Stop the Wheel - I want to get off!

Do you ever feel like the hamster on that squeaky wheel?? Running running running but going nowhere . . . fast??

It is October 7. Our schedules are set for this school year and although I only have two children, I feel like I’ve totally over booked us. I keep on buying healthy food that I intend to cook for dinner but then I forget that we are always on the run so dinner never gets made and all of that healthy food goes to waste (really a shame). Not that I am not eating healthy but I am doing a lot of take-out. I think I need a reality check!

What is a girl to do when life gets so hectic? A WW leader I once had used to wear a pair of baby sneakers around her neck. The message was simple; Baby Steps. I need to match my actions with my reality. This doesn’t mean I need to abandon my healthy living commitment. I just need to find different ways to accomplish this very important task. Baby Steps. Some things are not to be passed up - like exercise. Other things can be passed up. It is a question of prioritizing my life and doing what I need to do to feel better on the inside and the outside. Baby Steps.

By the way - I lost 0.2 pounds this week. I had a little indiscretion over the weekend - specifically Saturday. My husband and I took the kids to his old alma mater - Rutgers - for Homecoming. Well take it from me - don’t drink beer on an empty stomach (yes we tailgated) because eventually you get really hungry and those hot dogs (pretzels, popcorn, etc.) all become much to appealing! Hopefully I’ll make up for it this week . . . . stay tuned!

Zumba, Smartbells and a Massage

This was a good week! Wednesday was my birthday. I am like a kid on my birthday. I want lots of good wishes and of course, I want to be treated special. This year, I decided to get a massage on the anniversary of my birth.

Now I must back up a couple of days. Since the children have been back in school, I have been spending more time at the gym. This week I decided to take two classes that I never have taken before; Zumba and Smartbells.

Monday morning I go to Zumba. The great thing about aging is the perspective I acquire with each passing year. Zumba is very similar to the old fashioned aerobics classes, only with faster more dance-like steps and latin music. Since my next stop that Monday morning, after Zumba was my weekly weigh-in, I gave it all I had. Unfortunately, I did’t have very much and what I ended up doing was aggravating an old injury; tendonitis in my knee.

Tuesday morning I woke up to a swollen and tight knee. I resolve right then and there that I would return to my Orthopedist and get some physical therapy. Of course, I didn’t call.

Wednesday I go to my massage and as a precaution, I tell the masseuse about my knee. Well, this woman had hands of gold. She told me that what I had was simply inflammation of the tendons. If I iced my knee regularly, especially after exertion, and I massaged the tendons around the knee, I would relieve the inflammation and help to restore circulation to the area which would enable the body to re-absorb the fluids. And, I would not have any more pain. She also told me to lay off the crazy classes and be more selective!

Sure enough, Thursday morning my knee felt much better. I went to the gym to take Smartbells Conditioning. This is much more of a strength class with weights, a smartbell (which is also a weight) and lots of planks for core work. I was careful not to do any lunges and after the class, I asked for a bag of ice to ice my knee. So fortunately, the only parts of my body which are sore today are the right parts - my butt and legs!

This is a smartbell.

By the way, if you are wondering, I lost 2.4 pounds this week. I guess Zumba paid off!