Fight the Voices

I wasn’t able to work out at lunch today. Being a creature of habit, since my schedule was thrown off I am now busy fighting with myself over staying after work to get my work out in. I just haven’t been able to get warm today regardless of running my little office heater, I am a bit tired from the time change and leaning to the side of melancholy and cranky because I had a kennel club meeting last night (more on why kennel club meetings upset me in another post).

So I am in the middle of rationalizing and thinking of excuses to not work out. I know that often missing one day leads to two which leads to“Oh I’ll start again next week and before you know it, it’ll be June and I will be back to square one. I thought I would let you all in on the conversation. Really it’s about as fascinating as a presidential debate, but I’ll share anyway.

“I deserve a day off from working out”. No, I deserve to have a healthy life and in order to get that, I need to exercise daily like it or not.
“I’ll take one of the dogs for a walk when I get home” No, I am already cold, I am not going to feel like bundling up and walking 3 or 4 miles in the near dark after I get into my nice warm house.
“My joints are a little achy from the new video I did yesterday so I should let my muscles rest.” No, actually getting up and moving will likely make my muscles feel better. I don’t have do a killer workout I just need move a little.

Don’t act like you don’t have these conversations on a daily basis with yourself. We all do. Unfortunately we let the pathetic side of us win, the side that wants to say no to social situations, the side of us that would rather sit home and eat Ben and Jerry’s than find the love of your life, the side that would rather watch reality TV, than let us get pleasure from our own reality adventure waiting for us in real life.

What it comes down to, is deciding what I really want for myself. Do I want to be filled with that self loathing that comes from binging and not exercising, never accomplishing my “I want” list? Or am I worth sucking it up, and getting on the treadmill and feeling better. I am worth it. You can check your watch at 3:30pm EST and know that my ass will be on the treadmill.

Quit whining!

“Hard work spotlights the character of people: Some turn up their sleeves, some turn up their noses, and some don’t turn up at all. ---Sam Ewing

I hear so many people whine that eating right is hard, or they are too tired to get up early to work out or just too busy to write down what they eat.

Bullshit!

I read a neat passage once that puts that into perspective. We have the same 24 hours in the day as Robert Jarvis, Marie Curie, Einstein and Louis Pasteur had. I think if they can develop the artificial heart, the theory of relativity, discover new radio active elements, oh and in their spare time develop a vaccine for rabies, I really think we can eek out the time to journal what we eat or go for a short walk.

Yep, living healthy is hard. We have to wrestle with those inner demons that hijack our carts at the grocery store and then mysteriously stop right in front of the Sara Lee Chocolate Pies, or the voice that tries to convince you to put on your pajamas and have a threesome with Ben and Jerry when you get home from work instead of jumping on the treadmill.

You know what else is hard? Hard is shooting up with insulin everyday before a meal, or having neuropathy in your hands so bad you can’t tell when you’re holding a fork. Hard is having diabetes take control of your eyes and not being able to read a book. Hard, is being so overweight our knees and hips have given up and we are in so much pain we are forced to use one of those amigo carts to get around. Hard is being so overweight and debilitated we qualify for a handicapped sticker because we can’t walk more than five steps without nearly passing out. Hard is having your first heart attack at 39 because you think steak is its own food group and your cholesterol looks like a decent major league batting average.

We each have to decide for ourselves are we going to turn up our sleeves and do this or are we going to make excuses and not turn up to change our lives at all

Weekly weigh in and activity report

I have to admit I was a bit apprehensive as I stepped on the scales this morning. I had such a huge loss last week, I thought for sure my body would be retaliating against me this week. Not so. I lost another 2.6 pounds this week for a grand total of 34 pounds in 14 weigh ins. Not too shabby, I must say. I had great workouts this week and always stayed within my points.

After the meeting, another member approached me and said she had lost a lot of weight too, and wondered if I would like her old clothes. How kind and generous is that? I do not have a budget for new clothes and fortunately have had some clothes in smaller sizes, but eventually I will run out of those too. I can’t wait to go weigh in next week and see what she brings. New clothes and a new friend, gotta love it.

Workouts, as I said earlier were great this week. Instead of my obligatory 5 workouts this week, I got in a 6th workout today with my weekly walk with Deb. Deb and I logged 6 miles today and wait for it…….wait for it……...we even jogged about 6 times for short distances. Dare I say I even sprinted the last couple of yards to the car. Me…..jogging…… and sprinting. I imagine that it won’t be long and Deb and I will be entering our first 5K! We both have the Crim race in Flint in the back of our mind, but I don’t know if I will be ready in a year (the Crim is held in August). It is certainly something to shoot for.

If you would have told me 4 months ago that I would get out of bed early to go to weight watchers (on my day off no less) and then go for a long walk each Saturday, I would have called you “a ball lost in tall weeds”. This accomplishment from the girl who could eat a Sara Lee Chocolate Cream Pie over the course of a day! (binging will be a topic for a later post)

No excuses: There is something for everyone

I workout a minimum of 5 days a week. I try for be active the other two days but always give myself a day off of a structured workout. So far I have been alternating workouts between the treadmill and Stairmaster. On Saturdays I walk with my friend Deb. I worry that eventually I may get bored from doing the same thing day in and day out, so I am mixing it up with some videos.

This week I spent some time on half dot com looking at their exercise videos. At home I need DVDs to work out to, but here at work, we only have a VCR, so I need the older versions of videos to bring here. Let me tell you, there are plenty of the older videos out there. I even saw one titled “Winning with Fen/Phen!” (Fen/Phen was a weight loss drug in the 80's that caused countless health problems and deaths)

For home, I just ordered both of the Biggest Loser fitness DVDs and the Carmen Electra aerobic striptease. Yes, a striptease DVD. I can get fit and learn a new skill that will thrill my husband! When I mentioned that DVD, he even said he’d be glad to pay for it out of his own allowance!
Selection is a bit more limited for VHS because they just don’t make them anymore. On the plus side, they are cheap to pick up on eBay or half dot com. I am serious that there is something for everyone out there. I saw gospel videos, plenty of Richard Simmons, Hula videos, Belly dancing videos, kick boxing, pilates, yoga, ballet. There are videos for people in wheelchairs or seniors. I did notice that Angela Lansbury and Dixie Carter both have their own series along with Florence Henderson and Shirley Jones. There were videos by Cindy Crawford, Anna Kornicova, the Playgirl series (I will be happy to buy this if it is a man leading the workout), I even found a Baywatch fitness video and one with OJ Simpson.

What I am getting at is that there is no excuse to be bored with your exercise routine. These videos don’t even require much of an investment. The majority of them are under $3 (many that I ordered today were only 75 cents!) and about $2 for S&H. So what if you get it and you hate it….you are only out $5 and you can pass it along to a friend that may love it.

So get out there and get shopping! Try something new and see what new skills you can pick up.

Intensity vs Duration

I have taught dog obedience classes for about six years now. When teaching the "stay" to my puppy class students, I always stress to the handlers to never try to work both distance and duration at the same time. Meaning, don’t move 5 feet away from your dog and expect it to say for 5 minutes out of the box. Rather I stress to stay right in front of their dog and build up duration (the amount of time their dog stays in the sit) first, then start by moving one step away. At the same time they step away, they need to lower their expectations for the time that the dog stays. So now their dog is staying for 30 seconds with them 1 step away. Now move 2 steps away….and 3 steps away…..until you can be on the other side of the room. That is my preferred way of building a reliable stay.

I think I have found something similar in exercise. We can't expect to come out of the shoot running a marathon. We have to start with something and then build on it. I have slowly built up my time on the Stairmaster, increasing the duration of time I could spend on the machine. In a previous post I mentioned that I have gone from 2.5 minutes to a total of 34 minutes. If I keep adding a minute or two to my workout, I will need two lunch hours to get through it all.

I use the setting called random, on level one so I have lots of ups and down. Well, today, I lowered my duration and increased my intensity. I still set it at random and did 15 minutes for the first interval but I bumped it up to level 2. I did an 8 minute second interval also at level 2. Let me tell you ---I had sweat running down my legs I was working it so hard. I’m talking I knocked it out of the park, left it all on the gym floor. I can honestly say I was much more exhausted doing 23 minutes on level 2 than I had been doing 34 minutes on level one. That is the only thing I changed, just the intensity.

So my plan is to increase my duration for a couple of weeks at level 2 and then I will do the same thing. Lower my time and increase to level 3. I think this will keep challenging my body and help keep the weight loss steady.

Stairmaster: Friend or Foe?

The Stairmaster certainly started out as a foe.

The Stairmaster in the gym at my work has a minimum setting of 5 minutes. When I started working out, I would set it for the 5 minutes and then have to stop at 2 ½ minutes. Not much to crow about, but I stuck with it. Every day I got on that damn machine and went as long as I could. That was 12 weeks ago. Today I had a new personal best of 34 minutes.

I am very fortunate to have a gym right here at my work with filled with great equipment. We have a treadmill, recumbent and stationary bike, weight machines, punching bag, free weights and benches. Plus we have a TV/VCR with cable. I take my “lunch” from 12:30-1:30 M-F and that is my work out time. I generally take the weekends off from structured exercise. I try to be active, but I don’t require a workout of myself.

I am a believer in interval training. When on the treadmill, I will walk at my normal pace (3.0 mph) but alternate minutes between an incline of 3 and 9. I do something similar with the Stairmaster. I hop on for 17 minutes, then move on to crunches and weight lifting and then I go back to the Stairmaster for another 17 minutes. So I have gone from 2 ½ minutes to 34 minutes in 13 weeks. The Stairmaster is my best friend.

I sure wish they would buy and elliptical machine to work out. Maybe I will ask for that to be part of my Christmas bonus package.

Workout report for Friday October 26th

A new personal best today.
A total of 31 minutes on the stairmaster. That amount of time equals 1.45miles and 72 floors!

I am amazed and thrilled at how much endurance I have built in a mere 12 weeks! I will admit those last couple of minutes are so tough to fight through. But as I swear obscenities at the stairmaster I also yell at myself that I can do anything for a few seconds and this is how I will accomplish the "I want list".
I also did a total of 5 planks (10 seconds each), the usual crunches and butterflys.

The "I WANT" list

I said before that I have great resolve to get to my goals. I have an “I want list” in the front of my journal that I read every day. This list contains most of the reasons I want to be lose weight. Many you will not identify with these unless you are really overweight as I am.
While there are a few I cannot share, here are most of them.

I want to feel better (alive) and not tired all the time.
I want to go to a restaurant and not wonder if I am going to fit in the booth.
I want to be a runner.
I want to sit in any lawn chair, not having to eye its sturdiness before I sit down.
I want to go horseback riding and not worry about hurting the horse.
I want to put my shirts on without stretching them out first.
I want my arms to hang at my sides not straight out because of under arm fat.
I want to go canoeing without worrying about hitting the bottom of the river.
I want 10,000 daily steps to be automatic.
I want to fly on an airplane and not worry that they are going to make me purchase 2 seats.
I want to see my collar bone (I’m pretty sure I have them).
I want to run agility with my dogs.
I want my breast to stick out farther than my gut.
I want to not be afraid to go to the doctor. This is called the ignorance is bliss syndrome.
I want to lower my blood pressure/cholesterol/blood sugar.

So. what is on your want list? What goals are you working toward? If you aren't working hard toward your "i want" list, why isn't what you want for yourself more important than the bad food choices you are making?

The Box

Since I have returned to weight watchers, I have been weighing in at the 5:30 meeting on Wednesdays. I enjoy the leader and the staff at that time and it is a really full class. What I hate about weighing in so late in the day is that I let “the box” aka scales dictate my day.

No popcorn for afternoon snack…too salty might retain water. Better not eat that lunch …..it weighs 4 oz more than the other Lean Cuisine in the freezer. Better stop drinking water at 1:30…..wanna make sure I’ve peed it all out by weigh in time. Doing that makes me so thirsty. I bring a jug of water with me and guzzle it during the meeting. Oh and better make sure I’ve done number 2 also, don’t want to have to include that mass at weigh in either. So starting this week, I am going to start going to the Saturday morning meetings. That way I can roll out of bed and go weigh in and then live my life normally.

I mean, how silly is all of this?
Oh and then there are the people who insist on wearing the same clothes each week or take their shoes off and put on ballet slippers for weigh in. One lady takes off all of her jewelry. Man, if you have that much jewelry, you can afford liposuction…..can’t you? I hate that “the box” controls us. That is why I take a stand and at least don’t weigh myself other than at weight watchers.

I’ve had some people say weighing in every day “keeps them on track”. But doesn’t deciding to follow the program keep you on track?

Workout for Tuesday Oct 23rd

Today I walked on the treadmill for 45 minutes and at 1 minute intervals changed the incline from 3.0 to 9.0.

Crunches, and squats with a side lift

Will and Grace was great today. It was the episodes where they decide to have a baby together and then she meets "Leo". I just realized that "Jack's character reminds me of many of Molly Shannon's characters on SNL. Superstar!

I hate the scale. Yeah, there is an earth shattering revelation for a woman….. I would be happiest to only weigh in once a month. I hate how that lifeless box (the scale) that we step on controls if we are happy or sad…..energized or defeated. I do not weigh myself other than at weight watchers. As I step on the scales each week, and they ask “flex or core” I answer “flex” and then they usually ask how my week was. My answer is always the same, “I don’t care what the “box” says, I had a kick ass week”.
My criteria for kick ass is that I worked out at least 5 days, drank all of my water every day and ate within my points every day. I mean, really, that is all I can control. I know that there are times that I can do every thing right and the scale will not agree. I HATE THAT! It’s not fair
I know, I know, no one said life was fair and that the effort put in will equal the results out. But that really sucks.
So to combat those feelings of inadequacy, I make sure that I have a kick ass week every week.
What do you do to make sure you have a kick ass week?

Saturday activity

Saturday I administered a CGC (Canine Good Citizen) test for a nearby kennel club. The CGC test is a 10 step test to essentially prove your dog is within your control and a good citizen. Your dog does not have to be a purebred in order to take the test and it generally costs around $10. If you would like more information on the Canine Good Citizen test, visit akc.org. Ruby got to go as my demo dog. She is by far my best trained of the 7.

Later that day I headed over to my friend Deb’s house for a walk we had been planning. Originally we planed to walk from her house to the nearby mall (5 miles each way). We ended up going about 8 miles. I can’t tell you for sure because I have once again lost my weight watchers pedometer. Total walk time was between 3 and 3 ½ hours. While this was less than our original goal, my body sure knew that I had walked 8 miles. I don’t think I have ever walked that far at one time. It definitely counted as a kick ass work out.

When I returned to my house, I wasn’t sure if I was going to be able to get out of the car walk into the house. Of course to recuperate, I took a 2 hour nap. We have another walk planned for this Saturday.