Sat May 7, 2005

Health Group- week 47

Look at me and my bad self! I’m pretty happy with what I’m able to report this week. Yes, I’m down a couple pounds, but I’ve been jumping around quite a bit, so that’s not a big deal to me. Tomorrow, I might be up three, who knows? BUT, I got to exercise this week. Not only that, but I FINALLY DID WEIGHTS! I’m SO happy.

Monday, I did 50 minutes of treadmill, PT, and weights.
Tuesday, I did the same.
Wednesday, my foot hurt, and I was extremely tired from being up late two nights in a row. So I did nothing.
Thursday, my foot legitimately hurt, but in all honesty, I couldn’t put my Flower Basket Shawl down. So I did nothing.
Friday, I did 50 minutes of treadmill, some of my PT, and then weights while rocking out to Bon Jovi. (I haven’t listened to them in about 15 years. It was way fun).

Today, I intend to do treadmill, PT, and weights again, which will bring my total to 4 days of exercise and weights this week. I am very happy with that! Woo Hoo!

I need some excitement, because after being sick and stationary for much of the past two months, my pants are getting tight. I’m having none of that.

How did you do? Our friend Jenny had a good week. Let’s hear about it! Anyone else?

No Responses to “Health Group- week 47”

  1. Maggie Says:

    You’re amazing. You are my inspiration now, because I have to get off my duff and lose weight RIGHT NOW. My last physical turned up the news that my bloodwork shows that I’m borderline diabetic, and with the history in my family (it’s coming at me from both sides!) I have to do something NOW. I’ve lost 2 pounds in the last two weeks, and I know a lot of it was water. But it signifies that the loss is a-coming! Time to start the exercise. I will learn to love it (she says through gritted teeth).

  2. Elspeth Says:

    I’m so jealous! How do you get all of that exercise in with 3 kids? (Although yours are older than mine.) I did well in the past two days and exercised 4 times this week, so I lost a pound! I’m so excited!

    Congrats on your weight loss too! And good luck getting back into exercising.

  3. Jenny Says:

    Hi Laura!! I can finally comment again, after finding something that actually works for me, yeah!! Like Maggie above, I found at my last check-up that I am borderline diabetic. It is on one side of my family, but I was always told that I needed to keep my weight down to avoid it. Recently, my cousin came to visit me, and she looked fantastic!! She is on the Rosedale diet. I checked it out, and decided that it looked like it might work for me, and it has. I started Tuesday morning, and already, I have lost 7 pounds!! This is so exciting to me, since I have been trying various things and stayed at the same weight for years. This diet only requires that you exercise 15 minutes a day, which is great for me right now, since I also have a very painful foot. My cousin lost 27 pounds in three weeks on this diet. I hope that by the time I go back to the Dr. in July, that my blood sugar will no longer be a problem!!
    Great for you, Laura! I think I find that I really like dancing (with no one watching, haha!) the best for exercise. Once the novelty of having a treadmill wore off, I notice that no one is using it! Hopefully, after seeing the podiatrist soon, I will be able to use it once again.

  4. Laura Says:

    Maggie- I’m behind you all the way! As for loving exercise… I know that not everyone does, but in my case, I have seriously learned to love it, and I do. Those endorphins are beautiful things, and seriously, I need them. It does take a little while. My best advice would be to start slow and respect your body. Pay attention to your heart rate and don’t work too hard. It is easy to overdo it. Be very careful not to. Not only will you progress faster by taking it slow, but you’ll also feel better, be less likely to injure yourself, and be more likely to continue whatever program you’ve started. Working slower longer burns more fat than working harder shorter. Keep it aerobic. I was amazed in my high school PE class to learn how easy it is to work too hard. Sometimes you have to slow down, even if you don’t want to.

    I don’t know if you have any experience with weights, but I have grown to love them, too. My first introduction to using weights was the excerpt in Susan Powter’s book Stop the Insanity. She has a very mild, easy weights routine that got me started years ago. (And although it’s been a long time since I read it, I remember really liking the book). Anyway, now I’ve moved on to my weight system in the garage, which I love. But light free-weights is a good start. And you’ve probably read one of my soap box speeches about how amazing it feels to develop muscle. Even when I can’t see it in the mirror, there’s no question I can feel it, and it is so empowering. Feeling that change, regardless of the scale, is brilliant. It feels sexy.

  5. Laura Says:

    Jenny- I don’t understand it, but I have enough friends that feel the same way, so I believe you. I LOVE the treadmill. Maybe it’s because it is “me” time which is so infrequent with little kids around. I love being able to zone out while I exercise. I focus on my posture, but other than that, my mind is gone. I love to let it wander where it will, and the treadmill keeps track of my time, calories, and keeps my speed where it is supposed to be. All I have to do is move my feet and drink water! I LOVE LOVE LOVE it! But many people I know get bored doing the same thing all the time. So, I understand it takes different things for different people. Good luck! Seven pounds? That is really exciting. What specific change do you think has made the most difference? I looked at a quick summary of the diet online, and the one that will get me is the not eating 3 hours before bed. I can’t do it. I’ve tried before. Can’t. Which makes me think that it is something I really need to do! As for the correct types of fats… the website I looked at didn’t give specifics. Can you do dairy? Cheese? Butter? Thanks and congratulations!

  6. Kristel Says:

    I might have to start following this Health group more frequently, as I’ve been talked over to join a yarn diet (you can’t buy any yarn unless you lose weight). 🙂 I can’t really attempt a heavy diet as I’m still nursing, but one can always try eating less fat and sugar, right?

    I actually lost weight during my pregnancy as I had to follow a pretty strict diet with no sugar and fat then, but it’s all come back now. 😉

  7. Dani Says:

    Kristel, I was way healthier when I was pregnant! Not only did I weigh less, but I drank much more water and exercised as much as I could when I wasn’t on bed rest. For some weird reason, the only way I could avoid painful constipation while I was pregnant was drinking ice cold water and walking.

    Anyway, I’m not doing so well this week. I keep playing with the same few pounds (up and down). I did get more exercise than I have in the past few weeks. Walking and dancing are my methods of choice, but I do want to get some hand weight so I can work on my triceps.

  8. Suzy Says:

    Way to go Laura. I know how good it feels to be back on track…and I miss that feeling. I’m struggling to find a balance now that I’m back at work. I agree that weight training is really helpful/important and I’ve let that slack too. Ugg.

    Anyway, keep up the good work. Hopefully I’ll have better news to report this weekend 🙂

  9. FYRKRKR Says:

    Good Job La!!!
    Thanks to those of you who appropriately kicked my butt (as requested) I wanted to tell you it worked. I started water aerobics this morning at St. Edward’s pool with my MIL. It was fun. My hair was by far the darkest in the building, and I think I really could have taken those grannies… just kidding. It was fun! It didn’t seem like a lot of workout then, but now, I am starting to feel it.

    I agree on the dance vs. treadmill issue and understand that it is personal. I get asthma 5 minutes after stepping onto a treadmill, but I can dance forever. In 1992 I got EXTREMELY skinny by dancing every night. I quit smoking and don’t hang out in bars anymore, but I can dance in my kitchen. The hardest part there is getting the right music and making/taking time. I also just ordered a set of DVD’s called Yoga Booty Ballet that should be fun.

    I didn’t weigh in this week, I had a stress week with a very sick dog. I got a new pattern written and some knitting done, though, while trying to keep the house quiet so he could sleep.

    Suzy – hang in there! You’ll figure out a schedule that works!

    Jenny, do you do foot stretches? I broke my foot in several places years ago and I know that pain. Stretches really help.

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