Sunday, January 3, 2010

worries, and why exercise will save me (I hope)

I had tests done last July to measure my Resting Metabolic Rate, or RMR, which is the number of calories the body burns while at rest. Given my age, weight and height, my RMR ought to be approximately 1620 cals. Mine measured in at 840 cals/day. This is not much. This is not good. They repeated the test again and again, but it still came out at that. It has worried me terribly ever since.

After the test, the doctor basically blew me off. He offered no explanation, and no solution. If you were a doctor, wouldn't it pique your interest? Wouldn't you WANT to solve the problem and get to the bottom of why my metabolism crawls like a snail?
It would me. The result upset me terribly. On one hand, it explained things, but on the other hand, it removed some measure of hope. I wake up at night worrying about whether the test was right. I wake up worrying THAT it was right. Then I worry that the worrying has so affected my mindset that everything I do gets screwed up by it, you know, if you believe that something is so....then it is. The whole thing has me in a bunch.

So....what to do? I believe that my thyroid is stablilizing and my next blood test and appointment is at the beginning of March and I have an appointment with another doctor in mid-January. I can't maintain a healthy 750 cal diet but I know that exercise is the best thing in the world for me, and I do enjoy it. In the past, the times when i just forgot about food because I was so busy being physically active were the times when the weight just "fell off". I have to get back to that place. Kind of like my own biggest loser campus.

Every day I take Gizmo out for a fast 40-50 minute walk. I have the best walking track in the world - solitary, beautiful (in a desert beauty kind of way) and soft, because it's a network of dirt roads.I can go a variety of different routes, depending on my mood and the prevailing winds. I am starting to do some yoga every day, which is good for both body and mind. I use a dvd by Sara Ivanhoe, which is great because there are 6 different 20 minute workouts. I am also doing the Biggest Loser cardio workout and am going to start the BL body sculpt workout. I also have to be more active just doing what I do....moving more, moving faster. And somewhere there I need to work in a regular weight training session. I have a great machine....I just need to USE it regularly.

So....that's my plan. Eat clean and count my WW points, but get BUSY, busy, busy..oh, and relax.

2 comments:

  1. I like skiing, too, except for the fact that I'm just an average skiier and the last time we went, my wife Anita decided she wanted to try snowboarding. "Don't you wanna try snowboarding, too?" she asked. I checked my driver's license to make sure that I was no longer fifteen, and then declined. Well, it was about as awful as you can imagine. She would just scrape down the mountain and I'd slowly piddle behind her. Only she started going down black slopes, because slope doesn't matter if you're just braking down the hill. So I almost killed myself following her.

    My point is... if I'm gonna be the first one to comment over here, I want to make sure and get my money's worth.

    Good luck with your journey. Even though you've got some unique challenges, I have no doubt that losing the weight will make you happier and make your life better.

    I look forward to watching the progress.

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  2. Hi Jack! thanks for stopping by.
    I THOUGHT about trying snowboarding. It was when we moved here, and were able to return to skiing as a viable sport. The kids were all doing it, and it just looked so cool. My husband and I were going up the lift, talking about it. I looked down, and there, huddled in a pathetic puddle at the edge of the run, was a woman, about my age. Her instructor was leaning over her, saying, "you can DO it, you can Do it", and she was wailing, "no, I CAN'T...i CAN'T do it. I CAN'T even get up". I looked at Ron, and said, oh no...I think that might have been a message. I'll stick with what I know that I just love. He had a go, being the skinny natural athlete than he is. He did fantastically well to start out, then as he passed our daughters on the slope, he preened a little, and bit the big one. He hit the ground soooo hard. He didn't say anything at all, but he admitted that he may have dislodged a rib (or two).

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