Well, where do we start? I did some more Zumba last week and I still can't convince my husband to try it. He has no idea how much fun it would be for me to watch, wellllllll maybe he does and maybe that's why he hasn't. Anyway, have any of you tried it? I'm telling you it's a hoot.
So, I went for a walk Sunday, a 5K, my Honey was kind enough to tag along. It went great. I had no trouble with my knee and I have to tell you that my legs felt really strong. It has to be the combo of walking, Zumba, Wii Fit, biking and swimming. (Whoa, have I really been doing all of that...YES I HAVE.) I could feel the muscles in my legs working for me, they weren't working as hard but more efficiently. It was a good feeling. It was a good walk.
Now you'd think that with some good exercise that day I would have slept well that night right? Wrong! I barely slept at all, it was terrible. I have to tell you that typically I have no trouble falling asleep or staying there. As a matter of fact, when I decide I'm ready to go to sleep I fall asleep in a few seconds, that's no exaggeration. (It's a family trait, when we're tired we go to sleep it doesn't matter who's around or what's going on.) I'm not telling you this to brag, I'm trying to convey how bad a night this was for me. I tossed and turned and fidgeted and got up to go to the bathroom and tossed and turned and my back hurt so I rolled over and fidgeted and my neck hurt so I rolled back and my back hurt and I tossed and turned...Ok, do you get the picture? We've all had those nights. So I finally fall asleep and less than an hour later the alarm goes off and my husband gets up. I get back to sleep and he comes to wake me up as I requested so that I could get in my exercise before work. I couldn't get up, I just couldn't. I reset the alarm for 7:00 and then needed 2 smacks of the snooze before I was able to drag myself out of the bed.
One day of exercise missed and a lousy night of sleep or lack thereof, do you think I could sleep the next night....NOOOOOOOOOOO. Same thing, not quite as bad but still not good and no I couldn't get up this morning either. I'm hoping that tonight is better. Please, please let tonight be better.
I can tell you this, I will exercise tomorrow. According to my sister, you can take 2 days off, after that you start losing what you have gained. I will not miss 3 days. Pray that I get a good night of sleep and...
Don't Pity the Fat Girl.
Tuesday, August 3, 2010
Wednesday, July 28, 2010
In the Immortal Words of James Brown...Get Up Offa That Thang...
OK, nearly an hour of Zumba, whew that was a workout, I think parts of me are still shaking. It's fun and if you like to dance you should try it. I walked around all day yesterday singing the music from the DVD (not out loud, I can't carry a tune in a bucket) over and over in my head. I would suggest that before you buy it, you try it though, find a friend who's willing to loan it to you for a couple of days because I don't think it's for everyone.
The first video is great because they take the major steps and break them down nice and slow for you and if you're not up to top Zumba speed it's also a way to modify the exercises to your fitness (and skill) level. (I keep teasing my husband about doing the workout with me but he has no rhythm so it would be more for my entertainment than anything.)
The second workout is the 20 minute express which is a nice way to get your feet wet, you know, put all the moves together in a sequence and see how you hold up to the pace.
The third workout is my favorite so far, it's 50 minutes of full speed Zumba. Don't fret over that too much because they still show you how to modify the moves to keep you from hurting yourself and I have to admit that there were times when I had to make modifications just to catch my breath.
So today I took a rest day and tomorrow I am thinking about hitting the Zumba again. Friday will be swimming and Saturday morning I'm back on the pavement, walking at first and I plan to walk at least a 5K (maybe a 10K if I'm pain free for the first 3 miles, I feel like I need to see where I am in my training for the 10K in October).
I started out pretty good with the food thing this morning (I am intentionally not calling this a diet because I think the word has morphed into some kind of Juggernaut and we've given it way too much power.) I had my usual cereal with 1% milk and for a morning snack I had 1 serving of reduced fat Cheez-Its, dietitian approved, which comes out to 20 crackers. Then I had to go 3 rounds on the phone with United Healthcare and apparently decided that I would need a brownie from Chick-fil-a to get me through the rest of the day.
Now I mean no offense if you work for an insurance company or for a call center (I have worked in 2 call centers. Most recently for GE's customer service center for electrical distribution and prior to that I spent over 7 years in a 911 center answering the phone, dispatching police, fire, EMS and so on.) but I had to deal with some true incompetence today. I think I get frustrated because I have just enough inside knowledge to be dangerous and I never seem to get anyone on the phone who works like I do or like would expect them to. Nevertheless, that's no excuse to punish myself by eating a brownie, I think I need to try meditation or something, I don't know.
So there you have, the scoop on Zumba and my rationale for deviating from my meal plan, just as I promised and as honest as I can give it to you.
Go eat something healthy, it doesn't have to be salad, get moving, stay tuned and...
Don't Pity the Fat Girl.
The first video is great because they take the major steps and break them down nice and slow for you and if you're not up to top Zumba speed it's also a way to modify the exercises to your fitness (and skill) level. (I keep teasing my husband about doing the workout with me but he has no rhythm so it would be more for my entertainment than anything.)
The second workout is the 20 minute express which is a nice way to get your feet wet, you know, put all the moves together in a sequence and see how you hold up to the pace.
The third workout is my favorite so far, it's 50 minutes of full speed Zumba. Don't fret over that too much because they still show you how to modify the moves to keep you from hurting yourself and I have to admit that there were times when I had to make modifications just to catch my breath.
So today I took a rest day and tomorrow I am thinking about hitting the Zumba again. Friday will be swimming and Saturday morning I'm back on the pavement, walking at first and I plan to walk at least a 5K (maybe a 10K if I'm pain free for the first 3 miles, I feel like I need to see where I am in my training for the 10K in October).
I started out pretty good with the food thing this morning (I am intentionally not calling this a diet because I think the word has morphed into some kind of Juggernaut and we've given it way too much power.) I had my usual cereal with 1% milk and for a morning snack I had 1 serving of reduced fat Cheez-Its, dietitian approved, which comes out to 20 crackers. Then I had to go 3 rounds on the phone with United Healthcare and apparently decided that I would need a brownie from Chick-fil-a to get me through the rest of the day.
Now I mean no offense if you work for an insurance company or for a call center (I have worked in 2 call centers. Most recently for GE's customer service center for electrical distribution and prior to that I spent over 7 years in a 911 center answering the phone, dispatching police, fire, EMS and so on.) but I had to deal with some true incompetence today. I think I get frustrated because I have just enough inside knowledge to be dangerous and I never seem to get anyone on the phone who works like I do or like would expect them to. Nevertheless, that's no excuse to punish myself by eating a brownie, I think I need to try meditation or something, I don't know.
So there you have, the scoop on Zumba and my rationale for deviating from my meal plan, just as I promised and as honest as I can give it to you.
Go eat something healthy, it doesn't have to be salad, get moving, stay tuned and...
Don't Pity the Fat Girl.
Monday, July 26, 2010
Yes I'm Still Alive...
Sorry for the intermission folks but my brain has been on vacation. I've had a full schedule, it's been back in the 100's, I've been tired...is that enough excuses yet? Anyway, I am still plugging along much as I had been prior to my absence and this is what I have been up to.
Biking - still doing a 5K on weekdays averaging about 11 mph. I biked a 10K one weekend and I'm planning to make that a regular event.
Swimming - still swimming on Fridays and sometimes on Saturday or Sunday too. This past week I had a few days off so I swam Thursday, Friday and Saturday for 2-3 hours each day. I'll admit that the larger portion of that time is spent bobbing but I'm swimming some strokes and treading some water.
Wii Fit - did this a couple of times for 30 minutes. I haven't gotten into the yoga though as I had planned. I'll work on that. I mostly do the aerobic games, they're fun but will still make you work up a sweat. Try to take it easy if you do get on the Wii Fit though, don't throw out your shoulder or hip or anything.
Zumba - my friend was kind enough to loan me her Zumba DVD's to see if I liked them and would use them...LOVE IT! I like to dance and have never felt like it was exercise so it's been a good fit for me. I've been doing the 20 minute workout to get used to the steps but I'm going to take it up to the 50 minute workout tomorrow and see how I feel after that.
Well, that's it for the exercise so on to the food part. I have been making slight changes to my daily diet, trying to reduce the intake of bad foods all together while adding healthier options. I'm a work in progress, what else can I say?
That's that. I'll keep you in the loop and in the meantime...
Don't Pity the Fat Girl.
Biking - still doing a 5K on weekdays averaging about 11 mph. I biked a 10K one weekend and I'm planning to make that a regular event.
Swimming - still swimming on Fridays and sometimes on Saturday or Sunday too. This past week I had a few days off so I swam Thursday, Friday and Saturday for 2-3 hours each day. I'll admit that the larger portion of that time is spent bobbing but I'm swimming some strokes and treading some water.
Wii Fit - did this a couple of times for 30 minutes. I haven't gotten into the yoga though as I had planned. I'll work on that. I mostly do the aerobic games, they're fun but will still make you work up a sweat. Try to take it easy if you do get on the Wii Fit though, don't throw out your shoulder or hip or anything.
Zumba - my friend was kind enough to loan me her Zumba DVD's to see if I liked them and would use them...LOVE IT! I like to dance and have never felt like it was exercise so it's been a good fit for me. I've been doing the 20 minute workout to get used to the steps but I'm going to take it up to the 50 minute workout tomorrow and see how I feel after that.
Well, that's it for the exercise so on to the food part. I have been making slight changes to my daily diet, trying to reduce the intake of bad foods all together while adding healthier options. I'm a work in progress, what else can I say?
That's that. I'll keep you in the loop and in the meantime...
Don't Pity the Fat Girl.
Tuesday, July 13, 2010
So, This is What I've Been Up To...
Saturday was a rest day for me. I went to the movies with my sister and that was about all I did. Rest days are good, they prevent burn out, recharge the batteries. Always take a rest day, it will keep you motivated.
Sunday, I biked a little over 6 miles, AKA a 10K. I wanted to do a full 10 miles but traffic started to pick up and that can be quite dangerous on these rural roads. So I cut it short at just 2 full loops around my route. I've noticed that I am able to recover much faster than when I started exercising. It's a good sign that I am gaining strength and gaining health.
Monday I rolled out of bed at 6:00, got dressed and jumped on my bike (well, I didn't actually jump on it that would have been painful). We finally got some rain here, apparently sometime early in the morning. Everything looked greener and more alive, the plants stretched toward the sky like they were asking for more. The smell of the rain still hung in the air and the water sprayed from my tires. There was a crisp, cool undertone to the air making breathing much easier. The rain made me feel more alive and I pushed hard.
Today I am going to get on the Wii Fit. The plan is to do some cardio then switch to yoga. I think part of the problem with my knee was a lack of flexibility, adding yoga a few days a week should help with that.
I plan to get back to walking this week, gently testing the knee to make sure that it's healthy before moving forward. I'll keep working on giving my body the fuels that it needs to work harder and become stronger. Are you guys still out there? Are you reading? Are you exercising? Talk to me and...
Don't Pity the Fat Girl.
Sunday, I biked a little over 6 miles, AKA a 10K. I wanted to do a full 10 miles but traffic started to pick up and that can be quite dangerous on these rural roads. So I cut it short at just 2 full loops around my route. I've noticed that I am able to recover much faster than when I started exercising. It's a good sign that I am gaining strength and gaining health.
Monday I rolled out of bed at 6:00, got dressed and jumped on my bike (well, I didn't actually jump on it that would have been painful). We finally got some rain here, apparently sometime early in the morning. Everything looked greener and more alive, the plants stretched toward the sky like they were asking for more. The smell of the rain still hung in the air and the water sprayed from my tires. There was a crisp, cool undertone to the air making breathing much easier. The rain made me feel more alive and I pushed hard.
Today I am going to get on the Wii Fit. The plan is to do some cardio then switch to yoga. I think part of the problem with my knee was a lack of flexibility, adding yoga a few days a week should help with that.
I plan to get back to walking this week, gently testing the knee to make sure that it's healthy before moving forward. I'll keep working on giving my body the fuels that it needs to work harder and become stronger. Are you guys still out there? Are you reading? Are you exercising? Talk to me and...
Don't Pity the Fat Girl.
Friday, July 9, 2010
And The Heat Goes On...
(Friday's blog...I saved it as a draft and forgot to go back and post it.)
Well, we are in the midst of another heat wave here in Virginia. The high temperature on Wednesday was 104, now that's hot. Still nursing my knee I have been hitting the bike not the pavement and it seems to be helping. My knee is coming along nicely, still some pain at the end of the evening but I am no longer hobbling around like I'm 100.
Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday I biked a 5K, my fastest time was 16:30, about a 12 mph pace. Not too shabby if I do say so myself. The plan for today is to do some swimming and try to work my arms and upper body a bit while giving my legs some rest. I can't tell you how nice it is to have access to a swimming pool. It's great exercise, low impact and it tones the whole body. If there is anyway for you to get in a pool then do it. Take a water aerobics class or better yet take some swimming lessons, they aren't just for kids you know.
I seem to still be struggling with eating the proper diet but that has always been a challenge for me. I can say that I have reached 6.5 lbs of weight loss which is great, we want to keep that going in the right direction. You know I have tried some of the big diets out there and I have had success with them, brief though it may have been. That success came in the form of rapid weight loss in, on one program I lost 70 lbs. in 7 months. Now I feel that I am a bit frustrated because the weight loss is slow. I'm trying not to put so much emphasis on weight but it's hard not to as the numbers are right there on the scale. I'm also trying to see this as a positive, the weight is coming off slow but, it is coming off the right way, for good. Yeah, that's what it is.
I'm going to keep plugging along one step at a time, one pound at a time. I'll keep blogging, running, walking, biking, swimming, Wiiing so...
Don't Pity the Fat Girl.
Well, we are in the midst of another heat wave here in Virginia. The high temperature on Wednesday was 104, now that's hot. Still nursing my knee I have been hitting the bike not the pavement and it seems to be helping. My knee is coming along nicely, still some pain at the end of the evening but I am no longer hobbling around like I'm 100.
Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday I biked a 5K, my fastest time was 16:30, about a 12 mph pace. Not too shabby if I do say so myself. The plan for today is to do some swimming and try to work my arms and upper body a bit while giving my legs some rest. I can't tell you how nice it is to have access to a swimming pool. It's great exercise, low impact and it tones the whole body. If there is anyway for you to get in a pool then do it. Take a water aerobics class or better yet take some swimming lessons, they aren't just for kids you know.
I seem to still be struggling with eating the proper diet but that has always been a challenge for me. I can say that I have reached 6.5 lbs of weight loss which is great, we want to keep that going in the right direction. You know I have tried some of the big diets out there and I have had success with them, brief though it may have been. That success came in the form of rapid weight loss in, on one program I lost 70 lbs. in 7 months. Now I feel that I am a bit frustrated because the weight loss is slow. I'm trying not to put so much emphasis on weight but it's hard not to as the numbers are right there on the scale. I'm also trying to see this as a positive, the weight is coming off slow but, it is coming off the right way, for good. Yeah, that's what it is.
I'm going to keep plugging along one step at a time, one pound at a time. I'll keep blogging, running, walking, biking, swimming, Wiiing so...
Don't Pity the Fat Girl.
Monday, July 5, 2010
OK, So I Think I Need to Try a New Strategy
Well, I seem to have gotten over the anger that consumed me for a couple of days. I tried running again on Sunday but it seems that I am only capable of a penguin-like shuffle. It appears that it is going to take a little longer than 2 days for my knee to heal. So in the meantime there will be no running. I have refocused on the original goal of preparing for a 10K in October so that is what I will do.
I took a rest day today and tomorrow I am getting back on the bike. It's great for the cardiovascular system, burns calories, strengthens the muscles and is low impact. That's the plan now, bike it a couple of weeks, continue swimming and perhaps in another week I'll start walking again, nice and easy, no pushing it. I am also ready to start focusing on what I am eating, following the guidelines I was given by the dietitian.
Here's the basic idea: I'm doing pretty good with breakfast and lunch but when it comes to dinner I am just throwing in the towel. I'm not sure if the breakdown comes from being really hungry come 7:00 when I get home from work or if I just get tired of thinking about what I am going to put in my mouth. Regardless of what the hang up is I am determined to get past it and I think good planning is the way to do it.
Another thing that I plan to make a habit is a food diary. Now I have tried to do this in the past and I have been very unsuccessful, most likely it's because I overcomplicated it. I bought day planners and would write down what I was planning to eat for the day, an estimated calorie count, etc. Well, I think that was a recipe for failure. I went to Target and bought a small notebook (I think it only cost $1.50 or something) with lined pages and now I am writing things down as I eat them. If you're wondering, I am not working without a plan, there is some planning going on in the morning when I pack lunch for the day, yes you should pack your lunch (money and calorie saver).
There it is. I'm still moving forward, stronger and healthier each day. I haven't allowed a knee injury to slow me down, knock me off track or give me an excuse to quit. I'm exercising, are you? Tell me about it and...
Don't Pity the Fat Girl.
I took a rest day today and tomorrow I am getting back on the bike. It's great for the cardiovascular system, burns calories, strengthens the muscles and is low impact. That's the plan now, bike it a couple of weeks, continue swimming and perhaps in another week I'll start walking again, nice and easy, no pushing it. I am also ready to start focusing on what I am eating, following the guidelines I was given by the dietitian.
Here's the basic idea: I'm doing pretty good with breakfast and lunch but when it comes to dinner I am just throwing in the towel. I'm not sure if the breakdown comes from being really hungry come 7:00 when I get home from work or if I just get tired of thinking about what I am going to put in my mouth. Regardless of what the hang up is I am determined to get past it and I think good planning is the way to do it.
Another thing that I plan to make a habit is a food diary. Now I have tried to do this in the past and I have been very unsuccessful, most likely it's because I overcomplicated it. I bought day planners and would write down what I was planning to eat for the day, an estimated calorie count, etc. Well, I think that was a recipe for failure. I went to Target and bought a small notebook (I think it only cost $1.50 or something) with lined pages and now I am writing things down as I eat them. If you're wondering, I am not working without a plan, there is some planning going on in the morning when I pack lunch for the day, yes you should pack your lunch (money and calorie saver).
There it is. I'm still moving forward, stronger and healthier each day. I haven't allowed a knee injury to slow me down, knock me off track or give me an excuse to quit. I'm exercising, are you? Tell me about it and...
Don't Pity the Fat Girl.
Thursday, July 1, 2010
Everyone Likes a Quickie
It's almost 9:00 p.m. here and I have to get up at 5:00 tomorrow morning so I'll make this really quick.
Today is Day 1 of Week 3 of the interval training program. I did 2 miles with 10 intervals of running for a total of 9 minutes of running. Let's take a moment to celebrate...OK, that's long enough, I'm tired. I have never run that far in my life, I'm proud of that.
OK, now for the bad news. My knee is not improving, actually, it's getting worse. I am now faced with the tough decision of what to do to undo the damage that my classic push-yourself-too-hard rookie move has caused. Knowing that scaling back is the only way to get my knee healthy, I have no other choice.
Here is the game plan: cross train tomorrow as scheduled, rest Saturday, revert to Week 1 running for Sunday, take some Motrin, ice it, elevate it, not necessarily in that order. There it is. I'm not happy about it and I am really trying not to allow myself to feel defeated. What I can promise you is this, I will not revert to my old habit of holding down the couch (even though I am mighty good at it), rather, I will just take the intensity down a couple of notches allowing my body to do it's job and heal itself.
That's really all I can say right now, I'm frustrated and I'm trying really hard not to let profanity sneak it's way in.
Don't worry, this won't stop me, I'm still on my mission, it's just going to take a little longer so...
Don't Pity the Fat Girl.
Today is Day 1 of Week 3 of the interval training program. I did 2 miles with 10 intervals of running for a total of 9 minutes of running. Let's take a moment to celebrate...OK, that's long enough, I'm tired. I have never run that far in my life, I'm proud of that.
OK, now for the bad news. My knee is not improving, actually, it's getting worse. I am now faced with the tough decision of what to do to undo the damage that my classic push-yourself-too-hard rookie move has caused. Knowing that scaling back is the only way to get my knee healthy, I have no other choice.
Here is the game plan: cross train tomorrow as scheduled, rest Saturday, revert to Week 1 running for Sunday, take some Motrin, ice it, elevate it, not necessarily in that order. There it is. I'm not happy about it and I am really trying not to allow myself to feel defeated. What I can promise you is this, I will not revert to my old habit of holding down the couch (even though I am mighty good at it), rather, I will just take the intensity down a couple of notches allowing my body to do it's job and heal itself.
That's really all I can say right now, I'm frustrated and I'm trying really hard not to let profanity sneak it's way in.
Don't worry, this won't stop me, I'm still on my mission, it's just going to take a little longer so...
Don't Pity the Fat Girl.
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