So What Ever Happened To That Peloton?

It's been a while since I mentioned my Peloton. That Peloton that I was so in love with in 2018... Yes, I still have it, but I don't know what happened to that loving feeling. 

The last time I mentioned it was in July of last year when I said that I knew that my blood counts were significantly lower when I was riding the Peloton and I said I was going to get back on it.  I didn't... 

Here is where I was on February 3, 2019, the day I reached my 100th bike ride.

Here is where I am today!

I've owned my bike since approximately August, 2018, that's almost five years! In that time I've worked out 803 times (I don't really count meditations as workouts but Peloton does so...) I've only ridden my bike 139 more times, but I've done 223 more strength workout and I've completed 63 runs. 

For the last couple of years I've been running with the Peloton app more and cycling less. I've also really gotten into the strength workouts, most recently trying the standing core strength workouts. I love those!

I know I shouldn't beat myself up about this. I know that 803 workouts is still something. 803 divided by 5 years is 160.6 workouts per year. That's 13.38 workouts per month or approximately 3.34 times per week. Or as some of the coaches point out, it's still working out more than people who don't work out. 

I can't explain why I haven't been on the bike and why I've been running more than cycling. I've written about how I self-sabotage and here. It didn't help when I logged on the other day and I received a warning about the bike seat recall. I'm yet to address that issue, but I know it has to be done. Luckily I've never had any issues with my seat thus far. 

Either way, I do have to call about the seat and I do need to get back on the bike. I still love everything about Peloton, especially the strength workouts and the walks and runs. My challenge is to get myself back on the bike, and loving the rides again.

I want to set a #400by54 goal for myself for both Strength and Cycling. I know I can do it for Strength, but can I reach the same goal for Cycling? I want to! 

New goal for the second part of the year and my soon to be half birthday in August!

An Inspired Life

My best friend bought me this journal  by M.H. Clark (Author), Justin Edge (Illustrator) a while back and I thought it was a blank journal. It took a while before I realized that it has a writing prompt on every other page. The opposite page has an inspiring quote.

Published by Compendium, Inc.

This journal has been so extremely therapeutic! I've been writing in it for the past two weeks and it's really made me think about a lot of things. One of the things I've come to realize is that this blog can serve as an inspiring place. No, I don't have a PhD in Psychology, I'm not even certified in any way to give advice. I'm just a regular middle-aged woman struggling with challenges that  a lot of other people struggle with. I don't plan to give advice. I just hope that by reading my quotes, my stories, the sad and the funny, that people are inspired in some way.

Recently I had someone reach out to me on Facebook and she told me that I inspired her to start exercising and running because of my Peloton journey. That really made my day and my month!

I hope that I can continue to do that with my honest and real posts about everything from exercise, eating right, cleaning up my clutter and balancing it all with work, family and trying to write on a regular basis.

Next Goal: 200 Rides by One Year

I've made a list of all the things I want to work on during my #3YearPlan. At the top of the list is to exercise regularly and to eat healthier because if I do those two things everything else will fall into place. I want to be healthy enough in three years to do anything I want with my life, including traveling, maybe even buying a travel trailer.

On August 11 it will be my one year anniversary since I did my very first ride. I take this date as a sign because it was exactly, to the very day, 6 months before my 49th birthday. Later I made it my goal to reach 100 rides by my birthday and I did. Now my new goal is #200ridesby1year! I want to have completed 200 rides by my one year anniversary.

My one year anniversary on August 11 will mark exactly 6 months until my 50th birthday on February 11  Once I accomplish the 200 rides goal I want to set a new goal to reach #300ridesby50.

First things first. I have to get motivated again!  I took a long break after I had my cardiac catheterization because the entry points were in my groin, on each side. But I got right back on after that break and I came back strong, completing my first goal. After that goal and my birthday trip to Las Vegas something happened to me. I became completely unmotivated, even when others told me I had motivated them and they bought a Peloton or were considering it. I hurt my left rotater cuff doing the weights but that shouldn't have kept me off the bike too but it did. I kept thinking I would just take a week or two off and then before I knew it that time became longer and longer. Well no more excuses. I'm back in the saddle again and on my way to 200 rides.

Now that the time has changed and I'm coming home when there's daylight I want to start walk/running again on alternate days. I want to make this a real lifestyle and I don't want to take long breaks in between. This has to become my life until I can't do it any more, because that day may come. We can never be certain of our life and we shouldn't take our health and what we can do right now for granted. I don't know what the future holds for me health-wise with my family's history.

I know I've said these words before but since I got the Peloton this has become more real and attainable because I know I can do it. The Peloton made me believe in exercise again and really changed my relationship with exercise. I know I've already said that but I will say it again. I've kept my weight down and I am very confident that it will just take a few rides to build back up to where I was.

So here's to 200 rides! Fellow Pelotoners, who is with me?

New Year! New Words! Recommit, Cleanse and Repair

Similar to years past I had a slow start to the year. This time I feel like I trudged through the first two weeks of the year and now here we are, already halfway through January and less than one month from my fabulous 49th birthday. It's the last birthday of my 40s and I plan to celebrate in a grand way.  2019 is going to be a MUCH better year than 2018. I know that sounds cliché but after the 2018 I had, it has to be.

I'm on this quest to reach 100 rides on my Peloton bike before my 49th birthday in February and I'm on ride 84. We still have these balloons so I'm just going to get another zero to give to myself on  the day that I complete my 100th ride. 

When the year started I knew that my one big word was going to be Recommit. It's a word that I heard in April and that I added to my words for the year in 2018. It's such an amazing word because it covers a multitude of things. It came from a quote that I read by life coach, Cara Alwill Leyba. She says to "Recommit as many times as you need to.." But my favorite part is, "Failure is an illusion and the idea that you can't start over will do nothing but keep you in a space of sadness." I love that. 

It's taken 14 days into the month but I finally have the rest of my words. I've thought about what I want out of myself this year, what I hope to accomplish, to find the right words. Hopefully this doesn't sound too much like a skin care regimen. My other two words are cleanse and repair. 

Recommit to my goals, healthy eating, exercise, and all the goals I set for myself monthly and weekly. I'll recommit when I reach them and when I don't.

Cleanse covers so many areas. I want to cleanse my life. I want to start eating clean and I want to clean out my house. I want to pack up all the things that I would find completely essential to take with me if the house were burning down and I only had time to grab a few things. Or all the things I would take with me if I was going to live in a little vintage trailer, like the ones I admire.

Repair. I need to to repair my mind, my soul, my courage, my body and my house. I need to repair myself both spiritually and I need to repair my physical surroundings. I'm tired of living with things in disrepair and only I can be the one to fix those things. 

So there you have it. Recommit, cleanse and repair. I can start 2019 now. What is your one word or your words for the year?

How the Peloton Bike is Changing My Life

Almost two months ago I made the best drunken purchase I've ever made. It's one thing to buy too much silver in Mexico while drinking and shopping. It's another thing when you've had a few too many drinks and you're home and targeted for the 100th time with a Peloton bike ad. There's a billboard by my house, I received a direct mail postcard, saw digital ads, my boss has one, and finally I was served up a TV ad while watching Hulu. I clicked through to the ad and they had a very good call to action: (this is so the advertising person talking here) Zero down and ZERO INTEREST. That caught my attention and this ended up happening. I blogged about it and how it had become the catalayst for me to get stuff done.

I'm coming up on my two month anniversary and I'm taking my body measurements again at that time, although people are constantly asking me if I'm losing weight. Then there's social media of course. I'm posting photos about my work-outs, probably to the point of being obnoxious, and photos of my progress. Friends keep commenting that they can see the difference.

Side note to this. I like to think that I'm motivating people because I've had so many friends ask me about the bike and they are thinking about buying it. I had one friend who actually did buy it and Peloton sent me a gift card for referring her. I like what she said the best. She said that I'm a real person, not someone who was athletic and already active prior to this. I'm a busy working mom raising two teenagers, about 60 pounds overweight and I have to find the time to exercise. I like that my friends see me as a "real person" who they know, embarking on this exercise journey.

The thing is this. I have always exercised off and on for the better part of my life. I was on the swim team and track team, throwing the shot, in middle school and then I started doing aerobics every day after school in high school. I belonged to a gym in my early twenties and then later when I had kids I belonged to 24 Hour Fitness for a few years. I've gained weight and lost weight over the years, but I've mostly gained. Even after getting the lap band eleven years ago my weight is higher than it was at my lowest post-lap band weight. (Thank goodness I've never gotten up to my highest weight that I was at in 2007 before getting the lap band.)  I've started and stopped so many diets over the years. I've started and stopped exercising. I've tried running off and on, but never stuck to it.

The Peloton has been different. First of all I'm paying for it right now. Yes, I am financing the bike until I pay it off, so that's one payment. (no interest and no catches) The second payment is the subscription to the absolutely awesome program that I love. I see this like a gym membership. Not only do I follow live and on demand cycling classes on my bike, I can also do floor exercises from arms, to core, to yoga. The best part is that you can have up to five profiles on your subscription, so my two kids can use it too. So really I'm getting three gym memberships for the price of one subscription.

I downloaded the Peloton app to my phone and I can do any of the floor exercises using my phone. Today I went on a beginner walk/run using my app for the first time. I had a trainer in my ear the whole time leading the run.

Maybe I'm especially motivated right now because it's all so brand new and because I'm paying for it, but I'd like to think that this bike has changed the way I exercise. It sits in the middle of my living room and there's no avoiding it. I can jump on it whenever it's convenient and I don't have to get dressed up, except for wearing my padded shorts and cycling shoes. I can get on at 10 p.m. at night if I want to, cycle for half an hour, and then jump in the shower before bed.

It's not like any other stationary bike because of the classes and the instructors. So far Jess King is my favorite because she is so motivating. I did my first live class this weekend and I chose to do it with her. So far I had only done pre-recorded on demand classes and I was working my way up to a live class. I also like Jennifer Jacobs for the arms but I'm sure that as I do more classes I'll have more favorites. I must admit that watching the leaderboard when I was doing the live class was really motivating too. It shows you how you rank with all the other people doing the same class.

The Peloton bike is changing my life and reshaping my body and my mind in the process. I feel stronger than I have in a long time and like I can do so much more. I'm even more aware of what I'm putting in my body for fuel, rather than just eating for the pleasure of eating.

On today's run the instructor said something powerful. He said don't exercise because you "have to." Exercise because you can. You GET TO exercise because you have that privilege. I don't live in a war torn country where we have to stay inside. I have legs that allow me to cycle and run and there are people who wish they could. So I get to exercise and I don't take that for granted. This will be an exciting journey and I can't wait to update you all on the progress. (Not a sponsored post.)

Almost Halfway Done

We are almost halfway done with the year. July 1 will mark that point. A lot has happened to me this year so far. I've only reached a few of my goals, but I'm okay with that. Sometimes I think that we worry so much about the planning that we forget to enjoy the moment. I'm definitely trying to enjoy the moment this summer with the kids.

 

Image from 215squadron.org.uk

I look back at my Vision Board to see what it is that I've accomplished thus far and one big sentence pops out at me. "HOW TO BECOME THE PERSON YOU WERE MEANT TO BE." If anything, that's the one I've been working on the most. I ask myself this question almost every day. I struggle with what I should do versus the what I want to do.

I've also done a lot of reading and I'm working on my spiritual health as well. There's still a lot of areas to work on, but I'll get there eventually.

In the exercise department I'm trying to do more with my daughter. We've been roller skating and I recently discovered one of our neighborhood pools at Stude Park. I was really impressed with what I found and we are starting weekly swim lessons tomorrow. One of my goals this summer is to teach her to swim properly. Believe it or not, I was on the swim team in middle school. I wasn't great but I enjoyed it. I want to teach her how to do the freestyle, backstroke and breast stroke. I can explain the butterfly to her but it's not a stroke that I can do very well.

Who knows, maybe she can swim on her school team in middle school too. Next year is her last year in elementary school so it would be great if she is swimming really well by the time she starts middle school.

Our exercise routine will fluctuate between walking, roller skating, and swimming this summer. My hope is that I will be a good example to my daughter while getting healthy myself in the process. So then I'm working on my exercise and health goals together with my family goals.

Back to Restriction and Eating Healthy

Magnet by Anne Taintor

I guess I've posted this image before because it was in my files. Today it's appropriate because I'm going to get a fill tomorrow.

Almost four weeks ago I got really tight, like abnormally tight. I couldn't get anything down. I had been sick and I'd had a lot of sinus drainage. It was affecting my lap band too. So I went in to have some fluid taken out of the band. When I got there I realized that I hadn't been there in 6 months and I hardly even lost any weight. What a waste of time!

The crazier part is that I was so tight most of the time. It doesn't even make sense. The only think I can attribute it to is that since I couldn't eat most of the day my body thought it was starving. So when I could finally eat late in the evening I ate too much and my body held on to all my fat.

On top of that I had the umbilical surgery at the beginning of August and I couldn't really work out for four weeks. Four weeks turned into eight and then twelve. That can happen so easily.

So I had them take out .7 cc from the band and I was able to eat for a change. It was a nice break. I still haven't eaten breakfast or even tried. I only have coffee and a protein shake. I've been having a more "normal" lunch and dinner. Not every day, but it's been nice to have some flexibility in my diet. Some days I still only have soup for lunch and a small dinner.

Tomorrow I go back in to get tightened up again. It's time! I had a good break. I ate some things I had missed, like Kim Son Vietnamese and Sawadee Thai. Now it's time to get back on the wagon. I'm going to get a fill tomorrow, but I'm going to tell them to only put .3 cc back. I think it's a good half way point. I'm going to see how that works.

This whole process has been an interesting journey. I've actually learned a lot about myself and my addictions. I have addictive behavior. I've pretty much recognized that about myself. I transferred some of my addiction to food to other things. I recognize that what I need to work on is my addiction instead of what I'm addicted to. I believe that recognizing this about myself has been the most valuable benefit of the lap band. I also believe that realizing this and admitting it is very healthy of me. It is one of the things that I want to change about myself as I enter forty.

Every time I think about this I think about what my lap band doctor told me the day before my surgery. He said, "Some people get a lap band here (pointed at his stomach) but they don't get a lap band here (pointed at his head)." That has stayed with me every since.

I know I have been less than perfect. I could have lost more weight, and I still can. I just need to find my groove again and I will get there. I need to get back to the gym. I know what I need to do. Get off my butt and exercise!

My husband has been following a vegetarian diet with fish and it's working really well for him. I need to support him in his endeavor and in the process I too will feel healthier. I've already cut all bread and rice from my diet. I can cut meat now too. Fish is so good for you!

So that's my plan. To cut all red meat and chicken out of my diet and to start exercising on a regular basis again. I'm putting it out there so I can be more accountable.

The next 3 days will be my kick in the butt. After a fill I have to stay on liquids for two days and then soft foods for the third day. That's always tough but it's what I have to do when the lapband and therefore my stomach has been moved. It's also a good launching pad into increased restriction. So we shall see!

Glad I Ran Friday

I had to kill my streak today. I've been trying to keep an illness at bay since Friday night. I had planned to do some form of exercise today, but quickly realized that I had a nagging pain that wouldn't make it possible. So here I am being a sickly and hoping it doesn't somehow get worse by tomorrow. I have to call my PCP in the morning to see when I can go in to see her. I'm going to need some serious antibiotics.

So I'm glad I exercised as much as I did last week. Hopefully I can get the antibiotics started tomorrow and get back on track with my exercise on Tuesday. We'll see.

Nothing else of note to report. "Skirt!" Blog is still going good. I'm headed over there to post something too. It will be related to running but with a different twist.