I didn't weigh in today, but I don't need to... as the jean situation on Monday told me all I needed to know.
So I spent time doing a little circuit training yesterday and I put Maya in this morning. My left leg is bothering me a bit (I have a tendancy of favoring thanks to the icky right knee). Maya and I decided after about 15 minutes that it wasn't going to work today and I should do a yoga workout. The stretching would do me good, it would be low impact and help me get my focus.
So I haven't done yoga for a while... like 35-40 lbs ago while. I've done the little bit that Maya includes in her flexibility training, but I don't like her meditation workout at all (she stops giving directions in middle of it). So I pulled out my favorite yoga workout book. I started this book way back when I firt started working out. Again, I wanted something low impact yet would get me started moving after the years of sedatary living.
I've come a long way... when I used to do it, I couldn't do child pose. My stomach got in the way. Now I can do the full stretch. So while I'm disappointed in the start of the week, I'm feeling pretty good today... I can do it, as I've done it before.
However, my abs aren't as happy with me as my mind... I forgot how much ab work doing yoga is!
Wednesday, September 27, 2006
Tuesday, September 26, 2006
Get Busy Living Or Get Busy Dying
That's one of my favorite lines from The Shawshank Redeption. A good rule to live by... on many levels. We go thru life sometimes just plodding along just putting in time until we die. That's not what I want to do.
However, I sometimes seem to take a break... and Tracey is right... complacency leads to weight gain. I know it's not Weigh In Wednesday, but I know my weight is up. I tried to wear my size 12 jeans yesterday and they weren't an option.
I've worked too hard, sacrificed too much to regress to being a slug again...and I have been a slug.
We're coming up on the 2 year anniversary of Yourself!Fitness, and while I've seen interviews and heard rumors about a new version, I haven't heard any specifics. So anyone out there know of a release date... or even a release quarter (say, like Q4 2006). I would love to have a new version of this game. The Eye Toy: Kinetics was not for me, as I need positive reinforcement. I definitely need some kind of workout to get excited about.
However, I sometimes seem to take a break... and Tracey is right... complacency leads to weight gain. I know it's not Weigh In Wednesday, but I know my weight is up. I tried to wear my size 12 jeans yesterday and they weren't an option.
I've worked too hard, sacrificed too much to regress to being a slug again...and I have been a slug.
We're coming up on the 2 year anniversary of Yourself!Fitness, and while I've seen interviews and heard rumors about a new version, I haven't heard any specifics. So anyone out there know of a release date... or even a release quarter (say, like Q4 2006). I would love to have a new version of this game. The Eye Toy: Kinetics was not for me, as I need positive reinforcement. I definitely need some kind of workout to get excited about.
Monday, September 18, 2006
Who said they liked weight lifting???
So I paid for my tough workout on Friday. I was pretty sore for the next two days. Today I feel the "normal" soreness. Which is good, as I'll be doing the same workout again today.
That's the biggest problem with weight lifting: it's hard at the start. I think if you've done it before you recover more quickly from the soreness, but any kind of break and you feel it.
So I'll be sure to weight lift today. Don't want to have to start over again (and a typical mistake for newbies is to wait until they're not sore anymore... not a good idea. Give yourself 48 hours to recover, then do it again. You'll actually be less sore in the long run).
So the weekend was the usual mix bag, but that's typical. I try to keep to a workout schedule, but it's always harder on the weekend. I do think I did a decent job of balancing my food.
Matt's offically done for the season racing. Sunday was the last race of the season. He did his first 1,2,3 and finished with the pack. Not bad. He started the 30+, but didn't finish (back to the "why throw up for 53rd place things"... he doesn't think it's worth it).
So this changes our lifestyle quite a bit. He won't be riding as much, and he'll even take 2 weeks off the bike (uh.hu. I don't believe it either). As it's getting darker sooner, the Tuesday night rides are done, at least for him (He no longer has my clearance to ride it... it just gets too dark too early). The Thursday night training crit isn't on open roads, but in a coporate park and it's safer, so he'll continue to do that one I'm sure until it's done for the season.
The question becomes, now what? He will still ride, but it won't be as much. He usually rides 10-12 hours a week and that'll probably be cut back to 5-8 hours a week. This becomes an issue for him, as he simply won't be burning as many calories. He does need to give his legs a break so he needs to find an alternative high cardio exercise. Probably swimming. It also means he'll be eating less (which is good for me).
He has some specific goals this off season, and hopefully we can do some things together that will help me break this mid 150's plateau that I've been in for the last 2 years...
That's the biggest problem with weight lifting: it's hard at the start. I think if you've done it before you recover more quickly from the soreness, but any kind of break and you feel it.
So I'll be sure to weight lift today. Don't want to have to start over again (and a typical mistake for newbies is to wait until they're not sore anymore... not a good idea. Give yourself 48 hours to recover, then do it again. You'll actually be less sore in the long run).
So the weekend was the usual mix bag, but that's typical. I try to keep to a workout schedule, but it's always harder on the weekend. I do think I did a decent job of balancing my food.
Matt's offically done for the season racing. Sunday was the last race of the season. He did his first 1,2,3 and finished with the pack. Not bad. He started the 30+, but didn't finish (back to the "why throw up for 53rd place things"... he doesn't think it's worth it).
So this changes our lifestyle quite a bit. He won't be riding as much, and he'll even take 2 weeks off the bike (uh.hu. I don't believe it either). As it's getting darker sooner, the Tuesday night rides are done, at least for him (He no longer has my clearance to ride it... it just gets too dark too early). The Thursday night training crit isn't on open roads, but in a coporate park and it's safer, so he'll continue to do that one I'm sure until it's done for the season.
The question becomes, now what? He will still ride, but it won't be as much. He usually rides 10-12 hours a week and that'll probably be cut back to 5-8 hours a week. This becomes an issue for him, as he simply won't be burning as many calories. He does need to give his legs a break so he needs to find an alternative high cardio exercise. Probably swimming. It also means he'll be eating less (which is good for me).
He has some specific goals this off season, and hopefully we can do some things together that will help me break this mid 150's plateau that I've been in for the last 2 years...
Friday, September 15, 2006
Friday Workout
I must admit I'm missing my heart rate monitor. It was so nice to know how many calories I was burning. I guess I need to take the iniative and send it back to Polar for a new battery (as that's the only way to keep it under warrenty... PITA!).
I did a lovely workout with Maya today and I'm feeling pretty sore. As I said, I've been slacking a bit with the weights, doing more treadmill work than anything. I need to keep up with the weight lifting... it's good for my bones, it's important for toning and it helps raise my metabolism to help me burn more fat. Actually, I just enjoy it.
I will say out of all the physical activities that I do/have tried, weight lifting has always been my favorite. It's time consuming, so I don't always concentrate on it like I should (if given a choice between a 30 minute treadmill workout or 30 minutes weight lifting, I chose the treadmill as it will burn more calories). It's one of the reasons I like Maya, as she incorportates it into every workout (sometimes going against basic weight lifting advice: 48 hours rest between working the same muscle group. If you do Maya every day, she'll want you to do lunges every day).
I'm not sure why I like weight lifting. I guess I just enjoy the feeling of strength while I'm doing it. I like the soreness I get with it. It doesn't burn my lungs... I hate the way cardio exercises burn my lungs. It's gotten better as I've gotten more aerobicly fit, but I still find that hard breathing uncomfortable.
Maybe it's the lack of weight training that has my muscles feeling so weak. Let's see if being back on scheudule improves my fatigue level...
I did a lovely workout with Maya today and I'm feeling pretty sore. As I said, I've been slacking a bit with the weights, doing more treadmill work than anything. I need to keep up with the weight lifting... it's good for my bones, it's important for toning and it helps raise my metabolism to help me burn more fat. Actually, I just enjoy it.
I will say out of all the physical activities that I do/have tried, weight lifting has always been my favorite. It's time consuming, so I don't always concentrate on it like I should (if given a choice between a 30 minute treadmill workout or 30 minutes weight lifting, I chose the treadmill as it will burn more calories). It's one of the reasons I like Maya, as she incorportates it into every workout (sometimes going against basic weight lifting advice: 48 hours rest between working the same muscle group. If you do Maya every day, she'll want you to do lunges every day).
I'm not sure why I like weight lifting. I guess I just enjoy the feeling of strength while I'm doing it. I like the soreness I get with it. It doesn't burn my lungs... I hate the way cardio exercises burn my lungs. It's gotten better as I've gotten more aerobicly fit, but I still find that hard breathing uncomfortable.
Maybe it's the lack of weight training that has my muscles feeling so weak. Let's see if being back on scheudule improves my fatigue level...
Wednesday, September 13, 2006
Wednesday Weigh In
So we're back to this again, eh? Ya, I wasn't looking forward to it. I've been sluggish, with hardly any workouts. Eating things that I don't normally eat and not really worrying about my calorie count. I was expecting the worse.
Weight: 156.4
Body Fat: 39.0%
ya, that makes perfect sense. I gained a whole whopping pound. Now the body fat percentage is up, which really is the only reflection of me not working out (the lack of weight training is showing).
This is why this whole process is so incredibly frustrating to me. 3500 calories equals a pound. So to lose weight I should remove 500 calories a day with diet and exercise, right? That's what every reputable nutritionist/weight loss trainer will say. Yet, I can remove over 800 calories thru diet and exercise and lose what maybe a half a pound. I stop worrying about it. Workout maybe 2-3 days a week for 30 minutes, add a little junk to my diet and I gain only 1 lb. It just doesn't make sense to me, and makes it really hard to justify to myself all the hard work and sacrifice to lose that half pound.
I'm disappointed from the results from this mornings weigh in, not from the one pound gained, but rather the lack of gaining. As I said before one pound up or one pound down doesn't really mean much to me. That's a very natural weight flucuation and I simply don't lose sleep over it (in either direction).
I actually was hoping for a couple of pounds gained to get me motivated again. It's not. It just all seems futile when I can be comfortable, not hungry, not spend 60 minutes a day working out and I can basically maintain my weight. Or I can be hungry, tired, sore, bored with the 60-90 minutes a day of exercise and barely loose any weight. It's really hard to convince yourself that all that work is worth it, when in fact bare minimum keeps me level... so you would think working harder would show results, but in fact it shows minimal results.
To say that I'm frustrated is an understatement.
Weight: 156.4
Body Fat: 39.0%
ya, that makes perfect sense. I gained a whole whopping pound. Now the body fat percentage is up, which really is the only reflection of me not working out (the lack of weight training is showing).
This is why this whole process is so incredibly frustrating to me. 3500 calories equals a pound. So to lose weight I should remove 500 calories a day with diet and exercise, right? That's what every reputable nutritionist/weight loss trainer will say. Yet, I can remove over 800 calories thru diet and exercise and lose what maybe a half a pound. I stop worrying about it. Workout maybe 2-3 days a week for 30 minutes, add a little junk to my diet and I gain only 1 lb. It just doesn't make sense to me, and makes it really hard to justify to myself all the hard work and sacrifice to lose that half pound.
I'm disappointed from the results from this mornings weigh in, not from the one pound gained, but rather the lack of gaining. As I said before one pound up or one pound down doesn't really mean much to me. That's a very natural weight flucuation and I simply don't lose sleep over it (in either direction).
I actually was hoping for a couple of pounds gained to get me motivated again. It's not. It just all seems futile when I can be comfortable, not hungry, not spend 60 minutes a day working out and I can basically maintain my weight. Or I can be hungry, tired, sore, bored with the 60-90 minutes a day of exercise and barely loose any weight. It's really hard to convince yourself that all that work is worth it, when in fact bare minimum keeps me level... so you would think working harder would show results, but in fact it shows minimal results.
To say that I'm frustrated is an understatement.
Tuesday, September 12, 2006
Tuesday...and it's quiet... too quiet
so let's think back to last week and those goals I set up... something about working out every day, using Fitday, blah blah blah.
Well the weekend was a bust and this week hasn't started off great either. I've used FitDay sporatically. I've worked out sporatically, but hey, I am blogging more!
It's a matter of habit, and I'm not quite at the habit yet.
It also doesn't mean I'm throwing in the towel. These are lifesstyle changes, and just like most of the changes I've made over the years, they don't happen overnight, or just because I say I'm going to do them. I have to continue to work and reconfirm my goals to get me to stay on course.
So I'm off to workout (see the fitness blog really is just for me to talk myself into a workout). I learned a long time ago to not beat myself up over what's been done. I didn't workout over the weekend? Well that has absolutely no bearing on whether I workout today or not. Learn from the past, not use it as an excuse. So off to ride the stationary bike and then maybe some weights (or a quick jog on the treadmill...)
Well the weekend was a bust and this week hasn't started off great either. I've used FitDay sporatically. I've worked out sporatically, but hey, I am blogging more!
It's a matter of habit, and I'm not quite at the habit yet.
It also doesn't mean I'm throwing in the towel. These are lifesstyle changes, and just like most of the changes I've made over the years, they don't happen overnight, or just because I say I'm going to do them. I have to continue to work and reconfirm my goals to get me to stay on course.
So I'm off to workout (see the fitness blog really is just for me to talk myself into a workout). I learned a long time ago to not beat myself up over what's been done. I didn't workout over the weekend? Well that has absolutely no bearing on whether I workout today or not. Learn from the past, not use it as an excuse. So off to ride the stationary bike and then maybe some weights (or a quick jog on the treadmill...)
Monday, September 11, 2006
Ahhhh Fall!
Fall is my favorite time of the year. I love the colors. I love the smell. I love football. I love the temperature (I mean it's called sweater weather for a reason).
Plus, I love the taste of fall.
Cooking this time of year is one of my favorite things. The seasonal vegetables this time of year are my favorite. I'm a big apple fan. Not just fresh crisp apples, but I love them baked. I love them sauted with pork. I love them roasted.
I'm also a big soup fan and it's soup season again. Butternut squash. Black bean. Chicken n dumplings. All good stuff.
Mostly I love the baked goods. I love the spices that dominate fall flavors. Cinnamon, ginger, allspice. All those yummy fall flavors.
Sadly, I don't bake much anymore. I love to bake cakes and cookies and such. Mostly because I love eating them, but I love the smell of freshly baked cakes and cookies. The house always smells so warm and inviting when you have something full of spice in the oven.
Baking was on of the first things I gave up when we started our healthier lifestyle. The fat and calories had to be cut and it was an easy solution.
Every once in a while I still bake, just for the pleasure of it. Since yesterday was the first football Sunday of the season, I felt we should celebrate in style. Black Bean soup and a spice cake (both Cooking Light recipes).
I found a great sounding recipe at Cooking Light for an Espesso Spice cake. Sounded perfect. So I whipped it up, and it was good. The calorie/fat count was within reason and so we enjoyed a cup of decaf and a slice of cake last night after dinner.
Emphasis on the decaf coffee. The cake was not decaf and I paid for it last night. It kept me up most of the night. Duh! I didn't even think of that.
So the weekend was a mixed bag of trying to be healthy and a couple of splurges (went out to lunch with friends. It's so hard for me to make the right choices when a menu is placed in front of me).
Today is treadmill day. I will become a jogger one of these days. One day I might even bring that 20 minute mile down to 18.
Plus, I love the taste of fall.
Cooking this time of year is one of my favorite things. The seasonal vegetables this time of year are my favorite. I'm a big apple fan. Not just fresh crisp apples, but I love them baked. I love them sauted with pork. I love them roasted.
I'm also a big soup fan and it's soup season again. Butternut squash. Black bean. Chicken n dumplings. All good stuff.
Mostly I love the baked goods. I love the spices that dominate fall flavors. Cinnamon, ginger, allspice. All those yummy fall flavors.
Sadly, I don't bake much anymore. I love to bake cakes and cookies and such. Mostly because I love eating them, but I love the smell of freshly baked cakes and cookies. The house always smells so warm and inviting when you have something full of spice in the oven.
Baking was on of the first things I gave up when we started our healthier lifestyle. The fat and calories had to be cut and it was an easy solution.
Every once in a while I still bake, just for the pleasure of it. Since yesterday was the first football Sunday of the season, I felt we should celebrate in style. Black Bean soup and a spice cake (both Cooking Light recipes).
I found a great sounding recipe at Cooking Light for an Espesso Spice cake. Sounded perfect. So I whipped it up, and it was good. The calorie/fat count was within reason and so we enjoyed a cup of decaf and a slice of cake last night after dinner.
Emphasis on the decaf coffee. The cake was not decaf and I paid for it last night. It kept me up most of the night. Duh! I didn't even think of that.
So the weekend was a mixed bag of trying to be healthy and a couple of splurges (went out to lunch with friends. It's so hard for me to make the right choices when a menu is placed in front of me).
Today is treadmill day. I will become a jogger one of these days. One day I might even bring that 20 minute mile down to 18.
Friday, September 08, 2006
*&%$&* Counting Calories!!!
So I was reading John's blog yesterday, and he gave me credit for his change from Weight Watchers to FitDay. Nothing like promoting a great tool, like FitDay, and not using it yourself, eh?
Now, I understand why he doesn't want to use Weight Watchers, puffy icon aside. I'm not a huge fan of the points system. When Matt and I started our weight loss program, we went to Weight Watchers (back in the dark ages and before they had online support. Those were also the days where you paid for your internet connection by time). It was still the exchange system, based on the food pyramid. It's a shame that they dropped that system, as I do think Matt and I learned a great deal about balance from them.
So we eat very low fat, balanced meals (and definitely not low carb! carbs = energy. While low carb works for people who don't work out, serious athletes need that fuel. We've had some "bonking" issues with Matt who still struggles with the change from weight loss to competitive athlete).
So balance is fine and dandy. It helped me get my cholestrol in check, it helps us both to have better health overall, but balance doesn't equate restrictive calories.
That's where Fitday comes in. I have to know how much I'm eating. Or I don't lose weight (and usually those portion sizes start to creep up to where I'm gaining weight). So being reminded what a great tool it is, and after doing my blog last night, I realized it was time to get back to business.
So I'm going layout my plan (just like a business plan, it's best to have some guidelines to follow).
So I'm hoping that it'll help me get focused again... and not just on my fitness. I've been very unfocused with a lot of things lately, including my favorite hobbies, and I'm wondering if it's not from the laziness of my diet and exercise? Being sluggish can have side effects that I don't always realize.
So reminders welcome if this blog is getting quiet!
So let's see: blog updated, Fitday open and food to date logged, now off to workout (come on Maya, let's do an upper body blast fest!).
Now, I understand why he doesn't want to use Weight Watchers, puffy icon aside. I'm not a huge fan of the points system. When Matt and I started our weight loss program, we went to Weight Watchers (back in the dark ages and before they had online support. Those were also the days where you paid for your internet connection by time). It was still the exchange system, based on the food pyramid. It's a shame that they dropped that system, as I do think Matt and I learned a great deal about balance from them.
So we eat very low fat, balanced meals (and definitely not low carb! carbs = energy. While low carb works for people who don't work out, serious athletes need that fuel. We've had some "bonking" issues with Matt who still struggles with the change from weight loss to competitive athlete).
So balance is fine and dandy. It helped me get my cholestrol in check, it helps us both to have better health overall, but balance doesn't equate restrictive calories.
That's where Fitday comes in. I have to know how much I'm eating. Or I don't lose weight (and usually those portion sizes start to creep up to where I'm gaining weight). So being reminded what a great tool it is, and after doing my blog last night, I realized it was time to get back to business.
So I'm going layout my plan (just like a business plan, it's best to have some guidelines to follow).
- Use Fitday to track my food and exercise
- Workout: 3 hard days, 3 moderate days, 1 light day
- Post on my blog more
- Weigh In once a week... even if I know it's going to be up
So I'm hoping that it'll help me get focused again... and not just on my fitness. I've been very unfocused with a lot of things lately, including my favorite hobbies, and I'm wondering if it's not from the laziness of my diet and exercise? Being sluggish can have side effects that I don't always realize.
So reminders welcome if this blog is getting quiet!
So let's see: blog updated, Fitday open and food to date logged, now off to workout (come on Maya, let's do an upper body blast fest!).
Thursday, September 07, 2006
What??? Wednesday Was Yesterday????
Today is true confession time.
I'm avoiding the scale. I'm avoiding as if it were that "brutely honest family member" at a family reunion. You know the one. The one that points out that "red really isn't your color" or "honey, let me give you the number of my hairdressor... he can fix that for you".
The scale is not going to give me any positive reinforcement. It's going to be brutally honest and I know I'm not going to like it.
My diet, while mostly good, has had way too many "extras". My willpower is gone right now. I'm craving sweet things and I'm finding way too many excuses to justify them. The problem is that once I started eating sweets, I start to crave them and it just sort of snowballs.
It doesn't help that I'm also finding excuses to not work out.
I know better. I worked so hard to get down to this weight, and I'm frustrated with my current weight. Clothes shopping earlier this week showed that I've a long way to go yet. (ya, it's always fun trying on clothes. Man those clothes manufacturers have a wicked sense of humor). I'm between sizes and the best solution is to get smaller so that clothes will fit better (we won't have the dicussion on how it was actually easier to find clothes when I was heavier... I'm not sure what that says about our society).
So I'm floundering; actually with a lot of things right now... I'm not in a knitting groove, I'm not playing games (and with only 3 more skill points left in Ratchet and Clank: Up Your Arsenol to go before I have 100%) and I'm sorta just slugging along.
Slugging is a good description right now... I don't want to be a slug, so now I just need to get off my ass and get moving. I guess now is as good as a time as any, eh?
I'm avoiding the scale. I'm avoiding as if it were that "brutely honest family member" at a family reunion. You know the one. The one that points out that "red really isn't your color" or "honey, let me give you the number of my hairdressor... he can fix that for you".
The scale is not going to give me any positive reinforcement. It's going to be brutally honest and I know I'm not going to like it.
My diet, while mostly good, has had way too many "extras". My willpower is gone right now. I'm craving sweet things and I'm finding way too many excuses to justify them. The problem is that once I started eating sweets, I start to crave them and it just sort of snowballs.
It doesn't help that I'm also finding excuses to not work out.
I know better. I worked so hard to get down to this weight, and I'm frustrated with my current weight. Clothes shopping earlier this week showed that I've a long way to go yet. (ya, it's always fun trying on clothes. Man those clothes manufacturers have a wicked sense of humor). I'm between sizes and the best solution is to get smaller so that clothes will fit better (we won't have the dicussion on how it was actually easier to find clothes when I was heavier... I'm not sure what that says about our society).
So I'm floundering; actually with a lot of things right now... I'm not in a knitting groove, I'm not playing games (and with only 3 more skill points left in Ratchet and Clank: Up Your Arsenol to go before I have 100%) and I'm sorta just slugging along.
Slugging is a good description right now... I don't want to be a slug, so now I just need to get off my ass and get moving. I guess now is as good as a time as any, eh?
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