tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-75045542024-03-13T21:30:53.371-05:00Fitness ParkMy continuous struggle with a healthy lifestyle
for all the world to see.Cindyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17937815362710581231noreply@blogger.comBlogger254125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7504554.post-33184220236654672982009-09-29T13:10:00.002-05:002009-09-29T13:18:31.659-05:00ya... uh... hi.Wow... it's been a year. Okay, over a year.<br /><br />I just read my last post. Hmmm... sounds like I gave up on weight loss.<br /><br />I did.<br /><br />I paid for it (as half the weight I had lost is back... and in a very short period of time).<br /><br />I grew increasinly frustrated. I was walking 3 miles a day. Keeping my calories in check. All that I gained was sore feet, low self esteem and total frustration. Yuck.<br /><br />Then of course I gained the 30 lbs in 3 months. So I'm back to it being my main focus in my life. Which I hate. I don't like that my entire life has to revolve over my physical activity and food. It's a lot of work. It's not fun. It's frustrating.<br /><br />I am now seeing an endocronologist for my thryoid disease. She's got a much lower goal for my TSH. While I've already learned that this is not going to make losing weight easier, I am hoping that I won't be so sore, achy and tired all the time (and let's hope my frickin' hair stops falling out).<br /><br />So I'm not sure how much I'll be blogging about it. I do find it theraputic to have to write down how I'm doing on a regular basis. There's a certain level of accountability that I think I need. So... we'll see. (just wish the seats on this wagon had seat belts so I didn't keep falling off!)Cindyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17937815362710581231noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7504554.post-6436292095495841062008-08-04T11:48:00.002-05:002008-08-04T11:56:38.471-05:00Those Generic Flu Like Symptoms!So the 6 month follow up for my thyroid was productive. My numbers had spiked again (putting me high, even by the old scale). So the doc doubled my dosage. Just like the first time I started taking medication, it took a lot longer than I expected to start seeing any difference. <br /><br />I'm still seeing some hair loss, but my energy levels aren't as bad as they were. I'm not as achy... oh, and screw the weight loss thing. I've given up trying to lose weight. I simply can't care about it. I'm trying to stay active and eat healthy, but the stress of trying to lose weight, with no results, just frustrates me and I stop completely. Not a good thing. It's more important to just be healthy. I can live being 40 lbs overweight.<br /><br />While I am feeling better, I'm still dragging a bit. I describe it like I'm just about to come down with a bug. You know that achey tired feeling you get when you run a low grade fever? That's kind of how I've been living my life... and for some time now. To the point that it feels "normal" to me. It does make the workouts a struggle. So I'm guessing we still need to tweak the medication a bit, but it's just a quality issue at this point.Cindyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17937815362710581231noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7504554.post-15303220563562466602008-06-26T06:45:00.002-05:002008-06-26T06:56:49.288-05:00a long over due updateWell, it's been a while again. Frustrated isn't even the word anymore. While Matt and I are still walking on a pretty regular basis (a little over 3 miles 4 times a week), I've cut back on how many days and I'm not tracking my food. When we were walking 3 miles, 6 days a week, and I was eating 1200 calories a day, I simply wasn't losing any weight. I felt worse and simply had to cut back to a more comfortable exercise ratio.<br /><br />Quite frankly, I'm doing bare minimum for a healthy life style and simply not worrying about the weight loss. I know that I need to drop 30-40 lbs, but I'm so tired of not getting any results, no matter what I do. <br /><br />I just had my 6 months follow up on my thryoid and waiting for the results. I have to say that over the last month, I've been seeing some of the symptoms return (again a little more hair loss and fatigue). We'll see. I also don't know if my doctor is using the updated scale or the old scale. (the new scale puts me in hypothryoid mode since my 20's). So I'm hoping that there's still some tweaking to be done so that I'll feel a little less tired all the time.Cindyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17937815362710581231noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7504554.post-15172668757875448242008-03-10T13:58:00.002-05:002008-03-10T14:10:29.139-05:00Just got tired of talking about itOkay, so I took a longer break than I meant to. I simply got tired of constantly talking about what I was doing while not really seeing any results. Gets irritating.<br /><br />So the first update is that the thyroid disease seems to be under control. I had my follow up blood work, and it seems that my current level of medication is appropriate. Sadly, I didn't "feel" better as quickly as I had hoped. Took almost 3 months before my hair wasn't falling out and my energy levels are now what I think are "normal" (meaning I can do the dishes without exhausting myself).<br /><br />I will say that between the holidays, the sedatary by product of the fatigue and the medication, my weight kind of "blossomed" at the end of the year. So it was time to concentrate and stop making excuses.<br /><br />Luckily, we have a new park down the road from us. Matt and I have been walking practically every day and I'm feeling the benefits of it. We started with just one mile and we're up to 3. <br /><br />Some of the weight came off right away. Just watching my portions, making better food choices and some moderate activity took off 5 lbs. Then it stopped. Again. I lost 5 lbs in January, and absolutely nothing since. Oh the joy! So while my medication might be helping with some of my symptoms, it still seems that weight loss is going to be a serious struggle for me.<br /><br />So I'm back to working with FitDay so I can make sure I'm not over eating (which is soooo easy to do) and hopefully that will knock a few more pounds off. <br /><br />So hopefully I'll be a little better about posting here (but I haven't been blogging much on my other blog either. Maybe I'm just tired of my own voice?)Cindyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17937815362710581231noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7504554.post-89443968869171490982007-11-16T09:44:00.000-05:002007-11-16T09:58:41.470-05:00The UpdateThanks Tracey for the reminder... I sort of forgot to give an update, didn't I? This isn't my "main" blog and I like to keep that one focused on knitting.<br /><br />So yes, the doctor's appointment went well. I like this doctor. I feel he listens to me and doesn't shrug off my concerns. He ran every possible blood test imaginable (or so the lab nurse said as she was drawing blood. She didn't appreciate the work and let me know it).<br /><br />Anyway, as expected, I have a hypothyroid. I was a walking "symptom" of it, but the problem is that there are a lot of issues that have the same symptoms... including perimenopause.<br /><br />So now it's a matter of figuring out the right dosage of synthetic thryoid hormones, and from what I can tell, it's kind of a trial and error thing. Starting off with a small dose and increase it until my numbers are in range. <br /><br />It's been 3 weeks and I'm seeing some improvement, but it's definitely not an overnight cure. My hair loss is much less noticable (when I wash my hair I'm getting maybe half the fallout that I was) and some of the achiness is gone. However, I still get easily fatigued, but that also might just be from being so inactive for such a long period of time.<br /><br />I am easing back into working out again. I'm trying to do a mile a day on the treadmill and I'm keeping to a very light pace (2.5/mph) and it still wipes me out (but then so does doing laundry). I have to remember that I can't jump back to an hour with Yourself!Fitness, but work my way back towards it.<br /><br />So hopefully I'll get back to a regular workout routine and back to some weight loss. I'm realistic to not think just being on thyroid medication is going to magically make my extra 30 lbs disappear. I just hope it gives me a little more energy to do some semblance of a workout.Cindyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17937815362710581231noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7504554.post-13599721092795484602007-10-22T07:41:00.001-05:002007-10-22T07:44:02.849-05:00The Current StatusI know I haven't been keeping up on this blog. I simply haven't had the energy to be working out. I thought it was just a phase (a little workout burnout), or that I'm starting to slow down a bit as I get closer to 40.<br /><br />However, some other issues have come up and I'm off to see the doctor this morning.<br /><br />I'm not sure which I'm more worried about: him finding something or him not finding something.<br /><br />Either way, I'm tired of it all, so I hope there is some kind of solution.Cindyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17937815362710581231noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7504554.post-784920162247468682007-07-02T10:25:00.000-05:002007-07-02T10:55:45.036-05:00Back to my own cookingSo I'm back to having to track my own food again and I'm actually looking forward to it. Taking a month off not having to really worry about what I'm eating was nice, but I actually enjoy cooking. I even enjoy the challenge of tasty healthy cooking.<br /><br />I'm very lucky as Matt is very open minded about what he eats. Our biggest issue as a couple, eating wise, is volume. Now that Matt has switched from weight loss to being athletic, he simply needs more food. I think he feels very guilty that he gets to eat a lot, while I'm in a strict calorie range. <br /><br />When my workouts start to burn 1200 calories a pop, I'll get to eat like that too (ha ha... I'm thrilled when I burn 350 calories in a workout!). <br /><br />Speaking of workouts...I'm thinking that it might be time to upgrade my step bench. When I first started using Yourself!Fitness all those years ago (how long has it been? Well, it came out before Halo 2, that I do know) I didn't think I would want to use a step bench, but after working with Maya for a while, I felt I needed the challenge. However, I wasn't sure that with my bad knee, a step bench was a good idea. So I got a small cheap one. It has only two levels: 2" and 4" and it's not very wide. Now the step workouts are actually my favorite (nothing puts my heartrate up as much as the step workouts). So I'm thinking I might splurge on a better quality, bigger (and quite possibly higher... 6" even?) step bench.<br /><br />I'm still eagerly anticipating the next gen version (and I'll have to decide which system I'm going to splurge on first... I'm guessing the 360... depends on the release date on the new Ratchet & Clank game. I'm looking a lot more forward to it than Halo 3... then there's that whole cost comparison, etc). Anyway, I'm very interested to see what things are included with the new verion!Cindyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17937815362710581231noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7504554.post-90654321421893195422007-06-27T18:05:00.000-05:002007-06-27T18:42:45.937-05:00Nutrisystem ReviewWell, I've got to confess that the Nutrisystem program accomplished what I had hoped: It got me back on track. The weight is slowly (as always) coming off and I'm sticking to my workout.<br /><br />While I don't think anyone can consider this the best solution (you don't learn how you need to cook and eat for yourself), it's a great jump start. The focus on lots of veggies is great (and since you do have to do that yourself, it's something that translates over to a regular eating plan).<br /><br />I will say I'm glad I was already on a higher fiber diet. This would've caused a great deal of discomfort if I hadn't already been used to it.<br /><br />So I'm gonna review what I liked and didn't like about the program.<br /><br />First, there is no fish (yes, I had two meals with tuna, but both were really bad. The Tuna Noodle Casserole was the one I actually threw away). I am not a vegetarian, but I don't like eating meat for every meal. There are several really good vegetarian meals (and the minestrone soup was an absolute favorite), but I enjoy having fish at least one (or twice) a week.<br /><br />Some of the food is absolutely deliscious (see minestrone soup above) and some was gagginly awful. I would expect that. However, you can custom order your food selections and so after the first month, it would be easy to pick and choose what suits your taste.<br /><br />Since the meals are almost all MRE, there can be a texture problem. All the pasta was a little over done for my taste. However, the "add hot water" meals were preferable. While I know that the idea behind this program is that it's a heat and serve, I would've preferred to do a little more cooking (like the pasta) to get a more satisfactory result.<br /><br />While the program, is very easy for the most part, you are still responsible for some decision making on what you eat. You need to add your own dairy, some protein and your fruits and veggies. Guidelines are provided to help make your choices (and portions). Again, I think these can easily translate to anyone's own meal plan when they are done with Nutrisytem.<br /><br />So there's a huge convience, which is good. Some of the food was tasty, which is good. The food is proportioned and controlled, which is good. However, some of the food was awful, there's no "education" to help you learn how to eat properly when you are done with the program. It's a high fiber diet, which some might find uncomfortable in the beginning. It's a little on the pricey side.<br /><br />So overall, I think it was a good idea for me. I had been rebelling again using a "program" like this, as I'm cocky enough to think that I should be able to do it on my own. Well, after 3 years of a plateau, followed by complete frustration, it's what I needed to get myself kick started again. My weight is down, and I'll probably make my 4 lbs loss goal by the end of the month.<br /><br />I will translate some things from the program to my everyday lifestyle. One of the things I got into the habit of doing is making a huge salad, eating it, then making dinner. I wasn't starving while I was cooking and I found I enjoyed my food more. I'm also going to make sure that I keep to the higher protein and higher fiber. I can also review all the lables from the packaged to see how they break down their caloris/fat/carbs/fiber and protein. I can then use a similar formula for my own cooking.<br /><br />So while I'm pretty much done with my one month of being on the system, I feel it was worth it for me. If for nothing other than just to get my focus back and get back into the habit of being aware of what/how much I'm eating.<br /><br />I also wanted to thank blakbyrd797 for the super explaination as to why triceps are the last worked in an upper body workout! Thanks!!! (and for anyone else who wants to know, just check the last entry's comments!!!)Cindyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17937815362710581231noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7504554.post-20274924264512564112007-06-24T09:53:00.000-05:002007-06-24T10:00:59.759-05:00Saving the triceps for last?I've been back working with Maya for a month or so now, and yikes she makes a difference. While my arms are still one of my many problem areas, there's a huge improvement on their shape. Doing Yourself!Fitness compared to the treadmill simply gives my upper body a better workout.<br /><br />I've been cycling thru 3 of Y!F workouts: the weight loss (or cardio... there's not much difference. The weight loss is a steadier heart rate zone workout compared to the cardio that takes up to your max, then back down then back up again, etc), the upper body and the flexibility.<br /><br />I simply don't bother with the core or lower body. All of the workouts includes a core workout in it and I simply don't like the lower body... too many lunges (which I can't do anyway). Yes, all the workouts include some kind of lunge, but I just use a different leg/quad exercise in place of it.<br /><br />I just finished the upper body workout this morning, and she always saves the triceps as the last weight exercise (before the core that she sneaks in at the end). This seems to be fairly typical of upper body workouts. I know that my previous routines always had the tricep workout last too... yet they are by far the hardest to do, and I'm always fatigued by the time I get to them. I wish I could reverse the order of the workouts with Maya (starting with the triceps and ending with the chess presses). I think I would get a better workout by changing the order occassionally. <br /><br />Something to research perhaps? Why are triceps saved for last???Cindyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17937815362710581231noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7504554.post-2185340630415943732007-06-21T15:09:00.000-05:002007-06-21T15:24:17.945-05:00Trying not to get discouragedWell, I've been strictly following (well, almost strictly) the Nutrisystem plan since June 1. I ate lunch out one day and had one or two things "off menu". Which really isn't much.<br /><br />Haven't seen much impact on any weight loss. I'm working out more again. Back to almost daily workouts and by my math the Nutrisystem plan is about 1200 calories. <br /><br />There just hasn't been much change on my weight.<br /><br />Now, I'm the first to admit that I'm extremely impatient, and it's kinda hard to know what I actually weight (it can flucuate 3-4 lbs on a daily bases... which is why I don't like to weight myself very often). I was hoping to be below 160 lbs by the end of the month, but that's not going to happen (that would've been a 4 lb weight loss over the month- a realistic goal).<br /><br />I think one of the reasons I didn't see the "big drop" with the weight is that I wasn't far off of a 1200/calorie a day diet (and I don't care what they say... this being "low carb" makes no difference. Yes, I'm eating a lot more veggies which is much healthier, but I don't think this low carb diet is really better for weight loss. I still put that on the calorie in vs. calorie out... and I think I'm proof of that).<br /><br />Again, I think I'm back to the "low hanging fruit" options being already gone. The high calorie snacks, the portion control has already been changed... and that's how I lost the first 60 lbs. Smarter choices, portions control and adding physical activity to my diet. Now that they are part of my lifestyle, I don't have the easy changes to make... and the rate of lose is much much slower.<br /><br />I think this plan was a great idea for me (and some of the food was awful... I did throw out one meal) but some of it has actually been very good... and things I would add to my regular meal plan. It also emphasises, that no matter what I do, I can not lose weight any faster than a half pound a week.<br /><br />I just wish I could remember that it DOES come off... and that this lifestyle is all worth it in the long run.Cindyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17937815362710581231noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7504554.post-34409352635774944042007-06-12T08:27:00.000-05:002007-06-12T08:34:13.991-05:00Thanks Maya!After my last physical challenge with Yourself!Fitness, Maya decided to up the difficulty on my workouts. <br /><br />I've been at this level before, and I struggle a bit with the new exercises. Several I simply can't do due to my knee, so I have to modify them a bit. However, I'm feeling the extra work.<br /><br />One of the things I'm noticing lately is that I can't break thru the warmup fatigue. You know when you first start working out and your muscles scream in pain, but as you warm up, you can break thru that and move on with your workout. I'm not ever getting past that initial fatigue. I'm sore and tired from start to finish. I'm not sure this is good, meaning that I'm working hard or if it's an indication that I'm working too hard or if there's some sort of other problem...<br /><br />Either way, I'm still pounding away and hopefully my body will adjust to the increased difficulty.Cindyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17937815362710581231noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7504554.post-34618262617083172572007-06-05T08:15:00.000-05:002007-06-05T08:27:44.819-05:00We Be Body Movin'We need body rockin' not perfection...<br /><br />I have to give kudos to people that are consistant with a daily workout (say, like Matt). I'm sooo bad at doing a workout if I'm thrown off schedule for the day, then I get out of schedule. The workouts were non existant over the weekend. However, I've learned a long time ago that you can't beat yourself up over the past... you can only control the future. So I'm back to work.<br /><br />The problem that I've been having for the last several years is the "low hanging fruit" fixes have been done. The eating habits have been pretty consistant, I've removed most of the junk from my diet, my portions are well in control and are very much a habit now. Removing the easy stuff (high calorie snacks and soda) helps a lot in the beginning, but when it's no longer a part of your lifestyle, there just aren't many easy changes to make. <br /><br />That means working out. I can't go below 1200 calories a day for food, so I need to get that deficit somewhere else... I have to shoot for 500 calories burned a day in workouts. That's hard for me (and for most people) as I haven't found that "thing" that I'm passionate about like Matt has.<br /><br />So I'll trudge along with Maya waiting excitedly for the new Yourself!Fitness and realize that we need body rockin' not perfection!Cindyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17937815362710581231noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7504554.post-86771192651554903342007-06-01T16:46:00.000-05:002007-06-01T17:17:55.330-05:00Stupid Knee!I ended up taking yesterday off... thanks to my knee. I'm not sure if it was the hard workout the day before. I sure do love the upper body workout with Yourself!Fitness... all those lunges are so beneficial for my upper body... Actually, I do love the upper body, as I do think it's a "complete" workout, doing all areas with the weight training. I just won't do the lunges, instead I switch the lower body section to my old post knee surgery rehab exercises.<br /><br />I think that it made my knee a little fatigued and I had some "plant and twist" issues yesterday. Today was fine, and Maya and I did our regular cardio workout (step bench and all). <br /><br />Matt has a big race tomorrow (Mt. Penn in Reading) and it's one I like to go to... it's so hard, that the field gets stretched out, so it's fairly interesting to watch. Plus he's a climber and loves the heat... so I'm hoping he has a good day. However, I can't go due to a class.<br /><br />It also mean that today is a light day for him workout wise (meaning just a 30 minute spin on the trainer). So I got on my bike and did it with him... so I snuck in an extra 30 minute work out today.<br /><br />Which is good... tomorrow is going to be a busy day and getting my workout in is going to be hard.Cindyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17937815362710581231noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7504554.post-43568240046264712202007-05-29T07:43:00.000-05:002007-05-29T07:56:48.546-05:00Ya, remember how I said it wasn't about the weight?Well, I did weigh myself this morning. And it's bad... very bad. While I'm trying to focus on just being more active and getting back into the routine of daily workouts, the weight is high enough to be a concern.<br /><br />It's not a "vanity" thing, but I know that extra weight has an impact on some of my health concerns, and I'm officially concerned. I know that my cholesterol is probably not good again and that does not make me happy... especially as I know that my hormones are changing. My health risks will sky rocket post menopause and I need to keep that cholesterol with in a healthy range.<br /><br />I'm only working with Yourself!Fitness for 30 minutes a day, and I'm still struggling a bit keeping up for that length of time. I, however, need more cardio than 30 minutes a day... so I'm going to have to do 2 a days... at least a couple of times a week.<br /><br />I'm also going to cheat by using a packaged diet meal plan. Part of me is completely rebelling against it... as I'm egotistic enough to want to do it on my own, but right now, I want to get rid of 5 lbs ASAP. So I'll give this a try. I need some positive reinforcement with this whole process... as I haven't been very sucessful lately.<br /><br />So hopefully a packaged meal plan and regular workouts will jumpstart me back to where I need to be... and that's ultimately the goal. Getting back on track!Cindyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17937815362710581231noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7504554.post-18264148263192126962007-05-24T08:18:00.000-05:002007-05-24T08:26:38.168-05:00Almost 2 Weeks LaterSo I've been back working with Yourself!Fitness and Maya has been kicking my butt.<br /><br />And dammit, I feel better. My mood is better, I feel more engergized (even tho', in fact I'm not... I'm actually quite physically tired).<br /><br />The thing that amazed me was how quickly I got over the New Soreness.. you know that really painful stiffness and soreness you get when you first start working out? Well, I had that, but only for the first two days and now I'm back to the general soreness that you get from regular workouts. The body remembers how to do this... even if you try to block all memory of it!<br /><br />Right now I'm not worrying about any weight loss at all. I've got to get past the "ideal weight goal" and remember why I'm doing this. My motivation <u>Can Not Be Weight Loss</u> only. I doom myself to failure, as I will hit an other plateau and get annoyed. <br /><br />I need to remember that being active is the goal. Eating healthy is the goal and I'm not even weighing myself. I'm setting up goals of "I'll workout this long this many times this week" and that's it.<br /><br />Right now it's enough, but I've got to start thinking about what I can do to keep myself on a schedule... working out on a regular basis... even when I get bored, tired or frustrated... that's always the problem.Cindyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17937815362710581231noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7504554.post-37739508626488935082007-05-20T09:37:00.000-05:002007-05-20T09:47:35.321-05:00What I've Been Up ToSo nothing since March, eh? That doesn't bode well does it.<br /><br />I have to say that the plateau finally beat me. I gave up. It was frustating me, putting me in a constant bad mood and I just couldn't keep myself motivated. Even as I knew weight was creeping back on, that I was back to a 10 lb gain and the "firmness" was disappearing, I just couldn't shake the feelings of uselessness at all the sacrifice.<br /><br />Then something odd happened... I didn't have my Xbox for a couple of weeks. We loaned it to a friend and I didn't think it was that big a deal. I was using my PS2 more for gaming and doing the occassional walk on the treadmill. All of a sudden, not having Maya available made me miss her... <br /><br />So my Xbox is back, and Maya and I have spent the week together. I continue to try to find an other workout that I can consistantly workout to, and it's always back with Maya. I do think I need a break from her occassionally, but as an overall workout that keeps me motivated, I just haven't found anything else.<br /><br />I also found out that a new Yourself!Fitness is expected for the next gen consoles for the upcoming holiday season. As is HALO 3... hmmm, maybe I will need to invest in a 360?<br /><br />Hopefully I'll be a little better at keeping this blog updated. While I do this blog for me (and keeping a diary of all my ups and downs has been very beneficial to me) it's still very encouraging to know other people are out there going thru the same thing!Cindyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17937815362710581231noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7504554.post-9596282473310860252007-03-08T16:23:00.000-05:002007-03-08T16:35:57.312-05:00Gotta Keep On Movin'So right now it's less about weight loss and more about simply moving!<br /><br />I realized that my soreness and achiness is from the fact that other than my specific almost daily (well, okay sometimes) workout, I sit on my ass and knit or play video games.<br /><br />That's a lot of time sitting on my ass.<br /><br />So in addition to my regular workout, I'm really concentrating on moving. I'm not even wearing my heart rate monitor for this. I'm just getting on the treadmill and walking for a lap (1/4 mile) 4 times a day. Spreading it out every couple of hours. Not at a fast pace (as a matter of fact, I can even knit when I do this). It's more about getting the legs in motion rather than just sitting.<br /><br />So while I'm hoping that it has some effect on my weight loss, right now I'm just trying to "feel better". Work out the kinks and soreness. Simply move. Hopefully this will lessen the soreness and I can up the level on my workout.Cindyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17937815362710581231noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7504554.post-28399959220629383772007-03-05T13:57:00.000-05:002007-03-05T14:02:53.231-05:00Hate is a strong wordSo I've hit that point: what do I hate more?<br /><br />Being fat or working out.<br /><br />When ya come right down to it, that's what it's all about. Quite frankly, it's not the same from day to day.<br /><br />However, the fat thing is getting to me. Not just the appearance thing, that's always irritating, but the physical things that come with it. The aches and pains, the effort to do things that shouldn't take effort.<br /><br />I'm having leg aches (too sedatary) and some lower back issues. So the question becomes which I hate more? Tired, achy and in pain from a sedatary life style that has the added bonus of clothes not fitting and low self confidence or the tired, achy and in pain life style that boosts self confidense and improves my physical appearance.<br /><br />Today the fat won out... and I did my workout. And I didn't hate it. Let's hope I can continue to hate the fat. 'Cause I know I'll never love the workout.Cindyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17937815362710581231noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7504554.post-45225353711095261082007-03-01T09:46:00.000-05:002007-03-01T09:57:51.124-05:00Haven't quite abandoned the blog yetTho' I must admit I'm feeling very discouraged right now.<br /><br />And not just about my weight.<br /><br />I have not had a lot of success in my life. I feel the more effort I put into something, the more disappointed I am when I fail. The weight loss has hit that point. <br /><br />I've been spending more time and effort on my general appearance. Things like make up, haircuts, non sweatpants types of things. In fact, this has completely backfired on me. I actually feel worse about my physical appearance because of it. <br /><br />I guess before I was putting in the effort, I could convince myself that was all I needed to do. Now that I've done it, and I don't look any better, I realize that the effort has no impact.<br /><br />Just like the weight loss. Sure, I can gain weight. No problem. However, the more effort I put into it, the less successful I am with with losing weight.<br /><br />So hard work doesn't always achieve good results. Something I learned a long time ago about a lot of things. <br /><br />I'm not sure what my next step is. All I know is that I'm so disappointed, and it's a vicious cycle. I simply can't get motivated to do anything more, yet it's probably the only way to have any kind of result.Cindyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17937815362710581231noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7504554.post-21864831857602687712007-01-11T12:46:00.000-05:002007-01-11T12:58:54.574-05:00Overdrawn!!!I've used the theory of calories in vs calories out for a while for my weight loss. I find the most sucessful way for me to lose (and maintain) weight is to treat it like my check book. I have a daily balance and I subtract how many calories I've eaten and how many calories I've burned thru exercise.<br /><br />Just like and check and balance system, if it's not properly tracked, it gets out of balance... and the tendency is to over spend. How come when you don't balance your checkbook, you don't save more money... it always works the other way, doesn't it?<br /><br />My weight loss is the same way. When I don't track it, I over spend (ie: over eat) and it gets out of whack.. and now I'm trying to balance the books again.<br /><br />Meaning back to the daily use of Fitday.<br /><br />It's not fun. No more so than balancing my checkbook is. But just as it's good for my financial health to balance the checkbook, balancing my diet and exercise is good for my overall health.<br /><br />I'm fortunate to have been using Fitday for a while now.. so most of my eating habits are already logged, I just have to remember to add them.<br /><br />While I've been keeping my proportions in check (mostly), my food choices haven't been great for a while... and the between meals snacking has increased. It shouldn't be too much of a change... and I've done this before... and I'll be doing it again. I know that I will always be fighting for a healthy weight. I'm not blessed with a great metabolism or a love for exercise. It will be a constant battle. Sometimes, that's the hardest part to wrap my brain around. <br /><br />It's very easy to get all gung ho about a healthier life style, to make the changes and the sacrifice. The problem is maintaining that enthusiasm. When the plateaus hit or after it's been a daily struggle day in and day out for over 7 years.<br /><br />Kudos to me for the success I've already acheived... but there are no laurels and there are no finish lines in this race. It's like the hampster on the wheel... you just keep going.<br /><br />(oh, and the knee is feeling better, and I'll be doing Yourself!Fitness today for the first time since I hurt it... fingers crossed there will be no problems!)Cindyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17937815362710581231noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7504554.post-28564416210716282452007-01-08T15:54:00.000-05:002007-01-08T16:02:45.847-05:00#@$@#$%##Ya, my actual swearing right now might be too intense for the average reader (unless of course you know me and know that I can swear like a truck driver with tourette's syndrome).<br /><br />I've been really concentrating on my workouts. Keeping to a pretty regular schedule, making a hard effort, avoiding the scale (and not back to using FitDay... yet). The usual stuff for me.<br /><br />I was all up for a Maya crush down (meaning a nice 1 hour cardio with with Yourself!Fitness), then disaster.<br /><br />We're having some serious weather weirdness, and the rain has finally become an issue with my knee. Plus I spent most of yesterday standing at my cutting table.<br /><br />I can't put any weight on my bum knee if it's bent. So things like standing up/sitting down/climbing stairs is extremely painful.<br /><br />I am not happy. I've just been getting into a groove, feeling that the workouts had been part of my daily routine, I was building up my endurance (ya, I'm still &%$#@ sore). I feel this happens to me a lot. So I guess I'm doing something wrong. Not warming up enough, not stretching enough, working too hard too fast. Something. Or maybe I just have a crappy knee!<br /><br />I'm hoping that I'll still be able to do the recumbant bike today. While it's a lot of knee movement, there's no weight on the bent knee... fingers crossed that I can at least do that. Then maybe I'll do some upper body weights or some ab work.Cindyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17937815362710581231noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7504554.post-87698420269987652932007-01-03T10:19:00.000-05:002007-01-03T10:33:56.677-05:00Ya An Other Year... and the struggles continue onOver the last 6 months, I've let myself go. I haven't been focused on either my eating habits or my exercise. Result? A 12 lb weight gain.<br /><br />I'm trying not to let it depress me, but it's that time of year. Winter looms long and dreary and sunshine seems to be at a minimum.<br /><br />I've been working with Maya consistantly for the last week. I'm so freakin' sore it's not even funny. I still can't seem to completely make the commitment, especially with food. I'm already so uncomfortable with how sore I am, the idea of being hungry just isn't appealing. The ONLY way I lose weight is to workout "hard" 6 days a week for an hour and eat 1200 calories a day. That takes a considerable amount of willpower.<br /><br />So I'll keep trying. I'll do my workouts. Try to workout hard and keep an eye on my calories.<br /><br />I think part of the struggle is that I lack a support structure. Weight loss/exercise is hard. It's easy to become competitive with it, so it's hard to find the right kind of support. Matt's always been very good, but he's so focused on his own and doesn't want to "judge" me that he's not always the best motivation. The online groups can be a little too "this is how you must do it", offering more advice than support.<br /><br />So I'll struggle along on my own. Ultimately I'm the one responsible anyway and I have to do it for me and for my reasons and in my own way.Cindyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17937815362710581231noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7504554.post-82850628569577279332006-12-15T14:47:00.000-05:002006-12-15T15:39:13.849-05:00Gym?I'm not particularly fond of working out at a gym. There's a lot of reasons for this. I have to physically go there, and that's just more time given to a workout that I don't want to do. I have to wear "safe in public" clothes (working out at home allows me to stuff myself into old ratty holey workout clothes). There's a whole workout etiquette you have to deal with when you work out at a gym.<br /><br />So we went and joined the YMCA today. Mostly for Matt. He can't ride his bike right now due to an over use injury in his calf. He also can't run (which he hates doing anyway) so it's off to swim. We bought him some trunks (um, just as an FYI: the long biker short style swim trunks are not made for bikers, btw. He has "thigh" issues... when the guy that owns the store says, "you have really large thighs" and pulled out larger shorts to fit him, I'm guessing Matt has really large thighs... heehee).<br /><br />I'm not sure why, but joining the gym and looking around depressed me. I mean it's the Y, so it's not like a meat market style gym. There was a wide variety of people using the gym (tho' traffic was light.. mid morning on a Friday seems to be a good time to workout). I'm not sure why it put me in a bad mood. Am I intimidated? Am I self conscious? Do I recognize how much work losing the next batch of weight is going to be?<br /><br />When Matt first starting biking, he rode by himself. He lost weight and got strong. He thought he was fast. Then he started doing a training ride run by some local racers and got his ass spanked! He worked harder, trained harder and got stronger and now he's a racer, too.<br /><br />I think that's part of my fear. I know I've been working hard, but I also know that I'm not working hard enough. Going to a gym around other people would force me to be honest with myself on how hard I'm actually working. Not a fun prospect.Cindyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17937815362710581231noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7504554.post-1164984294919869862006-12-01T09:25:00.000-05:002006-12-01T12:20:53.073-05:00Flipping Off Uno'sMatt and I don't eat out much anymore. For several reasons. Since I don't work, it's really my only "job" as a "housewife" (but I spend most of my time knitting or playing video games. Vacuuming? ya, whatever). The least I can do is cook once a day.<br /><br />The main reason we stopped eating out (apart from the obvious cost thing) is the control thing. It's soooo much easier to prepare our meals and control what we're eating. I've learned over the years how to make some of our favorites in a healthier way. When we eat out, we have no control on how it's prepared and I really struggle making "healthy" choices when I'm handed a menu.<br /><br />So when we eat out now, I don't worry too much about what I'm choosing since it's not a common accurance. One of the places that we'll go occassionally is Uno's. We split a salad, a pizza and dessert. The main reason we like Uno's is the Chocolate Peanut Butter Cup dessert. It's soooo yummy. We split it, so figure that cuts the calorie content in half and not too bad a treat.<br /><br />Well while discussing it with a <a href="http://www.javagirlknits.blogspot.com/">friend</a>, I decided to look at the <a href="http://www.unos.com/kiosk/nutritionUnos.html">Nutritional Information</a> (the best weapon in weight control). Ya, we won't be eating it again. Ever. <br /><br />So the dessert serves 2, so we weren't cutting the calories in half afteral... it was already proportioned for two people. Then look at the calories and fat PER SERVING!!!<br /><br />Calories: 920 calories<br />Fat: 66 g (26 saturated)<br />Calories from fat: 590<br /><br />For half of what's on the plate. So if you ate the whole thing? 1840 calories. 132 grams of fat.<br /><br />Now I really respect Uno's for putting that information out there. Unlike some resturants, who refuse to give you the nutritional information (hmmmm, what are they hiding?). EDIT NOTE: Huh, I just went to Houlihan's website. They've changed it. They used to have a disclaimer that said that since their food was "handmade" they couldn't give nutritional information on it. Now they don't even have any reference to it at all (with a very very annoying website).<br /><br />So I thank Uno for letting me look at the nutritional information. I'll chose the apple dessert, which isn't nearly that bad knowing what I know. As much as I enjoyed the chocolate peanut butter cup dessert, I know that there's no way I can justify my entired day's calories into one food.<br /><br />And yes, I did flip the resturant off when I drove by the other day. How dare they make something so yummy, yet so not worth eating?Cindyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17937815362710581231noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7504554.post-1164903768644154902006-11-30T11:16:00.000-05:002006-11-30T11:22:48.670-05:00Running Sucksoh, wait, wasn't that the title of my last post???<br /><br />Ya, so anyway. What's up? Weigh In? Was yesterday Wednesday? Oh, thanks for reminding me...<br /><br />Let's say that I'm at 162 lbs and I'm not really concentrating on that. I'm trying to stay positive, keep motivated and workout.<br /><br />I'm trying to run on alternate days with a walk warm up followed by weight training on the non running days.<br /><br />Ya, squats with weights sure do take a toll on ya. Then two days later, when I tried to run (that would be today), my legs still felt like jelly. So a nice brisk walk with super pump arm action it was!<br /><br />I'm basically in a damage control mode right now. Not yet in the panic, OMG I've gain 10 lbs! mode. I just hope that with some concentration and some hard work I can get back on track.Cindyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17937815362710581231noreply@blogger.com