it is a low-impact activity, it does not put excess stress on your joints.

Stretching warms up your muscles, joints and tendons prior to exercise, and cools them down afterwards. It makes it easier to complete your exercise goals, helps prevent injury, and just feels good.

For plus size fitness, the goal is to improve your physical health, strength and endurance. Over the short-run, you will see your energy levels and your mood improve. You can expect to sleep better and generally feel that the quality of your life has improved. Over the long-run, other benefits will become noticeable – things like an improved immune system, greater physical endurance, and a more fit body.

Low-impact exercise is important for plus size fitness. Low-impact aerobics include walking, biking and swimming. High-impact activities include jumping, running, and jogging. While these activities are harder on your joints, they tend to improve your cardiovascular fitness buy getting your heart rate up. A mix of low impact and high impact exercise, like alternating biking with jogging, offers a good plan.

Using the buddy system can help you be successful. If you and a friend decide to begin a women’s exercise program together, you are more likely to attend on a regular basis. You can support each other. Usually, at least one of you will “feel” like working out and can talk the other into doing it.

Remember to set small personal goals. Goal-setting helps keep you focused on “why” you are doing this in the first place. You may have learned that your blood pressure is too high or your blood glucose levels are getting close to the level of type II diabetes. You may just want to “feel” better, but try to think of something that you want to be able to do next month. For example, climb a flight of stairs without getting out of breath or bicycle for three miles without resting.

Plus size fitness is possible, and imperative. It doesn’t matter what you weigh, how old you are, or what size you wear. With just a little effort, you can be successful.

Owlette's Mysterious Giveaway - Passing On the Goodness

I've been catching up on reading blogs and checking out some random ones that I found from interesting tweets on the Twitter. One caught my eye today, and sparked my sense of mystery.

Maritzia's Thoughts offered a giveaway for the first 7 people to comment on her post. The rules are that I have to do the same thing here. So, the first 7 people to comment on this post will get something from me with the following caveats:

• I make no guarantees that you will like what I make.
• What I create will be just for you.
• It’ll be done during 2009.
• You have no clue what it’s going to be.

The catch is that you have to post this in your blog (and consequently create things for others) if you want me to do something for you! The possibilities are wide open. Won't it be fun to make something for a random stranger?

So, go ahead and comment! I’m waiting with bated breath to see if I even *have* 7 readers.

Fitness: Getting Started or, Yes You Can

Yes, getting started is hard.

You are overweight and discouraged. Dieting is hard enough. And now you are menopausal on top of everything else. It's more important than ever to get an exercise program together that you can live with.

You don't have to run a marathon, or swim the English Channel, or ride a bike from Maine to Florida. Even though you already know what to do, I'll spell it out for you:

What you do have to do is move your body every day.

You can start with easy steps - literally - by simply walking more in your everyday life. Take one extra flight of stairs, get off the bus two blocks before your stop, park your car at the far end of the lot, walk around the block after lunch, walk to someone's office instead of calling.

Once you start doing these things, you'll find that it seems ridiculous to wait for the elevator for a few flights of stairs, to wait for the local bus when you can walk, to fight for a close parking spot at the store, to eat a meal without moving afterward, or to waste time on the phone when you can get your questions answered quickly with the added benefit of personal interaction.

Every little bit helps in getting you started to the more fit, more healthy you.

As a certain athletic apparel company notes: Just Do It.

I'm Running in a Relay Marathon!

Here's my big secret - I committed to running in the Jersey Shore Relay Marathon. We have a team of five and each of us runs one leg of the 26-mile-385-yard course.

I'm running the shortest leg - 3.41 miles - and I'm terrified that I won't be able to do it and will humiliate myself. In fact, just writing this brought on a hot flash.

Our team has only two rules:

1. No walking
2. No one over 75 can pass you

That shouldn't be too hard, right? But I have seen some fast 75+ year olds, so I'm a little worried. Seriously - I don't want to have to trip a senior citizen.

I'm less nervous when I know what to expect. So here is my plan:

1. Add .25 mile every week so that I'm running 4 miles at the beginning of April.
2. Walk or bicycle whenever possible to increase endurance.
3. In early April, go down and run my part of the course.

It feels like a HUGE deal to me to be doing this. I suspect I'm being just a wee bit dramatic, but...

Every journey of 1,000 miles starts with a single step, right? (Repeat ad nauseum)

I'm Back, Baby!

It's been a long, hot summer and not too much progress on the weight-loss front. Lots of mean surprises on the menopause front.

But I'm back with a new attitude and renewed commitment. Not sure why - maybe it's the "first day of school" syndrome.

I'm ignoring the lady-bits today in favor of fitness - went to the track and FOR THE FIRST TIME EVER ran all the way around (400 meters) without walking. Beloved was there for support, and although all the way around I told her that I couldn't do it, and then I did, I got some ornery bee in my bonnet and somehow PUNISHED her by running another 400 meters. I know. It's f***ed up.

So...if this old thing can run, so can you. I'm just sayin'.

PS - I should define "run". It means not walking, but has no relation to the concept of "speed" at all. A two-year old could easily keep up with me.

The Thrill of Victory...The Agony of Defeat

So at the weigh-and-measure-in I lost 2.5 lbs! A great feeling, on top of the great feeling I am getting from being much more fit.

In fact, there are others getting in on the act now - the French Hairdresser and his boyfriend the Cowboy think it's all a great plan and are in with us now.

So we had already decided to ride to Central Park and have a picnic. The plan was to ride up to 59th St and enter the park, find a good spot, and maybe ride the big loop around the park since there are no cars on Sunday (about 10 million bikers and skaters, but that's a different story.) It's about 2.5 miles from our house to the Park - and more uphill than I realized.

But we ride up and cannot get across to the park at 59th - there is an Israel Day parade and it's PACKED with people. We had to ride all the way up to 86th St (another 1.5 miles) just to cross Fifth Avenue into the Park. The park was so full that we had to ride on the roadway up around the reservoir to get to the west side where the Cowboy was meeting us. (Another mile+, and MOSTLY UPHILL.)

When we got to the meeting spot I was done. We laid around, ate, talked, and generally enjoyed the beautiful afternoon. Beloved, of course, couldn't sit still and did the big loop on her own. There is no way I could have done all those hills.

But I was feeling pretty good if a little done-in when Beloved brightly says "Let's go all the way around the Battery and stop at the Seaport for a drink." (This would have added about an additional 6+ miles to our way home!) The French Hairdresser jumps all over it with his fancy bike, Tour De France outfit, and clippy shoes. I was so upset because there is really no way I could have managed that. I was sure I could get home without a problem, even going out of our way to go down by the Hudson, but adding more?

It totally deflated me. Why would Beloved suggest something like that? I'm really doing great with fitness, but I am NOT near that level yet. Shouldn't they both have known that? Yes, they should have.

So we had a great day, but I still feel like I held people back from having fun. So no matter that I did all the extra riding and the hills successfully, I still feel a little loser-ish. Gotta work on stomping out the negative voice. She's a pain in the ass.

As of 6/1/08:

Current				Total Lost
Weight	221.5			5.5 lbs.
Bust	44.5"			1.5 in.
Waist	38.5"			2.5 in.
Hip	51.5"			1.5 in.
BMI	39.2%			.024%

The Real Week 5 - A Better Attitude

We said good-bye to the company - the week actually went pretty fast. On Sunday 5/25 we weighed and measured - pretty good results! An inconsistent week still showed forward progress. Excellent!

As I wrote about here we had a really enjoyable ride up the West Side, with a stop for spontaneous kayaking. We did go to Zum Schneider, and some friends joined us. Our friend Bruce is an awesome massage therapist and educator - he is one of the founders of stone massage - (Call him for an appointment in New York or Miami!) - and when we got back home he looked at Beloved's ankles. He did some simple stretches while explaining that any injury needs blood and oxygen to heal, so by gently moving the muscles and tissues we can direct additional blood flow and increased oxygen to the affected site.

And sure enough, the swelling was noticeably diminished when he was done. A great start to the week.

And things are finally getting a little easier. The week's accomplishments:

• Exercised every day by accident and didn't notice until just now.
• Made it up the second hill in Jersey City 50% of the time. (The "big hill" still defeats me.)
• Made it up the first part of the ramp going to the East River Park. Might have made it up the second part but am still a bit glackity on the tight turns, and once I lose momentum it's all over.
• Asked Beloved when they moved the World Trade Center closer to our house. :) (That means no resting on the way to or from the WTC PATH station!)
  
• Maintaining a 1.5 mile walk at the track, with 4 hundred-meter running intervals.
  
• Lost 1.5 pounds!

I am cautiously optimistic. Not too shabby for a Big Girl.

As of 5/25/08:

Current				Total Lost
Weight	224			3 lbs.
Bust	44.5"			1 in.
Waist	39"			2 in.
Hip	51"			1 in.
BMI	39.6%			.013%