judimax’s BodyBlog

Last night as I got ready for bed I took my usual medication for my lupus headaches, I hoped that I would a) be able to go to sleep and b) that the headache would go away.  Well 3 hours later I was up taking another dose of headache medication. Normally this would knock me out but a few hours later one of our wonderful little Chihuahuas became sick and needed tending too, so outside we go.  Long story short – lack of sleep, every joint hurting and a headache that would not go away made me not want to go workout and I didn’t even think that I would be able to do anything if I did get there.

After coffee and breakfast, though tired and hurting, the Captain and I set off to the gym. The first exercise (abs) was challenging and yet the Captain encouraged me and I pushed through. 

It is interesting but I don’t know when it happened but by the time it came to do cardio, an hour and 10 minutes weight lifting later, I was up and more than ready to put in 35 minutes on the treadmill. 

On our way home from the gym I mentioned that “I feel energized”. This from a woman who 2 short hours before was ready to stay at home, curl up into a fetal position and commiserate with my sick dog.  When we got home, yes I had a nap (it’s just a mandatory thing for me) but when I got up (after 1 hour not the usual 2-3 hrs.) I had energy enough to go outside and do some weeding in my front yard, make our banana crème (protein) pie for dessert, and get supper ready.  Oh yeah, put together this blog.

People say what a difference a day makes, my new saying is What a Difference a Workout Makes!!

Well after putting in some really great workouts, life bites me in the ass. I’m not sure what the cause (lupus I suspect) but last night was spent on my knees in front of the porcelain god.  After all that, you would have thought that I’d be down at least a pound, but noooo.   Needless to say, without sleep and still feeling very nauseous I am spending the day horizontal, cradling cups of tea and dry toast. 
 
It really burns me though because I get to see my hubby (Captain Ahab) off to the gym for a shoulder workout and he’ll probably end up doing a lot more exercises.  Sometimes I think I hold him back from what he would do during a workout because he knows I don’t have the stamina.
 
 

It is really amazing to me how the mind works. I had been in such a “can’t do” attitude about my weight loss. I had hit a plateau with my weight and could not seem to get below 140 lbs.  I have sat at that number for over 3 months.  Within the last week though I have been seeing a steady decline in my weight and the biggest was from 139.whatever to 137.7  It was like a magic bullet, oh yea, there was one… cardio.  I have been making an effort to get at least 15 minutes of intense cardio in on most days.  So far so good – as my energy is still staying up and yes I am having to take more and longer naps through out the day but boy is it worth it.  It may be only a couple of pounds but I can see definition happening that wasn’t there before.  My mind is on a high and I want to keep on this track to get to my goal weight of 128.

Yes I know that with lupus I am going to have times when I have no energy. Fine.  But I am happy to say that I have not missed a workout because of it but it sure was a struggle.

I had been taking Beverly Int. Ultra 40 (desecated liver) starting in June and when we ran out (don’t have desecated liver in Canada) somewhere around the second to last week of July, I didn’t think too much about it.  But for the past 3 weeks my energy has taken a poop. Yes we’ve had numerous weather systems come through but I have usually "weathered the storms" (no pun intended).  Last week we were able to find some Ulta 40s and I started taking them right away.  Can I say that it is helping? Maybe a bit too soon to tell but there has been a difference to a certain degree in my energy. I even did some cardio yesterday which I have not been able to do since the middle of July.  Here is hoping that it is truly making a difference as I can’t reach my goals if I can’t put in all my effort to weights AND get some cardio in (essential).  I plan on watching how my energy increases over time with the Ultra 40s as this is the only thing I have added/taken out and added again to my diet/supplement routine.

I know that I should be very happy with my workouts but I feel as if I’m not putting in all the effort that I should be.  I know my strength training is great; I put in so much that when I come away from my session I have nothing more to give. 

So what is my problem? Lately I have absolutely no energy to put in any cardio.  This bothers me because I know that to help me lose weight I need cardio.  Right now I am doing strength and diet but I don’t feel it is enough. I somehow expect so much more from my body than what I know I have. Having ready made excuses really help:  I’m having a flare up of my lupus or my fibromyalgia, or I’m just plain tired. Yet I come back expecting more from my self.