Okay, it's been two weeks since I last weighed in (I was out of town for Pioneer Day). And I know I didn't eat very well the first of those weeks (you should try my cousin's home-made ice cream. It makes me wish I could digest dairy). But I worked a little harder this week and it paid off. Not by much mind you, but any little bit helps.
Btw: my apologies to Dr. Seuss for the title.
Sunday, August 1, 2010
Saturday, July 10, 2010
*That* is commitment!
I discovered the secret to loosing weight! I put my bathroom scale on my carpet instead of on the tile in my bathroom floor and I lost 70 pounds! Ha ha, if only it was that easy.
My favorite way to exercise has always been swimming. I was on a swim team when I was in middle school and even though I didn't enjoy competing I did enjoy working out. Well, we have a great aquatic center that I now live just down the street from, and since I need to have a way to exercise I decided to buy a swim pass. I could have bought a 3 month pass, a six month pass or a year pass. It was cheapest in the long run to buy a year pass, so that's what I did. I'm planning on going twice a week and if I do it'll mean I paid $1.73 per swim session. Much better than their $6 per session they usually charge.
So I either got really ripped off or I just made a really good deal. Now I just need to stay committed.
My favorite way to exercise has always been swimming. I was on a swim team when I was in middle school and even though I didn't enjoy competing I did enjoy working out. Well, we have a great aquatic center that I now live just down the street from, and since I need to have a way to exercise I decided to buy a swim pass. I could have bought a 3 month pass, a six month pass or a year pass. It was cheapest in the long run to buy a year pass, so that's what I did. I'm planning on going twice a week and if I do it'll mean I paid $1.73 per swim session. Much better than their $6 per session they usually charge.
So I either got really ripped off or I just made a really good deal. Now I just need to stay committed.
Sunday, June 27, 2010
Lessons Learned From a Four Mile Hike
This morning I woke up at 7:30am (thanks to my cat), and since I couldn't sleep I decided that I would go take a walk. I had mapped out a couple of routes on Google maps and had one that was almost exactly 4 miles. I figured it was early enough in the day that I could go that far and be home before it got too hot.
Well I brought along my camel back (best invention ever - a must have when living in St. George) and my iPod and set out. I was not the only one out that early, I was passed (I didn't do any passing) by several people, two of whom were wearing Iron Man t-shirts and looked like they belonged on a cover of a fitness magazine. I turned after they passed me and enjoyed the view. :)
The bad part about walking around where I live is that no matter which way I go the last leg of my walk is going to be uphill (unless I hike the faux volcano again). The last mile was all uphill and into the sun. The last block was the steepest of all and I pretty much wanted to kill myself by the time I dragged myself into my driveway.
So, the lessons learned from today's exercise include don't buy a house at the top of a hill if you plan on taking a lot of walks. Always take your camelback with you if you're walking around in St. George in June (or several other months). Make sure the route that you take has sidewalks on it, there was about a two block section that didn't have a side walk and it was on a busy road. And last but not least: make sure you can handle a three mile hike before you tackle a four mile hike!
Oh, and I weighted myself this morning, which I usually don't do (I usually avoid the scale like the plague), but I was curious. Anyway, the numbers were much easier to look at than they were yesterday, so now I just need to keep it up for the next two weeks.
-M-
Well I brought along my camel back (best invention ever - a must have when living in St. George) and my iPod and set out. I was not the only one out that early, I was passed (I didn't do any passing) by several people, two of whom were wearing Iron Man t-shirts and looked like they belonged on a cover of a fitness magazine. I turned after they passed me and enjoyed the view. :)
The bad part about walking around where I live is that no matter which way I go the last leg of my walk is going to be uphill (unless I hike the faux volcano again). The last mile was all uphill and into the sun. The last block was the steepest of all and I pretty much wanted to kill myself by the time I dragged myself into my driveway.
So, the lessons learned from today's exercise include don't buy a house at the top of a hill if you plan on taking a lot of walks. Always take your camelback with you if you're walking around in St. George in June (or several other months). Make sure the route that you take has sidewalks on it, there was about a two block section that didn't have a side walk and it was on a busy road. And last but not least: make sure you can handle a three mile hike before you tackle a four mile hike!
Oh, and I weighted myself this morning, which I usually don't do (I usually avoid the scale like the plague), but I was curious. Anyway, the numbers were much easier to look at than they were yesterday, so now I just need to keep it up for the next two weeks.
-M-
Saturday, June 26, 2010
Poor Choices on Week 4
So I've known for the past 5 years that I am lactose intolerant, but I can have some dairy as long as it is small quantities. Well, earlier this year I came across a killer Tres Leche cake recipie and I couldn't resist. I usually just make it for parties or things like that were I won't end up any more than one piece of it.
I made it for my housewarming party last Saturday, but only half of it got eaten. So . . . guess what I had a lot of? Not just is it cake, but it was Tres Leche cake (which translates to 'three milks cake'), so it reeked havoc on my digestive system. So I gained weight this week. Bad Mindy!
While I'm thinking of it, I'm not going to weight in next week. I'm going to be in Lewiston for a family reunion, and won't have my scale and I'm a firm believer of using the same scale to weigh in. I'm still going to have to be active and eat in moderation. So any of you family members that will be there, let's stick together and keep each other from eating too much!
-M-
I made it for my housewarming party last Saturday, but only half of it got eaten. So . . . guess what I had a lot of? Not just is it cake, but it was Tres Leche cake (which translates to 'three milks cake'), so it reeked havoc on my digestive system. So I gained weight this week. Bad Mindy!
While I'm thinking of it, I'm not going to weight in next week. I'm going to be in Lewiston for a family reunion, and won't have my scale and I'm a firm believer of using the same scale to weigh in. I'm still going to have to be active and eat in moderation. So any of you family members that will be there, let's stick together and keep each other from eating too much!
-M-
Thursday, June 24, 2010
Time to Get Serious!
A friend of mine invited to to join a Weight-Loss Challenge that Rezults Fitness center is sponsoring. Her brother did the last challenge and lost 30 pounds! So I went to my first meeting tonight. They have a fitness class where they talk about different things that affect weight loss and then you can work out for free at the gym.
You have to weigh-in and have your measurements taken and if you end up gaining any pounds between weeks you have to pay them a dollar per pound. I decided that I want to get back down to my pre-back-injury weight by the end of the summer! I'm really hoping I can do it!
Today's class talked about metabolism and ways to keep it up during the day. One thing they suggested was to eat small meals 4-5 times a day, so that you never get hungry. The trick is that they're small, healthy meals.
After the class I worked out at the gym for about an hour. I've been trying to stay active without a gym but there's no good substitute for the weight machines. I'm going to be sore tomorrow!!
So two goals: Never have to pay money because I gained weight and to get back down to 270 pounds!
-M-
You have to weigh-in and have your measurements taken and if you end up gaining any pounds between weeks you have to pay them a dollar per pound. I decided that I want to get back down to my pre-back-injury weight by the end of the summer! I'm really hoping I can do it!
Today's class talked about metabolism and ways to keep it up during the day. One thing they suggested was to eat small meals 4-5 times a day, so that you never get hungry. The trick is that they're small, healthy meals.
After the class I worked out at the gym for about an hour. I've been trying to stay active without a gym but there's no good substitute for the weight machines. I'm going to be sore tomorrow!!
So two goals: Never have to pay money because I gained weight and to get back down to 270 pounds!
-M-
Saturday, June 19, 2010
Week 3 in Summary
This week was a good week!! I lost 1.8 pounds - down to 298.2!!!
I even exercised twice, both were aerobic even. On Monday night my ward played Human Foosball for our FHE. I didn't really want to play, because I'm usually a hinderance to those type of things, but I got roped into it. It was really fun! I got some running in and I even scored 3 goals over some really big guys in my ward! The really nice part about it was that I didn't feel like I was exercising, it was just fun. It was a lot of running, and I had to do it, because I was attached to 2 other people, but it was still fun. Especially when my team won. :)
The second time I exercised this week was on Thursday after my cooking class. I was feeling really lethargic and tired and just didn't want to do anything, but I knew I needed to walk. So I put on my walking shoes and grabbed my iPod and headed out. I ended up taking this really pretty bike trail for a ways that ran by a creek - I never knew that St. George had bullfrogs, but apparently there is like a million in this little creek off of Sunset Boulevard and Dixie Drive. On the way back home I took a dirt trail next to a canal and then back up the hill to my house. The next day I plugged my route into Google maps and found out I walked 3 miles!
I really need to get serious with this. My favorite pair of jeans wore out this week and I had to go shopping for new ones and it was the most depressing thing I have ever done. I should have more time after this week - I'm having my house warming party tonight so I won't have as much pressure to get things done like I've had in the past.
Two points of news: 1- I'm going to do my weigh-ins on Saturdays now. I was only doing them on Sunday the last two weeks because I had to work on Saturday. 2 - I'm getting real internet on Tuesday, so I should do a much better job of keeping this up to date!
-M-
I even exercised twice, both were aerobic even. On Monday night my ward played Human Foosball for our FHE. I didn't really want to play, because I'm usually a hinderance to those type of things, but I got roped into it. It was really fun! I got some running in and I even scored 3 goals over some really big guys in my ward! The really nice part about it was that I didn't feel like I was exercising, it was just fun. It was a lot of running, and I had to do it, because I was attached to 2 other people, but it was still fun. Especially when my team won. :)
The second time I exercised this week was on Thursday after my cooking class. I was feeling really lethargic and tired and just didn't want to do anything, but I knew I needed to walk. So I put on my walking shoes and grabbed my iPod and headed out. I ended up taking this really pretty bike trail for a ways that ran by a creek - I never knew that St. George had bullfrogs, but apparently there is like a million in this little creek off of Sunset Boulevard and Dixie Drive. On the way back home I took a dirt trail next to a canal and then back up the hill to my house. The next day I plugged my route into Google maps and found out I walked 3 miles!
I really need to get serious with this. My favorite pair of jeans wore out this week and I had to go shopping for new ones and it was the most depressing thing I have ever done. I should have more time after this week - I'm having my house warming party tonight so I won't have as much pressure to get things done like I've had in the past.
Two points of news: 1- I'm going to do my weigh-ins on Saturdays now. I was only doing them on Sunday the last two weeks because I had to work on Saturday. 2 - I'm getting real internet on Tuesday, so I should do a much better job of keeping this up to date!
-M-
Sunday, June 13, 2010
Week 2
Okay, so not the best week ever. I did loose, but not as much as I would have liked. I lost .8 pounds. But heck, a loss is a loss!
I have a couple of things to work on for this next week. First of all, I didn't do any walking this week, I only did my back exercises. Those are great and necessary, but not exactly an exercise that is going to make the fat melt off my bones. So I want to go walking at least once this week.
Secondly, I don't think I did much as far as portion control goes. I think I ate pretty much what I wanted to. So another goal for this week is to watch what I eat and how much I eat.
-M-
I have a couple of things to work on for this next week. First of all, I didn't do any walking this week, I only did my back exercises. Those are great and necessary, but not exactly an exercise that is going to make the fat melt off my bones. So I want to go walking at least once this week.
Secondly, I don't think I did much as far as portion control goes. I think I ate pretty much what I wanted to. So another goal for this week is to watch what I eat and how much I eat.
-M-
Saturday, June 12, 2010
Taking Care of the Back
It's been a year since I had my last spinal injection!! I'd like to keep it that way, so something that's going to be part of my regular workout routine is going to be the exercises my doctor gave me to strengthen my back. But I was thinking, since back problems are not unique to myself I thought I might share a couple of these exercises with you all.
First of all, we have the Wall Sit. These are my least favorite of all my back exercises, but also they seem to make me feel like it's an actual work out. They don't look hard, but they use a lot of muscles. Basically, you stand about 2 feet away from the way, then lean back into it, and then slide down until your knees are at a 90 degree angle while contracting your abs. Hold it for about 20-60 seconds and then stand back up. Repeat 5-20 times, depending on how much you hurt.
I don't know why this helps your back other than it's just a general core strengthening exercise. The stronger your core is the less likely your back is to move in ways that it shouldn't. Right? That's just a guess on my part.
I tell this to everyone that knows about my back problems: DON'T HURT YOUR BACK!!! It royally sucks. To this day I do not know what I did to my back, but I lost a year to it and I'd rather that be all.
-M-
I don't know why this helps your back other than it's just a general core strengthening exercise. The stronger your core is the less likely your back is to move in ways that it shouldn't. Right? That's just a guess on my part.
I tell this to everyone that knows about my back problems: DON'T HURT YOUR BACK!!! It royally sucks. To this day I do not know what I did to my back, but I lost a year to it and I'd rather that be all.
-M-
Sunday, June 6, 2010
A New Beginning!
On my post yesterday I said that I wasn't going to weigh-in until two weeks from then, but then I got thinking about why I wanted to wait that long and I decided it was because I was afraid of the scale and I wanted to do a lot of walking and eating right before I did that. Basically, I wanted to loose weight so that I'd feel better about loosing weight . . .
Make sense?? Yeah, it didn't make a lot of sense to me either.
So this morning I pulled out the scale . . . and I ran away and hid for a while.
But then I came back and weighed myself and it wasn't as bad as I thought. I weighed 300.8 pounds, which means I didn't gain all the weight back I had lost.
“Each time I work out (gym, swimming, going for a walk or hike etc) for 20 minutes or more I earn one download on iTunes. Each pound I lose I earn $1 towards new clothes. However, if I gain weight, each pound I gain will result in $1 lost in that account and if I don't work out at least twice a week I will loose one of my iTunes downloads.”
I’ve decided to start the iTunes count over again, but I’m going to keep the $1.80 that I would have earned if I had gained the weight back while actually blogging.
Saturday, June 5, 2010
Hiking
Yeah . . . remember that whole new excuses thing? Well, I came up with a lot of excuses and low and behold I did not do very well.
I'm all moved into my new house (all except the unpacking and a few other odds and ends), and now I need to get off my but and get back to not leading myself to an early grave.
Last week I actually did pretty well - I went for a walk on Friday night, Sunday morning and Monday night! My Sunday walk was actually more of a hike than anything. I left my house without water or my cell phone (bad idea) and with no clear plan. I live in the shadow of an odd shaped bluff that many mistake for a volcano (not actually a volcano, in the picture below it's the hill underneath the moon). When I bought my house I decided that I had to make it to the top of this peak. I had attempted it once before, but it was getting dark and I had to turn back before I got stranded.
Well, last Sunday I woke up ridiculously early for a girl that has 1pm church. So off I went and before I knew it I was at the beginning of the trail for this hike. I had lots of time on my hand, so I figured I might as well see how far I can get.
The first part of the hike is not bad. Rocky and a little steep at times, but nothing hard. The first part of the hike takes you up between the faux volcano and the Airport Bluff (so named because it has the St. George airport on it.) - when you get to the top of this the trail splits, one going to the volcano and the other to the top of the Airport Bluff. I chose to keep going - I knew it would be steep, but I'm not sure I really understood. YIKES!!
I made it to the top without incident. Towards the very top it wasn't really a hike anymore it was more of a "free form lava rock scramble." I was scared, but by the time I got to that point I felt I had come too far to go back.
The view from the top was incredible!! I could see Green Valley, Santa Clara and Ivins to the West, Snow Canyon and Highway 18 to the North, and Downtown St. George to the East. It was great! The hike down was scary and I actually fell at one point. I have a huge bruise that I wish I could show off, but alas, it would be fairly inappropriate to show it to others.
Okay, so I'm going to start blogging again. I'm planning on weighing-in in two weeks and then starting over on all tracking. Wish me luck!
-M-
I'm all moved into my new house (all except the unpacking and a few other odds and ends), and now I need to get off my but and get back to not leading myself to an early grave.
Last week I actually did pretty well - I went for a walk on Friday night, Sunday morning and Monday night! My Sunday walk was actually more of a hike than anything. I left my house without water or my cell phone (bad idea) and with no clear plan. I live in the shadow of an odd shaped bluff that many mistake for a volcano (not actually a volcano, in the picture below it's the hill underneath the moon). When I bought my house I decided that I had to make it to the top of this peak. I had attempted it once before, but it was getting dark and I had to turn back before I got stranded.
The first part of the hike is not bad. Rocky and a little steep at times, but nothing hard. The first part of the hike takes you up between the faux volcano and the Airport Bluff (so named because it has the St. George airport on it.) - when you get to the top of this the trail splits, one going to the volcano and the other to the top of the Airport Bluff. I chose to keep going - I knew it would be steep, but I'm not sure I really understood. YIKES!!
I made it to the top without incident. Towards the very top it wasn't really a hike anymore it was more of a "free form lava rock scramble." I was scared, but by the time I got to that point I felt I had come too far to go back.
The view from the top was incredible!! I could see Green Valley, Santa Clara and Ivins to the West, Snow Canyon and Highway 18 to the North, and Downtown St. George to the East. It was great! The hike down was scary and I actually fell at one point. I have a huge bruise that I wish I could show off, but alas, it would be fairly inappropriate to show it to others.
Okay, so I'm going to start blogging again. I'm planning on weighing-in in two weeks and then starting over on all tracking. Wish me luck!
-M-
Saturday, February 27, 2010
Week . . . I'm not sure . . . I lost count.
Okay, I know in my last post I said I wasn't going to miss any more weigh-ins. But I was honestly too scared last Saturday to get myself on the scale. I finally convinced myself to do it today and it wasn't too bad: 293.4.
Okay, off to work on my house!
Okay, off to work on my house!
Thursday, February 18, 2010
No Excuses!
So . . . you're all probably wondering what happened to me and why I dropped off the face of the planet. Well, I'll tell you, it's because I bought a house. And although the house is in good condition, it still needs a lot of work. Every spare minute I've had in the last week or more has been spent there trying to get it ready to paint so that we can get the new flooring in so I can move in.
I've decided that this is not a good enough excuse though, and I need to stay active (although I don't know how much more active I can be - I spend 5 hours there today lifting things, moving things . . . trust me, I'm sore!) and I still need to do my weigh-ins. However, I forgot to weigh in this last Saturday and I was trying to figure out what to do. Which is when I remembered that when I was doing Weight Watchers we were periodically given a "No Weigh-in Pass," which is exactly what it says. If we thought we had not done well that week we could skip weighing-in. So this is my only week for that.
I also made another decision. I don't really want to count every day that I spend working on my house as an exercise, but I don't want to punish myself for it either. So for the in term I am going to not take away iTunes downloads while I am working on my house. However, once I've moved in that goes back into effect. If I do find time to work out between now and then I can still earn downloads, or if there's a particularly intense day of working on the house (like the day we pull out the carpet . . . ugh.) then those can also count for a download.
Next post will be a weigh-in! I'm nervous.
I've decided that this is not a good enough excuse though, and I need to stay active (although I don't know how much more active I can be - I spend 5 hours there today lifting things, moving things . . . trust me, I'm sore!) and I still need to do my weigh-ins. However, I forgot to weigh in this last Saturday and I was trying to figure out what to do. Which is when I remembered that when I was doing Weight Watchers we were periodically given a "No Weigh-in Pass," which is exactly what it says. If we thought we had not done well that week we could skip weighing-in. So this is my only week for that.
I also made another decision. I don't really want to count every day that I spend working on my house as an exercise, but I don't want to punish myself for it either. So for the in term I am going to not take away iTunes downloads while I am working on my house. However, once I've moved in that goes back into effect. If I do find time to work out between now and then I can still earn downloads, or if there's a particularly intense day of working on the house (like the day we pull out the carpet . . . ugh.) then those can also count for a download.
Next post will be a weigh-in! I'm nervous.
Wednesday, February 10, 2010
What counts?
FYI - I just changed the settings on my blog so that you can post anonymous comments. If you already have an ID please use that to post comments. If you do post comments "anonymously," please include your first name. If it gets to be a problem I can just moderate comments, but I'd rather not.
I went for a walk yesterday . . . kind of. My ward's FHE activity was combined with another ward for a Valentine's activity. I went with my roommate, but I decided to walk home. So between the two dances that I danced and the walk home I'm counting that as an exercise.
I bought a house last week, which I'm very excited about, but I've been having an internal debate ever since I bought it, and now I've decided to see what you, the readers, think about this. I'm trying to decide if cleaning and painting and moving in can count as exercise. Let me know what you think.
I went for a walk yesterday . . . kind of. My ward's FHE activity was combined with another ward for a Valentine's activity. I went with my roommate, but I decided to walk home. So between the two dances that I danced and the walk home I'm counting that as an exercise.
I bought a house last week, which I'm very excited about, but I've been having an internal debate ever since I bought it, and now I've decided to see what you, the readers, think about this. I'm trying to decide if cleaning and painting and moving in can count as exercise. Let me know what you think.
Saturday, February 6, 2010
Week 3 and the Dentist Diet
This is the second week in a row I haven't exercised. Which I'm finding odd, because I usually prefer to exercise to loose weight instead of dieting because I really like food. However, I've still getting over this horrible cold and exercising hasn't really been an option yet. So I've just been watching what I eat and doing better about eating fruits and vegetables. I'm not going to complain because I'm down again this week! I'm at 293.8! I've lost over 8 pounds in 3 weeks!!!
But it's not all good news, since I didn't exercise again this week I'm loosing another one of my iTunes downloads. I worked hard for those downloads and I don't want to loose them! But, if I can't be honest with myself how can I hope to be honest with other people? I must take responsibility for what I do, even if I'm sick.
I think the only reason that I lost weight this week is something I've dubbed "The Dentist Diet." I've had really weak teeth my whole life, and as a result of that I've had a lot of dentists and a lot of dental work done. This week I was supposed to get a cavity filled and a 3/4 crown put on one of my teeth. Once they got in there though, they realized that the damage was much more extensive than they thought and I ended up with two crowns and a root canal. Well, since my teeth hurt so bad I really have no desire to eat. Hence, "The Dentist Diet." I think I should write a book. I could make millions!
But it's not all good news, since I didn't exercise again this week I'm loosing another one of my iTunes downloads. I worked hard for those downloads and I don't want to loose them! But, if I can't be honest with myself how can I hope to be honest with other people? I must take responsibility for what I do, even if I'm sick.
I think the only reason that I lost weight this week is something I've dubbed "The Dentist Diet." I've had really weak teeth my whole life, and as a result of that I've had a lot of dentists and a lot of dental work done. This week I was supposed to get a cavity filled and a 3/4 crown put on one of my teeth. Once they got in there though, they realized that the damage was much more extensive than they thought and I ended up with two crowns and a root canal. Well, since my teeth hurt so bad I really have no desire to eat. Hence, "The Dentist Diet." I think I should write a book. I could make millions!
Saturday, January 30, 2010
Week 2
I’m not going to lie – I’m very nervous about standing on that scale today.
This week hasn’t been one of my better weeks, but I don’t feel bad about that. I’ve been sick for eight days now and although I’m slowly starting to feel better, I haven’t felt well enough to do any exercising this week. Last Sunday I was afraid that if I got any worse I was going to end up in the hospital with pneumonia. Luckily, I’ve gotten better since then, but I still try to hack up a lung every now and again. Sorry for the visual . . .
Regardless of how I did on the scale I will be loosing one of my iTunes downloads. Even though I feel justified for not working out this week I still want to follow through with the consequences I have in place. After all, I could have done my back exercises; they’re not aerobic and would have been fine to do later this week when I was feeling slightly better.
Alright – time to face my destiny. I’ll be back, go hum the theme song of jeopardy to yourself. Or Jaws . . . that one might be more appropriate.
.
.
.
.
Much better than I thought it would be! 295.8! Which means I didn't loose a lot of weight (just .8 pounds), but I really thought I had gained so not too bad!
My goals for this week are to first get better so I can actually work out. Second I want to come up with some sort of menu guide so that I have some healthy options of things to eat, so I'm not just eating whatever sounds good.
My goals for this week are to first get better so I can actually work out. Second I want to come up with some sort of menu guide so that I have some healthy options of things to eat, so I'm not just eating whatever sounds good.
Monday, January 25, 2010
*cough*
So, Thursday evening I began feeling ill. I stuffed my face full of Vitamin C, but it did little (if anything) to prevent the sickness onslaught I've experienced the last few days. Since I haven't been able to walk up a flight of stairs without feeling faint I decided that exercise was probably not the best thing for my body.
Luckily, it has not been an emotional blow. My first response when I have emotional blows is to eat until they go away (that would be the opposite of what I'm trying to accomplish . . . ). Instead, I just veg on the couch and have some Progresso Chicken Noodle Soup that my roommate bought me (seriously, she is so sweet!)
But this has me curious . . . how do people deal with managing their weight when they feel sick? The only thing I can think to do is to just eat healthy and in moderation, while trying to get my strength back. Then once I'm better to start going back to the gym. My previous policy was to throw it all out the window and then start over once I'm better, but since that's never done me much good, I'd rather not.
Here's where you give me your suggestions (*hint, hint*). . .
Luckily, it has not been an emotional blow. My first response when I have emotional blows is to eat until they go away (that would be the opposite of what I'm trying to accomplish . . . ). Instead, I just veg on the couch and have some Progresso Chicken Noodle Soup that my roommate bought me (seriously, she is so sweet!)
But this has me curious . . . how do people deal with managing their weight when they feel sick? The only thing I can think to do is to just eat healthy and in moderation, while trying to get my strength back. Then once I'm better to start going back to the gym. My previous policy was to throw it all out the window and then start over once I'm better, but since that's never done me much good, I'd rather not.
Here's where you give me your suggestions (*hint, hint*). . .
Saturday, January 23, 2010
Week 1!
So the first thing that I did this morning (besides wondering why the heck I was up at 8 am on a Saturday . . . ) was weigh myself. Good news people! I was down 5.4 pounds!!! Wooohoooo!!!
I attribute this change to two things. First, I went from a very sedative lifestyle to a semi-active one. Going from working out never in a week to 2 or 3 times a week makes a big difference. The second thing is watching what I eat. I've cut my breakfast and lunch portions nearly in half, while eating a healthier dinner. (Sometimes.)
I was not perfect this week, and I will dare to say that I probably never will be. But it is encouraging to see those kind of numbers after just one week.
Wednesday, January 20, 2010
No Pain, No Gain.
Working out is the epitome of an oxymoron. Think about it, you put yourself in a lot of pain, so that you can feel better. Or, you can say that you exhaust yourself so that you have more energy. Who thought of this??? Oh yeah, it's like a natural law or something. . . I'm thinking law of the harvest, you reap what you sow type thing.
So, if you're a couch potato you will eventually look like a potato.
Okay, this posting has gone waaaaaay off topic.
I actually got on tonight to talk about my knee . . . I don't know where it all went wrong. Anyway, I went to my ward's Relief Society Gathering night (because it's not Enrichment anymore . . .) and we had a dance class. It was a good, light cardio with some conditioning. It was fun to see all us white girls trying to do hip hop. Man I am WHITE!!
Well, earlier in the day my knee was hurting - which is not totally unusual as I hurt my knee about 10 years ago. I decided to go anyway, because I wanted to work out and this would be a nice change up from my usual. Well . . . now I can't really put a lot of weight on it. I iced it for about an hour when I got home and it does feel better, so I'm hoping that sleep will heal the rest.
This is a problem that has often plagued my weight loss attempts. I get really good at working out regularly just to have my knee, back, foot, arm, etc, go out on me to the point that I can't do much. I want to be fit, but it doesn't make sense to hurt myself in the process. So, no working out for me until my knee feels better. Hopefully, that will be tomorrow. In the meantime, I watch what I eat and ice the knee.
Monday, January 18, 2010
Being Sabotaged!
Part 1: Self Sabotage
Saturday night I decided to stay up and make cookies for my ward choir, which was starting up again after a year's hiatus (I'm not above bribery). To my credit, as cookies go they're pretty healthy. They're banana cookies and only had a 1/2 cup of butter, 1 cup of sugar and chocolate chips in them. My usual cookies have about 2 cups of butter, 3 cups of sugar, 1 cup of peanut butter, etc . . .
The biggest problem is that I made 2 1/2 dozen of these cookies and only 7 people came to choir. So there they sit on my dining room table . . . mocking me. . . calling out to me . . .. Argh!!!
Part 2: Sabotage by others
In the three and a half years that I've worked at my job I have received exactly one gift that was meant specifically for me. Well, today when I got to work I had a package from the parents of a former student that I had helped get into college. It was a box of cookies.
COOKIES!!!
And it wasn't those gross cookies that come in tins around Christmas time that you get for your neighbor that you don't really like, but feel obligated to give a gift to. No, these were gourmet chocolate dipped cookies. The kind you want to snack on all day long until your bloated body finally waddles out the door to the car.
I should have taken them out to my car the second I had them in my office.
Good for me though, I didn't snack on them all day. I had a few more than I should have, but I didn't eat as many of them as I would have a week ago. Now they're sitting on my dinning room table. Mocking me. . . . Calling out to me. . . .
Well, ward choir needs more bribes next Sunday.
Saturday night I decided to stay up and make cookies for my ward choir, which was starting up again after a year's hiatus (I'm not above bribery). To my credit, as cookies go they're pretty healthy. They're banana cookies and only had a 1/2 cup of butter, 1 cup of sugar and chocolate chips in them. My usual cookies have about 2 cups of butter, 3 cups of sugar, 1 cup of peanut butter, etc . . .
The biggest problem is that I made 2 1/2 dozen of these cookies and only 7 people came to choir. So there they sit on my dining room table . . . mocking me. . . calling out to me . . .. Argh!!!
Part 2: Sabotage by others
In the three and a half years that I've worked at my job I have received exactly one gift that was meant specifically for me. Well, today when I got to work I had a package from the parents of a former student that I had helped get into college. It was a box of cookies.
COOKIES!!!
And it wasn't those gross cookies that come in tins around Christmas time that you get for your neighbor that you don't really like, but feel obligated to give a gift to. No, these were gourmet chocolate dipped cookies. The kind you want to snack on all day long until your bloated body finally waddles out the door to the car.
I should have taken them out to my car the second I had them in my office.
Good for me though, I didn't snack on them all day. I had a few more than I should have, but I didn't eat as many of them as I would have a week ago. Now they're sitting on my dinning room table. Mocking me. . . . Calling out to me. . . .
Well, ward choir needs more bribes next Sunday.
Sunday, January 17, 2010
The "Back" Workout
So those of you that know me well know that about a year ago I injured my back pretty badly and I've spent a long time trying to recover from that. Today for my work out I decided to do my back "stretches" that my doctor gave me to strengthen my back. I figured that it didn't really count as a workout since it was just stretches.
It counts - I hurt more right now after 30 minutes of "stretching" than I did Thursday after I did elliptical for 20 minutes and circuit workout for another 20.
Ouch!
The great thing about this work out though was my roommate's cat Casanova decided that I was trying a new way to play with him. While I was doing the Superman Stretch (exercise #5 on this link) he decided that I was alternating my arms for his amusement and would race back and forth in between them to get me to rub his head and back. I was laughing so hard that it hurt! But I've heard that laughing is a good way to strengthen your core, so maybe he was trying to help me out! He's a cute cat!
I need to do these exercises more often, especially if I don't want to hurt my back again. That would be a really bad thing. However, I had forgotten how much they hurt!
It counts - I hurt more right now after 30 minutes of "stretching" than I did Thursday after I did elliptical for 20 minutes and circuit workout for another 20.
Ouch!
The great thing about this work out though was my roommate's cat Casanova decided that I was trying a new way to play with him. While I was doing the Superman Stretch (exercise #5 on this link) he decided that I was alternating my arms for his amusement and would race back and forth in between them to get me to rub his head and back. I was laughing so hard that it hurt! But I've heard that laughing is a good way to strengthen your core, so maybe he was trying to help me out! He's a cute cat!
I need to do these exercises more often, especially if I don't want to hurt my back again. That would be a really bad thing. However, I had forgotten how much they hurt!
Saturday, January 16, 2010
Buying a Scale
BLARG!!!
Who created the torture devise known as the bathroom scale??? I didn't own one before today so I went to my friendly neighborhood Target and bought one.
It took all my courage to stand on it.
But I did, and it really wasn't too bad, since this is the beginning, the start, the catalyst, if you will. It's all downhill from here. Or uphill. Dang.
Well, we now have a starting weight: 302.0 lbs. Wish me luck!!
Who created the torture devise known as the bathroom scale??? I didn't own one before today so I went to my friendly neighborhood Target and bought one.
It took all my courage to stand on it.
But I did, and it really wasn't too bad, since this is the beginning, the start, the catalyst, if you will. It's all downhill from here. Or uphill. Dang.
Well, we now have a starting weight: 302.0 lbs. Wish me luck!!
No More the Fat Girl! The Beginning
I've always been overweight. I've known that, my doctors have known that, random people on the street know that.
I've wanted to change for some time, and I make commitments to myself year after year to do better. I've been in Weight Watchers. I joined a gym. I've done lots of things to make weight loss a reality for myself, but they never last.
A year ago I was doing fairly well, I had been going to the gym regularly and was feeling good. And then I hurt my back. Everything changed then. I was now under doctors orders to not go the the gym. I wasn't supposed to do any running, bending, twisting or lifting until further notice. I was in constant pain and nothing seemed to be helping. So I went to an old fall back - I ate my emotions. Some of the days where I couldn't even stand up straight I would eat a whole pizza and half a carton of ice cream. Very healthy, I know.
Well, here it is, nearly a year later and I'm doing much better. I'm still not supposed to do a lot of lifting, but I'm able to do some.
I went to the doctor earlier this week for an unrelated reason and I got the shocker of my life at the mandatory weigh in. I weighed over 300 pounds. I knew I had gained weight, but I had no idea I had gained that much weight.
So I decided to start this blog, I figured this would hold me accountable for weighing in every week and making a continued effort. I'm not really sure what kind of format my post will take. Most likely it'll be a combination of my struggles and my successes.
I've already decided that one of the best ways to keep myself motivated is to have a reward/consequence system in place. Each time I work out (gym, swimming, going for a walk or hike etc) for 20 minutes or more I earn one download on iTunes. Each pound I lose I earn $1 towards new clothes. However, if I gain weight, each pound I gain will result in $1 lost in that account and if I don't work out at least twice a week I will loose one of my iTunes downloads.
Let the weight loss begin!
I've wanted to change for some time, and I make commitments to myself year after year to do better. I've been in Weight Watchers. I joined a gym. I've done lots of things to make weight loss a reality for myself, but they never last.
A year ago I was doing fairly well, I had been going to the gym regularly and was feeling good. And then I hurt my back. Everything changed then. I was now under doctors orders to not go the the gym. I wasn't supposed to do any running, bending, twisting or lifting until further notice. I was in constant pain and nothing seemed to be helping. So I went to an old fall back - I ate my emotions. Some of the days where I couldn't even stand up straight I would eat a whole pizza and half a carton of ice cream. Very healthy, I know.
Well, here it is, nearly a year later and I'm doing much better. I'm still not supposed to do a lot of lifting, but I'm able to do some.
I went to the doctor earlier this week for an unrelated reason and I got the shocker of my life at the mandatory weigh in. I weighed over 300 pounds. I knew I had gained weight, but I had no idea I had gained that much weight.
So I decided to start this blog, I figured this would hold me accountable for weighing in every week and making a continued effort. I'm not really sure what kind of format my post will take. Most likely it'll be a combination of my struggles and my successes.
I've already decided that one of the best ways to keep myself motivated is to have a reward/consequence system in place. Each time I work out (gym, swimming, going for a walk or hike etc) for 20 minutes or more I earn one download on iTunes. Each pound I lose I earn $1 towards new clothes. However, if I gain weight, each pound I gain will result in $1 lost in that account and if I don't work out at least twice a week I will loose one of my iTunes downloads.
Let the weight loss begin!
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