13 weeks today!

And tomorrow will be, according to the calendar date, three months.  I had to look back, as usual, to concretely see the progress I've made.  A month ago I was just hailing the fact that I had taken my first solo drive.  And keep in mind, that was probably only about 2 miles.  With my commute and errands I am probably driving 60 miles a day now.

This morning when I got out of the car I made a point of counting a quick 1-2, 1-2, to get myself walking quickly.  I was planning to walk my mile today, but if I don't get that done I'm okay with it because I will be going to the pool at lunch.  I brought in my goggles and snorkel so I am hoping to do some "real" swimming.  I just feel like a slug lately.  In my mind I want to do everything (walk, swim, belly dance) but in my body I want to do NOTHING.  Back to the usual - I really MUST be feeling better.  Seems as though if I'm feeling better, but if I'm feeling better it means I'm more like my old self - and my old self NEVER liked to exercise!

Yesterday I did my land exercises for the first time in ages.  The biggest challenge for me with those are the stairs.  I think what I will start doing is (albeit slowly) actually go up and down stairs foot over foot (i.e., normally) instead of doing 10 of this and 10 of that.  I tried without a railing, though, and that is out of the question.  So as long as I have a railing (or my cane - which I rarely have with me anymore) I will do stairs for real.  It's sort of the same as the walking.  If I am going to walk I have to walk.  If I am going to do stairs I have to do stairs.  I appreciate that I have to do exercises to get to the point where I CAN do stairs, but also, I think the time has arrived where I actually have to do them.  The difference, though, is that I won't do more than 20 up and down (translated as 10 on the TKR leg up and 10 on the TKR leg down).

I have also been doing very well with my dieting.  I am hoping that it will ALL get easier if I am carrying less weight.  As I had written, I've been toggling back and forth between calorie counting and WW, and I've settled on calorie counting.  I am making a commitment to it until my birthday in September.  The reason why it's a five-week commitment is that I have been using myfitnesspal.com and at the bottom of every day's food diary it says:  If you ate like this every day you would be ___ in five weeks.  So I took the weight they said the first day and counted five weeks out, and it came to exactly my birthday!  I can give it at least until then!

The only thing I have taken a slight step back in is that I have had to break out the Vicodin again.  I have been taking it either at bedtime or during the night, with two Tylenol.  Even though I haven't been doing my prescribed exercises religiously, I have been doing more activity and I am just SO uncomfortable during the night.  I find myself whimpering as I move about the bed during the night.  All I have to say is that last night I fell asleep at 9PM, took a Vicodin when I woke up around 1AM, and then slept through until 7AM.  I must have needed that sleep very badly, and I make no apologies that the Vicodin helped.

So here I am on the cusp of 3 months, looking ahead to the next three.  My main goals are:
(1) Get up to walking at least 2 miles a day (five days a week);
(2) Stay committed to calorie counting within my daily limit as often as possible;
(3) Go to the pool twice a week; and
(4) Be able to do my belly dance drills without having to use a cane when I'm weighted on my TKR leg.

I can't do anything about the swelling, pain, other limitations.  But, I can do what I set out to do.

Miriam