Category Archives: exercising

Hodge Podge of Thanks 382 -400

Posted on March 5, 2012 | 2 Comments

This week’s Multitude Monday’s is going to start with a story about Patrice and climbing and showers and cinnamon rolls.

Yesterday, Patrice woke up with quite the runny nose, so she and I stayed home from church. I hate the thought of being that mom who brings their child to nursery only to make all the other kids sick, so we stayed home. I straightened up the kitchen and then decided to enjoy a leisurely shower.

Patrice is a climber, but I thought I had everything blocked off.

I was wrong.

I come out of my shower refreshed to find a little girl on a chair at the counter, finishing off two, count them two, cinnamon rolls from Ikea, a dum dum sucker she found in her sister’s Valentine’s Day candy bag, and a sleeve of saltine crackers.

She handed me what was left of the rolls and crackers, the sucker, which she had unwrapped and was eating properly, was hers!

My dum dum sucker. I opened it, I'm eating it

That was at about 11:30 am. Patrice did not eat again until 8 pm. All offers of food were turned down!

382 (112). Nice hot showers
383 (113). Little girl surprises after said shower
384 (114). Little girls strong and healthy enough to get into trouble
385 (115). Wonderful weekends meeting new friends
386 (116). Comfortably wearing a size 8 pair of jeans for the first time in 8 years
387 (117). Pretty new shirts
388 (118). Lovely paintings around my home that were painted by my mother-in-law
389 (119). Friends, on-line and in the flesh
390 (120). New projects at work.
391 (121). Understanding new projects at work
392 (122). Meetings at work getting postponed when I am not ready to handle them
393 (123). Yummy cucumber water
394 (124). Worrying about getting my workouts in, rather than getting out of my wheelchair
395 (125). Talking about running 1/2 marathons instead of learning how to walk again after an MS attack
396 (126). Buying me a punching bag for exercise rather than making sure our house is handicap accessible
397 (127). New medications working
398 (128). Side effects subsiding
399 (129). Colorful rice
400 (130). Being able to pray again.

For what are you thankful?

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Posted in exercise, exercising, Multiple Sclerosis, multitude mondays, Patrice

Running Like Crazy

Posted on December 21, 2011 | Leave a comment

UPDATE–I FINISHED THE WHOLE CHALLENGE A DAY EARLY!!!!!!!

I know it has been quiet here on the blog…

As you may know from twitter and facebook, I have been running, and crunching and pushing up and biking and insanitying like crazy. All in the name of a fitness challenge…I know I keep talking about it. I love it, but man, it is taking up a lot of time lately. Thankfully my dear hubby is very supportive of my fitness work. He has done most of the parenting and family stuff so I can run, ride, crunch, all of it. Only 2 1/2 more days.

300 crunches, 5 miles running and 72 minutes other activity (Insanity workout) to go…It is a crazy balmy day for the first day of winter here in the mitten so I am even hoping to get outside to run tonight. I don’t prefer running in the dark, but I don’t want to miss the chance to be able to say I ran outside in the mitten the week of Christmas.

So please bear with me for a few more days as all I talk about is working out…

I promise I will share pictures of our Christmas tree, as soon as we get a computer up and running at home…

Merry Christmas!

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Posted in blogging, exercising, running

Weight Loss Wednesdays Week 3

Posted on March 9, 2011 | 5 Comments

Time for my last chance workout before I do my weigh in. Here’s hoping this week is better than last. But regardless, I am proud of how hard I am working.

I am up to consistently running 5k on the treadmill. A few weeks ago, I thought I would never get to that distance on the treadmill. It is amazing how much further you can go if you cover up the display on the machine. Watching the time and distance makes it feel like you aren’t making any progress at all! Covering it up and then telling myself I can’t peak until a commercial on tv really helps. I am then pleased with my progress toward the goal, rather than sure I will never make it.

I did 10 miles again this week on the treadmill. I only have 50 situps left in the challenge (total to be done is 500). I still have a lot of pushups to do. Those babies are hard! Doing 5 sets of 10 makes my muscles hurt for a couple days! That’s a good thing, right?

I’m hoping to run a 5k this weekend with my sister. (Hear that kids, if you get over your colds, we can go see Grandma with two doggies).

How are you doing on your goals? Do you have a weight loss and an exercise goal? Or just one or the other? I am finding it helpful to have both so even if one doesn’t go so well, I have hope of doing well with the other!

Wish me luck with my workout and weigh in. I’ll be back later to do an update See how others are doing too.

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Posted in exercising, weight loss

A Fit and Fab Giveaway from Worthy of the Prize Ministries

Posted on February 4, 2011 | Leave a comment

I was doing some blog hopping today to tell some bloggy friends about this award I gave them. And I found this giveaway.

As you know I have been trying various things to keep myself mentally and physically fit. I have been running and doing Jillian Michaels 30 day shred. I have also been doing a twitter project reading a chapter of Proverbs every day to match the date. I was wondering if there are other ways to blend my physical health with my spiritual health. Worthy of the Prize Ministries has figured it out!

See what they are giving away here and check out their site here.

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Posted in 30 day shred, body after baby, exercising, giveaways, links

Body After Baby Week 4

Posted on December 30, 2010 | 2 Comments

Still NO progress on my weight. I am officially stuck, but on the upside, we just did Christmas and I am stuck, not going up in my weight. I’ll take the victories where I can get them.

Another victory is my hubby committing to start an eating plan with me after the holidays. We did weight watchers after Caitlyn was born and both did well with it, so here we come again. I think we will skip the meetings this time, but still do the eating portion. Wish us luck!

Exercise is still an area I am enjoying and doing well with. I keep telling hubby I totally understand how people get addicted to exercising, especially running. I can see how it could become an idol in my life. Instead, I try to remember where the strength came from to run and make every step I run an Amen, every mile I go a hallelujah. Ten years ago I was very very sick with Multiple Sclerosis, now I run because it is fun! Any day now it will have to translate to the scales…

In the meantime, I have found I can not go two days without exercise; when I do, the lack of exercise impacts my mood, so the challenge will be when I go back to work full-time, I absolutely HAVE to get up earlier and exercise before work. I have to.

So here’s hoping for more success this next week. I hate being stuck!

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Posted in blog hops, body after baby, exercising

Body After Baby Week 3

Posted on December 22, 2010 | 3 Comments

I am not seeing ANY progress on the scale. Uggghhhh. But I am exercising. And enjoying it. Right now I have decided to focus more on exercise and see where that gets me. I get really nervous about dieting while nursing. Whether it affects my supply or I just feel like it does, I don’t know, but I do know it causes me more stress. And I don’t need more stress. So for right now I will exercise. And love it!

Speaking of the exercise, I can really tell a difference in my mood and personality when I exercise or don’t exercise. I had a couple rough days last week and couldn’t figure out why, until I got my hiney back on the treadmill and started running. I could feel my mood improving with every step. It was amazing.

I never exercised growing up. I much preferred being inside reading a book. I have no athletic skills whatsoever, so did not participate in sports much. I took up walking the summer between high school and college and lost 25 pounds. I kept them off too for 9 years. Then when the Multiple Sclerosis got really bad, I was doing massive doses of steroids and was in and out of a wheel chair, and then I started dating this guy, who later became my husband, well in all that, I found those pounds. Then I found a few more.

I lost the few more before getting pregnant with my third baby, but now the few more seem stuck. But I refuse to get upset about it. Instead, I will use the pounds and moods as motivation to run.

My goal for tomorrow is to get up early for work and run. That means 4 am, yup, I mean early.

What are your personal goals? Do you have exercise goals or other areas you are working on? Let’s work on them together!

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Posted in blog hops, body after baby, depression, exercising

Body After Baby Week 3

Posted on December 14, 2010 | 8 Comments

My dear little girl is 18 weeks old. She is so sweet and alert. Tonight she is refusing to go to sleep, instead she is laying on the floor and kicking my feet. She seems very proud of herself. Little does she know, but she is exercising. To her it is just fun and learning.

In between my second and third child I learned something was fun. I learned I love jogging. That I was not too old to take up something completely new to me. I started slowly jogging for 10 minutes with my wii fit. Then 20 minutes, and finally 30 minutes. After three months, spring started to come to our frozen Mitten and I was able to take the show on the road, literally. I was pleased with how quickly I was able to adapt to running outside and start increasing my distance.

About 3 1/2 months after running my first step outside, I undertook my first 5K. And I ran it. All of it. Not fast, but one step after another. I ran. And fell in love.

After Patrice was born, I began yearning to run again. I was afraid the months away would put me very far from running up to 6 miles like I was doing when we found out our third child was coming.

I’ve been pleasantly surprised over the last few weeks to find the running again improved nicely. And this last Saturday I put myself to the test, I headed out for a 5K race. And I did it. I ran every step. Every single step. I was the last woman to finish in my age class, but I did it. And I improved my time from the previous race by 2+ minutes. Personally, I couldn’t ask for more.

And now, might I suggest you running over to Mama Notes to see what others have been doing to improve their body after baby? Enjoy!

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Posted in blog hops, body after baby, exercising, running

Exercising with 3 Kids–WFMW

Posted on December 8, 2010 | 3 Comments

Today’s Works For Me Wednesday is actually going to build on my Body After Baby. Way to marry two blog hops, huh?

How do I exercise with three kids? Well before Patrice was born, I had a membership to an actual gym, but with her coming and back to nursing full-time, I knew I would not want to take the time, in addition to work, being away from the kidlets. So we undertook a big project…we cleaned our basement and claimed it for exercise space. Hubby and I had his and her exercise equipment before we got married. I had a recumbant bike and he an eliptical machine, and our anniversary present to each other this year was a treadmill. And one Christmas I got the girls a mini trampoline. So we have all the equipment, we just have to get on it.

The bike, treadmill, eliptical and trampoline, known as a jump jump around here, are set up in front of the TV. That way we can watch something as we exercise. The girls think it is an extra special treat to go to “Our Gym.” And when they get bored I can turn on a cartoon for them. We also have some of their bigger doll toys down there, so they can play with the high chair, swing and dolly strollers while mommy and daddy exercise. And for Patrice, that is where we have the little “exersaucer” set up for her enjoyment.

I am finding running on the treadmill to be more challenging than outside, but I LOVE running outside. That is a little trickier to do with the girls. Caitlyn loves to run with mommy and she is quick. On days that I have a little bit of time, I start with her and she does the first block with me. We do a mix of run and walk. She is always so proud to jog with mommy. I so want to cultivate that in the girls. With the cold, it takes lots of bundling to get Patrice ready to go. Last week it was about 35 degrees when she went with me. I had her in a warm sleeper, hat and mittens, then a snow sack over her sleeper and a wearable blanket over that. I am going to make a blanket I can tie on to the stroller as well.

Sometimes it takes me three separate tries to get my exercise in, but every little bit helps and that is what Works for Me Wednesday. There are more ideas over at We Are That Family. Check it out!

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Posted in blog hops, body after baby, exercising, kidlets, works for me wednesday

Body After Baby–week 2

Posted on December 7, 2010 | 13 Comments

Here we are at week 2 of Body After Baby. I am very excited to have a blog hop to help focus me on those baby pounds.

So how did I do? Well I worked out every day but Saturday. I did a mix of treadmill running and intervals, some recumbant bike riding and my Biggest Loser 10 minute work out video.

I am thrilled with how much I worked out. This is the most since the summer after I graduated from high school. It paid off then, hopefully it will now.

My hubby even worked out with me yesterday. I want us to work together to teach our girls the fun and value of exercise. I want them to grow up with it just part of their normal every day activities. I actually found a kids Wii Fit game from Nickelodeon for their Christmas gift. I am so excited!

Caitlyn worked out with me Monday afternoon. I did 10 minutes on the treadmill, before getting interrupted, then did a 10 minute Biggest Loser cardio workout. That is stinkin’ hard! Wowzers. Friday after I did the work out, I then tried to run outside. I made it about 1/4 of my normal run. My legs were just killing me!

Sue wanted to head back down to the work out area Monday night. It has been named “Our Gym” by her. I like that. For some reason I think referring to it as “Our Gym” will make me get down there more.

So what are you doing in “Your Gym”? What exercise equipment do you have? Do you use it? Have you successfully gotten fit? Are you satisfied with where you are now? I would love to hear about it.

Now head on over to Mama Notes to see how others did with the challenge.

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Posted in blog hops, body after baby, exercising

Healthy Happenings–Multitude Monday

Posted on December 6, 2010 | 2 Comments

Here we are at a third week of recounting that which I am thankful.

As I have mentioned in other posts, I have a history of MS. I just realized the other day that I was diagnosed 20 years ago. I was 15. It’s likely I was sick with it before then. It looked like MS was going to win over my desires as it was often flaring and making me sick.

In 1994/1995 I started Beta Seron, the first medication to treat MS. It was/is not a cure, but it was shown to lessen the number and severity of exacerbation. Doing those shots was no fun, but things did seem to get more stable.

By 2000, I had tried another medication, Avonex. That one also worked some. Neither was fun. Giving yourself shots never gets routine, if you ask me. I started needing high doses of steroids. I was in the hospital 15 times over the next three years. Twice my balance and walking got so bad I needed rehab to learn how to walk again, Both times I went home in a wheel chair, the second time they told me they didn’t know when I would walk again.

But the Lord had plans for me. He used the medicine of the doctors and work of the therapists to restore my body. And I found a specialist who helped manage the MS. I would do steroid bursts in his office every 3 weeks, we didn’t wait for me to get sick and play catch up. No more hospital stays. The steroids made me sick and weren’t any fun, but they helped.

Then in July 2005 I had my last steroid burst. My body went into a spontaneous remission. Then we started our family. I have been pregnant or nursing a baby since November 2005. And for me, pregnancy and nursing have been very healing. Thank you Lord Jesus for using my babies to heal me. I have needed no medication since July 2005 and my doctor has gone from being cautiously supportive of me staying off meds and having kids, to being 100% supportive and considering my course of MS mild! Praise you Lord Jesus.

My history of walking/balance/strength issues makes every step walked or run a testimony of the Lord’s work. Every step I push myself to run is a praise report. Every time I spin my girls in a circle is a beautiful Amen.

And for this and many more things I am thankful.

13. the desire to be healthy.

14. the strength to run.

15. doctors the Lord blesses with knowledge to help others.

16. a daughter with 20/20 vision.

17. my new treadmill so I can keep running in our cold Mitten.

What are you thankful for? Head on over to A Holy Experience to see some breathtakingly beautiful photos and see why others are thankful.

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Posted in blog hops, exercising, Multiple Sclerosis, multitude mondays