Week 11 - On a Stick

So, today’s blog is about how to stay active when you feel like crap….on a stick.  I went to my doctor today and she diagnosed me with (not pneumonia, which it started to feel like) sinusitis and gave me a big prescription for antibiotics.  Yay for antibiotics.  Can you imagine living in the days before such things?  Nowadays we use them for so many things that we are developing super bugs that are resistant to them.  (Google MRSA – it’s nasty)

So I will pick my my antibiotics at the drive-thru drug store on my way home from the chiropractor after getting fingerprinted for my next job.  How’s about THEM apples?  Sounds interesting huh. 

I was reading (yes, while on the job – I’m that good that I can get my job done, piss off my co-workers that think we’re just “too busy”, go see my doctor and still have time to blog and read and leave early.)  K, so only did 5 of those today – you figure out which ones.  I found an interesting little blurb in a 2007 Weight Watchers Magazine (March/April version) about fitness that’s “Easy on the joints”.  Given my near constant pain over the last 2 weeks now I was drawn to this info:

            The National Institute of Arthritis predicts that by 2020, 59.4 million people will have osteoarthritis.  My grandfather had severe arthritis, he had what’s called gout which deformed the joints in his fingers to the point that his hands looked like crab claws, curved into themselves.  The article gave a couple of ideas for non-impact exercises from Johanna Subotovsky (Equinox Fitness Clubs in NYC):

            1.  Basic Leg Lifts – sitting on a chair with back tall and arms at sides, lift right leg about 3 inches off floor and straighten it, keeping the left foot flat on floor.  Hold for 3 counts.  Repeat 10 times; switch legs.  Do 2 more sets.  NOTE:   I did this at work.  Very easy.  And I could feel it.

            2.  Hip Kicks – stand behind a chair with feet shoulder-width apart, palms resting on the chair for support.  Lift right leg about 3 inches off floor and kick it out behind you.  Return to start and kick right leg out to side about hip height.  Repeat this sequence 10 times; switch legs.  Do 2 more sets.  * I did not try this at work…but I could see doing this while waiting for the microwave at lunch…

Another little blurb notes that research linking lack of sleep to weight gain continues to mount.  According to the March/April Weight Watchers Magazine (pg. 12) the latest findings show that "women who slept an average of 5 hours per night were one third more likely to have gained at least 33 pounds during the course of the 16-year study than were those who slept an average of 7 hours a night."

So there you have it.  I did not get all of my chores done today by the way.  I forgot my papers needed for the fingerprinting (and had a mini-fit) and called the chiropractor and cancelled because all I wanted to do was come home and go to sleep.  I went to the store and stocked up on good things, including soup and tissues.  Picked up my antibiotics.  Watched the end of the miners' rescue and ate a bowl of yummy harvest stew.  Early to bed and hoping to be feeling better soon.  I won't discuss the weigh-in at the doctor's office....let's just say their scale and my scales are VERRRRRRRRRRRRRY far apart (ok, maybe not verrrry but you know every pound counts!).    I'm sticking to mine.  Just as a reminder dear readers we can all only ever take it:

One day.  One pound.  One step at a time.

~N