2/25/15 & 2/26/15 Snowcercize! 2 miles!

We got lots of snow over the past 24 hours and alas...Fresh Start class got cancelled.  I was going to go to the Y today and bring my son, Max, with me as my guest, but our car is blocked in, so we just stayed put.  BUT....I have done two miles of snow walking!  Last night at midnight, Max and I took a walk to enjoy the snow before the world got to it.  You know how it is when it has just snowed...the air is mellow, there's a quiet hush, and everywhere you look there is virgin snow, not yet trampled or marked up.  It's the prettiest the snow ever is, right in those hours before the world wakes up.  So we put our own tracks in it and walked for a mile.  I don't have any decent winter shoes, so I just made do with bread bags over my socks.  My feet were cold but dry.

And then, since I couldn't get out to go to the Y, I took another mile walk.  TOTALLY different experience.  By the time I went for my second mile walk, the snow had gotten all melty and slushy, the air was sharp and loud, and felt like a damp towel over my face.  Yuck! I would have liked to have jumped in that hot tub after that walk.

2/23 and 2/24 Situps and my own berry almost chicken salad

I forgot to post yesterday...distractibility is my Achilles heel.  But since I rested on my strength day, I decided to do some sit-ups on my resting day.  I did 50 of those.  Bridget said it could count as strength.

And then today...which was supposed to be my day of rest, I had actually planned some pool time at the YMCA, but got caught up in proofreading and interviews and planning a homeschool party with a friend that I ended up not doing that either, so I decided not to worry about that and set my sights on something else.

I am having a very hard time letting go of the Cheerwine.  That is one thing that I dearly love and I crave it all winter long.  Not so much the summer.  That's when I drink gallons of water with lime, but during the winter, I do want that Cheerwine.  I think what I'll try is drinking a glass of water when I want a Cheerwine and if I still want one after that, I'll drink one then.  So at least it will be getting diluted.

Another food (if you can count Cheerwine as a food) is Wendy's berry almond chicken salad.  I wait all year long for summer to roll around so I can get them again.  I could eat one of those every single day.  So today, I decided that instead of  eating lasagna with my son, I'd fix myself up one of those berry almond chicken salads.  Mine is a little different, but honestly, it hit the spot for what I was wanting.  It was SO good....like a little bit of summer on a plate (or in a plastic carry-out box).  Here's what I had in it:

• Lettuce
• Spinach
• pineapple
• Strawberries
• Strawberry yogurt (bonus!)
• sunflower seeds
• almonds
• smoked turkey cubes
• Ken's Lite Raspberry Vinaigrette

2/22/15 Resting Day - I RESTED (which is a euphemism for didn't do a darned thing)

Today I imitated my son's hugely obese cat, Cinnabon.

I am sorry, but my hips are aching so bad, it's making me want to kick something and I would too, but you know...my hips hurt too bad to kick anything.

I had a full day of writing articles and proofreading depositions, so it was a very sedentary day for me.  *hangs head in shame*  But I did make it a point to get up and walk around whenever I thought of it and did some dishes.  Aside from that...nada.  I can't imagine where on earth I'm going to dredge up the energy to walk across this state in just three months.  Still working out the details on that.  Someone has suggested that I use the Mountains-to-the-sea greenway trail because the highway is too dangerous.  I hadn't really considered the danger factor...so many things to work out...so little time...

2/21/15 Cardio Day - Yoga, the pool, and the HOT TUB!!!

Katherine Hutchins: Yoga Instructor

According to my agenda, today was (is) a cardio day, so I thought I'd be daring and try a Yoga class.  I've had painful past experience with Yoga and had always told everyone that I didn't like Yoga, but this class may have converted me for good.  I took the Flow Yoga class with Katherine Hutchins and she was awesome!

Before class, I told her that every other time I'd ever done Yoga, it really hurt my wrists a lot and that now my knees are also very tender, so she suggested I hang on to weights instead of using my wrists and just take it easy and don't do anything that hurts.  Surprisingly, I didn't have any problem with my wrists in this class.  We spent some time on them, but not so much that it became unbearable, so I didn't even need to use those weights!

I think what made this class so successful for me and may be helpful for other people who are novices or just really out of shape (of which i am both) is that Katherine shows several different ways to do each position so you can pick the version of that position that will work for you.  I mean really...some of them had four options to choose from!  I loved that!  And if you still can't do the position, then you can just sit and breathe or do that downward dog thing and focus on your breathing.

And that Yoga really was a workout!  My face got read and my heart was pounding and I could really feel that I was doing something.  It was very relaxing for me because I had to focus on each thing.  I totally feel it in my butt, legs, knees, hips...I feel it everywhere.

After Yoga, I did some swimming in the pool, but that was just an excuse to get wet and eventually make my way over to the hot tub.  Part of what got me out of my snuggly bed and out into that frigid cold was the promise of the hot tub.  I told myself that if I would do a cardio like a good girl, I could reward myself with a hot soak.  I think this will work as a fine incentive for me in the future.

2/20/15 Resting day - Pioneer Dishwasher

Today is a resting day.  On our resting day, we're supposed to still do something active, like vacuum or march or any kind of movement, so this was mine.

Yeah, that's right...I'm resting like Laura Freakin' Ingalls, pioneer style.  The water is frozen in my kitchen, but it's running fine in my bathroom (which we are now keeping as warm as sauna to keep it that way), so guess where the dishes are getting done.  If you don't think washing all of your dishes bent over the bathtub is hard, give it a try.  I could feel it in my back, thighs, and butt.  My heart was pounding, even.

Tomorrow I will go to the Y and do something for cardio. I don't know what and right now I guess it doesn't matter, just so long as I go.  It's winter and I'm feeling lethargic, so just going will be major for me.

2/19/15 First Day

Hey, nothing like starting out this brand new blog with a nice, dorky durp!  This is my first day "video" outside my very first Fresh Step class at the YMCA:

Yes, that is right, this is me hitting the camera button twice on my cell phone, instead of starting and stopping a video.

If I'd actually recorded myself the way I intended to, you would have heard me telling you that my name is Jamy Gearhart and as an unfortunate consequence of taking antidepressants and living a sedentary life for about 8 years, I'd gone from weighing 150 pounds to about 210 (according to what they told me today).

Up until eight years ago, I had never had to worry about my weight ...though I always used to put on a new outfit and say "Oh I'm too fat!" in that annoying way thin people will, when they should be able to see that they aren't fat at all.

You would have heard me say that I am a reporter with Kernersville News and while I was interviewing a lovely woman named Joan Joyce at the YMCA, I learned about the Fresh Start program and got the idea that maybe I should try this thing.  Also because I'm a masochist, I decided that not only should I try it, but I should make it into a newspaper article and blog for our loyal readers to track.

I said that I was excited that I might finally be able to lose the weight and also a little afraid that I would fail.

Which I am.  I love challenges, but am terrified of failure in any form.

So there it is.

But enough about me, the class was wonderful. Twenty-five people from the community are invited to participate in this free program.  They all seemed just as excited and nervous as I was, which helped me actually relax a little.  During the course of the next eleven weeks, we will be getting nutrition counseling, a personal trainer, group sessions, a well check that will include things like cholesterol screenings, blood pressure, etc. and full access to the YMCA.  I am really looking forward to the pool and Zumba classes and getting to know these people better.

After being introduced to the peppy and vivacious (but not in an annoying way) Bridget Wilkes who identified herself as our "person," we were weighed in, measured, photographed, and did a short cardio session.  I was okay with pretty much everything we did except the exercises that had me on my knees.  All of this weight I have gained makes my knees hurt all the time.  I'm hoping this won't be the case in a few weeks.

Everyone was so easy to talk to and I even made a friend when we quickly discovered that we both had teenagers of about the same age.

I have named this blog "Walking Across North Carolina" because my ultimate goal is to walk across North Carolina along I-40 from the beach all the way up to the mountains.  Originally I had thought I'd do it as a birthday present for myself, but there's no way I'm going to walk I-40 in the middle of July, so instead, I'm aiming to do it in May.

That's my long-term goal.  These are my short-term goals just for this class.  If they are too lofty, I'm sure Briget will let me know next time I see her:

1. Drink more water.
2. Cut back on the Cheerwine (my one big weakness).
3. Be able to make it through a vigorous Zumba class without dying.
4. Do ten real non-girl push ups
5. Do 100 sit-ups or some equivalent exercise
6. Lose one pants size.

I think that's enough for now. 

Stay warm and safe everyone!  I hear it's going to snow again.  *sigh*