The Body Rabyd – Rebalancing and Reassessing

In almost every other area of my life this has been a week of distraction.  Blogging has not gone well at all because of these distractions.  Mostly I think my spirit and soul know that I am about to transition back to school mode and the time for relaxing as much as I do will be most definitely over.  I definitely think it is better for me to be busy with things I have to be busy with so.  The one exception this week has been the Body Rabyd but even that has its quirks as I am trying to retool my nutrition,

Next week will necessitate some changes and some readjustment to getting my life in order so once school gets going my other goals do not get sidetracked. The thing is in the area of my health I am rebalancing things because now that I can lift again, other things that were being done to compensate can be dialed back a little.

I have two meetings with health care this week.  One is a nutritional seminar on diabetic nutrition.  The other is a doctor appointment which will require some blood work.  I am sure the issue is has my A1c level dropped?

The Body Rundown:

Weightlifter – It was simply good to be back to the weights again.  I don’t think you appreciate something you enjoy until it I taken away from you.  That said, I spent a lot of time working on form and testing the waters to see how the weights felt more than actually pushing myself.  The weight levels were about half of what I had been using and I reduced the maximum reps from 15 to 10.  This wasn’t about strength or even endurance, it was ‘how does this feel?”  Next week I plan to start reaching toward working on my muscles more while keeping great form.   It will be time to wade out at least to waist deep and see how that feels. The issue is if something feels wrong or it is clear I am overdoing my scar tissue from surgery than its time to back off a little.  I also am still on what I would call ‘don’t bend the torso’ restriction.  In short, no crunches or anything similar probably for another month.

Hiker –  Now that I am back to the gym, for practical reasons of time and such I am going to dial this back.  I had been walking two hours a day but I think that will go back to one hour and then with the lifting I should be alright.  It is a way of achieving balance again.  An hour walk with pack is pretty good cardio five days a week.

Nutrition – This is the problem area and that is mostly because I have more nutritional counseling this week in an all day session on Thursday.   That will mean early morning lifting and hiking but I need to get ready to do that anyway for school.  My hope is to find a way to mesh diabetic diet with weight lifter diet.  I think it is possible but now I don’t only have to worry about protein levels but carb levels so they are steady all day long. Hopefully I will get some practical advice at this meeting and start coming up with meal plans and a diet journal to keep track of things based on it.

Blessings and Cheers!!!

 

The Body Rabyd – The Weights are Calling to Me. (Recovery Ending)

Yeah, and I have missed four.  Thankfully that is about to come to an end.  I come off weight restriction on the 8th and I am back to the gym that morning after my morning walk.  The routine will return and I am sure I will feel much better.  I still have to watch it though and do the gradual work up thing until I am back to normal.

The nice thing is that I covered 2 hours of walking every day this week covering six plus miles each day.  I feel good and have probably lost some fat.  The next trick is to gain some muscle and get the nutrition thing under control.

The Body Rundown:

Weight Lifter – I will be back in the gym in a few days and that excites me.  That excitement is however tempered with the fact that I must start light and slowly build back up.  That means starting with just the bar in many cases and then working up over the next few weeks back to where I was.  Where I was though is going to change to less reps and more weight very soon.  I am thinking 3 sets with 8-10 reps very soon.  Like in three weeks.

Hiker – I have been compensating for lack of lifting through hiking more.  I will probably scale back to one and a half hours a day the next two weeks before school starts.  After that things are going to get interesting as I need to fit everything into a smaller amount of time and eventually the weather will get colder. but that won’t stop me.  I probably won’t stop until the snowmobiles are allowed on the trails and they can’t do that until there is four inches of snow.  I haven’t picked up my pack for a month either so it will be interesting to see how that affects my hiking.

Nutrition – My big issue right now is coming up with a meal plan that keeps my sugar steady and falling while at the same time getting the protein I need for lifting.  It creates all these grams of carbs issues.  I have a full day of dealing with this on August 18th and then a doctor appointment on the 19th.  Hopefully my A1c has dropped or this is going to be a difficult discussion.  Hopefully the next two weeks will be truly effective on all levels.

Blessings an Cheers!!!

 

The Body Rabyd – Child Like Moments (Recovery Day 18)

 

I had one of those moments that you don’t get often today.  I was doing my walk and passing near an open farm field when a plane crossed the field and passed right over my head.  I suddenly has a flashback to a time where as a child one of those old biplanes did the same thing one day when I was at my grandparents farm.  I still had that moment of wonder and joy for me.  Then I had to get back to walking.  The photo I took didn’t turn out too well so you get the painting instead.

The Body Rundown:

Weight Lifter: One more week of this stuff.  August 8th I am going to the gym and I ma doing Leg Day.  With sissy weights and working up but I am doing it just the same.  My surgery scar is not hurting or even itching at all and I have had to catch myself right before I lift something over the limit several times.  I am trying to be good here but I just live and things happen.

Hiking: I did a two-hour walk today.  I covered over six miles, burned pretty close to 3000 calories and had a pace under 20 minutes a mile.  I am considering putting my pack back on next week for more of the same, but I will have to weight it to make sure it is under 15 pounds and has only the essentials.  I am ready to really take on a longer hike at this time but I am going to have to plan something out in August to do solo probably before school starts back up.

Nutritionist: I had a long counseling session last Monday about diabetic nutrition.  They want me to take a longer class all day on the 18th of August.  The big issue is trying to keep my carb intake steady all day long so it levels out my sugar scores. This is going to require that I put together a meal plan and stick with it as much as possible.  I am going to also have to make sure there is enough protein in it so weight lifting will not be a pain.

Blessings and Cheers!!!

The Rabyd Writer’s Soul – Getting the Bigger Picture. (Recovery Day 16)

I am really having to rethink things much more than I thought and part of the issue is right now my world does not have weights in it.  I know that sounds weird but for me weight lifting was as much a meditative exercise as it was about strengthening my body,  The mental aspects of preparing to lift, lifting and then evaluation are gone right now so I am lift only with the chaos of thought that surrounds me when I walk although that is a good thing as I sort things out.  I walked of 1 hour and 40 minutes today covering over five miles so I definitely have recovered my endurance and ability to breath.  Spiritually speaking though walking is where the ideas flood my head, lifting was always the way I focused on those ideas that rose to the top in value.

The Soul Rundown:

Writing – I have had a lot of motivation and rational to write this book of mine.  The need grows more every time I watch my Christian brothers and sisters blindly follow a political leader because: “It’s the only way to defeat the other guy.”  The need for a book on the real connection in the Bible between politics and religion needs to be presented and this book will definitely turn some heads about that.

Scholar – I am feeling the need to get back to school more and more each day.  I miss the discipline of study and I don’t think that will go away until I am once again pursuing my degree.

Steward – I think I have come up with a plan for the whole Spirit, Soul, Body thing as far as staying accountable but also this will help make sure I keep pursuing simplicity and minimalism.

Blessings and Cheers!!!

The Body Rabyd – Recovery Day 11

I am sorry I haven’t written more this week on other things besides myself but I just am not in the groove right now at all.  Mostly I just feel lethargic but then have moments of great energy but I don’t focus enough to write much of anything.  That said my body is taking things in stride more and more each day.  I feel better and that is the main thing.

My doctor appointment went well.  I was told I was healing faster than expected or normal and all my vitals were normal.  Weight restriction is the only restriction now so I can’t go to the gym yet but I am hitting the trails pretty hard.  Doc says he doesn’t need to see me again just keep on the weight restriction until August 7th.

The Body Rundown:

Weight Lifter: I am probably going to do what is called air lifting where I still go through the motions of a lift but don’t actually have a weight in my hand.  I can then see how the movement pull on my new scar.  I basically will have to ease back into things once I do start lifting again and by the beginning of September should be lifting as normal.

Hiker: I did 70 minutes of a good hard walk today in the hot weather and felt fine.  I can’t really use a pack yet but I am thinking I need a fanny pack anyway so tomorrow might be a shopping day.  I just need something that can carry bug spray, a bottle of water and a smart phone.  When I get to the pack it will still come in handy to have the stuff I might want to reach quickly in a good place.  I plan on going from 80 min to 120 min next week.  The time above 90 minutes is to make up for my lack of weight lifting.

Nutritionist:  I have an appointment with the diabetic nutritionist on Monday.  Hopefully after that I can make a meal plan that will cover diabetes as well as weight training.  These last 11 days since surgery my sugar has been all over the place. I hope I stabilize soon.

Blessings and Cheers!!!

The Body Rabyd – Recovery Day 4

The main goal from a physical standpoint this week was to rest.  So far so good.  The thing about recovering from this surgery is that so far it has been much easier than I expected.  Still no pain and the discomfort level has dropped quite a bit.  So much so that I got a walk in today, but more about that in a minute.  The big issue for me is to do what I can and be ready for doing more when the doctor lets me.  I have an appointment with him on the 21st in the morning and hopefully we can clarify more what specifics this recovery is going to involve.

The Body Rundown:

Weight Lifter:  Oddly enough in this world of weight restriction of 15 lbs. I have found lifting to be really helpful.  The main issue as I read the restrictions is that they do not want me to use my upper body in any way that would put strain on the incision. Squats have now become extremely useful in using my legs more to lift my body up off things without using my arms to pull myself up.  Glad I don’t skip Leg Day.  What I want to propose to the doctor after recovery is a graduates pyramid up each week until I am back to normal.  I am thinking 4 sets of 8-10 until I get back to normal.  For example the first day I come back my Squat might be 45 lbs. (the bar), 65 lbs. 85 lbs. and 95 lbs.  Week 2 would start at 95 lbs. then 115lbs. 135 lbs. and 155 lbs.  At that point I would be back to mostly normal by week 3 or 4.  This would take me into September which at that point I switch to 3×8-10 for the Fall.  I will have to see what the surgeon thinks.

Hiker – I guess I proved I am a Hiker today in some small way as I got out on the trail (no pack or gear, just a trekking pole) and hit 20 minutes.  There is no restriction on how much I can walk other than don’t overdo it.  I think given that I can’t lift for another three weeks at least, I am going to tray to get my walking up to two hours by the end of the recovery period.  I think I can for the moment get away with a fanny pack and my trekking pole for balance although I haven’t needed it.  I was sore across the ribs today but that is probably the surgery and sitting around too much.  It was nice to get outside.

Nutritionist: I would say my meals have been small.  I have done this on purpose because I am less active right now.  That said if diabetic sugar scores are an indicator I have discovered something interesting by taking my sugar scores.  In the morning right after I wake up is when they are the most high.  By mid morning after I eat they drop 20 points and by afternoon they drop another 5-10 points.  Basically somewhere in the night they spike upward and then they gradually curve downward as the day goes by.  Of course I spiked upward the day after surgery but other than that this pattern hold pretty well.  I have an appointment on the 25th with the nutritionist so I will see what I can do to tighten this further and get some better education on what diet I need to follow.

Blessings and Cheers!!!

 

The Body Rabyd – Changing the Rundowns (Part 3)

Time for the final part of this Changing of the Rundowns.  A current event is affecting this that must be discussed is my upcoming surgery on Monday where I will get my upper abdominal hernia repaired.  This is actually going to throw some of this off a little bit but my doctor said I could walk as much as I wanted as long as I didn’t lift over 15 lbs. – for four weeks.

I often wonder if doctors consider the size of the person when they make these limitations.  I mean I can wrist curl a 20lb. dumbbell for reps.  15 lbs. seems incredibly light to me but I will do all I can to comply its just both my granddaughters are over this mark by now so that will be tough too.  That said, I am excited to have this done because it has been bothering me for quite some time although it is not painful.  It is just tiring to do a lot of work, diet right and still see a bulge of pretty good size sticking out.

So what three identities do I want to take on for The Body Rabyd? – Weightlifter, Hiker and Nutritionist.  Full Rundown follows.

The Body Rundown:

Weightlifter – The main goal here is a strong body both in muscular strength and joint strength.  This is why both strength training and flexibility fall under this identity.   That said I am not going to be able to lift for four weeks after my surgery so this one at first is going to be my hopefully brief journey from surgery through recovery into walking into the gym again.  After that the goal is simple and that is to be back in beast mode lifting normally and at higher weight at the end of the year.

Hiker – The only form of cardio I have found that I stick with and there is something very spiritual about hiking that I enjoy as well.  I like the identity of being a hiker.  Thankfully this is one thing that because of surgery I can get back to fairly quickly, at least the walking part. but without the pack.  I can still do training walks so as soon as I feel up to it those will start again.  Now, nice all this recovery stuff is over the goal will be a day hike to a certain point and back before school starts up again.  This is also going to be about acquiring more equipment until I am ready for next year’s overnight hike.

Nutritionist – Now a disclaimer needs to be offered on this one as I am not trying to be a full-blown nutritionist.  What I am trying to do is be my own nutritionist to he point that I am monitoring everything carefully that is going into my body.  Meal plans and supplements and that sort of thing are the real issue in this identity.  Being that this is the only other thing I can control during my recovery, it will probably take on more importance and I will be able to focus on it more for some time and maybe get a better handle on it. The goal is to lose as much fat as possible without losing my muscle gains, keeping it off and watching my diabetic score drop to normal levels by the end of the year.

Blessings and Cheers!!!

The Body Rabyd – The Sabbatical Ends (Final Sabbatical Journal)

 

To conclude this sabbatical I am going back to its beginning with some goals laid out on May 29th before it began to take a look to see if I actually accomplished what I set out to accomplish when this things started or did it turn into something else.  In order to be fair I am going to quote myself from May 29th so that I can see if what I said I wanted to happen actually happened.  I am going to rate all of them one of the following: Positive – I made good and significant progress toward this goal.  Neutral – mixed on progress toward the goal.  Negative – No progress or regression.

The Final Sabbatical Rundown:

1. To find out what I feel I might be missing or at least get some idea what it might be if anything at all.  There is a restlessness to my spirit and I want to find out what the cause is or if I might just be imagining it. – I have had two major thoughts while meditating and praying on this 1) That I need to be more honest with myself about my situation in life and 2) I need to be more assertive if I am going to have an impact positively influencing things to a better end than what the truth shows.  I don’t know if this is all of it, but it seems to be the path I am walking down which is further than I was before because I now have a direction.  Positive.
2. I don’t want to think about the church too much.  It will probably happen but I want to minimize it as much as possible. – I was mostly successful on this except as the sabbatical came to a close.  Its kind of like everyone experiences when a vacation comes to a close and work gets thrust back upon you like it or not.  For most of us the middle of a vacation is the most relaxing and that was true of this sabbatical as well.  Positive.
3. Try to have a better understanding of what I am doing pursuing this Political Science degree and if I should add some sort of minor. – I actually finished this one pretty early in the sabbatical.  I feel my best bet is to look long term at building on this degree with a master’s degree and a doctorate so that I can enter the world as a professor.  Along the way the degrees could parlay into other jobs.  I have also felt the concentration in Television and Digital Media I need for the degree could be turned into an actual minor and I think I have the time for it so that is what I am going to do.  That said, if some other option comes along that fits me even better I will probably take it. Positive.
4. I want to get my book outline finished and have the first two or three chapters written. – I have really good outline but didn’t get any actual writing on chapters done.  I am going to have some time once I get back to work because of something else happening that is going to put me sort of out of the loop.  I also need to look at how blogging might be taking away from writing time that might be more productive.  That said, Blogging has been my mainstay and a great writing exercise and at times inexpensive therapy. Neutral.
5. From a physical standpoint if I keep pursuing being a beast in fitness I should come back to church in five Sundays and be in really good shape.  I have a consultation on June 30th about my hernia and I have my diabetes to beat. – I have definitely returned to beast mode as I love to lift again.  I have lost most of my angst about working out in a gym and the hiking has really become part of my life.  I don’t know how much weight I have lost but it has been some, more importantly I look better in the mirror.  The only problem on the horizon is that I know that I will be having surgery sometime in mid July for my hernia.  The surgery is no biggie as it is outpatient with a local.  However it is the recovery that will put me at a 15 pound weight limit for fur weeks and that means my weight lifting will go on hold for a bit.  The nice thing is the doctor says I can walk all I want and can so I might simply replace it temporarily with more hiking but without the backpack.  I will also have to tighten up my diet a bit but then again I already have to do that because of being diabetic.  Positive.
6. I want to plan out the rest of the year’s hiking schedule and start acquiring equipment for that schedule.  I also want to look at next year’s plan to hike the North Country Trail along the Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore with my son and perhaps others.  This is going to require some planning and practice along with all the other hikes I am going to try to do solo next year. – The plan is to hit the North Country Trail next summer and I need to simply save up twenty bucks a week and buy the equipment I need.  With the month off surgery I might be able to get at least the backpack which will be waiting for me when I get done with recovery.  I might be able to get a day hike in after my recovery but then school will be upon me and I will have to spend more time on that. Positive.
7. Rest – I need a break from it all and I would also like to do some ‘resting’ with my wife on the weekend that we have our anniversary.  If I have to explain why the ‘resting’ is in quotes, well you need to spend more time with your significant other than I do. – I will talk about our anniversary later but the idea here was to rest and clear my mind and that was accomplished.  It might be said I rested a little too much as I didn’t accomplish some of the things I wanted to accomplish but it was a restful time. Positive.
8. Cleaning and Dejunking. I need to get the garage re-cleaned which should not take as much time and then I need to go through ALL my stuff and get rid of that which I do not need anymore.  I haven’t done this personally in about three years so I am overdue. – I did get the garage re-cleaned.  However I ran into he same problem I ran into last time which was a desire to get rid of the big stuff to make room for stuff inside the house.  The plan is to rent a dumpster for a year (the cheapest option actually) and dejunk the house and get back to a more simple and minimalist feeling in the house. Neutral.
9. I want this blog to have its normal run of posts but also add some things so I am in good position to hit 500 posts for the year. – I am getting better at this but to be where I want to be I need be at 2300-2350 posts by the end of summer to make the 2500 at the end of the year.  I need something that I can write well, quickly and everyday. Neutral.
10. I have of course a graduation open house to attend with some friends to , my anniversary to celebrate and my son’s wedding to attend as well.  Life is nothing but interesting. – Did the open house and it was a good time to connect with an old friend. The anniversary was a good time with my wife in many ways including ‘resting’  Finally, it was great to watch my oldest son finally marry my second daughter and the new Mrs. Raby.  It was a great celebration of love and life and I enjoyed every minute of it.  Positive.

Well, If my Math is good that is 7 – Positive, 3 – Neutral and 0-Negatives.  If I were to put it in other terms my sabbatical record was 7-0-3.  No losses equals a Good Sabbatical and I will definitively think about doing one again in five years or so.  The only thing that was truly negative the entire month was having to put down my dog.  In many ways, that and other things mark this month as the end of one era of my life and the beginning of a new one. I have school to finish, a church to run and some writing, dejunking and blogging to work on but for the most part I am in good shape coming out of this.

That said, I am have mixed feelings about going back to work.  There are issues to confront and I have a stack of stuff sitting on the table that over the next week I will have to work though and sometimes in the next few weeks I will go under the knife and that will take wind out of my sails that I really can’t afford to lose at this time but I will find a way to get through it.  In any case, I will be much happier and hopefully healthier once the summer is over.

Well, time to put the sabbatical to the rudder and get back to leading, preaching and loving.

Blessings and Cheers!!!

The Rabyd Writer’s Soul – Coming to the End (Sabbatical Journal #12)

It is hard when you can see the end of something that has been enjoyable.  This sabbatical has been something that I have enjoyed immensely mostly because I have been able to really refocus on what I think is important.  This is not a final report as that will come Friday.  Tomorrow is the last day and there are some things that I must do so here we go.

The Sabbatical Rundown:

1. Am I further along perhaps but there is something to be said for a couple of concepts that keep going over and over in my head – 1) That I need to work on facing the truth about my current situation, 2) I need to be more aggressive in pursuing and expressing what needs to happen in my life.  Am I missing more assertiveness?
2. This is the point of the sabbatical where returning back to the grind is kind of a dark cloud over the whole thing.  The only thing is that number one above is really making it clear to me what needs to be done.
3. Done
4. No progress since last time.
5. I have an appointment with the doctor about my hernia tomorrow, they better act quickly or there is little point because by August I have to start thinking school.  There is no way I can have this done during school.  In the meantime it has been a great week lifting and hiking so far.  It has been very meditative.
6. Done
7. Definitely rested, final report Friday.
8. On hold for dejunking because there is one tool that I want to get yet – a dumpster and then I can really get going on this.  I am thinking simplicity and minimalism these days.
9. So far it has been OK but we will see when things get a little farther into Summer.
10. Done.

One more day tomorrow and then it will be time to get back to work.

Blessings and Cheers!!!

The Rabyd Spirit – Giving Blood (Sabbatical Journal #11)

I have worked very hard to keep my sabbatical church free but today there was something on the church calendar that I refused to miss which is our blood drive.  We started this back in February and I plan on doing it as many times as we can in a year and I think things will be better as this get more known.  I for one am happy to give when I can.  I was good to give something that can save lives.

The Sabbatical Rundown:

1. I haven’t come up with much since last time but I am thinking more on it as I do my hiking every weekday.  It has become my meditation and prayer time.
2. Hard to not to think of church when I had to go there to give blood but I managed to point conversations back to the blood drive or other things.
3. Done
4. No progress since last time
5. Hoping for a great last week in the gym before they put me on a surgery list but I need to get this hernia repaired before school starts again.
6. Done
7. Less than one week of rest left so far.
8. Dejunking is taking a little longer than I thought because after much discussion I have decided we need to have a dumpster for a year to get rid of some bigger stuff this summer and next year we will probably attack the basement as well so having something that get emptied each week for a while need to be done. So some stuff I have simply put aside until it arrives.  I still need to go through my clothes, my corner in the living room to get it ready to become a reading corner and maybe my books.  That last one might take a while.
9. Second post for the day and tomorrow there are more coming.  By the end of summer I need to have less than 200 hundred left for the year probably closer to 160.
10. Done.

Been a good start to the week so far.  Hoping to start checking these things off in a few days.

Blessings and Cheers!!!