Day 2 - I Have Not Yet Begun to Crave!

Today's exercise: yoga class

Breakfast: oatmeal with sliced strawberries, but no milk because someone who shall remain nameless (Scott) used up the milk in one of his late night cereal fests.

Mid Morning snack: 1 red delicious apple

Lunch: Lean Cuisine Butternut Squash Ravioli and 1 peach. I know those frozen meals aren't the best option, and are usually very high in sodium, but as I am not a salter, I'd like to think I can get away with it. Plus, I'm not a morning person, so unless I have something ready to go the night before, I'm grabbing what ever I can get my hands on.

Mid Afternoon snack: Jello Sugar Free 70 calorie Rice Pudding (satisfies the sweet tooth, sort of)

Dinner: French Potato and Chicken Salad (recipe from WeightWatchers). I know, potatoes, but seeing as how the serving size allowed for maybe half a small red potato, I'm not gonna sweat it. I had to cut the recipe in half, and I still have 3 more servings for lunches or dinners.

So about this yoga thing...

Anyone who knows me has probably had to listen to me expound on the virtues of yoga. And even though most of you reading this know me, I'm gonna expound all over the place again.

One of the nasty consequences of being overweight for most of my life, is that I've ruined my knees. About two and a half years ago, I injured the left knee for a third time and ended up on crutches. When the orthopedic surgeon looked at my x-rays he told me I had old knees. Too old for a person my age. This injury had torn my meniscus and ACL, but in addition I had arthritis building up and lots of bone chips floating around in there, so he scheduled me for surgery. During the surgery he repaired and cleaned up what he could and then it was off to physical therapy to strengthen it. But when the visits ran out, I did too. The knee was better but still not real strong and often gave me little twinges of pain. Stiffness was also a way of life (and had been for years).

A little over a year ago my brother Chris told me he had started a yoga class and was really enjoying it. Now Chris is not a physical guy so I thought the idea of him doing downward facing dog was amusing enough to check it out. When the next beginner class cycle started, I signed up with him at Become One Yoga and Pilates Center in Rutherford, NJ.

As it turned out I was so busy focusing on getting my own body into position that I never even glanced Chris' way. We stuck with it together going once a week at first and now twice a week. But the changes from even going just once a week were undeniable. My body shape changed. Oh I was still overweight, but things shifted around a bit and gave me a more defined hourglass figure. But the biggest change was my knee. I hadn't been able to sit cross legged in many, many years, my left knee would get painful after just few minutes of being bent. But after about 4 months of doing yoga, I could sit comfortably cross legged. The knee became stronger than it has ever been and hasn't caused me any pain since I started the yoga. It's the little victories that count. I can reach my feet now when I sit with my legs in front of me. I haven't done that since I was young. My brother's happiest achievement was the day he discovered that he could actually bend over pick something up off the floor. It really is the little things.

So here we are now over a year later and still going on a regular basis. It's the longest I've ever stuck with any exercise type thing. And as an added bonus, my mental state has become a bit more balanced. I still get stressed, but I'm less inclined to burst into tears when I do. I honestly can't say enough good things about yoga. I could go on and on and on, but I'll leave it there for now. Besides I'm tired and it's time for bed. Mmmmmm sleep.

And now for your moment of zen:









Triangle pose
Downward facing frog

Namaste