Monday, December 28, 2009

10Ks

Last night I bit the bullet and signed up for two 10K events in the coming months. I really want to get back into walking/running and this is the best way to do so. A friend of mine posted (on Facebook) that she was doing the Crescent City Classic 10K in New Orleans. I stated that I would consider participating and I am! While browsing the Active.com website, I found a 10K in my city, the Mardi Gras Mambo 10K. I'm doing that one as well! Eek!

The last time I did a 10K was in 2007 (the Marine Corp 10K). I did a few 5Ks early in 2009, but that's about it. Well, I'm back to it. My goal for 2010 is move, move, move. In order to do so, I have to do something that will get me moving. Therefore, participating in 10Ks and 5Ks will commence in the coming year.

Sunday, December 6, 2009

Week 1 workout

So here's the workout I did last week...I'm going to do it again in the coming week...

Superset with: do the first exercise immediately followed by the with exercise then rest 1 min. repeat for the number of sets

sets/reps

High Intensity Interval Training (HITT) workout - cardio exercise further explained at bottom

__________________________
____

Workout 1 – Monday & Thursday
Chest
Incline Bench Press 3/9-10
-superset with-
Incline Flye 3/12-15

Flye 3/12-15
-superset with-
Dumbbell Bench Press 3/9-10

7-minute HITT workout

Shoulders
Barbell Overhead Press 3/9-10
-superset with-
Bent-Over Lateral Raise 3/12-15

Lateral Raise 3/12-15
-superset with-
Dumbbell Upright Row 3/9-10

7-minute HITT workout

Triceps
Pressdown 2/9-10
-superset with-
Cable Overhead Triceps Extension 2/12-15

Lying Triceps Extension 2/12-15
-superset with-
Close-Grip Bench Press 2/9-10

7 min. HITT workout
______________________________

Workout 2 – Tuesday & Friday
Legs
Squat 3/9-10
-superset with-
Dumbbell Lung 3/12-15

Leg extension 3/12-15
-superset with-
Leg Press 3/9-10

Leg Curl 3/12-15
-superset with-
Romanian Deadlift 3/9-10

7 min. HITT workout

Calves
Standing Calf Raise 2/12
-superset with-
Seated Calf Raise 2/15

7 min. HITT workout

Abs
Hanging Leg Raise 2/to failure
-superset with-
Crunch 2/to failure

7 min. HITT workout
______________________________

Workout 3 (Wednesday & Saturday)
Back
Barbell Row 3/9-10
-superset with-
Seated Cable Row 3/12-15

Straight-Arm Pulldown 3/12-15
-superset with-
Wide-Grip Pulldown 3/9-10

7 min. HITT workout

Traps
Behind-the-Back-Smith Machine Shrug 2/9-10
-superset with-
Smith Machine Shrug 2/12-15

7 min. HITT workout

Biceps
EZ-Bar Curl 2/9-10
-superset with-
EZ Bar Preacher Curl 2/12-15

Incline Dumbbell Curl 2/12-15
-superset with-
Alternating Dumbbell Curl 2/9-10 -

Forearms
Barbell Wrist Curl 2/12
-superset with-
Barbell Reverse Wrist Curl 2/12

7 min. HITT workout
_____

High Intensity Interval Training (HITT)
complete a cardio exercise for 7 min at the following levels:
Time/Intensity
1 min./high
30 sec./low/rest
1 min./high
30 sec/low/rest
1 min./high
30 sec./low/rest
1 min./high
30 sec./low/rest
1 min./high

Saturday, December 5, 2009

Mantra: Make the Effort

Diane, at Fit to the Finish, asked the following question on Twitter yesterday:

Here's my response:

I think it is a great question, and it is one that I didn't have to ponder on. In fact, on my personal e-mail account, and facebook page that is my tag line. When I communicate with friends and loved ones about becoming more healthy (I'm all about changing your mindset long term so no diet talk around here), I encourage them to make the effort.

Make a small change one day. Do that for at least 5-7 days, then add another change. Keep making the effort and eventually you'll reach your goal. Yes, it take dedication, time, and a mindset change, but it can be done. One just has to make the effort!

Tuesday, December 1, 2009

Resistance is futile

Are their certain foods where resistance is futile?

cookies (as discussed in this post)
deviled eggs (lately and perhaps because I don't make them or get them often)
brownies (w/ pecans)
red velvet cake (especially if it is moist)

What about you?

Wednesday, November 25, 2009

My weakness

Cookies!

I


Cookies!

They are my all time favorite snack item to consume.

While I like pie, cake, chips, candy, and other items that have an abundance of calories, I can limit myself with those items. I can turn them down without a second thought. I attended several dinners a few weeks back where everyone ordered desert except me. Why? Because the extra calories weren't worth it. Yes, the desert items appealed to me, but not enough. Now, if a warm cookie had been on the menu I would have succumbed. I guess that is a plus to that being my weakness....knowing that most places don't serve cookies for desert. :)

I'm kind like Cookie Monster.

I. Want. Cookies!!!!!

If they are there, I will consume. No doubt about it.

I reflected on how I ended up at a weight of 236 pounds and one of the reasons was cookies. I used to make cookies on a weekly basis, either from scratch or those break and bake ones from Nestle (those were just too easy). I would also purchase cookies from the bakery in the grocery store of they were sold on the counter at the place I was eating lunch. That would be my desert.

Suffice it to say, I knew I had a problem with cookies. And I still do. It didn't go away because I lost weight or began eating more healthy. What happened, was I became better able to control my impulse. Yes, it is still there and I do cave at times, but not as often.

I don't keep cookies in the house and I don't purchase those break & bake cookies anymore.

I do purchase those 100 calorie cookie packs to feed my desire. Yes, they are expensive, but they work. They give me my cookie fix in a limited quantity and limited caloric quantity. I do what I have to do!

What's your weakness?

Monday, November 23, 2009

No derailment here!

I don't know about you, but the upcoming holidays will not derail my healthy lifestyle! I refuse to let that happen. I just read about her Thanksgiving Plan and it is perfect. In fact, here's my comment on her post:

Your plan is similar to mine: to continue to do what I know is right for ME!

I think my gym is open on Thanksgiving Day so it is likely that I will go per the normal (just not as early).

I’m going to a family gathering, as well, and I don’t plan on returning home with any leftovers. Generally, we don’t have any so that is a good thing. I’m not going to limit myself, just eat like I normally do and don’t overfill myself.

I’ll hit the gym on Friday as well and if weather permits will go for a 2-3 mile walk on Friday & Saturday.

Thanksgiving is just another day. It is another day for me to live a healthy lifestyle and the over abundance of food will not cause me to lose focus. I'll eat my normal breakfast, continue to drink water (though it won't be as much since we have a bit of a drive to our destination), and eat what I like. I'm not going to limit myself as I don't believe in denying myself, but I will only eat until I'm full. I will not be gluttonous and eat just because it is there.

Since our family gathering is about a 3 hour drive from here, we generally don't bring home leftovers. In fact, normally there's not a lot of leftovers to bring. So we're all good there! Friday will be just another day of living a healthy lifestyle.

Thursday, November 12, 2009

So very sore

Although it has been quite awhile since I last posted in this space, I'm still around and still doing my thing. Trying to eat healthy every day and be an active person. Well, yesterday I was so active that I'm really feeling it today! Here's what I did:

  • 3.2 mile walk (really dislike that I can't post from nikerunning.com anymore
Then I head to the gym for a leg workout:
  • Warm-up
  • Squats
  • Romanian dead-lifts
  • Lunges
  • Leg-press & calf-press - 1 set of leg press then a set of calf-press
  • Abs
  • Stretch
For each of the exercises with weights, I did 6 super-sets, increasing the weight by 5-10 pounds with each set and decreasing the number of reps with each set. It looks like this:

Squats:
Set 1: 65 lbs, 8 reps
Set 2: 75 lbs, 7 reps
Set 3: 80 lbs, 6 reps
Set 4: 80 lbs, 6 reps
Set 5: 75 lbs, 7 reps
Set 6: 65 lbs, 10 reps

I rested for 90 sections between sets.

I alternated the lunges with the Romanian dead-lifts doing 10 reps of lunges.

Oh.My.Goodness. I am extremely sore today! So sore that I'm walking slowly, sitting & standing gingerly, and stretching throughout the day.

Despite the soreness, I made it to the gym this AM for more abs and 25 min. of interval cardio on the stairmaster.

I'm feeling the burn!

ETA: I forgot to mention that I'm only taking the stairs at work-that's 3 floors up and 3 floors down. Plus whenever I have to go anywhere in the building, I take the stars. So far today, I've gone up & down 10 flights of stairs (3 more will be added when I head home for the day). Despite the soreness, I'm pushing forward. I also plan on getting in a 2-3 mile walk this evening when I take my nephew to soccer practice. Not letting the soreness stop me!

Wednesday, October 28, 2009

Walking

I don't know what it is about cooler weather, but it gets me going with the walks. So far this week, I've walked 6.85 miles.

Monday evening I set out to complete 2 miles and end up doing slightly over: 2.18 miles. I continued my activity by dribbling & kicking a soccer ball with my nephew for another 30 minutes or so. I was worn out!

Yesterday, I set to do 3 miles and ended up doing 3.64 miles in 47 min.

I may get in a 1 mile walk this afternoon, but that's probably it. I think I will set a challenge on the nikerunning site for the month of November.

Sunday, October 18, 2009

3.83 miles

I awakened this AM about 5:30 having to go to the bathroom. I checked the temperature and it was a cool 44 degrees. I love to walk in the cool weather, but it was still to dark to head out at that time. I laid in bed until about 6 am and decided to get up and get moving. I finally headed out at 7 am. I don't know why, but that to me is the perfect walking weather.

I set my Nike + to do a 5K. I ended up doing 6K or 3.83 miles.

Friday, October 16, 2009

2 walks

I got in 2 walks this week. One was during a 15 min break at work: 1.09 miles. The other was last evening at a local park: 3.05 miles.

It appears that Nike+ is now forcing all to use their new beta site, which really does look much better than the old site. I can't, however, seem to find the code to post my walks to the blog. That really bums me out because I really liked the information that those widgets provided.

There is a way to link your account to twitter and/or facebook, but that doesn't seem to be working for me either. Oh well..

Monday, October 12, 2009

What's your routine?

One day my nephew asked me, "Auntie, why do you come home and immediately make your lunch? Why don't you rest a little while and do that later?"

He's right. I come straight home and prepare my lunch & snacks for the next day. Then I immediately unpack my gym bag and repack it for the next day. My answer to my nephew was that if I do it as soon as I get home, then I'll have more time to rest later. I don't have to worry about doing it at 8:30 or later and pushing back the time that I want to go to bed. Basically, it is not a task that I have to do later.

Doing so keeps me on my toes and insures that I am going to make the gym the next day and eat healthy throughout the day.

What's your routine? How do you keep yourself accountable?

Wednesday, September 30, 2009

3.7

My usual walk is on Thursday night, but assistance was needed tonight with soccer practice. Also, I can't do my normal soccer practice duty tomorrow night. So a walk tonight it was!

What's your motivation?

I'm at the point in my journey to being healthy that one could easily lose motivation. In fact, many people lose motivation at the very start. They go really good and hard for about 2 weeks and slip up. That slip up can lead to a downward spiral that takes them right back to where they started. It is unfortunate, but a lot of times if we take that wrong turn we think it is pointless to try to get back on the right road. So how does one keep it years into that journey? How does one continue to lead a healthy and active lifestyle? I think it is important to have some sort of motivation.

Well, I have 2 motivators.

1. I want to live a long life. I basically outlined all of that in this post.
2. I never want to go back to this:


Yes, that's me back in 2004. Those were my favorite, favorite pair of jeans. I think they were a size 20 (or maybe 18). I still have those jeans and they are my motivation. Though I loved wearing those jeans, I never want to fit into them again. I keep them in my closet so that I see them each time I go in there. I see them catching dust and not being lovingly worn like my other jeans, pants, skirts, etc. They are just hanging out with nowhere to go, and that's the way I want to keep it!

Thursday, September 17, 2009

3.57

Got in a good walk while my nephew was at soccer practice.

Tuesday, September 15, 2009

2.15

I got in 2 walks while at work today:



No fan of The Biggest Loser

There's a Biggest Loser competition at my job this fall. They have this twice already this year, but a colleague deduced that whomever decided to do the competition again started it to coincide with the new season of the show.

There's been a flurry of conversation on twitter about people excited about watching the new season. On the other side, there are a few of us who are not so excited and don't really care for the show. Count me as one of those persons.

I don't find it inspiration.

I think it is unrealistic.

I believe the methods used can't be done every day.

I wonder about the message that is being sent to those that are put of the show early in the season.

Perhaps this is the case now (it wasn't when I did watch**) but are they producers addressing the emotional issues the people are having? That is important, I think.

I think the people are being exploited*** emotionally and physically.

Overall, I don't find the show inspirational. I don't think it sends a positive message. At all.

**I watched a portion of the 2nd second season, I think. I began watching mid-season and sporadically watched the remaining episodes.

***That is the case, likely, with much of reality TV and the reason I don't watch any of those types of shows.

Monday, September 14, 2009

Gym routine & 1.04

One thing I haven't indicated here is that I am a gym rat. I go to the gym, most weeks, 5 days per week. I change up my routine at least every 8 weeks and sometimes every 4 weeks. Currently I'm on a 4 week rotation where I target specific muscle groups on M-W-F. I do abs and cardio on T-Th.

My preference is to go to the gym first thing in the morning, prior to work. Generally, I am there between 4:50 and 5:00 AM. I don't know why, but I just can't seem to workout in the evening. I don't know why, but I can't find the motivation to go the gym in the afternoon/evening. I just can't do it. I come up with all sorts of excuses, i.e., go to the store, I'm tired, I have a mtg., etc.

Going in the early AM leaves no room for excuses. I get up and go! Of course, I must plan for that as well and that doesn't bother me. I pack my clothes and lunch each night. I also layout my workout clothes so that I don't have anything delaying me in the AM. I get up and go!

In addition to the gym, I sometimes get in 2-1 mile walks during breaks while at work. Also, one evening a week I take my nephew to soccer practice and I try to get in a 3 mile walk during that time.

Exercise is an important of my daily routine.

ETA: forgot to post the nike log:

Wednesday, September 2, 2009

1 mile

Only was able to get in 1 walk today due to a meeting. One walk is better than no walk.

Deception doesn't equal Healthy

A few months ago there was a flyer in the breakroom about dropping 3 dress sizes in 10 minutes, magically. Huh? How's that? A week later I was out and a lady gave me a card advertising this amazing way to lose 3 sizes in a matter of minutes, magically. The image on the cord was of a corset and a tiny waist. Hmmm....something still didn't seem right.

Well, upon further review, that is NOT right. It is, to me, Deception (with a capital D!). The product, body magic (google it if you want to see) supposedly reshapes your body (like corset) to the figure that you want.

That can't be healthy.

Not only is it not healthy, it is deception. You are deceiving yourself and others. Does the body shape remain when the undergarment is taken off? I think not. So what's the point?

Additionally, what is it saying to young girls. That they have to be a certain shape to be attractive? Don't we get that enough with airbrushed models on magazines already? Why make it worse with this?

Personally, I'm grateful that I don't need such a garment. I'm comfortable in my own skin.

Tuesday, September 1, 2009

1.98 miles



Liquid refreshment

During the month of August, I decided to go off of soda. That is not an easy task as that is what I would drink when I wanted something with taste. I like water and I don't have a problem drinking it, but every now and then you want something different. It is then that I would have a soda. Well, what was I to drink since I was going off soda? What was I going to drink that had a bit of taste to it?

Crystal Light Green Tea is what I drank. Yes, tea. Friends and family know that I'm not a big fan of tea, but the Crystal Light Green Tea, to me, didn't have that nutty tea taste. I've tried various teas in the past and didn't really care for them. At all. I had an opportunity to try the raspberry flavor of the Crystal Light Green Tea back in July when I visiting my Aunt in California. It was good! Finally, a tea that was extremely low in calories and caffeine. Yay! I purchased the little packets that you pour in a bottle of water and the larger powder that makes 2 quarts. I carried the small packets with me for when I was on the go and I had some in the fridge at all times.

I branched out last week and picked up the honey lemon flavor green tea. It was pretty good as well so now I have a little bit of variety. Give it a try! You may like it also!

Monday, August 31, 2009

2.06 miles

2 walks at work today.



1 soda in 31 days

I set a goal to rid myself of any soda for the entire month of August. Today is the last day of the month and I did pretty good. During the entire month I had a total of 8 oz of soda, a coke (my favorite). It was toward the middle of the month and I was at a bar with my guy. We decided to stop and have an after dinner drink. When asked what I wanted I stated a rum & coke (one of my normal drinks). I finished it off and then had another. Then it hit me, 2 sips into the second drink. !!! Crap! I messed up my goal.

Oh well. I didn't let that slip up deter me. I took it for what it was, a minor slip-up and set my mind to sticking to the goal for the rest of the month. I did it! I was successful. That one Wednesday night was the only time I took a sip of a carbonated soda the entire month of August. I know, I know the month is not over with yet, I have to get through this day. Just know that I'm not going to ruin it today!

I'm going to try my best to continue a soda free lifestyle and limit my intake. No, I'm not going to stop drinking them altogether, but I will limit it to no more than 1-2 per week (and hopefully none some weeks).

Tuesday, August 18, 2009

Walking Break

I, along with 2-3 co-workers, take walks during the workday. We try to walk 1 mile at 10 am and 2 pm. Eight times around the 2nd floor of our building is 1 mile and the goal is to do in 15 minutes. That doesn't always happen and that is okay. We are making the effort and that is the most important thing. We are getting in activity during the day and the walk breaks up the day. For me, it gives one more bit of activity and it gets my juices flowing in my brain and throughout my body.

One young lady started with us, but lately she has been complaining that she is overwhelmed and doesn't have time. She is stressed and there is not enough time for her to do what she needs to do and take a 15-min. walking break. I guess you may think the rest of us are slackers because we take the break. In actuality we have just as much to do, but the walking break is a plus. For me, it sometimes helps to provide clarity. If I'm working on a task that is a bit daunting or causing a problem, the 15-min. break away from the task is sometimes just what I need. When I get back to my desk, I'm able to revisit the issue and generally resolve it quickly. I'm not the only one that thinks that as one of the other ladies has stated that as well.

We can't, for some reason, get her to understand that or even try. She complains about how active I am (I post my daily workout and step-count on Facebook) and she doesn't understand how I get it all in. Well, I make it a part of my day. It is on my daily to do list, as TeeTee_71 stated the other day on her blog, herself is her most prized possession! I couldn't agree more and I make taking care of self something I do daily.

One way I do so are the walking breaks during the day.

So here are the walks I've done over the past few days:















Friday, August 7, 2009

1.1

I work half-day every Friday so here's my walk from this morning. I walked by myself because the rest of my walking buddies were off today. 'tis cool. I'm committed!

1.13

I only worked half a day yesterday so I only walked once.

Wednesday, August 5, 2009

No diet for me

Personally, I don't care for the term diet. It has a negative connotation to me, and seems to a temporary thing. The reason I selected the name for this blog, Healthy Every Day, and the same for twitter is because I try to live that each day. Am I successful each day? No, but I make the effort. I try to that on a daily basis. It is not a temporary change.

My eating habits have changed 360 degrees. Not just 90 degrees or 180 degrees for a short period of time. I'm in this for the long haul Therefore, I don't use the term diet. When someone asks me if I'm on a diet I tell them no. I tell them that I'm living a healthy lifestyle and that includes healthy eating.

Some folks don't get that, but that's okay. I'm doing this for me. And that's what is important.

2.22

Another 2 walks while at work.

I'm also wearing a pedometer and those walks help boost my numbers. I really have a sedentary job where I work at a computer much of the day. Or if I'm collaborating with colleagues we're sitting at a table or the like. Therefore the walks help to get up my step count and give me energy during the day.



Tuesday, August 4, 2009

2.36

2 walks at work today. The 2 walks are quite useful as they give me energy during the day.



Tuesday, July 21, 2009

This is why

Folks have commented, in many places (especially on Fb), about the amount of exercise that I get in. Well, I have a specific reason for exercising and eating healthy. In a sense, it can be answered with two medical conditions that are related.

STROKE

A total of 3 persons on my maternal side have suffered the effects of stroke. Two of them were fatal at the onset and one lived (if you can call it that) for 6 years. Each of them didn’t follow through on what they were supposed to do to maintain their health. That is, take medication properly to combat high blood pressure.

HIGH BLOOD PRESSURE

Personally, I refuse to become a statistic. I refuse to be among the great number of persons in the black community taking high blood pressure medication to maintain my life.

I refuse.

Therefore, I exercise. I eat healthy. I am doing my part in maintaining a healthy lifestyle so that I don’t have to a drug each and every day.

I inform my Fb family of my daily exercise with the hopes of influencing one person to get active.

To move.

To get active.

To want to be healthy.

I have no desire to make someone feel bad about what they are not doing. Quite the contrary. My aim is to subliminally influence people to move. Make the effort. Bury the excuses. Think about your health. Think about your family. Think about your spouse/significant other, children, parents, siblings, friends, colleagues, etc.

It doesn’t have to be what I do. I didn’t start out going to the gym 5 days per week. I started by taking a pilates class twice a week. From there, it increased over time. It was not an overnight process. But the process has changed my life.

I feel better. Plain and simple.

The easiest, simplest thing one can do is go for a walk. So many people sleep on the benefits of walking. It is the one exercise that doesn’t’ require a gym membership. A good pair of tennis shoes, and be on your way. Start small. 5 min. 10 min. 15 min. Just move.

I can’t say that not leading a healthy lifestyle caused my family members to suffer a stroke. I do wonder, however, if they had led a healthy lifestyle could things have been different.

Monday, July 20, 2009

Workout time

I have been a morning workout person for the past 6 years. Basically the entire time that I have been an active person, I've worked out in the AM. I wondering if I need to make a change.

I used to be energized when I worked out in the AM. I would energy all day long. I was focused and ready to take on any task. Lately, not so much. Over the past few weeks, I've noticed my energy waning mid-day and it is hard to get it back. I just want to take a nap.

I wonder if I'm not getting enough sleep. Generally, I am in bed between 9 and 9:30 pm. I must be in bed no later than 9:30 pm if I am going to the gym the next morning. My clock alarms between 4:15 and 4:30 am, depending on what I want to do at the gym. That gives me, roughly, 7 hours of sleep. I generally get the full 7 hours as I am one of those persons that fall asleep immediately.

Today has been a struggle. Perhaps I should adjust my workout, a few days a week, to the afternoon. That's what I'm thinking about trying this week. If I go to bed tonight, like normal, and sleep in until 6 am, perhaps I'll feel better tomorrow. I can go to the gym in the afternoon or perhaps a long walk (if it is not raining).

I worry about that plan because I have an aversion to working out after work. I can come up with all sorts of excuses as to other things that should take precedence. When in actuality, there is nothing that needs to take precedence. I should take precedence. This is for my health and well-being.

Even as I write this I'm doubting I'll make the change this week. I think I should just go in the AM, like I'm used to going.

Good & Bad

Good
I made 7 dozen tea cakes between Saturday & Sunday. I only 1.

Bad
I didn't track my eating very well this weekend.

Good
I got in a 2.3 mile walk Saturday morning.

Bad
I didn't eat as healthy as I normally do on Saturday.

Good
I only ate when I was hungry.

Bad
I didn't drink a sufficient amount of water on Saturday.

Good
I ate healthy on Sunday.

Bad
I didn't drink a sufficient amount of water on Sunday.

Good
I chopped, washed, & cooked some healthy food for the week.

How about I end on a good note!

Sunday, July 19, 2009

2.35

For 3 weeks straight now, I have done some sort of exercise 6 out of 7 days. Hooray!

I go to the gym for 5 days and walk for 1. Yesterday I didn't do as long of a walk as normal, but a walk is a walk!

Thursday, July 9, 2009

Weight update & tracking

Since my last post about weight, when I didn't weigh in, I'm down a total of 4.6 pounds. Slowly but surely the pounds are shedding and I'm okay with that. The slower the better!

I'm not really tracking like I should, and I don't know why. Well, what happens is the weekend throws me off. I do really good on Wednesday, Thursday, and half-day on Friday. I'll update my tracker on Saturday morning and then I don't think about it again until Monday. See...it's the weekend.

Perhaps I should change my weigh-in day day. I think Saturday would be a good day except, once football season rolls around I travel on the weekends. So that's not good. Perhaps if I were to weigh-in on Monday, my points would reset on the 1st day of the week and I would do better. Then again, I like weighing-in during the middle of the week. I feel like I have time to redeem myself from the weekend, if I don't eat right.

Ohhhhhhh...such a conundrum! What to do? What to do?

What I need to do is track! No matter what.

I recently acquired an iPhone. I have booked marked the WW mobile site so that I can enter my food anytime/anywhere. I have no excuse. I am going to commit the next week to diligent tracking. I know that I need to for success, and I'm aiming for success.

Tuesday, July 7, 2009

2.06

2 walks today while at work. The 2nd walk was definitely needed as it gave me energy for the remainder of the afternoon.




Sunday, July 5, 2009

3.06

I've been diligent with exercise over the past week. Beginning last Sunday, with a walk I did cardio each day of the week. Monday through Friday I made it to the gym each morning and did 45 minutes of cardio on the stairmaster. I decided I could take a break on Saturday & Sunday. Since I generally get up early Mon-Fri, it is difficult to get out of sleeping too far past my normal wake-up time the other 5 days of the week.

Saturday morning I awakened at 5 am, but I forced myself to stay in bed. I made it to 6 am and then got to doing stuff. After the tennis match, I commenced to cleaning out the storage closet. It was quite a mess.

See that --->over there...gracious, that took forever to detangle. The cord was wrapped around the lawnmower (and the wheel). I determined there were 2 cords and it took some time to sort it out, but I did eventually.

I then moved on to the rest of the closet and threw out a boatload of stuff. More images here. It took me about 3 hours to get through everything and I was a hot sweaty mess upon completion. I met with a friend later on that evening and that was my day.

Sooooooo...Sunday morning rolls around and I'm wide awake once again at 5 AM. I lay in bed until 5:30 and decide that this is futile. I may as well get up and go for a walk. So I did.



I stayed in the neighborhood and got in 3 miles.

Sunday, June 28, 2009

3.91

When I left home on this walk this morning, 6:40 am, it was 81 degrees. I was drenched in sweat by the time I made it back home.

Thursday, June 18, 2009

3.24

I haven't taken a walk in awhile, but I made the effort this past Tuesday night while I was just across the lake from New Orleans. The northshore of Lake Pontchatrain, bordering Mandeville, LA, has a nice walking area. So I did that the other night while I was there for work.

No weigh-in & plans

I've been out of town this week preventing a weigh-in at a meeting. In all honesty, I'm thinking about going back to online only membership as I am back on track now. I needed the past 3 months to relearn the program and the accountability of someone else weighing me each week. Now, I think I've progressed, with blogging & twitter, to not needing that anymore. That is a good thing for two reasons: 1) less dollars to shell out to WW each month and 2) the online support is awesome. I feel accountable to those that read/comment on this blog and those that I interact with on twitter.

I'm not going to renew my monthly pass this month, but I will keep my online membership. I like the points tracker and that is really what I need. I'm not really a user of the WW online forums, but I do like to peruse the recipes online and use the recipe builder. So there are some aspects of the online membership I like.

While I don't post on here as often as others post, I have this space for when I need to. For some reason, I just can't find the time do so each and everyday, but it is useful when I do. I appreciate those of you that read & comment when you can. Your support is valued! Being healthy is not easy to do and requires support. This is one of my outlets and it truly works.

Thursday, June 11, 2009

Staying accountable, up 2.8

This has been a crazy week and the next 2 weeks will be the same. I've not been following the program to a T, but that is to be expected right? We can't be perfect and we make mistakes. I think we would all be Stepford Wives if we were all perfect, and how boring would that be?

I missed my weigh-in yesterday do to an event, but I didn't want to not weigh. So I went to another location and I'm 2.8 pounds. I'm not upset in the least about that development. Why you ask? Well, off the scale successes are just as great. I've definitely lost inches because my size 12 pants don't feel quite as tight as they did 2 months ago and my size 14 pants are really loose. Hooray for successes that aren't tied to the scale!

Saturday, June 6, 2009

Put the fork down

Do you take your time when you eat? That is one thing that I'm working on doing. Dong so allows you to enjoy the food and actually begin to feel full as you're eating. I don't recall where I read that, but it is true. The basic idea is to place the food in your mouth. Put the fork down, chew, swallow, enjoy the food. Perhaps take a drink of water. Repeat.

Instead, many of us practice the following: place food in mouth and immediately place additional food on the fork for the next bite. Or better yet, place more food in our mouths when we haven't swallowed the previous amount.

Raising hand. Yes, I'm guilty of that. Are you?

I'm doing better though. I'm working on taking my time to eat so that I enjoy the food. I've found that using this tactic allows me to feel full, which in turn causes me to eat less. I've also read that it takes up to 15 minutes to begin to feel full. Therefore, taking your time to eat will aid in that. If you scarf your food down in 5-10 minutes, you may have a tendency to eat more because you don't have that full feeling.

Have you thought about trying that tactic?

Thursday, June 4, 2009

Negative 3.2

So I was down 3.2 lbs at weigh-in yesterday. I'm happy with that result and it was totally unexpected. As I stated in my previous post, I never really know what to expect when I step on the scale. What I do know is that I must step on the scale. I won't know my progress, good or bad, if I don't.

What have I been doing over the past week and a half that may have helped is:
  • really focusing on getting in a sufficient amount of water in each day (I know everyone is different and don't really see the benefit, but it is needed for me)
  • doing a new workout routine (I think it has helped to break up the monotony of my previous routine)
  • limiting my alcohol intake to wine and limiting how much of that I drink
  • fruits & veggies
  • veggies & fruits
  • grilled and baked meats
Just some of my tactics that are helping - oh and tracking. If it passes my lips, it is held accountable and tracked.

Wednesday, June 3, 2009

Weigh in

Diva on a Diet posted on twitter today that she didn't know what to expect on the scale since she wasn't weighing each day.

twit.jpg





Personally, I don't weigh-in each day. To me, that is entirely too much pressure. Watching the numbers go up & down depending on what happened the day before (if weigh-in is in the AM) or the course of the day (if weigh-in is in the PM) is just too much for me. I only weigh-in at my WW meeting. Doing so allows for consistency in the scale that I use, and the time is generally the same each week.

One thing that I never know, until I get on the scale, is what number will appear. I can't predict that I will have a gain/loss based on how I ate or the amount of exercise that I did. I can't because it seems that on those weeks when I am totally on program, drink a fair amount of water each day, get in at least 5 days of exercise, and keep track of everything - I may only lose .5 or even have a gain. Conversely, when I do the opposite or the minimum in the days leading up to a weigh-in I may have a huge loss. In essence, it is totally random.

Therefore for me, I only weigh in one day a week. How about you?