Silver Lake Jogging Path Opens

Yesterday for the first time since Christmas, I took Sadie and ran around the Silver Lake and Ivanhoe Reservoirs.  A nice 3 mile run, plus a hilly 1.5 mile walk there and back, we have done many times in the past few months.  A run that usually for the part along Silver Lake Blvd, makes me fearful that Sadie will get run over by the speeding on coming traffic when she freaks out about a big dog (or let's be honest, little dog) coming towards her.  So, usually that part of the run isn't so relaxing for me and as it is the last part, I'm usually tired.  The combination is suboptimal.  Well, yesterday, when I made the turn above the dog park, I discovered that the jogging path is now complete.  It is a nice little sandy trail with a low wall that keeps Sadie from jutting out in front of traffic.  Yeah!  The simple things that make me happy.

Sadie frolicked, I ran, it was a lovely way to begin my Sunday. Thanks City of LA

In honor of New Year's Resolutions

I know that this may be shocking given my last post, but I don't really believe in making New Years Resolutions- They have never really worked for me.  However, as I have commented several times I have gone through a relatively epic health transformation in the past year and a half.  So, in honor of all of those who ask me about 20 times a day how I have done it (and then look disappointed when I say exercise more and eat healthy) and those who are making the resolution of getting healthy this year-  here is my answer.

Throughout my 20s i pretty much bounced around the same weight +/- 10 pounds.  It was always  a battle for me, but there you have it.  I was active, never thin, but not really out of shape either.  Then I broke my foot, moved to Chicago and did a neonatology fellowship which had me working more hours than I thought possible and pretty much removed exercise from my life.  I gained a shocking 30 pounds in 3 years (disgusting, I know).  Once I moved back to LA, life got better and I struggled to deal with said weight problem. I did the South Beach diet (lost a lot of weight then gained it back, did a few other random diets, but nothing stuck).  Then a series of events culminating with getting ankle cancer and having to spend 8 months essentially sitting on a couch, combined to have me top the scales at some horrifying level.  My Body Mass Index (BMI) was 31-  officially I was into the obese category.  Yikes  My body fat, who knows, but high.  I thought about all of the things that I had been afraid of losing when I learned about my diagnosis and realized that I had lost many of them by getting out of shape.  So, I resoved to change it right then and there...

As soon as I was allowed to start exercising I joined a gym.  I vowed to eat healthier, but told everyone, I was not going on a diet- diets don't work.  I just wanted to be healthy.  My Physical therapist Jonathan guided me in increasing my core strength and ragaining strength in my ankle.  I swam several days  a week as that was one of the few exercises I was allowed.  When I joined the gym, the membership came with 10 personal training sessions.  Once I was given the go ahead from my medical team, I signed up for the first of them and met Jason.  Jason and Jonathan worked together to come up with my initial program, something my ankle could handle, and I started lifting weights really for the first time in my life.  Jason helped me adjust my diet.  My immediate goal was not to look like a beached whale in Hawaii, but my more important goal was to really reclaim my active life style and be as healthy as I could be.  Over the next several months, I slowly completely restructured my diet, my habits and the weight  drifted off. Then the numb foot thing threatened it all, but with persistance I got through that period.  Then graduated out of PT and could focus more on my strength training and endurance.  Still working out with Jason, the whole thing got pushed to a new level.

Now here I sit, embracing 2009, weighing less than I did when I graduated from college, but a few pounds more than when I graduated from high school.  My BMI is down to 22, well in the middle of the healthy range.  My body fat is well- lower, I can actually feel the loss of boyancy in the water.  I didn't do alone, and I did it without dieting.  I feel like i can say that, because I never felt like I was on a diet, just trying to be healthy.  (My remaining bad cravings are chips and salsa (which I indulged in Taos) and cheese-its (those repulsive fake cheese crackers that I love-  they don't come into my house).  

So when asked several times a day how I lost the weight, I used to shyly smile and thank the person and say that I just got obsessed with exercise.  Now, I am more willing to say, that I did by exercising more, lifting weights with my trainer and eating healthy.  If people want, I offer details. More than one of my friends has commented that I am now "One of the Healthiest people they know"  I don't know about that, but I am happy to be a case point for lifestyle changes.

Special thanks to Jason and Jonathan amongst others.

Amateur Night

My best friends husband coined the phrase, Amateur night for New Year's Eve.  I adopted it, because it is perfect.  New Years Eve is an international excuse for normally logical well mannered people to be stupid.  Not that I haven't been stupid on New Year's Eve or other nights, but on New Year's Eve the stupidity is rampant.  All kinds of people who typically never drink go out and decide that it is New Year's so you must get sloppy.  Hence Amateur Night.  

I, myself, am not a fan of the holiday.  As a kid we always went up to my aunt and uncle's place in the mountains where we would play games until midnight.  Many times as an adult, I have done similar things gathered with friends to play games, hang out, no one drives anywhere, no $100/ head fee etc.  Just togetherness and fun.  The problem in LA is you have to drive everywhere. Henceforth, I volunteered to work.  A ready made excuse to not participate.  It isn't that I am not looking forward to 2009, or am in a bad place right now.  I am actually in a very happy place and happy time in my life.  The future looks great, I just am not a fan of the whole New Years Eve thing.  Still, I wish everyone a Happy New Year and please be safe, there ARE a lot of amateurs out there.

A Very Merry Christmas

This year was a special Christmas, my brother's inlaws invited my parents and I to join them in Taos to celebrate. So we all journeyed to the VERY cold mountains of northern New Mexico where we enjoyed 5 days of wonderful hospitality and family togetherness. I got to ski for two days in amazing powder, but couldn't see much because of the snow. We all enjoyed a white Christmas, and many board games.

Sunset over the mountainside



Girls v. Boys snowman contest on Christmas day- it was a tie as voted by our partial judges

Addie on skis.  She is getting pretty good.

Owen heading down the slopes.   

The adults enjoying post skiing margaritas while trying to thaw out and before getting the kids out of ski school.

Thanks to our gracious hosts for a wonderful Christmas.

Birthday Poisoning

I never used to believe that it was possible to lose the ability to tolerate certain foods.  I have a friend who used to be a vegetarian and she would claim that eating things with even a hint of meat in them would make her sick because she hadn't had meat in so long.  I laughed at her. I thought that line of thinking crazy, but nonetheless when she came over for dinner I would cook the meat in a separate pan out of respect.  For months now, I have been eating super healthy- very little salt, minimal processed food, pretty much no refined sugar, only whole wheat bread and pasta and only that rarely.  I pretty much eat nonfat yogurt, chicken, fresh fruits and vegetables.  You get the idea, but this was my birthday weekend and the people at work got me a princess cake.  This thing was beautiful-  white cake with mascarpone cheese on the inside, white frosting, topped off with some kind of marsipan thing.  Sugar on top of sugar on top fat and sugar.  I ate a piece it was delicious.  I felt a sugar rush and then CRASH.  Within 15 minutes, my friend said he could see it in my eyes- serious crash.  I was weak, dizzy, nauseous, couldn't focus.  It was awful.  I tried eating something healthy to feel better no luck.  4 hours later, I still felt like hell, so I decided to go for a run since eating good food wasn't helping. Finally I felt almost back to normal, my trainer claims that is what I should have done in the first place.  Seriously, bad.  No more cake for me. I truly felt poisoned, ick. 

Happy Birthday To Me

Happy Birthday to me, happy birthday to me.  It has been a weekend of birthday celebrations.  I am looking forward to this coming year with all of the good things that are happening in my life.  So, I am joyfully celebrating this birthday with friends and family, but wishing that those of you too far away to celebrate in person were closer by.  

Happy Blogiversary

In addition to this being the week of my birthday it is also the second annivesary of my creating this blog with this post. In writing this little blogiversary post, I reread that first post I ever wrote and it got me thinking.  I started this blog at a dark time in my life, at a time that I thought I might lose my leg because of my diagnosis.  I was scared and needing to let it out.  My blogsite is 1goodfoot, because that was what I had and I feared that might be all I'd have.  I am glad that I have chronicled this whole event, but some of it is still really hard for me to read.   I know I lived it, but I want to forget.  Rather than bemoaning where I came from I want to celebrate where I am now.  In the next few posts, I am thinking about detailing how I went from 1 good foot to 2 stronglegs and find myself here in the best shape I have been in years.  Stay tuned, but first I have a birthday to celebrate.