We've really struggled with exercising in the last two months. I think I'm getting tired of Sweatin' to the Oldies, and aerobic exercise is really hard on my bad ankle. Winter can make it difficult to find alternate forms of exercise. We both really miss walking, but it's been a very cold winter; combined with the inversion, that sets off my asthma. Also, Lee still struggles with the bone spur in his heel.
It was so easy to use these excuses to not exercise. However, I then started noticing that I was getting more stiff and sore. It was harder to move on some days. I don't think I've added a lot of weight, but the exercise was keeping me more limber, & I was losing that. We needed to find some inspiration.
On the plus side, we've been doing a lot better with our eating. We packed away our big plates & glasses, and started eating smaller meals on medium-sized salad plates. We also try to have fruit or veggies with every meal. We're even going to add veggies to some meals that don't call for it. Since we don't like a lot of veggies, I'll chop them up small enough to not notice, but still get the nutritional value.
We were doing better, but we needed to be exercising as well. In addition to how stiff and sore I was starting to get, we found another source of inspiration: other people's stories. We've seen a few shows on TV lately that show just how bad it can get, & reminded Lee of where he started. Interestingly, it was one of the things that got us up and exercising again.
I still can't do the aerobic exercises very well. Pounding my foot on the ground and forcing my ankle to bend with some of the exercises is excruciatingly painful. Instead, I am trying just to move how I can and keep my heart rate up. It seems to be working ok. I really need to find a way to afford to go swimming on Saturdays. That's what I'm working on now.
Watching these stories of other people's struggles with losing weight made me realize how much we may be inspiring other people with this blog and our story. If you are inspired by our story, please share it with others. That has been the idea all along.
Below are some links to some of the things that have inspired us.
http://www.fruitsandveggiesmorematters.org/easy-ways-to-add-fruits-veggies-to-your-day
https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=1162150180463324&id=276701919008159
