Rain and some Exercise Success

Oh thank God hot season has come to an end! For the past few weeks we haven't needed the electric fan in addition to the air-con in our bedroom at night. It's starting raining in the middle of the night and here and there during the day. The middle-of-the-night rains are heavy, loud downpours that usually wake us up. I usually find them a bit frightening but I think part of that is because of my half-asleep-half-awake state in which the forcefulness of the rain feels as if it is going to sweep us away. It's still really hot during the day but at least the trend of cloudy days is beginning. This is the Cebu I can handle.

On a totally different topic, for the past three weeks, I have been exercising almost daily. Yep, daily. I can't recall many times, if ever, in my life when I've exercised daily (except those long-gone high school days of running track, cheerleading and strength training classes, which is where I got these [insert sarcastic tone] sweet-looking biceps I still have - ha ha!!).

I'm on a bit of a roll, I guess. It finally occurred to me about a month or so ago that exercise just isn't going to be convenient. I have to prioritize it and go out of my way to make it happen. Ideally, if consistent enough, it will become a habit. I know several people who are good at this and I've always convinced myself that those people have some special skill or ability that I don't. But then I started watching The Biggest Loser. I love this show. It is so inspiring. It's caused me to have a new dialogue. I now say to myself, If the people on that show can do it, then I for sure can do it!! No excuse, Jenifer!

And then I discovered exercise videos that can be purchased and downloaded on itunes. I mean, of course exercise videos are available on itunes, it's just that I never thought about it before. I was so happy to realize this because history has shown that I am much more likely to exercise regularly if I don't have to get in my car and drive somewhere to do it.

I am currently doing the "30 Day Shred" video and essentially have been working out for 20 minutes a day, 5-6 days a week. I am hoping I can keep it up. After joining my friend in India for a 20 minute workout led by Jillian Michaels (trainer on The Biggest Loser) in her home on her computer, I was inspired to do the same in my home. Doing that video also showed me how weak I really am. My irregular workouts at the gym and occasional jog-walks at the local running track just weren't cutting it. Go figure.

Andrey and I recently went to a local business park for a run. Andrey previously mapped out a 2.5km route. He has gone a few times without me to run around it twice. I went along for the first time a few weeks ago and was able to run once around the loop without stopping. Yes, I know 2.5 km, which is about 1.5 miles, may not seem like much but considering I usually never run for longer than a few minutes at a time without having to stop, I felt pretty good about running the whole thing without stopping. I have always despised running but I suppose it's something I can do if I work at it. For now, I am aiming to run the same route a week and try to improve on my time and eventually distance. I get bored pretty easily and need variety in exercise, so the occasional run is a nice break from the Jillian Michaels (ass-kicker) "shred."

Training with Jillian has been good for me. When I was running I had some Jillian-inspired self-talk that kept me running to the end. "I am strong and awesome. I can do this. When I get tired, my strong legs will carry me." I just have a disastrous history with exercise but it's something I've really, really wanted to get better at for a really long time. Not because I think I need to lose weight or anything (although I'll be delighted if I can lose 5 pounds so I have a little breathing room in some of my pants that have recently gotten a bit tight) but because it is just SO. EFFING. IMPORTANT! I've known this, of course, for a really long time, but haven't been able to carry through and be consistent.

But now (ever since I identified and treated the anemia I was dealing with unknowingly for many years), I am experience some success when I exercise. I feel stronger and my energy levels have gone up. I am so stoked about this! I wasn't noticing much change at first and I was beginning to get discouraged and then Andrey and I played tennis together last weekend and I was able to play longer with less need for breaks to catch my breath. Yes! All this motivates me to keep it up.

So the fact that my goal is a mere 20 minutes a day, it helps me push through and get it done. When I try to put it off and my lazy mind starts to kick in, I just tell myself, It's TWENTY minutes. It will be over soon. And then I think about drinking a delicious post-workout banana and yogurt milkshake (yummy!) as a reward and so I push through and get it done.

Exercise and Iron Deficiency

This week has flown by and it hasn't included even one occurrence of exercise. Hmph. I was doing so well for a while there but I have yet, once again, fallen off the wagon. I feel pudgy and weak just thinking about it. I know my body can't change that quickly after a week of no exercise and a few weeks of sporadic exercise but it's amazing how powerful the mind is.

I had nothing but night shifts in October - usually two a week. I'm not complaining because that isn't that much work but it's been busy lately and nearly every night shift has been demanding physically. My night shifts have been spaced close together - for example, Wed and Fri or Tues and Thurs. When they are close together like this I just don't get that rested after the first shift before I have to do it again, which pretty much leaves me extremely unproductive for about 3 days. I try to sleep for a few hours after being up for all or most of a night but I can't always fall asleep. Usually my head is aching from the delay in caffeine intake. I'm forced to wait till after I try to sleep. Even with a little sleep I just feel like a zombie on those days (is this what having children is gonna be like??)

Anyway, that's my excuse for the poor exercise this month. Lame excuse but most excuses ARE lame. Oh well. November is a new month and I'm working about three shifts a week with many of those day shifts plus a few half days just to help out during prenatal exams. I must try to get back at it. I feel so great when I do and now that I'm not as anemic as I used to be, exercise isn't as much of a chore or as painful (for years I always gasped for air and my heart raced even with mild exercise). I had no idea that was due to iron-deficiency anemia all those years (some nutritionist, huh?). Now I feel "normal" for the first time in years. I can exercise and not feel like I'm gonna die the whole time. I used to have to DRAG myself to do anything active before but I don't feel like that anymore. It's a new day. That, in addition to watching the Biggest Loser. That has seriously motivated me. I just keep thinking, "If they can do that then I really have no excuse!" And because I see them pushing themselves beyond their own perceived limitations, when I do get to the gym I try to really push myself beyond what I would normally do. Man, I really gotta get back at it. This is only going to get worse when I have kids. If it's this hard to stick with it now I'm really going to be in trouble later.

On a quick side note - I've tried numerous iron supplements but none made me notice immediate improvement as much as Floradix Liquid Iron + Herbs did. I felt so much energy when I was taking it and my CBC saw a greater increase in hemoglobin than when I tried other supplements containing the more absorbable forms of iron (Fumarate and Gluconate). This supplement has no synthetic iron - only iron-rich herbs. So awesome. I just wish I could get more! Can't buy it here in the Phils unfortunately and it's not the easiest (or cheapest) thing to ship.

And just so you know, I'm not wanting to exercise to lose weight as I'm at a healthy weight and have no need to lose. I've stayed at this weight (+/- 3 pounds) since I got married 7 years ago. My body likes this weight. My thyroid has been balanced for years now and weight stabilization is a benefit of that. I haven't had to change my thyroid medication dose for over 5 years. I am exercising because it is essential to being healthy and essential to retain the muscle mass that increasingly wastes away as you get older and to keep metabolism working the way it should. Plus, it is essential for decreasing the risk of cancer (and many more diseases!) - especially estrogen-related cancers. I have a higher risk of breast cancer because of the radiation therapy to my chest in 1995 so I want to counteract this as much as possible and diet and exercise are things within my control. I do pretty well on the diet end but I've always struggled to keep a regular exercise routine.

I really like the gym I go to. I just don't like having to drive 15-20 minutes each way to get there. But seriously, no excuse. Must get back at it.