Did you know that Fort Wayne, IN, was the original home of the Detroit Pistons?

Lower Weight; Plateaued Heart Stuff

Here are this week's results by the numbers (with last week's numbers in parenthesis):

Weight - 230 (234)
Blood Pressure - 134/86 (140/78)
Heart Rate - 77 (75)

Hooray for weight loss! I think that the 234 from last week was a fluctuation. I also think that this week's number could have been lower except that my fiance and I did some traveling to Fort Wayne to take care of some wedding stuff. It is always much harder to keep you food intake in check when visiting family. Also, the extent of workouts this weekend was an approximate 2 mile hike on Sunday at Pokagon State Park. As disappointed as I am that this is all that I did this weekend, I am very happy about the fact that I could hike and enjoy it (rather than hike and keep up with the group).

The heart numbers have been pretty flat over the last four weeks. I am beginning to wonder if my genetics are limiting me from going into the "healthy" blood pressure range. I suppose this could also be from a list of other things (the fact that I still do weigh 230 pounds and I am stressed about the job hunt). I am thinking that if I get under 200 pounds and the blood pressure does not show much more improvement then I will talk to a doctor about it. For now I shall dwell on being able to complete 3 miles on the elliptical in 28 minutes 30 seconds. Today my goal is 3 miles at 6.5 miles per hour (that's 3 miles in about 27 minutes 40 seconds).

Stiff Knees

Some men can brag about that old high school football injury. They feel it when they wake up every morning or even when the weather changes. I, on the other hand, have the privilege of bragging on an old marching band injury. I suppose the 7 full seasons (4 high school, 3 college) of drum line will do that to you, especially when the last 3 were on Astroturf.

I am only bringing this up to vent. I already know what I am going to do (keep working out on low impact equipment and see a doctor as soon as I get health insurance). It just really sucks for the time being. All of a sudden on Saturday I could barely walk because my right knee was so stiff that I could not extend it out all of the way. This carried all the way through last night.

As anyone with stiff legs know, when one leg hurts you adjust how you walk to favor the tenderness. This means that by the time I got home Monday night, my right ankle was hurting and my left knee felt like someone was stabbing me directly in the joint. In the end, this will be nothing more than a hurdle that I must go over. Time to pull up the boot straps and heed the advice of the frog below: