where I've disappeared to, and I can't blame you--it's been awhile again, hasn't it? After getting a couple emails from readers and bloggy friends last week, I decided to make time over the weekend to post something . . . but, as usual, life got in the way.
Friday night Hubby came home from watching Soccer Son's competitive boys' team play an evening game. I greeted him as he came in the door around 9:30 p.m., and we chatted for a minute or so before I headed back toward the Sweat Shop. There was a loud crash, and I hurried back to find Hubby on the living room floor, near the front door, in the walkway that runs between a wooden bookshelf on one side and the couch on the other. By the moans and groans, it was immediately apparent something was terribly wrong, and so I called 9-1-1.
Long story short(ish), Hubby had a momentary black out, fell, and broke his left leg rather badly. As yet, we don't know what caused the black out, but his heart beat has been irregular off and on, so the doctors are looking in that direction. Friday night, the doctors admitted Hubby to the hospital, and finally, after a one-day delay, they did surgery on Sunday, Mother's Day, to place a metal plate in his leg.
If you've read my blog for awhile, you may recall that Hubby has Muscular Dystrophy. Because the doctors don't want him putting any weight on the broken leg for nine weeks, combined with his baseline muscle difficulties, the plan now is to transfer Hubby to a skilled nursing facility sometime today or tomorrow. It's my understanding the physicians anticipate he'll stay at the facility, engaging in rehab exercises and such, until he's able to put some weight on that leg again and come home.
Of course, all of this doesn't explain why I hadn't blogged up until this weekend. It just might help explain why you still won't hear from me much in the future.
So what's my excuse for my past absence from Blogland? Well, I'm still hard at work getting healthy and fit. I probably devote as much time to that goal these days as I did to quilting in the past. But at least I can say I definitely devote more time to quilting NOW than I did to being healthy and fit in the past! So it's all good, relatively speaking.
How much weight have I lost? I can't tell you because I don't weigh myself. I've seen too many people discouraged by the weight loss plans requiring weekly weigh ins. I can tell you, though, that in August, when I began this particular journey, I wore size 24 pants and a 2X top; now I wear size 14 pants and a large top; so you can see I've done well so far. And while I don't have a specific end goal in mind just yet, I have a vague idea that perhaps a size 8 pants and a medium top might put me at a good weight and size.
How have I made the change? First and foremost by watching what I eat. I try to keep my calorie intake between 1300 and 1600 calories a day. I eat fruits, veggies and lean proteins with the majority of my grain-type carbs being complex carbs (although I haven't managed to cut out white sugar completely). Portion size is key. Hubby and I have found a lot of great recipes from Cooking Light too.
Adding exercise helps burn the calories I DO eat--and have stored over the years. I still do CrossFit three days a week--sometimes four days, but normally three. I ride the exercise bike for 40 minutes most evenings--probably five out of seven days a week. Since January, I've been bowling once a week, although I'm sure the calories from the beer I allow myself more than make up for any calories burned by bowling! And when I felt like I had stalled out a bit on the weight loss a few weeks ago and was being a little more liberal in my calorie intake, I added a daily two-mile walk to the exercise routine--I now walk during my lunch hour on weekdays. (When the weather turned warm and I asked to be assigned a locker in the office shower room, I can tell you that felt like a huge milestone. I would never have imagined before that I'd intentionally want to sweat and take a shower half way though the work day!)
So I feel really good these days, and I like the changes I've made. Feeling fit and strong is empowering, mentally and physically. My only regret is that there aren't 26 or 27 hours each day so I'd have more time available for quilting! In my next post--and I hope to do that in the next few days--I'll show you the couple little things I've actually done lately on the quilting front. In the meantime, happy stitching and thanks for stopping by to visit!
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