Heading Home

Sunday we woke up fairly early and went out to breakfast. Again, I forgot to take a picture! I got 2 fried eggs, an English Muffin, and 2 strips of bacon. Instead of the hash browns, I asked to substitute fruit instead.

Breakfast was really big so we skipped lunch (even though we had planned on getting lunch at Dick's!--next time!) and left Seattle behind us.

When we got home, Michael hopped on his bike trainer to do his workout and I headed to the pool. It felt really nice to stretch my legs after yesterday's hike.

After swimming I decided to walk to the grocery store to get a few things. 45 minutes later, I had burned another 200 calories! Dinner tonight was leftover bratwursts.

Resting

Last night I went to the pool to stretch out my sore legs. The second I got in the pool, my leg stiffness was gone. I felt no pain! (The picture to the right was just something I found online. It's not my pool, obviously, but I wish it were!!!!)

It helped so much! I always tell people if they are in any kind of pain or soreness, swimming cures it! My legs feel 90% better today. It also helped to sit in the hot tub for 10 minutes I'm sure.

The downside of the Shamrock: I think I hurt my ankle. Yesterday it started to bother me. Today is a little better but it's still troublesome. I wrapped my ankle last night and slept with it on. I also wrapped it today. I'd rather be safe than sorry so I'm trying to rest my ankle.

Years ago, I had surgery on my right ankle to repair the ligament. It was extremely painful. I also sprained my Achilles in my left ankle 3 years ago. Luckily, this current pain doesn't feel like either of those old injuries.

UPDATE: I'm going to the doctor tomorrow afternoon to see what's up with my ankle. I'm crossing my fingers it's nothing awful. :(

Making Good Choices

We went to the Kennedy School with friends last night. I think I made pretty good food choices! I went swimming beforehand and I was starving! But I split the chicken/pesto/spinach/cheese calzone with a friend so I don't feel too bad about what I ordered. I'd been craving calzones for weeks now and finally got to have one--without ruining my week of hard work.

I recently posted that I stopped drinking alcohol for a little while. It's been about a month. Didn't miss it either. Last night was the first time I felt like having a drink. I had two Ruby Ales (McMenemin's specialty) and felt pretty good. All in all, it was a good night!

Benefits of Swimming

Swimming has a soft spot in my heart. Whenever someone asks me how they can lose weight, I suggest swimming. As an obese person who had a lot of body pains, I wasn't really about to start up a running program. Going from the couch to running was not going to be a healthy or safe thing for me to do.

I previous spoke about Curves (a woman's only gym) which is okay if you're uncomfortable working out with men. There's also the option of going to a gym (like Bally's or 24 Hour Fitness). Some people are too embarrassed to go to them gym when they are fat though.

Many people gasp at the idea of getting into a swim suit and parading in front of strangers at a pool. I didn't really have that problem. I knew as soon as I got INTO the pool, no one would see my fat stomach. Not only that, I've always loved swimming. I knew I had to pick an activity I enjoyed if I wanted to stick with it.

When you're fat, your body hurts. It's not built to carry around excessive weight. Getting into a pool, you're weightless. There's no strain on your joints.

Swimming is known as THE best exercise. It's fantastic cardio. It increases flexibility, stamina, and is practically injury-free. An article I read stated, "It is perfect for those people who have a hard time carrying out weight-bearing, land-based physical activities. This is because your weight in water is about 1/10 of your weight on land."

When I first started swimming to lose weight, I was slow. I had to stop after every lap, rest, get my heart rate down, and catch my breath. That's OK! Not everyone is going to immediately be Michael Phelps. Grab a kick board and just concentrate on kicking your feet only. When you're comfortable, try the breast stroke. In my opinion it's a lot easier to do the breast stroke than freestyle.

If you're new to swimming, I suggest taking a class or lessons. They have adult lessons everywhere. Here is a website about adults learning to swim: http://ruthkazez.com/AdultLearner.html

Swimming should be fun. If you don't like it, try a different sport. But I love swimming!

Swimming

Swimming felt really great. Unfortunately, the hot tub was out of order--so no soaking after ward. That would have really helped my sore muscles. IcyHot makes a roll-on that works wonders for soreness. If it weren't Valentine's Day today, I'd be slathering on the Icy Hot!

I swam for 45 minutes today, about 1.5 miles, and burned 350 calories. When I first started swimming, I was burning about 500+ calories each time. It's pretty disappointing to do the same routine but to burn less calories. The reason for this, I discovered, is that the closer you get to your goal weight, the less calories you burn because a lot of your body has turned from fat to muscle.

Pre-Swim Breakfast

Yesterday's vigorous workout has me very sore today. I did weights and boy my upper body is letting me know. Hopefully swimming today (and sitting in the hot tub afterward) will remedy that. For breakfast today, I had a bowl of Kashi Honey Sunshine cereal with nonfat milk. It isn't my favorite cereal but it's ok. I plan on making a trip to Trader Joe's today to get a few new items. I also had an english muffin with Indonesian Cinnamon and a bit of sugar sprinkled on top. Not only is cinnamon very tasty, it's really healthy too! http://www.thehealthysnacksblog.com/2007/11/12/the-top-5-health-benefits-of-cinnamon/


Calories for breakfast: 329

After swimming, I will have a Luna protein bar. The mini sticks are only 80 calories and very tasty! I keep a few in my car for after working out. I've tried almost all of the protein bars out there and only Luna Bars taste good!