Where Have I Been?

Okay, I’ll admit it. I’ve been slacking here lately.

Oh, I am still working my plan, using LoseIt.com to track my calories eaten and using my FitBit to track calories burned. But I haven’t made a good post here lately.  I’m not sure why, but I think it is part of the edd and flow of life. When I started this blog, I was getting close to my goal. It was exciting, and a little scary to realize that I was close to succeeding.  I used the blog to celebrate my goal. When I experienced an emotional downturn (the depression at reaching my goal and losing my all-encompassing goal) I was able to talk here, and use everyone to help me through it. And now that I have enjoyed a stable weight for just over 8 weeks, it is starting to feel normal.

However, I do not want to get complacent. I guess I just need to get back to writing here. I enjoy putting my thoughts down here. It helps me stay organized and focused. So what I’m saying is that you need to prepare for me to babble a bit.

When I started running, I posted my running stats. But since I hurt my knee, the running is on hold. (I tried to run after taking naproxen. The first run went well. But during the second run, my left knee–the problem knee–started locking up intermittently in mid-stride. Not good!) It hurts. I guess I should have listened to others (and to my common sense) when it was mentioned that an anti-inflammatory only helps resolve the pain cause by inflammation, but does not necessarily heal the cause of the inflammation. My recent run (yesterday morning) seems to have been a serious mistake. It’s a good thing I still have that appointment with the orthopedic surgeon!

On the other hand, yesterday evening I pulled my bicycle out of the garage and took it for a spin. That sounds so mundane, but I haven’t ridden a bike since 1996 (and stopped when someone stole it.) I found a simple Huffy at a resale shop and it rides great! Last night I did a nice 5.5 mile ride and found out that I can still do it! And it didn’t bother my knee at all (although I will admit, after getting off it, my legs were a bit like Jell-O for a few minutes.) My wife also got a bike from the same resale shop, and after we tweak hers a bit, we will be able to go for rides together. When I get home, I will post some pics of our inexpensive new wheels.

Remember, if you are trying to control your weight or to reach a specific goal, you need to control how much you eat and you need to increase how many calories you burn. That is the core belief behind the idea of “Calories In, Calories Out.” Eat the correct amount and move more.

So, what are you doing for exercise? It’s good to change it up occasionally. It’s spring, and perfect walking weather. I still walk a lot (I love my Fitbit!) but walking is getting pretty routine. The only way to bump up the challenge is to increase the distance and that requires more time. However, I have found a couple local hiking trails (rails to trails) that are short to moderate to long in length. The short one is Devil’s River State Trail, a 14 miles long former railroad line that is covered in crushed rock. At 25 miles, the Fox River Trail is a combination of paved and crushed gravel surface that starts parallel to the Fox River and then meanders through the countryside. The longest of the nearby trails is the Mountain-Bay trail, another “rail to trail” that is surfaced with crushed gravel, and is 88 miles from Green Bay to Wausau. Time is not always in great supply, but I would like to explore those paths, just to see different scenery. Ultimately, I’d love to hike Wisconsin’s Ice Age Trail, but at approximately 1100 miles, that will need to wait until a) I retire, or b) I win the lottery (or ideally BOTH!) 

Riding the bike is a new activity for us, and really exercises the thigh muscles. I used to try to ride a stationary bike, but that just is not the same. (The same goes for walking on a treadmill as opposed to walking outdoors.) It’s nice to feel the wind on your face, knowing that the wind it created by my work. I never plan to enter any races, but it is relaxing to ride. And given that it doesn’t seem to bother my knee, it may become my primary outdoor exercise.

Here is something new! I would like some input from all of you. You know I like to prepare meals. I love cooking! But sometimes I need new ideas. If there is something you’d like me to make, and then post here, leave comment. It doesn’t need to be a full recipe suggestion. Maybe you just want an idea of how to prepare turkey on the grill or a tasty vegetarian dish. (Don’t suggest exotic meats, because I don’t have access to ostrich, kangaroo or alligator meat.) I can’t promise to make everything suggested, but I will do what I can.