Gone AFK

I'm not impressed with my scale.  I can weigh myself 3 times in succession and get 3 completely different results.  *shrug*

So I end up kind of recording my weight by average.  Basically I throw out the highest number and the lowest number and take the middle one.

So, I think I'm down 3 or 4 pounds this week.  Not a terrible beginning.  I was hoping to post a bigger number, but I'm not worried about it.  I've got a long way to go and right now a number is just a number.

The good news is that I've gotten over the weakness and headaches that come with the major diet change. 

I haven't posted in some time.  Part of that is because I've been really busy and part of that is because I've been off my diet/exercise routine.

2014 was a year of highs and lows for me.

I started off the year really well. I was in training for a half marathon that I completed in April.  My weight was not the lowest it has been, but was on a good track (down to around 250 pounds).

After the race... well... things fell off a bit.  I did compete in some 5Ks after that, but my training was pretty spotty.

I was doing other forms of exercise though.  I played tennis with my kids several times during the summer.  I played on my church softball league.

That was in the early part of the summer. In August, my left arm pretty much quit working, which really sucks because I'm left handed.  I've had an issue with it that goes back a few years.  I get this pain that travels down from my collarbone to my shoulder and all the way down my arm.  It also severely limited my range of movement in that arm.  I first got this pain four or five years ago, and it was initially diagnosed as a probable torn rotator cuff but an MRI didn't show any problems.  I got a steroid injection in my shoulder that mostly was effective.  I had basically 95% mobility back and most of the pain was gone.

Last year, the pain started coming back so I went back for another steroid shot.  This one didn't work. In fact, it seemed like the shot only made it worse. 

I was reluctant to go back to another doctor, because I saw several before and I was really tired of being told that everything was fine.  It was like they were saying that the pain is all in my head.  Um... no.

Finally, I did go back.  This time they took an x-ray of my neck instead of my shoulder and found that one of my vertebrae was impinging on a nerve and that is what was causing the problem.  An MRI confirmed it, and finally I got a steroid shot in my back on 12/23.  It has made things much better, but I still have some pain and far from 100% mobility.  We'll see how that goes.

During this whole process I've pretty much had zero exercise.  I've also gained about 20 pounds.  So, right now I'm sitting at 268.  Ugh.

I don't know that I'm really ready to start running again just yet.  I do need to get back to the gym and do something to strengthen my core (upper back/neck not just abdominal - though I clearly need that too).

what if the Brits won...

The other reason I've been AFK for the past week is that it was my 25th wedding anniversary and my wife and I did a mini-tour of the western part of the State of Arkansas.

We stayed in a cabin at the Lodge at Mount Magazine (top picture), which is the highest point in the state.  Picture 2,3 and 5 are also from Mt. Magazine.

We also went to the diamond mine (8th largest crater of diamonds in the world, the only source of diamonds in the U.S., and most importantly, the only diamond mine that you can actually take home what you find at).  No pictures there, and no.... we didn't find any diamonds.  Just sunburn.  But it was fun to try.

I've been really AFK for a while.  So, now I'm catching up on posting.  A couple of weeks ago I was busy getting my car ready for a car show that my church put on to raise money for Rapha House, which is a ministry that combats human trafficking and sexual exploitation of children.  A very worthy cause.

And... I won in my category (imports).  On top of that, I also won one of the raffles - for auto cleaning supplies and a free alignment from a local tire shop.  Pretty good deal!