The Goings On

I'm starting to feel sick. I have been feeling so thankful that I've avoided any type of sickness all year - since last December actually. At that time I was out for almost a straight week, throwing up and feeling nasty. This time, I've been battling about 3 days of a sore throat, which has gotten worse in the last 24 hours, and fears of the swine flu running through my head. I've heard over and over it starts with a sore throat. We shall see. There is nothing gained in worrying. So I am working hard to get some exercise, eat healthy, and try to get 7-8 hours of sleep each night.

I had a mole removed in May, which turned out to be benign or no-big-deal-not-cancerous. Well, over the summer I thought it scabbed over but that's not gone away and today I found out the mole's grown back! At my appointment this morning I was informed that maybe they did not slice the entire mole off the first time, but moles also grow back often in the same place as before. I just have to keep an eye on it. It relieved some of my fears that I did something wrong in treating my scar! Oh health issues - always trying to stir up worry. To be honest, I think I have a deep-set fear of cancer. I need to be careful and control my thoughts about that.

I had some thoughts yesterday about movement. It caused me to reflect on how much I move in a day and I was SHOCKED at how immobile I am. Here's a scenario of say, Wednesdays, each week:

• 7:15 a.m. - Wake up, get dressed, get my water bottle/lunch together
• 7:25 a.m. - Eat breakfast while watching the Today Show
• 7:35 a.m. - Walk to the bus stop - a mere 3 minutes on my feet
• 8:00 a.m. - Enter my office and sit at my desk, with limited movement, until about noon
• 12:00 p.m. - Walk to the library or local eatery, a mere 5 minutes on my feet. I sit and enjoy lunch for an hour and walk the 1-2 minutes back to my desk.
• 1:00 p.m. - Sit at my desk for another 3 and a half hours with limited movement.
• 4:30 p.m. - Ride the bus home. Again, sitting on my behind.
• 4:45 p.m. - Walk the 3 minutes home to my house.
• 4:50 p.m. - Have a snack at home while watching Friend, get some laundry going, clean up around the house, read a book while sitting in a chair. Just depends.
• 6:30 p.m. - Drive to small group where we sit and chat for the evening
• 9:00 p.m. - Drive home and get ready for bed
• 9:30 p.m. - Read a book or watch something on TV, chatting with Marcus about the day as we get tired.
  
• 10:00 p.m. - Sleeping.

If you add up the movement in my day, it's approximately 23 to 30 minutes a day of movement. That is shocking when you stop and assess your day as an office employee!!!!!!!!!!!

With this in mind, I got to thinking yesterday about life in college. When I was in college, we walked EVERYWHERE we went. Nobody used their car (mostly b/c we didnt want to lose a good parking spot) and we went on foot even a mile or two to get to our destinations. I did anyway, or rode my bike or went for a run. Always moving throughout the day, for more than 5 minutes at a time mostly. Why is life so different for a college student and an office worker? How can I get more movement into my day, in order to just be healthy?

So yesterday I did an experiment. I woke up at 6 a.m. and did a half-hour workout DVD - Biggest Loser Cardio Max - it's totally simple, and totally works your booty. I love it. I came into work way more energized than other days. Then for lunch, I decided to walk to Subway, which I would never have considered before, thinking it was "too far" to get back in time to eat. Hello???? It took me eight minutes to get there. Eight minutes! By the time I reached the library cafe with sandwich in hand, I had only used 1/4 of my lunch hour. It was the perfect amount of time to eat and read my book. Plus I felt great that I had a healthy lunch. Then, last night after work instead of taking the bus, I changed into other clothes/shoes I had in my backpack and walked home from work. Do you know how long it took? Only 40 minutes. Instead of going home and maybe trying to squeeze in a workout, I got 40 minutes of fresh air, hills, scenery, the setting sun ahead of me, and way more movement than on a typical day. It felt wonderful. And I had moved approximately 95-100 minutes in my day. That is nearly three times the amount of movement I get in a typical day! Just by making 2-3 changes in my day.

I've learned how quickly I've fallen into a lazy lifestyle. We shortchange ourselves when we say such and such is "too far to walk" when really - 8 minutes? Not much of your day wasted. We are more apt to make excuses for being "too busy" when really we've got plenty of time, right smack in the middle of our routines. I lost one hour of sleep by getting up early yesterday, but I gained a lot of energy to sustain me during the day. I'm just learning I need to seek a healthy lifestyle and make it happen. I dont have to be a cross country runner or aerobics instructor, I just need to move.

On another note I've been trying to work on some craft projects when my sewing machine pooped out on me. I wasted a ton of thread on Friday night trying to get it to work! So alas, I have to take it in for maintenance - I'm just hoping the repair is inexpensive. I found a place that will fix it in-house so it will only take a few days. I'm hoping to be up and running again by the end of the week. I love sewing!!!!

Well I'm off to eat an apple and some kiwi. Delicious!