 |
| A Part of My Goal |
I'm in my now mid-40s, a wife a busy mommy, chauffeur, cook, business woman, handyman, intellect, trainer, teacher, prayer warrior, seamstress, market trader, engineer, athlete, entrepreneur, technician, doctor, masseur, physical therapist, banker, investor, nutritionist, counselor, artist, landscaper, coach, photographer, homeroom mom, friend, sister, daughter, aunt, niece, cousin, activist, book enthusiast, evangelist, musician, artist, nerd, geek, groupie, dog lover, pilot, architect, painter . . . so many things.
Flat abs, look out, here I come!
--------------------------------------------
27-Jan-2012 - Eliminated all grains & starches completely (includes beans & brown rice), going low sugar. I've done low sugar before and got good results with my energy levels and in releasing bodyfat, but I gained a lot of water weight and still had a lot of cravings for sweets with fat.
30-Jan-2012 - Started Jorge Cruise's 2-Week Fast Track Menu. Already dropped 5 lbs before starting this by just eliminating grains/starches and going low sugar in 3 days. Also started Funk Robert's 4-Week Spartacus Challenge (3 workouts/wk)
13-Feb-2012 - Dropped an additional 10 lbs (for a total of 15 lbs so far). Most of the weight I've released has been bodyfat. Continuing on the Fast Track way of eating which is no grains or starches, low sugar and see what will happen. Continue with Spartacus workouts. On Week 3. My weight is down to what it was when I finished Scott Colby's Ageless Abs 1 early Dec'10. Another 7 lbs more and that will be my lightest in Ageless Abs 2 which ended early Jun'11.
21-Feb-2012 - I've been sick with I have no clue what (coughing, aching body, feels like a head cold with congestion in the chest, too, diarrhea, chills) and can't really understand why I'm sick, as I've had tons of energy, feeling great overall (even for being sick), getting good sleep. Been around a lot of sick people and have still a pretty full schedule. Have had to take the last 2-3 days off from most activities unless they are truly necessary to rest. Today I started taking Liquid Silver & Oil of Oregano to help speed up the healing process. Have put my workouts on hold until I'm better so I don't further stress my immune system out. All I can think of is with all that extra energy, I overloaded myself with a packed schedule and maybe my body is still adjusting & detoxing from grains/starches?
Though I haven't been eating as much as when I'm feeling better, the weight is now not coming off. I'm still low sugar and no grains/starches, but my water intake is down a lot and appetite not too great, though I am trying to eat.
5-Mar-2012 - Today is my mom's birthday. Mine is in about another week. Then, my dad's (this year) is about 1.5 weeks after mine. He follows the Chinese Lunar calendar, so his birth date changes every year on our calendar. Today I start 8-weeks of Funk Robert's Spartacus 2.0 Beta Challenge. Each week is comprised of 2 different workouts done twice in that week. The fifth workout day is a free workout day of our choosing. So, we basically have 5 days of working out and 2 days of rest.
I will continue in the no grains, no starches, low sugar eating. Funk's nutritional plan is not that, but it does incorporate healthy complex carbs (grains/starches) and some fruit. For me to keep low sugar, I cannot really eat hardly any fruit. I think I will do better releasing bodyfat with how I'm eating than with Funk's plan.
Cough persists. The dr said what I have is viral, so I just have to tough it out. Someone suggested Mucinex, and I am almost desperate enough to try this. I've been downing bags of cough drops galore. On my 4th bag now. Have not really lost weight, but I have continued to lose bodyfat and inches. Took all last week off to rest and recover from being sick. No exercise. Still lost in my tummy area. Woohoo!!!
24-Mar-2012 - Today is my dad's birthday (this year, as he follows the lunar calendar and not the gregorian like the rest of the western world does). I thought it was yesterday, but apparently I misread the Chinese calendar. This was the first week I worked out at the gym - 4 workouts. Not sure if I will do my workout at the gym or not today, but my last Spartacus workout for the week is this week. For the past week, I've not had my coughing fits, but when it stopped for me, it began for my 8-yr old son and he's been miserable coughing. After the last post here, for 3 weeks I've not had great results, though, still continually releasing inches, but this week the inches started to melt off more and in more places again. There are 5 more weeks of the Spartacus Beta 2.0 program left. Almost half way there.
2-Apr-2012 - Decided that I'm kicking up the Spartacus program some with doing 2 workouts a day and see how that works out for my results. I am in the bodyfat range where I have always plateau'd, so in order to avoid this, I'm going to aggressively do some things to make sure I don't stall. Doing a workout in the morning and later afternoon on the days I workout should nix this. That is not a part of the Spartacus program of Funk's, FYI. Will need to adjust eating also to compensate for the extra workout and make sure I rest enough in between.
7-Apr-2012 - I could not have been MORE wrong about doing double Spartacus workouts. BAD idea. Apparently my particular body needed more rest. I gained weight AND inches this week. Overtraining has caused me to be sick Fri & Sat pretty bad. No more double workouts, but when I'm all well, I will see what 1 min. workouts throughout the day, in addition to Spartacus workouts, see what kind of results that will produce. Will I lose faster or will it stall things out for me?
14-Apr-2012 - Weight & inches are back down. Only did 1 Spartacus workout between measurements. It seems like my body does better when I get adequate recovery and not overdo the workouts. I'm about 1 lb away from where I left off in AA2 at the low weight. I'm at my low bodyfat %. What took me nearly 9 months to accomplish before, going no grain/no starch has allowed me to get there in 11 weeks instead of 39 weeks, so it's cut the time by 70%. Wow! The cough is back with a vengeance, unfortunately. Ugggh.
30-Apr-2012 - I took the past 1.5 wks off workouts to let my knee heal. It's not 100%, but going to gradually get into workouts. I'm 1 week behind on my Spartacus workouts. They are on week 9 and I'm on week 8. Funk has given us an extra almost 3 weeks after the Beta program is done for those of us who fell behind for whatever reasons. Thank you, Funk.
5-May-2012 - Hit a milestone. Down 25 lbs today! My bodyfat is at its lowest of 21.3%. Cough went away last Sunday. Praise God!
16-Jul-2012 - Today is my daughter's 12th birthday. Most of what I made today was Paleo friendly, minus the turmeric rice. I've maintained in bodyfat and in weight the past 2 plus months basically. Noticing some changes in my hair & skin that I'm not liking and it could be that I haven't been taking any supplements, or that the hormones in my body have changed. Finished Funk's Program in May. Challenged to workout with the heat. Have eaten some grains & starches & feel alright. If I'm to get to my bodyfat goals, the grains & starches have got to go.
28-Jan-2013 - Last year has come and gone. Unfortunately, I regained a lot of the weight I had lost last year back, 21 lbs of the 25 lbs I had lost. My beau moved here in late October, and we enjoyed good food and company as we got to know each other better in person. During this time, he also got to me to work with my doctor better with my heart meds and other things he was concerned for my health for. Since he´s come, I have lost 15.5 lbs of the 21 lbs I regained, so now I have another 5.5 lbs to go. My dr has changed some of my heart meds and I have feeling significantly better. As the weight drops, he continues to do bi-weekly checks to readjust my meds. Last visit was the first reduction of meds!!! Hopefully with every visit, he will be able to reduce the dosages and eventually eliminate each of the meds. I am now officially back down to a size 12, which is where I was last May/June.
What am I doing now to lose weight?
Flat abs, look out, here I come!
--------------------------------------------
27-Jan-2012 - Eliminated all grains & starches completely (includes beans & brown rice), going low sugar. I've done low sugar before and got good results with my energy levels and in releasing bodyfat, but I gained a lot of water weight and still had a lot of cravings for sweets with fat.
30-Jan-2012 - Started Jorge Cruise's 2-Week Fast Track Menu. Already dropped 5 lbs before starting this by just eliminating grains/starches and going low sugar in 3 days. Also started Funk Robert's 4-Week Spartacus Challenge (3 workouts/wk)
13-Feb-2012 - Dropped an additional 10 lbs (for a total of 15 lbs so far). Most of the weight I've released has been bodyfat. Continuing on the Fast Track way of eating which is no grains or starches, low sugar and see what will happen. Continue with Spartacus workouts. On Week 3. My weight is down to what it was when I finished Scott Colby's Ageless Abs 1 early Dec'10. Another 7 lbs more and that will be my lightest in Ageless Abs 2 which ended early Jun'11.
21-Feb-2012 - I've been sick with I have no clue what (coughing, aching body, feels like a head cold with congestion in the chest, too, diarrhea, chills) and can't really understand why I'm sick, as I've had tons of energy, feeling great overall (even for being sick), getting good sleep. Been around a lot of sick people and have still a pretty full schedule. Have had to take the last 2-3 days off from most activities unless they are truly necessary to rest. Today I started taking Liquid Silver & Oil of Oregano to help speed up the healing process. Have put my workouts on hold until I'm better so I don't further stress my immune system out. All I can think of is with all that extra energy, I overloaded myself with a packed schedule and maybe my body is still adjusting & detoxing from grains/starches?
Though I haven't been eating as much as when I'm feeling better, the weight is now not coming off. I'm still low sugar and no grains/starches, but my water intake is down a lot and appetite not too great, though I am trying to eat.
5-Mar-2012 - Today is my mom's birthday. Mine is in about another week. Then, my dad's (this year) is about 1.5 weeks after mine. He follows the Chinese Lunar calendar, so his birth date changes every year on our calendar. Today I start 8-weeks of Funk Robert's Spartacus 2.0 Beta Challenge. Each week is comprised of 2 different workouts done twice in that week. The fifth workout day is a free workout day of our choosing. So, we basically have 5 days of working out and 2 days of rest.
I will continue in the no grains, no starches, low sugar eating. Funk's nutritional plan is not that, but it does incorporate healthy complex carbs (grains/starches) and some fruit. For me to keep low sugar, I cannot really eat hardly any fruit. I think I will do better releasing bodyfat with how I'm eating than with Funk's plan.
Cough persists. The dr said what I have is viral, so I just have to tough it out. Someone suggested Mucinex, and I am almost desperate enough to try this. I've been downing bags of cough drops galore. On my 4th bag now. Have not really lost weight, but I have continued to lose bodyfat and inches. Took all last week off to rest and recover from being sick. No exercise. Still lost in my tummy area. Woohoo!!!
24-Mar-2012 - Today is my dad's birthday (this year, as he follows the lunar calendar and not the gregorian like the rest of the western world does). I thought it was yesterday, but apparently I misread the Chinese calendar. This was the first week I worked out at the gym - 4 workouts. Not sure if I will do my workout at the gym or not today, but my last Spartacus workout for the week is this week. For the past week, I've not had my coughing fits, but when it stopped for me, it began for my 8-yr old son and he's been miserable coughing. After the last post here, for 3 weeks I've not had great results, though, still continually releasing inches, but this week the inches started to melt off more and in more places again. There are 5 more weeks of the Spartacus Beta 2.0 program left. Almost half way there.
2-Apr-2012 - Decided that I'm kicking up the Spartacus program some with doing 2 workouts a day and see how that works out for my results. I am in the bodyfat range where I have always plateau'd, so in order to avoid this, I'm going to aggressively do some things to make sure I don't stall. Doing a workout in the morning and later afternoon on the days I workout should nix this. That is not a part of the Spartacus program of Funk's, FYI. Will need to adjust eating also to compensate for the extra workout and make sure I rest enough in between.
7-Apr-2012 - I could not have been MORE wrong about doing double Spartacus workouts. BAD idea. Apparently my particular body needed more rest. I gained weight AND inches this week. Overtraining has caused me to be sick Fri & Sat pretty bad. No more double workouts, but when I'm all well, I will see what 1 min. workouts throughout the day, in addition to Spartacus workouts, see what kind of results that will produce. Will I lose faster or will it stall things out for me?
14-Apr-2012 - Weight & inches are back down. Only did 1 Spartacus workout between measurements. It seems like my body does better when I get adequate recovery and not overdo the workouts. I'm about 1 lb away from where I left off in AA2 at the low weight. I'm at my low bodyfat %. What took me nearly 9 months to accomplish before, going no grain/no starch has allowed me to get there in 11 weeks instead of 39 weeks, so it's cut the time by 70%. Wow! The cough is back with a vengeance, unfortunately. Ugggh.
30-Apr-2012 - I took the past 1.5 wks off workouts to let my knee heal. It's not 100%, but going to gradually get into workouts. I'm 1 week behind on my Spartacus workouts. They are on week 9 and I'm on week 8. Funk has given us an extra almost 3 weeks after the Beta program is done for those of us who fell behind for whatever reasons. Thank you, Funk.
5-May-2012 - Hit a milestone. Down 25 lbs today! My bodyfat is at its lowest of 21.3%. Cough went away last Sunday. Praise God!
16-Jul-2012 - Today is my daughter's 12th birthday. Most of what I made today was Paleo friendly, minus the turmeric rice. I've maintained in bodyfat and in weight the past 2 plus months basically. Noticing some changes in my hair & skin that I'm not liking and it could be that I haven't been taking any supplements, or that the hormones in my body have changed. Finished Funk's Program in May. Challenged to workout with the heat. Have eaten some grains & starches & feel alright. If I'm to get to my bodyfat goals, the grains & starches have got to go.
28-Jan-2013 - Last year has come and gone. Unfortunately, I regained a lot of the weight I had lost last year back, 21 lbs of the 25 lbs I had lost. My beau moved here in late October, and we enjoyed good food and company as we got to know each other better in person. During this time, he also got to me to work with my doctor better with my heart meds and other things he was concerned for my health for. Since he´s come, I have lost 15.5 lbs of the 21 lbs I regained, so now I have another 5.5 lbs to go. My dr has changed some of my heart meds and I have feeling significantly better. As the weight drops, he continues to do bi-weekly checks to readjust my meds. Last visit was the first reduction of meds!!! Hopefully with every visit, he will be able to reduce the dosages and eventually eliminate each of the meds. I am now officially back down to a size 12, which is where I was last May/June.
What am I doing now to lose weight?
- Smaller portions
- Eliminate snacking (only eat 3 meals/day & no meals in between)
- Low sugar 95% of the time, but when I do have some sugar, much smaller portions
- Getting consistently at least 6 hrs of sleep, but usually 7-8 hrs every night
- No grains or starches for usually 2 meals of the day
- Less stringent in my eating but keeping the above in mind when I eat, so I can eat anything I want.
- Moderate walks from 20-60 min. a few times a week.
13-Feb-2013 - I am 2.5 lbs away from from my low of last year. My dr has eliminated another med (one of my original meds which causes exercise intolerance). Down to 2 heart meds now, the 2 mildest. My BPs are good. He wants them to be under 130/80. This morning, my first 24 hrs without the med he just eliminated, my BP was about 113/71, 64 bpm, so that is well within the range. Hopefully as I continue to lose weight, do some exercise, get enough sleep each night, that my BPs will go even lower, which would allow him to cut out another med or at worst, reduce their dosages.
13-Apr-2013 - My dad celebrated his 86th birthday yesterday (I think it's 86th). I did hit my low for last year and over the past couple months, since getting married and having my 45th birthday, have basically maintained and gone up and down the same 3-5 lbs. Can't say I have been exercising more, eating less or even eating better. A lot has been happening with getting married and all the stuff that entails that, blending of 4 cultures (Colombian, Chinese, Black, American), 2 families and coming together as one.
At my last dr's visit last month, my dr reduced one of the 2 remaining meds in half and my blood pressures have been in the 120/70, 58 bpm range, so it would probably be good until I can actually lose more weight to not cut my meds anymore. My blood sugars are looking really good, but my cholesterol isn't as great. Dr wants me to get back to intense exercising, which I haven't done yet. Supposed to see him in July, so I really need to get moving here literally.
My sleep has been pretty consistent as I start to get tired around 9 pm and really, by 10 pm need to go to sleep. I rarely stay up past 11 pm or even up until then. Most mornings I wake up between 6-6:30 am automatically, so it has been good for my body to get good sleep.
My hair has been thickening some and it feels great. My dermatologist has me using a special shampoo, Rogaine for men (the women's is too weak), and I'm supposed to be also taking Biotin. Need to buy this, though and keep forgetting.
Working a lot on decluttering, organizing, looking for an engineering job (or other job to begin with). Between my husband and I, we have a lot of financial work cut out for us over the next years and really need to make good headway here as we start all over - him in a new country, and me after my financial challenges the past 6 yrs.
Summer 2013 - There had been some yoyoing in the summer and since my last doctor's visit for my health. Over the summer I needed a root canal at the end of June due to a cracked tooth. That was awful and painful, as well as expensive. I had started doing subcontracting work at the end of April, but didn't get paid until June and that required a lot of time at the computer and sitting.
My body wasn't used to all the sitting and the deadlines, which really stressed me out. This resulted in all of July going to the chiropractor and physical therapy, which I think I was doing this for about 5-6 weeks. I learned how to work better at home to avoid the issues this had and as a result of all the physical pain in Jun-Aug, I didn't work as much, but our medical expenses were high and were not covered by insurance.
My weight slowly crept back up but not totally because to some degree I was still doing portion control and not doing any single one thing like. I think I was also periodically drinking soda.
Oct-2013 - I decided in August after I started to feel better, that I would get back into working out more than doing nothing and that I would cut out soda. I began to do better on portion control. My doctor said he would not renew my heart meds unless I got my blood/lab results done, so mid October, I got this done and went in and saw my doctor a week later.
My blood pressure was normal, like in the 125/75 range and I was down at the lowest he's seen me. I believe my weight was about 7-9 lbs less than it was in the Spring and though I secretly hoped it would be more, I knew that just by portion control, eliminating soda, and periodic HIIT exercises, getting more rest, and stressing less, the weight would gradually come off.
My blood results came back good. My cholesterol, blood sugars were all just borderline, but they were getting better than they were in the Spring, but the Spring was better than the Winter timeframe. Since my blood pressure wasn't super low, my doctor left it as such and didn't reduce the meds. No other meds were needed because it seemed like just losing weight was helping all my numbers.
The cool thing is that I didn't do any dieting and ate whatever I wanted. I just was careful about my portions and mainly ate 3 times a day around set times. So, to lose weight in many instances, it does not have to be painful and you do not need to do extreme things. Extreme things will get you results, but to keep that up is really hard.
So, what I am now shooting for is making weight loss easy, affordable, and makes sense, at least for me and to be very flexible.
8-Feb-2014 - I haven't weighed myself, but my clothes have felt tighter, my size 12s and I've even had to wear some of my size 14s. Most of my 16s are gone. In Oct when I went to see the doctor, I was headed towards the 10s. My stepfather was on the verge of death shortly after my doctor's visit in October and died mid-November.
With the major stresses of my subcontracting job, deadlines, all the kids' stuff, going through the Immigration process with my husband, the holidays, traveling to Vegas three times, I fell back into drinking Cokes & Dr. Peppers until I got sick at Thanksgiving with some viral thing that had an awful cough that I didn't get rid of until maybe 2 weeks ago, so it lasted about 2 months.
Got very little exercise in Nov/Dec and high, high stress. So, the weight slowly crept back on. In Jan, we made two trips to Vegas (we have family there) and more eating out and overeating. In order to cope because I was sleep deprived, I began drinking Dr. Peppers again to stay awake. During most of the time I was sick, I avoided all soda, drank mainly hot teas.
Anyway, a week ago, I realized my pants were just tight and I really needed to get back on track with my eating and exercise. I think I exercised a few times in January, but my goal is really to get to do 3 times a week HIIT with adequate rest in between.
Once my husband got his green card at Thanksgiving, he's been heavy into getting a job and I've had to help him a lot on this, which slows down and drags out my subcontracting work time from 5-6 hrs a day to often over 12 hrs a day. This has become very stressful for me.
As we prepare our daughter to go to high school for next year and our son into middle school/jr high, that is also stressful. So, stress and inadequate sleep is a big thing. And if I don't sleep enough, then I forego the exercise because my body doesn't like that much stress, which produced my heart condition. However, maybe I can be doing other forms of exercise, like low impact yoga (not the power stuff), working on trigger points, and just low impact stuff so my body still gets movement, just not high impact.
I really hope my husband gets a great job soon as that will greatly help our financial situation and then allow me to get my subcontracting work done a lot quicker and have more time to devote to getting a better job.
13-Apr-2013 - My dad celebrated his 86th birthday yesterday (I think it's 86th). I did hit my low for last year and over the past couple months, since getting married and having my 45th birthday, have basically maintained and gone up and down the same 3-5 lbs. Can't say I have been exercising more, eating less or even eating better. A lot has been happening with getting married and all the stuff that entails that, blending of 4 cultures (Colombian, Chinese, Black, American), 2 families and coming together as one.
At my last dr's visit last month, my dr reduced one of the 2 remaining meds in half and my blood pressures have been in the 120/70, 58 bpm range, so it would probably be good until I can actually lose more weight to not cut my meds anymore. My blood sugars are looking really good, but my cholesterol isn't as great. Dr wants me to get back to intense exercising, which I haven't done yet. Supposed to see him in July, so I really need to get moving here literally.
My sleep has been pretty consistent as I start to get tired around 9 pm and really, by 10 pm need to go to sleep. I rarely stay up past 11 pm or even up until then. Most mornings I wake up between 6-6:30 am automatically, so it has been good for my body to get good sleep.
My hair has been thickening some and it feels great. My dermatologist has me using a special shampoo, Rogaine for men (the women's is too weak), and I'm supposed to be also taking Biotin. Need to buy this, though and keep forgetting.
Working a lot on decluttering, organizing, looking for an engineering job (or other job to begin with). Between my husband and I, we have a lot of financial work cut out for us over the next years and really need to make good headway here as we start all over - him in a new country, and me after my financial challenges the past 6 yrs.
Summer 2013 - There had been some yoyoing in the summer and since my last doctor's visit for my health. Over the summer I needed a root canal at the end of June due to a cracked tooth. That was awful and painful, as well as expensive. I had started doing subcontracting work at the end of April, but didn't get paid until June and that required a lot of time at the computer and sitting.
My body wasn't used to all the sitting and the deadlines, which really stressed me out. This resulted in all of July going to the chiropractor and physical therapy, which I think I was doing this for about 5-6 weeks. I learned how to work better at home to avoid the issues this had and as a result of all the physical pain in Jun-Aug, I didn't work as much, but our medical expenses were high and were not covered by insurance.
My weight slowly crept back up but not totally because to some degree I was still doing portion control and not doing any single one thing like. I think I was also periodically drinking soda.
Oct-2013 - I decided in August after I started to feel better, that I would get back into working out more than doing nothing and that I would cut out soda. I began to do better on portion control. My doctor said he would not renew my heart meds unless I got my blood/lab results done, so mid October, I got this done and went in and saw my doctor a week later.
My blood pressure was normal, like in the 125/75 range and I was down at the lowest he's seen me. I believe my weight was about 7-9 lbs less than it was in the Spring and though I secretly hoped it would be more, I knew that just by portion control, eliminating soda, and periodic HIIT exercises, getting more rest, and stressing less, the weight would gradually come off.
My blood results came back good. My cholesterol, blood sugars were all just borderline, but they were getting better than they were in the Spring, but the Spring was better than the Winter timeframe. Since my blood pressure wasn't super low, my doctor left it as such and didn't reduce the meds. No other meds were needed because it seemed like just losing weight was helping all my numbers.
The cool thing is that I didn't do any dieting and ate whatever I wanted. I just was careful about my portions and mainly ate 3 times a day around set times. So, to lose weight in many instances, it does not have to be painful and you do not need to do extreme things. Extreme things will get you results, but to keep that up is really hard.
So, what I am now shooting for is making weight loss easy, affordable, and makes sense, at least for me and to be very flexible.
8-Feb-2014 - I haven't weighed myself, but my clothes have felt tighter, my size 12s and I've even had to wear some of my size 14s. Most of my 16s are gone. In Oct when I went to see the doctor, I was headed towards the 10s. My stepfather was on the verge of death shortly after my doctor's visit in October and died mid-November.
With the major stresses of my subcontracting job, deadlines, all the kids' stuff, going through the Immigration process with my husband, the holidays, traveling to Vegas three times, I fell back into drinking Cokes & Dr. Peppers until I got sick at Thanksgiving with some viral thing that had an awful cough that I didn't get rid of until maybe 2 weeks ago, so it lasted about 2 months.
Got very little exercise in Nov/Dec and high, high stress. So, the weight slowly crept back on. In Jan, we made two trips to Vegas (we have family there) and more eating out and overeating. In order to cope because I was sleep deprived, I began drinking Dr. Peppers again to stay awake. During most of the time I was sick, I avoided all soda, drank mainly hot teas.
Anyway, a week ago, I realized my pants were just tight and I really needed to get back on track with my eating and exercise. I think I exercised a few times in January, but my goal is really to get to do 3 times a week HIIT with adequate rest in between.
Once my husband got his green card at Thanksgiving, he's been heavy into getting a job and I've had to help him a lot on this, which slows down and drags out my subcontracting work time from 5-6 hrs a day to often over 12 hrs a day. This has become very stressful for me.
As we prepare our daughter to go to high school for next year and our son into middle school/jr high, that is also stressful. So, stress and inadequate sleep is a big thing. And if I don't sleep enough, then I forego the exercise because my body doesn't like that much stress, which produced my heart condition. However, maybe I can be doing other forms of exercise, like low impact yoga (not the power stuff), working on trigger points, and just low impact stuff so my body still gets movement, just not high impact.
I really hope my husband gets a great job soon as that will greatly help our financial situation and then allow me to get my subcontracting work done a lot quicker and have more time to devote to getting a better job.