Shin splints? There's an app for that!

Heart Pumpin' Jam: Mean, Taylor Swift.
Weight: 195 pounds. Poop.
Mood: Slightly defeated.
Treadmill: 1 mile, Elliptical: 1,197 (I am told 1,320 revolutions is a mile)
Pants size: 14
Breakfast: None... I got a cholesterol test at the doctor today and they didn't let me eat beforehand.
Lunch: Yellow squash, chicken florentine (stuffed with spinach, but it had a little bit of some cream sauce on it. Fail).
Dinner: Homemade cobb salad (spring mix, 2 hard boiled eggs, 1/2 an avocado, 1/2 a cup of grilled chicken breast, tomatoes, cucumbers, 1/4 cup 2% cheese, 2 tbsp. peppercorn dressing).

Well... I went to the doctor this morning. The girl who took me back for the normal chat before the uncomfortable part of the visit was obviously in a hurry. At 7:45 in the morning, I didn't understand why she was in a hurry, nor did I have the energy to question it. She had me get on the scale still wearing my coat and uggs. I hate the stupid doctor's office scales. Either I look lighter than I really am or they don't want to hurt my feelings, because they always start at the 100 pound interval that only goes up to 150. When they get to 150, they always say something stupid that makes me want to put a gun to my head, like, "Oh, next one!"

She might as well have said, "Not so fast fatty!"

Then, they take it up to the 150 interval that goes up to 200 pounds... and they move that damn weight so slowly as if they somehow think after 100 years in service, it has malfunctioned. She got to 195 before the little lever balanced out.

She said: "Look at that!"

I said, "Oh, I've seen it."

"Good for you, you weigh exactly the same as you did last year!"

Now, this would be the acceptable proclamation if I weighed 120 pounds. But when you're 195 (with a coat and uggs on, though!), there's no reason to praise me for "maintaining."

She might as well have said, "Great job whale! You're still a whale!"

So, there you go. We're going to officially say 195. My scale at home is 5 pounds heavy. The scale at the gym is 15 pounds light. F M L. I didn't realize that this weight loss thing was going to require a math degree.

I have to be honest. That stupid 1-9-5 threw me off my game a little bit today. I know it's day 6 officially, but I had really hoped I would see a little more progress. Given, I feel better about myself knowing that I am morphing into one of those aliens that goes to the gym more than twice a year. But, honest? I wish there was something more to show for the miles that I've gone. But, I'm still going. Still moving. Still trucking. Still going through an abnormal amount of the clear, slimy deodorant that John bought me (he tries... but he knows I hate the clear slimy stuff... I prefer the good old fashioned stick. Oh well, considering I wore Old Spice last week while I was out of mine, I'll take it).

So, before I went to the gym tonight, I read up on shin splints because last night was painfully miserable on the treadmill-- to the point where I almost couldn't finish. So, I YouTubed video of stretches to help the pain. And, I did them all! Thoroughly. But, I also read that shin splits are actually damage to the muscles in the front of your legs... it's not just that you didn't stretch enough. And the cure? You have to rest them to let the muscle heal.

Rest? Are you kidding? I'm on a mission, man. So, I decided to do the stretches, cross my fingers, and leap.

Probably a bad idea. I could barely make it the first mile. I got to the end... but again, I was slamming my feet down so hard that there was noticeably something wrong. The girl walking next to me actually asked if I was okay.

Okay? Sure. Mortified? Absolutely.

I can't even speed walk correctly.

So, when I made it to the mile marker, I decided that I'd switch to the elliptical, which does not hurt my shins at all. So, I did that for another 12 minutes or so until I felt I was sweating a sufficient amount. And then I ventured out into the 25 degree night and went home.

So, all in all... not a great night at the gym. I don't know why I'm saying that, but I'm being honest. I was about 30 minutes of cardio, which is what I normally do, but it didn't feel the same. The shin splints have really thrown me for a loop. But, I guess for them to get better, I need to rest those muscles... which means no treadmill and a lot of elliptical-ing. I guess tomorrow, I'm going to have to step it up to 40 minutes on that stupid mofo.

I'm also trying to figure out how I can perhaps do the gym 3 nights a week and maybe do some sort of class for at least another 1 or 2... something that is as effective, or more effective, as going to the gym. I wish it was a class about sitting on the couch, cleaning my bathrooms, and eating a huge bowl of mashed potatoes all at the same time while burning 1,000 calories.

I wish my 17 Day Diet book had arrived. It has not.

But, I will tell you that the doctor confirmed I am not drinking nearly enough water in a day and that could be a huge part of being successful at weight loss (Props Kristin-- you said it, I knew you were right, but now I have no excuses). So, I'm going to start really making an effort to drink at least 72 ounces (the doctor said more like 80). I'll have to add how many times I have to say, "Excuse me Congressman, I have to take a leak" to my list up there at the top.

Day 6? Day 6, take that!

Day 7, I hope you're better.

Respectfully,
S. Dohl