I'm back!

Its official!  My stinkin' plantar fasciitis is on the mend!  Yes it's true.  The saga of my aching feet is nearing its end!  After 2 months of therapy I can say that I am finally having pain free days!

The true test?  Can I exercise on it?

Yes!

A fun session of zumba - where I was the most mindful of "form" ever  - does that even exist in Zumba (???)  and I dreaded what the morning would bring.

But hooray for me!  Soreness - but no pain!!!!

I am BACK!

Yes, if you're thinking about now that you should warn me about not going overboard right out of the gates, then you DO know me!

I am desperate for an intense workout. 
Because I LOVE how I feel afterward.
But I WILL start from the beginning again. 
Slow and steady wins the race.

I admit I really let the whole situation get the best of me. 
I was not kind to myself.
So time to 'fess up, so I can move on!

• I confess - there are days I have consumed obscene amounts of calories.  Myfitness pal, I know it doesn't seem like we're friends right now.  But we will be besties again.
• I confess - that I have not been doing exercise, not even the kind I can.  Strength work is not my fav.  Sad I know. You'll be glad to know I followed my Zumba experiment with a strength circuit. Yes!
• I confess - I have consumed more than my share of Halloween candy.  Those mini chocolate bars just don't seem like they should count! Warning co workers - its all coming your way.
• I confess - I realized last night that I ordered a full 5 buckets of cookie dough.  5!! That is one BUCKET for each household member.  Darn school fundraisers!  Cute kiddies - stop knocking on my door! Oh..and guess what everyone is getting for Chriiiistmas this year? ;) heh heh heh

SOMEONE SAVE ME FROM MYSELF!

Ahh.  That's good.  Now that I've confessed I can get back to  being good to myself.  No more cursing my feet even though they betrayed me. No feeling sorry for myself!

Injuries happen! 
It's not the END. 
It's just part of the journey.
I'm half way there.
I've come so far!

Source: fit.triggercrazy.com via Becky on Pinterest

Focusing on #1 and #3.  I want it.  Time to step forward.

As for #2 - sometimes we have to ask ourselves - aren't you worth it? 
The answer is always no until you do.

So.

How are you doing?

Unexpected Detours

So I went into the fitmixer bootcamp to bring up my level of fitness.  Prior to this I had spent months doing Zumba, Piloxing, Kickboxing Classes.  I had gone through a Couch to 5K, worked through Jillian Michaels 30 day shred, even had a taste of Insanity.

The bootcamp completely challenged this novice and did what I wanted it to.  It toned and tightened, brought up muscle tone and reduced body fat %., but most importantly it gave me a great 101 Lesson on fitness.

Know what else it did?  Totally ruined me for Zumba, Piloxing, Kickboxing ...well you get it.  I just do not get the work out I use to with my old favorites!  The exertion level is just not there, like it was in the bootcamp!  I would totally do a Zumba class for fun with friends, but for a REAL workout, now....

No?!

I never thought this would be me saying this, never never.  Yes, I can completely make the moves bigger, jump higher, shuffle wider, and push a Zumba workout, but it's still not the same.

I completely have to ramp up my workouts!

So I have been searching for a new workout plan.  Thankfully, pinterest has a plethora of suggestions and plans, as do some of you my fellow bloggers.  It has sustained me, but honestly I haven't done the 5+ workouts/per week that I was doing in the bootcamp, and a month - the toning that I was seeing in the bootcamp is starting to fade.

NOOOOOOoooooooooooooooooooooooooo!

I completely did awesome with working out when someone else was telling me what to do each day.  And knowing the workout assignments were coming daily, my brain would tell me they were piling up if I fell behind.  I am the lifelong student, so missing homework is a no-no!  And having the community/support,  really made a difference!

I had been doing well so long on my own, I forgot how great community is! btw for a great post about community - check out Lindsay's post on fellowship, good stuff.

But back to my dilemma: Question is, what plan do I follow?

I had Insanity on the brain as a potential plan, I even had it in my amazon cart. 

But then.

But then this nagging pain in my heel started getting worse.  I noticed it at the end of bootcamp, after a workout.  Then after simple walks with the kids. When the pain was starting to radiate up to my big toe and up my leg, I finally had it checked out.

Plantar Fasciitis.

Debilitating.

Evil.

My chiropractor told me I had to stay ease up on the workouts, be kinder to my feet, stay off my heels (boo) and gave me treatments and exercises to help my foot.

Source: charlottefgreen.com via Charlotte on Pinterest

No biggie, right?

Wrong.

Thought things were feeling better, went for a few walks and no pain.  So I tried a tabata routine.  At about jumping jack 100 (yes, genius I know),  I felt the twinges again.  That was a week and a half ago.

It still hurts when I walk. 

Every night I do the treatments.  Each morning I hope that this will be the day it doesn't hurt the moment I open my eyes.

Before the bootcamp I had no clue about exercise. 

After? Well I only know what I know from the bootcamp!

Honestly, I loved the cardio intensive stuff.  I felt like I was accomplishing something.

Honestly?  I slacked on the strength stuff. Even though I could feel and see the differences. I did the minimum required.

So my choice now? Focus on strength, and allow my foot to heal.

Unless someone has some experience with this plague or you have other workout suggestions for me! Grrrr...

Another confession:  I was getting really bummed about this.  My brain is seeing my body turn to mush - mashed potatoes is the actual visual going on. 

I am up 3 lbs. 

My brain is telling mean stories again:  you've undone everything you worked so hard for.  This injury is going to send you right back where you started.

I say no. 

No!

I'll keep moving forward. Learn something know.  Regroup.  Roll with the punches. Sway with the curves.

I just won't give up.

Source: livingachangedlife.blogspot.com via Becky on Pinterest

Again I'm reminded that this is a journey.  And if you've ever been on any lengthy journey you know, there can be potholes, foul weather, unexpected events and detours.

This is my latest detour. 

I WILL remember to enjoy each moment, and learn all that I can from this experience.

And I won't give up.

Transparency Tuesday: Frustrations!

Weight loss journeys are littered with frustrations.  As I challenge myself, and raise expectations, it gets even more difficult, especially when old habits die hard.

What are my recent frustrations?

1.  Doesn't this look delish?  

It SO was.  I'm also positive it blew my calories for the day out of the water.  But at that point I was too afraid to look. 

It's what happens when we try a new restaurant and I "think" I'm making better choices.  It's a portabello mushroom sandwich with hummus, according to the menu.  Unfortunately I either missed, or they didn't specify that the mushrooms would be breaded and fried.

Did I mention it was REALLY good?

2.  That leads me to my second frustration.

Oh it's a lovely score from my first whole foods trip.  It's not terrible by itself, although I bit high in calories.  Unfortunately, it is not the best choice for me as it has also been accompanied by some hearty bread.  Calories are not created equal, especially when you're insulin resistant.  (Reminder to self: Stop it, you are working too hard in this boot camp to sabotage yourself)

3.  High carbs mean I am not getting in my bootcamp ratio of 50% carbs/30%protein/20%fat.  Which means virtually no movement on the scale in week 2.  Bummer.

4.  I have to admit, I get frustrated at least once in each days set of exercises.  There are some things I cannot do, especially where upper body strength is required.  I've always known I am weak in that area.  But these workouts are making me face that weakness and it can be FRUSTRATING.  Case in point? Friday's Bootcamp army crawls   WARNING: Word to the naive: Don't do this on carpet.  OUCH! That is all.

5.  Over sized workout gear.  Have you ever tried to do Burpees in capris that now fit more like high water pants in a waist size two notches too big?   I wouldn't wish it on anyone.  But if it happens to you, this song might start playing in your head as you add the "pull your pants up" and "adjust your giant shirt that is wrapping around your body" moves to the repertoire.



Well, it will now ;)

#5 has been a long time coming.  It is a welcome reward of losing weight.  I really put it off because I know I have a way to go, and don't want to invest in clothes that I'm going to shrink out of.

This weekend I headed out to the outlet stores to try on (gasp!) some new work out gear.  The gasp is because I usually just grabbed whatever item was the largest and cheapest on the clearance rack.  You know, the stuff you think is covering your lady, and not so lady like, lumps and bumps?Whatever.  It wasn't going to look good, and I knew it wouldn't fall off. 

But do you know they make workout wear for each specific type of movement you could do?  Wow! Plethora of options.  It was actually fun - and very educational.

I found a motivational shirt and some shorts, and am going to cross my fingers for the rest, because both Running with Sass and Runs for Cookies have entered the Under Armour What's Beautiful Challenge to win $500 in new gear and I get a sweepstakes entry in exchange for telling you about it in this blog post!  You can check out the Under Armour What’s Beautiful site, and even sign up yourself.

Meanwhile, I'll just wear this shirt I picked up this weekend to remind myself that I can overcome these frustrations if I tell myself to: