Well, I just did my second workout with the Eye Toy: Kinetics and things are looking better, but I'm still not in love.
First, I had to move the camera (our new DVR keeps freezing and we have to reboot which means I have to move the camera) and I got a better position in the room. More of the suggested 5' distance than the 8-9' that I had to do with the first workout. As a matter of fact, I kept move closer to reach the ends of the screen.
I also discovered how to set up a program. So I feel better about that. Yes, I know there is a manual... but who actually reads the manuals that come with games??? (I mean, isn't that what www.gamefaqs.com is for?). So we'll do the suggested workouts for 12 week... if my knee can take it.
The bent leg/twisted movements isn't very good. The quick dodging might be good for the cardio, but not so good on the knees. It's the dodging games that are an issue.
The warmups and cool downs are hands down better than Yourself!Fitness. A much better stretching routine. I didn't do the strength workouts yet. We'll give that a try tomorrow.
I'm not sure how to feel about the grading system. I think with some it will motivate, but with others it will discourage. I think that for the type of person who is goal oriented, it's a great motivator. However, there are a lot of people that will give up because they didn't score well, or they don't see improvement. Yourself!Fitness is much better in that department. It's always encouraging, non-judgemental. Maya only reprimands if you miss a workout. She is always positive in her comments (unless you miss a workout). So it's very different motivational strategies. I'm more likely to success if I'm encouraged. I will get frustrated and give up if I don't see get better "grades".
So each program has it's plusses and minuses and that's to be expected. I still think the workout with Kinetics is a bit short, but that might be because I'm starting as a "beginner".
My best bet for right now? Use them in combo. I'll switch days with each program.
Look for the return of Weigh In Wednesday next week (and we'll see the damage of the last 4 slacker months + the holidays). I'll be setting up a table for better tracking, too.
I'll also set up some goals for 2006.
Friday, December 30, 2005
Wednesday, December 28, 2005
Eye Toy
The Eye Toy: Kinetics showed up yesterday. I'm waiting to pass judgement until I do a little more with it.
First impressions: the eye toy pretty much sucks. I spent a lot of time getting it set up and I don't have a lot of space to work out. I guess they assume that people have huge rooms to workout in. I'm as far back as my space allows and I've already run into issues with it.
I played a little with it last night and I did an actual workout today. So far I'm still in the "eh" stage. I'm not really sure I'm going to get the kind of workout I'm looking for with it.
I'm already seeing where it's going to bother my knees. There's a lot of kicking, and at weird angles. Not good for me. Going into deep squats while trying to dodge things doesn't feel comfortable on my knee and I'm not sure how practical using this is going to be. Since there's a "score" involved, I can't just modify the exercise like I do with Yourself!Fitness.
I do like having my image on the screen to compare my movements with the instructor, but right now that's really the only thing that I'm excited about.
Either I'm not doing the workouts right, or they're really short. I don't seem to get any suggestions for what to do or for how long. The combat was very short (and fairly intense), but again, for a weight loss program, that ain't gonna cut it. Since I'm still figuring out the game, I'll have to see if I set it up properly or if there was more to the workout and I just missed it?
This might be an Xbox vs. PS2 for me... what ever game I'm playing on that system might be the program that I end up using (and I'm playing Star Wars Republic Commando right now on the Xbox).
We'll see how it goes. I'm not fond of passing judgement until I've used it more. Right now I'm just thinking that the 2 biggest drawbacks are going to discourage me from using it (space and knee issues).
First impressions: the eye toy pretty much sucks. I spent a lot of time getting it set up and I don't have a lot of space to work out. I guess they assume that people have huge rooms to workout in. I'm as far back as my space allows and I've already run into issues with it.
I played a little with it last night and I did an actual workout today. So far I'm still in the "eh" stage. I'm not really sure I'm going to get the kind of workout I'm looking for with it.
I'm already seeing where it's going to bother my knees. There's a lot of kicking, and at weird angles. Not good for me. Going into deep squats while trying to dodge things doesn't feel comfortable on my knee and I'm not sure how practical using this is going to be. Since there's a "score" involved, I can't just modify the exercise like I do with Yourself!Fitness.
I do like having my image on the screen to compare my movements with the instructor, but right now that's really the only thing that I'm excited about.
Either I'm not doing the workouts right, or they're really short. I don't seem to get any suggestions for what to do or for how long. The combat was very short (and fairly intense), but again, for a weight loss program, that ain't gonna cut it. Since I'm still figuring out the game, I'll have to see if I set it up properly or if there was more to the workout and I just missed it?
This might be an Xbox vs. PS2 for me... what ever game I'm playing on that system might be the program that I end up using (and I'm playing Star Wars Republic Commando right now on the Xbox).
We'll see how it goes. I'm not fond of passing judgement until I've used it more. Right now I'm just thinking that the 2 biggest drawbacks are going to discourage me from using it (space and knee issues).
Tuesday, December 27, 2005
Tools
Last year I got a new heart rate monitor for Christmas. It's pretty spiffy. It has a zone feature (giving a warning if I drop below or go above my target heart rate). It also can track my calorie burn. It knows how much I weigh and my height and how hard I'm working, so it's a pretty good estimate to how many calories I burn during a workout.
I'm not fond of wearing it. I don't wear a watch and I find it annoying when I'm working out... and it's freakin' cold to put that strap around my ribs this time of year. So I got lazy as the year progressed and stopped wearing it.
Tools are important. The heart rate monitor is a handy one, and for many reasons. Since I'm a big believer in a calories in vs. calories out system for weight loss (eating a healthy balanced diet), knowing how many calories I'm eating and how many I'm burning is fairly important.
However, there's the mental aspect of wearing the HRM that I forgot about. Things like: how hard burning 200 calories is. That even if I'm tired, when I look down and see I've only burned 60 calories, I know that I can't stop. It keeps me working out, even when I don't want to.
It even has benefits when I'm not working out or wearing it. I look at my food choices a lot differently. It's that tangible number that stitcks in your head. Is that cookie really worth it? I know that it will take me 20 minutes to burn off the calories of that one cookie. I evaluate my choices a lot more when I exercise with it, that's for sure.
I definitely got lazy with my workouts and my food choices as the year progressed. I baked this year, which I haven't done for a while. I enjoyed the junk and the exercise break, but I am paying for it. I've lost some muscle definition in my arms and my weight has creeped back up.
I'm still waiting for my Eye Toy: Kinetics to show up, so I'm still working out with Maya. She still challenges me more than the treadmill or stationary bike does. I just need a way to warm up those sensors on the HRM!!!
I'm not fond of wearing it. I don't wear a watch and I find it annoying when I'm working out... and it's freakin' cold to put that strap around my ribs this time of year. So I got lazy as the year progressed and stopped wearing it.
Tools are important. The heart rate monitor is a handy one, and for many reasons. Since I'm a big believer in a calories in vs. calories out system for weight loss (eating a healthy balanced diet), knowing how many calories I'm eating and how many I'm burning is fairly important.
However, there's the mental aspect of wearing the HRM that I forgot about. Things like: how hard burning 200 calories is. That even if I'm tired, when I look down and see I've only burned 60 calories, I know that I can't stop. It keeps me working out, even when I don't want to.
It even has benefits when I'm not working out or wearing it. I look at my food choices a lot differently. It's that tangible number that stitcks in your head. Is that cookie really worth it? I know that it will take me 20 minutes to burn off the calories of that one cookie. I evaluate my choices a lot more when I exercise with it, that's for sure.
I definitely got lazy with my workouts and my food choices as the year progressed. I baked this year, which I haven't done for a while. I enjoyed the junk and the exercise break, but I am paying for it. I've lost some muscle definition in my arms and my weight has creeped back up.
I'm still waiting for my Eye Toy: Kinetics to show up, so I'm still working out with Maya. She still challenges me more than the treadmill or stationary bike does. I just need a way to warm up those sensors on the HRM!!!
Wednesday, December 21, 2005
New Toy
Well, I stumbled across a new "game" for working out. Nike has published a PS2 game using the Eye Toy, called Eye Toy: Kinetic. So I ordered it and I'll give it a try.
I'm very disappointed that respondesign has not made a single comment about an update or expansion pack or anything about Yourself!Fitness. It's a continual question on the forum, yet they never bother responding. I'm assuming no news is bad news in a situation like this. I simply can't continue waiting to hear if something is going to be released, and it's very obvious that nothing is coming soon. I loved working with the program and I felt I got a good workout. However, it was too easy to unlock all the environments and music, and after hundreds of workouts (I lost count after 300, as my Xbox died and I had to start over), the program has become tedious. No new music, no new steps, no new environments. The "no two workouts are the same" feature really isn't true for me anymore. It's become very repiticious and I've run out of ways to try to make it more interesting... (the short multiple 15 minute workouts running thru each "concentration", the close your eyes and pick an environment so you'll be surprised, the changing the arm movements to an exercise just for a change up).
I always thought that Yourself Fitness was a great first attempt at this type of program, but there was a lot of room for improvement. For example: you really shouldn't use the program everyday. She has you do the same weight baring exercises every single day, even tho' common practice is to rest a muscle group at least 48 hours. The amount of lunges in the program is completely unbalanced (again, to have them every workout is not a good idea. If Maya can keep track of my workouts and knows if I missed a day, then she should know that I worked out the day before and shouldn't have me do the same weight exercises two days in a row).
The weight loss concentration spends too much time on weight training, and not enough on cardio. To lose weight the idea is to burn more calories than eating. While weight training is an important part of weight loss, it shouldn't be 63% of my workout. It should be the other way around. In a one hour workout, 40 minutes of cardio, followed by 20 minutes of weight training makes more sense than only 20 minutes of cardio followed by 40 minutes of weight training. Here's what Maya suggestion for me to lose 30 lbs:
5 days a week, 45 minutes:
Now, as you can see, it's actually a balance workout (except for the amount of lunges) and I still think that there's a lot to be said for the workout. However, I don't think it's enough for weight loss. You'll also notice that Maya actually never had me do a weight loss concentration workout. I think the workout is great as a start, but as a person develops their cardio capacity, they need more cardio to lose weight than this program suggests.
I don't want to discourage anyone from using the program, as I think there are a lot of really great things about it, but I wouldn't let it be my only workout, as I had done for a year. It's just not enough if you're trying to shed those last 30 lbs. I think it's more geared to people who do other cardio work and are looking to add a strength training routine to their regimen, because I just don't think the program is designed to be used every day (notice the lunges keep popping into conversation around here).
So I'll give the EyeToy: Kinetics a try. I'm not sure it's gonna be my taste. They've incorporated more "gaming" into it (typical eyetoy stuff... you have to punch and kick things) and you're actually scored on if you do it right. eh. We'll see.
I'm very disappointed that respondesign has not made a single comment about an update or expansion pack or anything about Yourself!Fitness. It's a continual question on the forum, yet they never bother responding. I'm assuming no news is bad news in a situation like this. I simply can't continue waiting to hear if something is going to be released, and it's very obvious that nothing is coming soon. I loved working with the program and I felt I got a good workout. However, it was too easy to unlock all the environments and music, and after hundreds of workouts (I lost count after 300, as my Xbox died and I had to start over), the program has become tedious. No new music, no new steps, no new environments. The "no two workouts are the same" feature really isn't true for me anymore. It's become very repiticious and I've run out of ways to try to make it more interesting... (the short multiple 15 minute workouts running thru each "concentration", the close your eyes and pick an environment so you'll be surprised, the changing the arm movements to an exercise just for a change up).
I always thought that Yourself Fitness was a great first attempt at this type of program, but there was a lot of room for improvement. For example: you really shouldn't use the program everyday. She has you do the same weight baring exercises every single day, even tho' common practice is to rest a muscle group at least 48 hours. The amount of lunges in the program is completely unbalanced (again, to have them every workout is not a good idea. If Maya can keep track of my workouts and knows if I missed a day, then she should know that I worked out the day before and shouldn't have me do the same weight exercises two days in a row).
The weight loss concentration spends too much time on weight training, and not enough on cardio. To lose weight the idea is to burn more calories than eating. While weight training is an important part of weight loss, it shouldn't be 63% of my workout. It should be the other way around. In a one hour workout, 40 minutes of cardio, followed by 20 minutes of weight training makes more sense than only 20 minutes of cardio followed by 40 minutes of weight training. Here's what Maya suggestion for me to lose 30 lbs:
5 days a week, 45 minutes:
- Monday: cardio this is the only workout that I got a larger volume of cardio compared to weights. It's a 30 minute cardio with a 15 minute general weights... Usually a lot of lunges
- Tuesday: upper body 15 minutes cardio followed by a 30 minute weight training workout (that always included lunges)
- Wednesday: core body 15 minutes cardio followed by 30 minutes of core exercises, but always included was some lunge exercises
- Thursday: day off
- Friday: lower body 15 minutes cardio followed by 30 minutes of lunges. That is not an exaggeration. Most of my lower body workouts where just different lunge exercises
- Saturday: flexibility 15 minutes of cardio followed by pilates and yoga styled strength training exercises... and yes, that does include some lunges
- Sunday: day off
Now, as you can see, it's actually a balance workout (except for the amount of lunges) and I still think that there's a lot to be said for the workout. However, I don't think it's enough for weight loss. You'll also notice that Maya actually never had me do a weight loss concentration workout. I think the workout is great as a start, but as a person develops their cardio capacity, they need more cardio to lose weight than this program suggests.
I don't want to discourage anyone from using the program, as I think there are a lot of really great things about it, but I wouldn't let it be my only workout, as I had done for a year. It's just not enough if you're trying to shed those last 30 lbs. I think it's more geared to people who do other cardio work and are looking to add a strength training routine to their regimen, because I just don't think the program is designed to be used every day (notice the lunges keep popping into conversation around here).
So I'll give the EyeToy: Kinetics a try. I'm not sure it's gonna be my taste. They've incorporated more "gaming" into it (typical eyetoy stuff... you have to punch and kick things) and you're actually scored on if you do it right. eh. We'll see.
Tuesday, December 20, 2005
Challenges
I know that my postings have been a lot more sporatic lately and part of that is guilt that I'm not doing much. I'm still getting a workout here and there, but it may only be 20 minutes, low effort and there's a part of me that feels very guilty about that.
Back when I started using Yourself!Fitness over a year ago, I was so excited. Well, okay, not at first. At first I struggled to get thru the workouts. I couldn't keep up, even on a low difficulty. I didn't understand the steps. I spent a lot of time crying in frustration and even embarrassment. However, I stuck it out, I felt stronger, I understood the steps and I saw a significant improvement. I had a wonderful sense of accomplishment each day as the steps clicked and the workouts became stronger.
It was such a great improvement that I think I set myself up for unrealistic goals. I thought that if I stuck with the program and pushed myself harder I would continue to see results and I would look great, feel great and be super healthy.
Well, none of those things really happened. I stopped losing weight. Hey, that happens. You don't do this for 8 years without realizing that weight comes off in stages. I figured I just needed to push myself a little harder. That didn't work. Not only didn't the weight come off, but I tweeked my knee. Yes, I did get healthier. Those pounds I did shed are always good and I was able to drop my blood pressure and my cholesterol into the healthy range (with room for improvement). However, I'm still a good 30 lbs overweight. I still have a lot of wobbley bits.
I must admit, I sorta gave up. I was tired of the process. I still try to keep the eating in check, I still try to get some kind of physical activity, but even that slowly started being less and less... and then I was hardly doing anything.
I've lost site of a goal. My health goals have been met (and yes, I need to continue with the lifestyle to keep those goals). I caught on to Maya's workout, but I couldn't increase the intesity without causing injury, so I couldn't push myself to any more goals with her. She became boring when I realized that I had maxed out to my ability.
Now I'm starting to slide backwords. I dream of an active and healthy lifestyle, but I just don't have the discipline to implement it for any length of time. Which is why I've been doing this for 8 years. I get motivated, work hard, lose weight, get bored, slowly allow bad habits to creep back until I hit an other point where I must do something. sigh.
So as we turn to the new year and knowing the gyms will be full of people with good intensions I ask myself how can I do more than just do this in these little spurts, but make them a part of my life from more the 8 or 9 months at a time?
Back when I started using Yourself!Fitness over a year ago, I was so excited. Well, okay, not at first. At first I struggled to get thru the workouts. I couldn't keep up, even on a low difficulty. I didn't understand the steps. I spent a lot of time crying in frustration and even embarrassment. However, I stuck it out, I felt stronger, I understood the steps and I saw a significant improvement. I had a wonderful sense of accomplishment each day as the steps clicked and the workouts became stronger.
It was such a great improvement that I think I set myself up for unrealistic goals. I thought that if I stuck with the program and pushed myself harder I would continue to see results and I would look great, feel great and be super healthy.
Well, none of those things really happened. I stopped losing weight. Hey, that happens. You don't do this for 8 years without realizing that weight comes off in stages. I figured I just needed to push myself a little harder. That didn't work. Not only didn't the weight come off, but I tweeked my knee. Yes, I did get healthier. Those pounds I did shed are always good and I was able to drop my blood pressure and my cholesterol into the healthy range (with room for improvement). However, I'm still a good 30 lbs overweight. I still have a lot of wobbley bits.
I must admit, I sorta gave up. I was tired of the process. I still try to keep the eating in check, I still try to get some kind of physical activity, but even that slowly started being less and less... and then I was hardly doing anything.
I've lost site of a goal. My health goals have been met (and yes, I need to continue with the lifestyle to keep those goals). I caught on to Maya's workout, but I couldn't increase the intesity without causing injury, so I couldn't push myself to any more goals with her. She became boring when I realized that I had maxed out to my ability.
Now I'm starting to slide backwords. I dream of an active and healthy lifestyle, but I just don't have the discipline to implement it for any length of time. Which is why I've been doing this for 8 years. I get motivated, work hard, lose weight, get bored, slowly allow bad habits to creep back until I hit an other point where I must do something. sigh.
So as we turn to the new year and knowing the gyms will be full of people with good intensions I ask myself how can I do more than just do this in these little spurts, but make them a part of my life from more the 8 or 9 months at a time?
Monday, November 28, 2005
Back on Track
Well, it seems that motivation has returned and I'm getting back into the daily routine of a workout.
I think I just needed a break from constantly focusing on my weight and exercise. Talking to some online friends and complete strangers at a charity dinner has sparked me again to make an other push.
I think hearing other people struggle helps. It sometimes feels like I'm the only person in the world that has to deal with this, but there are other people out there that are dealing with the daily struggle of fitting in a workout, making the right food choices and trying to balance it all out in their day to day life (it's just not the people I see at the grocery store...).
So a 45 minutes Cardio workout with Maya today (and I'm definitely feeling the non workouts for the last couple of months... my arms are killing me).
I still think scare tactics work best with me. Either thru health (that whole cholesterol thing really worked) or how I physically look. I remember the silk skirt I made for a cruise that didn't fit... back when I had 48" hips. I also just went and looked at the pre workout photos. It's always a wake up call. If I don't take care of myself, I'll look like that again.
So here I am, in the biggest glutony season and it's all the more reason I need to keep the exercise habit going. If I want all the fun and fabulous foods (with in reason, of course) I need to work off the extra calories.
So I'll keep an eye on how much I'm eating, keeping to a balance diet while watching the portion controls and making sure I stay active. Basically, that's how I live my life...
I think I just needed a break from constantly focusing on my weight and exercise. Talking to some online friends and complete strangers at a charity dinner has sparked me again to make an other push.
I think hearing other people struggle helps. It sometimes feels like I'm the only person in the world that has to deal with this, but there are other people out there that are dealing with the daily struggle of fitting in a workout, making the right food choices and trying to balance it all out in their day to day life (it's just not the people I see at the grocery store...).
So a 45 minutes Cardio workout with Maya today (and I'm definitely feeling the non workouts for the last couple of months... my arms are killing me).
I still think scare tactics work best with me. Either thru health (that whole cholesterol thing really worked) or how I physically look. I remember the silk skirt I made for a cruise that didn't fit... back when I had 48" hips. I also just went and looked at the pre workout photos. It's always a wake up call. If I don't take care of myself, I'll look like that again.
So here I am, in the biggest glutony season and it's all the more reason I need to keep the exercise habit going. If I want all the fun and fabulous foods (with in reason, of course) I need to work off the extra calories.
So I'll keep an eye on how much I'm eating, keeping to a balance diet while watching the portion controls and making sure I stay active. Basically, that's how I live my life...
Saturday, November 26, 2005
Motivation, or the Lack Thereof
So no posting is a good indication that I'm still just not motivated. I am working on it.
I've had a couple of conversations lately with people about weight loss, exercise and diet. This always helps me think about what I'm doing (or more specifically, not doing).
I know what needs to be done, but staying motivated is really really hard for me. I do not have a great attention span. I get bored easily and when I'm interested in doing something, that's all I want to do.
Lately that's been the Sly Cooper series and my knitting. The workouts have suffered. Suffered big time. Like I'm not doing any at all. I think in the last 4 weeks I've workout with Maya once and I did 20 minutes on the treadmill. Yep, that's it.
I've been asking myself what I need to do to motivate myself. Basically, I just need to do it. No excuses! So I got up, put my workout clothes on and did a 45 minute workout with Maya. I'll be paying for it tomorrow (it was upper body and my triceps are killing me now... can't imagine what they'll be like tomorrow).
The problem that I have is that once I stop working out, it's hard for me to get back on schedule. I had some severe pain in my knee a while ago and thought it would be a good idea to take a little break. Well, it's become a long break and I just can't get myself back to my daily workouts.
However, I still want to lose 5lbs before the end of the year. That's 5lbs in 4 weeks. I know I can do it, but I need to stay motivated, work harder and pay attention to what (and how much) I'm eating.
So no more excuses. If Matt can work on taking 3 minutes of his time trial time, then I can lose 5 lbs!
I've had a couple of conversations lately with people about weight loss, exercise and diet. This always helps me think about what I'm doing (or more specifically, not doing).
I know what needs to be done, but staying motivated is really really hard for me. I do not have a great attention span. I get bored easily and when I'm interested in doing something, that's all I want to do.
Lately that's been the Sly Cooper series and my knitting. The workouts have suffered. Suffered big time. Like I'm not doing any at all. I think in the last 4 weeks I've workout with Maya once and I did 20 minutes on the treadmill. Yep, that's it.
I've been asking myself what I need to do to motivate myself. Basically, I just need to do it. No excuses! So I got up, put my workout clothes on and did a 45 minute workout with Maya. I'll be paying for it tomorrow (it was upper body and my triceps are killing me now... can't imagine what they'll be like tomorrow).
The problem that I have is that once I stop working out, it's hard for me to get back on schedule. I had some severe pain in my knee a while ago and thought it would be a good idea to take a little break. Well, it's become a long break and I just can't get myself back to my daily workouts.
However, I still want to lose 5lbs before the end of the year. That's 5lbs in 4 weeks. I know I can do it, but I need to stay motivated, work harder and pay attention to what (and how much) I'm eating.
So no more excuses. If Matt can work on taking 3 minutes of his time trial time, then I can lose 5 lbs!
Monday, November 07, 2005
Drawbacks Of Weight Loss That Nobody Tells You
So today is my wedding anniversary. Which means that Matt and I will enjoy a romantice dinner out (which for me means someone else gets to do the dishes.. woo-hoo)
Back when we went on our Alaskan cruise, I bought the perfect black skirt (on sale, I might add). It was longish (hit me between the calf and ankle) and in a nice knit. Had a great drape. The thing that made it perfect? Well, the top I wore with it made it dressy or casual. I could wear it with a twin set for a stylish casual dinner or with a dressy top and heels for a dressy outfit. It was comfortable, packed well and was flattering on.
Sadly, it no longer fits me. I've lost 25 lbs since I bought it. While losing the weight is fabulous, I'm mourning the loss of a perfect skirt. I know that that kind of clothing is rare to find and I will forever try to find an other and I know I ever will (as that always happens when you find the perfect piece of clothing).
So here I am with my limited wardrobe. Having lost 60 lbs with an other 30 to go, I only bought what I've needed as I've lost weight. Now I have the dilemma of what to wear tonight. We will be going to a nice resturant, so I don't want to wear too casual clothes, but I'm at a loss what I have in my closet that will fit and be the right level of "dress".
So a moment of silance for the loss of a perfect black skirt. We will miss you, but the sacrafice is necessary in the process of the goal.
Back when we went on our Alaskan cruise, I bought the perfect black skirt (on sale, I might add). It was longish (hit me between the calf and ankle) and in a nice knit. Had a great drape. The thing that made it perfect? Well, the top I wore with it made it dressy or casual. I could wear it with a twin set for a stylish casual dinner or with a dressy top and heels for a dressy outfit. It was comfortable, packed well and was flattering on.
Sadly, it no longer fits me. I've lost 25 lbs since I bought it. While losing the weight is fabulous, I'm mourning the loss of a perfect skirt. I know that that kind of clothing is rare to find and I will forever try to find an other and I know I ever will (as that always happens when you find the perfect piece of clothing).
So here I am with my limited wardrobe. Having lost 60 lbs with an other 30 to go, I only bought what I've needed as I've lost weight. Now I have the dilemma of what to wear tonight. We will be going to a nice resturant, so I don't want to wear too casual clothes, but I'm at a loss what I have in my closet that will fit and be the right level of "dress".
So a moment of silance for the loss of a perfect black skirt. We will miss you, but the sacrafice is necessary in the process of the goal.
Sunday, November 06, 2005
Frustrating!!!
So I do think taking a month "off" was an excellent idea. I only worked out a couple of days a week and I watched what I ate, but wasn't militant (hmmmm, cookies at Stitch n Bitch and the extremely dangerous baked Cheetos and let's not forget the really yummy chocolate covered pretzel ice cream from Turkey Hill. That stuff should be illegal).
Part of me knew that taking time off and cutting down significantly on my exercise would be detrimental and that I was risking a weight gain.
So I knew it was time to get on the scale again. It can actually be very motivating for me to see a gain, so I was prepared for a 3-4 pound weight gain.
However, that's not what it was... so guess what kind of weight gain I had. I mean I barely worked out the last month, and when I did workout, it was for maybe only 30 minutes or so. My eating habits, while close to my "usual" eating habits, did have a lot more junk than usual.
That's right, I weighed in at 155 lbs. That's actually right around where I normally am (I've been flucuating between 154 to 155 lbs since January). All the hard work I put in this year for no loss and then I relax and there's really no difference?
It's actually very frustrating. You're told that if you work hard and eat right the weight will come off. I worked hard and I ate right and I didn't lose weight in 9 months. I decided that I needed a mental break from worrying so much about it, prepared myself for a set back and it didn't come. Argh.
Now while not gaining a lot of weight is a positive, it's very frustrating to me. What the hell do I need to do to lose weight? I'm thinking the break might have been it.
Well, I think the break was necessary. I think my body just lets go of weight in small increments and needs to get used to maintaining a weight before it starts allowing me to burn off more. Maybe this little break will help me kick up my metabolism again. Shock it back into a weight loss cycle again.
I'm also going to focus on a lot more variety this time. While I still think I get the best workout with Maya, I don't think she's good to use every day. The fact that she does the same weight training exercises EVERY day is actually not good. The squat/lunge combo in every single workout isn't good. She needs to take a break from strength training exercises. While I think it's great that she offers a complete workout, she really should only be used every other day to allow the muscles to recover from her weight training exercises. So that's what I'm going to do. Maya will be done on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. Alternate days will be a treadmill or stationary bike workout with no weights at all. If I decide to do an aerobic workout, I'll use Maya, but only the cardio segment (I'll shut her down when she gets to the weights). I'm also going to be sure to take one day off a week.
Yesterday's workout: 45 minutes (well, actually 50 minutes as Maya thinks when you select 45 minutes you actually really want a 50 minutes workout) of the upper body workout with Yourself!Fitness
Today's workout: 2 miles on the treadmill at a brisk pace (for my short legs, that's about 3.0 mph), level surface.
Part of me knew that taking time off and cutting down significantly on my exercise would be detrimental and that I was risking a weight gain.
So I knew it was time to get on the scale again. It can actually be very motivating for me to see a gain, so I was prepared for a 3-4 pound weight gain.
However, that's not what it was... so guess what kind of weight gain I had. I mean I barely worked out the last month, and when I did workout, it was for maybe only 30 minutes or so. My eating habits, while close to my "usual" eating habits, did have a lot more junk than usual.
That's right, I weighed in at 155 lbs. That's actually right around where I normally am (I've been flucuating between 154 to 155 lbs since January). All the hard work I put in this year for no loss and then I relax and there's really no difference?
It's actually very frustrating. You're told that if you work hard and eat right the weight will come off. I worked hard and I ate right and I didn't lose weight in 9 months. I decided that I needed a mental break from worrying so much about it, prepared myself for a set back and it didn't come. Argh.
Now while not gaining a lot of weight is a positive, it's very frustrating to me. What the hell do I need to do to lose weight? I'm thinking the break might have been it.
Well, I think the break was necessary. I think my body just lets go of weight in small increments and needs to get used to maintaining a weight before it starts allowing me to burn off more. Maybe this little break will help me kick up my metabolism again. Shock it back into a weight loss cycle again.
I'm also going to focus on a lot more variety this time. While I still think I get the best workout with Maya, I don't think she's good to use every day. The fact that she does the same weight training exercises EVERY day is actually not good. The squat/lunge combo in every single workout isn't good. She needs to take a break from strength training exercises. While I think it's great that she offers a complete workout, she really should only be used every other day to allow the muscles to recover from her weight training exercises. So that's what I'm going to do. Maya will be done on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. Alternate days will be a treadmill or stationary bike workout with no weights at all. If I decide to do an aerobic workout, I'll use Maya, but only the cardio segment (I'll shut her down when she gets to the weights). I'm also going to be sure to take one day off a week.
Yesterday's workout: 45 minutes (well, actually 50 minutes as Maya thinks when you select 45 minutes you actually really want a 50 minutes workout) of the upper body workout with Yourself!Fitness
Today's workout: 2 miles on the treadmill at a brisk pace (for my short legs, that's about 3.0 mph), level surface.
Thursday, November 03, 2005
Time Out, Time In
I decided that I needed a break from my weight loss goals. It's been such a major focus on my life in so many ways (including this blog) that I was getting burned out.
I will say that I spent the last month "relaxing". Less effort and time was put into the whole weight loss process. I didn't workout every day (and I'm still not, but I'm going to start concentrating on that again) and I wasn't as focused on my calories in vs. calories out.
I do recognize that my eating habits have changed. Even with a relaxed attitude, I still keep an eye on what and how much I'm eating. So yes, the eating hasn't been meticulous, but I still think we eat a very balance, healthy diet with the occassional junk.
The difference is that to lose weight I need to be solely focued on it. It gets old. There's a big difference in lifestyle between maintaining and losing weight. It's about the deficit. Being sore, being hungry, spending the time and effort. It's hard. It's really really hard. And it gets frustrating, as I swear the harder I work, the less results I see.
I know that's not the case, as it's my expectations that are raised when I work harder. I think, work harder=see more results. Quite frankly, that's not the way it works.
So here we are heading into the holiday season and I'm trying to get myself back into the "weight loss mind frame" again. Not easy, but it can be done. I did it last year. My total weight loss for 2005 has been about 1 or 2 lbs (and I may have gained that back with the relaxed attitude for the last month. It sure doesn't take much to put it on, yet it's soooo hard to take it off).
So back to the daily goals. It seems to work with my knitting, let's see if I can do it with my weight loss.
Today's goal: light day. (I'm having some dental work done today, so I'm going to keep the workout light). Let's say 2 miles on the treadmill.
I will say that I spent the last month "relaxing". Less effort and time was put into the whole weight loss process. I didn't workout every day (and I'm still not, but I'm going to start concentrating on that again) and I wasn't as focused on my calories in vs. calories out.
I do recognize that my eating habits have changed. Even with a relaxed attitude, I still keep an eye on what and how much I'm eating. So yes, the eating hasn't been meticulous, but I still think we eat a very balance, healthy diet with the occassional junk.
The difference is that to lose weight I need to be solely focued on it. It gets old. There's a big difference in lifestyle between maintaining and losing weight. It's about the deficit. Being sore, being hungry, spending the time and effort. It's hard. It's really really hard. And it gets frustrating, as I swear the harder I work, the less results I see.
I know that's not the case, as it's my expectations that are raised when I work harder. I think, work harder=see more results. Quite frankly, that's not the way it works.
So here we are heading into the holiday season and I'm trying to get myself back into the "weight loss mind frame" again. Not easy, but it can be done. I did it last year. My total weight loss for 2005 has been about 1 or 2 lbs (and I may have gained that back with the relaxed attitude for the last month. It sure doesn't take much to put it on, yet it's soooo hard to take it off).
So back to the daily goals. It seems to work with my knitting, let's see if I can do it with my weight loss.
Today's goal: light day. (I'm having some dental work done today, so I'm going to keep the workout light). Let's say 2 miles on the treadmill.
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