Bike Rides and Baggy Clothes

Despite my lack of exercise this week, the end of the week proved to be exciting.  A co-worker who only sees me once a week commented on Friday that my clothing looked like it was getting big on me!  I have also sensed this.  Several of my shirts that used to fit me snug seem to feel much more loose.  It's things like this that keep me from weighing on a regular basis.  My clothing could be getting more loose every day, but if the scale is still showing high, unchanging numbers, I tend to focus on that instead of the exciting changes happen right in front of me.  I even found a couple new shirts today that are perfect for my frame of mind right now.

After another frustrating ride last night with pain in my knees, I finally took my bike to the local shop and had them adjust the seat and handlebars for me.  Already, without even taking it out, I can tell my rides are going to be much more comfortable.  I had put it out of my head that I would be getting a new bike anytime soon, but one of the guys at the shop told me today that the brand they recommend actually makes high quality bikes at reasonable prices because there is no middle man.  I can get a new bike for around $350!  It's a good next-big-purchase to save for.  In the mean time, my Trek is still holding up solid and even got a kickstand today.  It's amazing how my fears about getting back on a bike again are completely gone and now all I can think about is when I can take another ride.  I'm very thankful to finally have a friend who wants to get out with me and either walk or ride after work and on the weekends.  Amy knows how to push me without being pushy.  I have never had a personality that wants or likes to have someone on my case about my health and being active.  Either I'm going to do it for myself or I'm not; I don't need people sticking their opinions and noses in my business.  But I do appreciate Amy's commitment to be active with me and keep me entertained along the way.  For me it's not about accountability so much as support and sharing the journey.

New Mission

One of the things I love about living in Columbus Ohio is the Metro Parks.  Many of them are built with cyclist in mind and offer bike paths that can not only be used by cyclist, but people walking as well.  Three of the major bike paths are very close to where I live which makes it easy for me to not only have places to walk, but now places to ride.  I wrote previously about my excitement and even hesitation to get back on a bike again.  But now that the first ride was behind me, I asked a friend to bring her bike yesterday so we could ride after work.  I took some ibuprofen before hand hoping it would help with some of the pain I felt in my knees.  Just like when I started walking again, I know this will also be a process to get my body conditioned to the new stress I'm putting on it.  Even now, my back still can give me issues while walking, so I expect my knees will do the same for a while as well.  I had a great thought yesterday as I changed into my workout clothes after work.  One of my co workers wore a really cute dress and jacket on Friday.  I remember thinking I could never buy something like that and look cute in it.  I realized, though, that this upcoming fall and winter season, if I continue to work at being healthier and active, I will be buying new clothes.  As my size goes down,  I will find more confidence in how I look in different clothing that I refuse to wear now.  It's a good thing to remember as I continue to push myself to be better about my eating and exercise.

Now that I have strayed somewhat off topic of this original post, (Squirrel!) my new mission is to enjoy riding again for exercise and be able to put in some long distance.  The first ride was exciting because I finished the loop, didn't crash, and found I still possessed the balancing skill.  The second ride was exciting because I went longer without stopping and I realized how much fun riding a bike was!  I miss the excitement of getting out my bike as a kid and riding for miles and miles.  This is going to be a very good thing for me!  It's something different that is also fun like what kickboxing was the first time I lost weight. 

Side note:  my new helmet rocks too!  It's my favorite color, mint green, which also happens to be close to the ribbon color that represents PCOS.  It's great for taking selfies too because it hides my double chin and slims down my face.  *giggle*

 

Before pictures are important too

I hate this picture but it's an important one to share. I found the shirt at Catos and knew I had to have it. Back in the day, I was able to do an hour of kickboxing and I used to love feeling the sweat pour down my face. It was additional confirmation that I was working hard and doing something good for myself. I'm ready to have that feeling back and I know this will be an important picture for me to have in the future.

Challenge Medal Totals: May

I completed my Tough Mother Medal the beginning of May. I walked 13.11 miles over a series of 7 days to earn the medal.

Continuing through May, I put miles toward my 200 mile challenge medal. In the month of May, I walked 13.55 miles toward this medal. I can do much better than this. I have decided that I will put my bike riding miles toward this medal as well. My goal is still to knock out 200 miles before the end of the year; adding in bike miles will help.

It's like riding a bike

When I was younger, riding a bike was life.  We lived on a very remote back country road with very little traffic.  As a result, my parents did not worry about my brother and I straying half a mile down the road.  The road was hilly, as was our yard, and we learned to ride by balancing the bike as momentum carried it to the bottom.  Over time, we rode so much, we became experts at riding without hands and when we tackled large hills like the ones at the state campgrounds, it was nothing.  I'm certain I owe that little girl and her love of riding to why my weight stayed under control when I was younger.  When I became a teenager, however, we move to another country home, but one that was on a major state route with a  lot of traffic.  Combined with a teenage routine, after school programs and work, I no longer went camping and my bike began to collect dust in our garage.  This is where it has stayed for years.  I am now 32 years old and I'm ashamed to admit I have not been on a bike since I was 21 or so.  Even then, it was a very short lived situation since my bike was taken accidently taken by another staff member at a boy scout camp and not returned till the end of summer. 

Now that I am working on my health, I decided it was time to dust off a bike and give it another go.  I loved riding a bike when I was a kid and I hope it will be one of the sources to help me reach my goals.  I chose one of the bikes from my parent's garage that seemed in the better shape than the rest and brought it to a bike shop locally that fixed a couple parts and made sure it could be ridden.  I have stared at it through my sliding window now for several weeks and finally took it out yesterday.  It was not a grand occasion.  I was shaky at first, but once I trusted myself, I did very well.  I didn't crash!  I met up with my friend Amy Jo at one of the Metro Parks with a bike trail and we did a little over 2.3 miles.  It was about all my knees and butt could handle the first time out.  We had to make frequent stops to adjust my seat and give my knees a rest.  I could feel my legs shake whenever I put them on the ground for a moment.  Much like when I started walking again, it's going to take some time for my body to adjust to the new movement and stress I'm putting on muscles that I hadn't worked for years.  While I feel it in my legs today, it's not as bad as I thought it would be.  My butt is feeling it the worst.  Eventually once the weight really comes off and the muscles adjust, that too won't be a big deal. 

I have been putting off weighing myself and doing my measurements this month because I knew May was not a good month.  While I did walk and did fairly well as eating right, I ate out far more than I should have and walked far less than what I was capable of.    I also did not keep my commitment to taking my medication daily.  All these things I intend to fix in June.  I don't have the financial funds right now to eat out regularly anyway and PJ is continuing to partner with me on paying half of what I spend on food we jointly eat during the week.  As the days get hotter heading into summer, I'm glad I now have another option for working out.  Riding a bike will be less miserable some days than walking with no wind and a hot sun beating down.  I will have to invest in a helmet though.

I am proud of myself for facing new things continuing to find ways to work on my health.  My May numbers reflect a bad month, but this is part of the reason I don't weigh often.  The numbers would have caused my motivation to really tank and I would not be going into June with hope and determination.

Starting out for June, some of my numbers did increase. My weight is up several pounds (but I'm not focusing on that.)  My neck, hips, upper arm, and calf measurements did not change.  The only gain I saw, besides my weight, was in my chest by half an inch.  Surprisingly, I still saw an inch loss in my stomach and upper leg, and you better believe, I'll take that!  Maintenance is better than gain and two measurements still being down is better than no change at all.