Friday, February 12, 2010

DAY 187 Perfect 10 Update & Unknown Fact


Hello Journal & Friends,

Today is Week 6 of The Perfect 10 Challenge.


 I just came from the Steve's blog,  the Leader of this challenge, and discovered that his Father passed away suddenly. My heart goes out to him... that is life-altering.

Steve is a really nice guy, and has a generous heart. He is always supportive of others on this journey, and I know he would not anyone to stop. So out of respect for Steve and all the time and effort he has put into leading this challenge, I will go on with my update. 

My goal for the Challenge was to exercise 6 days per week. I accomplished that, with one change. 

My knees, which are kinda bone-on-bone inside, have been bugging me, and getting worse. I must admit, I am a little disappointed. I thought that as I lost weight they would hurt less. Maybe I am expecting too much too soon?? 

Anyway, I had to stop using my rebounder, and substitute a stretching routine instead. I didn't actually "jump"... my feet never left the rebounder mat. I just did a little "bounce". And it was a fantastic muscle stimulator, lymph system jiggler, and all around energy-jazzer-upper. Can you tell I liked it??!! :-)


But... it is what it is. So, Plan B. I will do the stretching. And hope that my new Skinny Self will have stronger, better feeling knees. I am looking for stretching/strengthening exercises for the knees and legs. Can't afford a personal trainer or physical therapist, but what a treasure of info there is to be had on youtube! LOL!

Now, for the Unknown Fact about me....  I don't think I have mentioned this before. I am a Lefty. No, not a communist... I am Left-Handed. 

For all you Righties, you may think "so what?". But it makes a difference growing up in a world geared to being right-handed. Scissors, tools, appliances, guitars, notebooks with the notebook rings at the left (in the way when you are trying to write)... all kinds of items are made assuming the person is using their right hand. So, from a young age we learn to adapt, and find alternate ways to git er dun. I think it's a blessing in diguise! It helps make us more creative thinkers. :-)



Some famous Lefties
in history include:

Michelangelo
Leonardo DaVinci
Peter Paul Rubens

Pierce Brosnan
Jim Carrey
Charlie Chaplin
David Duchovny
Cary Grant
Hugh Jackman
Michael Landon
Steve McQueen
Sylvester Stallone

Carol Burnett
Judy Garland
Nicole Kidman
Demi Moore
Julia Roberts
Oprah Winfrey

Mark Twain
H.G. Wells

Celine Dion
Bob Dylan
Paul McCartney
Sergei Rachmaninoff
Ludwig Van Beethoven

Richard Simmons
Jay Leno
David Letterman

Henry Ford
John F Kennedy, Jr
Albert Einstein
Dr Albert Schweitzer
Bill Gates
John D Rockefeller

Mark Spitz
Joan of Arc
Mahatma Gandhi
Ronald Reagan
Thomas Jefferson
Benjamin Franklin
Winston Churchill
Napoleon Bonaparte
Aristotle

I am in good company!!

Here is an online store, just for Lefties: Anything Left Handed 


From Dr Phil's book: "Problems don't get better with inattention."

My verse for today: "For God does speak--now one way, now another."

My quote for today: "Time is more valuable than money. You can get more money, but you cannot get more time."  --Jim Rohn

Enjoy the Journey,

Loretta
=^..^=

14 comments:

Mary Joy said...

I'm a lefty too! Congrats on succeeding with your challenge.

Anonymous said...

awww, bummer about the knees! Sometimes, a substance can be injected into the knee joint that creates a cushion. I forget wha that procedure is called, but an MD who specializes in orthopedics would know.

My son is left-handed. That has provided numerous opportunities for gifts of specialized items and funny t-sirts. :) Your list of lefties is certainly impressive! You absolutely should add your name to the artist's section!

Have a great Sunday!

Deb

Fiona said...

Well done on continuing the challenge.

PJ Geek said...

Sorry about your knees because I have a LOT of experience both as a fellow sufferer and as an ortho nurse, You may know or do all of this already, but I want to share some tips for you. You mentioned you were doing a little more, so maybe just backing off is a good way to let them heal up. BUt I think that rebounder sounds like a good thing when you can get back to it. the you tube exercises for knee stregthening are good..I've had phsyical therapy for my knees in the past..quad strengthening, straight leg raises, all help build up the support structures and tissues of your knees.

I've got pretty severe osteoarthritis and have a knee replacement in my near future..hopefully farther away. But also as a nurse, I know that once the damage is done it's done. Lots of people that have gastric bypass and lose a lot of weight later have knee replacements because the damage is already there. I had the cortisone injections in both of my knees last spring and it did help, but not something you want to do very often. Your body can only tolerate so much steroids. I use glucosamine chondroitin and I've learned that all of the grocery stores rotate having vitamins on sale buy one get one free, so that is the only way I buy them. I just check the sales papers to see who has it on sale. Another good recommendation is icing after you do your exercises, even with just a bag of frozen peas. If you can soak in the tub , epsom salt soaks may also help. Also, I've used some of the Bengay patches and some of the muscle creams , but they only seem to help when the pain is at it's most severe.

Hope you feel better.

Anonymous said...

Growing up I was the only righty in a family of lefties! Not suprisingly all the scissors in the family were the left handed ones. I was the odd one out. HA!

Anonymous said...

I have a creaky knee and I have had it since I can remember, even when I was skinny. It has to do more with the bone structure of your hips and pelvis and your ligaments in your knees and feet than with your weight.

I hear that my mother was left handed. Ok so now I will tell you something unknown about me. I am a McCoy descendant(of Hatfield and McCoy fame, ha ha) My mother was Katherine Sue McCoy and her dad was Homer McCoy. And maybe this is why I am a fighter. LOL

Christine said...

I'm sorry about your knees Lorettaa.
A lefty huh...so is my hubby.
I would imagine the rebounder would be tough on the knees.
I updated in the spirit of Steve as well.

Retta said...

MARY JOY: I knew there had to be more of us out there. :-)

DEB: Hmmm, that's sounds interesting... I think I'll do a bit of googling.

FIONA: Thank you. :-)

PJ GEEK: "quad strengthening, straight leg raises, all help build up the support structures and tissues of your knees..." Yes, that's exactly the kind of thing I'm trying to learn to do.

I take that joint supplements, too, and they seem to help. But they can only do so much. I didn't know about icing after exercise. I will definitely try that.
Yes, I could soak in the tub... if I rented a crane to lift me back out, ha ha ha! Someday, I really look forward to getting to have a real live bubblebath again, instead of a shower. And I'll add epsom salt soaks to that wish list.

ANONYMOUS: How interesting! I didn't think of that... you must know how a lefty feels.

NANCY: The McCoy's and the Hatfields! What a fun tidbit. :-D

CHRIS: I forgot to mention my hubby is a lefty, too.

Actually, usually the rebounder doesn't hurt me at all, cuz I don't really "jump". I just gently bounce up and down, with my feet never leaving the mat. It works all the leg muscles, and gives a kind of internal massage to every cell in the body, which does great things for the lymph system, which in turn helps the immune system. It's a concentrated way to exercise, really good for you. And fun!

About Steve... I was wondering if he would like to end the challenge sooner, or postpone it, or?? I know this is an overwhelming and sad time for him. I just hate for him to feel obligated to finish.

Loretta
=^..^=

Beth said...

Hmmmm, today my husband is very open to my ideas about what I want for Valentine's Day. Maybe I should say a rebounder.

Makes sense that you're a lefty! So many artistic people seem to be.

Retta said...

BETH: I really love my rebounder, and until recently was able to use it gently even with bad knees. I am hoping to be able to use it again, maybe after another 50 pounds or so gone.

Here is a great article on the benefits of rebounding. This is the place where I bought mine:
http://www.needak-rebounders.com/page2452.php

Doing it to music is fun!
Loretta
=^..^=

antgirl said...

I give my cat a joint health supplement that also helps humans. You might want to look into that. Plain ol' leg lifts help strengthen the ligaments. Lie on your back and lift one leg at a time. You can keep your foot straight, rotate it in or rotate it out to work on different ligaments / muscle groups. I was taught that after I sprained my knee. So, it must be good for knees.

PS, husband takes the joint supplement, too, for his back [not the same one I give the cat] and says it does help.

But, if it really, really hurts and is not begrudging muscles being sore from a workout, I say don't aggravate it.

financecupcake said...

I'm down 30 pounds, and my tendinitis is just as bad. I would hate being down 100 and still having the same knee problems. Are you better off physically in many other ways?

Retta said...

CINCIMOM: Hi Christina, I've been thinking about your question. And I have seen a lot of improvements, such as improved blood work, less back pain, my shoulder is getting better, less gasping for breath... lots of stuff. I guess it's this one hang up with my knees, that stops me from so much. I mean, when you can't walk due to the knee pain, that sort of cuts out a lot of stuff!

So, I tend to focus on what I CAN do, hoping to see progress as I get lighter, thinking that less pressure will mean less pain on them. I am doing a lot of the knee exercises now that different people mentioned, and can even see some improvement there in the strength. That is encouraging!

I guess I just need to be patient (aarrghh, not my strong area!).
Thank you for your friendship, I really appreciate it.
Loretta
=^..^=

Leslie said...

I'm a lefty too!! We have highly developed brains! It's a fact I made up. Seriously!!!

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