Ramblings of an individual trying to get in shape.

[Jonathan_s1]

The title pretty much sums up my current state. Three years ago, I was in some of the best shape of my life. Work sort of over-whelmed me and before I knew it, I was in the worst shape of my life. I knew I needed to eat healthy and exercise but no matter how much I tried, I just couldn't motivate myself. I've just crept over 50 and for someone who was an athlete in their younger years, it's embarrassing to see the Stay-Puff marshmallow man in the mirror. In early February of this year (2021), I tested positive for Covid. 

I could handle the fever and chills aspect of it, but the raspatory bit hit me hard. I was never hospitalized but it's scary when you are out of breath simply walking across the room. I kept reading news articles about Covid patients who go into the hospital and die on the ventilator. I would lay in bed and think of myself like a death row inmate. If I had to go to the hospital, I felt like 'Dead Man Walking' should be yelled out. Do I write my children a good bye letter or a letter giving my best advice for the rest of their lives? Will I be able to return to work? All sorts of these life altering things raced through my mind. 

I got better. I no longer felt out of breath walking across the room. Going upstairs no longer felt like I was scaling Everest. As I quickly got better, it became apparent that changes were needed and after seeing the doctor and being cleared to go back to work, I realized that I had lost 15+ pounds in about 3 weeks of being sick. I recharged my Fitbit and vowed never to be put into that position where my lack of health could kill me. 

I changed my diet and began walking. Now, I have a 3 1/2 mile loop I walk 5 times a week. (Oh my sore knee's.) I have eliminated soft drinks from my diet and 98% of what I drink is simply water. I eat lots of fruits and vegetables, I have cut portions of other foods and just generally eat what I consider of much better healthy diet but I just can't seem to lose weight. I seem to fluctuate between 5 to 6 pounds. One day it will be down and the next three it will go up and then down again. All within this 5 to 6 pound range. 

This week I finally decided to use the tools on Fitbit and log my water and food intake, so I can't really draw anything for that right now. I am rambling on with this post because it is depressing, to drag my aching knees out on a walk, come back feeling like I put in a good workout. Eating better and then stepping on the scale and seeing my weight gain a pound or two. Now this depression isn't enough to make me give up. No matter what the scale says, I am starting to feel much healthier. Someone recently told me that my face looked like I had lost some weight. When I looked in the mirror, alI I saw was the marshmallow stay-puff guy. I just wish I would see some tangible results on the scale. 

[YojanaFitbit]

@Jonathan_s1 That's a great way to see this part of your journey. I'm sure you will get there, make sure you're drink enough water, keep working out regularly and try to do activities you enjoy to fight against stress. I've noticed that excessive stress causes fat to be stored in the abdominal area, where weight is harder to lose. I personally have increased my water and protein intake, I move more throughout the day, and I'm trying to stress less. But one of the best things I've done has been go figure not weighing myself, at least for a little while.😁

Thanks for sharing your personal experience @shipo. 😊

[shipo]

So, a quick update, both good and bad...

• I've been able to dial up my slogging to the point where I'm easily going to log over 125 miles this month, and possibly as much as 150.  The slogging has proven to be something of a tonic for my painful knees, so much so I was starting to think maybe the swelling was gone for good.  Yeah, about that...
• Yesterday I did a 10.25 mile trail run and felt great during the run, after the run, all last night and this morning, and during my 5 mile trail run around noon.  Then my daughter and her BF arrived and my wife and I took them out on a 3 mile trail hike, basically the same trails I'd just run, and...
• I'm in agony!  My knees are so painful I can't stand, sit, or even lay down, and that's with taking 600mg of Ibuprophen.  😞

Side comment; my brother was doing some research into the efficacy of the COVID vaccines and one of the interesting side effects seems to be long-haulers have noticed an almost instant reduction/elimination of lingering symptoms, especially, but not limited to, joint swelling/pain, brain fog, and painful breathing.  Given my wife and I are just under 65, we're not scheduled for our vaccines until the week after next; we're looking forward to seeing if some of our lingering symptoms are eliminated after the shot.  

[Jonathan_s1]

@YojanaFitbit - Drinking more water is advice that a lot of my friends and collogues have passed on to me. I do find myself drinking more and I can't believe how dehydrated I feel if I am not drinking a lot of water. I am still navigating my eating and trying to figure out the right mixture of proteins, carbs, etc. 

Thanks! 

[Jonathan_s1]

@shipo - Your miles really amaze me. The toll that it takes on your body really scares me. I am sure you already have the advice, but get some ice packs on those knees as well to help bring down the swelling (and to numb everything up). I really hope that the vaccine helps out. Quite a few of my friends reported or told me they got sick with the Pfizer second dose. It wasn't long but if you get a Pfizer dose you might want to start the Tylenol/Ibuprofen intake a few hours before that second shot and then alternate. 

Keep on slogging!

[shipo]

Thanks @Jonathan_s1, what is interesting is the slogging/running mileage I've been putting in has dramatically improved how my knees and lungs feel.  Last year I was doing as many as (if not more) miles but walking and hiking instead, and all my knees did was get worse.  I'm not sure what it is about hiking which makes my joints, knees especially, swell and get very angry, but until I've had (and recovered from) the vaccine, 100% of my physical activity will be slogging.  Not being able to hike is rather inconvenient as my wife and I like taking long hikes in the forests surrounding where we live, and not being able to hike has really cut into our "together" time, so hopefully I can add it back into my mix of activity at some point.

[Jonathan_s1]

@shipo - I understand the disappointment of the together time with hiking. My wife and I are just now starting to take walks together and I really enjoy the time together.

[shipo]

So, a quick update...

Just 24 hours after being exceedingly uncomfortable because of my knees, I went out for a very light jog, just to see what would happen; at first I was thinking maybe a half mile, then well, things felt pretty good, so how about a mile?  By the 1-mile mark my knees were feeling almost normal again, so I kept going on my normal week-day route; I ended up with 6.5 miles and my knees feel great!  To think just three hours ago I could barely walk to the counter to make tea, and now I'd never know yesterday happened (from the perspective of my knees).

To say this is all surreal is putting it mildly, I mean, I've been running off and on for 51 years and in all that time the whole "you need to walk before you run" adage has held true, errr, until now.

[YojanaFitbit]

@Jonathan_s1 Exactly, I can identify with you! I need to be drinking water during the day, that's why I usually fill a water bottle in the morning and keep it close by to track how much I'm drinking. If you're at home like me, you can also try to eat fruits and veggies like cucumbers, melons, berries, lemons and limes. That's also a great way to supplement your fluid intake.

[Jonathan_s1]

@shipo  Sorry I've been away for the last couple of days. I hope the knees are doing better. 

[Jonathan_s1]

@YojanaFitbit - I've been snacking on grapes for that very reason but then I found Crystal Light and have been adding that to my water. It has really live end up the water and dramatically increased my water in-take. 

[Jonathan_s1]

Well it has been another week and I am down…two pounds. To be honest, I am little depressed because that number is not higher. This past week is what I called triathlon week; the weather has gotten nicer so I have added swimming and bicycling to my activities.

Earlier in the week, I decided it was time to push my walking up a little bit, so I expanded my course from 3.5 miles to a little over 4 miles. I do not use a treadmill or a track, my course has hills, a few of them with a rather impressive climb to them. Now I am not talking about scaling Everest but two of the hills I go up are a very noticeable incline.  Swimming was also a unique experience. The “gym” I belong to is a fairly new facility built by the county and some private money with turf athletic fields and a swimming pool built to host competitions. The main pool is a constant 6’7’’ deep and is of course measured out it meters. There is a floating bridge, which is used to separate the 50-meter lanes [lengthwise] into two 25-meter lane pools [width wise] please a shallower warm up pool. Lap swimming means that the water is COLD, especially when you first enter.   

I found out that my Fitbit is not always accurate on the number of laps I swam, giving me an odd number completed when I started and stopped on the same side of the pool but I enjoyed the workout function. Prior to using a Fitbit, I had a watch and hit the stopwatch button when I started and again when I ended so being able to see the workout afterwards was a nice improvement even though I was cursing the pool for being in meters instead of yards (**ahem** Europeans).

With my increased activity level, I expected to see a bigger loss in regards to my weight but since writing about this, I really am not surprised. I will add that my diet intake (I am not calling it a diet, rather a reorganization of what I eat.) got off track a few times. One time, I went out with some old friends and they ended up ordering a mountain of cheese on a deep-dish pan pizza. I have to admit to looked great, smelled great and in a group setting, I broke down and ended up eating two pieces. I cut the pieces in half, thinking I could get by on the cheap but my hunger eventually took over and as I said, those half slices ended up totaling two pieces. I did like my idea of cutting the slices in half as I think that slowed down my eating and made me feel fuller. I rationalized that I had been working out more, so one day will not kill my weight.

The other time, I was invited to a friend’s house for a Bar-B-Que cookout. They made these massive hamburgers, skipped the cheeseburger portion, and found the smallest bun in the pack. Because there were left overs and I was somewhat guilted into eating another one just to help so they would not go to waste. Later I thought I should have used my cut in half approach and I could have perhaps begged off with an excused that I was stuffed.

Even though the scale may not give me the affirmation that I am hoping for, I can tell that I am headed in the right direction. My clothes hang limp on me and I am constantly going to the back of the closet to dig up old clothes that fit me better. I feel better. I feel stronger (when I am not complaining about the aches from using muscles I have not gotten close to using in years.) It has been another week and my commitment to continue is just as strong as when I started.

[Heybales]

Hmm, email update says there was a new post, but not seeing here yet.

@Jonathan_s1  - was going to say 2 lbs loss is great, not sure what rate you think would be good or desired.

Actually, that rate of loss is only reasonable if you have over 50 lbs to lose, that rate with less fat reserves means you'll easily risk 20% muscle mass loss many can get up to.

BF% scales aren't accurate enough to give that warning before it happens - and muscle is so much easier to lose than gain, it's usually better to not attempt to find the line of reasonable over into too-late-it's-gone.

You had some nice extra meals for your nice extra activity it sounds like, enjoyed the social, and had good loss really.

[shipo]

I agree with @Heybales, the height and weight charts are as accurate for some as they are absurd for others.  In my case, per the charts I'm obese, even when I'm running upwards of 200 miles per month and getting podium finishes in my age group for races.

[Jonathan_s1]

@Heybales - Actually the post you replied to is the new post. I thought it would be easier to read each week on an update if I simply reply to my original post. From now on, I will start each weekly update post with a date so that it will be easier to identify. 

[Jonathan_s1]

@shipo - I understand what you are saying, but in my case, I believe they are fairly accurate. 

[YojanaFitbit]

Excellent choice @Jonathan_s1. Although, I have a question about that since I read that some flavors of Crystal Light contain aspartame (artificial sweetener) and this can give some side effects like headaches, anxiety, abdominal pain, nausea and heart palpitations. Do you know something about this? I'd like to have your insights about this. 🤗 Take care!

[shipo]

Hey @Jonathan_s1, haven't heard from you in a couple of weeks, how are you making out in your recovery from "The Rona"?

[YojanaFitbit]

@shipo is right! @Jonathan_s1 I hope you're okay. We miss your comments and updates. 🤗