Connect
Lighten Your Limbs With Friends
Hello all. I have Diabetes 2 and have avoided exercise for over 2 1/2 years. I am overweight and know that I need to get moving and lose weight. I have always had excuses not to do anything much before. I have a treadmill, and I look at it, but I never use it. A few weeks ago, I decided that it is time to lighten my limbs. I received my Mayo newsletter. and it included a twelve-week Exercise Plan. It was like fate that I had decided to exercise and Mayo dropped the perfect routine in my lap. Because it's 12 weeks and not years and years, as some plans are, the Mayo is doable. They're not asking me to run a marathon!
It's a way to get stronger and healthier. However, one part was missing: I need to be accountable to somebody else. I would love for other Connects to join me so that we could celebrate our success each week. I don't want to wait to January when all we hear is "New Year, New You." So I thought it would be good to start before the bombardment of ads for gym equipment and promises to lose many pounds too fast (and gain it back even faster). I needed a plan that will work for me and anybody else, and Mayo has given it to us.
Let's get a jump on 2019 by finishing strong in 2018. If we start the first week on Friday, November 2, 2018 (only four days from now), it will propel us through the weekend and keep us going. Just think: By January 25th, we will have completed the 12 weeks. Just when other people are trying to keep their exercise resolutions, we'll have finished 12 weeks. We'll be lighter, heathier, and stronger. We also will have gotten into the habit of exercising and hopefully, do another 12 weeks. Doesn't that sound good? To be able to say, "I'm healthier and feel so much better and have lighter limbs." For the first time I am excited to exercise, but I need others to come along with me. I need the accountability.
Please join me and give it a try. Come along with me so we can say it's not just my 12 weeks, but it's our 12 weeks. The first week asks us to do 5 minutes of warm up, five minutes of brisk walking, and five minutes of cool down. That's only 15 minutes. I can do that! The walking is the speed that you are comfortable with. The warm up and cool down are just slower walking. It can be outside, in your house, at a gym---wherever you feel comfortable and whatever time of day is convenient. Nothing required except determination and desire to make it 12 weeks.
I'll post the exercise times for each week once we get started. Let's give this gift to ourselves and improve throughout the holidays. If you have any questions, send me a note, and I'll answer what I have from Mayo.
Everybody's walking! Sounds great to me.
@retiredteacher
Volunteer Mentor
Like
Helpful
HugInterested in more discussions like this? Go to the Diabetes & Endocrine System Support Group.
Connect
@retiredteacher Thanks for asking, Carol. I'm doing pretty well. The last couple of days I have been a real overachiever because on top of my exercise I have been running around like a crazy person so that has added a lot of steps and activity on my tracker.
That's so nice that you contribute what you would spend on Christmas to people in need. We do still give gifts but we also donate to various food and clothing drives. I did volunteer work at the Food Bank so that's particularly close to my heart. I had to quit because it was all standing and my knee became very painful so I couldn't stand for four hours anymore.
JK
-
Like -
Helpful -
Hug
1 Reaction@contentandwell I think you could probably count double exercise when you have to get so much ready for the holidays. It is stressful and it's not something that is magically going to do itself! Where are all the elves when you need them?
Give yourself a break and enjoy. Anything that interrupts my routine is stressful for me. But as soon as the wave goodbye, I'm ready to get back in regular mode and then the stress subsides and I can relax. I'll have to take my two days off from Lightening to get meals on the table. We don't have any family or friends here, so our only son comes for the weekend, but he expects meals three times a day. We're glad to see him because it's 2 days only. He has to work. He has Bah Humbug bosses!
Are you good at delegating? Let other people help.
Enjoy.
Carol
-
Like -
Helpful -
Hug
2 Reactions@retiredteacher My kids often take over at meals but unfortunately, we are having our Christmas on the 26th and my son won't be here until at least 2:00 in the afternoon -- he's flying into Boston, arriving at about 1:00 and my husband will pick him. We are about an hour from Boston when there is no traffic. My son is a great cook and enjoys doing it but I can't delay preparations until he gets here. My daughter and her husband will be driving here from upstate NY after visiting his parents so they won't be here early either. There will be 10 people for dinner, my sister and her husband and my brother, his wife and son are joining us also.
After our late Christmas day the rest of the week should be fairly easy. We are going to a couple of gatherings that will require me to make something to contribute but that will be easy. I doubt I will get to my health club at all while they are visiting. They are leaving on the 31st to head to my daughter's in NYC. She lives literally a stone's throw from Times Square but has never gone there to watch the ball drop!
JK
-
Like -
Helpful -
Hug
1 Reaction@contentandwell Just take each step one at a time. We're having Christmas dinner tomorrow, the 23rd. I get most of it cooked at a restaurant and fix a salad and a couple of sides and dessert. It's easier because there are just three of us. Then I have leftovers, which I enjoy more than the dinner the first time. We'll have our son's birthday dinner on the 24th because he has to leave Christmas morning to drive home. He has to work on the 26th. So we have to shuffle the days and dates around. It's okay because we just love to see him since it's only one time a year. We just enjoy catching up and being together.
If you get stressed, just count to ten and relax.
Carol
-
Like -
Helpful -
Hug
2 Reactions@retiredteacher I was doing a lot to get the house ready today but I decided mid-afternoon to go to my health club and get some exercise, that the decorating could wait. I was very glad that I did. I am almost done now, just have to put garlands on the banisters, and then do a bit of straightening up. Tomorrow I will do my usual Sunday things and finish here in between them -- I will find time to go to my health club again, and tomorrow I will use the pool. I did the gym today. At some point I do need to do some baking, but I am sure I can squeeze that in. So, overall I am feeling less stressed today than I felt yesterday. Thanks for the encouragement.
Are you cooking a turkey? I love turkey leftovers but I am not cooking one. I think I will do a roast, that is so much easier than a turkey.
How far away does your son live? That's too bad that you only get to see him once a year. My son is generally home in the summer and then for Christmas, and we always used to visit him in CA at some point in time, and will this year in February in Denver where he lives now. It's nice that he has a house now so we can stay with him. We were out there in October too.
We do get to see my daughter a little bit more since she is much closer being in NYC. We visited her in the fall and she was here for Thanksgiving and will be for Christmas. We plan to visit her for a weekend in January. I know she won't be living there too much longer so I want to get the visits to NYC in while she is still there. She and her husband enjoy coming here because her closest friend lives here, plus they get very indulged. When we visit her we have to stay in a hotel.
JK
-
Like -
Helpful -
Hug
1 Reaction@contentandwell We just finished our Christmas dinner. I had a restaurant cook the turkey. I fixed the rest. I bought a pumpkin pie for dessert and made some cookies. We had Christmas today, and tomorrow we'll celebrate our son's birthday. He was born on Dec. 27th. So we always have Christmas, then on the 26th take all Christmas down and put up birthday so that he could separate Christmas and his birthday. He lives six hours from us. So his drive is long and tedious. He gets weekends off, but that's not time to come---not worth it .His bosses are not interested in getting people off for holidays. He arrived about 1:00 on Sat. We ate a late lunch and supper. Today is a "normal" Christmas Day for us. Tomorrow we'll have birthday. He always asks for my spaghetti, I'll prepare a tossed salad and cheese bread, and his birthday cake and ice cream for dessert. Then he'll leave early Christmas Day to drive the six hours back home. So it is a whirlwind. It's still good, but we miss him. It's just the three of us.
Relax and enjoy your activities.
Carol
-
Like -
Helpful -
Hug
2 Reactions@retiredteacher It sounds like a nice time with him. Our daughter is about 5 hours away, can be more, can be less, depending on the traffic getting in and out of NYC and coming through CT. We plan to go there in January and are considering taking the train out of Boston.
Funny, my kids too always want my pasta and meatballs. When we were visiting our son in Denver in October I made a huge pot of it so he could freeze some and they had some on Friday night. I generally make it when they are home but we are much busier this year than usual, so I may not be able to. I always make some spiralized zucchini for myself to avoid the pasta.
Mmmm, pumpkin pie, love it. I will make some cookies too, about three different types probably.
I hope you have leftover turkey to enjoy, and that he enjoys his birthday. It's hard to resist at least a sliver of birthday cake. I was in the store today and saw so many goodies but kept myself from buying them because it would add to my temptations.
This is not the first time for us either when we celebrated Christmas on a day other than December 25. When my son was first in CA he was a waiter at the Beverly Hills Hotel so he had to be there for Christmas and left that morning. We celebrated the day before. The Inn/restaurant that we both worked at for a while closed on Christmas day so that was not a problem.
Heading to the club very soon. Gotta do it.
JK
-
Like -
Helpful -
Hug
1 Reaction@retiredteacher I lost Week 8 of Lightening my Limbs. Things got so hectic with having to cook and fix and go that exercising was not on the treadmill. Putting up, taking down, hauling into the attic just wore me out. I walked one time. The rest of the days were full of taking down decorations and hauling out trees and wreaths. I think I expended some calories and have been on the go up and down stairs, so maybe that counted. I intend to get back on schedule with Week 9. Sometimes things happen that we just can't control. Drives me crazy, but my OCD was an override on my exercises.
Back to Lightening my Limbs ASAP.
Carol
-
Like -
Helpful -
Hug
3 ReactionsIt took some effort, but I did successfully complete 5 days of walking. But I know that sometimes life just happens and you don't do what you intended and that's OK. A new week (and a New Year) gives new opportunities for renewed commitment to healthy living. Time to get "On The Road Again."
-
Like -
Helpful -
Hug
3 Reactions@marvinjsturing I'm glad you could keep going. I thought I might be able to ignore the holiday work long enough to exercise, but that wasn't possible. So, I just have to forgive myself and get back on schedule.I'll need to put in twice a day one week to make up for Week 8, but I never would have made doing all the waiting on folks if I hadn't strengthened my limbs in Nov. and Dec. I would not have had the endurance. My husband has his heart disease checks in Jan, so those days are always abnormal; it all depends on how he does with the tests. I know there are days that we won't be home, so Jan. may be a disaster too. One day at a time with Willie.
Happy New Year (early)
Carol
-
Like -
Helpful -
Hug
3 Reactions