Easing Back

Again, I don't make it to the gym until noon, but mostly because I didn't leave the house until 11 am. I needed the morning to wrap presents and put them under the tree when neither my son or husband were home. I also filled all 3 holiday stockings with assorted candies, figuring that my son wouldn't really notice until later in the month. I often hide things in plain sight in my house, because it's so tiny and cluttered that everything sort of disappears like in those "find it" puzzles. The dog walks by and gives one stocking a deep sniff. But he's a bread hound; he's not interested in chocolate or peppermint. Thank goodness!

I also got the 30% CVS coupon in email this morning, so that warranted a trip back to the store. The 1X glasses had not come in, and after much deliberation, I picked up a pair of $25 Foster Grant 1X readers because they fit the better than the $20 pink cat eye frames. The latter reminded me of grade school in the Bronx where every girl wore that style in that color. The newer version felt cheap and flimsy though, and I didn't want to risk having them break too.

I bought the "tortoise shell" Foster Grants, happy that these felt okay, and actually looked okay. The 1X only came in one style for that price. Other styles got progressively more expensive. I'm really surprised that readers can cost upwards of $100 (online), but I guess since it's something you wear on your face like an accessory, then looks do matter. With the coupon, these new readers set me back $17.50 (plus tax), which is still pretty good.

I'm still not 100% health-wise, but a lot better. No red pills today. Still, I'm impressed with the amount of snot I blow out of my head once I heat up. At least there's no assorted colors in the tissues, just alternating white and clear. Almost normal. Yaaay me. The garlic, zinc and orange juice might actually be working! My son thinks raw garlic is a millennial fad like avocado toast. Sigh.

I'm comfortable doing 30 minutes on the cross-trainer with 5 minutes of cool down. Pull ups, push ups and core follow. Not a problem. Because it's later in the day, there are different regulars including Stinky Butt. Ugh. The Mayor is late today too. As is Little R, and Big Mustache. Maybe it's the Season? I get on the elliptical and cut my time to 20 minutes with a 5 minute cool down. That's 10 min less than I'd normally do. I finish with a last set of pull ups. The gym scale tells me 110.6 lbs and I'm happy, although this is probably more to do with me only drinking half my water bottle instead of the whole thing, like yesterday.

After having read dozens of articles on weight loss, nutrition and health, it dawns on me that I need to add HIIT cardio back to my routine in order for me to drop additional body fat. HIIT cardio was something I did once or twice a week in prior years. I'm not sure why I stopped, but it seems apparent to me that the change I need is not just to my diet, but also my cardio routine. And I hate HIIT cardio much more than I hate regular cardio. So this is going to be fun. Not. I'll probably start with the Intervals program on the elliptical for 20 minutes, pedaling as fast as I can in the troughs and doing a slow jog up the hills.

New readers!

My son is already home from school when I get back. He takes me aside and says very seriously, "Mom, something odd has happened." "What?" "All the stockings are full." "What?" "There's candy in all the stockings! I can see it from the hallway!" Ugh. Didn't think he'd notice so soon! I tell him that maybe the Elves have a strict schedule to keep with the Holiday season just beginning. "Mom, it's December first!" "Yeah, but Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer has already aired." Well, at least he still believes in Santa and Elves. It means he's still a little boy, and my husband and I want him to stay that way just a little bit longer.

Friday 
6.87 miles

35 x-trainer
Calories 170
Miles 4.73
Average Heart Rate 156

HGPU 26
Push-ups 60
Scissors 50
Bicycles 50
Crunches 50
Bird Dogs 2 x 60s
Side Planks 2 x 60s

25 elliptical
Program 1
Calories 242
Miles 2.14

HGPU 26

On the Mend

Fixed with Crazy Glue

I was ambivalent about going to the gym yesterday, but I had my bag packed. Then I bent over and the lens to my reading glasses plopped onto the floor. I didn't really think much of it and tried to pop the lens back into the frame when I suddenly realized that the frame itself was broken. Ugh. A clean break right below the nose pad. It's not a place that you can tape so I tried Elmer's. Nope. They weren't expensive glasses, but still... I have a second pair but they don't fit as well and tend to sit skewed on my face. They're not the same style either being wire-frames, so the lenses are actually smaller, which is fine for peering over but not so great for lengthy reading. I tried on dozens of readers to find the ones I wear most of the time, based on comfort and the fact that I only need a 1X, which I found out yesterday, is not widely carried by stores. I'm so pressure-sensitive, I can't wear anything heavy. With a typical Asian wide, square face (no nose bridge and big high cheekbones), I can't always judge how well glasses will fit me until I don them.

I went to 3 different stores and discovered that most only carry the Foster & Grants brand, costing upwards of $20 and starting at 1.25X. Ugh. Not what I want. CVS was the only store to carry 3 different brands and online the choices leap up to 15. But I can't try glasses on online. Two of the three brands carried in-store came in the 1X, but as did CVS's own inexpensive brand ($12.95), but the 1X appeared to be out of stock. I tried on the 1.25X, which fit well, and made type two feet away look very crisp, but I didn't want to start buying stronger glasses than I really need. The other brands cost $25 and $35, which made me wish I had one of those 30% off coupons. Even then the glasses would cost more than I wanted to pay. The store manager apologized and said that more glasses might be on the truck coming in at the end of the week. There were 3-packs of 1X readers for $19.95, but I tried a pair on and they were too tight in the temples. Besides, I didn't want to own 3 pairs of 1X readers. Instead, I bought some Crazy Glue and glued the frame back together. It's not pretty, but it'll do until I check the CVS again at a later date.

Today, I went to the gym. It was late, nearly noon. I did my 10 minute cardio warm up, and then shoulders with the Baby Bells. After pulling at the bands, I ambled over to the Nexersys machines. The older lady who spoke to me last week was actually at a machine, tentatively punching and kicking the pads. I'm impressed. But I'm not sure if she enjoyed it, or if she'll be back. I sat down at the other machine because prep takes me a good 10 minutes between applying the moleskin, taping my hands, using cotton wraps and then finally, stuffing my hands into gloves. By this time, she's finished and leaves the area. Which is great, because she was on the left machine, the one I've been partial to lately. I drag all my stuff over to that machine and continue my prep.

Punching too hard Round 6

I'm a little frustrated by the machine's arbitrary Punching Too Hard warning, especially when that round results in a lower than normal Power Average. The problem is that the machine doesn't count the blow that triggers the warning. Ugh. I also blank the screen several times today, causing me to miss several combinations. Oh well... It's still a good workout, and I don't cough once during any of it. I feel like I'm on the mend! I do blow a lot of snot out of my head once I go shower, but I feel pretty good overall. Once home, I crush a big clove of garlic, mix it with virgin olive oil and smear it on some toast. Between taking zinc with my vitamins and eating raw garlic everyday, I think my head cold is actually waning. Of course, no one else in my household is sick, just me. I only take 2 little red pills today: one when I got up, and another one when I get home. Tomorrow I probably won't take any... but I'll see how I feel. At least the scale is giving me encouragement: 111.6 lbs.

Thursday

10 min elliptical
Calories 97
Miles 0.85

T, Y & I DB Raises
3lbs x 15
5lbs x 15

Mid Band Pulls 15
High Band Pulls 15

Nexersys Follow Me
7r Beginner L
7r Intermediate L

HGPU 26

Monday Blues

I had plans to go to the gym this morning, but those plans did not include sweeping my walkway and driveway clear of the inch of powder that accumulated overnight. It did not include the bone-chilling winds that made my fingertips numb inside my insulated fleece gloves as I swept. It didn't include the sciatic pain I have running from my right hip down to my toes. It's my belief that sitting for two and a half hours in a school auditorium, watching the Chinese school's New Year program is the culprit.

I just cannot sit for long periods of time anymore, even in a padded seat. Investigating the causes of sciatic pain, I've narrowed it down to two: Piriformis syndrome where "The sciatic nerve can get irritated as it runs under the piriformis muscle in the buttock. If the piriformis muscle irritates or pinches a nerve root that comprises the sciatic nerve, it can cause sciatica-type pain"; and/or Sacroiliac joint dysfunction where "Irritation of the sacroiliac joint—located at the bottom of the spine—can also irritate the L5 nerve, which lies on top of the sacroiliac joint, causing sciatica-type pain." (See Sciatica Causes link here.) I've taken a few ibuprofens to reduce the discomfort I'm attributing to nerve and muscle inflammation.

I know exercise is beneficial but since there's no school today, I'm limited by the gym's child care hours. My son isn't comfortable being left home alone, so I let him sleep in while I busy myself with chores. I'll probably make my son help me bring more firewood into the house later. Movement is good. And it'll get him off the couch where's he's playing video games.

SiriusXM internet radio has ended their Bowie tribute station. We watched Bowie videos last night on Palladia, an MTV station. I had the sudden urge to watch Labyrinth, but it's only available on Amazon now. I'm not even sure what Netflix has to offer these days because I can never find what I want to watch in their streaming library. I've had a week to process and I'm still as sad and achy as I was when I first heard the news. Grief is weird like that. 

As much as I resist, I'm tired of squinting to read the newspaper, or the nutrition labels on packages. So I finally bought my first pair of reading glasses at CVS. It's a 1X. Like everyone else, I had assumed that the numbers meant magnification levels, as in 1.25X. But these numbers, in fact, refer to diopter strength which changes the focus point of your eyes. I found a website that explains how this works and have included the link here even though it also sells prescription reading glasses. Luckily, my "readers" don't really change anything except make it easier to read small print. Suddenly I'm not squinting! I'll be 56 years old in a few months and I don't need any more wrinkles. Especially ones I can prevent by not squinting. I'm perfectly fine with everything else, including reading the screen of my desktop computer. My phone, an old Apple 5, is another matter, but I can't bear the thought of a bigger phone that doesn't fit into my pocket. Seriously. We all don't want to carry purses everywhere. But then I've never been the "girly girl".

There is school tomorrow, so I'll be going to the gym tomorrow. There is my son's kung fu and Cub Scouts Pinewood Derby, and the upcoming Klondike. I need to get more things done. Today.