Exercise...

I have been talking about juicing.. I lost 30 lbs and decided it was time to start MOVING!!  So now it is time to talk about exercise.  Around April 7, 2012, I started walking, then I started riding my 1-speed bicycle, then I bought a new 7-speed bike.  I downloaded an app "Sports Tracker" on my iPhone.  It motivated and excited me to take walks and ride my bike.  I can compare myself with myself to gauge improvements as I continue to walk and bike.  I have been experimenting with using panniers, a front basket liner, and I just added a ding-a-ling bell, woo hoo... I don't have the confidence to lock my bike and walk away from it.  I think I am too paranoid to leave it because I have the sense that I will come back and it will be gone, poof.

My longest ride so far was 6.49 mi, 48:54 mins, average speed 8.0 mph.  Keep in mind that I am riding a cruiser type bike, and that I am not racing, just want to get my heart rate up and breathe a little bit.  I don't want to knock myself out or make it a chore.

I put a visor on my bike helmet.  I found that I was hesitant to wear my bike helmet because there was a tiny sun visor on it, not large enough to provide any sun protection.  I was wearing a sun visor, so I did some searching on the internet for ideas (I love doing research!!), and so I took a woven grass visor and used velcro to attach it to the outside of my bike helmet, like this:

My friend says it looks like I have a cream pie on my head, but I tried it out today and it works great so far.  The visor did not fly off and I had great protection.  I am more of a function, rather than form person.  If people want to laugh at me I am happy I could provide some type of entertainment.. haha... But after going through 5 or 6 facial surgeries, I am happy to wear something that keeps my face in the shade.

This is a photo of my fridge today.  Behind the water pitcher is 1/2 watermelon, and the juice on the top shelf is watermelon and blackberry juice.  What a treat!!  I was always told not to mix watermelon with any other fruits, but I cast caution to the wind and combined the two juices.  I am still alive, so I can't see the harm in doing that.  Back to the fridge: Strawberries, almond milk, watermelon, balsamic vinegar/oil, oranges, cucumbers, romaine, spring garden mix, celery, kale, fennel bulb, bell peppers, pears, apples, lemons, ginger root, etc, etc.... I will juice most of this within the next 3-4 days, so I usually have very fresh food, most of the time.  I love the colors!!

Regarding exercise.  If I can either take a brisk walk or go on a bike ride, but the main thing is to do something at least 30 mins.  If I can do that 3-5 times per week, I am doing very well.  Anything is better than doing nothing.... Here are my stats so far, since April 7, 2012:  

Workouts: 23

Total Time: 08:58:37

Distance: 55.42 miles

Energy: 3,616 kcal

I think this is awesome and I love the Sports Tracker because you can see the accumulative effect.  It all adds up and every little bit counts.  I can work up to doing more and pushing myself harder as I go along.  I don't want it to become a chore that I will want to put off til later.  I want to be excited and have FUN!!  

Over the past month, the weather report has been for afternoon showers/thunderstorms, so some days I have delayed going out, but finally, I realize that if I go out in the morning I will most likely avoid getting caught in a storm.  The daily rain has made everything green and lush, but they still say we will have a dry summer and that drought conditions will no be eased just because of one month of rain.  Todays clouds:

Monday, May 21, I go for a doctor's checkup and he will do blood work.  I can't wait to see the results!!!

More later...