Editor’s Note: Susan McCreath has been selected to participate in the Year of You, a fitness challenge hosted by The Manteca Bulletin and CORE Athletic Performance. McCreath is keeping a weekly journal, highlighting the strides and struggles of her fitness journey. These are her thoughts and feelings shared with you.
Day 272
So it’s midnight and I just finished taking a “quiz” on Facebook that tells you what kind of an exerciser you are. I was sure I was going to get “lazy” but I got “biker babe” instead. What the heck does that mean? So I read the description: “you prefer to cruise places then sit down and have a drink.” Yep, that about covers it. Guessing “biker babe” is the new term for lazy.
Day 278
It’s a good day at work when you get to spend the day outside walking around, supervising children and burning calories all at once. It’s much better than sitting all day. I even ate my lunch while I was walking around on the playground before I got crazy and walked a couple laps around the field. The best part is that even the students love to walk around the field when the grown-ups do it with them. I definitely need to try and incorporate some walking with the students into my daily grind.
Day 279
Amazing visit to the cardiologist today; so much good news to share! My blood pressure was 108/68 so we are doing a two-week trial of going off my blood pressure medication. I have gradually been lowering my dosage over the past year so this is something I have been aiming for. If my blood pressure stays in the normal range over the next couple weeks, then I will be off the medicine for good. There was much more good news though. Since one year ago my overall cholesterol went down from 183 to 158, while my triglycerides plummeted from an out-of-range 323 to being in the normal range at 113. That’s a difference of 210. Woo-hoo! My HDL went from being in the low range (39) to being in the normal range (51). The only area that was out of range was my Vitamin D. The doctor’s advice for that was to get out in the sun more. I can go for that as it sure beats sitting in my office. Guess that is a prescription to get out at recess and lunchtime and walk with the students in the sunshine.
Day 280
My visit to the cardiologist has really reinforced how important it is to eat the right way. I am not perfect with my food choices, but I can say that I have drastically improved in this area. Getting such good news yesterday has further encouraged me to keep plugging along making the best choices I can on a daily basis.
Day 281
Today we were supposed to wear pink and denim to work in support of breast cancer. All of us at French Camp have a special pink T-shirt that was made to honor our former vice principal who lost her courageous battle with breast cancer. As I put on my shirt this morning I noticed one thing … it was way too big for me! Just another reminder of how far I have come in the past year.
Day 282
At an all-day volleyball tourney. If I’m not traveling to Oregon for the weekend than I’m at a volleyball tournament. I wouldn’t change it for anything, but I definitely tried to squeeze some walks in between games. I’m still hoping that we get an adult volleyball league going here in town; so fun and healthy.
Day 283
Just back from the grocery store and it is literally amazing how fast we can get our shopping done now. We literally spend most of our time in the fruits and veggies section, swing by the meat section, then dairy. It’s really true what they say about staying on the outside aisles of the grocery store; there’s nothing but bad, processed foods in the middle aisles!
Connect with Susan McCreath and CORE Athletic Performance trainer Robert Iniguez on the Year of You Facebook page at: https://www.facebook.com/theyearofyouchallenge.
