Back Again!

Well...I've really been derelict in writing here.  I've been holding on by the skin of my teeth but have lost the last two DietBets - grrr!  We had a death in the family in early May and it sort of threw me for a loop but I think more so it just gave me an excuse not to do what I know I should be doing.  So...here I sit at 202.5 and I need to be at 192.8 on Saturday to win my next DietBet.  It's not going to happen because that is just not healthy.  However, we are doing another juice fast to rid ourselves of all the craziness we have been eating over the last couple months - we are on day 9 and I'm feeling so much better.  All my bloating is gone and my skin is starting to clear back up.  I'm actually really surprised that given all we have been eating that I haven't gained a significant amount of weight.  I was down to 201.2 on May 5th and then right after midnight that day we got the call no one wants and had to drop everything and head out of town to make some really hard decisions at a hospital.  When we got back I was up to 207.7 so really not that bad considering everything.  Isn't it amazing how you can put it on so much faster than you can take it off?!?

We also are going out of town for a back to back business trip and vacation so my goal over the next month is to get under 200 and then maintain that until we get back.  The absolute final DietBet for this 6 month go around is on September 9th.  I need to be down to 190.7 to win the large pot so I am setting my sights on that goal.

I've also been fighting some plantar fasciitis.  I've never had this issue before and I have to tell you it is really a pain - literally and figuratively.  I went to a local "chiropractor" to have him check things out since I really like to stay away from drugs and I read that your foot has like 26 bones and they can get out of alignment and chiropractic can help.  Well...I've been to chiropractors before and they have done wonders for my sciatic.  This particular place is like no other chiropractor I've been to before - hence the quotation marks!!  I sort of had a weird feeling when I first walked in - it's way too slick (for lack of a better word coming to mind).  You check in and they make you sit in this one chair that is sort of away from all the other chairs in the waiting room - sort of like they are giving you a throne.  Then they take you back to this really large office and sit you in front of a TV and you watch a video telling you what is going to happen next and that if you are willing to put in the work, they can help you achieve your goals.  Then the main chiro comes in and tells you again what is going to happen and if you are willing to put in the work, they can help you achieve your goals.  He asks me what is going on and we talk a little bit about a past back surgery I had in 1994.  Then he sends me off to this other guy who does this scanny thing on my back to measure heat and then does some x-rays.  All through the X-rays he is having me stand in weird positions which I am sure will make my spine look all wonky.  Then after the X-rays this guy gets down on one knee like he's going to ask me to marry him and gives me the same line - if you are willing to put in the work, he will help me achieve my goals.  I was horribly weirded out!!  Anyway...they charged me $132 and tell me to come back the next day to discuss the results and the treatment plan.  Oh...and they are encouraging me to bring my husband with me.  That's definitely not happening!!

So...I go back the next day to meet with the first guy and he shows me some things on my X-ray that I partially expected but some others that seem pretty bogus and I think they were caused by the funky way the other guy had me standing when he took the X-rays.  Things like my neck didn't have the correct curve and one hip is higher than the other.  Then he gives me this really polished folder of materials which includes the treatment plan.  The treatment plan is what finally convinced me to follow my gut and walk right out the door.  They wanted to give me daily care for 5 days and then three visits per week for 5 months for the bargain price of $3,995!!  And...to top it off this treatment plan was one of those form documents that they just filled out the 5 days and 5 months - everything else was standard.  So that tells me that every person who walks in the door gets daily care and then has to come back three times a week for some specified period of time.  My husband is calling it the Church of Chiropractology now.  I did want something for my money though so I did ask for some exercises for my foot - he gave me some stretches for the morning and told me to use frozen golf balls (holy cow those are cold) in the evening and roll them under the arch of my foot.  I've done them for a couple days now and haven't noticed any change but I'll continue them for a few weeks and see what happens.  If this isn't cleared up by the time we get back from vacation, I'll go see our regular doctor.

I also really need to get back on the exercise so I printed off the training plan from Katie at Runsforcookies.com.  I'm doing the pre-work now which consists of at least four days per week of 30 minutes of walking in order to build a habit.  My husband and I walked to the post office this afternoon and my foot wasn't hurting too much so I think I'll keep going with this from now until we get back from vacation and then try incorporating the running pieces to see how I do.  I also joined an accountability group on Facebook that Tamara of tamarashazam.com is running which I'm really enjoying so far.  My husband and I also had a really good talk last night about how he can help me so I'm feeling really positive about things.  I think the hard part is going to be continuing the exercise while on vacation since some of the places we are going are extremely hot and humid.  I'm going to make it a priority to get my walks in first thing in the morning.  I've got to get off this roller coaster of excuses and motivation.