Walking Is For Maintenance

Sunday, June 6th, 2010 by Alyice

I love to walk. I love walking exercises. Walking is low-impact, it’s enjoyable, and I can usually get my husband or daughter to walk with me since it’s a great way to catch up on the day and get some sunshine in the process.

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On rainy, or snowy, days I can keep up with my walking routine by popping in a walking video, like Denise Austin’s “Blast Away The Pounds” or Leslie Sansone’s “Walk at Home – 5 Mile Fat Burning Walk”.

However, I’ve come to the realization that as healthy was walking makes me feel, it does absolutely nothing for me in the weight loss category. Over the past month I’ve been doing a lot of walking, along with watching what I eat, and I’ve yet to lose a single pound.

So for me, for right now, walking is for maintenance; not weight loss.

Over the weekend, I have really been trying to figure out what, aside from the depression, is preventing me from physically pushing myself when it comes to working out.

I am not a lazy person by nature but it has been a label I’ve willingly given myself every time I’ve needed to rationalize why I don’t work harder at losing the weight, why I don’t allow myself to get physically exhausted, why I don’t push myself into a sweat.

Then I spent half the day in bed today with a migraine that started yesterday, along with a lot of pain in my neck, shoulders, and back. And that’s when it hit me, I spend a lot of my days in chronic pain.

It starts at my hips, goes straight up my back and ends on the right side of my neck. Every day I feel some sort of pinching or burning sensation; some days it’s a small, localized area and other days it takes over the entire back, neck, and shoulders. Some days I cannot move my right arm above my head, other days I cannot turn my head to the right. Some days it even hurts to walk. And every day that I attempt any real exercise, the pain is aggravated.

I live with chronic pain and I just don’t want to contribute to that pain by putting my body through a rigorous exercise routine. I can’t help but think, “If I am in this much pain right now, and it feels unbearable, why would I want to do anything that would intensify that pain?”

I’ve been to the doctor and I’ve been to the chiropractor. I don’t need hip surgery, I don’t need neck surgery, I don’t need any type of surgery. Yet the pain persists.

My doctor thinks I have some form of arthritis, my chiropractor sees no signs of arthritis but does see extremely tight muscles that cause pinching of the nerves which results in lots of swelling and a hip that tends to like to slightly dislocate itself from time to time.

I could probably use some form of physical therapy—yet our insurance doesn’t cover it and I cannot afford it on my own.

So now I have to decide if I want to simply maintain the weight I am with walking and healthy eating or if I want to chance a little more physical pain in an attempt to lose the weight.

I am such a baby when it comes to pain, really I am.

When I was in the delivery room with my son, I wanted an epidural the minute I arrived. The nurse was so short-tempred with me that she said, “If you are acting like this when you are only dilated at five, what are you going to do when you get to ten?”

I kept assuring her that I would be more likeable if she’d just shoot me up. Thirty six hours and three epidurals later, I had to go in for an emergency C-section.

I’m not sure if it was my low tolerance to pain, or the strain of the delivery accompanied by the emergency C-section, but I spent nearly an entire month in bed just trying to get my strength back up. (All I can say is thank God for family!)

Yet, I cannot help but wonder if I pushed myself and endured a little more pain for the short-term, if it would help end some of my pain in the long term.

I remember watching a season of “Dancing With The Stars” with Jane Seymour. She had back surgery at some point in her life and was still in physical therapy dealing with chronic back pain. Everyone in her life thought she was crazy for competing and worried about her back but with the encouragement of her husband she competed anyways.

In the end, she said that as grueling and painful as the routines were, she was grateful for the experience. She said that “for the first time in years, I can get out of bed in the morning without back pain”. She even mentioned keeping ballroom dancing in her life.

So maybe there is something to enduring a little more pain now for a little less pain later.

Remember, it’s about the baby steps…

Posted in One Step At A Time | 2 Comments »

Echo Challenge Abstract

Saturday, June 5th, 2010 by Alyice

“Abstract art is a creative interplay
between the conscious and the unconscious.”
– Lawren Harris

It’s echo time! This time the prompt is “abstract”. Abstract is the distortion of reality. It’s about viewing what is and then using colors and shapes and texture to evoke an emotional response—whether it be from the viewer or the artist himself—about that reality.

Abstract art can be found everywhere. It’s in nature, like the wings of a butterfly or the way light reflects off of a fixed surface. It’s in manmade objects, like the close-up viewings of larger objects or the sectioning off of patterns.

And it’s in the unconscious mind of an artist seeking to find a voice—yearning to be heard, longing to resolve a painful issue, wishing to capture the feelings of pure and utter joy.

When I look at abstract art, I am captivated by its ability to reach deep within my soul and calm the chaos within.

I am fascinated by the fact that one piece of abstract art can have so many different meanings to so many different people—all because the viewer has different life experiences.

And I am mystified to discover that I am able to see several images, within the painting itself, that were never meant to be there. It’s as though the painting itself is speaking to me; calling me to learn from it, to explore it, to reflect upon it, to discover new meanings and truths.

Not all abstract art has this effect on me, mind you. Some abstract art does absolutely nothing for me or my soul. It’s simply something pleasing to gaze upon.

Henry Ward Beecher once said, “Every artist dips his brush in his own soul, and paints his own nature into his pictures.” Nothing could be truer than that of an artist who creates abstract art.

Until next time…

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A Little Bird Told Me

Saturday, May 29th, 2010 by Alyice

I can’t believe it’s been six months since I’ve shown you a greeting card. I’m still making them, but haven’t been uploading any to Zazzle as I’ve yet to figure out how to profit from the site and am seriously considering creating an e-product in which buyers would be able to purchase one of my card designs as a pdf file and use it for non-commercial purposes an unlimited number of times.

These two pieces were actually parts of a larger work. Something about them called to me to separate them and turn them into greeting card designs. Aren’t they cute?

Keep Creating

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AlyiceEdrich.com
I'm a freelance writer, mixed media artist, SMVA, and the owner of The Dabbling Mum.

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