12 September 2009

Must focus....

So my workouts have been sporadic, my eating has been spotty, my motivation fluctuating.  Time to get a little focus.  One of the things that helps me focus is reading weight loss blogs.  I've pared down a lot of my blog reading and since weight loss bloggers seem to fade out when things get tough, I haven't been reading many weight loss blogs recently.  I'm changing that.  I'm not sure if this is crazy but I really enjoy reading that other people are struggling just like I am.  That makes me feel not so alone and not such a failure.  So I've added more blogs to my feed reader.

I also feel like I'm not accountable to anyone.  I need to change that.  I need to be accountable to myself. I'm not sure how I'm going to do that yet, I'm thinking I may start a daily posting here, that's worked in the past.....  Anyway, I did work out and I need to go shower now.

Not bloggin

because apparently I'm too busy living.  And I think that's a good thing.  I don't really have all that much to say.  I had a good week. It was busy with school and school and life.   Didn't work out as much as I had hoped, but I have to start somewhere.  Eating was good, not great, but good.  So yeah, that's about it.  Hopefully I'll have more to say another time but right now, I'm just too busy living to write about it. 

07 September 2009

Glad that's over

Yesterday was bad.  I have never had back pain like that in my life.  Of course, since I am prone to back issues, I've never let myself get this out of shape.  When I weighed 225 I suffered from back pain frequently.  Once I started losing weight and working out the pain didn't go away completely, but it definitely subsided.  I found, contrary to popular doctor opinion, that regular exercise was much better for my back then resting it.  And generally, when I got lazy the first thing I would notice would be my back pain, just little twinges but enough to get me moving again.  Recently however, I've let things slide way too much.  I've been eating with abandon, not working out consistently, spending much too much time sitting here and yesterday was the trifecta of pain and I paid for it all day.  Well I am not going to let that happen again.  Absolutely not.  Today I start a fairly aggressive workout program but I'm going to approach it intelligently.  I'm going to do Karen Voight's video in the mornings, that's about 45 minutes or so, then after work I'm going to do some cardio for 30 minutes or so.  Eventually I want to add in Jillian's workouts but I'm trying to be a little conservative.  After my workout I'll walk the dogs for 20 to 30 minutes.  Finally, ending the night with some yoga stretches.  Then it's off to bed.  It's a little bit workout heavy, but it's basically short bouts of exercise at various times.  I think it will work.  I used to follow a schedule like this and that's when I was at my fittest.  I would like to be that fit again and I know I can do it.  I need to do it to protect my back if nothing else.  Right now, it's time to workout.

06 September 2009

The trifecta of pain

So yesterday I woke eager to start my workout and eating program and get on with feeling fabulous. A couple things were happening and about to happen. First, I started my period which always causes low back pain. It only lasts for a day or two but it can be pretty bad at times. Second, I was at my highest weight in years. Finally, I decided on a workout that is absolutely brutal but I love and I know works for me. It's a Karen Voight tape, I think it's called Your Personal Best. Unfortunately some model is in it too:

Elle Macpherson, that's right. She annoys me but I really love this workout so I put up with her.

Anyway, I've had this workout for about 10 years and I love it. When I first started losing weight I got it and it's been one of my go-to workouts for years. It's one of the very first tapes that recommended interval training. In this tape you do an aerobic section, then a strength, then an aerobic, then a strength. It does all those things trainers are recommending now. Plus, I'm an aerobic junkie and I just love it. My point here is that this workout is hard but of course you can modify it for your fitness level. Did I do that yesterday? Ummm, no. I did it full throttle. It felt good at the time and my muscles were shaking afterwards. I like that :)

So there's the trifecta: back pain from a period, highest weight ever, no holds barred workout. I woke this morning with a very, very sore back. My low back is just killing me. It's hard to move. So I am wisely going to take it easy today. It's all muscle pain so that's good. I have this fabulous ointment, Cryoderm, that works wonders on muscle pain, so I'll be using that today. I also plan on doing some gentle yoga to stretch things out. Other then that I'll be taking it kind of easy. Tomorrow is when my real program kicks in, yesterday and today were just supposed to be warm up days :)

So that's what I'll be doing today. Hope everyone has a fabulous holiday. If you're feeling sorry for me you can click the donate button on the right :)

Conversation with Hubby

 So yesterday morning I presented my idea of working out at home to the Hubby. Once I presented it to him, he said he was in. I told him I h...