Friend of Julie: In the Water

I'm back from California, well rested, and ready to finish the home projects I put on hold a few weeks before my vacation. One thing I'm not willing to put on hold any longer: exercise. During my vacation I was more active than I've been in a decade. I return home with renewed strength from walking, swimming, sailing, and kayaking. A soak in the hot tub every night was great too!

I look at this photo and think, wow, if I look this big now - how big did I look when I was six sizes bigger? Okay, enough self criticism. I had a blast as long as I didn't look in the mirror while wearing my swimsuit.

The last time I was suited up and went in the water was 2006 and that was because I was in Hawaii and, obese or not, I was not not going in the water while in Hawaii. Ever since I was  very young I was in the water every chance I could an it's incredible to be back in the water once again.

My motivation to get into the pool during my vacation: I'm participating in a mini-triathlon at work. This means I committed to a specific distance of walking or running, swimming, and biking, over a six week period. Since my Long Beach friend goes to aquatics three times a week, I asked her if I could join her at pool to do my laps. One morning I even arrived at the pool at 6 am! 

Getting into the pool was difficult, as I am not as flexible as I used to be. Sitting on the floor has been difficult for me and I had to get over that on day one at the pool. I managed to sit at the edge of the pool, but then I froze for a few seconds. Was I really going to be able to slide in? Wait. Really? When did this kind of fear hit me? I LOVE swimming. It wasn't fear of the water, but of the process of getting into the pool. I've been so inactive for so many years that my body has become stiff and unbending. I told myself I was going to get over this right that moment, and then I pushed off the side of the pool and into the water. Once in, I was like a fish in water. Getting out, I climbed up a ladder, which defied a few laws of gravity, as I have no upper arm strength.

All of this is embarrassing to admit, but I suspect I'm not alone with these kinds of issues, so I thought I'd explore this a bit further with all of you and ask if any of you have had similar experiences. Have you?

During the past ten months, I've done more running than walking for exercise, but while I was in Long Beach I walked to the pool (and everywhere else) at fast-pace and it was invigorating. It helps to have a friend who walks faster than you do. We walked to the pool and back, three miles round-trip, during which time my favorite sneakers gave me corns. The solution: buy a new pair of sandals and (as I do at home) switch out my shoes daily.

I always travel with a pair of sandals and a pair of sneakers, and I always put comfort before beauty when it comes to shoes. This trip was different. This time I packed my favorite sneakers and a new pair sandals that are both beautiful and support my feel in all the right ways and just a tad shy of being orthopedics. I broke in the sandals in a month before my trip. On the plane, I wore sandals that I could easily slip in and out of at security and while in flight; they are not as supportive as my foot doctor would suggest, but they are comfy and beautiful. Keeping up with my friend as we walked about town, not so easy in these sandals, but hey - I looked great! Ha!

Why am I writing so much about shoes?  While on this weight loss journey, I discovered other areas of my health that also need my attention: resolving my feet and my knee issues, and building strength in my upper arms and in my core. Exercise, I now realize, isn't about losing weight, but about gaining physical stamina. I want to have a strong body so I can be active and live a long and healthy life. Exercise, it turns out is key. Ha-who's not at all surprised to hear this? What I'm saying is, okay this isn't the first time any of us have heard this, but this time I really get it.

After dropping a couple sizes last spring, even before I started to exercise, my feet hurt and I wanted to do whatever I could to resolve my feet issues before my vacation in Alaska. I went to a foot doctor and to a specialist to find out why I had pain in my right knee. My doctors gave me stretching exercises for my feet and knee, which I've done about three times since then.

A year later, my feet issues resurface from time to time, and they really surfaced during my California vacation. I've decided I'm SO ready to rid my body of these aches and pains. I'm ready to incorporate those stretching exercises into my daily routine, so I can maintain and expand an active lifestyle. I've been saying this for several weeks now, but today I put my words into action. I will not go to bed tonight until I've done my stretches!

BTW, thanks for keeping this blog going while I was on vacation. It was hard to blog from my iPhone, tiny keyboard and all, and I couldn't upload any photos, which drove me crazy. In the next few days I'll reply to many of the comments that I wasn't able to respond to properly while I was away. I've been following the Facebook thread as well. I even made yogurt Popsicles today, a take-off from an idea on the FB support group. Thanks for sharing recipes there as well as this blog!

A few weeks ago, I blogged about Exercise and I encouraged you to explore new ways to exercise. During my vacation, I took my own advise and I'm happy that I did. I'm going to look around my area and in Rhode Island for places to rent a kayak or a canoe. I really liked being on the water this way. Now that I know a) I can do it, and b) it will be more and more enjoyable as I strengthen my arms and my core, I'm going to fully explore kayaking and see if I prefer a canoe or a kayak better. Perhaps next year I'll buy one!

Have any of you come face-to-face with physical limitations due to your weight? Or, on the flip side, have any of you discovered you are no longer physically restricted because you've lost weight?