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Standing at a crossroads in life

I’ve been learning so much about myself during this past week of recovery that my head is spinning. Some of the knowledge includes:

  • No matter what got thrown at me, I could handle it
  • I’m in better health now than I was in my 20s – my standing heartrate is 65 or so
  • My recovery rate is extraordinary
  • Even when faced with fear, I refused to cower and tackled everything I had to to the best of my abilities

What does this mean for me?

Well, personally, Barbara Ling wise, it means that I can still master physical activities that I had never given myself the permission to succeed in before.

So I’m wondering…on what should I focus?

  • Earning a black belt in karate?
  • Getting skilled in aikido?
  • Mastering kendo?
  • Learning Brazilian Jui-jitsu?

I now know without a shadow of a doubt that I can excel and overcome any physical challenges in any of the above.

Side note here – I’m debating about getting the p90X package. Everyone raves about how difficult it is, and how you need to take their “test” first to see if it’s for you.

I found a copy of that test and while I can’t go thru it now, I asked myself how I would have done before surgery. I can do:

  • 3 pullups (minimum is 1)
  • Vertical leap is 5″ (minimum is 3)
  • Toe touch is 0″ (minimun is -6)
  • Wall squat is 1.5 minutes (minimum is 1 minute)
  • Bicep curls is at least 18 with 25 pounds (min for women is 10 curls with 8 pounds)
  • Abs Ins and outs are 35 (minimum is 25)
  • And I easily did the jumping jacks thingee in karate class awhile back.

So…methinks I could probably handle this program. And that got me thinking about the whole, what art do I want to master?

It’s kinda sorta great to have the confidence to think this way.

Enjoy,

Barbara

ps – p90x can be found like so:

Pizza Hut, Isometrics, and Stretching, Oh My!

Morning,

Today is Day 7 after my surgery! And my leg seems to be healing quite nicely indeed.

One of the exercises for which I had been given a go-ahead is isometrics (that of tensing and releasing your muscles). Thus, yesterday saw me, and my husband and my kids sitting at Pizza Hut for a treat. The children were having a blast playing with the menus, and I decided to start isometricizing my surgerized leg, contracting and releasing my thigh muscles ( rectus femoris and vastus lateralis and satorius ) for counts of 5 seconds. This worked out rather well.

At home, I practiced balancing and stretching my good leg. Hey, I can’t do my usual gym workouts, so anything that gets me vaguely moving I view to be a good thing!

This goes to show you, even when you’re physically in lousy condition, you can still turn on a dime and find something, anything, that will give you a bare minimum of exercise. I’m pretty pleased with my success.

Time to make the donuts,

Barbara

ps -Want some thigh workouts? Consider:

Pregnancy diet – staying healthy during those 9 months

Morning!

Being pregnant can be a wonderful thing…and staying healthy during that time is even better!

Pregnant moms get bombarded all over the place with how they should eat and how they should exercise and how they should take care of themselves during this crucial time in their lives. So I’ve gathered some great pregnancy forums and resources to help you zero in on the advice you want. Check out:

If you’re pregnant (or someone you care about is), do yourself a favor and check out the above resources! You will be pleasantly surprised at all the goodies you uncover for yourself and your baby.

Enjoy,

Barbara

ps – Not sure you’re pregnant? How ’bout:

Not only I can DO this, but hey! I DID!

Life is a hero’s journey, and I am constantly grateful to my guardian angel that I can meet any and all challenges with a brave soul and clear vision.

Let’s see….I was sliced and diced on Tuesday, hobbling about on crutches on Wednesday, walking with a cane on Thursday, walking without a cane yesterday, and went with my family to the Princeton Chinese buffet today.

Now, I don’t know why I’m apparently healing so rapidly….is it because my body doesn’t have to carry around 40+ pounds of excess fat? Is it my attitude? Is it my belief that no matter what happens, I can DO this and not give up until it’s done?

I have not a clue, but wow, let me tell you – I’m feeling rather humble today. I was expecting weeks and weeks of recovery time, and to be faced with my superb health and recuperation abilities….it’s, well, humbling. What would knock down most people similar to me leaves me asking for more.

Now, I’m not completely recovered by any long shot (seeing the doctor this Thursday!), but every single challenge I’ve encountered (every single one of them!) had me saying, I can DO this and my gosh, I WILL and I WILL DO IT NOW.

Self-confidence – it’s truly a remarkable gift.

Enjoy,

Barbara

ps – Sports Authority is offering 25% off until tomorrow! So I bought myself 2 foam blockers. Here are other kinds of blockers:

4 days after surgery, I can walk without a cane

Morning,

Well! Today is Day 4 after my exostoses surgery, and I’m quite thrilled to announce I can walk without a cane. Not that I’m doing that all the time, mind you, however…my leg feels almost normal during walking again.

Talk about a quick recovery!!

I’m certainly not going to jinx this by walking all over the place, of course…but wow, that’s really a neat thing.

Enjoy,

Barbara

ps – a pedometer would come in quite handy!

Reviews of Shawn’s Hip Hop Abs

Morning,

One of the most popular infomercials out there today is Shawn T’s Hip Hop Abs. The question is, of course…..does it work?

Well, I’m a firm believer in, if something gets you up and moving with consistency, of course it will probably work. But researching it for yourself is a very good idea as well!

Here are some great resources:

I think you’ll be able to get lots of great answers for any of your questions.

Enjoy,

Barbara

ps – you can get some great hip hop abs over at:

Graduated to a cane, healing going well

Morning!

Well, yesterday saw me graduate to using a cane for my hobbling about. I’m pleased to say it appears that I’m healing relatively well, but of course, I’m making darned sure I don’t push it!!

Yesterday was spent being actually quiet (ha ha! Yes! It did happen! I was quiet!) and resting and designing graphical banners for The Safe and Smart Internet Weight Loss Edge and …well, you know, that sorta stuff. Today I have to write a few ezine issues and then start promoting it to the waiting world. The fun never stops!

Speaking of canes, did you know you can use a cane for self-defense? It’s really quite an extraordinary weapon (especially in the hands of a master). Here are some neat sites about that:

I had the pleasure of taking a cane class from my karate dojo awhile back, and wow, it was great! I hope to attend it again.

Enjoy,

Barbara

ps – More canes!

Back from MHE surgery, recovering well

Morning!

Well! Tuesday saw me at the hospital with my husband, in preparation for all the thingees in the yellow circles about my femur removed.

In a nutshell, the surgery went text-book perfect. I could have probably found a more-local doctor than whom I ultimately chose, but I wanted a surgeon for whom bone tumor removal was routine. And I found him – James Wittig at Mt. Sinai in NYC. Not only does he have a superb bedside manner, but he and his team are extraordinarily skilled. He’s even dealt with my condition before (multiple hereditary exostoses) and quite frankly, I cannot say enough good things about him.

I opted to have a spinal anethesia, so I could be awake and listening to everything going on. As is my nature, I was cracking jokes all the time up until the actual surgery – I had promised the doctor I’d be quiet so he could concentrate. :-) The surgery took about 70 minutes or so, and then I was in the recovery room for 3 hours (the epidural didn’t want to wear off). That whole day was spent resting in bed.

The next day I saw physical therapy, and let me tell you, getting on crutches after that kind of surgery was quite an outer body experience. I kept repeating to myself, I can DO this…even though my right leg started laughing at me. But I kept at it and was eventually able to hobble my way down the hallway. I’m so grateful to my current karate knowledge – I had that to rely upon when trying to walk (it was quite an emotional challenge, actually).

Today I’m doing rather decently, all things considered…I’ve promised my husband I’d take it easily and even (gasp!) not go to karate and (even more gasps) let myself heal. So we’ll see.

Enjoy,

Barbara

ps – need good canes? Lookie here!

Diet and weight loss motivation – coming right up!

Morning,

One of the most difficult things to instill within regarding dieting and weight loss is a constant, never-say-die motivation. After all, it’s the motivation that keeps you on the straight and narrow path towards getting healthy and losing weight….and it’s the motivation that stops you from inhaling 3 donuts when Krispy Kreme comes calling at your office.

So! Where do you go for motivation? I wrote a post about that here.

Motivation is what helps you keep on going, even when your little voice says, give it up you idjut, it just ain’t a’gonna work!!

Motivation always works differently for each person; what might make me stay the steady path might cause others to leap off the bandwagon. So you need to ask yourself, what kinds of motivation would work best for you?

Is it keeping sexy clothing around (like sleeveless karate uniforms)?

Is it going to the gym and realizing you can now handle far more workouts than when you started?

Is it having your friends cheer you on?…..MORE….

Everyone is motivated by different things. And I did find some super resources for you:

5 Great Reasons to Get Moving

11 Ways to Sneak Exercise Into Your Day

50 Ways to Beat Exercise Boredom

Beating the Urge to Eat

Can You Outwit Your Weight?

As you can see, there’s lots of places online where motivation can be conjured up! It’s up to you to uncover what will work the best.

Enjoy,

Barbara

ps – more motivational things are:

Less than 24 hours and counting!

Well, in less than 24 hours, I will be at the hospital, being sliced and diced for the condition on my right femur. And let me tell you, it cannot come a moment too soon!

I’ve managed to arrange everything while gone. I picked up a pair of 35 pound dumbbells so I can workout without going the gym, I made arrangements with the school, I finished everything in regards to launching the I can DO this diet!…I’m ready to give myself permission to get into recovery and rest.

I’ll greatly miss my karate and other things, but I know that recovery will take time and patience. I’ll spend most of it overseeing the book sales and memorizing my beloved sword demos. And sooner or later, I will return….better than ever, I might add.

Enjoy,

Barbara

ps – there are lots of diet books around, have you ever seen: