Tues Aug 14, 2012

I just had the best sandwich... Ezekiel 4:9 Sprouted Grain bread, toasted, spread with hummus I made this morning, and olive tapenade, then layered with roasted red peppers, artichoke hearts, cilantro and romaine lettuce.  TASTY!!

This morning I rode my bike to the park, took photos, stopped to look at the beginning of the National Waterskiing Championship that started today, and enjoyed the beautiful morning.  Just a couple of photos to view.

Feeling Much Better!

I regrouped and I have been juicing and eating mostly raw foods since Aug 2, so that is 11 days now.  I think I lost about 7 lbs, and I feel so much better.

This morning I was up at 7:00, out the door by 7:30 and rode my bike to the local park. The ride was a total of 14 miles!  I felt so good, just rolling along and I stopped here and there to take photos, also stopped to refill my water bottle, but the rest of the time, I was rolling....  What a fantastic way to start off the day!!

Before I retired, when on my way to work I would see people taking walks, and I would say to myself, "That's what I am going to do when I retire."  It took almost 3 years for that to happen.  I was busy sitting in my recliner, getting fatter and more miserable each day.  The sad part was, I didn't even realize these things were happening to me... I was oblivious to how I looked and felt.

Then, I got to the point that I was so sick of how I felt and what was happening to my body.  The high blood pressure, acid reflux, high cholesterol, dry skin, puffy face, etc.

On January 31, I saw, "Fat, Sick and Nearly Dead" and the rest of the story is that I have lost about 35 lbs, improved my cholesterol and blood pressure, skin is softer, and I feel so much better.  PLUS, I am riding my bicycle 4-5 times per week.

I love just gliding through the air, zinging along, sometimes focusing on my breathing cadence, usually matching it to the music I was hearing through my iPhone earphones.  It has become a joy and a pleasure to get out there.  I get to say hello to the other people out there exercising, they are running, walking, riding bicycles, doing the heart trail, kayaking, water skiing.  That in itself, is encouraging and great to feel that I am a part of that.

More later!!

Sports Tracker

I have been using Sports Tracker app on my iPhone to record my workouts.  There is an option to get workout buddies.  So far, I have a buddies in Russia (he said they call it the Russian Switzerland), and near Como, Italy.  I love to check their workouts and make comments. The guy in Italy said he uses a translator to read and write our comments.  I have a lot of questions for them, but I am trying to go easy on them.  haha

Here is a workout from Aug 1 to give you an idea of the data it displays. It uses the iPhone GPS to get the information.  I love it!  I burned 640 kcal!!!

I had been feeling very CRAPPY, look at my face ^^^!  All puffy!  I realized I had been eating sugar, dairy, fats (Oh, that sounds like cheesecake!), so I had to put a stop to that.  I also noticed how my attitude was CRAPPY as well.  Kind of depressed!  My weight was staying the same, but that must have been luck or something.

I can see how important what I eat is to how I look and feel.

Two or three days ago I got SERIOUS and started juicing and eating at home, mostly raw foods.  In that time, my face changed :-) and I lost 2 or 3 pounds!  Why do I go off track?  These old eating habits creep in very insidiously, very sneaky, so I have to be on guard at all times.  If I want to change, I have to change!  "Nothing changes if nothing changes."  I guess I am an all or nothing kind of person.

My latest bike ride (yesterday) was 13.8 miles. I have been riding from my house to the park (4 miles), then around the park (5 miles) then back home (4 miles).  My average speed is improving, my strength and stamina are coming back.  I used to put my bike on my car rack and drive it to the park.  I thought, "What's another 8 miles?" I love the ride to the park and back because there are trees on the east side of the roadway beside the bike path, which offer shade as long as I go in the morning.  Also, the bike paths that are smooth, so I can gather up some speed and get some breathing going, no interruptions!  On the way back from the park, I ride through a small park, under rows of trees, which is great because the Florida sun is very HOT.  My bike ride is usually 1 hour, 15 mins. or so.  I think this is a good workout.

I have ridden my new bike about 225 miles by now and I have to say, I love this bike. It is like a well-oiled machine, very smooth and zings right along.  Look at previous posts to see photos of my bike.

If you go out to ride your bike or any other activity, remember to drink plenty of water. You can be dehydrated when you wake up in the morning.  I drink about 16-20 oz of water before I leave the house and I take three 20oz bottles of water and an ice pack with me in an insulated bag that I attach to my rear rack.  When I need a refill, I just stop and do it.  I don't like to stop for too long, only a min or two, because I am all charged up and it is hard to get back the momentum and energy.

Anyhow... Things are going great.

I am going to a wedding next month and picked out an outfit to wear.  Here is a photo, not so great, but you may get the idea.

I will be wearing some strappy shoes and some nice jewelry.  If I feel good about the outfit and I am comfortable and don't have to keep fussing over it, I will be okay.  The wedding is Sept 7, so I am excited because it is out of state, so will be my vacation for this year.  It is on the east coast by the ocean, but I already live in Paradise. It is somewhere I have never been before, so that is exciting and it will be a lot of fun.  The whole FamDamLy will be there!

More later.