Adventures in Getting Stronger

A few weeks ago I started going on walks in the morning. My migraines are finally at least semi-under control, and my asthma is getting better again as well since that stress is decreasing, so it was time to start trying to get into shape! It's been a long year battling with my health, and as a result I'm very out of shape and overweight. I figured walks were the best way to start. Low impact and all that :)

I was doing really good, walking almost every day, and then a cold and our trip to Pheonix set me back. I was determined not to give up though! As soon as I could I pushed myself to work on things around the house, and then once I was recovered enough, to start walking again. I've been able to go walking the last few days, and it feels great!

Today I made it to my goal of walking 1/2 hr :) Woohoo! Plus, I walked down to Winco, so I was able to pick up a couple grocery's w/out spending any gas :) That made me pretty happy too! The doctor told me he wants me walking 1/2hr a day, so I've reached that goal!

So what's next? On days that I still have even a small amount of stamina left in the evenings I'm going to start working in a few simple stretches and aerobic exercises. I started last night, and it was daunting how much harder they were than they used to be, but I'm just going to start small and work up!

The other thing I'm working really hard on improving is my diet. I was already doing "ok" with it, or at least a LOT better than in the past! But with the news that my kidney's are going south slowly, the doctor has told me that I need to start eating like I'm a diabetic. I found this information really overwhelming...but I've got a plan and I'm working through it slowly.

Being a cheap-skate (ok, broke) I ordered some books on eating with Diabetes from the Library. I'm starting by going through "Diabetes Cookbook for Dummies." I love the "for Dummies" books! Not trying to comment on my intelligence, but I've found that in general they make things easy to understand, and there's enough humor to help relieve my tension.


I've worked through the first two chapters so far and I'm learning a lot! It's still a little overwhelming, but I'm taking it slow and absorbing it bit by bit. I'm also writing down what I eat in a food journal. I'm not going to worry too much about specific caloric goals until I have a better grasp on what I should be doing, but this will give me something to look at when I'm ready for that, and help me have a realistic view of what I'm actually eating.

Oh! And I took my weight and all my measurements. No, I won't tell you :P I WILL tell you if I lose inches or weight though :)