The voices in my head

were right. I really should learn to listen to them more often. The good ones not the crazy ones ;)   As you all know my foot has been killing me for a long time. Less known.. my hip/back have been hurting me too but the foot pain over powers that. I finally went to the podiatrist for months and nothing would ever really fix it. So I quit going and just deal with it. All this time the little voices in my head said go to the chiropractor. Well Monday after not even being able to roll over in bed with out crying because my back hurt so bad, I went. At 11:30 that night after working for 8 1/2 hrs on the hard tile/concrete floors at work I realized that not only did my back not hurt, my foot didn't either. It was AWESOME! I wasn't ready to give the back full credit though yet. The next morning I got out of bed and walked normal from the first step and didn't need a walker. As the day progressed it started a tiny ache but no real pain. Today we went to the zoo and walked hills and that made my foot hurt again.   I just got home from the chiropractor for round 2. Guess what.. no foot pain. NONE! I can't believe it. I stood up after my adjustment and walked to the therapy room and realized it didn't hurt anymore.  So lesson learned.. listen to those voices! At least some of them anyways!!!

Just for reference

1 1/2 yrs ago... at 275 lbs and 56.5 inches MORE than I am today.

Before.... and after!

I finally got all my pictures from bootcamp. I can't see drastic changes cause I still look the same to me lol But I'm sure you guys will pick them out better than me!

Here they are.

Before:


After:

The finally measurements were:
224 lbs
Arms: 10
Chest: 38
Waist 33
Abs 40
Hips 40
Thigh 18.5
Lower Thigh: 14
body fat 28.5%


In 12 weeks I lost 17 lbs, 2 inches off my arms, 5 inches off my chest, 7 inches off my waist, 8 inches off my abs, 7 inches off my hips, 4.5 inches off my thighs,3 inches off my lower thigh and 8 % body fat. For a combined total of 36.5 inches!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I can't see a ton of differences but I can see I lost a lot of back fat/side boob. I can tell my neck/face is thinner. I can see how my arms aren't touching my waist hardly at all anymore or my hips. I don't see too many more than that but I can feel them all in how I feel and how my clothes fit!!

If you see anything I'm not let me know :D

Barefoot is better?

So I am STILL dealing with foot pain. I'm really sick and tired of it. My coworker is going to be having surgery on her foot soon and I hope mine never gets that bad! Today I got back to kickboxing after taking last week off. I have finished bootcamp and am still waiting for my before pictures to post about that all.

Anywho, I talked to the instructor today to see if she would ever be doing another kickboxing class later in the week. probably not but all well. I told her I can't do her step classes anymore because they cause me way too much foot pain. She asked what I had and immediately told me I needed to go barefoot.  Was she kidding me??? Does she realize how bad it hurts to be barefoot all the time?? Any dr will tell you NOT to ever go barefoot with planter fascitis. She said Reebok has done research that actually wearing shoes all the time can actually cause foot injuries by not allowing your foot to fully develop and for the muscles to be stronger.


So... I did some reading online. It sounds like a pretty cool and natural thing that over time we have strayed from because not wearing shoes is kinda gross. And from a shoe lover here.. there are some really cute shoes out there! I found this great article on the 10 reasons you should start running barefoot. I am no runner but the points make sense. http://celestinechua.com/blog/2010/05/10-reasons-to-go-barefoot-running/

1. Connectedness. When I ran with running shoes in the past, I would just feel the cool air and soak in the sights of the sky/trees/stars while running. Running barefoot adds a new dimension to the running experience – I feel a whole level of connectedness to the ground, and as a corollary, the environment I am in.
2. Lighter strides. With running shoes, my feet was completely buffered from the ground. I could never feel my strides, save for the numbing ‘thud’ between my feet and the soles of my shoes/ground whenever I land. This made me take heavy strides subconsciously. With barefoot running, I am definitely running much lighter than before. I’m not pounding on my knees/ankles/feet anymore.
3. Right landing. People who wear running shoes typically land heel first (a.k.a hard heel strikes), which places more stress on the foot. The correct running form should be to land on the front or middle of the foot. Here’s what a Discovery News article says about landing:
   
   

   The difference in the way the foot strikes the ground is important. Lieberman’s study examined the physical stresses on feet with different types of running and found that people with running shoes strike the ground with the mass of the entire leg, nearly 7 percent of the body. That’s more than three times the weight of impact for barefoot running.
   “It’s really about how you hit the ground,” said Lieberman, who specializes in human evolutionary biology. “When you hit the ground, some of your body comes to a dead stop.”
   For runners in cushioned shoes, “it is literally like someone hitting you on the heel with a hammer,” Lieberman said. But, he said that “the way in which barefoot runners run is more or less collision free.”

   Interestingly, I came to the same conclusion during my 1st barefoot run, before reading about it. With running shoes, I would land on my heels and it caused a lot of impact. When I run barefoot, I automatically adjust and land on my forefeet/midfeet. Since I can feel my foot on the ground, I can immediately tell if  I am landing incorrectly with each stride. After my first barefoot run, I had a small blister in the top left corner of my right sole, which I see as a sign that I’m exerting more force than necessary on that area. It’s an indication that I should distribute my weight on other areas when landing.
4. Better posture. Everything is very instinctual and it takes no more than just a few steps for me to get into a comfortable running posture. The contact between the foot and the ground is like an instant feedback if my posture needs correcting and if so, how. In retrospect, my posture and jogging stance felt stiff when I ran with shoes.
5. Freedom & Liberty. Running without shoes made me realize how binding it was to have my feet wrapped up in socks and enclosed in shoes. When running barefoot, I can feel my heel, mid-sole, forefeet and my toes against the ground and brushing against the cooling air with each stride. It’s a liberating experience.
6. Mindfulness. Every step I take, I’m aware. Every time my foot touches the ground, I can feel both the ground and my foot. During my run, I am present, of myself, my posture, my surroundings, my environment.
7. Less stress for your knees/feet/joints. Studies have shown running barefoot brings less stress for your feet, even when compared with expensive running shoes (Nike, Adidas and Reebok included). A new study suggests running shoes may cause damage to knees, hips and ankles. With running shoes, we tend to shift our weight down to our ankles, which lead to higher possibility of ankle sprains. You might have heard how prolonged running causes knee cap pain – I suspect it’s because of the heavy strides we take with running shoes rather than running itself. By running barefoot, that’s less likely to happen since you get a better running posture (Reason #4) and lighter strides (Reason #2), which means lesser weight on your knees/ankles/feet.
8. Gives you stronger feet. All the shoe wearing has made our feet weak and soft. In fact, some of us wear poor-fitted shoes that cramp our toes/feet. Here’s an interesting excerpt from an article “Go Barefoot to Get Stronger“:
   
   

   Through years of wearing shoes, our feet lose their tactile capacity, which is bad enough. But they also fail to develop to their proper size and shape. Tendons and ligaments shorten, muscles weaken, and the risk for foot and ankle injuries increases.
   If it sounds like the ancient Chinese tradition of binding the feet, it kinda is. “It’s identical, but to a lesser degree,” Rooney says. “Shoes crush the foot into abnormal positions and you don’t get the movement the foot is designed for.”

   Going barefoot builds up our foot muscles and makes them stronger, the way they should be.
9. It’s Fun! Do you remember the times when you were young and ran around barefooted? How did that feel? Walking/Running barefooted brought a sense of child-like wonder that was lost since long ago, like dancing in the rain. It made running fun, more fun than it normally is. I ended up running longer than my normal route (3km vs. 2.4km).
10. Saves money. I wish I knew about barefoot running before I bought all the sport shoes – Adidas, Reebok, soccer shoes, Nike Air, Zoom, Zoom+ and what not. Sports apparel have become more fashion accessories and cost more than they should. If I add up all the money I spent on sport shoes over the years, it easily sums up to over one grand. That is a lot of money that could have been saved and used for better purposes.

This site gives suggestions on how to transition from cross trainers to barefoot.. or almost barefoot. http://www.tmuscle.com/free_online_article/sports_body_training_performance/go_barefoot_to_get_stronger

I've tried everything the drs  have suggested... and I'm still hurting. So I figure what's the harm in trying? The instructor also suggested I get back to yoga, even though it makes me feet cramp, because I obviously have weak feet and yoga will help strengthen them with out the pounding that comes from high intensity cardio.

These are on my wish list now... in case anyone wants to donate ;)

I made it!

This past Saturday I ran my first 5k ever. Yes ran. Ok I consider it jogging but I did not walk at all. I don't have an official time yet but I completed it in approx 45-47 mins. Which considering my weight and it being my first is awesome!

I am sure I looked quite silly while running but I don't care. It started uphill and ended flat. I ran up that hill jamming to Head Strong by Trapt and singing (I hope to myself) "back off, I'll take you on. I'm headstrong to take on anyone." And I made it up that hill and kept going. I knew I would be fine and I was.

I did not do this race alone. I ran with 2 friends from high school. Camille is a little faster than me and Jen but we pushed through and she was there at the end cheering for us. Me and Jen ran off and on together the whole time and pushed each other to keep going.

I spent a good part of the run with my eyes closed. I'm not sure why but it helped. I jammed to all my good fast music to keep me going. I'm sure I was singing most of the time, I hope not very loud though LOL. I know there were a few times I was doing some mini boxing moves while running too. Crazy what pushes you to keep going but it worked. My body did great. Even though I am not a runner and did not really train for it. My body was ready. I had very little pains except for a few mins of side pain at the half way mark and my calves started burning up the hill. But otherwise I had no problems at all.

We ran along the Jordan Canal the last leg and it was just beautiful and relaxing.  Towards the end we came around the corner and could see the finish line. I have never ran so fast in my life. I put my mp3 player on SandStorm by Darude and kicked it into over drive. Somehow.. .even after running 3 miles my body flew. I was leaping the center divide in the road as I crossed the street and cruised to the finish line. It was an amazing feeling.

I was number 251 but I'm not sure out of how many. But I finished my goals. I did not come in last. I finished it. I ran it all. And I did it in less than an hour!

Afterwards they had a parade that I sat with Camille and her family and watched. I got very emotional after my heart rate had come down and I had a moment to realize what I had just done. I had just run a 5k. Myself. At 225 ish lbs. I ran 3.1 miles. That was one of the best feelings ever.   (Sorry Camille for getting all sappy!) But it just proves that a) you can do absolutely anything you set your mind to) and b) your body knows what it is meant to do and given the chance will do it for you, even if you've abused it with food and weight most of it's life. It's still there for you when you are ready.

This coming Saturday, July 3, I'm running another ;)

The 100's week paid off!

I didn't quite hit my 50 lb mark but I was so close. .4oz away. I'm sure if I had taken my clothes off I'd have hit it LOL. But I did lose 2.75 more inches for a total combined inches of 33. .75 inches of that was off JUST my arms. All those bicep curls, punching, tricep pulls and more paid off that's for sure! That's a huge amount to lose off the arms because they are such a small area and there's not as much to lose as say around the stomach.  I can't wait to hit 50lbs and then some! WEE! I really can't believe I've lost so much. That's almost 1/2 a person!

In even better knews I am officially in the 29% range for my body fat %. That's in the healthy range but I still have a ways to go.   This morning I figured out my BMI. While I am still considered obese I am no longer scary obese. I'm slowly creeping towards that line of just being overweight.  I started at a BMI of 41 and am at a 34 right now. About 20 more lbs and I will be just "overweight".   

3 more days until my 5k. I'm excited but nervous too. My foot has been acting up and I'm not happy with it. Stupid thing. Who needs feet anyways. Today I'm going to do some water aerobics to give it a break and then hit the oh so glorious hot tub to get rid of some other body aches.   I was looking at the map of the 5k and it doesn't look too bad. It's basically from Taylorsville city hall down to the elementary school and then back. I can do that right?

Thought of the day

That which we persist in doing becomes easier to do; not that the nature of the thing itself is changed, but that our power to do is increased.

Ralph Waldo Emerson

Sorry for my lack of blogging lately. I have been working a lot and when I'm not working I'm trying to entertain my children entertained so they don't eat each other alive before school starts again. 

Anywho... This quote is so true! When I first started working out it was far from easy! It's still a challenge every day but I do things I would never have thought I could do. Last week was 100's week. YIKES! I never thought I could do 100 bicep curls in row, yes with no breaks. I never thought I could jog more than to the corner, let alone there, up a hill and back (6 times). This weekend I never thought I'd run/jog a 5k. I haven't done it yet but I can promise you I will do it. I am not a runner but it's a new challenge and next time I bet it will be easier! 

My challenge this week from bootcamp is to workout with someone else. So if anyone wants me to work out with them just say the word! I would love to join you.