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April 15 Getting my "MoJo" back ....I will be honest with all of you guys ... I was really starting to lose steam & looking back over my past 3 weeks on my spreadsheet, it was obvious! I've either maintained or gained/lost the SAME .5 pounds.
 Honestly, I am TOTALLY in SHOCK that it's not MUCH WORSE!!! "Life" happened & I'm typically not one to make excuses using my "sick kids" or "crazy schedules" or such. We CHOSE to have a large family & we roll w/the punches no matter what!!! Well, we seem to have had a round of strep that just will NOT leave our house (at least one or two children home every few days with it for the past THREE weeks!) and I started babysitting for another 4 yr. old & 9 mo. old last week, so that was a HUGE adjustment for everyone! Yesterday, Emma (our daughter who just turned 7) had an appt. w/a pediatric neurologist. She's been having headaches since late Jan. & our regular pediatrician felt it best to see a neurologist, even though she was 90% sure they were NOTHING SERIOUS! The day finally arrived & we found out that Emma is suffering from childhood migraines. She has them fairly mildly & right now they are treatable w/motrin, although we may need stronger drugs or maintenance drugs in the future. I learned a LOT from the Dr. yesterday (including the fact that my mom & I most likely have migraines, too! I just assumed the really "DOOZY" headaches I had every month or two were "stress" related. I just figured it was normal to have such a bad headache that I was nauseous & felt like my skull would explode?? I didn't "see bubbles" or have them for days or anything like what I THOUGHT migraines were, so I never IMAGINED that I had them!). Anyway, they are apparently "hereditary" & once he determined that my mom & I most likely suffered from them, he felt MUCH BETTER knowing that this was most likely the case w/Emma, as well. Apparently this is a common age for kids to be able to start "explaining" them & hers were "triggered" by a virus everyone had in Jan. that included high fevers & headaches. He said a virus is a very common trigger for migraines in young children & that she may not be destined to have them as an adult, as she MAY get rid of them in her teens (although he said girls typically have a little bit of a harder time b/c once the "hormones" start in, that can also be a trigger). So, we were thrilled & relieved to know it was nothing serious (we have to go back every 6 mo. to have her re-evaluated for a while), but nothing serious ... PRAISE THE LORD!!! I guess I really hadn't realized how worried I was about it until it was all over yesterday ... I felt like a WEIGHT had been lifted from my shoulders (to bad it couldn't have been LITERALLY six pounds or something!!  ) So, on the ride home from the Cleveland Clinic yesterday, I decided that there were NO MORE EXCUSES! I had to continue taking care of myself, no matter HOW MUCH I just didn't "feel" like it. I have lost 21 pounds & felt frustrated that MORE hasn't come off! I'd lost my "workout MoJo" & had really not done anything for almost 2 weeks! NO MORE! It was up to ME to stop the downward spiral & I had a choice to make ... I came home, changed into my workout clothes & went walking/running in our neighborhood!!
Now, here's the "212 SUCCESS STORY" for you Michelle (& anyone else who NEEDS one!) ...
I have NEVER in my life run further than chasing my kids down the driveway to keep them out of the street (FYI, my driveway is NOT very long!!!!
 ) I absolutely DESPISE RUNNING w/all my heart! I have NEVER wanted to be a runner, but it was SOOO nice outside & I KNEW that I had to really "mix it up" in my walk, if I was going to benefit from getting out there & doing it! So, I started out warming up w/a nice brisk walk & then I alternated walking 5 min. & running 5 min. for an entire 40 minutes!!! I will be honest ... that first run, I truly thought my lungs were going to EXPLODE after only a FEW driveways. I didn't see HOW I could keep going at that pace for an entire 5 minutes (sounds so wimpy, doesn't it???) & how in the WORLD did I think I'd do MORE than 5 min. of running???? Well, I thought about our little 212 group & how we have made an effort to always give that ONE EXTRA DEGREE, so I kept myself going by playing little mind games w/myself. I said, "you can make it to that blue car (which was about 3 drives down)" & lo & behold, I did it w/o dying. I figured I'd made it that far w/o passing out, why not try for the corner ... so I DID! Pretty soon, I found a little "rhythm" (which certainly would NOT break any records!!) & I had run for an entire 5 minutes!!!!! I slowed down & my heart was about to beat out of my chest, but I had done it! I couldn't WAIT for my 5 min. of walking to be done, so I could see if I could really try it again. Amazingly enough, I did & I ended up walking/running for over 3 MILES in 40 minutes!!! I was SOOOO excited & PROUD of myself!! Honestly, my legs & body really felt like they could keep on going, but my lungs were NOT part of that group. I was sucking some SERIOUS wind by the end & I could tell my endurance was running out! That night, I was still wheezing a bit before I went to bed & wondered if maybe I have a little "exercise induced asthma" like my son has? I had asthma as a child (no wonder I HATED running!), so who knows??? But I KNOW it will get better if I keep at it! Today, I am quite sore & my feet are KILLING me (I don't think I really have a good pair of shoes for running ... $15 Wal-Mart tennis shoes probably aren't the BEST support for a larger person who's trying to do some running!). Anyway, I don't think I'll ever have the desire to graduate to a full blown "runner," but now I know I CAN add it to my walks & get some HUGE benefits from upping my effort!!To several of you who have reached out to check on us, I have to tell you how MUCH that means!! I didn't see that I was really helping anyone as I was in a "slump" & saw that many others were, too. I didn't feel like I was really that much of an "inspiration" anymore, especially as the MPMU wound down & people really started to leave. I can't tell you how MUCH it means that several of you have asked us to keep this up & have mentioned that we are/were an inspiration ... THAT was my WHOLE FOCUS in the beginning & I really lost that a bit recently. I'd LOVE to continue & know that I NEED all of you to help me jump back in & get back to it!! We've got a great little "family" here & I want ALL of us to succeed!!! Ray & I are going back to doing our 212 sit-ups each night, as that seemed to REALLY help us in the beginning! I'd LOVE to have you guys join us again! Let's all start tonight & do them BEFORE we watch the EXCITING BL Finale (or do them during commercials if you don't have TiVo!!! Who's with us???
Sorry this got so long, but I thought you guys deserved to know how I had sorta "fallen off the wagon" & how much your words of kindness have encouraged me to keep going!!! Thank you to EACH of you & I hope you will continue to stick w/us, so we can help support our struggles & CELEBRATE our successes!!! Hang in there, guys & let us know how you're doing!!!!
Take care, everyone & until next time .... drink some water, move a little & SMILE! Angie
Angie Comments (4)
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