Hiking Boots

I bought my hiking boots on Saturday morning and broke them in that afternoon. I took a rocky trail that climbed very high and looped around for over three miles. It was great. Out in the quiet woods. It was strenuous and I felt great afterward. The boots kept my feet protected from the sharp rocks. They gripped well and my feet felt stable. They are not too heavy even though they are sturdy. Sunday I took shorter trail, mostly flat with the dog. We ran into a cotton mouth snake. It struck at the dog but missed and then the dog moved back towards the snake and I had to jerk the leash and run the other way. I need to bring the camera on my next hike. I have missed some photo opportunities in the wild. I am enjoying my new walking/hiking passion very much. And my legs feel stronger. A pound came off. I am getting a bit frustrated about the sluggish weight loss but not letting it get me down. I just keep moving on and trying every day.

Still Walking

I walked everyday this week except Friday. I was very tired so I took it easy. It is gloomy this morning and I feel a tad bit down so I am at the coffee shop having tea. My scale is not going down like I want. I did lose a pound and I am making changes in my food so something has to give, right? I shopped for hiking boots. I may get a pair today. The walking shoes feel fantastic. I look forward to hikes in the fall colors.

The Right Direction

I know why I like walking. It's simple. You point yourself in a good direction, and just keep on moving. That's what I have decided to do with my life. The dog and I took an 8.3 mile hike yesterday. It was very hilly and rugged. It took about four hours with a few breaks. It is a very scenic trail through woods and bluffs that overlook the river. It was breezy and cool, a perfect day for a hike. My food was not the best in the evening, but it was not the worst, either. I feel like I am making progress. My state of mind is much better. This morning I took a short walk and I was surprised that I am not sore from yesterday's hill climbing. I must be in better shape than I thought.

I also made a little progress in my room. I took two big piles of paperwork and sorted it out while watching a movie. It took a couple of hours. My room is overwhelming but I will get it together. It was a little sad going through the things. There was a file of information from the Alzheimer's Association, and lots of medical bills from when I was in the hospital, daughter's hospital stay, etc. There were numerous papers reflecting the job loss and somewhat disappointing new job.

I need to go easy on myself. I have been through so much in such a relatively short amount of time. I am grateful to be more on the other side of it now. I feel hopeful and steady. I talk down my negative thinking and don't dwell on ideas that bring me down.

More will be revealed.

New Shoes and Attitude

Hard to believe I have not blogged in almost two weeks. I have been busy in a very good way. Last weekend I did some major cleaning. I am very happy with my first floor. I enjoy being there again. I have also been taking very long walks with the dog. Tonight we walked about five and a half miles - in an hour and fifteen minutes. We took an hour walk Tuesday night and a forty minute walk on Monday. Those are good workouts for me, and the dog is very happy, too. But, I did not have good walking shoes and my feet were starting to bother me. So, tonight I went out and bought some very comfy and supportive shoes. They feel great. What a difference! I cannot wait to try them out tomorrow. Next, I want hiking boots because I am planning to do some scenic hikes now that the weather is cooling down.

I am feeling good again. The kids are enjoying school. Daughter is doing fantastic now. She has a part time job, she drives herself to school and work. Being busy is good for her. Grandson has a knee problem, but we went to the right doctor and he is going to have some physical therapy, etc. Long word for it, but not serious. He is very athletic, two gym classes plus weight room after school. First he was really upset about having to limit his activities for the next month, but he is feeling ok about it now. I am glad I took care of it right away so it can get better.

Taking care of my little circle of responsibility (me, my household, the two kids) is what we talked about in therapy the other night. I had two sessions this week and one last week. I think I should go often. It helps. I get confused and feel responsible for people when I am not. I feel guilty about being happy if someone else is not happy and so on. Anyhow, I am getting better now.

When I am feeling healthier mentally, I treat myself better physically. It comes naturally. I couple of weeks ago, feeling desperate, I bought HCG diet drops on the internet. When they arrived I was afraid to use them. The diet is 500 calories a day, except the first two days where you eat "lots of fattening food" - this all sounded bizarre to me. The HCG drops are supposed to contain a hormone (HCG) that makes this all work out really good, you lose fat, not muscle, don't feel hunger, and so on, but I was scare of it. I was pissed I spend so much money on it. I decided to do it, and tried to have day one yesterday, but I ended up flushing it down the toilet in a restroom at work. It made me feel kind of light headed. I did not want to eat a bunch of fattening food, either. Isn't that great? I was instructed to eat as much as I wanted, and I did not rush out and gorge. I have definitely come a long, long, way. I did not even like thinking about eating a bunch of fatty foods. And, I did not want eat 500 calories a day for 23 days and not exercise. I did not want to take drops when I really was not sure of all their contents - 20 percent alcohol - a substance I am not supposed to ingest.

I feel good about the flushing of the expensive weight loss drops. When I lost the big weight I did it by eating in balance. I lost and kept the weight off by eating healthy food in smaller portions and by maintaining a balance in my life. I have not gained very much weight. This is not a major catastrophe. But it needs to be addressed immediately. I feel excited again. I look forward to changing my body. I know I can do this. I can adapt my program now to what works for me at this point in my life.

Long dog walks are working well this week. And that's good enough for me!