Thursday, November 12, 2015

Fitness, steps and being sedentary for years

This is actually a message meant for my doctor, but it was too many words to fit in the online mail thingie. For the rest of the world, this is gonna be really boring. Also appalling.

Ok, here's my update,
I wore my Fitbit for several days once I got it to start properly syncing with my computer again; the charge is only lasting a day now instead of a week as its supposed to, I've had it for a few years, might be time for a new one if we can manage to afford that.

Now, I chose not to give you an average of the number of my steps, instead, including all 17 days I tracked, so you can have a decent idea of the depth of my normal daily sedentary life. Years now, sitting at my computer, only stepping outside of my house every few months for haircuts, dental appointments and doctor appointments.  Ron does all the shopping, all the errands, I haven't driven for years. 

I really need to get more physically active, but I'm the sort who is more likely to do something if I have someone to do it with, and regrettably, my husband is not really interested in doing physical activity with me. (Example: when I wanted to go to the beach at a lake nearby, he didn't want to go with me. I finally convinced him to drive me there...he sat in the car and read a book while I was bored and alone on a beach at a lake for a half hour before I gave up and we went home.)

Moving from desk to front door and back to desk leaves me winded like I ran a few blocks. I sit in the shower, sit to do dishes or cooking. I cannot stand or walk for long periods, in fact I own a wheeled walker with a seat because when I have to go places where there aren't chairs...and I must sit down, I don't want to sit on the ground because I don't know how i would get up again. A beached whale...

You know I do quite a bit of computer-sitting while watching over the HollensFamily group for Peter Hollens, but before I found him 2.5 years ago, I still spent most of my days at the computer playing an online game, it was my only source of social interaction....just as HollensFamily now is my only source of social interaction. 

All my bio family is in Kansas, all Ron's is Virginia, I don't have friends here other than...well, we have planned a coffeehouse social with some local members of HollensFamily for next weekend, actually, but I don't think any of them live close, not in Ramsey County at least. Maybe in time I can find someone nearby.

In the beginning this inactivity was because I injured my knees and hip, and for years after there was instability many days, when one or the other of my knees would threaten to not support me in normal walking around the house. Even now, they aren't fully reliable, many days of each year. This is a second reason for my walker, so that when I am having an unsteady-knee day, I can favor it on those days when I do have to leave the house and have a life. 

But between being a shy person generally, and physically weak, with an unfit heart, you can understand my fear of working out or even going walking or biking without a friend along, someone who can call 911 if needed, or if I injure myself, if my knee or hip goes out badly enough I cannot get back home on my own, anything could happen out there.  
I could get assaulted, I could die...its so tragic when sedentary people become active and then they die...and THEY DIE BECAUSE THEY BECAME ACTIVE.

Now, as you can see from these step numbers below, with years of history just like this, my heart likely is not up to very much exertion, we will need to go slowly, safely. My dad died of his second heart attack at age 53 and I am weeks away from turning 50.

Should I come get a thorough baseline physical before I start..becoming more active?

Now, I've always been one to live frugally, but.... I discovered a year ago August that my husband has been lying to me, by being a secret smoker for the 23 years of our marriage. I calculated his habit as costing us at least $1200.00 a year, so I'm thinking I just might be entitled to spend some money on my own health, perhaps a personal trainer at the local fitness center. 
[Maplewood Community Center http://maplewoodmn.gov/113/Community-Center ]

Surely I could manage a couple hours a day away from HollensFamily. If they want me to live long enough to give them years, decades of service, I need to take care of myself better. 

I really don't think the main issue is my diet; sure its not perfect but I do fairly decently in most ways. For me, once I can get into an active fitness routine, something that can become habitual, yes, habitual activity...then I can fine-tune my diet.  
Let me focus on one upgrade at a time...which would be the physical activity. 

Actual number of steps in my days: 

Oct 22   Thursday    299
Oct 23    Friday        298
Oct 24    Saturday    322
Oct  25   Sunday      322
Oct 26    Monday      357

Oct 27    Tuesday     378
Oct 28    Wednes      375
Oct 29    Thursday    193
Oct 30    Friday         183
Oct 31    Saturday     357

Nov 1     Sunday        268
Nov 2      Monday        99
Nov 3     Tuesday      288
Nov 4      Wednes      438
Nov 5      Thursday       61
Nov 6      Friday          218

Nov 9      Monday       185

EDIT: I purchased a new Fitbit, a wrist-worn one with heart-rate monitor, and its giving me higher step counts so I took the time to make a new baseline set; one annoying part is that its not waterproof (its splash-resistant) so I have to remove it when I wash the dishes or take a shower, which are normally my most-active times.  Alas.   

November   16    1871   
November   17    1229
November   18    1407
November   19    1460
November   20    1416

November  21     2530
November  22       713
November  23     1046
November  24     1321
November  25     1082

November  26     1850
November  27       729
November  28       796
November  29       585
November  30     1810

December 1        1085




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