Let's talk about everybody's favorite subject...EXERCISE!!! Now believe it or not, I really do like to exercise. Over the years, I've done a wide range of things, including running, walking, Gazelle, Tae Bo, aerobics, The Firm, etc. I think my favorites are running and The Firm. However, both of those are rough on the knees and I have issues with my left knee being very susceptible to tendonitis of the patella (kneecap). So I really need to do exercise that doesn't put a lot of pressure on my knees.
At Thanksgiving, my parents gave me their recumbent exercise bike and that's what I have been using. And I love it!
Because I enjoy exercising, I tend to push too hard, over do and get injured. A couple of times, I've also hit that wall where I'm building muscle and not losing pounds. I don't want to get to either of those places this time, so here's the program I devised for myself (again...without any professional knowledge or training, other than what I've learned about my body over the years).
I have to do my main work out in the mornings. The evenings are just too crazy to count on being consistent. So I get up at 4:30 every morning, read my Bible and pray, then start my workout.
For the first ten weeks, the focus was totally on cardio and burning calories. I started at 30 minutes on the exercise bike at very low tension then increased the time by one minute and the tension every week, aiming for 5 - 6 times per week. By the time I hit 40 minutes, the tension was so high that I was starting to get some pain in my knee. So I backed off on the tension a bit to where it is relatively comfortable.
Once I was doing 40 minutes consistently, I started adding a little bit of core strength work....mainly some crunches and push-ups. That lasted about 2 - 3 weeks....cardio plus a little core.
Last week, I made another little change, adding some upper body strength work with weights. On Mon, Wed and Fri, I do my regular 40 minute ride, leaving the tension where it is, but pushing myself to ride a little harder and increase the calories burned a little each day. On Tues, Thurs and Sat, I do a 30 minute, low-intensity ride and I do some strength work on my arms with a weight while I am riding. I am definitely starting to feel the muscle in my arms and upper body! I also so some crunches and pushups on those days.
My strength work has been mostly focused on my upper body because I am also doing some stretches and quad-setting exercises to strengthen my knee. I'm hoping that by taking it very gradually and doing all I can to build up the knee and losing another 15 pounds or so, I will be able to start doing some lower body strength work in another six weeks. I'd love to start doing some of my Firm workouts again and maybe even start running eventually.
I hope that I am avoiding a plateau by changing things gradually and adding something every few weeks. Just when my body "adjusts" to the level of exercise I'm doing, I add on and give my metabolism a push start.
So that's what I'm doing for my main workout every morning. In addition to that, I'm doing a lot of little things to add more movement and calorie burning to my day. At least two or three nights a week, I hop on the exercise bike and ride at a low intensity level while I am watching American Idol or reading. Since it is a recumbent bike, I can just sit back and relax while I'm pedaling! I try to burn about 150 calories during each of those sessions.
Now this part might sound crazy, but I also do a lot of pacing and walking in place. I always walk the floors when I'm talking on the phone (this drives my husband crazy!). When I fold clothes, I walk each piece to where it goes then come back to the pile for the next piece. This might mean that it takes me 20 minutes to put away a load instead of 10 minutes, but that's 20 minutes of exercise that I would not have gotten, so it's worth it. I march in place or "step-touch" side to side while I'm doing the dishes, in the shower (careful not to slip!), brushing my teeth, drying my hair....anytime I'm standing still, I'm not standing still! I might not be burning very many calories by doing this, but every little bit counts and it helps to keep me reminded of and focussed on the task ahead.
We'll see how I'm doing when I have my first-of-the-month weigh-in next Tuesday!
Thursday, February 24, 2011
Wednesday, February 9, 2011
Boundaries
"Boundaries are not restrictive fences meant to keep you from enjoying life, but gifts from a God who cares about your well-being." Lisa TerKeurst in "Made to Crave"
So my healthly eating plan is not a pre-set list of meals, do's and don't's and rules. It's a set of prayerfully developed boundaries that will lead me towards my goal and I am free to eat whatever I want within those boundaries. I recognize that the boundaries may need to change as my body changes so I will be paying close attention and adjusting as necessary.
It's been said that desperation breeds defeat, and I would add that deprivation leads to desperation. If I feel really deprived, that's when I get grumpy and start justifying bad choices. A lot of my boundaries are set up to help me make good choices, while not feeling deprived.
So here are my current boundaries:
Calories: I am not rigorously counting calories, but after years of dieting off and on, I'm pretty aware of the calorie counts in most of what I eat. I target around 1200 calories a day...150 - 250 at breakfast, 300 - 400 at lunch, 500 - 600 at dinner and 100 of "other". I have to push to find ways to incorporate more vegetables into my meals and control my sweet tooth.
Eating Out and Portion Control: This is huge for me. Our family eats out a LOT. It's just the thing we like to do as a family. We don't hunt, play sports, have a boat or any other expensive hobbies. We eat out. Plus I have work meetings over lunch where food is brought in at least once a week and I travel about four or five days out of each month, so I probably eat out 30 - 40% of my meals. But portions and fat content at restaurants are out of control! If possible, I always look at a restaurant's menu and nutrition information online and make my selection before I get there. When my plate is served to me, I make a decision right then how much of it I'm going to eat....usually half or less of the meat and vegetables, a quarter or less of the bread or dessert. I physically move the part I'm not going to eat off of my plate, asking for a to-go box if necessary so I can have the leftovers for another meal, saving money AND calories! Fortunately, I'm one of those people that sticks with what I know I will like, rather than wanting to sample something different every time I go to a restaurant. So at the places where I end up going often, I get the same thing all the time, so I really know what I'm getting.
Seconds: When I am eating at home, it aggravates me to have something really good and then not be able to go back for seconds. For some reason, that second serving is so much satisfying than the first one! I usually put my dinner on a bread or salad plate instead of a dinner plate, so my first serving is very small and then go back for a second small serving, guilt-free!
Snacks: I have to be very careful about snacks. Once I get started, it is hard for me to stop. I can measure out one ounce of chips...but then I go back for one more....and one more. So it's better if I don't start at all. My office neighbor keeps a candy jar of Hershey's Chocolate Nuggets on her desk. I have contributed bags of dark chocolate to her stash and allow myself ONE nugget every afternoon. It satisfies my chocolate cravings and since it's on her desk, I'm too embarassed to keep going back for more. Accountability is a good thing. Except for today. It was a stressful afternoon and I had THREE chocolates today! oops... I stay away from snacks in the evening if I can, although a couple of times a week, I might have a bowl of no-sugar-added ice cream or a pudding cup.
The Morning Sweet Stop: I used to stop at Starbucks for a mocha and vanilla scones or Mary Lee Donuts for a glazed cake and chocolate cake donut three or four times a week....after having breakfast at home. Now I allow myself to stop for a non-fat mocha only on the last work day of the week. I can also get scones or donuts once during the first week of the month, but between being sick and the bad weather we had last week, I didn't do this for February and didn't really miss it.
Somethings are just so bad for me that they are completely not allowable any more. I go to a Friends of the Library used book sale the last Saturday morning of every month and I used to treat myself to a cookie from the Subway next door before the sale and an apple fritter from the donut shop across the street after the sale. Now I just save my weekly Starbucks mocha stop for that morning and be happy with that. And here's a true confession...I often (5 - 6 times a month) stopped at Chik-fil-A on the way home from work and got a chicken sandwich with mayo and a cookies-and-cream shake, ate that in the car, then had dinner when I got home. I don't know why I did it. I guess I just was stressed out from work, knew I would face more stress when I got home, and just stuffed myself to try to push all that stress away. Of course, it only made me feel fat and disgusted with myself, but for some reason, I forgot that the next time I got close to that Chik-fil-A. That is just a boundary I cannot cross any more. I have started listening to Christian audiobooks in the car so that my mind is a bit involved in something uplifting on the way home. I have started praying when I get in the car that God would help me leave the cares of work at work so I can be prepared to engage with my family in the way they need me to when I get home.
These boundaries are working for me. I love being able to have whatever my family is having, going out to eat whenever we want to, and passing these healthly habits on to the loved ones around me.
So my healthly eating plan is not a pre-set list of meals, do's and don't's and rules. It's a set of prayerfully developed boundaries that will lead me towards my goal and I am free to eat whatever I want within those boundaries. I recognize that the boundaries may need to change as my body changes so I will be paying close attention and adjusting as necessary.
It's been said that desperation breeds defeat, and I would add that deprivation leads to desperation. If I feel really deprived, that's when I get grumpy and start justifying bad choices. A lot of my boundaries are set up to help me make good choices, while not feeling deprived.
So here are my current boundaries:
Calories: I am not rigorously counting calories, but after years of dieting off and on, I'm pretty aware of the calorie counts in most of what I eat. I target around 1200 calories a day...150 - 250 at breakfast, 300 - 400 at lunch, 500 - 600 at dinner and 100 of "other". I have to push to find ways to incorporate more vegetables into my meals and control my sweet tooth.
Eating Out and Portion Control: This is huge for me. Our family eats out a LOT. It's just the thing we like to do as a family. We don't hunt, play sports, have a boat or any other expensive hobbies. We eat out. Plus I have work meetings over lunch where food is brought in at least once a week and I travel about four or five days out of each month, so I probably eat out 30 - 40% of my meals. But portions and fat content at restaurants are out of control! If possible, I always look at a restaurant's menu and nutrition information online and make my selection before I get there. When my plate is served to me, I make a decision right then how much of it I'm going to eat....usually half or less of the meat and vegetables, a quarter or less of the bread or dessert. I physically move the part I'm not going to eat off of my plate, asking for a to-go box if necessary so I can have the leftovers for another meal, saving money AND calories! Fortunately, I'm one of those people that sticks with what I know I will like, rather than wanting to sample something different every time I go to a restaurant. So at the places where I end up going often, I get the same thing all the time, so I really know what I'm getting.
Seconds: When I am eating at home, it aggravates me to have something really good and then not be able to go back for seconds. For some reason, that second serving is so much satisfying than the first one! I usually put my dinner on a bread or salad plate instead of a dinner plate, so my first serving is very small and then go back for a second small serving, guilt-free!
Snacks: I have to be very careful about snacks. Once I get started, it is hard for me to stop. I can measure out one ounce of chips...but then I go back for one more....and one more. So it's better if I don't start at all. My office neighbor keeps a candy jar of Hershey's Chocolate Nuggets on her desk. I have contributed bags of dark chocolate to her stash and allow myself ONE nugget every afternoon. It satisfies my chocolate cravings and since it's on her desk, I'm too embarassed to keep going back for more. Accountability is a good thing. Except for today. It was a stressful afternoon and I had THREE chocolates today! oops... I stay away from snacks in the evening if I can, although a couple of times a week, I might have a bowl of no-sugar-added ice cream or a pudding cup.
The Morning Sweet Stop: I used to stop at Starbucks for a mocha and vanilla scones or Mary Lee Donuts for a glazed cake and chocolate cake donut three or four times a week....after having breakfast at home. Now I allow myself to stop for a non-fat mocha only on the last work day of the week. I can also get scones or donuts once during the first week of the month, but between being sick and the bad weather we had last week, I didn't do this for February and didn't really miss it.
Somethings are just so bad for me that they are completely not allowable any more. I go to a Friends of the Library used book sale the last Saturday morning of every month and I used to treat myself to a cookie from the Subway next door before the sale and an apple fritter from the donut shop across the street after the sale. Now I just save my weekly Starbucks mocha stop for that morning and be happy with that. And here's a true confession...I often (5 - 6 times a month) stopped at Chik-fil-A on the way home from work and got a chicken sandwich with mayo and a cookies-and-cream shake, ate that in the car, then had dinner when I got home. I don't know why I did it. I guess I just was stressed out from work, knew I would face more stress when I got home, and just stuffed myself to try to push all that stress away. Of course, it only made me feel fat and disgusted with myself, but for some reason, I forgot that the next time I got close to that Chik-fil-A. That is just a boundary I cannot cross any more. I have started listening to Christian audiobooks in the car so that my mind is a bit involved in something uplifting on the way home. I have started praying when I get in the car that God would help me leave the cares of work at work so I can be prepared to engage with my family in the way they need me to when I get home.
These boundaries are working for me. I love being able to have whatever my family is having, going out to eat whenever we want to, and passing these healthly habits on to the loved ones around me.
Thursday, February 3, 2011
Different as Night and Day!
My 15yo son came home from school the other day with his results from the Plan Test. It's a sort of "pre-ACT" that gives high school students some test taking practice and predicts the range of their future scores on the real ACT. He did well and was happy with his score and wanted to compare it to his sister's. So I dug out the results from the test she took five years ago and we all had a good laugh at the results. The result sheets lists their scores in each area...English, Math, Social Studies, Science... and then a composite score that combines them all. Their composite score was almost identical. But on her's, the individual scores were descending from English to Science, while his was ascending from English to Science. Both of them were in the 99th percentile for the area of their top scores...her's in English and his in Science!
They also have to answer a bunch of questions when they take the test about different career paths and the answers are used to plot potential careers on a big circle. Of course, all of her suggested careers were on the left side of the circle and all of his were on the right side!
They have been total opposites all of their lives. But they are each a blessing to me in their own ways. And I pray that God will continue to show me the way to love them as individuals. The same way that God shows me that he loves me in unique and personal ways, I want to show that same personal love to each of my grown-up bundles of joy!
They also have to answer a bunch of questions when they take the test about different career paths and the answers are used to plot potential careers on a big circle. Of course, all of her suggested careers were on the left side of the circle and all of his were on the right side!
They have been total opposites all of their lives. But they are each a blessing to me in their own ways. And I pray that God will continue to show me the way to love them as individuals. The same way that God shows me that he loves me in unique and personal ways, I want to show that same personal love to each of my grown-up bundles of joy!
Tuesday, February 1, 2011
There's a Camel in Front of Me!!
So this is an exciting day! The first of the month, which means I got to weigh this morning for the first time since New Year's Day. And guess what??? I lost another 13 pounds! That makes a total of 30 pounds since Thanksgiving! I think I really like only weighing once a month...seeing that big number is so much more motivating than seeing little numbers every week or tiny numbers every day. It makes me feel like I'm on The Biggest Loser! LOL!
But now things could get hard. Let's face it....I've lost all or part of these exact same 30 pounds three times over the last five years. And this is where I have always gotten stuck. So what's different this time that will help me get over this giant hump staring me in the face?
God is so faithful to put the exact words I need right in front of me every morning. Today I was reading my Made to Crave devotional and Day 13 is titled The Tower of Impossibility. And she was writing about the exact same concept as my "coins of obedience", except for her, they are bricks on the path to victory. She has towers, I have humps....she has bricks, I have coins...so cool. Anyway, she's piling up her good choices to build a new foundation for her life and after piling them up high enough, one day she woke feeling empowered and hopeful. That was me today! Except I didn't start out very hopeful. I approached the scale with fear...and a lot of excuses. I travelled out of town for a week this month...I was sick and didn't exercise for a couple of days....I was surrounded by sugar and chocolate for a bake sale this weekend....Two birthdays in our family meant two birthday dinners....all the reasons why I might not make my goal. The goal that GOD had given me through much prayer in how to approach this thing. "Just be prepared, girl....with all that has happened this month, a couple of pounds below the goal will be okay." Then when I stepped on the scale, I couldn't believe my eyes! I jumped off then got back on again to make sure it said the same thing! Then I moved the scale to a different spot on the floor and weighed again...just to be sure! Hope and real confidence that I truly could do this thing flooded my soul!
Then in my devotional, she put it this way:
But now things could get hard. Let's face it....I've lost all or part of these exact same 30 pounds three times over the last five years. And this is where I have always gotten stuck. So what's different this time that will help me get over this giant hump staring me in the face?
God is so faithful to put the exact words I need right in front of me every morning. Today I was reading my Made to Crave devotional and Day 13 is titled The Tower of Impossibility. And she was writing about the exact same concept as my "coins of obedience", except for her, they are bricks on the path to victory. She has towers, I have humps....she has bricks, I have coins...so cool. Anyway, she's piling up her good choices to build a new foundation for her life and after piling them up high enough, one day she woke feeling empowered and hopeful. That was me today! Except I didn't start out very hopeful. I approached the scale with fear...and a lot of excuses. I travelled out of town for a week this month...I was sick and didn't exercise for a couple of days....I was surrounded by sugar and chocolate for a bake sale this weekend....Two birthdays in our family meant two birthday dinners....all the reasons why I might not make my goal. The goal that GOD had given me through much prayer in how to approach this thing. "Just be prepared, girl....with all that has happened this month, a couple of pounds below the goal will be okay." Then when I stepped on the scale, I couldn't believe my eyes! I jumped off then got back on again to make sure it said the same thing! Then I moved the scale to a different spot on the floor and weighed again...just to be sure! Hope and real confidence that I truly could do this thing flooded my soul!
Then in my devotional, she put it this way:
"...Brick by brick (or coin by coin for me!), prayer by prayer, good choice by good choice, my hope soared. I'm making positive physical changes, but even more importantly, I'm making wise spiritual changes. As Proverbs 24:14 reminds me, walking in spiritual wisdom secures my hope that this healthy journey will not end in defeat: Know also that wisdom is SWEET to your soul; if you find it, there is a future hope for you, and YOUR HOPE WILL NOT BE CUT OFF."What an awesome promise! If I continue to walk in wisdom, my hope will not be cut off! I can face that scale every month with HOPE and not fear. And even if the numbers do not look like Biggest Loser numbers every month, God's purpose is being done in my heart and in my life. I will get past this camel!
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