Wisedocks

I'm Always Tired, But Why?

I call my job a vacation, not because it is easy, but because it is three days a week. That's it. Four day weekends, every week. If I need a little extra money, I can work more. But I live frugal, so that I usually don't have to.

The problem is that the job is very labor intensive. I'm an order filler. I pick cases and put them on a conveyor belt, sounds easy, but there is constant reaching and bending and the cases can be anywhere from feather light to 80 lbs. I typically pick anywhere from 7,000 to 10,000 cases per shift. We work 11 hour shifts with only two twenty minute breaks, so I'm doing this for 3½ hours at a stretch, picking up, dragging, carrying and heaving several hundred 50 lb. pallets on top of that. Three days is enough.

I also log about 20,000 steps in a single shift. You would think I'd be in great shape, but the job has actually had the reverse effect. In the beginning I was so sore that I did nothing on my days off. That was five years ago and my body has since become accustomed to the work, but the lazy habits stuck around long after the recuperation days were necessary.

Get Ta Steppin'

Over the last year I have been walking on my days off sporadically, and it is clear that is not enough. I have put on about 20 pounds and honestly it is probably worse than that. When I started this job I had quite a bit of muscle mass, so the gain is worse than the scale suggests. A few months ago I decided to get serious about getting the weight off. Being tired when I'm only working 3 days a week gets old. So I made myself start walking 5 miles a day, every day. I was doing good but still skipping days here and there.

Three weeks ago I decided to make the daily walks permanent. When I was in good shape I got my exercise every day rain or shine, and it was time to start taking my health seriously again.

I Busted My Knee

All of that bending and reaching at work has reeked havoc on my right knee. The kneecap will sometimes derail as I like to call it. For the last six months I was sporting a knee brace otherwise my knee would give out half way through a shift. That's the reason I have been walking and not jogging. But, I haven't wore the knee brace on my walks at all this week and have had no problems. I'm hopeful that I can start jogging again soon. I tested this out the day before yesterday and jogged about a mile and everything seemed fine so fingers crossed.

Almost Messed It Up

Working nights means a crazy sleeping schedule, and yesterday it almost cost me my streak. I was one day away from three weeks of hitting at least 10,000 steps every day, averaging over 16,000 actually. Anyway, I fell asleep and woke up at 8 p.m. and nearly talked myself into "Screw it, it's not the end of the world." But that little voice in the back of my head woke up and screamed at me to get going.

So I threw my shoes on and started walking... all the way to a taco truck for some birria tacos. Afterwards I walked to Walmart and grabbed some creme horns, then made my way home. I told the little voice that the agreement was just to get the steps in, so that wasn't cheating. In summary, I may still be fat, but the energy is back and that is exactly what I hated about being sedentary. Baby steps.

It's Not As Bad As It Sounds

Yeah, I cheated yesterday, but my diet has gotten way better as well. Smaller portions, no snacking and way less sugar. Push ups have made their way back into my routine as well. The crazy thing is that I have been putting some muscle mass back on so my weight hasn't changed much. But, it's noticeable, my clothes are starting to fit better and my energy levels are coming back up as well.

Pushing through the first few months is the hard part. Making exercise mandatory is hard to enforce with yourself because you won't see the difference for quite a while, but it takes time. By the time you start to notice a change, your new diet and exercise routine will become your new habits and that is what counts.