Edema?

Today I switched up my walk just like I mentioned yesterday. I walked the figure 8 around the middle section. My thoughts about how much time it would add to my walk were way off. I finished in 27 minutes and according to my pedometer, I took 3072 steps which translated to 1.15 miles. Can you believe that? *I* walked over a mile. Wow. Actually, toward the end of my walk, I felt like I could do more and I just may have to do that tomrrow. I felt really good, not tired like I thought I might. I think the new shoes helped, much much less painful.

With the whole court thing last week and other crap messing up my routine, I've been noticing a few things. One thing that has me a little troubled is the swelling in my legs. I've had swelling in my legs before but usually it will resolve itself overnight. For about a week now, it hasn't gone away completely and by late in the day, my legs & feet feel tight, not totally swollen, but definitely tighter. I'm not sure what the culprit is exactly. It's not just in my legs, I kinda feel it all over, arms, hands, fingers, etc. I get plenty of water, typically between 120-150 oz on a good day, 80 oz on a bad day so I doubt that's it.

The two things I think it could be are (1) possibly too much sodium. I'm really trying to be careful and I don't think it's been out of control, but I'll watch it even more. (2) Not enough protein. I've often wondered about protein requirements for those of us who are, what I'd call, heavyweights. Basically, I'm wondering for those of us in the 400+ range, even 350+, if 80 grams as a minimum is enough. 80 grams of protein is a bare minimum for me, usually I have been in the 100-120 range, but I'm wondering if I should bump up to around 140 grams or so, especially since I've added exercise to my routine. I don't know. With a 50% malabsorption rate for protein, that's only 70 grams of effective protein which is much needed carrying around the weight I still carry.

Well, my experiment for the next week will be just that. I am going to eat normally, but just supplement another protein shake (23 additional grams) during the day. This way I can get the protein in without increasing my sodium intake. Hopefully that will solve my problem.

Anyway, I weighed in at 430.8 this morning. I know I am getting smaller, it's just that my body is hanging onto water for some reason. I am trying to look at this in a pragmatic manner so as to not freak out. ;)