Weight Watchers

I'm thinking about joining weight watchers.  Probably just the online stuff.  Heavens knows I keep up well with online communities and I also have friends that are doing it too.
Thoughts?

Input...?

Ok I need input. Something strange has happened....I haven't worked out in 4 days due to feeling a little under the weather this weekend and frankly, when I wasn't catching up on sleep trying to feel better I was a chicken with my head cut off running around. As a result I also didn't have time to cook or grocery shop so the only snacks I ate were sugary stuff I already had. booo....

But needless to say, when I got to work today and weighed myself (yes, I don't own a scale so I'm forced to weigh myself at work with clothing on. It's more realistic since the Dr.'s office always weighs you with clothes on too...right?) I had lost yet another pound. My theory is that I've lost a slight bit of the muscle mass I have gained due to regularly working out. So I will test my theory by getting back on the horse this week and see if I gain back. Mind you, I am back to my healthy eating once again. What do you think caused this strange phenomenon? Has this happened to you before? I tell ya what though....It almost makes one not want to work out. ALMOST. But I know it's good for me and it makes me feel good so I won't be fooled by the little devil on my shoulder just yet.

Why do you workout?

So, what's up with working out?  Why do you do it?
I don't get skinny doing it, perhaps I'm more toned, but I don't really even lose inches...
For me it's this:
1.  Less likely to get sick, and when I do get sick I am better faster, and I don't get as sick (currently in the "less sick" category right now).
2.  I think my face looks more "glow-y" when I work out.
3.  By taking the time to do something entirely for myself I'm usually happier and more energetic.

But, being sick  -- I was in a quandry last night.  Do I wake-up early to work out or not. I had a wake-up call that I don't ALWAYS have to get up at 5:30 to work out.  I could use some precious naptime to do a bit (and I usually keep it to 15 minutes when I'm not feeling well, just light stuff).  I just did some "just dance" on the wii.  I rocked it, as usual.

Ok, time to respond ladies.  Show me you're out there!

Triumph!

Slowly but surely the weight is coming off....now, of course, that I have been watching my sugar and carb intake more carefully. I am back down in the 150's finally!!! (159 to be exact) *Gasp*, I know...I just told you my weight! But, this is in part for my own good because it will make me accountable and see my progress looking back.

I am also slowly noticing firming in my legs and my stomach (via 50 crunches after every treadmill session). This is awesome since my stomach was probably the thing that bugged me most, and second was the cottage cheese I was starting to see in my calves. I used to always pride myself in having pretty nice legs, but haven't felt that way for a few years now. I am now getting to the point where when I look down at them I see an actual calf muscle again! Yay! It's the little things really...

Oh, and my "pooch" is no longer hanging over my pants as much. Hence my enthusiasm for the crunches...because I really hate them. I do. But... *sigh*... they work.

Workout

After my last post I've thought about my favorite workout videos.  I have a lot, I have never had a gym membership but I  like to workout and find many benefits to it besides weight loss (which, frankly has never been a benefit, thanks so much for wondering).

Today, while feeding P I was watching the Marth Stewart Show, and she had a variety of exercises on, including one that you use a giant sword to do.  I was inspired by a lot of it, and noticed the different things you can "get" from each type.  I especially liked S factor -- now, I know a lot of you are going to be SHOCKED that I think this might be something for me, but since my pelvic floor was so out of balance I was doing a lot of stuff like this anyway.  The movements she was doing just looked freeing.  It looks like she has a book, so that might be a little more my style, and obviously something I'd do during naptime.  ;)  Go ahead, gasp away at me. 

Physique 57 also looked interesting.  I like how they REALLY worked certain parts of your body and then immediately stretched it out.  I think that'd feel good. Sadly, the woman with the giant sword doesn't have a workout video (I was thinking of getting it for Drew while she was doing it).

Anyway, I really want reviews of good DVD's, and I'd like to hear about stuff you're thinking of trying.  I'm gonna try and get some reviews done of the ones that I liked, and didn't end-up liking.

Current Workout

Some of you know that I got "Your Shape" with Jenny McArthy free with a House Party that I did.  I'm not required in any way to do a review on any of my blogs, but I am really getting into it.  It's hard to describe...

It comes with a USB camera that tracks you. It's a blessing, and a curse.  You need to have the exact lighting and the right clothes on for the camera to really get you.  I've been doing it about 8 workouts so far and I'm slowly figuring out what I need.  My main thing is the kitchen light on behind me.  I always forget it.  I also do better if I either have pants with a pattern or lighter pants on. 

Then, Jenny does exercises and you copy them, and then you receive a score.  I love the competative nature of this.  Today I hit 67% and I was SO happy.  You can't plan that the wii will find your every move, much like any of the other wii games you're going to have to give some room for error.  The joy is increasing your score.  I will admit that when you're totally doing it right and Jenny keeps telling me I'm doing it wrong that I do have some choice words for her in my head...

I also like you how can add a step bench, stability ball or hand weights to it. 

At the beginning Jenny asks you "how you're doing" and it seems like she really bases the workouts off this.  Today I was "nothing can stop me" and it was a HARD workout.  Of course, I was also working out at 7:40 instead of 5:40... of course, nothing could stop me. :)

Honestly, I am working out harder than I ever have.  I'm selecting the 30 minute workout, but it turns into a 40 minute workout because she stops your clock all the time to put down the hand weights or bench.  That's moderately annoying.  If I really need to be done in 30 minutes, I need to select the 15 minute workout (you can also do 45, 60 and 75 minute workouts).  I am working out hard because I want a good score and sadly, I like the little icons that Jenny places aroudn my photo when I'm doing a good job.  I think I need some more self-love.

I like how each time she adds a few exercises, and as I get better at some things, she increases the exertion required.  I like how she's feelin' me out just like a personal trainer would.

I think I can find a coupon code for anyone who's interested in getting one, bringing the Amazon price to 39.99.  There is also a PC product, but I heard you need to have serious gaming requirements on your computer to hook it up.  The price is also more expensive at 69.99 (but my 10$ off coupon works on that also).

Anyway, I am really happy with it.  I'm excited to workout with it still.  Going on week 3.  I heard that every 10 workout she allows you to re-post your weight and gives you  a "fitness level" and allows you to make a new goal area (mine is currently abs, I doubt that will change).

Anyway, I'm liking that I am loving the workouts as of late.  When Drew and I lose 20 points (based on a delicate equation) we're gonna get a wii fit.  Then, I plan to do video workouts once, wii fit once and Your Shape.  Let's not forget  my walking and turning the compost (it gives me the will to do it if I know I can get out of a workout -- it's hard work!).

The main thing I learned from this is that workouts should be enjoyable.  Also, find things that you like, and turn them into a workout (I don't really like composting, but because it's something I need to do I really get into and break a swet, it's a total body workout).  I also got Just Dance with my party pack (it was a pretty sweet party) and I LOVE that game.  I am also amazing at it, who knew?  Rarely does anyone beat me.  I challenge you all.  I hope with all my heart they come out with Just Dance 2 because I want to play it all day.  Also, I try and play it a bit in the afternoon, it helps lift my spirits, keeps me from eating and helps burn off some calories.  Big fun, big, big, fun.

How are your workouts coming?  Are you still enjoying what you're doing?

Stupid scale

So, I've sort of hit that huge wall that I think every woman hits where you are really good at working out every day but the scale doesn't budge....WTH?! How can that be possible when I am consuming the same amount of calories as normal but burning about 400/day now where I wasn't before.

The only thing keeping me motivated right now is the fact that I am majorly building up my endurance which is huge for me with my asthma. I am now up to running a full 8 minutes on the treadmill straight. I do 40 minutes total or about 2 1/2 miles at a rigorous walk on an incline but jogging that long after only 3 weeks is huge for me.

And to think....I used to jog 2 miles/day back about 5 years ago before I broke limbs that prevented me from continuing on this wonderful road of health and I regressed and have never been back up that far since...

I guess it's time to swallow my pride and actually change my diet too... oy....stupid insulin resistance. Why can't you just let me enjoy CARBS?! WhY?!.... Ok, that is all...

Checking in & Chocolate Chip Cookies

Just thought I'd check in and do a little reporting. (Because I know you've all been breathless, waiting. Or maybe just breathless from all the workouts you're doing?)

I worked out all week. I dedicated my evenings to Jillian "I will kill you" Michaels and even added a yoga workout to my morning. I watched my eating, didn't mindlessly snack, I didn't have ANY sugar. (I mean, outside sugar. Sugar in dessert or treat form.) I rocked it.

And the scale didn't budge.

That could potentially be OK, because I'm not far from my target weight anyway - my goal is more body reshaping than weight loss - but the measuring tape didn't budge either.

I've been torturing my abs/waist/core for a solid 10 days, and .... nothing. Granted, one of my friends who didn't know I'd started working out said I looked slimmer, but I think that had more to do with the fact that I was wearing high heeled boots than anything else. Because to actually look thinner I'd have to ... be thinner, right?

I realize I've only been at this for less than 2 weeks, but I'd like that boost of success, even if it's a little one.

To top it off, my daughter decided we should make chocolate chip cookies. Not only did she decide, she asked in an insanely sweet and polite way, and who am I to say no? And who am I to resist that cookie dough? So there goes my no sugar streak.

But I'm not giving up. I'm starting again with no sugar tomorrow, and considering the possibility of having a sugar leeway day on the weekend. (Although, I'm fairly sure the sugar gave me a headache today, so maybe not. My body is kind of an all or nothing kind of gal.)

So tell me, what do you do to keep yourself in the game when you're not seeing success? And how do you resist the things you shouldn't eat when others in your house are partaking?

Just a bit of weightloss humor

I saw this on another blog and thought that I would share it here...

Twas the month after Christmas and all through the house
Nothing would fit me, not even a blouse.

The cookies I'd nibbled, eggnog I did taste.
All the holiday parties had gone to my waist.

When I got on the scales there arose such a number!
When I walked to the store (less a walk than a lumber).

I'd remember the marvelous meals I'd prepared;
The gravies and sauces and beef nicely rared,

The wine and the rum balls, the bread and the cheese
And the way I'd never said, "No thank you, please."

As I dressed myself in my husband's old shirt
And prepared once again to do battle with dirt --

I said to myself, as I only can
"You can't spend a winter disguised as a man!"

So--away with the last of the sour cream dip,
Get rid of the fruitcake, every cracker and chip

Every last bit of food that I like must be banished
Till all the additional ounces have vanished.

I won't have a cookie--not even a lick.
I'll want only to chew on a long celery stick.

I won't have hot biscuits, or corn bread, or pie
,I'll munch on a carrot and quietly cry.

I'm hungry, I'm lonesome, and life is a bore --
But isn't that what January is for?

Unable to giggle, no longer a riot.
Happy New Year to all and to all a good diet!
- Anonymous

Back to the Lovers

When Lara and I brainstormed this blog, one of the main things we wanted to do was to involve our husbands.  This has several "con's"
1.  Husbands lose faster than us, and that makes us feel sad.
2.  Husbands can eat crap more often than we can, and that makes it hard.
3.  We feel like we're more concerned about health aspects than our husbands.

But there are also many "pro's"
1.  We want healthy husbands who can support us in the manner we are acustomed to.
2.  It's nice to have a "teamate" that lives in our same house.
3.  No one can be more of a support than a spouse.

So, how are you going to include your husband?

My current plan, once Drew and I lose 20 pounds (combined) we get a wii fit.  He really wants one.  I haven't seen him drinking soda nearly as much and he's actually eating 3 meals.  I think we plan to have "treats" at each level of loss.  Actually, we're counting inches AND pounds.  Of course, I have a complicated algorithym of numbers which I graph out weekly and mothly, but I won't bore you...  Currently it's all about bribary.  I am hoping once he sees some loss and starts enjoying a healthier livestyle we'll progress.

What's your plan?  Do you want to get your husband involved?

Waving hi!

So...I'm Denise. Glad to have someone else to share this with.

I really need to lose weight and after putting on a lot of weight after babies, I have finally managed to lose 20 pounds. But I have been stuck at my current weight for more than a year.

Well, yesterday I met with a nutritionist and while it was a good meeting, what I mostly came away with was that I am eating too much. ack.

I am trying to lower my blood sugar and the best way for me to do that is to watch my carbs. I am not on a low carb diet, but I am supposed to try and not eat more than 45 grams of carbs per meal.

OMGOSH. Do these people know how much I LOVE pasta and rice?

I have such a love/hate relationship with food. I love it. And it hates me.

I find myself thinking about food...and what I want to eat. And what I can't eat. And how much I want to eat again.

Part of this is in my mind. I really use food to feel better when I am stressed, or sad, or happy, or awake. : ) And trying to change that relationship, but is so hard.

At the same time, if I don't spend some time thinking about food, and what and when and how I am going to eat, I find myself wanting to eat something easy and fast, which for me usually translates to something fattening.

I really feel like my challenge is to find some control in my life...and instead of letting the food control me...maybe I can control it for a change.

In addition to dieting I have started a financial fast, and am trying to go 30 days without spending any money (I have allowed myself an exception for produce, dairy, bread, and daipers.)

It isn't about willpower so much as it is about not letting myself by controlled by these things.

How do you change your relationship with food? How do you make about nutrition and health? I guess because my relationship with food isn't healthy, I don't have a good understanding of how to go about this.

Thoughts?

Loser

Hi, My name is Andrea and I am a Loser. Or...at least I want to be. I decided to buy myself a treadmill for Christmas this year and boy am I glad I did! I actually lost a little weight during the Holiday break! (Granted the 24 hour stomach bug helped but I didn't gain it back when I started eating again!) As of now my goals are small. Do two miles/day whether it be walking or jogging. As my endurance to jogging longer and longer gets better (Asthma) then I will increase my distance. I am proud to say I got my hubby on it last night and he did 3 miles! Yay! Here's to hoping we can be losers together. This newlywed weight is killing me (us)....tight clothes be gone!

Losers...unite!

Keeps You Going

Yesterday was my first official day of being healthy and lean. :)  I like that phrase - -healthy and lean.  I means I'm trying to eat/be healthy and cut things out of my life/diet that I just don't need. :)  One of those things is probably my other blog.  I am still going to write on it, but probably not as frequently.  I find I love it more when I write less.  Absensce truly does make the heart grow fonder.  I also like the word "slenderize."  Just because.

ANYWAY, back to my original thoughts, the one thing that I think keeps a new years resolution is the fact of when you see progress.  I lost a pound after yesterday.  I am also extremely sore, so I know I'm building muscles.  I feel great about the weight loss, no so great about being sore.  I am taking working out today a bit easier, mostly walking and I might do some wii dance.  I wish all of you could come to my wii party on Sat.  We will be doing a lot of wii dance, and frankly -- I rock at it.  At least in comparison to a 5 year old and a 9 year old.  Go me.

So, what's going to keep you going, at least through this month?  Do you weigh daily, or weekly, or not at all?  I used to weigh weekly but the profoundly smart Lara told me studies show you lose more weight when you weigh daily.  I think it's true.  I can really see which days I'm making a difference, and which days I am fighting myself.  I'm not going to pretend that I'm only in this to get healthy.  I'm in it to lose weight, and inches, and grow some of these fine muscles.  Hopefully at the end I can welcome you all to my gun show. :)

Changing it up

Hi, I'm Maryanne, and I'm a workout DVD-aholic.

I almost wrote DVD workout-aholic, but that's not true. (At all!) It's not the working out I'm addicted to, it's the DVDs themselves. I love the promise of a new workout DVD, especially those that offer quick results. Abs of steel in 3 weeks? Sign me up!

I love the thrill of learning a new routine, the euphoria on day four or five when I can get to the end of the workout without wanting to die. The satisfaction of feeling a little bit stronger each day.

And then I get to day 30, and the shine is gone. I dread the routine, I'm not seeing the drastic results I want, other things call to my fickle heart, the honeymoon is over. I hit a mental block, and so I stop.

Completely.

And that is stupid.

So this year my plan is to embrace my fickle ways. Since my tolerance level for any given DVD is 30 days, I will assign a different DVD to each month.

I'm beginning with that she-demon of fitness, Jillian Michaels. When I did her Jillian Michaels - 30 Day Shred last year I saw great results, just not in the areas I wanted. (Saw big changes in arms and shoulders, when really I just want a smaller waist and tummy. Is it so much to ask?) So for the month of January I'll dedicate my body (and sanity, no doubt) to No More Trouble Zones.

In the coming months I'll cycle through Yoga Booty Ballet , Fat Free Yoga , Dance with Julianne: Cardio Ballroom, Dance and Be Fit: Brazilian Body, New York City Ballet Workout, Pilates, and others.

By changing it up (and knowing in advance that change is coming), and posting here, hopefully I'll keep myself on track and accountable. I'm also avoiding gratuitous sugar (ie. cake, cookies, candy, half my regular diet...) and trying to work with my body rather than battle against it.

Do you have a favorite workout DVD? Recommend, please! I'm looking for variety, a likeable host (I know that given this stipulation, some of you are questioning my choice of Jillian, but I enjoy her evil mistress ways.), and ideally a workout with the potential for my kiddos to join in. Obviously not to do the whole thing, but dance or stretch along? Sure.

And did you know that Amazon has a bunch of workout DVDs on sale for 65% off right now? What kind of addict would I be if I didn't pull you right on in with me?