Thursday, December 13, 2012
Longevity
Can you sit down on the floor and get back up without touching your hands, knees, legs or arms to the floor? And can you get back up without doing it either? Apparently that's a pretty good indication of health according to some Brazilian researchers. So, of course, I had to try it and I'm happy to report I can do it! I can also feel it really working the thighs to try and do it so it might be a good new exercise, hehe.
Wednesday, December 12, 2012
Random Brain Dump
Current Weight: 157.6
Lost so far: 52.4
Pounds to go: 2.6
For just one day I did see 155.6 on the scale but I was terribly dehydrated so I don't think it counts, haha. However, I am making progress and reaching my goal by Christmas is still well within my grasp. I have my arm workout tonight along with the elliptical and Zumba tomorrow.
We're getting in to the final stretch before Christmas and all of the candy/cookies are starting to make their holiday appearances. It helps that the group at work is being as health conscious as I am so there is a lot less than we've had in previous years, which makes it significantly easier.
On a final note, I still can't decide about buying a treadmill. Last year we got the elliptical which both husband and I use. However, running on the elliptical does not translate to being able to really run and I've thought that I might like to put a treadmill in the guest room and alternate which machine I use. Thoughts?
Lost so far: 52.4
Pounds to go: 2.6
For just one day I did see 155.6 on the scale but I was terribly dehydrated so I don't think it counts, haha. However, I am making progress and reaching my goal by Christmas is still well within my grasp. I have my arm workout tonight along with the elliptical and Zumba tomorrow.
We're getting in to the final stretch before Christmas and all of the candy/cookies are starting to make their holiday appearances. It helps that the group at work is being as health conscious as I am so there is a lot less than we've had in previous years, which makes it significantly easier.
On a final note, I still can't decide about buying a treadmill. Last year we got the elliptical which both husband and I use. However, running on the elliptical does not translate to being able to really run and I've thought that I might like to put a treadmill in the guest room and alternate which machine I use. Thoughts?
Tuesday, December 4, 2012
4
I tried on a pair of size 4 jeans today and they fit pretty good. I was shocked to fit a 6 a few months back but a 4 I had not thought I'd ever put on. Of course in everything but jeans I still wear a 6 and it fits just right (dresses, skirts, etc) but for the Levis that's pretty cool as the largest pair of Levis I have worn was an 18 (and for a little while even those were too small). So anyway, today felt pretty good. What makes you happy today?
Lighten Up
This is more of a note to self kind of post but I thought I should share this in case you find yourself in the same place. I've been beating myself up about my perceived lack of progress. The thing is, I MADE progress.
I am way too hard on myself, haha. So last week I did beautifully and followed the plan perfectly. Drinking enough water, as you know, can flush out extra water weight and last week my lowest weight dropped to 156.8. That is my lowest weight in more than a decade. Today (and for the last few days) my weight has been 158.8ish and so that's up two pounds which I was annoyed about but I also haven't been drinking the water. For the last few months my average weight was 160.5 so I'm down a pound and a half on my averages and yet I'm beating myself up that I'm not at my lowest weight number?! Ugh, I drive myself nuts. I have to remind myself that I made great progress and, if I follow the plan again just like last week and I follow it again next week, I will see that goal number of 155. It's important to follow the trend of the averages and NOT the day to day amounts.
I am way too hard on myself, haha. So last week I did beautifully and followed the plan perfectly. Drinking enough water, as you know, can flush out extra water weight and last week my lowest weight dropped to 156.8. That is my lowest weight in more than a decade. Today (and for the last few days) my weight has been 158.8ish and so that's up two pounds which I was annoyed about but I also haven't been drinking the water. For the last few months my average weight was 160.5 so I'm down a pound and a half on my averages and yet I'm beating myself up that I'm not at my lowest weight number?! Ugh, I drive myself nuts. I have to remind myself that I made great progress and, if I follow the plan again just like last week and I follow it again next week, I will see that goal number of 155. It's important to follow the trend of the averages and NOT the day to day amounts.
Wednesday, November 28, 2012
So Far, So Shiny
I realize it's only a few days in but I'm happy to say that I'm sticking to my goals. Last Christmas I set out at 210 pounds to lose 50 pounds and get to 160. I achieved that some months ago and revised my goal to 155 so that I would be smack dab in the middle of the "healthy" range of BMI. Of course, BMI doesn't mean a lot once you get into a good weight but I wanted to be able to say I made the original goal, that I finished something.
Once I'm in the range of 150-155 then I'm in happy maintenance mode (that will be about 18-21% body fat at that weight). Since it's down from where I am now and most of my remaining fat is on my hips, thighs, and bottom that will probably drop my pant size again and I'll wear a 4/6 instead of 6/8 (Jeans are usually at the smaller size, everything else at the larger). I thought about that last night and it kind of blew my mind. Even in high school I don't remember ever wearing a 4 or even a 6. I always bought clothes at a 7/8 size back then.
I've always assumed that people who are tall can't wear a 4 or smaller because those sizes are for shorter girls (who I would expect have narrower/smaller hips since they are shorter). I have absolutely NO desire to see a size 2 or to regularly wear a 4 as I think I would look just awful at the weight required to do that but it's pretty cool to think that a 6 could be a new normal for me. I have a trip scheduled for Oregon down the road and I look forward to some shopping (no sales tax!) with my sisters.
Once I'm in the range of 150-155 then I'm in happy maintenance mode (that will be about 18-21% body fat at that weight). Since it's down from where I am now and most of my remaining fat is on my hips, thighs, and bottom that will probably drop my pant size again and I'll wear a 4/6 instead of 6/8 (Jeans are usually at the smaller size, everything else at the larger). I thought about that last night and it kind of blew my mind. Even in high school I don't remember ever wearing a 4 or even a 6. I always bought clothes at a 7/8 size back then.
I've always assumed that people who are tall can't wear a 4 or smaller because those sizes are for shorter girls (who I would expect have narrower/smaller hips since they are shorter). I have absolutely NO desire to see a size 2 or to regularly wear a 4 as I think I would look just awful at the weight required to do that but it's pretty cool to think that a 6 could be a new normal for me. I have a trip scheduled for Oregon down the road and I look forward to some shopping (no sales tax!) with my sisters.
Monday, November 26, 2012
Holidays
Current Weight: 157.8
Lost so far: 52.2
Pounds to go: 2.8
I managed to survive the holiday without any gains. I was very good the week leading up to Thanksgiving and have been very good since. ON Thanksgiving, however, I was not terribly good but I planned it that way. I decided to enjoy the day with family and loved ones and just enjoy the food and drinks and not worry about it overly much. I ate very healthy that morning and for dinner I just ate what I felt like. Oh, the stuffing! And the gravy! The next day I was up a few pounds just from all the salt, haha, but being religious about my water intake since has seen that go back down.
Now as I look ahead at the weeks ahead of me and all of the celebrations coming up I still would like to hit my goal of 155 in the month of December. So here's my plan: eat really well during the week, exercise at least 30 minutes every day (in addition to Zumba on Tue/Thur), no alcohol during the week. On each of the next 4 weeks I have 1 special party or dinner so during that party I will do the same as Thanksgiving. Eat very good the day of and then not worry too much about dinner (my stomach is smaller now anyway so it will only hold so much). I'll drink my water like it's going out of style. I can have dessert during the party but just one.
If I do handle these parties/meals like I did for Thanksgiving then I believe that I can hit my goal by the end of the month. That goal has become so tantalizingly close and I'm really excited. I have not weighed that little since high school so that's kind of awesome. I know the scale number is just a number but this is a goal I have been trying to get back to since I was 19 (14 years) so it's a great feeling to be closing in on it. Once I hit it then I can get back to caring more about body fat percentages (working on 18-21%) than numbers on a scale.
On Thanksgiving my cousin-in-law gave me a pair of Miss Me jeans she ordered off ebay that turned out to be the wrong size for her and I am SO close to fitting them, literally just a few pounds away. I really owe her because these jeans are just beautiful (I have never owned stylish/trendy jeans, just my Levis). If they were regular mid rise jeans I would already fit them but they are low-rise (the first pair I've ever had) so my love handles need an inch or so trimmed off for them to fit perfect. I think I may be good by the end of the month to wear them because they are really really close.
Anyway, so that's my overdue update. How are things moving along for you?
Lost so far: 52.2
Pounds to go: 2.8
I managed to survive the holiday without any gains. I was very good the week leading up to Thanksgiving and have been very good since. ON Thanksgiving, however, I was not terribly good but I planned it that way. I decided to enjoy the day with family and loved ones and just enjoy the food and drinks and not worry about it overly much. I ate very healthy that morning and for dinner I just ate what I felt like. Oh, the stuffing! And the gravy! The next day I was up a few pounds just from all the salt, haha, but being religious about my water intake since has seen that go back down.
Now as I look ahead at the weeks ahead of me and all of the celebrations coming up I still would like to hit my goal of 155 in the month of December. So here's my plan: eat really well during the week, exercise at least 30 minutes every day (in addition to Zumba on Tue/Thur), no alcohol during the week. On each of the next 4 weeks I have 1 special party or dinner so during that party I will do the same as Thanksgiving. Eat very good the day of and then not worry too much about dinner (my stomach is smaller now anyway so it will only hold so much). I'll drink my water like it's going out of style. I can have dessert during the party but just one.
If I do handle these parties/meals like I did for Thanksgiving then I believe that I can hit my goal by the end of the month. That goal has become so tantalizingly close and I'm really excited. I have not weighed that little since high school so that's kind of awesome. I know the scale number is just a number but this is a goal I have been trying to get back to since I was 19 (14 years) so it's a great feeling to be closing in on it. Once I hit it then I can get back to caring more about body fat percentages (working on 18-21%) than numbers on a scale.
On Thanksgiving my cousin-in-law gave me a pair of Miss Me jeans she ordered off ebay that turned out to be the wrong size for her and I am SO close to fitting them, literally just a few pounds away. I really owe her because these jeans are just beautiful (I have never owned stylish/trendy jeans, just my Levis). If they were regular mid rise jeans I would already fit them but they are low-rise (the first pair I've ever had) so my love handles need an inch or so trimmed off for them to fit perfect. I think I may be good by the end of the month to wear them because they are really really close.
Anyway, so that's my overdue update. How are things moving along for you?
Monday, October 29, 2012
5K postponed
So on Thursday I was diagnosed with Exercise Induced Asthma (EIC). I've had this for years but it never occurred to me that it was asthma.
~ I got a lot of phlegm build up with heavy exertion (including running more that 1 mile)
~ Doing really heavy exertion (pushing a car for the woman that ran out of gas, sprinting to my car when I'm really late) will always make me cough for 10-15 minutes, longer if it's cold outside
~ Pushing myself on the treadmill (6.5 mph instead of 5.5) makes my throat close up and I have to back off.
The first two I thought were normal if it was cold and if maybe I just wasn't drinking enough water. But no matter how much water I had beforehand it never actually changed. The last one I thought was what was normal if I was trying to do more cardio wise than I was ready for (figuring I was in terrible shape). Turns out that while I should have been breathing harder I shouldn't have felt my throat getting tight. I finally googled "exercise causes coughing" and found several links suggesting asthma, which the doc confirmed.
So I am now the owner of a shiny new inhaler. Doc said use it 15 minutes before I exercise and I should be good to go. If it doesn't work, come back in a month and we'll see if there's more we need to do. So yesterday I tried it out with the elliptical. Previously I did 55-60 rotations/minute and yesterday I was doing 70 like it was cake. It's amazing what breathing can do for a difference.
Unfortunately Sunday was supposed to be my 5K but since I haven't had a run without issues yet and because it's colder suddenly, which seems to set me off, I'm waiting. I will be trying my inhaler with my 1 mile runs this week and see what changes. If that's ok, I'll try a 3-miler next weekend. I just felt that realistically I hadn't had the time since Thursday to get used to how this is going to change things and I want to be ready. There's usually a Turkey Trot 5K at Thanksgiving so that's probably an ok time for me to jump in. I'm kinda bummed but I think I made the right choice this way.
~ I got a lot of phlegm build up with heavy exertion (including running more that 1 mile)
~ Doing really heavy exertion (pushing a car for the woman that ran out of gas, sprinting to my car when I'm really late) will always make me cough for 10-15 minutes, longer if it's cold outside
~ Pushing myself on the treadmill (6.5 mph instead of 5.5) makes my throat close up and I have to back off.
The first two I thought were normal if it was cold and if maybe I just wasn't drinking enough water. But no matter how much water I had beforehand it never actually changed. The last one I thought was what was normal if I was trying to do more cardio wise than I was ready for (figuring I was in terrible shape). Turns out that while I should have been breathing harder I shouldn't have felt my throat getting tight. I finally googled "exercise causes coughing" and found several links suggesting asthma, which the doc confirmed.
So I am now the owner of a shiny new inhaler. Doc said use it 15 minutes before I exercise and I should be good to go. If it doesn't work, come back in a month and we'll see if there's more we need to do. So yesterday I tried it out with the elliptical. Previously I did 55-60 rotations/minute and yesterday I was doing 70 like it was cake. It's amazing what breathing can do for a difference.
Unfortunately Sunday was supposed to be my 5K but since I haven't had a run without issues yet and because it's colder suddenly, which seems to set me off, I'm waiting. I will be trying my inhaler with my 1 mile runs this week and see what changes. If that's ok, I'll try a 3-miler next weekend. I just felt that realistically I hadn't had the time since Thursday to get used to how this is going to change things and I want to be ready. There's usually a Turkey Trot 5K at Thanksgiving so that's probably an ok time for me to jump in. I'm kinda bummed but I think I made the right choice this way.
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