So we’re a few days into the New Year and people have made the usual resolutions. The most common one is losing weight and exercising.
Now understand, I’m a typical American woman. I have “yo-yo” dieted all my life. Lost 40 pounds, but determined lady that I am, found them again...back and forth several times over the years. When I was at my lowest weight I looked great in clothes and felt confident. Confident enough to tell myself eating that hot fudge sundae just “this once” wouldn’t make a difference. Muffin tops don’t look THAT bad.I was wrong.
I’m not going to go into diet regimes because eating is only one aspect of being healthy. As the title to my entry states “Exercise Your Right to be Healthy.”
Now before you turn off the blog let me tell you right now, this is not going to be a dissertation on all the benefits of exercise, numerous as they are; ok here are a few. (What can I say? It’s the nurse in me :-)
Exercise can:
* Improve your mood. Brain chemicals that are released during exercise reduces stress, relaxes you and can make you feel happier.
* Fights chronic disease. Exercise combats high blood pressure, increases GOOD cholesterol, prevents or limits the effects of Type 2 diabetes, controls osteoporosis and has been shown to be beneficial in preventing some cancers such as colon and breast.
* Controls weight. Did you know that for every extra 10 pounds that you carry, you exert 30-60 pounds of pressure on your knees? Ouch!
* Improves sleep. Being able to sleep better and longer will increase your concentration and mood.
So, do I practice what I preach?
I try.
You’d think as a nurse that I would be svelte and toned just from running like a mad woman up and down the hospital halls day in and day out (and day in and day out) but nope. Not enough sustained momentum (plus swinging by the lounge to nibble on cookies because dangit, I’m tired and deserve it does not help).
I’ve tried multiple things over the years; jazzercise, aerobics class, a home exercise routine and multiple gym memberships. The classes were ok but if you come into them in the middle with more experienced participants you stand out like a sore thumb. My last attempt at a step class ended with me rolling around on my mat LMAO (if only we COULD laugh our a** off)because I looked and felt ridiculous. My instructor raced back to see if I was having a heart attack.
The home exercise thing waxes and wanes. For a period of time I had one of those exercise balls. That got thrown into the Goodwill the day my brother was over and I had lain on my back over it and…couldn’t get up. Did he help? Nope HE laughed HIS a** off as I struggled like a beached whale to get up.
I try.
You’d think as a nurse that I would be svelte and toned just from running like a mad woman up and down the hospital halls day in and day out (and day in and day out) but nope. Not enough sustained momentum (plus swinging by the lounge to nibble on cookies because dangit, I’m tired and deserve it does not help).
I’ve tried multiple things over the years; jazzercise, aerobics class, a home exercise routine and multiple gym memberships. The classes were ok but if you come into them in the middle with more experienced participants you stand out like a sore thumb. My last attempt at a step class ended with me rolling around on my mat LMAO (if only we COULD laugh our a** off)because I looked and felt ridiculous. My instructor raced back to see if I was having a heart attack.
The home exercise thing waxes and wanes. For a period of time I had one of those exercise balls. That got thrown into the Goodwill the day my brother was over and I had lain on my back over it and…couldn’t get up. Did he help? Nope HE laughed HIS a** off as I struggled like a beached whale to get up.
YMCA, my work fitness club and even a membership to the infamous Gold’s gym followed. The thing with gym memberships is that you come for one orientation on ALL the different equipment then when there is no one there to refresh your memory, you fall into “the same ‘ole routine”…which gets boring fast.I will say that gym memberships can be amusing. Especially the body builder guys. I have NEVER seen a woman preen like these guys do and the NOISE they make while lifting weights! They talk about supplements, and diets and blah blah. At one point I had a young personal trainer guy who had sampled one of their “special” protein shakes prior to my arrival. He was sweating, flushed and his pupils were dilated. He said “Everything looks so much brighter” and then
mumbled something about his libido being enhanced.What the...?
I quickly informed him that if he went down I wanted the CPR I would have to perform on him to count as my exercise!
But I’ve stuck to some form of this over the years for one reason. To be healthier. It works. I know it does. My joints don’t ache, I move better, I can let the stress of life take a back seat and yes, I look nicer in my clothes and feel better about myself.
You don’t have to officially join a gym. Increasing physical activity in any form (climbing stairs, walking around the neighborhood, chasing smart-alecky brothers with exercise balls) all count as activity. Yep, even Jeanne’s favorite, cleaning house counts on the Weight Watcher plan as activity.
So be good to yourselves Banditas and BB’s. Take a walk. Skip the elevator one time. Park farther away from the mall. Clean my house. As the song says, “You got to move it, move it.”
What is your favorite form of exercise? *Ahem, we know the ONE type is a given. What can you do to increase it in 2009?
PS The picture below shows a tai chi move... I kid you not...called the Golden Rooster! I propose that all Banditas and BB’s use it as a secret signal at conferences.
77 comments:
Is he coming back to my place
Have Fun
Helen
Congratulations, Helen, on snagging
the "wily one." Have a great day with the feathered fellow!
Pat Cochran
Joanie great blog and I totally agree but gee I wish I had the ooomph in me to get of my backside and do some I really need to.
I have gone to weight watchers before and lost weight and I have found one of the best ways to exercise for me was walking I used to make sure I went for a walk around the neighbourhood for at least 30 mins everyday and watching what I ate ( that mean't no Tim Tams) I really did well but with shift changes at work I found it very hard to get to the meetings and yes for me without the encouragment from those meetings I lost my oomph and found my weight again.
A walk would be nice I could put Corey in the pram and take him with me but it is nearly 40 degrees celsius here today and too hot to do anything.
Hopefully I will get some motivation happening and will start my walking again because I do know how much better I feel when I do it.
Have Fun
Helen
Helen, congratulations. You must be getting used to him now. Pat, better luck next time!
Helen, walking is great exercise. Eating less and moving more equals weight loss and improved cardiovascular health (I hear you, Nurse Joan).
Joan, my favorite form of exercise is cardio kickboxing. I really find the punching and kicking satisfying (after all, my childhood heroine was Batgirl), and it results in toning once I get into a groove and stay there. I'm not always as good about that part as I'd like to be. In fact, I went back to the gym in December after a couple of months away, compounded by an irregular, mostly absent summer.
Let's talk sore. I should've bought stock in Advil. However, I do feel virtuous when I go, and I find that I watch what I eat more closely--don't want to waste all that sweat. I missed last week but will be back tomorrow. The real challenge will be when I start teaching and have prep and grading to do.
Helen, he just can't resist those babies! Or maybe it is the Tim Tams!
Love the Golden Rooster move, Joanie! Now if I could just execute it without falling over!
I used to exercise and walk every day when I was singing. A gym membership was one of the perks of the job, but when the trainer is Austrian and trained at the Gestapo school of exercise it is NO fun, trust me. "Vee have vays of making you sweat and scream, fraulein!"
I really need to exercise, but my work schedule is so stupid I can't get any walking in before or after work at this point. I am off two days a week and I keep saying I am going to join a gym and at least get two days worth in, but I haven't so far. I know when I exercise I feel better.
Unfortunately knowing all that does NOT motivate my butt out or the chair, or off the couch or out of the bed. I need a cattle prod. I am really a thin person in this fat body, but my uncooperative butt is holding me back. It likes it's home right below my back. It's comfortable there. I just have to figure out a way to evict it.
Hey Helen! Good on you, girl! You nabbed him right up. :>
JT...snork, favorite, snork....clean house....SNORK!!! Yeah, RIGHT! Then again, that stat about the pounds of pressure on the knees? Ouch.
I was LOL about the body building guys. Gossipy old women, the lot of them. And the dialated pupils thing....heeheheheheheee.
I'll confess that I despise gyms. I hate aerobics too. And pointless and perky instructors as well. (Apologies to any of you who are dedicated and actually HAVE a point to share)
We're going for the Wii Fit this year. I'll let you know how that goes. IN the meantime, I'm still walkin' the dogs and doin' the Karate. It's helping and as the song goes, "I feel good, dah-na-na-na-na-na...The way that I should..."
As to that "other" form of exercise, I do whatever I can to increase the frequency of THAT workout, whenever I can manage it. We affectionatly call it cross-training, around here. GRINS!
Helen congrats on nabbing that rooster again. I think he misses you when you don't get him. He says you have the best Tim Tams.
Hilarious post, Joanie. I'm still giggling at the image of you stuck on the exercise ball!
Helen, again? The rooster must be enamoured of your new grandbabies.
Several of my grandkids are taking karate and I must confess that I dream of being able to do that, but I think I might be too old for it LOL.
I exercise every day and since I'm overweight I can only say, "Just imagine what I'd look like if I DIDN'T exercise!"
I'm very religious about it because I know it keeps my cholesterol down and is good for my heart and after my by-pass surgery 9 years ago, I cannot bear to think of another of those awful surgeries.
Sometimes when I'm grumpy or depressed, I jump on the treadmill just to feel better. It's gotten so that if I'm in a bad mood, Dr. Big will say, "Uh, isn't it treadmill time?"
Silly man.
Joanie T, "The picture below shows a tai chi move... I kid you not...called the Golden Rooster! I propose that all Banditas and BB’s use it as a secret signal at conferences."
This is hilarious!! Let me quickly inform you, I just bought a new camera. Buh-bye, The Brick. Hello, The Slim Chic Wallet. So...I'm going to be camera ready to click, click, click. Banditas, get practicing your GR Salute greeting.
Helen, the GR's permanent residence is your place. He merely visits other spots every once in a while for some variety. He loves you. Aw!
I'm signed up for Yoga and Curves this 2009.
Helen, he seems to be yoyoing between your Tim Tams and Virginia's GR cookies! Perhaps we should get him doing JT's golden rooster Tai Chi pose to settle him down!
You're all so impressive. I hide my head in shame! I've kind of reconciled myself to the fact that there will always be plenty of me to love ;-) But I've got to try and do a bit more exercise - I spend so long sitting at the computer, I end up stiffer than a board!
ROFL - there is a tai chi pose called the Golden Rooster? OMG that is so funny and no way am I doing that as a greeting. Ya'll would have to pick me up because I'd fall over laughing.
I love the post, JT. I do love to exercise, but somehow, like so many things, it falls by the wayside for long periods of time. Before I wrote, that wasn't a big deal. A couple months of regular exercise, a couple months of sloth, it all evened out. But now that I spend most of my life sitting on my butt (why doesn't typing burn more calories??) I have to find the discipline to make exercise a constant. I'm workign on it.
btw, my favorite is ::ahem:: step aeorobics *g* (seriously).
Congrats, Helen ;-) Don't work that bird too hard today LOL
Congrats on the GR, Helen.
My favorite form of exercise is walking. Luckily walking sometimes the fastest mode of transport in the city. I would like start doing yoga. It's been several years since I've done it. I just need to check out some yoga videos and I think I'll be good to go. I know some people who pay good money for a gym membership because they feel they'll be more motivated to hit the gym if it's costing them money. Not wasting your money is a good incentive to workout.
Sigh, Do we have to discuss weight and exercise and diet? Joanie, don't make me!!
Alas, I've been struggling with this for years. But a little over a year ago, I started taking it more seriously, since hubby was doing it along with me. The diet from hell sucked, but I did manage to lose 15 pounds in 2 weeks. Add that to the 10 before and the five since, I've kept 30 pounds off for over a year.
Sigh, time to lose more.
I do walk 30 minutes a day three days a week. And I have to admit, I do feel much better most weeks. So once the cold weather warms a bit at the end of this week, I'll be walking again!
oooooooo favorite exercise? Swimming. Luckily for me I have a pool in the backyard and from the middle of May til the middle of October I swim 3-5 days a week!
After this post I think I should just hand over the stash of Tim Tams to the GR so as I don't have anymore. I am sure that is one reasons he keeps coming to my place and he does love the babies.
If it cools down here I may take him for a walk but I don't hold out much hope tomorrow is going to be 41 degrees celsius YUK.
Have Fun
Helen
Congrats on the GR, Helen.
Exercise is also good for your creativity, it get's those brain juices flowing!
I'm not much for exercise, but the walk to and from various subway/streetcar stops is roughly 15 minutes a day.
Used to do belly dancing. Haven't on a reg basis for a few years---just the odd time in the privacy of my home :). It's way easier than it looks and it really is good for toning and cardio! If you do it, you'll ask yourself, are there really that many muscles in the butt cheeks that can hurt *g*
Congrats Helen! I think he is just fascinated with the babies.
I haven't exercised in forever and believe me, it shows. I did used to belong to a gym but that fell by the wayside too. I have to go past it to get to my car from work, do I feel guilty?? Uh no, apparently I am just not a gym type person. I keep thinking if I had someone to exercise I with I might do better at it but there isn't so I don't. Maybe I need to talk to my skinny friend Barbara.
As a physio in my 'previous' life, I rarely practised what I preached (shh...don't tell any of my patients!)
Now, I've made a resolution for the first time and yep, you guessed it, it's to lose weight. (I'm still same post-baby weight and baby is now a 19 month toddler!)
I've started walking daily (must admit, my energy levels have improved too.)
And I've quit the chocolate :(
I'm determined! Grumpy, but determined!
I have been walking on the treadmill most mornings for a couple of years now and it definitely makes me feel better. I want to add a bit more exercise this year but, of course, the problem is finding the time.
I go to the Y at least 3 times a week. Mostly for cardio. I found it's easy to read on the recumbent bike, so that's my motivation.
I hate going outside to do anything active--it's just too hot and sticky so much of the year.
What gets me are the folks who are looking for that parking place closest to wherever they're going and will actually pass up 3 or 4 empty slots and sit behind you and wait for you to pull out (burning gas) instead of taking them. (And have you paid attention to the actual distance between driver seats in your car and a car in the "next" row? A couple of feet? Sure, it looks farther away because you have to drive around the rows to get there, but the physical distance is negligible. Really used to burn my biscuits to see the folks at the Y (including fitness instructors) parking on the grass rather than find a legitmate slot farther down in the lot. Get real. You're coming to work out. Walk and extra few yards.
OK -- off to the Y now! Have a new book to start.
And how about randomizing when you post so the Down Under folks don't always snag the GR? Some of us have to keep "normal" hours in the States. :-)
Helen, congrats on having the GR to stay once again!
Joanie, my favorite exercise is yoga. It works the body, relaxes the mind and overall makes me feel on top of the world. Er...except I don't really have time to DO yoga. I plan to, though! Someday (that great SOMEDAY) I will have a daily yoga practice. Wait and see if I don't!
Anna, I'm joining you on the couch. *g*
But, if I had to exercise, I would either do yoga or walk. I used to run, but that's really hard on the knees and well, I'm not running unless it's to grab a much-wanted book off the shelf. *g*
Great post Joanie! Seems like every year I tell myself THIS will be the year that I excerise more. I find it hard to fit it into my schedule. I work three days a week in the office and by the time I leave work, get the kids from school, do homework, dinner, Scouts, it's time for bed. On the two days I'm off, I try to walk around the neighborhood if I don't have too many errands to run. The dh and I do like to walk in the evenings, but right now by the time he gets home it's already dark. But come spring we should be able to start it up again.
I would love to try yoga one day. Seems like it is a great way to exercise.
Good morning everyone! I see we're all UP and moving this morning. {She says as she crawls out of bed}
Good scheme, Helen to rid your house of Tim Tams...get the GR to eat them all up.
I hear you about not finding time for the Weight Watchers meetings. That is why I joined WW online. Still has the accountability factor and I can input data at my leisure. Ya gotta love a program that counts IRONING as activity!
Och, Nancy, I hear you on the soreness after being away from the activity for a period of time...Advil, Tylenol, hot soaks...all part of it.
I admire anybody who can do that kick boxing. Not....sure...I...can...get....my leg up there...
The gym membership is a two edged sword, Louisa. It does provide a place and equipment to go DO the excercise but the motivation still has to come from me!
I just really try to keep in mind how more agile I become...you know...in case I get a chance to....
um, do the Golden Rooster move! Yeah, that's it!
Jeanne, I would LOVE to have a WiiFit.
I'd LOVE to have a Wii.
One of my friend's got one several months ago, and her figure has improved remarkably. I hear the "wee" Wii fellow scolds you if you stay away too long!
Jo,
I think there is truth to the elevation of mood from exercise. Not counting of course the GRUMBLING that goes on while you do it!
I'd love to learn karate, though the inability to raise my leg very high like in kick boxing precludes it. I was a HUGE fan of "Kung Fu" in high school, LOL
Joanie, great topic and I LOVE the Golden Rooster pose!! I can't wait to see it in person! :-)
I really love to exercise, but it's hard to make it a priority when work is busy. I end up in with the bad choice of either spending that hour with my kids or at the gym, and during the week, when life is so hectic, I usually opt for the kids.
But if work isn't too crazy, I love to find an hour out of the day to take my walk around the river, or if the weather is snotty, stay in the gym and read on the treadmill/bike/elliptical. I feel like I'm getting away with something when I'm working out -- it's like that ME time we all search for. No one can bother me when I"m working out. :-)
Keira? With a camera? At National?
Eeeckkkkk! Get exercise! Run!!!!!
I'm always drawn to yoga but am pretty convinced I could never get into some of those poses. But I hear it's a great way to get centered.
Anna, that's what so many of us miss when we talk about excercise. We automatically envision regimented exercises, gyms, completely dedicated time when simple things like walking up and down our driveway several times, parking that much further from the supermarket (lifting bags) and doing the day to day counts.
So stand up. Stretch and walk around your chair (10 times), dance like a meerkat (move it, move it)
Step aerobics, Tawny?
Sigh.
Actually, I didn't mind it either but the coordination was difficult when you were in a "mixed" class.
I've always advocated for them to have a beginner class where..yes, you start out slower...but you can get the moves down then pick up the pace.
And you are SO going to do the GR move....as long as Keira is not lurking around.
Oh, for all the yoga people out there, my newest obsession is doing yoga video podcasts from itunes. I subscribe to Yoga Today and Yogamazing. They are FREE -- totally free -- did I mention free? -- and have new podcasts regularly (every week or so). They're about 20 minutes of yoga. It's perfect for me because I have an incredibly short attention span and I get bored of videos, but I never have the time for a full yoga class, so I don't actually get to a studio to do yoga.
If you're thinking you want to start that daily yoga practice (ehem, Caren) and can't find the time, maybe this would work? :-)
Jane, you live in NYC, correct? Yes, seems walking is a very favored form of exercise there...if you can go by all the hotdog vendors without indulging (Ummm um....those dogs are good)
Suz, congratulations on your weight loss!
It's a struggle isn't it? But the whole extra weight and pressure on my knees really comes home to me at the end of a long 12 hour day!
Swimming is a GREAT form of moving! I wish I could do it! As it is I can only swim about 10 feet underwater which will be NO help if I'm on a ship that sinks 12 feet from land!
Does flailing count as exercise?
Tiffany! Belly dancing? Cool!
I wish I could do that too (I look good in scarves :-) but alas, a back surgery years ago precludes that.
Still, I'm sure it does wonders for that muffin top!
dianna, at least you're WALKING by it to get to your car.
Each person has their own favorite way to get movin' and gyms aren't for everyone.
Call up skinny Barbara and just take a stroll through the neighborhood.
Nicola, good on you for starting back to moving!
But alas, I'd hang onto a bit of the dark chocolate. Research has shown the anti-oxident benefits in dark chocolate to be energizing and mood elevating as well. Not to mention helping to prevent WRINKLES!
Maureen,
Good for you on your consistency! You might think about some strength training with hand weights. Doesn't have to be much (3-5 pounds) but there are studies that say doing this can prevent osteoporosis even more than weight bearing excercise.
Terry, I belonged to the Y for several years but switched when they cut the hours from my branch. Though, I'm thinking about checking them out again as their facility is not as "cave like" as the one I go to now.
Caren, another yoga afficanado?
Hmmm....I may have to try some of that though really...how easy is it to do a "down doggy"? (Is that what it is called?)
Elyssa, you go first :-)
Buffie,
Sounds like you do plenty of running. I was tired just reading it!
But you're setting a goal (stop grinning Tawny) and making plans. That is a good first step!
Free is good, Kristen.
Any chance I could hire you to do the poses?
Joanie T teetering with the GR move....
Exercise?! Something I never seem to get enough. I do try to walk--I prefer nature to the treadmill, but the weather doesn't always cooperate. I have no excuses--although I can come up with many bad ones--we have a home gym in our basement, so I don't have to go anywhere. Still, it gathers dust.
Actually, I dance around the house when I clean. Of course, I prefer to this when everyone else is out of the house, so I don't get so many strange looks. I've also done yoga in the past, and I'd really like to focus more on that now. The relaxation benefits really appeal to me.
Now I'm off to clean my house and do some dancing..... :)
Woohoo, Gannon! GREAT way to get in some moves!
I used to do square dancing. Do-si-doing was great for getting the heart rate up!
So what is your preference? Cha cha? Jive? Passa Doble?
Who would your favorite fantasy dancer/exerciser be?
Mine would be Maxim from DWTS who I just read is ENGAGED to Karina!!!
Are we going to have "practice GR moves" before the conference, coz I'm thinking I'll be falling on my a** if not! LOL
I'm in the weight room at the gym three days a week. My wife has asked for a bike (I'll probably get one this week) so she can do cardio at home. That may expand my workout to five days a week. I might add in 20 minutes of cardio between weight days. I don't know though. I hate cardio. I hate running. I hate biking. Even when I do go out and run (between 1.5 and 3 mi) I hate it.
But if anyone's interested in running, you HAVE to check out the couch to 5k program. If you want to run, check this out. IT WORKS.
http://www.coolrunning.com/engine/2/2_3/181.shtml
I slacked for a couple of months in the fall. It's amazing how quick rust forms along with the associated spare tire. But since I've been back in the gym, (went back in oh... late November maybe?) I'm pleased to announce that I've lost exactly two pounds as of this morning.
Yep.
Two pounds. After two months of lifting and reduced portions, two pounds.
*g*
But my belt is out of notches! My belt won't hold my pants up anymore. But with a pistol and holster inside it, I'm down to the last notch. (This particular pistol/holster adds about 2.5" to the waistline) I'm trading fat for muscle.
Now let me yammer about portions. IMO, this is the BIGGEST challenge to getting healthy. How many of us were trained from age two to clean our plates? *raises hand* I mean, I couldn't leave the dinner table with anything left on my plate. Ever. My parents would let me sit there staring at brussels sprouts until bedtime. Yes, five or six hours, staring at brussels sprouts. "There are kids starving all over the world that would do anything for those. You eat them or you don't leave the table." Guilt. Sheesh. Guilt for a: being full, and b: hating brussels sprouts. So yes, our parents often conditioned us to eat everything presented. No exceptions.
Now take this ... conditioning ... and consider a meal at any given restaurant. Think about how much food is really there. American cuisine for decades has been substituting quality for quantity. Think of all the ads you hear. "Our burgers are 900000% bigger than the competition! There's half a cow in there! And we serve our french fries in a heaping fifty-five gallon drum! And through Thursday, you get a free vat of ice-cream for the kids complete with this handy hand-truck to transport it!"
What I started doing, was sitting down to eat my meal, and literally taking a knife to everything on the plate. I split everything in half. I cut the burger in half. I portion the fries in half. I cut whatever's on the plate in half, and eat exactly half of it. I'll even eat desert. Half of it. Eating exactly half portions, I found out something really interesting. If you work out fairly regularly, and eat half portions when you eat out, and eat half what you normally would at home, fat pours off. And not only does it pour off, but you are NOT HUNGRY while it happens!
So, there's my $.02 on what I call my own personal "ass reduction policy." It works for me. Your mileage may vary.
My most common form of exercise is the walk to and from my kids' school. My favorite is ballet class. I doubt that despite all my assertions, kid chasing and laundry aren't all that good at exercising what needs to be worked :( I haven't done the Golden Rooster although I have tried Tai Chi briefly (at the urging of my college roomie).
Congrats on the GR, Helen!
Snork, about that Golden Rooster pose, Joanie T! I can just imagine all of us doing 'the sign' when we meet at National. So much more subtle than a secret handshake, don't you agree?
For once, I lost weight over the holiday period--4 kilos, yay me! I don't know what that is in pounds, sorry! But I also need to step up the exercise. I have a gym membership purely because they have a creche there (which I haven't used yet!) I'm such a sook about handing my 2yo over to strangers but I'm going to have to start when my husband goes back to work next week.
I remember, back in the day, when I was fit and healthy how good it felt. I'd notice it every time I bounded up the stairs. Rich, fatty food made me feel slightly queasy so I didn't want to eat it. My skin was clear and I had a lot of energy. Thanks for the extra boost -- maybe I'll regain a bit of that soon! Hope so:)
Ooh, Helen, congrats on the Rooster! Maybe you can practise some Tai Chi together!
Joanie, I loved your post. I also lost about 40 lbs back in my early 20's but it is all back on now. I have had to fight with weight all of my life and I know that exercise does help. It seems like now I just can't loose any and it gets very frustrating.
Back in the fall in Sept and Oct. we had beautiful weather and I was walking two miles a day at least 5 days a week, didn't loose a lbs. but felt better.
Then our weather turned cold and rainy and I started cleaning in the house because I have a birthday dinner for my sister the first of Dec. I am talking major cleaning like windows, lights, what nots, you name it I was cleaning it. After that came Christmas.
Now I am having problems getting motivated to start some kind of exercise again. I need to take off these extra lbs that I have put on. Any sugestion on getting motivated again?
Yes, Suz. We must all practice "The Move" before National.
Aiyah....right knee bent in air...stop..whoa...don't wobble..oh, oh,
Thunk
Um, more practice needed.
p226 I hate cardio too though I did find out that if I listened to a) Mamma Mia or b) Lord of the Dance soundtrack I could really book it on the treadmill. (Of course the step dancing portion was a bit tricky)
And you are SO right about portions! I saw an article that suggests we use normal 9 in. salad plates as dinner plates and it works!
flchen,
You are at least WALKING to the school! THAT is activity and is a beginning. Maybe try to carry light weights with you as you walk....or carry your kids :-)
They are 16? Well, um...maybe let them carry you :-)
Christine, congrats on your weight loss (I don't know what it is in pounds either, LOL)
So what is your favorite equipment at the gym?
When I get focused, I like the elliptical. At one point during my years of exercise I made it up to 45 min. on that puppy!
Right now, I'm lucky to do 5..but...
I'm doing it.
Virginia,
I have not secrets to motivating anybody. I think that has to come from within but once you get into it, and feel BETTER..THAT will hopefully keep you on track.
Now, find a receipe for granola and use the GR cookie cutter for those!
Helen, what are you giving the GR that he can't seem to leave your house? Hmm....
Joanie, this was a way humorous post. A good way to get the point across.
I'm back on the exercise bandwagon. I've walked 30-35 minutes each day since Jan. 1, mostly on the treadmill because it's cold. But one day it was warm enough to walk around the neighborhood listening to the iPod. I get caught up on my reading when I walk on the treadmill.
Oh, my favorite exercise is actually hiking instead of just walking on the treadmill, but I'll have to wait until it's a little warmer. I'm a weather wienie, you know.
Joan, great blog. I ordered my elliptical machine on Saturday. I'll be able fit in hopefully 1/2 an hour a day while I catch up on CNN.
I still think my favorite exercise was Jazzercise. I really like the routines and the music. But the cost was getting to be too much and my instructor moved away. The next closest class was 13 miles away. So by the time, I got ready, drove there, jazzercised, returned home and showered, I had lost most of my morning. That just wasn't working for me any more.
I'm walking too, and since setting specific numbers seems not to work well for me, my goal is to walk further each day than I did the day before. It's worked well for five days. If it's still working in July, I'll know I'm on to something. :)
Tish, I started doing stretching exercises every couple of hours when I'm on the computer after one of your blogs with the Noodlers last year. Not only do I feel better, but the stretching is a good way to get ideas flowing again when I hit a wall.
LOL, Joanie! I do still frequently carry the youngest; I imagine it'll still be quite a few years before any of them can carry me, although I tease them about it even now. ;)
Trish,
I bow in the general direction of anyone who can READ and walk at the same time!
I envy people that talent.
But now that I have my iPod Nano I CAN get into a zone which helps.
It's really hard to take that first step sometimes especially if your joints are hurting (says the gal with achy joints) But afterward...with those endorphins flowing...the ache is cut in half.
PS I wouldn't mind hiking as long as there were no hills :-)
I know..kind of defeats the purpose.
Christie and Janga,
Hooray! You're setting goals and acting on them. Yes, Janga...the success will tell come July and maybe not JUST because you're still walking, but because you feel better and are healthier.
Janga, that's great that you're doing those stretches. I tell myself I have to get up and move around at least 5 minutes of each other of computer time. Like today, I've been at the computer writing since 9:30 this morning (e-mail and blogs before that), so I get up and do things like the dishes, go to the mailbox and bring in the trashcan from the street, just little things that get me up and away from the chair -- but just for a handful of minutes at a time since I need to crank out some pages.
Joanie, I have an iPod Nano too. LOVE that thing. I read mainly RWRs and other magazines while on the treadmill, and when walking I listen to Pottercast podcasts (all about the world of Harry Potter).
Oh yes, I'm one of those Yo-Yo people too. When I moved to NC, I was about 90+ pounds overweight. When my 61-year old brother died of a heart attack and morbid obesity about 3 months after helping me move here, I decided I really needed to do something about my weight. I have lost 40 pounds that I haven't found again, but I am still trying to lost the remaining 50. I hate exersize of any kind but I do have a large assortment of Leslie Sansone in-home walking DVDs that I like. I can get a good areobic workout in front of my TV in any kind of weather and don't have to leave home to do it. There are no difficult routines to learn. Just add a stretchie band or a couple of 2# weights and walk.
Karen H!
Woohoo!!!! 40 pounds! That's great!
Every person has their own exercise that works for THEM. Mine waxes and wanes but I think doing different stuff helps keep me motivated.
Good luck with the remaining 50
LOL LOL LOL Golden Rooster! I love it! (And congrats on the blog GR to you, Helen!)
My favorite form of exercise... walking really. I took the beast on a 3 mile walk today. But that will end soon. I liked belly dancing... yoga was bad for me :X the efx and erg (ellipticycle and rowing machine) - but now? The wii fit :D
I'm about to throw a Wii fit to GET a Wii Fit!
I'm so jealous, limecello! So how does your "beast" like the Wii?
Um, maybe I should ask for clarification on WHO the beast is??
:-)
LOL Great Post Joanie. Yup - the dh and I are dieting...again. This is day 2 and I'm ready to gnaw off the arm of anyone who comes near me (back away slowly), which doesn't do a whole lot for that #1 form of exercise *g*.
My son gets his drivers license back tomorrow so I can go back to aerobics. I've not gone for a year and I can really feel the difference. Can't wait to get started again. I've done the gym thing and I know what you mean about the noises men make. Never heard so much grunting in my life!
The Tai Chi pose is a hoot. I'm afraid with my balance, I'd be the "Fallen Rooster" and laughing so hard - I wouldn't be able to get up.
LOL, Donna...I know what you mean about the diet.
I've only got 8 points left for the day and its only 5pm!
Glad you are getting back into aerobics. Those classes do not seem as popular around here as they have been in the past. Our local gym has started some type of class where you rhytmically (?sp)bang drumsticks on those exercise balls and dance around too.
{Doing the GR pose in your honor...oh...oh..cramp...cramp..CRAMP}
Joanie, at the gym I go for the eliptical, too, although sometimes when I'm feeling lazy I go for the bike and use that time to read. Strangely, the bike seems to burn more calories even though the eliptical feels like I'm doing more work. I tend to believe the feeling rather than the machine's counter. I also do the treadmill on a gradient walking fast and sometimes even work up to a jog. I'm doing 40 minutes at the moment but I'd like to do an hour.
Christine, you are a exercise goddess!
The highest I can achieve is 3.2 at a fast walk for my short legs on the treadmill. Jogging isn't for me as it kills my knees!
And man, you read too?
Sigh, I'm so uncoordinated.
I'm big now, but my husband and I are still sixty pounds lighter than we used to be. When our son went to college and lost 75 lbs. the reality of how out-of-control our eating habits were, and how much we needed to exercise, really hit us.
Between my husband and myself, my son and my daughter, we've lost enough weight to make a couple of people and kept it off for two years. Unfortunately, between Thanksgiving and New Years we got lazy and partied a lot, and now we're regretting it.
It's hard when you work on the computer and love to read, but we're learning to walk whenever the weather allows it. We have a handy treadmill that we need to use more, but I admit we don't use it as much as we should.
We've made a good start but we still need to lose another person or two before we reach our goal weight. Traveling and eating out while we were traveling kept us from losing any more this year, and made it dangerously easy to backslide.
We do pretty well when we're home, but I've yet to find a way to deal with travel-eating. The only thing that saves us is that when we travel, we tend to walk a lot, which helps cancel out some of the restaurant fare.
I wish I'd started this when I was young and pre-menopausal, but that was part of the problem. Female problems were part of the reason I had difficulty exercising. I may the only woman in the world who wanted to throw a party when menopause finally arrived.
Hey, Joanie, I think you're svelte!
I won't even discuss my workout regime because, er, I don't have one? I do try to walk to the bookstore every day and I figure it's at least a mile away, even though it's just down the street. But really, it's a looong street. :-)
And how cool that you caught that shot of the golden rooster during his workout! I thought all that stuff was highly classified.
Yay, Helen! Hope you had fun!!
Treethyme,
Good for you on what you have lost and good for you that you recognize the benefits of losing more.
It's not easy. There are NO secret pills, or regimes, or creams that make it easy. We just have to decide what do we want for ourselves? Health or heartache.
As to the traveling food, probably doing what p226 did would help. Cut everything in half.
LOL, Kate...svelte? ME????
ROTFL....
Not by a long shot. But I'm determined to get better.
Yeah, that shot of the GR was when a gaggle of chicks happened by. He started preening and saying "It's not steroids..Really."
Silly bird!
Joan, come down here. You'll have that leg smacking into the bag in no time!
Fantasy exercise partner--Jackie from Workout on Bravo (I watch too much TV) if she leaves her personal baggage at home. I once read that the stars of JAG did kickboxing workouts between takes. That would've been fun--David James Elliot and Catherine Bell as workout partners.
Or, if we can pick anybody at all, ever--I'd go with Lena Headey from Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles (I hear she does actual boxing, which would be interestinig to talk about) or Martina Navratilova, who always seems so positive about fitness. I prefer female workout partners--too self-conscious around guys from all those years of being the class klutz as a preteen.
Karate classes mostly featured guys, so I got to be okay with partnering them. Not used to it anymore, alas.
Duchesse, I really miss karate. I loved it.
p226, you are so right about portions. When I worked as a weight loss consultant, I found that to be one of the biggest problem areas--people did not know how to judge portions.
I actually got into martial arts doing a 10-week fitness and conditioning program at my gym (which is really a karate school--gym is just easier to use--no super-buff spandex people there) that included a food plan. The portions seemed small, but it had six meals a day. By the middle of the 10 weeks, I had adjusted. I was also doing one of the professional weight loss plans, which emphasized portion control.
As you note, the average restaurant meal will serve two people, and those portions have skewed the perceptions of many, many people. I think the working out part is important, too, but it doesn't matter how much you work out if you use the workout as an excuse to eat more.
Off the soapbox now.
JT, I want WiiFit. The boy has a Wii, so I'm halfway there. I just have to use it when he's not in his domain.
Post a Comment