How did that happen?

Wow, I didn't realize that I hadn't blogged here all week!!! Normally that's a good indication that I'm not working as hard as I should.

That's not the case. I'm keeping to my workouts. The diet? Well, that not so much (too many good cooks at Theresa's Tuesday night).

The good news? Well, Matt's decided he needs to lose an other 5 lbs. Yes, I know, I know, he's already at a nice healthy weight and is in excellent condition. However, from a racing standpoint, he wants to drop those last couple of pounds, get his body fat % down to about 4% and hopefully lose that little bit of extra around his waist (he thinks that's why he sits so upright on the bike).

Now while it's annoying that men lose weight at a more rapid rate than women, having him also in weight loss mode makes it easier for me. It's just easier for me if we're on the same page. Of course he'll still lose that weight faster than I can lose 5 lbs.

So hopefully the diet thing will be on track soon. It's definitely the hard part.

Fixed!

Thanks to Lauren, (*cough* April 30th??? don't you think it's time to update????) I fixed the comments. I had accidently changed the setting on who can comment, but now anyone can comment. I just have to approve them.

Now back to the actual "fitness" part of this blog.

I think I'm back to a regular workout schedule again. I'm trying to work in Yourself!Fitness 3 days a week, which is a great overall body cardio and a nice upper body concentration. I'm also doing the stationary bike or the treadmill on the alternate days while trying to get some lower body weight lifting in.

I still can't quite break the soreness yet, but I know that fades a bit as I get used to the workouts. It also wouldn't hurt to take some pain reliever every once in a while.

I guess I need to buckle down and work a bit on the food again. I'm comfortable maintaining this weight (obviously, as I've been at about the same weight for a year and a half now). So I need to start tracking again, going back down to 1200 (ugh!) calories. I'll probably do the same thing... try to drop 10 lbs, then spend some time at that weight before I tackle the next. It seems to be the way I'm the most comfortable losing weight. If I loose too much too fast, it seems to come back. Slow and steady... okay, really really slow, and somewhat steady.

So back to tracking... something I hate having to do, but it really is the most effective way to lose weight.

Comments

I've done a little house cleaning here. I've taken the tagboard down and I've put my comments on moderation. I've been having some spamming issues, and while I hate making it harder for people to leave comments, I'm not willing to let my blog become spam central.

Just killing time...

I'm about to head off to do my walk/jog on the treadmill. I'm just waiting for my afternoon snack to sort of settle before I attack the treadmill.

I've been cycling thru my different workouts and they're feeling pretty good. I did Maya's upper body workout yesterday and I realized that I get impatient with the breaks between sets. When I do weights on my own, I take rests between sets, but not nearly as long as she does. I'm sure part of that is I want to get it done.

It's my biggest issue with my workouts: I just want to get them done. I really struggle with boredom and impatience when I'm working out. I simply loose interest and I start to think about the other things I would rather be doing.

So here I sit and procrastinate getting on the treadmill. It's hot out and I'm glad I'm working out indoors with A/C, but I also need to find something that keeps me motivated. I'm heading out with Matt tonight for a training ride so I can get some pictures. Maybe that will keep me motivated. Nothing like a bunch of skinny bike riders (who's legs are better shaved) to keep me working hard!!!

Panic! at the Disco

Our workout room has flourescent lights. I hate flourescent lights. Now, don't get me wrong, they put out a lot of light... and I love light. Almost obsessively so. I want a well lit room for everything but sleeping.

So on Sunday when I was on the treadmill, the flourescent right above it started to flicker. It was a wee bit distracting... I felt like I should be on roller skates and grooving to Gloria Gaynor. I shut off the lights and worked out in the dreary room (keeping my music to XM's Ethel).

Today was the bike and lower body weights. Ugh, I need lights for that. Luckily Matt did find a bulb and replaced it for me. So all is well again. Ya, I know, it doesn't take much to make a drama for me... especially when it cames to my workouts!

I continue on my path of visual improvements. Well, I still haven't gotten my hair cut, but I've splurged on some new clothes this week and I'm trying to address the dark hair/fair skin issue by using the tinted moisturizer. I have to honestly say, I'm feeling better about how I look... just need to keep it up.

Breaking thru the pain

If you read my knitting blog, you'll know that I tagged along with Matt for his races over the weekend. Nothing like hanging out with a bunch of fit cyclists to get me motivated. For lots of reasons.

One: I'm very self conscious of how unfit I look when hanging around these guys. Matt is so incredibly in shape and I feel like his frumpy wife standing next to him.

Two: I saw myself if a picture from the race. Ya, that whole vanity thing really does work. I not only feel frumpy, but I looked frumpy too (but that's also due to what I was wearing... more on that later).

Three: It's so motivating to listen to these guys talk about the races, how they feel, how hard they work etc. it's easy to forget that it's just as hard for them as it is for me... they just can break thru the pain and keep going.

I think that's always the biggest surprise for me. I think people who do a physical activity as a hobby find it easier than those of us that force ourselves to work out. It some ways it is, as they do get a pleasure out of it that I don't, but it's just as much work. They feel the same pain. They struggle with their own self doubt too. It makes me realize that I just need to keep going, to break thru that initial pain to find my stride (then deal with the boredom).

Actually, the riding with a pack really breaks up the boredom. As Matt said, it's much easier to ride for a three hour training ride with a group than to do it by yourself. The appeal of the racing isn't really about the racing, it's about the comradere. There's a bond between these guys that's fun to watch. They wish each other luck. They share info on who's strong in the race, they talk about the course. They go out and race competively then they talk about it after (ad nauseum). It's an odd combination of competition and friendship. Complete strangers bond instantly when they work together on a break. There's a respect among the riders that is so inspirational.

Anyway, it was a very motivating weekend for me.

It helped me considerably with my workout yesterday plus it made me evaluate my clothing choices. One of the photos from the race includes a blurry shot of me in profile... and I look pretty frumpy. Not just from the extra 30-40 lbs I carry, but from my clothing choices. I need to be more aware of what I'm wearing and how I dress. The jeans were not flattering on me at all. While I tried to buy a pair of jeans one size smaller, I chose the wrong brand and they just aren't comfortable for me. So I ordered the LL Bean jeans that I know are cut for my shape and down one size. I also got a pair of shorts (they were sold out of the capri's I wanted).

I guess if I'm going to use this whole vanity thing as a motivating force, I need to put some effort into my entire appearance. I guess a haircut and maybe some makeup wouldn't be out of line either.

Well, that didn't work, did it?

Okay, forget posting at a specific time as that's not working. I really wanted to blog after my workouts, but the timing just hasn't been working. So I'll be blogging when the mood strikes me rather than at specific times/events.

I've been putting a lot of thought and evaluation into this whole "weight loss" thing again (do you ever stop once you start?... part of me misses those days of not caring).

I have to admit I've been resting on my laurels. While positive reinforcement is good and healthy, I've been more focused on how much I've lost rather than how much more I have to go.

I'm not sure that's such a bad thing (again, positive reinforcement can be healthy). However, I need to remember that a healthy weight is a journey, not a destination. I've enjoyed the view at 152 lbs for a while now, and I need to move onto the next phase of my journey.

I think it comes down to what motivates us. Me, it was the start of some health issues that were weight related (as it seems so many are). I've seen improvements with my cholestrol, my blood pressure and just general physical well being. So part of me says "well, you hit the 'get healthy' goal, now just maintain it". While I know that being at my current weight is better than my previous weight, my risk factors for so many things will improve if I drop down to a "healthy weight".

So now I'm starting to look for other motivations and I'm thinking physical appearance might be the ticket. I've always had a size in mind, but it was never really a motivating factor for me.

However now that I'm getting older, I'm starting to feel "flabbier", especially in the thighs. So now I'm going to try to use the flab as a motivator.

Don't get me wrong: I have no aspirations to become a competitive bodybuilder or a supermodel (hey, I'm 5'2" and 37 years old... I think the best I can shoot for is "cute"). I just want to work towards firming up and losing the jiggle.

That means lots of cardio (burn off that fat, baby!) and more weights. I'm also working at more variety. I've been sort of stuck in a rut doing the same workout day after day and I think I need to expand my horizons. Walking, biking, weights and Yourself!Fitness are now going to be changed up. I've been working on the weights more often, specifically lower body (as I've been reading up on my knee issues, and strength training is very beneficial... yes, I knew that. I never should've stopped after my post surgery rehab). Hmmm, maybe this whole physcial appearance focus will have other benefits; next thing ya know, I'll actually get my hair cut!

Brace Me

I'm going to try a slightly different schedule with my fitness blog. I've been doing it about the same time I do my knitting blog, which is no where near my workout. So I'm either trying to remember what I wanted to say from my previous day's workout or what I'm planning on doing that day. Instead, I'm going to try to update after my workout.

The temperature may have dropped to cooler tempertures, but the humidity certainly hasn't improved. Makes for a hot and sweaty workout.

It also makes my knee hurt. I'm not sure why, but I have a terrible time with humidity and my knee (scar tissue, perhaps?). Today was treadmill day and I was all ready to run. As I was doing my warmup and slowly increasing to my jogging speed, I started getting sharp pains. Sigh. Matt and I had had a conversaton after my last jogging session about a knee brace. Okay, so I did around and find one... however, it didn't fit. Long story short, I ended up just walking.

I still had a good workout, but I'm getting really discouraged about the jogging. There's a part of my brain that says "you aren't built to jog, give it up and just keep with the stuff you can do. don't hurt yourself" an other part of my brain says "you can do it! it'll just take more work for you to get to those goals. Goals are good and keep you interested in your workout"

So I'm still split on how smart the whole jogging thing is. It's purely psychological: I'm afraid of hurting my knee yet again, yet an other part of me sees that jogging is an indication of a healthy fitness level.

Still won't get me to do jumping jacks, tho!

Some and not the other

Well being away for a couple of days did throw off my workout regimine again, but not the diet (and that's fairly typical of me). I just didn't take the time to workout for 3 days. However, I figured that would happen and adjusted my calorie intake.

I wasn't able to do my weigh in Wednesday this week, but I thought I would do it this morning, just to keep the numbers fresh in my head.

152 lbs

Considering that it's a water retention week, that's not bad. I should be back under 150 in no time.

Today I'm planning on doing the running thing. I think I can hit my 1 mile goal by the end of June. I'm not 100% sure about the whole jogging thing yet. I must admit that my knee was pretty sore after... all the way into the next day. I'm just not sure if it can handle the impact. I like the idea of the goal and I do think that I should be able to do it, but I'm not going to risk yet an other knee injury just to prove a point to myself.

I know I can do Maya and I've learned which exercises I need to adjust to keep the strain off my knee (and I still don't do jumping jacks). I still hope that as I continue to lose weight, I'll be putting less stress on it and it can handle more impact.

For as much as the initial goal here is weight loss, the fact is, I want to be more physically fit. Being in shape is more important to me than the number on the scale. However, they are connected. I'll be in better shape once I get below the "overweight" range that I'm currently in. I can't be in great shape if I'm lugging around an extra 30+lbs.

So back on schedule today... and thank goodness I workout indoors in A/C... where did this hot humid weather come from already????