October 12, day 21

Hmmm...
Well yesterday was a bit of a bust. My back was back to feeling sore (same spot) so I took an unscheduled rest day. I'm hoping it will be better today. Back issues haven't typically been a thing with me. I have had occasional spasms in the past, but seldom have pulled muscles or soreness that lasts. This is a little frustrating.

Diet wise:
Big breakfast, no lunch, good dinner, healthy dessert.

John

October 9, Day 18

I ended up taking it pretty easy yesterday. Apparently I pulled a little muscle or something in my back while lifting and twisting those bags of compost on Thursday. Nothing too serious, but I opted for some gentle stretching and resting rather than aggravating it more. Minor muscle injuries are nothing to mess with when you're old, fat, and out of shape.
I'm going to see how it feels doing some yardwork today.

I did okay on the meal diet, but did have a couple of high calorie snacks--gotta watch that more closely.

John

July 30

Diet was on target.

Not a lot of activity.

I'm still working on some morning stretching. I need to see a chiropractor. I think my hips are out of alignment and it's been causing muscle spasms in my low back for a couple of weeks now. That's been a big part of the lower activity level.

I should probably just put the anti-gravity table together and take care of it myself. Maybe this weekend.

Going with a later and longer fast today with a shorter eating period. That will make for a pretty low calorie day.

Be well,

John

Oops! Missed a day.

I meant to blog later in the day yesterday -- but didn't. It's okay. Tuesday kind of sucked on the fitness front anyway. 4,100 steps, no cycling and just a lazy day. I did meet my food targets.

Yesterday was much better. I used the indoor cycle again (30 min) and took a short walk with Chris. 

10,479 steps plus time on the cycle felt good. And I had another good food day.

We'll see how today goes. My left foot is bothering me this morning. I have a pain along the outer edge that bothers me just standing. I'm not certain of the cause, but have learned that the older John can no longer power through minor pains and injuries as a once much younger John did.

Be well,

John

Ugh! Minor injury

After 5 days of P90X3 I'm beginning to think that the arm soreness from Day 4's Challenge is more than your ordinary muscle soreness. It (left arm bicep) felt a little better after yesterday's cardiovascular workout but soon stiffened again and by evening I was beginning to think it may be more than just overuse of an unused muscle kind of soreness. I woke in the middle of the night, unable to straighten it without considerable discomfort. It appears to be injured near the tendon connection at the elbow. The pain occurs more when trying to straighten my arm rather than bending it; when stretching the muscle vs contracting it.
Ugh!

So...
Since the P90X workouts are pretty much total body workouts, I'm going to have to shelve them for a little while. I'll reassess after a week. Even if I restart at that point with the repetitive motion, it will be without any added resistance for a little while. I'll take a look at tomorrow's workout and may still do the agility workout.
In the mean time, I'll increase the daily walking (I restarted my daily 10K steps streak) and keep up with the daily squats (100). I may even add some cycling, yoga, or some ab/core stuff -- something that won't tax the arms too much.

I've been eating well and focusing on healthy foods in healthy portions. While better health is the goal, a better weight is one of the indicators and I'd really like to get the BMI out of the obese range. Since the weight loss was in the 1.5 - 2 pounds per week range before starting the P90X stuff, and since I'm still a subscriber to the "eat for weight management, exercise for good health" way of thinking, I expect the weight to continue to drop at a steady rate as my lifestyle becomes one of a more health minded individual.

I'll be back with the Monday weigh-in.
Enjoy the weekend.

Be well,
John

Minor Setback

I'm experiencing a minor setback on the February goals.
I've noticed a little soreness and a little swelling in my right knee and I'm guessing the daily squats are the culprit. I've tried modifying my stance a bit and that seems to help with the discomfort while doing them, but the problem persists.
The goal oriented side of my says, "press on," but the more sensible side says that maybe it's time to back off a bit.
That's also the part of me that says, "Dang! I hate getting old!"

Although I've never had a doctor look at it, I'm thinking that a knee replacement may be in my future. There have been issues with this knee in the past.

I am going to keep up with the walking (that doesn't seem to bother it) and see if the slight swelling will go down just by eliminating the squats. I'll also look at doing something else as an additional exercise after taking a few days off.

Sacrebleu!

John

Re-assessment Time

I've been pushing my daily step total in spite of a nagging heel injury. I'm not certain if it's a bruised Achilles tendon or heel pain from the plantar tendon. I've changed my stride, added shoe inserts, done a number of things to bring relief and just endured the discomfort -- all for the sake of the goal!

It's time to stop.

I'm going to take it easy for a little while. I'll get my exercise in some other way. I know that I'll miss taking my walks (not so much the running part), but I think that it's necessary for a little while. I'll give it a couple of weeks, then reassess -- again.

I'll admit that part of me feels like a bit of a wienie for doing this. You know that voices that we all heard growing up -- "Shake it off," "Don't give up," "Work through it!" "No pain, no gain!"

I suppose that I can ignore those voices now that I have no one to impress, no team counting on my performance and no real ego to maintain. I can afford to listen to the sensible voice that says "Let the heel heal."

And so I will.

John <><

Diet vs Exercise

Diet for weight loss.
Exercise for fitness.

Lately I've been reading more and more about exercise for weight loss. I'm am certain that exercise burns more calories than not exercising, but the way to manage weight is by what (and when) you eat. There is a lot of truth to the saying that you can't out exercise a bad diet.

I do want to be clear that I am no longer a fan of dieting as in a short term change for the purpose of weight loss. Your diet is simply what you eat and how you live. I have "dieted" in the past and I have lost lots of weight on diets. Changing my diet, rather than dieting was the real key to steady weight loss and to maintaining my weight.

It is important that you know that I am also a fan of exercise. My exercise program began simply by walking. Walking is a grand exercise. It requires little in the way of specialty equipment and most of us are already expert walkers. You just have to do it. My walking has increased in distance and pace over time, but walking is still my primary form of exercise.

I have added yoga, running, occasional weight lifting, some regular body weight exercises and a rare metabolism boosting HIIT workout to my exercising.
Exercise is good for me.
And it's good for you, too.

The other sayings often repeated are:
Diet to look good in street clothes.
Exercise to look good at the beach!
or (for the younger crowd)
Diet to look good dressed.
Exercise to look good naked.

If your goal is to get your weight under control, manage your diet!
Quit eating so much crap!
Eat real food!
Eat fruits and vegetables.
Get plenty of good protein.
Drink water.
Sleep well.

Diet for weight loss.
Exercise for fitness.

John <><

Ouch!

Apparently I managed to bruise my heel yesterday. It is very tender today so a fun is out. I haven't decided about a walk. Although I'm pretty certain that I could manage the walk okay, I'm more concerned about letting it heal. I guess I really don't know what that will take and I don't want to be off for too many days from walking or running. I guess bicycling is an alternative that would be easy on the heel (but tougher on the knees).

Hmmm...

I'll figure something out, I'm sure.

John <><