Not craftiness but related

I don't know how many of you realize this but knitting and crocheting are not aerobic activities. 

They do not get your heart rate up and sustain it for 30 minutes at a time. (Well, they do if you are shopping at a very nice yarn shop or finishing a project that has taken you 2-3 months to accomplish)

They do not make you sweat and work all of your major muscle groups.  (yes it can make you sweat if it is 110 outside and you are working on a large afghan for a loved one.)

I found out that sitting and knitting and crocheting in my spare time is not the best way to stay in shape. I look at patterns from others that love the fiber arts and see all these lovely people that are trim and in good shape.  They don't have love handles, flabby knees, bye-bye arms, or chins that hang down like a turkey's gobbler.  They look really nice.  I looked in the mirror and I definitely do not look like that.

Granted I am nearing a milestone birthday but still there is no reason not to be in some short of shape other than round.  What to do, what to do.

I talked to my Doctor and she told me that I should probably loose a bit of weight and start walking or doing something to keep me active for 30 minutes a day with increased heart rate. (Did you know that house work can make your heart rate go up enough to be considered cardio exercise?) Well it can and trust me it uses a lot of the major muscle groups. 

Alas I digress.  Anyway so I was being the "good" patient and asked her how much she wanted me to loose.  (This Doctor is no skinny minny so I figured she wanted me to look more like her)  She looks me straight in the eye and tells me 50 pounds.  WHAT?  Do you know how long that will take?  Are you crazy?  (No I didn't say it out loud.  ARE YOU CRAZY?)

She told me she did not want any kind of 'diet' but simply a healthy eating plan and nothing more than counting calories.  She sent me on my way.  I was dazed and confused and upset and angry and all sorts of things but I was not wanting to do this.

I called my daughter and told her what had happened.  She sympathised with me for about 2 minutes and then told me we could do this and she would be over and we would walk and talk.  

So started my journey back to the land of real people clothes.  It has only been 10 days but I can not tell you how much better I feel with just the small amount of weight that I have thrown away.  (notice I don't use the word 'loose" cause that means I will try and find it)  I am not on a 'diet' either.  I am on a life journey to better health.  

My daughter and I started to journal every thing that goes into our mouth from a sample at the deli to a full meal.  If we consume it we journal it.  We have a wonderful online journal called "my fitness pal"  it tracks all sorts of stuff for us and we have it installed everywhere.  I have mine on  my home computer, work computer, iPhone, and tablet.  I can not go anywhere without it being with me.  Just this week my mother decided that she too would try it and is really liking it and says in the 3 days she has been counting her calories she is already feeling so much better and is no longer cold all the time.

I am planning to reach my goal by the end of this summer and then look out!  I will be making more hand made items for ME to wear.  Things that I see other fiber artist making and wearing and looking so stylish in.  It took me 10 years to put all this weight on and so I figured 8 months is not too long to remove it. 

Just to let you know I have tried all sorts of 'diets' before including Weight Watchers, Michael Thurman's 6 week body make over (which worked as long as you eat that way for the rest of you life  which gave me 800 calories a day to eat), slim fast, grapefruit............etc.  So this time it is not a diet at all.  I will follow my Doctors advice and count my daily calories and my daily activity.

Now back to my regular scheduled crafting.