Sore Feet

Owww.

Tonight was a pretty hardcore night, even though I didn't leave my house because of rain. I started out with Slim in 6, and then hopped on the Wii Fit for a good little while. I was just putzing around on the different games, but I ended up burning about 100 calories. Then, my friend Amanda came over, and we played a few different games on Wii Resort for about an hour. So...I really ended up with a pretty good workout. With 200 calories from the Slim in 6, 100 from the Wii Fit, and we'll say another 150 from Wii Resort...hey, that's pretty good. : )

My feet started to hurt in the middle of the Wii Fit, I think from doing the run activity on there yesterday. I may want to wear some shoes when I do that from now on. My heel are still really feeling it, I hope I can still walk tomorrow.

This really is all a juggling act between food and diet. I really have done pretty well with keeping to a healthier diet. Breakfast is pretty much the same as usual, but I'm trying to keep it really light for lunch...soup or a smoothie or something. I try to keep some sort of multi-grain snack or something around during the day, because I do get hungry. But I still need to eat more vegetables. If only they tasted better.

What I don't understand is how Weight Watchers can give you 35 extra food points per week, and still expect you to lose weight. While I don't keep track of my food on WW, I do try to stick to the basic idea of points during the day, and I KNOW I don't eat an extra 35 points per week! I wish I could keep better track on there, though...I feel like that would help a lot.

Ok, falling asleep. Later.

Goals and Rewards...continued...

I think it's good for me to keep changing my goals...it keeps me excited about something, gives me something to work for. Even if I don't meet my deadline exactly, it makes me strive for it, and that's what I need. Also, I like quantifying things, and putting this in terms of numbers makes it much easier for me.

Ok. So. Goal weight remains at 145-148. I think that May 1 is still an acceptable date...that gives me a little more than 6 months, or around 27 weeks. That's a loss of about 1 pound per week for the most part, and a few weeks with 2 pounds of loss. That should be ok, if I can get the exercise up to 4-5 days a week instead of a solid 3.

That also puts me at exactly 10 pounds lost by the new year. Or, roughly, 165. That should be...SHOULD be...a piece of cake. If I really can do that...and that is NOT an unrealistic goal, not by any stretch of the imagination...then that will be when I get myself a Kindle. That's something I want so badly, and I really want to take it with me when I go to Seattle. When it was something that was a later reward, it seemed less attainable, but if I make it the reward for the first goal then it may just motivate me more.

So, then, 155. It is my plan to learn all of the official UN languages...I am currently learning Spanish, I'm getting a refresher in French from my teenage sister, and I think I have a fairly secure grasp of English...and the next on my list is either Chinese or Arabic. So, one of those I think is very appropriate for my reward for 155 pounds. That should be done by about March 1, giving me 2 months for 10 pounds. Doable.

Then, 145 by May 1. That's a little tricky. I'll be getting close to moving then, and I'll need to save some money. But, I want to do something like a trip. Maybe something that's not too expensive...we'll see. But a trip will be the goal.

Again, those are not hard and fast dates, but something to aim for. I do think they're pretty reasonable, though. I'm really going to try and stick to these dates, it might be a good motivator for me.

Ok, I've spent enough time on here tonight. Blah. G'night!

Better than Nothing

As my title perhaps suggests, my motivation has been flagging a bit lately.

I was unable to work out on Thursday or Friday of last week, so I was really good about at least walking on Monday through Wednesday. But then on Saturday and Sunday, when I was supposed to get back into it...squat. Saturday I took a shower right around when I was going to walk, and Sunday...well, you don't want to hear my excuses. Point is, I should have, and I didn't.

Then, tonight, it's been raining on and off since the afternoon, and I can't risk walking with an iPod. That's why I always want to have contingency plans for rainy days. I personally wouldn't mind it...but I will not walk without music, and electronics + rain = a bad time.

So, I decided I'd do some Wii fit tonight. I just love the Wii Fit, and tonight only reinforced that. I have discovered the "combine" feature, where you can link together a whole bunch of the routines they give you to make one big long amazing workout. Tonight, I did: Warm Up, Leaner Mii, Overindulged, Figure, Arms, Shoulders and Back, and Relax. Each of these has within it 3 different exercises, from yoga, strength training, or one of the other Wii Fit exercises. In total, it took me about 54 minutes, and burned about 220 calories. : ) Not my usual calorie burning rate...I don't think that doing this every day would really make me lose weight...but it is a nice, fairly easy workout. It is certainly better than nothing. And it's fun!

I do need to point out that I have AMAZING balance. There was one yoga thing, the sun salutation, where the Wii balance board measures your center of balance while you do the moves...and I got 100%! On most of the yoga moves, I actually do have pretty good balance, so I feel like that's a good indicator of how my strength is improving.

I seriously need a jump start in motivation. I feel like I've been lagging in it these last couple of weeks...I still work out 3 or 4 days a week, but I feel like I'm having to really force myself to do it. Today was a nice easing back into it...but I do not look forward to tomorrow's increased work out. I'm still sort of losing weight...I haven't seen 180 in weeks, and I'm hovering around 176 right now...but it's not really moving anywhere, and that's frustrating.

The only thing I feel really good about is the fact that I seem to have a lot more energy in general. I'm probably burning a few hundred more calories per day, just from more overall movement. That makes me feel pretty good, like something is happening underneath everything, even if I don't feel it all the time. My metabolism has always been just absolutely ridiculously slow, and I feel like the increased activity is helping with that.

I need to remember how much I want to lose weight. This is something I've wanted for so long...I'm over 2 months into this business, I'm doing really well...I just need to keep at it.

Tomorrow is a walk, definitely, and the Slim-in-6. Wednesday, walk...Friday, walking and Slim-in-6...Saturday walking...Sunday walking. If I can do all of that, I think I'll definitely feel better about where I'm headed.

New goals and such to come soon. Maybe tonight. Since I've actually been doing this, and seen how fast my body wants to shed the weight, I know that it's not going to happen nearly as fast as I thought. But, it will happen. It will.

Ok, later. : )

Trudging along.

Blah. Why is it that the first day back after several days' hiatus is just SO difficult? It's like the universe wants you to fail.

I didn't work out Thursday-Sunday, and I so felt it when I jumped right back into it yesterday. I almost didn't make it through the Slim in 6...I actually switched to push-ups and crunches earlier than it says to, partly because my legs hurt like fire, and partly because I feel like the video is way too leg-centered.

My walk was pretty good yesterday...it usually is now, with the weather so nice. I get through my other workout by thinking about my walk, which is good. I'm still doing 3.4 miles in about 54 minutes, which is about a 16 minute mile. I'm ok with that...it keeps my heart rate up for almost an hour, and that's good. I still want to add miles to my walk. But gradually.

I did go biking on Saturday. It wasn't too much...probably only 4-5 miles total, around St. Mark's...but it did give me a little soreness in my legs on Sunday, so that's good. The best thing about it was that it gave me some practice on my bike...I was still feeling a little shaky, and I feel much more confident now. So, maybe I'll actually ride part of the 17-mile trail soon.

I'm still sitting between about 175.5 and 177...I'm kind of ok with that, though. I can see results when I really do the workout I'm supposed to do, and my high weight is now several pounds less than it was. This week might see that go down a little more...I'm walking this afternoon, doing the Wii and walking tomorrow afternoon, and then I have to work outside all day on a drilling project for school on Friday. Saturday I'll see how I feel, but I should at least walk. So, plenty of activity planned for this week. We'll see how that goes.

As far as diet goes, I'm trying SO hard to be good. I'm still having my egg and cheese bagel every morning for breakfast...I looked it up, and it's actually a pretty balanced meal for all the calories it has. It's like 480 calories, which is on the high end for a meal, but it also keeps me full for a long time, and I try to have stuff like soup and veggies for my other meals during the day. I need to get back into the habit of cooking, at least a few days per week. I made the BEST gumbo last week, that was actually pretty healthy...if I could have something like that every week, I'd be golden.

Ok, I'm out. : )

Oh, my aching joints!

I feel 80.

I did a walk/run on Monday, took off Tuesday to do housework, and then did Slim-in-6 and a longer walk today. I have increased my regular walk to 3.4 miles, which I will continue to do for another week or so before I increase it again. I mapped out the addition I've been considering, which is outside of my neighborhood, and it's exactly a mile each way...so, if I added that to my current walk, minus a little bit, it would be about 5 miles. I'll work up to that gradually, but that's what I'd ultimately like to have as my regular daily walk.

I've been having some issues with my joints. My knees have been popping for years now, but for the last week or so I've heard my hips and even my shoulders popping as well. This is somewhat alarming to me, as I've never had issues with my shoulders before. I'm going to see what happens with that...if it gets worse, I'll speak to my doctor. I feel like I shouldn't be having massive joint issues when I'm 27 years old.

Overall, I do feel like I'm getting more fit. My pants fit better in the tummy, I've had a number of people tell me my face looks thinner, and my walk is a whole lot easier than it used to be. I need to remember these things when I start to doubt that what I'm doing is enough. I have this constant feeling like whatever I'm doing is never going to be enough, like I could run 20 miles a day and still not lose any weight.

I can't get past that feeling...even when I can see and feel the results my very own self, I still feel like I'm not doing enough. I have to constantly convince myself that 3 miles really, truly is a good amount of exercise, or that the Slim-in-6 has helped so many people that it MUST help. It's why I feel like I constantly have to increase the difficulty level of my workout, and it's something that I really need to get past. Yes, regularly and gradually increasing the intensity of my workout is a good plan, as long as I do not overdo it. Ultimately walking 5 miles a day would mean working out for almost an hour and a half total, and that's not even including any workout I do other than my walk. By ANYONE's standards, that is a LOT.

As it is, just my walk is burning more than 320 calories...at 5 miles, that would jump to almost 500. They say that cutting/burning 500 calories a day is enough to lose 1 pound a week, because it is a weekly deficit of 3,500 calories. I think I've cut a couple hundred out of my diet, just because I haven't been as hungry, and the exercise definitely makes up the 500 and likely more. So, even by the numbers I'm doing what I should. It's FINE. It's a gradual process, and it is working.

Trying very hard to convince myself.

Ok, off to have a bite or two of light ice cream. : ) Later!

Holy shit it's working!

I mean, it's not like I'm slipping into my size 4 jeans or anything...but this shit is definitely working!

Having now lost all of my period weight, I weighed in this morning at 175.5. Now, this is not much of a change from the last several days...but it is the mere fact that I have spent almost a week hovering around the 176 mark that makes me feel like this whole thing is actually doing some good.

Of course, then, tomorrow I'll probably be back up to like 180.

It really is better to only schedule for the week that I'm on, instead of trying to work out a weekly schedule that will work for every week. This week: walking on Sunday, Slim-in-6/walking on Monday, walking Tuesday, Wii/On Demand/walking on Wednesday, nothing on Thursday, Slim-in-6/walking on Friday, and walking on Saturday. If I can keep up with this schedule, I get a freaking award.

I did the Wii Fit again yesterday morning, and the result was much more acceptable. It had me at like 176.5 pounds, and no longer obese. Hahaha...I had told the Wii Fit that I wanted to lose 10 pounds in a month, the other night when it told me I was freaking obese...and then I ended up losing, according to the Wii Fit, 6 pounds in 1 night! So now I'm only 4 pounds from my goal! I'm losing weight like a STAR! Hahaha. I'll have to reset my goal to be closer to what I've got on here.

It's looking like I may not be at 165 by November 1. And that's OK, really. I mean, if I'm just down to a steady 170 by then, I'll be perfectly happy. Just so long as I'm actually losing weight.

I find that I'm eating less, which I suppose is good. I'm really trying to not think about food as much, and to only eat when I really feel the need for food. So...maybe that will help.

Ok, rambled enough for the evening. Later!

Baaaad Idea.

So...I maybe should not have gone on my walk tonight.

I haven't been for the last 2 days...I've had a pretty bad head cold, with a lot of congestion and general uckness. I'm still a little stuffy today, but I really wanted to go tonight. It's been a beautiful day, with temps now in the low 80's, and I haven't been since Tuesday.

Unfortunately, the whole evening of exercise just started off wrong...I should have known to give it up from the start. After weighing myself and weighing in at an acceptable 176, I decided that the time had come to get back onto the Wii Fit. So, I did...and it promptly pronounced me OBESE!!!! OBESE!!!!! WTF?! According to my own personal, lovely, scale, I have lost roughly 5 pounds from my highest weight a couple of months ago...I thought this was about where I was when I was last on the Wii Fit. Apparently not! It says that I have gained about 4 pounds, which I really don't think is true. I'm going to try it again tomorrow morning, when I haven't had anything to eat and when I don't have any clothes on. Because damn! That was really depressing.

It took a while for me to get the Wii balance board to work properly...then my internet went out when I was trying to transfer money in the bank...and then I had run out of time for home exercise, so I had to just go on my walk. My music mix wasn't very good today, I almost immediately had a gigantic cramp in my side, and after about 5 minutes I started to feel something small sliding around in my shoe. I stopped, took off my shoe, brushed it out, and replaced it...and felt it again about 10 minutes later. This time, I took off both my shoe and sock, and turned my sock inside out for good measure. I got it that time...but I think the time I walked on it like that tweaked a muscle or something, because that leg hurt behind my knee for the rest of the walk. Also, for no apparent reason, my BACK started to hurt about halfway through. Like, an aching pain as though I had been really working those muscles...but I hadn't.

In short, the whole walk sucked. By the time I got home, I felt achy and stuffy and just generally awful. I think I might have developed a fever, either before I started or while I was walking. That may have been the reason for the weird muscle aches. I've been pretty achy for the last couple of days...I really did a lot on Tuesday, so I thought that was the reason. But maybe not.

Ok, off to put my feet up and get comfy. I will likely exercise tomorrow, if I am not feeling worse. I will also post my morning's results from the Wii Fit...here's hoping they're better than tonight's.