Feeling Stronger!!

Ok, maybe I'm not there (see above) yet, but my muscles are waking up and it feels amazing!! I had some power oatmeal this morning (I'll post the recipe at the end of this post...don't think I've shared it before) and when my break rolled around I decided to see how long I could last on the treadmill. The last time I walked, I was absolutely STRUGGLING to get past three minutes. About a minute and a half into it, my back was getting tired, my knees were starting to hurt. At four minutes, my knees felt like someone had placed a hot pebble between my upper and lower legbones..it was NOT fun.

Today, I hopped on and started it up and noticed that the typical speed I was walking at (the lowest setting available) just seemed too slow and laborious so I punched it up a few clicks. The treadmill is in Tanner's room so I was treated to his guitar hero prowess on Slipknot's "Before I Forget" and then, at my request, Stevie Ray Vaughan's "Pride and Joy." It was quite a treat! I was actually quite impressed with how well he kept up on Stevie's song since it isn't one he's ever really heard before and it was pretty complicated to play. PLUS, his hearing aid is barely working and of course his cochlear is still demolished...I have to sign all the time now, even if he is looking right at me. Those of you that know Tanner, know that is a HUGE change. when everything is working perfectly, he can often understand what we are saying even if he is in another room. It is frustrating for all parties...but I digress...

So normally my back starts aching about 1.5 minutes in, I was focused on Tanner's guitar hero playing, but when I noticed my back begin to ache I looked down to see what time it was and I was almost FOUR minutes in!!! I made it to 5 minutes no problem and probably could have done a bit longer, but I really want to make sure I don't injure myself so I'm going to start increasing my time a tiny bit each time I get on the treadmill. I'm going to do another 5 minutes on my lunch and then another 5 on my break. I figure I'll try 5:15 at lunch and then 5:30 on my next break. I'll see how I feel tomorrow and then determine whether to increase a bit more or stay where I'm at for a day or so.

After my walk, I went and did 100 crunches on the weight bench. Paxton was sitting on the bed and walked over by me like he was going to spot me so I said "Paxton, count them out for mommy ok?" Erik laughed and started talking in paxton's "voice" saying stuff like "1, P, 6, 6, 6, lemondrops, 200 thousand, squirrel!" everytime I did another crunch lol). Obviously counting is not one of Paxton's strong suits. It's a good thing he's so cute. You know, it is hard to concentrate on using the right muscles when you are giggling the entire time. See why I can never stay mad at Erik? Infuriates me :P

Still at 431 today, but plan on seeing more come off this week as I get more time logged on the treadmill and at the gym! Hope everyone has a wonderful memorial day :)

Michelle's Power Oatmeal:

Ingredients:
1/2 cup oatmeal
1 cup skim milk
half a banana sliced
sprinkling of raisins or dried cranberries
sprinkling of slivered almonds
butter substitute and splenda to taste

Put all ingredients in a bowl and then microwave for about 3-4 minutes. You will know it is ready when it looks creamy. The bananas kind of "lubricate" it much like real butter does so it isn't so pasty and dry. I don't really taste them as much so if you aren't a banana lover, you may not mind this addition. The raisins or cranberries provide a nice sweet punch instead of sugar and the almonds provide additional protein without adding a lot of fat. This fills me up and makes me feel full for quite some time! To be honest, it really doesn't need additional sweetener or butter substitute. Sometimes I may put a teaspoon of splenda brown sugar over the top just to change it up. If you give it a try, let me know what you think :)