Shaping UP in 2014

Here is where I am at this week. This year certainly does have a different feel than last year for whatever reason. 

I am back to walking regularly at 1.25 miles a day. Most of my aches and pains that threw me off the track are gone except I have achy feet and ankles! I don't know what is going on here. I had this problem a few years back and started wearing orthotic inserts in my walking shoes and it cleared right up. Nothing has changed and I don't think my walking is excessive by any standard. 

I have been doing some research and learned that foot aches can actually be a magnesium deficiency. Who would have guessed that? The best way to get magnesium going again ... soaking the feet (or whole body ) in good old epsom salts. Turned out those "old wives" knew a thing or two after all. Anyway I am trying it. I also started taking glucosamine. I can't afford to have achy feet! If anyone else has any ideas let me know. 

The good news is that the farm baskets are supposed to start up again next week. FINALLY! I ate so much better and it was so much fun trying all the different vegetables. And ... I understand kale and other dark leafy vegetables have magnesium among their many other attributes. 

It sounds to me like you are actually exercising too much and may not be eating enough.  Sounds weird but at the very least you should be having at least some rest days in there and don't do the same thing all the time.  Like may cardio 3 days a week strength exercises 2 days alternating and two rest days in there somewhere.  Also with a lot of exercise like that you may be burning so much that you are not actually eating enough to cover your BMR.  Do you have a fitbit or some kind of activity tracker that estimates how much you are burning and do you track your food enough to have a good idea of what your average intake is.  Protein intake needs to be 25% to 30% of your calories as well. 

I am seeing more and more evidence that people who actually appear healthy and in shape are not really eating enough and the body reacts in different ways.  Headaches, insomnia, fatigue, chronic injury, etc. can all be related to not consuming enough calories.

Just to give you an idea, I am over 50, 5'2.75" and without exercise would say I am lightly active. During March I pretty much maintained a fairly even weight consuming an average of about 1700 calories a day. My BMR is about 1350. If I add exercise I would try to keep the net (intake less exercise) to at least 1400 calories. Before I started my tracking last year I had chronic headaches, insomnia, and acid reflux. I was taking Omeprazole constantly and was having problems with my legs swelling up. I was also at least 60 lbs overweight. My strategy last year was tracking my food and activity level and keeping my net intake above my BMR. I didn't make any specific restrictions on what I was eating but just tried to focus on eating more "real food" and less processed crap. Oh, and my water intake is 12 to 15 cups a day.

Within two weeks after adding smoothies (half greens, half fruits) to my regular meal plans the acid reflux problems had almost completely disappeared and I no longer take any drugs for it. Within the first few months my headaches disappeared as did the insomnia and chronic fatigue. By the end of the year I had lost 50 lbs and no longer have problems with my legs swelling during the course of the day. During this time I have had an average food intake of between 1600-2100 calories. Definitely not low calorie at all.

Variety can be a key as well. Humans are very adaptive creatures and our bodies adjust to routine. So variety in exercise, as well as alternating with rest but also variety in calorie intake can sometimes make a difference too. I've seen suggestions of throwing in fast days or even having 1 or 2 days of higher calorie to break up the routine. Anything that we do consistently the body will adapt to and may become less effective. This is why when I am tracking intake or exercise or don't really worry to much about each individual day's numbers but I keep track of the averages over the week or month. Doesn't matter if I am over or under on any particular day but if my weight starts creeping up and I look at my averages I usually find that my average intake has gotten too close to my average calorie burn.

Increasing the exercise without any increase in diet might have just put you a little below your particular balance point. Maybe eat back half of those additional exercise calories.