So, I have been hanging around the diary list for a while, and right now I have decided to take the plunge and commit myself to get fitter. I have been 100% raw for about a month, although pretty much raw for about three years.

This morning, I did a very beginner yoga workout - I am hoping to do that on a regular basis. It was very surprising to me. I did yoga a few times many years ago when I was young and strong and flexible, and didn't think it was a big deal. This time, it was actually very difficult for me to hold the poses. especially the downward facing dog, but that was mostly because my wrist was really bothering me (I broke it last Feb, and it is still sometimes a little sensitive).

I also had my first visit to the new gym I joined. I talked to the lady about how I used to work out years ago, but she suggested I start with something less intense, and good thing!! The stuff she considered really easy seemed pretty darn challenging to me, LOL!!! So I am only promising myself to go twice a week for now, but I am still dragonboating twice a week as well, and I think that is all the time I can spare.

It has been five years since I finished my chemotherapy and radiation treatments, and I am very frustrated by the fact that my energy levels never came back to where they used to be. I have tried many things, and I was afraid to take on too much physical activity in case I made it worse, but I have decided to try a very short yoga first thing in the morning, and to end the day several times a week with a workout or dragonboating (that way, if I get too tired, I can just go home to bed). The trainer predicts that by expending energy, I will probably create energy, so I hope that is true. I am sick and tired of always being tired.

So wish me luck, and I send positive and happy wishes to all!

Sapphire

Day 2...

Yikes, I am a little sore from the workout at the gym yesterday, those abdominal exercises were a bit much, but I suppose it just goes to show how much work I need to do!

Yoga in the morning is interesting. I do it in my bedroom to try to avoid all the traffic of kids getting ready for school, hubby wandering around, but even that seems to be a big traffic zone. Kids walking in and trying to converse with me or complaining about one thing or another. Hubby couldn't resist joining in, but being a clown, which was funny, but I am trying to concentrate and be serious!! Well, that is out of his system now, so I am sure he will leave me alone while I do my yoga, and he will be back at work soon, so peace and quiet in the morning! Everyone will adjust to my schedule, all I have to do is be consistent!

Today is a fabulously gorgeous day, and since autumn is in the air, I want to take advantage of this while I still can. So today, I think that instead of going to the gym, I am going to take my dog hiking at the lake.

I nearly forgot, I do have some other yoga experience - did Bikram for several months a few years ago, but the heat nearly drove me crazy. It's a great program, but not one that I personally enjoyed very much.

Well, the sunshine is beckoning me, must get going....

Sapphire

great job sapphire, I cant wait till I start.
Keep it up
Pam

Oh boy, yesterday was a big surprise for me.

My son and his soccer team were going to run around the lake (about 6 km, or 3.5 miles), so all us moms decided we would "walk" around the lake at the same time for a nice exercise. But all the moms (except me) who showed up were seasoned runners, and there was no way I could keep up. I did the best I could, and I am sure I got around faster than I have ever had, be I was by far the last one!! I was kind of embarrassed, but to be honest, the word "WALK" was the only word ever used when they organized all that! Oh well, I am sure it did me good. Maybe that is something I should work on! (my son ran it in under 30 minutes, I think I was closer to 45 or 50 minutes!)

My body must be really adjusting to raw though. Yesterday, I made a big pot of supper for the family in the crock-pot, and the whole house smelled of the food I was making. And even though I was really hungry in the afternoon, it didn't even smell like actual food to me. I just ate a bunch of fruit, and it totally satisfied my hunger. (and thirst!)

I plan to stay on track today - yoga in morning and trip to the gym later on. (MY abs are still killing me!)

Sapphire

Keep up the good work. I do a lot of sports and my body has learned that feeling a bit sore is a great feeling, than I know I've done something good.

I so envy that you're really into the raw, you're way ahead of me in that way, so don't only look down on yourself for not being sporty at the moment, you're so healthy in other ways, and as soon as you'll get exercise on your daily programme the lust for more sports will come. But it's exactly like learning to eat raw I guess, nothing happens in a day, a week or a month, expect a year at least. But it's worth it!!!

Hmmmmm.......

I wonder if I will ever get to a point where sore muscles feel good to me, haha!! But seriously Annbou, I know what you mean. Years ago I used to work out, and I really felt great. And it seemed that sometimes the more I pushed myself, the more I wanted to push myself. I am very much looking forward to getting back to that.

Sadly, I have used my low energy levels as an excuse for not doing enough for such a long time. I now have a very long way to go, but one step at a time, and I will get there.

Yesterday I went to the gym again. I couldn't do much of the ab stuff the trainer showed me, I was just still too sore. But I did what I could. When she originally told me to do this stuff, I told her it was way to hard, but she just laughed and said if I stick to it, in a few weeks, I will be saying it's way too easy. I hope she's right!

I don't know if I mentioned my friend. She was severely overweight, and decided she needed to regain her health because of so many problems she had been having. She went from being, well, I suppose obese (although I really feel bad using that word), to being terrifically fit. In fact, I took her to my gym, and one of the trainers there kept telling her she should go into fitness competitions. What a transformation!!! I don't know if I have any intention of going as far as she has, but what a wonderful inspiration she is for me. (and as a bonus, she has gone off all her medications for blood pressure, cholesterol etc etc.) The only thing I just can't agree with is her Atkins-style diet. Ah well, I am very proud of her no matter what!

Have a great day!

Sapphire

you are an inspiration to me. I still have to get up and go I still am in the "I"M thinking of it" mode. I gues I need a kick in the butt.

YOU go girl

Hi Sapphire! I see you started a journal. It is a pleasure to read your posts. Exercise is a great key. Sore muscles! Happy muscles! Doesn't feel like it though, does it?!

I haven't been to a yoga class for a couple of days. We can't go today either, but will tomorrow. My hip hurts and I need to put it back in the crock pot, LOL.

When you read my last entry...well, don't be dismayed. I'm such a work in progress and progress is bumpy.

Glad to hear you are raw and exercising. Keep up the good work! Have a wonderful day.

Hi Pam

..................KICK................. (hope that helps, hee, hee!!)

Elakti, and everyone, thanks for the support. The diary really does help keep me motivated, why haven't I done this before?

Yesterday, I did my morning yoga, then buzzed around the house trying to get things done until a friend stopped by with her three kids. Then, once my kids got home from school, things really got hectic. Got my daughter to her piano lesson for 3:30, then picked her up at 4:30, rushed home to get her ready for her singing lesson at 5pm. Then on my way to pick her up at 6 pm, I dropped off my son at soccer until 7:30 when I had to pick him up, then race to the school for parent-teacher night (and drop my daughter off at her boyfriend's house on the way.) After meeting the teachers, I was really tired, but I convinced myself to get to the gym, and worked out really hard for about 45 minutes. Then picked up my daughter and went home. I slept so great last night, but would have liked to sleep late today. (but I volunteered all day for my dragonboat team). Driving people from place to place isn't strenuous or anything, why does it exhaust me?

Ah well, going out of town with my son for a soccer game he is in first thing tomorrow morning, so I will have to get things ready - pack up lots of raw food so I don't get tempted on the way!

Have a great weekend everyone!

Sapphire

Your last post reminds me of when my three older kids were in the house -- madhouse city!!! I look back and think those were the good old days!!! Now they're in Cali raising their kids and I'm in Mass raising a three year old. It's funny where life takes you!! I'm enjoying your posts!!

Ouch, I hurt my back on Friday. I am not sure how, must have been overdoing it at the gym, but I don't remember anything that felt overly strenuous. Feeling better today, but was quite uncomfortable on Saturday and Sunday. I did my yoga on Sunday, but haven't been back to the gym. Better to let things heal first.

Tonight my (youngest) daughter is doing a big speech for a pageant she is in. I am so excited to see how she does. All the contestants have been in classes learning public speaking and what a difference it has made in their confidence levels. We should all be so capable! My daughter only entered into this pageant because there was a possibility to win some scholarship money for college, but it has turned out to be a huge personal growth experience.

My son tied his soccer game on Saturday. It's such a pain going out of town for him to play - one soccer game pretty much eats up the whole day. Two hours to drive there, one hour for his team warm-up, then the game, then he wants to get something to eat, and another two hours to drive home. It's even worse when we have to go off the island, then we have a long ferry ride to top it off! Oh well, I suppose there are a lot of worse things a 15 year old boy could be doing!

So, I hope to get back to the gym today and stay on track this week as much as possible. Made some RAWvolution onion bread in the dehydrator yesterday - still in there, and smells wonderful. Will have some later today. Fridge is full of salad fixings, so that will go great as well.

Sapphire

Got back on track yesterday. Well, I wasn't really off track all that much, I did miss one day of yoga on Saturday morning because my back was sore, and I didn't go to the gym on Saturday or Sunday for the same reason. So yesterday, I did my yoga in the morning, and went to the gym last thing after I was done all my rushing around for the day. I am so much looking forward to looking and feeling better.

What is it about bananas that makes people so suspicious. I can eat any other food in any quantity I wish, and nobody says a word, but last night I had a bunch of bananas for supper and everyone had to make some kind of negative comment, I don't get it! My husband went on and on about how hard they are to digest (yeah, and a giant BBQ steak isn't???). Even one of my daughters joined in and started piping up about incomplete nutrition. They never carry on like that when I am eating a giant bowl of watermelon or oranges or anything. Weird!

Sapphire

My yoga is progressing nicely. I can see I will need something a little more challenging soon, and I am nowhere near as flexible as I remember being when I was younger, but things are improving a little at a time. The best part, is that I seem to have woken up a memory of how strong and flexible I used to be - I even had a dream about that one night. It felt so good.

Last night after dragonboating I went for coffee with the team. Next door to the coffee shop is a booster juice place, so I zipped in and ordered myself a wheatgrass shot. Took that in and had it instead of coffee - the girls were pretty grossed out, haha!! The ones that smelled it thought it might be the worst smell ever! Funny, it smells good to me.

I had to change up my gym routine back to doing the stuff I used to do. Those exercises that trainer showed me were terrible - at least two of them nearly caused me serious injury. Not very good fitness advice in my opinion, but I am sure my old system of working out will serve me as well as it used to. I kind of wish I would have thought to have weighed or measured myself before I started, but the real goal isn't a magic number on a scale, but rather to feel really great. My jeans are already feeling just a little bit more comfortable - GREAT!

Gray skies and rain today, ho hum.

Sapphire

My daughter won her pageant last night - YAY !!!

She will get some scholarship money for her university studies, so that will be wonderful, and she won a whole lot of prizes that we didn't expect, that wil be a lot of fun for her to use. What an exciting evening!

My working out is going really well. I am enjoying my morning yoga, and things are getting to be a good routine at the gym. One problem I have is that chemical stuff that everyone sprays their machines down with after using them (I don't know if all gyms do this, but there are spray bottles all over and little signs requesting that things get sprayed after using.) I find that stuff in the bottles to be very aggravating to my system - if it sprays too close to me, I actually have trouble breathing. I realize it is some kind of disinfectant or something, and meant for our own safety, but it is so ridiculous that the world has become so paranoid about germs that we actually believe it is better to expose ourselves to a toxic poisonous chemical that a little organic sweat. (I mean really, the door handles in the bathrooms are probably a lot more contaminated than the grips on the weight bars on some of that gym equipment!) If it was my choice, those bottles would be banished, and a staff member would wipe the machines all down once or twice a day.

I haven't noticed any big changes in my energy levels yet, but I do seem to be in a better mood, so this exercise must be starting to pay off a little.

Gorgeous day today - hubby went golfing, and I must find a way to spend some time outside as well.

Sapphire

hey Sapphire congrats on your new lifestyle changes !

i really hear ya when you say your energy levels never came back after cancer ..mine didnt either but i find working out on a regular basis helps alot

keep at it !!

...Jodi, the banana eating buddhist

Ouch, my lower back is so sore - it hurts when I shift my weight onto my right foot. I don't know what I have done. I am leaving to go out of town to visit my sister tomorrow, so I am not happy about this pain. I don't know how much I will work out for the next ten days that I am gone, but I plan to take my yoga tape with me. (She also works out to the Wii, so I am looking forward to try that if I can manage)

I had a little non-raw snack yesterday - there were some roasted, salted pumpkin seeds just sitting there, and I couldn't seem to resist having a few. I am sure I will get right back on track, don't know why I was even tempted! Also made some raw guacamole yesterday, and enjoyed it on some sliced red peppers, one of my favorite combinations. Probably higher in fat than I should be, but quite delicious! I have decided that avocado is a lot like cantaloupe. Very forgettable except when you find that perfectly ripe, perfect one once in a while, and then it is pure heaven!

Hi Jodi - nice to see you posting, haven't seen you around a lot lately. Hope you are doing really great! Thanks for the encouragement!!

Sapphire

hey Saph yea ... life caught up to me an decided to make me real busy LOL

things are great indeed ..if i was any better id blow up lol

about your back .. .its great you are going for a visit for 10 days just take it easy on that lower back as messing up your core can realy mess up your fitness plans ... a few days rest will not set you back any

for some good old fashioned relief without drugs .. grab yourself a frozen bag of peas and a hot water bottle and alternate 20 minutes hot 2-5 minutes cold (as long as you can stand up to 5 min .. you dont want to frostbite your skin lol) ... do this 3 or 4 times in a row ... for 2 or 3 times a day and you will be doing wonders to helping your tissues repair quickly

(the cold reduces inflamation and the heat will bring blood and oxygen to the damaged tissues and help heal)

hey if a couple roasted pumpkin seeds are yer only vice id say you are doing awesome personally this is one of the things i just cant resist at halloween and well honestly its not much of a blip to worry about as far as im concerened

its not like im wallowing in candy this time of yera like in the past LOL !

i say enjoy the seeds

...Jodi, the banana eating buddhist

Sapphire--
You're a wonderful inspiration to me! I've been 'going through something' this fall-- tired, foggy, overeating and being tempted by cooked food-- and so I'm on a campaign to get myself back on track, and also get to the gym more often again.

Sorry about your lower back problem; my husband works out a lot and deals with a lot of lower back pain, so I know it can really be tough to deal with. Our worst experience with it was when he had a micro-tear a few years back and had to sleep sitting up on the couch and crawl to the bathroom and back for 3 days. (It healed up just fine!) Thought I had an invalid on my hands there for awhile, but he's incredibly resillient.

Have a wonderful fall! And when you're doing your yoga and feeling uncomfortable, think of me doing the plow: I have really short, squat legs, and short arms, and often the only way I can reach back and grab my ankles (and just barely hoist them up above the mat a few inches) is to reach for my foot-socks with the tips of my fingers and slowly grab them tight, and then pull with all my might. Quite a sight, not so pretty! ;-p