Monday, May 30, 2011

Exercise and Arthritis

It can be difficult to find appropriate exercise when you have arthritis. My first instinct when I got sick and starting to experiencing pain from arthritis was to stop exercising and rest. For several weeks I didn't exercise and rested a lot. I thought I would get better if my body would get enough rest. Sadly that didn't happened. So I started to exercise again but things had changed. What just to be good for me left me now in pain. For example before I got the arthritis I sometimes went hiking which gave me great pleasure. After I got arthritis, hiking leaves me unable to walk for week. Therefore it was necessary to find new exercise. It is very important to find a exercise that doesn't leave the body in worse shape then it was in before. I for instance have to be very careful of what type of exercise I do. If I would go running, my knees, hips and feet would cry for days. 


For me swimming has turned out to be the best exercise. In Iceland almost every place has a swimming pool. My husband and I are in Akureyri this week. The best thing about Akureyri is definitely the swimming pool. 



Few benefits of swimming

  • good stamina training
  • almost none pressure on joints 
  • it's a exercise for the whole body
  • excellent muscle training because of the water resistance 

Saturday, May 28, 2011

Finally I have my computer back

I'm so happy. Now I should be able to start blogging again. 

It's been a month since I arrived in Iceland. When I came it was snowing, now month later it is still snowing. I do wish that the snow would go away and the spring would come instead. Apart from the weather it has been wonderful being back home. I love seeing my friends and family and spending time with them. Usually my husband and I go back in the fall but this year I will stay in Iceland for the fall semester but he goes back to Chapel Hill, NC. I will be living with my best friend in Reykjavik. So I have been busy moving and finding stuff for my room. 

So what has happened this last month in weight, arthritis and fertility.  A lot and still nothing:(


  • I gained 6 pounds. I was expecting that. Every time I go to Iceland I gain weight.  
  • I'm still feeling pretty bad from the arthritis. 
  • I haven't gotten pregnant but we had our first appointment at fertility clinic in Iceland. 

I'm feeling positive for the summer. There's some things I need to focus on. First of all I need to loose weight. I have been all winter trying to get rid of these extra weight. Now I need to get serious and do what is necessary to loose weight --> eat less and exercise more. Second it's important that I do what I can to ease the pain for the arthritis. Third I'm going to spend the summer with my husband before he goes back to USA.