Some Changes Goin' On...

In light of my very scary chest pain event, which was totally NOT heart related but could have been very easily, I've decided to get this health/diet/exercise junk over with once and for all. I'm also going to share some pictures of the flooded park for those who are local. ummm, but those who aren't local can enjoy them too though they won't mean as much.

Anyway, back to the diet thing...

Several women in an online quilting group I belong to are starting a health regimen as well and have shared some websites(just this morning as it happens!). I am still exploring but FitDay looks like a keeper as does, SparkPeople. Both have similar features such as keeping up with your meals, calories, exercise and so forth. FitDay will tell you if you are taking in enough nutrients based on the items you eat each day, among other many other cool things. At SparkPeople, they give you a sample menu for each meal and you get to substitute other foods as you click on each item. Both are GREAT sites and I plan on trying them out, probably one a week, to see which fits me best. They are similar to the WeightWatchers online but easier(for me) to use and FREE!!! WW was around $17/month to use their point and exercise tracker. Just tracking today, a normal day for me, I've eaten about 1500 calories and I'm done for the day. Not bad and I don't usually fluctuate from this too much that I can tell. Sometimes, of course, I'll have a much worse day but more often I have a way better day(as far as my nutrients go).

Now, onto the exercise thing...

I have a not-so-fun problem with my skeleton so I don't get a whole lot of exercise right now. It seems that my left leg is at least an inch shorter than my right leg. Always has been but I didn't really know it could cause problems until a few years ago(even though it HAD been causing them for about a decade before that). What happens is that any time I walk, my body leans to the left and causes the muscles over my right hip to be stretched more than normal. This results in an excruciating irritation of the bursae of that hip called Trochanteric Bursitis. Leg length inequality also causes lower back pain and other aches.

Also, when I was a young adult, I seriously injured the tendons in the top of my left foot. This injury reared its ugly head again when I was pregnant with my second child, and again in the past several years. Mostly it bothers me if I walk too much or if I swim(the flapping of my foot triggers it).

So anyway, I know there are people who exercise and do all sorts of other amazing feats with no limbs and other deformities and/or injuries. I'm not trying to take anything away from their successes. But, dang it, I HURT! Most of the time! And, I'm tired of it! So, I'd do much better without 50 pounds of extra fat that I'm carrying right now. My body hates it when I exercise, it pays me back with days and days of pain. I try not to take NSAIDS due to my high blood pressure so I mostly rely on herbal remedies and rest. It is HORRIBLY FRUSTRATING to exercise one day and feel wonderful about it and not be able to hobble to the bathroom the next morning. But I'm going to give it my best shot. Here are some of my favorite exercise sites:

Exercise at About.com
Tai Chi Forms and Movements
RealAge's You2 Exercises
BodyBreak Online

There ya have it. Now for the park flooding...