Geek Goals

This year is about getting my sanity back. Getting my health my house and my family into a better place by deliberate incremental changes in all areas of my life.

Monday, November 17, 2008

Food For Thought

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/11/15/AR2008111502467.html

Some food for thought on the current economic times. Perspectives from the older generation.

Some additional thoughts from my Grandpa "People these days don't know how to stretch a dollar like we had to, one batch of cornbread would be lunch for the whole week".

And from my Granny Lou "You never know when you might need it and might not be able to get it. so you saved it. It didn't matter what it was".

Wednesday, November 12, 2008

New Program

My husband and I have started a new program at our gym that focuses on both diet and exercise. We are starting our 4th week and I can finally say I'm getting results! The first 3 weeks I stayed the same weight or went up. I lost 2 lbs in the past week and probably 3 lbs overall so I have now reached the weight where I was when I started to loosely follow "You on a Diet". I have a target weight in mind, but my goal is to lose a couple inches in the waist.

Meeting with a trainer has helped me stay consistent with strength training. Its helping strengthen and stretch the muscles I need to improve my poor posture (which is another goal). For cardio, we are doing target heart rate exercises; they definitely have made me bump my cardio up a notch (or 2). I really feel like I was slacking during my workouts for the past few years!

Its the first time I've tracked calories and I'm surprised of how many calories are in things when paying attention to the number of servings and the portion size. Or when comparing the calories in one food to its "healthier" counterpart. I don't mind fruits and veggies, but now I make a point to eat the 5-9 everyday. Since I'm keeping a food log, the dietitian has helped me understand why I may have been really tired or starving on certain days and avoid it in the future (too many carbs, not enough protein, etc). We've only been changing one thing each week in our diets so I hope that it will make it maintainable after the program is over.

So far it has helped me go to the gym A LOT; I feel like I've made a commitment to 4 people during the program so it helps make me go. Its especially challenging now because this time of year when it is dark after work, I just want to go home and stay there but I fight the urge and go anyways. Or I go in the morning.

Monday, October 20, 2008

The dollar diet

This is not a diet in the conventional sense of the word, but this is a blog of 2 people who decided to learn more about poverty and the food they were eating by spending $1 or less per person on food for every day in a month.

Inspiring and interesting! What do you think?

http://onedollardietproject.wordpress.com/

-Danielle

Tuesday, September 16, 2008

How cheap can they get?

If you are talking about laptops apparently the "new" cheap is $98 USD.

http://rj3sp.blogspot.com/2008/09/hivision-mininote-98-linux-laptop.html

Wouldn't be something I would want... but might be a great child's starter laptop, especially due to the size and quality of video it plays.

Christmas 2008 hot pick anyone?

-Danielle

Friday, July 11, 2008

Update

It's been 7 weeks since I made up my mind to stop making poor choices and to start living a healthy life. I feel strong as ever. I don't even have to think about eating veggies, fruits, etc because it's just part of me. I fit into all my old clothes, this is what my hubby is most happy about since I don't have to go out on a shopping spree :-)

It's been 3 weeks today since I joined the RAC (a local gym) and I have consistently gone 5x per week. I don't feel pressure to go because I have a treadmill and some weights at home so if I'm tired or don't feel like working out hard, I do something lighter at home. The gym has really been a blessing for me and the money is not even an issue. I waited about 4 weeks after I decided to turn my lifestyle around to get a membership at the RAC and I think it really helped because I don't feel like I have to go just because I'm paying a (high) monthly fee. For me it's just a way to facilitate an active lifestyle so I can always have something to do if I'm bored of the same activity.

We always say we'll never weigh as much as we did in high school, and while that is true in so many levels, the most important thing isn't about becoming someone you used to be...it's about becoming someone new that you can really understand.

I never wanted to weigh 100 pounds again (as I did in high school), but I'm at my ideal weight which is what I weighed in college. I have a completely different mindset about what it means too.

I wish every single one of you the best healthy life that you choose for yourself.

~Jossie

Friday, June 13, 2008

Fitness centers...I give in!

I was at the RAC (Rochester Athletic Club) on Wednesday for a department outing and I felt sucked in. The RAC has all kinds of activities and I can no longer hold out...the locker rooms are clean, the sauna is private, they offer all kinds of classes, there are tons of machines and they have a pool!!! On top of it all, they were really nice at the front desk...which I would expect since I'll be paying $70/month for a membership there. The membership is month to month and I'm going to try it for at least 1 month and see how things go...I'll let you know!

~Jossie

Thursday, June 05, 2008

Fitness Games?

I read this article on a finance blog the other day and thought it had some good basic advice for starting an exercise plan.

http://www.fivecentnickel.com/2008/06/05/the-parallels-between-fitness-and-finance/

I found his point about making it a game very interesting. Does anyone make a game out of their fitness or diet routines? In Jazzercise they have games all the time, the one right now is get 30 points in June and July and get a free water bottle. You get a point for going to class of course, and then there will be bonus points sometimes and you get 5 points for inviting a guest that signs up to join etc.

I have never been able to create my own game for fitness that works for a prolonged period of time. I usually can go about 4 to 5 weeks before something interrupts me. Starting this blog was supposed to create kind of a competition and support structure for Mel and I with our goals lined out but it only works if there is reward of some sort. Other than staying in contact with my friends the only reward I have ever sought is the goal of being in shape. Once I did give myself a weight loss target and bought an iPod when I reached it.

Jazzercise

The last time I was truly in good shape was in the spring of 2005 when I was doing Jazzercise about 3 times a week. I signed up for Jazzercise for June to get in better shape for the summer vacation season and to lose my "winter weight".

Yesterday was my first class this week and I had a great time! I was surprised to see so many familiar faces after 2 years away! The instructor is the same of course and there was a group of about 10 women who I recognized from before. Its amazing to see how many people are that dedicated to one thing to keep themselves in shape year round!

If anyone wants to attend a class with me I have a guest pass and am going tonight at 4:15 and Saturday morning at 8 am.

Tuesday, May 27, 2008

consitency(eating better + exercise + dedication)===great results

It's been a week since I made changes to my workout (even though I last posted on Friday) and I have lost 3 lbs...2 that I gained on the trip and 1 for fun :-D

There's no magic to the formula...consistently eating healthy with regular exercising and a dab of dedication goes a long way :-D

~Jossie

Friday, May 23, 2008

Kicking it up a notch

I recently got back from my 1 week road trip with my husband. We stayed at 6 different hotels and I managed to exercise 5 out of 6 days during our trip. I made sure every hotel we stayed at had some sort of exercise room. The one in Mackinac Island didn't but we hiked 3.5 miles and biked around the 8.5 mile island...I'd say we got some exercise that day. The one day I skipped was the day after our friends wedding because ... well the night before was a little rough :-) I ate better than most people do during vacations, at least better than my husband did (but I usually do anyway so that's not saying much :-). I got home and still gained 2 pounds, not bad but still disappointing.

I'm going to kick it up a notch (like Emeril would say) and increase my cardio workouts. I'm now running 5 days a week (was doing 2-3 days per week) in addition to my 30 minute daily walking and my strength training. It has been working out really great with this awesome weather we haven't seen in a loooong time. I feel refreshed and strong...that's what its all about :-D

~Jossie

Sunday, May 18, 2008

No more excuses!

Okay, no more excuses I have to start working out. I just purchased a double stroller so I don't have any more reason why I cant go outside. I just did 1/2 mile yesterday but now I got shin splits. I HAVE to be down to 150 by Aug. 12th any more weight after that would be great. My current weight 164.

Thursday, May 15, 2008

5 out of 6!

I created some goals for myself to help in being healthy. Yesterday I hit 5 out of 6 of them!

Bring/eat a healthy lunch
Include Fruit/Veggies with every meal
Exercise every other day
Cut down on carbs from grains 1 meal
Eat a light dinner
Don't eat 3 hours before bed

I didn't have a healthy lunch, but I did limit myself to only 2 pieces of deep dish pizza at Pizza Hut.

I put these 6 goals on a "To Do" list on my google homepage. As I go through the day, or at the end of the day I can check which ones I accomplished and get a qantified # to evaluate how I am doing in the healthy department that day.

Its not something I heard about anywhere, but it reminds me of when I was going to a "thin and healthy" counselor. They would have me rate how I thought I was doing this week in terms of sticking to the diet and how I felt. I am a more realistic hard numbers woman, so this method will be good for me!

Tuesday, May 06, 2008

Healthy Environment

Some of you may find this a bit off topic for our blog, but I think it fits well. Being Healthy is not just about being fit but about having healthy things around you and being nice to our environment.

I already started doing "more" lately to help the environment. Getting more strict with the thermostat, starting to recycle thin cardboards and office paper and a few other things. This article here takes it so much further than I have gone... and it might give you some ideas as well. In the comments section there are even some humorous ones like "use your toothbrush to clean the toilet, a little bleach and you are sanitized and as good as new".

More than anything I just wanted to document this link so I can refer back to it later.
http://www.cleverdude.com/content/50-ways-to-save-money-by-not-wasting/

What do you think? One thing we do that I didn't see mentioned there is not throwing away plastic silverware. If it can live through the dishwasher (and most of it does) we wash it and re-use. This was more important when we were bringing lunch each day.

Wednesday, April 30, 2008

Spring is here

Hello my friends!

Anyone making any changes to their routines now that spring is here? Maybe some workouts outside?

I have a goal to help more with the yard work and garden this year. Also we are getting ready for summer hiking trips so some more afternoons at Quarry Hill will be a lot more fun than the treadmill... even if I can watch TV while on it.

Friday, April 11, 2008

Initiative and Action

Some of the blogs I read focus on career aspirations. A couple of these caught my eye today related to developing your initiative (not just by practice as most people say) by focusing on results and following something you are passionate about.

http://www.brazencareerist.com/2008/04/08/6-keys-to-developing-your-initiative/

http://jonathanmead.com/2008/03/27/whats-keeping-you-from-taking-action/

Its an interesting shift of your focus from external definitions of success to internal, and making use of what you are passionate about to drive that focus, instead of the brute force method which has never worked very well for me. I don't want to do this, but I'm going to make myself do it every day for 30 days etc... Those plans never work out long term.

Thursday, April 10, 2008

On the way...

...to achieving my short term goal. I ran 3 miles on my treadmill yesterday at 5.0 for 2.75 miles and 6.0 for the last .25 mile. I pushed myself hard because I knew I could do it even if I would end up almost dead. Brian made it all better by giving me a leg massage :-) All joking aside, I was extremely sore after the run, but this morning I'm not sore at all!!! I strongly believe it's a result from the massage last night...now I know the cure of sore muscles after a good workout :-D

I plan to run 3 miles on Saturday or Sunday, that would be 3 miles twice this week. I will work towards running for 3 miles 3 times next week and continue this for at least 3 more weeks. Then I'll add .5 miles at a time until I reach my 5 miles 3 times a week goal! In the meantime, I'm going to add some strength training 2 or 3 times a week to build stronger leg muscles.

I'm so excited about getting this close to my goal...I'm determined to achieve this by mid July!

~J

Monday, April 07, 2008

Slow and Steady

My working out and eating plans can be described as slow and steady.

  • Walking outside or on the treadmill 30 min.
  • Introducing healthier options for my favorite fatty or otherwise bad for me snacks.
  • Include fruit with every breakfast, and veggies with every lunch and dinner.
I think I'm going to introduce some weightlifting this week in addition to the treadmill. I might design my own routine or follow a portion of the Beach Body Power 90 routine.

How is everyone else doing with the April showers?

Saturday, March 29, 2008

Down an inch

I don't want to jinx my progress, but I've lost an inch from my waist! bye-bye! I don't know if I've worked out any more than I did before, but I am definitely eating more veggies and not eating right before I go to bed. I think that is helping a lot. And I'm loving my soup. I just made a curry soup. Yum. I love the smell. I'm hoping the light in the evening and warmer weather will make it easier to get out and walk or bike after work more often.

Tuesday, March 25, 2008

Only 25 more pounds to Go

I'm at 174 today. My goal weight is 150. I haven't started working out yet, but I hope to start soon. Now since it's been past 6 weeks I can start working out. Now I just need some time and energy.

How is everyone else doing?

Monday, March 24, 2008

Just keep walking....

I'm shooting for the 30 min of exercise every day recommended by "the experts". So far I have chosen my treadmill downstairs as my M.O.

The weightlifting program I never really got started. I'll see where I am in a week or so on getting that started again.

Tuesday, March 18, 2008

Tomorrow is the busiest day.

Well instead of working out after work which was the plan we went to Macaroni Grill for a "last meal" since they are closing.

I had my fill of the yummy bread there and even was able to bring some home to enjoy later.

We finished some more of the clean up we need to do before our out of town visitors arrive later this week, and watched some NEW episodes of our favorite Monday night comedies.

Not exactly a healthy day, but a day of note nonetheless.

Thursday, March 13, 2008

One day at a time...

The 1 day workout goal..... Today I will workout again!

I have been on a break the last few weeks, had a couple of false starts on the BeachBody Power 90 plan, and pretty much done zip for exercise.

So my goal today is to get outside and do something with my husband on this beautiful day. 47 degrees when we were at lunch!

A bike ride might be a bit muddy with all the snow melt but it would be fun, just have to put on some old clothes and sneakers.

What are YOU doing today?

Friday, March 07, 2008

OK, I'm really doing it

As I mentioned before I've been reading You on a Diet and doing a few things it recommends. It was especially motivating to hear that Jossie followed it for the past 3 months and hasn't hated it. So here I am! Last Saturday I've started following "the diet" with my husband. The biggest thing it is doing for me is eating more vegetables, not eating after 8:30, and think about how hungry I am before I eat. I do well while I'm at work, but when night comes around, I love my snacks. They're not even that bad, its just the volume. Another good thing is when I don't have enough time for a workout, I make a point to get a walk in. Usually I'd skip it altogether.

I really need to work on my arm strength. I recently started going to a weight-lifting class that I haven't done in about 5 years. Its a lot harder than it used to be. When we work on arms, I use the smallest weight possible and it is still way too much. Meanwhile all around me, young and old, are easily using 4x the weight I'm using. Sigh.

Tuesday, March 04, 2008

Weigh in

OK fine, I weighed myself because I was curious...

I found out that I have lost 50% of the total number of pounds to reach my target weight. I'm excited about this because it has truly been painless. I have adjusted my eating habits and incorporated exercise as part of my life. This is a great motivator for me to continue to do what I have been doing, which is beginning to feel normal now :-)

~J

Monday, March 03, 2008

SIKE

SIKE is what my older brother used to say to me all the time. Its the 80's equivalent of "NOT".

SO this post is titled SIKE because I didn't actually start Week 1 on Beach Body's Power 90 program last week.

This week I start anew.

I would also like to point out that if a beach ready body for summer is your goal March is a great time to start. We are 3 months from summer!

-Danielle

Monday, February 25, 2008

Hooray!

Hey ladies, like I promised, I haven't weighed myself yet. First time I can weigh myself again is on Saturday (March 1st)...that's 3 months after I made my 'no weighing myself for 3 months' rule. Not sure if I'll be stepping on the scale from now on, it feels great feeling healthy and not having the scale tell me otherwise. I have measured my waist and I've lost 1.5 inches :-)

I have to admit that it's been easier because my husband makes lunch and dinner (hey...I do breakfast, clean and do laundry :-) He's prepared some really awesome meals that have ton of great flavors and most of them happen to be vegetarian. The vegetarian thing kinda just happened because we got tired of meat. I have to admit that I don't miss it, the meals are so great without meat, I rarely even notice it. I'm not doing it out of animal cruelty or anything, just laziness - cooking meat takes time and not to mention that our grocery bill has gone down by $20 or $30.

My goals continue to be to eat healthy and if I feel like having a bag of oreos one night (this actually happened Friday night, but I regretted it, felt kinda sick afterwards), then I will. Won't weigh myself and definitely drink coffee as much as I want (which is usually once or twice a week now). I've been drinking 2 cups of green tea daily and would like to keep that up, especially in the winter months when I need something really hot to warm me up. Walk for 30 minutes everyday and do some sort of strength training (whatever I feel like at the time) 3 times a week. I'd like to train for a 5k so I'm starting to run for 15 minutes at least 3 times a week. I plan to progressively up the number of times per week as well as the duration of these runs to achieve a steady 5k pace.

Hope everyone is doing fantastic with their goals!!

Week 1 - Power 90

Hello Friends!

Last week I was pretty wiped out with the FLU. I am still recovering but feeling well enough today that I am starting week 1 of 90 days of the BeachBody Power 90 program.

The program alternates between cardio and weight lifting on different days and encourages 6 workouts a week, as well as has a diet plan associated with it.

My starting stats are not totally figured out yet, but I do know my starting weight.

176.5 yes I lost weight, but sadly it is just because of the flu, not from the working out I did in Jan/Feb.

Wednesday, February 13, 2008

Week of Feb 3 - 9

Kat and I went to 2 classes at the gym together last week plus I did one class on my own and an hour of snowshoeing on Saturday. I was quite proud as it was the first week I got 4 workouts in this year. Thanks Kat for keeping me motivated and thanks Danielle for joining me for snowshoeing so I'm not the lone female. :)

Top 5 Favorite Snacks

I read this article today about good snacking... which I know I can improve on!

http://www.beachbody.com/product/293.do?code=NEWS_293_10SNACKS#article2

So what are your 5 favorite snacks?

Mine are not healthy snacks... but there are what I tend to eat when I'm hungry and its not really lunch or dinner time yet.
  1. Wheat Thins and cheese
  2. Chips and Salsa or Guacamole
  3. Snack Crackers (like cheese its)
  4. Microwave Popcorn
  5. Chocolate (fudge, mini bar, whatever I can find)

Week 5 Came and Went

Week 5 came and went, and so went all my working out effort!

Last weeks excuses were:
  • Monday night my workout got interrupted by a phone call, and so I skipped the weights, pushups, leg lifts and crunches of the DVD
  • Thursday Girl scout meeting at 6:30
  • Voting in primaries had to be there by 7, so I ate dinner first... never managed to work out after getting home at 9:15
  • Wednesday night felt like a good night to spend some down time with my husband. We cooked together and ate together early in the evening
  • Friday - Duh its Friday and I had plans
Overall I think the real reason for the drop off is the increased time commitment to 60 min made it too hard to get through without interruption or get through if I only had 90 min from when I got home to workout, eat and then get somewhere. With the 45 min one at least that was possible. And why I didn't just do the 45 min workout instead of the 60 min?

If I could answer that question I would probably have the key to being in shape all the time! My commitment level over 4 weeks was decent, but not stellar. That 5th week must have had a few too many hurdles that I did not overcome.

Wednesday, February 06, 2008

A *REALLY* good recipe! :)

My boss had this salad last week and it looked so yummy that I had to have some.

Asian Crunch Salad

3 ounces uncooked whole wheat spaghetti (it gives it this GREAT nutty flavor!)
1/3 cup seasoned rice vinegar
2 tablespoons sugar
3 tablespoons low-sodium soy sauce
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 teaspoon minced garlic (I put in a bunch more because I love garlic!)
1/2 cup chopped green onions
1/2 cup frozen baby peas
1/4 cup red bell pepper strips
1 (12 ounce) package broccoli slaw
1/4 cup chopped unsalted, dry-roasted peanuts


1. Break pasta into 3 inch pieces; cook according to package directions, ommitting salt and fat. Drain.

2. Combine vinegar and next 4 ingredients (through garlic) in a large bowl. Add pasta, onions, and next 4 ingredients (through slaw) to vinegar mixture; toss gently to coat. Cover and chill at least 2 hours. Top with peanuts.

Calories: 126 (30% from fat)
Fat: 4.2 (sat .6g, mono 2.4g, poly 1g)
Protien: 4.7g
Carb: 18.6g
Fiber: 3.6g
Chol: 0mg
Iron: 1.1mg
Sodium: 430mg
Calc: 24mg

I actually made this recipe with a whole box of pasta. It was still just as yummy and it got better as it sat. I highly recommend it!

Friday, February 01, 2008

Me and the Skinny Bitch(es)

Last weekend, while waiting for my parents to get to Maple Grove with my offspring, I purchased the book Skinny Bitch. So far, I'm almost done reading it. It's had a couple of surprising side effects.

1. Me. Vegan? Maybe. I'm out surfing VeganPeace.com. I swear the parts of the book talking about animal cruelty made me nauseous yesterday.

2. I'm realizing that maybe I just need to eat more of good things! Less or no meat. Less or no dairy. It's so sad!!! :)

3. Yes, I can do this.

4. I like books with the f-bomb sprinkled throught! :)

I'll update y'all later on what I end up doing.

That being said - I'm back at 208 after a long week of being fatter than I should. I started eating more yesterday and I guess that worked!

Tuesday, January 29, 2008

Week 4

My goodness its week 4 already! Week 3 fizzled out with me missing Saturday, Sunday and Monday's workouts. Sunday was just me being lazy, Saturday and Monday were due to busy schedules.

Oh well, moving on.

I should be able to workout Tues, Wed, Thurs and Fri this week. I have other evening events, but I can be a bit late for them.

This coming Saturday and Sunday should be easy to just get up in the morning and workout (whatever time that is). So that will give me 6 workouts "this week" to be back on track.

I think if I get a time crunch I will have to do a shorter workout, maybe even just make use of the treadmill and then do weights and crunches on my own.

This longer workout is harder, but OH so much better for me. I really like the added core work in the cardio and then the crunches section seems to be easier.

Plans to eat healthier are going 50/50. Sometimes I still pig out and eat too much. I still go to places like Taco Johns and eat chocolate candy or cookies. I started some healthier habits too though and I hope to keep up with those.

  • Regularly adding fish to my diet
  • Cutting back on meat, not every meal has to have a meaty main dish
  • Actually using up lettuce before it goes bad
  • Trying to get a fruit or veggie with EVERY meal
  • Eating larger lunches but smaller dinners

I give up.

Seriously. I'm back up to 209.5.

I've been in the gym just about every day - at LEAST 5 times a week - 2 hours/day for the last 4 weeks.

I've lost precicely 5.5 lbs.

I don't get it. I'm eating under 1200 calories a day. I'm working out all the mother f'ing time. I'm doing everything that the books tell you. Drinking 2-4 liters of water a day. Lifting weights to build up strength. Running to burn off fat the quickest.

My body is just not cooperating.

I cried myself to sleep last night. While I was at the gym, a girl came in looking like I used to. She was tall and thin - about a size 8. Just like I was at her age - probably 17. She ran and she ran. I watched her and wondered what made me think I was fat at the time.

I then went home after my 2 hour workout, took 1 look at my naked self in the mirror and sobbed. I can't even look at myself anymore. I want to quit and eat bowls and bowls of ice cream. I want to just lay in a vat of lard and absorb it thru my skin.

I can't seem to lose weight. I don't know what's wrong. I was doing so well. 2 lbs/week blah blah blah.

I fell asleep crying last night. The bf held me while I sobbed.

I ache today from the workout last night, but I think my heart hurts more than anything...

Wednesday, January 23, 2008

blech...going into week 3 update...

Well - so far, so good on this diet.

I'm stuck at 7 lbs down in 3 weeks. I suppose that's one better than the 2 lbs/week average, but still, it's frustrating when I'm working out 5 - 6 times a week for 1.5-2 hours a day that that's all I've lost!

Everything is going quite well. I'm still sticking under 1200 calories a day and eating a lot of chicken, though steak is still my favorite. I'm trying to stay away from too much red meat - so maybe once or twice a week - tops.

This is going to be a short update, it's just an ucky day here today! :)

Congrats on the momentum ladies. I think we're all doing quite well down our chosen paths!

Tuesday, January 22, 2008

Week 3

Anyone annoyed by my weekly updates yet?

Well I finally noticed a change in the scale. 1.5 lbs. Some other great changes...

I can now do 2 sets of 12 push-ups! It was very hard to get that #12, especially since I have been working out harder earlier in the routine as well so my arms seem more tired by the time we get to the end to do push-ups!

It's not really THAT hard to find 45 min in the evening to work out. You just have to make your husband cook dinner every night :) He has complained at the bigger pile up of dishes though since apparently I don't do them any faster than I did before. Maybe as this becomes more of a habit I will start feeling more invigorated instead of tired after workouts and things like dishes and housecleaning will step up.

I have had more salads this week and plan to continue that trend. I have a fat free dressing that I love (western) and put sunflower seeds on it. Unfortunately my husband is having a hard time finding any dressing at all that he likes! Salads and steamed veggies with a bit of butter and pepper are my favorite ways to get veggies in my diet. I'm not a fan of raw veggies.

Up for next week to work on...

  • Moving on to hardest workout in my set, Burn It Up for the next 4 weeks.
  • Keep it up with more salads and veggies with every meal, and bring my lunch more than the 1 time a week I am currently.
  • Break out the fish for a meal at least once a week.

Sunday, January 20, 2008

My goals for 2008

I have begun 2008 with some motivation, and so far, I am doing pretty good.

My personal goals to start 2008:

1) Workout 3 times a week
2) Making working out a priority and a normal part of my day
3) Drink more water
4) Up my daily fiber
5) Eat more home cooked lunches/dinner (try to reduce eatting out)
6) Reduce sodium intake

Wednesday, January 16, 2008

Danielle Week 2

After a 2 day break from the Ramp it Up routine I came back to it and it felt so much better! I guess my body needed a bit of a break!

Last week I made only very small efforts to change my eating habits. This week I plan to slowly increase the amount of salads, vegetables and other good for me dishes I include with each meal. I think I even have my husband on board for a change!

Thursday is going to be a challenge because I have Scouts at 6:30. I plan to try and get in an abbreviated version of the workout after work but before scouts. Dinner might be an instant cup of soup or something quick.

What percent of my fat is body?

Huh?

Quick - before you go any futher - take a guess at what you think my % of body fat is. I'm 5' 8". My weight yesterday morning was 209.5 - at the gym last night, fully clothed and after a day of eating was 214 (yeah, I almost cried when I saw that number again). K - go record that number down in the comments and THEN read on...

Well, I joined the Biggest Loser competition at the gym. I think I'm the thinnest woman there, but alas... It was $30 and you get a $20 card to go to classes that I was planning on buying anyway, so I'm only out $10. Plus it's good motivation for me to get my ass in the gym for the next 4 months - did I mention that it goes thru April? They are going to have competitions every other week and weigh-ins every week.

As part of that, I had to weigh-in (of course), get my measurements taken (oh God, I couldn't look. My hips alone are 47.5"!!!) and get a body fat test with a fancy little computer gun. I love the fancy little computer gun. What % of my body is fat, you ask? You're going to have to wait a little longer.... ;)

We all know that the CDC goes by your BMI. Well, my BMI is 32.5. Obese. Yep. Did anyone question that? I certainly didn't. Though, I have none of the health problems that occur in obese people. My BP is low. It usually runs about 103/60ish - though when they take it at the doctor when I'm all stressed out or sick, it puts me right at 'normal' 120/70ish. Even when I was 9 months pregnant with Logan, my 10 lb gigantor baby, I topped out at 140/87 or something of that sort. My blood sugar, which gets checked EVERY appointment when you have a parent with Diabeties mind you, is perfectly normal. I was borderline GD with Logan, but let me restate - HE WAS A 10 LB BABY! :)

BMI is tough for a person like me who does have a lot of muscle - albeit hiding under a candy coating. I work out - a lot - when I'm going to the gym. Monday night alone I was there for an hour and a half and I STILL felt like I didn't get everything done! I was a figure skater who, in season, with high school 6 hours a day, still spent 6 hours on the ice. In the off season (summer) I was on the ice 8-9 hours a day. In the summer when I wasn't on the ice, I was taking dance classes for 3 hours or so! I didn't even have time to eat (yeah, I got a little too thin that summer - I was about 146 and a size 6 - 7) ! :)

Imagine my surprise when the readout said that my body fat was at 27%. Completely within the 'healthy' range. Albeit on the high end - but that will change. According to fancy little computer gun, even with almost 0% body fat, my lowest weight without losing muscle - drum roll please - 156.2. So, needless to say, my 160 that's listed as my goal, might have to change. Lord - I can't get to 0% body fat, can I? I'd be too hot to handle!!! LOL

Needless to say, today is a good day and the start of a new outlook.

Sunday, January 13, 2008

Time to tackle a diet

Yeah, I'm a couple of weeks behind the new year momentum but my foot is mostly better now so I'm ready to get started.

I had mentioned it in a couple of post comments, but I am also starting You on a Diet like Jossie. It had been sitting on our shelf since it came out and while I was off at the end of the year and bored, I dug it out and started reading.

I know I can break bad habits and make good ones: I'm taking my multi-vitamins and other supplements without thinking about it. I've always have loved drinking water, but I hardly drink soda anymore. I limit myself to 1 coffee in the morning.

I personally felt I had to fully adapt to the gluten-free diet before I could add anything else to complicate the food equation. This is the year! I have gluten-free routine down at home -- mostly I'm used to eating at home or bringing something so I don't feel the need to eat out as often or grab a snack at work. It took a while, but I also don't feel the need to overeat like I had to before in order to feel full, and since I was used to not gaining weight like a normal person would I didn't see the negative side affects until a year ago when all of my pants didn't fit. I can really see that just comparing the size of my lunch I take with me a year and a half ago to the ones I take now.

More good habits I'm working on: make workouts a routine and eating more fruits and vegetables.

Saturday, January 12, 2008

Older post responses

There's been a few posts on foods that I hadn't gotten a chance to respond and since they are not on the main page I'll respond here.

I tried Karen's recipe from October, but adjusted it a "tiny" bit - I replaced the tofu with chicken. It was delicious.

Kathryn, regarding lunch ideas...we usually bring our lunch. We had been doing sandwiches for a while but whenever we have leftovers we try to bring those in. We were getting tired of sandwiches as well, but started changing it by using pitas instead of bread or put everything in a bake potato. There are other great recipes on the Food For Life book I often use, I highly recommend this book.

Being healthy without thinking about it

I'm trying a new thing, might not work but I'm trying it. I've read enough books about exercising and eating healthy in the past that I know what's good for me and what's not, I'm also learning a whole new set of information about the human body and food from the current book I'm reading - You On A Diet. In the past, I have written goals nightly for the next day and recorded all the foods I've had for the day and will have the next day. I've weighed myself when I was supposed to and wrote down recipes that are healthy. All these things, for some reason, make me feel that my world is revolving around dieting. I'm so hard on myself when I mess up once because I've put so much work into it...they (the pros) say not to worry if you mess up, just keep going, but that doesn't work for me. Also, when all I think about is eating healthy and working out, the temptation to avoid it grows immensely for me.

So my new thing is that I'm not going to keep track of my health, (just like I don't keep track of how many times a day I brush my teeth) this includes any goals, workouts, foods, etc. The reason I'm trying this approach is because I want to be healthy without thinking about it. I'm working out everyday, but I'm not patting myself in the back for it, because it's just part of my life...I don't pat myself on the back when I shower or brush my teeth. I've also been drinking lots of water and green tea everyday, not using salt at all, and eating lots of fruits and veggies, but I don't record it. I'm not going to weigh myself for at least 3 months - I know how I'm doing depending on how my clothes fit.

This might seem odd to you, and it's odd to me too, but I don't want to think about being healthy anymore because I have let myself down a lot in the past, I'm just going to make it second nature to me. This method goes against everything I've read, so I'm not saying it's going to work, I'm just saying that I'm going to try it.

Thursday, January 10, 2008

Small Tips for Weight Loss

Small Tips for Weight Loss

Even before I read this I have been using #1, wait 2 min when it comes to my afternoon pop or snack. Sometimes its drink a glass of water and wait 2 minutes.

I think the reason this works for me is that I am not in tune with my body enough to tell the subtle differences between hungry, thirsty, tired and bored. Sometimes they all feel the same!

Goals Check In

January is a good time to check in with the goals we have set. I just changed mine to reflect the 6 week program I am starting to jump start a healthier lifestyle.

How is everyone else doing? Do we need to update any goals? Any you have found too difficult to maintain and need to back off on?

Tuesday, January 08, 2008

Danielle Week 1

This is week 1 for me too! I am doing BeachBody.com's Slim in 6 program with a few others on the beachbody message boards. Its a DVD workout with some online tools and support you can use if you want to. Working with others towards a common goal is always easier than going it alone!

The best thing about it is that the workouts start out at 25 min, and gradually get harder and longer. So for now I'm doing good but then I'm only 1 day in! Even on the easy workout I could not do everything the instructor did. Shows how out of shape I have become!

Not making any life altering changes to my diet yet, one thing at a time. As they say on BeachBody.... Just Press Play!

-Danielle

Diet 2008 - Week 1.

There's more details on my blog over here - but just thought I'd let everyone know that I'm down 2 lbs this week.

Only 8.6 million more to go. :)

My fitday journal is up to date - so check it out; workouts and all (or lack thereof.... ).

I'm aiming for 160 by 8/1. That means I have to lose about 1.77 lbs/week. Should be a sinch if I can stick with it.

I made some killer sweet-n-sour chicken last night. I'll have to post the recipe later this week - it was really great. Even the kids ate it - with a SALAD! YAY!

Oh - goal for this blog - post once a week from me. Daily posts on my personal page - hopefully!

Happy 2008 girls!