Let's Get Physical

I had a long overdue physical today. Apart from the fact that he didn't buy me dinner before violating me (he did apologize ahead of time), he was very happy with my health. I have slightly elevated blood pressure (my family is riddled with hypertension) so he gave me a 'script just to keep it in check. Otherwise I'm fine. Although I've been trying to drop a few pounds in the past few weeks, he called me "lean". I'm not fat, but I'm not lean. Furthermore, he also seemed to think I am much more fit than I am based on the heart test results. So I'll go with that as well.

Am I more fit than I give myself credit for? Or is he just used to seeing big slobs?

He even thought my tats were cool. That makes him cool in my book.

Easy Peasey, Lemon Squeezy

So the "procedure" wherein they wall off the little swimming tadpoles that are each the spitting image of me, was incredibly easy! Easy as a drunken ex-Catholic school girl on her first bender at college. Easy.

I got a prescription for Vicodin but I never even took an aspirin. I really didn't even need to ice although I did as a precaution Friday afternoon. In fact, on Saturday I had to keep reminding myself to take it easy. That easy.

The doctor (whom the wife thought was hot, R-girl -- but then aren't they all?) was a terribly nice guy and he answered a bunch of questions about college and medical shool. I think he was a bit younger than me and we had kids the same age. He even put on some music which at least shows I was wine and dine material. Hey, if he's going to spend that much time on my junk, I deserve to be treated right, no?

Got kinda weird, though, when he said I did a "good job with the shave". Uh. Thanks. I guess. I normally keep the lower meadows well groomed, so I guess my experience paid off.

In any event, I'm pretty much 100%. A tiny, tiny bit achey, but not a big deal at all. In three months I'm supposed to bring in a sample so they can test it to make sure all the "boys" are still locked up. I feel kinda bad for those little guys all swimming like hell in a big corn maze only there's no way out, but what are you going to do?

Then I though, wouldn't it be funny to F with the sample? My friend's wife breeds dogs so, she....urrr....ummm....shall we say takes care of them? I'm not kidding. Yep, into a little sample jar. Do you think they diagnostic place would notice? I know one thing, the full-breed dog stuff is worth a hell of a lot more than mine.

Or what if the sample was full! Ewww.....3 ounces. But funny.

Okay, enough baudiness.

Handle With Care

Handle me with care. I'm so fucking fragile!

So, since February or so I've been carrying around 15 to 20 extra pounds on my slight of build body for a while. I'm nearly 6 feet and the heaviest I've ever been at 197. Not good.

And I know that frequently I post about how I'm getting back to the gym, running more, eating better, blah, blah, blah.

But for one reason or another, I'm just not sticking with it. Some of its life's demands, some, admittedly is laziness, but for the most part, its health.

I'm rarely sick. I'm also fortunate in that I don't have any chronic conditions. But I can't stay physically healthy anymore. Tweaks, strains, sprains. Name it. Lately I get them. I play some softball and golf and surely that doesn't help. But I can't even stay healthy running!

Thursday, I loaded up my workout gear, ate a sensible breakfast and planned to get to the gym for lunch. My wife has been working brutal hours and by the time she gets home and we have some family-time I can't muster the energy (like I used to be able to) to work out after 9pm or so. And getting up at 5 am? Please! I used to do that too. Maybe its my weekend casino hours (8pm to 4am, Fri and Sat) that don't allow me to get up at that time or laziness but -- it ain't gonna happen. And I need to be in the house by 6:30am to get my Little One ready for school. So, I figure when work isn't too hectic I'll pop over to the gym for a workout during lunch which in turn will get me more motivated to work out and then when I miss an afternoon perhaps I'll be able to squeeze in the makeup one later that evening (I belong to two gyms -- one near work and one near my home).

I was ready for a back workout since my last workout was shoulders and that's the order I go. Chest, legs, shoulders, back then arms. Of course my shoulder workout was in MAY! Doesn't matter though. I fucking hurt my back! Dammit! It STILL hurts and working the casino all weekend did nothing to help.

I was going slowly. I didn't kill myself with some ridiculous overzealous workout so that doubles the frustration. I did everything right. I will go back as soon as I can, but its frustrating the hell out of me.

I want to lift. I want to run or bike or whatever. I just simply can't stay healthy.

Grrrrrrrrrrrrr........

Great News

I haven't gone into too much detail about it in blogspace, but I've touched on the fact that my mom has terminal cancer. Basically it is everywhere in her body, but the most debilitating part is it is in/on her spine. The diseased cells weaken the bone to the point where she has tiny cracks in the vertebra which could turn into breaks or worse, paralysis, should she fall or get hit by something. Obviously, she's living a careful existence but still living her life to the fullest her health will allow.

Her latest scans show the bones are actually stronger than they were during her last scan only a few months ago. Consequently, she called over the weekend to announce that she is feeling so much better lately that she will travel to stay with me for Christmas! Of course, she acts like its such a burden on us and it can be tedious convincing her that its our pleasure to have them. So, my parents will be down from Saturday through Christmas unless something unforeseen changes things.

Two years ago I wondered if that might be her last Christmas with us. Then last year I wondered it again. Perhaps I should stop wondering. She's too much of a fighter.

Can't wait until Saturday, mom. We all love you and my baby girl is overjoyed to see her Grammy and Grampa!

Fitness

Its the New Year. That means hoards of people making resolutions. Without a scientific survey, I would have to think weight-loss is in the top three. New faces at my gym certainlybears that out. After work (especially early in the week) the place is friggin' PACKED every year from Jan. 2 through about Valentine's Day. But around then the not-so-committed begin to die off. Gym owners must love that. Monthly dues continue to come in without the person paying them.

Perhaps after missing a few workouts or days/weeks of eating poorly due to various reasons people feel they can't start up again. One can always start up again. My sister-in-law likes to set a date (I've heard it time and again too - but good for her for continuing to try). Its silly to set a date to start getting fit. "Oh, on March 1 I'm going to get my ass in gear to look good for summer". I don't get it. Why not today? Or tomorrow? Or even the next day? Why wait though? I think the perfect time to start is the next trip to the grocery store. One would think that wouldn't be more than a few days away, right? Stock up on "good stuff" to eat, you know?

Obviously, I'm pretty much into fitness. While I'm no Charles Atlas, on and off for over 10 years I've been a regular at the gym. Lifting, running the whole shebang. Although I get side-tracked at times and go longish periods without going, I usually find myself returning. Of course, I find myself weaker, slower and a tad heavier....but I return, lol. As a result, I have more or less managed to stay thinner than most (all?) of my friends and family and I'm rather proud of that. It's real tough lately as I get more and more injuries. Age. It sucks. But I tape up (is that a mummy in the gym?) and I press on best I know how. I also try to watch what I eat and at times get on very stringent kicks (like now). Although, rarely do I consider myself dieting.

To that end, any interested readers (do I have more than one, lol? My counter is close to 100, but most of those are my own I fear) should check out the link I posted to the left here.....Fitday.Com. I really love the site. One can go so far as to log in everything they eat, every day. Track weight, goals, log activities and even keep a journal. Its free too! I know to most its a hassle to track tons of information but if you spend a lot of time online, or have a job with long down periods 5 mins a day isn't too much, is it? Plus, you can track only weight, or workouts or whatever. If interested in tracking food it can be tedious especially in the beginning. When a food is not on their built-in list you'll need to manually enter it but once you do its there forever and the next data-entry is that much easier. By the way, most chain restaurants have all their nutrition facts online too and many are already on Fitday.

Therefore, if your New Year's Resolution is to be a bit healthier, eat better or lose weight, I'm sure you'll find the site helpful. Check it out :)

Remitter of this passage is in no way affiliated with or paid endorser for Fitday.com -- lol