Tag: fitness

Fitness, diet & optimal health in 2018

I am on my way to a more healthy way of living. My fitness regimen, admittingly, has been a bit lax.  I will make an affirmation: I am kicking my workouts into high gear after these first three weeks of resetting my body’s response to this new diet program.  I am totally  excited!

I have already lost 9.2 pounds in two weeks.  I think the weight loss will start to slow down, but I think I am on my way to meeting my goal of 40 pounds by May 1, 2018! I have been relatively happy with 2017. EXCEPT my weight, which was more than steadily creeping up and up until almost 3 weeks ago. Now, I have a new beginning! I know what you may be thinking…isn’t it hard to start in the middle of the holidays with all the food and drink? Well, I say to that: what better time? I would just be gaining more weight than usual during this period and I wanted to lose rather than gain. If I can lose weight during the holidays amongst a great amount of edible temptation, the rest of the  year will be cake! But I won’t eat the cake. I promise!

Once my body has adjusted  to these new low calorie intakes, I will go back to my work outs. My cardio/fitness exercise is very important to me and I don’t want to let it go. It was suggested that I may take a small break from it while my body is getting used to the new calorie intake. I am glad I took a break, but I am ready for a good work out!!

As for optimal health, I hope to reap  the benefits of good sleep, meditation (that will be a challenge), eating healthy, and making emotionally healthy choices. This program is designed to help me lead a life that will work not only on the diet plan for weight loss, but in a maintenance state as well. I think, no, I know that was my absolute downfall during my last diet and significant weight loss. I went back slowly to eating what ever I wanted and didn’t really exercise. I drank more alcohol regularly (never caring or counting those empty calories!!) and as a result, I ate more crap.  This is the time for an overhaul.

I am going home (back East will always be home in a sense) at the end of May. As May 1 is my target date, I should be in great shape when I head home to see family.

A note about relationships. I usually write a bit about that and I am NOT taking a break. I just haven’t met anyone worthy of spending time with. I will keep you posted!!

 

 

Letting go

I am very excited about my new exercise and diet plan. In my first week, I lost 5.9 pounds and 5”.  I am positive I measured wrong because how can you lose just 5.9 pounds and that many inches?  I will see next week.  This is very encouraging! Yay me!   I will make sure I measure accurately next Saturday. I am dedicating to losing this 40 pounds and I think an important part is exercise.

I am concentrating on cardio this time! I doubt I’ll be building muscle (on the nautilus type machines)  that is remotely measurable, but I don’t want to chance it while I am measuring  my lost inches of fat!! I have been using the bike to warm up for about 15 minutes, then stretch my warmed up muscles…then off to 30 minutes of cardio before I hit the mat for abdominal exercises. For the 30 minutes of cardio, I use the elliptical machine for 10 minutes, walking on the treadmill for another 10 and finish back up on the bike for my last 10 minutes.  My challenge now is a commitment to push myself on each one, greater incline, faster speed.   I am getting there! My next work out is on Monday morning!

Tell me what you do to exercise now that it’s getting colder outside! Does that stop you?

See you here soon!

Sorry (again) for the radio silence…

It’s been a busy month. That’s no excuse for a blogger, I know! While I still think of Paris all the time, and I know I am not done with Paris quite yet, it has to take a place in the rear view mirror while I move forward with some life choices in both my work and  personal lives.  I am very comfortable at work, but I am thinking of making a career change. I wish I could devote all my time to blogging and I could write all the time, but alas, it’s not in my financial future.  What I can take action steps in is recreating my resume and educating myself in new ventures. Enough  of the boring work talk….let’s talk self-care.

I have been very skinny my whole life. That is, until the last few years. In the last 5-7 years, to be exact,  Then the pounds came on. I used to eat with absolute impunity.  Now, I gain weight eyeing the cinnamon roll! What happened??  All I know is that my body is changing and I need to take control. I was successful in 2016 and lost 30 pounds. Yeah me! Except, I got lazy and lost my groove. And this time, I gained back all of it and more; that’s right! I gained 40 pounds back.  Now a friend has turned me on to on new lifestyle program that includes weight loss and my goal is 40 pounds.  When I reach that, I will do what I need to so I can keep the weight off and continue to make healthy choices.

This all sounds fantastic in a great ideal world, but its going to be a challenge for me. I love steak and potatoes and BREAD. Yes, lots of bread. I can still have a lean steak with broccoli or asparagus and a nice salad. With dressing even….but it has to be approved by the program. I am really going to miss my carbs in the form of buns, pizza, cookies, doughnuts.. You name it, I will miss it.

But what if I could rearrange my paradigm of health and didn’t have to miss those things? I think that’s what I am going to discover with this plan. I am only on day #3. Three days in, lots can look good! Let’s see what happens.

PS: Next time, we will talk about exercise and diet!

Enthusiasm & Amnesia

So I  mentioned my new work out plan: a gym and a personal trainer. I am ecstatic and I remain thrilled…six days in! I am so ready to do what ever my PT wants me to do on the mat, on a nautilus machine, or even, and especially,  the rower machine! Enthusiasm at its finest! I am so careful to avoid the use of “can’t”, instead carefully substituting it for the word challenging or “I’ll try that”. Often this word choice has taken a conscious effor. I am exercising my mind as well las my body. I am honest and tell him  everything I want to get from my work out and will work hard for: weight loss, body strength, all over tone, and yeah, of course: a flat stomach. My dream. I am on a mission and I have been focused and determined everytime  he adds another exercise to my work out plan.

At the end of my first three sessions, my  PT hands me the work sheet and says that my homework is now laid out for me. I can text him if I need to. The last thing I am going to do is be “THAT client, the one that’s bothering him all the time.  Today, I came home from work and walked my dog after changing into my exercise attire.  Totally psyched! All ready, get set go…..I get to the gym and do a little 5 minute cardio warm up on the bike. Then I stretch. So far so good. Then I read the Workout Plan aka my prescription for fitness. I am afflicted utterly  and completely. With work out amnesia………I lost any memory of what my PT had carefully outlined for me. I felt like a world-class idiot. Just days, correction, the day  before, I was following close instruction and could have sworn I was paying attention to all the moves. I drew a blank. So what do I do? I wing it. I stretch, I do the best memory of a few different exercises and did the reps for those. I hopped on my new favorite machine: the Rower. I rowed almost 350 meters in 2 minutes and called it a day.

Enthusiasm and amnesia and confessions. Confessions to my PT Saturday. When I tell him about my meager  amnesia in the face of  my genuine enthusiasm.