Day Eleven
I went to the pool early, hoping to avoid people; however, two men were swimming when I got there. I like the close lane, partly because it's easier to get in and out of, and I don't want to get my head wet. One of the men was in that lane, but as I struggled to climb over the divider to the next lane, he kindly said that he was finished and getting out. The other swimmer didn't bother me at all, and got out not too long afterward.
I hoped to do a full ninety minutes today. I once Googled how many calories are burned walking in the water, and the answer was 567 an hour. Of course, it would vary depending on size and speed and technique. But I hope that being in the water for 90 minutes burns around 800 calories for me.
Ninety minutes is enough time to get bored, believe me, and so I have learned to vary what I do, to provide both variety and better exercise. I am too short to walk the whole length of the pool without drowning, so I walk to the second number on the side of the pool, turn around, and come back. On my first lap, I only walk to the first number and back. I am trying to get used to the water, which is always cold. I have found that the colder I am before I get in, the better the water feels, though, so I try to get cold ahead of time.
On the second lap, I put my arms in. When I was first walking in the water, I clung to the side of the pool a lot. I cannot even imagine doing that now, but I did very early on decide to move my arms as well as my legs as I walk, for more exercise. So I move them back and forth as if I were swimming. I couldn't swim in the beginning--it hurt my knee too much. And now, after witnessing what pollutions enter the pool, I would never want to put my head in.
On the third lap, I bounce on alternate feet, pulling my knees up. On the fourth, I kick my legs straight up. This motion imitates one of the physical therapy exercises I was told to do, and exercises my legs in another way. On the fifth lap, I pull my arms up from behind instead of moving them in front of me. On the sixth, I lunge deeply with each step, and on the seventh, I skip. I literally skip, and you can fight me.
From there, I repeat the rotation with every five laps--six, eleven, sixteen, and twenty-one are the same, for instance, and three, eight, thirteen, and eighteen are the same. It helps me keep track of what number of lap I am on, too.
Depending on how deep the water is, I average about a minute and a half per lap. In ninety minutes, I can usually do between sixty and sixty-six laps.
Today, at minute forty-seven, though, so just barely halfway through, a big man came out of the sauna and went, sweaty, straight into the pool. Some people think of the pool as their private bathtub. This grossed me out, of course, but he was far from me at the moment, and there is a lot of water in there. Nevertheless, my arms and legs started to itch. He dinked around, not swimming or exercising, for a few minutes, and got out. From there, he went into the Jacuzzi, then showered, then did the sauna again, then back into the pool. I thought it was interesting that he would shower AFTER the Jacuzzi and pool, and not before. He would shower before going into the sauna, where he would get extremely sweaty, but not after. He also, more than ten times, hauled phlegm up out of his diaphragm, both while in the pool and out of it, and spit into the pool or onto the floor. I wish I had the guts to say, "You need to rinse off before you get in here," or "Get your disgusting self out of here before I report you," but I realize my vulnerability, alone in the pool, isolated from the rest of the gym. And he is not alone.
The man that I did report in the past for taking off his swim trunks six different times while in the sauna or even just on the side of the pool next to me came in for a few minutes, too, and I groaned. He didn't do that trick, but he did shower with his trunks halfway down, vigorously scrubbing his behind with his hands, and then his front. I am not married to him and do not want to see that. He has been told not to do that, but continues to do it, anyway. I don't see the point of the vigorous scrub in the shower with no soap. It's located at the side of the pool, just for rinsing off.
Wishing others would be sanitary at the pool is a losing battle.
Sooo many men just seem to wander around, going from the Jacuzzi to the sauna to the locker room, the drinking fountain, back into the sauna, have a shower, get back into the Jacuzzi--for hours! They don't stick with anything for more than a couple of minutes. Honestly, I don't get it. If they don't have a purpose, like exercising, or even relaxing--I could understand that, why don't they go home?
A woman came in to swim in the lane next to mine while Mr. Gross was dinking around at the end of the pool. I don't mind her, even when she splashes lightly on me going past, but even she was blowing her nose into the pool a little bit.
At one point, a clean-cut young man in gym clothes came in and walked around the swimming pool several times. There is a treadmill in the other room, but at least he looked normal, I thought, and he was not doing any harm. But then, at one point, he was walking straight toward me up on the concrete and I was walking straight toward him, in the pool, and I looked up and saw his shirt. "Sun's out, guns out." What!? Where are all the normal people? I wondered. Clearly not in the pool area.
At minute seventy-two, it seemed that, finally, everyone had cleared out and I was by myself again. I was just starting to relax and enjoy that when I realized that I needed to not only be an hour early to work today, I needed to be an hour and a half early, and I had miscalculated the time. That meant I had to get out right then, at minute 79. It was still a good workout.
My weight was still a sold seven pounds less. I can't wait to see eight.
I had to really hurry through the shower and grabbing everything for work. I grabbed two eggs and some fruit, but I didn't have anything to bring for lunch. I haven't cooked for a few days, and the leftovers are gone. I bought myself a hamburger--sans ketchup--while I was out doing a field trip at lunchtime. I haven't had a hamburger in a long time. Just a hamburger, no fries. Not going to make me fat. Snacked on small handfuls, one each, of almonds, peanuts, and pumpkin seeds.
When I got home, I made homemade potato salad for dinner. It has no sugar, no relish, nothing bad for me. The potatoes have some starch, of course, but they are a vegetable. My granddaughters and daughter-in-law came over to say goodbye, and we spent a pleasant evening with them. I marveled at how well I am doing--I don't feel at all deprived. I am working my plan, and it is working.
When I was getting ready for bed, I felt a tiny bit bloated. Familiar feelings of disappointment, discouragement, guilt, and shame started wafting around in my head. It felt SO GOOD to be able to truthfully tell myself that I had NOT blown it. I had no valid reason to feel bad. I had continue to keep my rules, and all was well.
I hoped to do a full ninety minutes today. I once Googled how many calories are burned walking in the water, and the answer was 567 an hour. Of course, it would vary depending on size and speed and technique. But I hope that being in the water for 90 minutes burns around 800 calories for me.
Ninety minutes is enough time to get bored, believe me, and so I have learned to vary what I do, to provide both variety and better exercise. I am too short to walk the whole length of the pool without drowning, so I walk to the second number on the side of the pool, turn around, and come back. On my first lap, I only walk to the first number and back. I am trying to get used to the water, which is always cold. I have found that the colder I am before I get in, the better the water feels, though, so I try to get cold ahead of time.
On the second lap, I put my arms in. When I was first walking in the water, I clung to the side of the pool a lot. I cannot even imagine doing that now, but I did very early on decide to move my arms as well as my legs as I walk, for more exercise. So I move them back and forth as if I were swimming. I couldn't swim in the beginning--it hurt my knee too much. And now, after witnessing what pollutions enter the pool, I would never want to put my head in.
On the third lap, I bounce on alternate feet, pulling my knees up. On the fourth, I kick my legs straight up. This motion imitates one of the physical therapy exercises I was told to do, and exercises my legs in another way. On the fifth lap, I pull my arms up from behind instead of moving them in front of me. On the sixth, I lunge deeply with each step, and on the seventh, I skip. I literally skip, and you can fight me.
From there, I repeat the rotation with every five laps--six, eleven, sixteen, and twenty-one are the same, for instance, and three, eight, thirteen, and eighteen are the same. It helps me keep track of what number of lap I am on, too.
Depending on how deep the water is, I average about a minute and a half per lap. In ninety minutes, I can usually do between sixty and sixty-six laps.
Today, at minute forty-seven, though, so just barely halfway through, a big man came out of the sauna and went, sweaty, straight into the pool. Some people think of the pool as their private bathtub. This grossed me out, of course, but he was far from me at the moment, and there is a lot of water in there. Nevertheless, my arms and legs started to itch. He dinked around, not swimming or exercising, for a few minutes, and got out. From there, he went into the Jacuzzi, then showered, then did the sauna again, then back into the pool. I thought it was interesting that he would shower AFTER the Jacuzzi and pool, and not before. He would shower before going into the sauna, where he would get extremely sweaty, but not after. He also, more than ten times, hauled phlegm up out of his diaphragm, both while in the pool and out of it, and spit into the pool or onto the floor. I wish I had the guts to say, "You need to rinse off before you get in here," or "Get your disgusting self out of here before I report you," but I realize my vulnerability, alone in the pool, isolated from the rest of the gym. And he is not alone.
The man that I did report in the past for taking off his swim trunks six different times while in the sauna or even just on the side of the pool next to me came in for a few minutes, too, and I groaned. He didn't do that trick, but he did shower with his trunks halfway down, vigorously scrubbing his behind with his hands, and then his front. I am not married to him and do not want to see that. He has been told not to do that, but continues to do it, anyway. I don't see the point of the vigorous scrub in the shower with no soap. It's located at the side of the pool, just for rinsing off.
Wishing others would be sanitary at the pool is a losing battle.
Sooo many men just seem to wander around, going from the Jacuzzi to the sauna to the locker room, the drinking fountain, back into the sauna, have a shower, get back into the Jacuzzi--for hours! They don't stick with anything for more than a couple of minutes. Honestly, I don't get it. If they don't have a purpose, like exercising, or even relaxing--I could understand that, why don't they go home?
A woman came in to swim in the lane next to mine while Mr. Gross was dinking around at the end of the pool. I don't mind her, even when she splashes lightly on me going past, but even she was blowing her nose into the pool a little bit.
At one point, a clean-cut young man in gym clothes came in and walked around the swimming pool several times. There is a treadmill in the other room, but at least he looked normal, I thought, and he was not doing any harm. But then, at one point, he was walking straight toward me up on the concrete and I was walking straight toward him, in the pool, and I looked up and saw his shirt. "Sun's out, guns out." What!? Where are all the normal people? I wondered. Clearly not in the pool area.
At minute seventy-two, it seemed that, finally, everyone had cleared out and I was by myself again. I was just starting to relax and enjoy that when I realized that I needed to not only be an hour early to work today, I needed to be an hour and a half early, and I had miscalculated the time. That meant I had to get out right then, at minute 79. It was still a good workout.
My weight was still a sold seven pounds less. I can't wait to see eight.
I had to really hurry through the shower and grabbing everything for work. I grabbed two eggs and some fruit, but I didn't have anything to bring for lunch. I haven't cooked for a few days, and the leftovers are gone. I bought myself a hamburger--sans ketchup--while I was out doing a field trip at lunchtime. I haven't had a hamburger in a long time. Just a hamburger, no fries. Not going to make me fat. Snacked on small handfuls, one each, of almonds, peanuts, and pumpkin seeds.
When I got home, I made homemade potato salad for dinner. It has no sugar, no relish, nothing bad for me. The potatoes have some starch, of course, but they are a vegetable. My granddaughters and daughter-in-law came over to say goodbye, and we spent a pleasant evening with them. I marveled at how well I am doing--I don't feel at all deprived. I am working my plan, and it is working.
When I was getting ready for bed, I felt a tiny bit bloated. Familiar feelings of disappointment, discouragement, guilt, and shame started wafting around in my head. It felt SO GOOD to be able to truthfully tell myself that I had NOT blown it. I had no valid reason to feel bad. I had continue to keep my rules, and all was well.
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