Well, I went to the gym last night

and I am pretty darn proud of myself!
My partner has been going 3-4 days a week in the mornings. I am proud of him.

I hope to get back to the gym again.

I wish I had thought about this when I was at the gym.

I keep saving images and ideas and forgetting to save the actual link,
I owe someone credit for this piece.

My partner took me to the gym the other night and my heart just was not in it, I ended up walking for about 15 minutes, "stretching", and then sitting around. I also wandered and looked at bulletin boards and artwork pensively.

I had too much on my mind and I found that walking, which is my favorite exercise and the start to my routine, just was not distracting me or making me feel good. I just kept thinking more and sort of feeling like my thoughts would knock me over.

I got yer link right here!

I have never felt that way before. I did not turn to my Todd for help because I was glad he was busy exercising and I did not want to interupt.

Aside: Todd hit the top of the cardio heart rate on the elliptical for the first time since this summer. This is a big deal for him! Snaps to Todd!

Todd has been working out 3 times a week with cardiac rehab staff since August and he is now on his own. I am very proud of him.

My goal is to get back to the gym this week and to "fake it until [I] make it", as a mentor once preached to me. If my thoughts overcome me, I will just walk slower or go and do some weight machines, or perhaps some actual stretches and deep breathing.

Meanwhile, my daily weighing for the study is going well. I do not enjoy it, but I do it and the cat helps me remember.

"Meeeeweigh yourself and give me a treat oooow!"

Last week and this week my weight has barely moved. It is down but stable, I am not sure why. I guess I have plateaued, but I really have not done a decent job of controlling my diet quality and I have not exercised that much.

Hmm.

Work Workout

Yesterday I did not go to the gym with my partner. He tried to get me to go, but I knew I was too tired and had too much work to do by today.

Slight dramatization. I am much more pale with fair colored hair. Plus, I am female.

I know, it is a terrible thing to put work before exercise and wellness, but it really was a time to work late with good reason. Trying to work less and take more time for myself could be a whole different blog!

I wish I could do more exercising while I worked!

Well, not exactly.

Standing and moving around at work is always nice; stretching at your desk while on a conference call, taking the stairs, and walking to the furthest bathroom or copy machine to get a few more steps in- depending on your needs.

A standing height desk (or adjustable desk) would be great! There are several benefits that have been found by those who choose this option, including better back health and feeling more alert.

Look at how fit and content she is, plus her desk is so organized!
I would keep my Dansko's over heels though and that cord is a safety hazard!

I have long considered a balance ball chair for better posture and constant core strengthening.

NO! Not that kind of ball chair!

This Kind:

This is NOT how I would use it, I mean, how can she read her emails from that angle?

I tend to wiggle my legs around and get restless as a rule, so a structure balance ball chair might help me use that excess energy to my benefit. I wish I could test one for a week before committing to it though.

Now this is the stuff! And her desk is neat and organized too!

Maybe when the network is down I could use the chair for some stretched while I make phone calls?


Well, let's not get carried away...

Nobody's fault but my own.

Today on FML:
Today, it’s decided, I’m going a diet. For real. But I said that yesterday. And the day before. FML

I can relate, but cannot agree.No, this is not a "FML" worthy scenario. This is my fault, my lack of self control, my lack of commitment.

I believe in eating whole foods and I know that I need to overcome my sweet tooth, my habit of eating out, my resistance to exercise, and my sporadic cooking schedule.

I believe these are reasonable and feasible.

I can change, I can try again. I am doing the best I can, and I know I am not alone.

Todd and I are in a little competition to see who can lose 10 pounds first. I will post our method of tracking, etc once we get officially started. I am not so much motivated by the competition, but by my desire for him to be healthy and follow doctors orders, and he reminds me that he wants the same for me.

This weekend we tried to go to the gym together, but it was closed early. We went home and played SingStar together in duet mode.

Shake it!

We danced and sang, we broke a nice sweat.

We plugged in our neglected Wii controllers for future at home workouts together.

I was dragged to the gym!

My partner is starting to phase out of his highly monitored fitness classes, hooray for Todd!

Last night he made me go to the gym with him.

Well, he was assigned by his instructors to go on his own and earlier in the evening I was totally stoked to join him! I really was, ask him.

Wahoo, let's go to the gym!

But I had started working at home and fallen asleep (deep cat nap) by the time he was ready to go. I tried so hard in my half-awake state to get out of going to the gym. I think I put up a pretty great, really whiny fight.

Todd is the dragn. Missy is the kitteh.

He won. I reluctantly went to the gym.

Todd gloating because he got me to the gym OR me celebrating because I went to the gym?

Healthy cooking in a rush.

I stole this quote from a friend's blog:

"My goal tonight was to use them up before they rotted."

I feel like this is the goal with way too much of my cooking with fresh vegetables! My healthy cooking challenge.

I am inspired by this:


to make something like this:


But I get busy or forgetful and soon the vegetables in the fridge are looking at me like this:


I am working on a better game plan right now and I have learned to accept my limitations, for the sake of food and budget waste. Living in a climate with a short growing season, the vegetables will soon be pretty pricy, like 99cents per green pepper. That always seems like a lot to me.

How much are green peppers in other states?

Future topic:

Food dehydrators!
Do you have one? Do you use it? Is it good for making low salt, low sugar food? Or are those a part of the process?

I have no clue- I just know that dried food is delicious for snacks but can be so expensive, like Just Corn and Just Raspberries. Those are freeze dried, so I cant afford that machine but I may be able to swing a dehydrator.

I am working on the gym. Anyone out there who would like to motivate me or tag along with me, please pipe up!

I went to the gym tonight

and as a reward, the universe had a copy of a recent People Magazine waiting for me to read!

Thanks, Universe!

In the magazine I saw a brief review of this book:



The Big Skinny: How I Changed My Fattitude

"Here’s the skinny: After a lifetime of yo-yo dieting with pills, hypnosis, and ill-informed half-measures, Carol Lay finally shed her excess pounds and kept them off. Now this California cartoonist shares her experiences in a funny, genuine, and eye-popping graphic memoir that tells Carol’s story and shows you how you can do it, too."

Could be a fun read. I enjoy comics and graphic novels. If I ever get aroun to reading this or flipping through it at a store I will let you know.

Little Miss Iowa Crowned!

She won our hearts in the fitness competition!

Great job running and walking, Happy to Be From Iowa!!

Your prize:



I am proud of you! You inspire me.

And you are not alone...stay tuned for future honorees!

Everyone- please chime in with your feats of strength! I would love some blog partners.

I brought my gym bag to work!

Tonight I will scuttle to the gym straight from work for Body Pump.

Check out this rad gym bag! Only $75! Sigh.

I cannot believe how difficult it is to get myself to bring a gym bag to work...it took like, 3 years! 29 years if you count all the years that I did not have a gym membership!

It is pretty lame because the light rail station is 1 block from my gym and totally easy to get to from work. Then it is just a brisk 8 blocks walk home with my friend who teaches the class and lives right by me.

It will be a super frigid walk tonight (it is -3 right now, up from -21!), but so worth it! I really am so pleased with myself when I get to the gym.

A friend who just joined my gym is part of my motivation, plus my other friend who teaches the class. Also, a doctor I see who was all, "Go to the gym straight from work. Seriously."

PS:
I went to the gym on Sunday even though I was not feeling 100% due to alcohol choices I made the prior evening. Thanks to a friend who called and invited me along to the gym.

I also went to the gym last night! Nice. Thanks to the same friend!

The Shoebox blog again...sorry!

They just hit the nail on the head!

Things not to say outloud at the gym

Things Not to Say Out loud at the Gym:

January 8, 2009 10:23 am

by Renee D from The Shoebox Blog

* “Geez, that door is heavy.”
* “Great! A vending machine!”
* “I only come here for the whirlpool.”
* “Move it, Tons O ‘ Fun.”
* “I can’t wait ’til March so I can quit coming here.”

Happy Thanksgiving!

Well, I have been going to the gym in spurts still, better than nothing but hope to improve on that as time carries on.

I have already had one Thanksgiving gathering and I was a hearty eater. My friends can really cook. I went to Body Pump before and after the event, and hit the elliptical hard too.



I wonder if my muscles are any bigger??

I have been working on my Body Pump form, I have a ways to go, I have plenty of underused muscles!

My friend wrote this little piece with suggestions to help prevent overeating during the holidays, check it out if you please!

Yeah, one of my good friend is an obesity researcher. You would think her research results would rub off on me! Yeah right. Once I was in one of her weight management studies, but I was put in the control group; how's that for impartial!

Oh, did I tell you I bought chop sticks to try to eat less? I actually bought a chopstick helper:

We'll see how that goes. I eat a lot of black beans and salsa, so that may be messy.

Good luck out there! Practice mindful eating! Savor every bite and then walk it off!

Oooo Girl!

I made it to the gym the last two nights! Ow! All thanks to K and determination.

Yesterday I rode K's bike to the gym even though it was dark and cold! Brrr!


Ok, not THAT cold yet!

I chickened out of Body Pump, but I set the elliptical on a setting where it went from hard to easier, hard to easier. For a while I had been keeping it on a level setting.

Today, K picked me up and we stayed at the gym for and hour and 15min. That is a whole 15 minutes longer than I usually tolerate!

C can tell you, we are pretty much 1 hour gym people and we used to peer pressure 2 hour gym person K to reduce his workout. Sorry C! I was weak without you!

I walked, went on the mixed level elliptical, and did some weight machines. Plus, I watched the Biggest Loser for the first time.


Oh, it was the family edition!

Hooo Boy! Even with the sound off there was some drama there! And inspiration.

Can someone tell me why the crazy girl from Days of our Lives circa 1996 is on this show? I thought she was possessed by the devil or ate her sister's baby or something?



Do you watch this show? I know people love it. Do they teach people useful ways to have a more healthy lifestyle? Or do they just exploit their goals?? (Sorry, cynical.)

Me: Yesterday

From: Natalie Dee

I hope to get my booty to the gym tonight. Maybe to Body Pump...I don't need to do much walking tomorrow anyway.

The magic of the spoken word

On the bus home last night I was exhausted, all I wanted to do was curl up in bed, but I knew I was free to go to the gym- no plans, no illness, just time. I needed to go to the gym, but I did not want to go. I was set to pretend that I forgot all about the gym....

And I would have gotten away with it too, were it not for my bus friend Kevin hoping on the bus.

Kevin is a fitness instructor at my gym and he lives in my neighborhood. My sister recently chaperoned me to a class he teaches called Body Pump. I have been meaning to write about that experience!

We did not have matching outfits in our class.

Kevin sat down and I did what I knew I had to do: I told him that I was plotting to avoid the gym.

Kevin is nice, he knows of my struggle to workout and does not pressure me to get to the gym. He did not pressure me last night.

Even so, I went to the gym because I TOLD Kevin my inner wrestling match and I did not want to look like a lazy and cowardly person by skipping the gym when I had no excuses to stay home. I wanted to do the brave thing, the right thing!

I rode K's bike to the gym and I did my workout, and of course I was so proud of myself.

"Look at me, I go to the gym like it's no big thang!"

Accountability got me to the gym; there was not even peer pressure in this case.

When I got to the gym, I totally forgot to take my blinking bike light off until I was on the elliptical. I probably deserved that, it brought my head back down to Earth!

Back to Bacck Blinking Bottom!

If you saw a blinking red bum bopping around the Midtown YWCA the last two nights, you may have seen me!



I rode my bike to the gym and hopped on the elliptical machine. Check it out:


Fantastic!

Oh, and today I really wanted a coke, but I had an iced black coffee instead.



NICE!

Cross-post

The blog People Reading caught a rather buff personal trainer reading this book:



Is it just me or Are Sit-Ups a Waste of Time? by Graeme Hilditch

Apparently he is big in the UK.

Here is a description:

Trying to keep ourselves fit and healthy is a challenge at the best of times. It seems that there is always someone ready to give us a piece of advice on how to exercise, lose weight, or have a more nutritious diet. But how much of what you are told can you believe and how do you know which pieces of advice to take seriously? Every day, top personal trainer Graeme Hilditch is asked just these kind of questions and, in this intriguing and informative book, he uses his extensive expertise in fitness and nutrition to explode some of the most common myths. His explanations are light-hearted and accessible to everyone and his no-nonsense advice will tell you everything you need to know in order to live a fit and healthy life.

Might be something to check out....or not!

Keep moving people! Do it for yourself!

Two wheeled loan and a promise

My friend K was generous enough to let me borrow his bicycle while he and C are in India for a month.I am so excited! You see, the bike I own needs pricey repairs and I had been hemming and hawing about investing in a bike that I may or may not ride 8 blocks the gym year round.

Eight blocks is not far (though it can be VERY far when the temps are low and the snow is flying), but I do not always have access to a car and my neighborhood is not a safe place to walk alone after dark. Unfortunatly is not exactly a safe place to bike either. (The incident in the link took place 1.5 blocks from my house, and right on the route to the gym.)

Anyway! I am going to try getting into the habit of riding K's bike to the gym. I promised him I would, and since K is a wonderful person, I aim to keep that promise.

Hip hop, and ya don't stop!

Guess who accidentally ended up in a Hip Hop Dance class???

C. and I!


We are total hip hoppers now, so step off!

We thought it was going to be hip hop aerobics, but it was straight up dance class. It was pretty hilarious, I felt like such a geek, but I laughed a lot- good for the abs, right?

After hip hop class, we took a Zumba class, that was so fun! There was no pressure to conform, just pressure to shake your moneymaker!
That is MY kind of dancing!

Get this- there was a woman in the class who had a 4 or 5 month old baby in a baby Bjorn shaking her booty. That baby was loving it!

Her little arms and legs were flapping around and she had a HUGE smile on her face, that is...until she fell asleep half way through the class! Too much fun!!

I went to the gym

with C.!

Thanks C!

We went to Zumba class, but the teacher was out. Instead we had an odd version of the low impact aerobics class with Annice, whom we have taken a class from before.

Annice is enjoyable, she is a tell it like it is in a fun way woman who clearly does want her class to be excited and proud of themselves. I never feel like I am not good enough, I just feel like I am good for showing up and moving. I like that.

Plus she quotes the songs, which is enjoyable at times. "What is love, ladies? Baby don't you hurt me!"