Happy Halloween!

DH is out trick-or-treating with the kids and I'm sitting here, twiddling my thumbs, waiting for the trick-or-treaters to show up. It's almost an hour past the official start of trick-or-treat and we've only had one group of 5 show up! I don't want to get stuck with all that candy! Wahh!

Since today was so nice - sunny and warm - I took Bailey for a longer-than-usual walk. I still need to add up my calories for the day, but I think it will turn out okay. While I could have eaten a little better, I don't think I overdid it on calories.

We had a really delicious, quick, easy, nutritious soup from Cooking Light for dinner. You can check it out over at The Savory Notebook.

North Woods Bean Soup

Weekly Weigh-in (10/30/06)

When I don't post for a whole week, that's usually a pretty good indicator of how things are going.

I really can't even comment in detail about how I did last week because I simply didn't keep track. I probably walked 5 times, therefore perhaps meeting my goal of doing some sort of exercise 5-7 days a week, but I didn't do any strength training and I didn't track my calories.

I don't know why I'm having such a hard time truly commiting to losing this weight. I sure am tired of not fitting into my clothes! And even if I did fit into my clothes and was a size 2, that certainly doesn't mean that I shouldn't be exercising and strength training.

Anyway, time to pick myself up, dust myself off and get on with it. No dwelling on what didn't happen, only looking forward to what I can and will make happen this week.

Same goals as last week, but I'll add another one. I need to blog at least two times between weigh-ins. Every day would be ideal, but I'll allow that that might not happen. I hope that blogging about health and fitness will help keep health and fitness front and center in my mind. It can't hurt.......

Still, the news isn't all bad. Despite my unmet goals, the scale was still down 1 pound. But I'm not feeling it on my clothes, that's for sure. That's when I'll really feel like I'm moving in the right direction, when my pants start feeling a little looser.

So, here's to a better week this week!

my-calorie-counter.com The webs free Calorie Counter

Weekly Weigh-in (10/23/06)

Just a quick check in tonight to review last week. I'm weighing in on Mondays, but my weeks run Sunday to Saturday.

1. Exercise 5-7 times a week. Even if it's just for 20-30 minutes, I'd like to try to do something every day. Check. I exercised 6 out of 7 days.
   
2. Weight train at least 2 times per week. Just a start. Hopefully I will up that as time goes on. Check again. Eventually I'd like to up this to at least 3, but I need to get myself into a pattern first.
   
3. Count calories - sticking to about 1200-1800 calories per day with an average of 1500 per day. On weight training days, I tend to allow myself more calories. On days I don't exercise much, I try to cut back. Almost. I ended up not counting calories for 2 days last week. I don't get too worried about missing one day a week, but I'd rather not miss 2 or more. Still, it's a definite improvement and I know I ate quite a bit less than I would have otherwise.
   

For next week, I'm sticking to the same goals.

Last but not least, the weigh-in. My scale is definitely testy, so it's hard to tell. Sometimes I get on it and I know it's not right so I get off and get back on and it will often go up or down by 2-4 pounds. I can't figure out why it does that. Anyway, testy or not, it looks like I'm down a pound from last week and I'll take it.

my-calorie-counter.com The webs free Calorie Counter

A few too many.....

So, it's been a little busy with guests this weekend which meant a little too much wine and a little too much food. I didn't keep track of my calories for Friday and Saturday, but will try to add them up for today. When I get chatting, I don't pay much attention to what I'm eating, so one of my challenges will be to figure out how to keep track of my calories during visits and other social events. I don't have any problem allowing myself one free day per week, but two is too many if I'm serious about losing weight.

For whatever reason, the scale was off last Monday when I weighed in. I knew it seemed low, but I got on and off a few times and it stayed at the same number. The next day, though, it jumped up 3 pounds which was closer to where I thought I was at to begin with. Obviously I didn't gain 3 pounds in one day, so for some reason it was just off that first weigh-in. I will go back and edit last week's ticker to reflect the correct weight.

I will be back tomorrow with my weigh-in for the week.................

Whew!

Today I worked out the lower body - whew! I think I dislike working out the lower body even more than I dislike sit-ups! Not only is it a large muscle group, but it tends to be a pretty aerobic workout as well, unlike working out the upper body. Pretty exhausting stuff.

The workout I did today - Cathe's Legs and Glutes - requires very little equipment - I did most of it with my step alone. Cathe uses weights for about half of the exercises, but I find them challenging enough that I don't use weights except for one or two of the exercises. I sometimes use weights with squats and lunges, but this workout has so many repetitions that I don't find weights necessary - I feel the burn plenty without them!

I find that when I do these kinds of videos, or even in classes at a gym, I modify a lot. I think it's important to not let what the instructor or other class participants are doing discourage you from getting a good workout at your own level. Not only did I skip weights for most of this workout, I also modified how I did exercises according to my equipment or lackthereof. I used my doorways for balance during some of the leg lifts instead of a pole and I used my stairway and banister to do my calf raises. Whatever works! Whatever you need to do to get through the class - slow down, drop the weights, take a rest, use different equipment - the most important thing is to just move.

And of course I couldn't ignore Bailey, so I took him for a 30-minute walk. Here's a picture that shows what I often see - today included - when I try to get down on the floor for mat work...........

I have a busy day tomorrow with the in-laws arriving later in the afternoon for a visit, so I hope I'm disciplined enough to squeeze in a walk with Bailey. If it's not raining, that is.....

Healthy Recipe Spotlight

Raspberry-Balsamic Glazed Chicken

I have a Personal Trainer!

And boy is he cute. Long blonde hair, but well-groomed, and very sweet. His breath kinda stinks though. I keep telling him, but I don't think he really cares. Oh well, he's worth it - he keeps me motivated to keep moving and that's what counts, right? He's pretty quiet - not one of those in-your-face trainers, but sometimes he does whine if I'm not doing what I'm supposed to be doing. Only thing is, he's kind of a pain when it comes to floor work like sit ups - he insists on getting right in my face, sometimes even lying down right on top of me!

My husband isn't jealous, he really likes my trainer - they get along really well.

Meet Bailey, my golden retriever, my workout buddy. He's what gets me out the door and walking, even when I really don't feel like it. We both benefit from out outings together and best of all, it's free, so it really fits our tight budget. It's not so much fun in the winter, but I layer and bundle and will still go out most days, as long as it's not raining. I don't do rain. I don't walk in rain by myself much and definitely not with Bailey - it would take me a good 1/2 hour to get Bailey cleaned up with all that fur!

Hint, hint!!!
Bailey tries to make sure we get out for our daily walk.
Who could resist that face?

Working Out at Home

Given the choice, I'd work out at a gym rather than work out at home. However, our recent move has put us out a ways from town and finances are tight, so I've decided to try working out at home.

It's not that you can't get a prefectly good workout at home, you can, I just prefer to get out of the house, away from distractions, to a gym where the only thing you can do there is work out. Or socialize. But I don't know anyone around here anyway, so I'd definitely be working out.

Getting a good workout at home doesn't require a lot of expensive equipment either. A while back I had bought some things to workout at home when I couldn't get to the gym - some dumbells and a step and a few tapes. I really like the step - it's perfect for doing an aerobic workout in a small space and it doubles as workout bench. I have dumbells in a variety of sizes - 3, 4, 5. 7.5, 10, and 12 pounds. I also have a set of adjustable dumbells that can go higher if I need 15 or more pounds. I have also added a stablility ball to my list. That's it! Of course there are many, many other gadgets and gizmos out there, but I find that these few items give you all you need for the basics.

When we moved, the only TV hookups available were satellite TV, so we signed up with DirecTV. While browsing through all the channels, I stumbled on FitTV and found Cathe Friedrich. One thing I really like about satellite service is the DVR. With the DVR, I have recorded most of Cathe's shows and can pull them up any time I want. Having them stored on the DVR is convenient - it allows me to FF through the commercials, pause if I need to ajust or take a quick break and even rewind if I miss something. The DVR allows you to do many of these things while watching live TV too.

Although I like that I can try a lot of different workouts without having to buy any tapes, the one drawback is that you don't really get the entire workout. It's pretty easy to see that a lot of the workouts have parts missing - they've cut out part of the workout to make it fit the time slot.


Today I did Cathe's Upper Body Pyramid workout. It hits all the major upper body groups - chest, back, shoulders, biceps and triceps. It's a challenging workout, but like all of her workouts, you can easily work at your own level. In fact, whatever weight Cathe grabs, I usually grab one half the weight she's using. If you'd like to try Cathe, her workouts air on FitTV at 7:00 a.m., 11:00 a.m., and 7:00 p.m. daily EST - often under the title "Cardio Blast".

Whew - it felt good to be doing a weight workout again, but I know I'm going to be really sore tomorrow!

Healthy Recipe Spotlight

On a regular basis, I will spotlight healthy recipes that we are cooking up in our kitchen. I review recipes fairly frequenly on my cooking blog, but not all the recipes I make are what I'd call healthy. While I try to cut fat where I can, my main focus is on getting a variety of healthy foods like vegetables, whole grains, lean meats, unsaturated fats, etc. Still, I don't shy away from the full-fat treats - I just try to indulge in moderation.

Tempeh with Spicy Peanut Sauce

Here is a recipe that we cooked up last night. I served tempeh and zucchini in a peanut sauce over brown basmati rice. Check out my full review at The Savory Notebook.

Weekly Weigh-in and Goals

Good morning!

I need to crank off more posts to get this blog filled up a bit!

Each week, plan to do a weigh-in. I'll step on the scale and post my progress. That said, I must say that I am NOT a slave to my scale. It is simply one tool I use to track my progress and get a handle on where things are headed.

The scale can be a tricky thing though. For instance, I have not done much exercise other than walking lately and I have not counted calories in a very long time. Even so, the scale was down today and has been in what seems like a bit of a decline lately. Sounds like good news, right? Yes and no. My clothes are just as tight as ever. This leads me to believe that I may be losing muscle mass since I have not been doing any weight training. Still, the scale is not going UP and that's a very good thing. If indeed I am losing muscle mass, as I start to incorporate weight training into my workout routine, I need to remember that the scale may not move much - I may be losing some fat, but I will hopefully be gaining muscle as well. Where I should feel the difference, though, is in my clothes. I really want to feel the difference in my clothes! I have lots of clothes that don't fit any more and instead of buying new clothes, I'd simply like to fit into the clothes I already have!

So, what are my goals? My main goal is to lose about 15 pounds. To get there, I plan to:

1. Exercise 5-7 times a week. Even if it's just for 20-30 minutes, I'd like to try to do something every day.
2. Weight train at least 2 times per week. Just a start. Hopefully I will up that as time goes on.
3. Count calories - sticking to about 1200-1800 calories per day with an average of 1500 per day. On weight training days, I tend to allow myself more calories. On days I don't exercise much, I try to cut back.
   

Eat less, exercise more and build muscle. That pretty much sums it up. I don't like to set too many goals at first - it's too overwhelming. Baby steps. It doesn't have to be all or nothing. Something is always better than nothing.

It's so hard to know where to start blogging about this - there are so many things to talk about! When I write about health and weight loss goals, so many things rush into my mind and one train of thought leads off into other trains of thought. It's hard to focus on just one thought or idea at a time.

I think I'll start blogging about it in the same manner I set my goals - baby steps. A little at a time. In that spirit, I'll end my post for the day here.

Here is the ticker I am using to show you all my weight loss progress. I'd like to find one that actually saves your setting for you, but this is the only one I've found so far.

my-calorie-counter.com The webs free Calorie Counter

Just Do It Already!

That needs to be my new motto. Just do it already! I've been putting off the launching of this blog and in the process, putting off getting into a regular fitness program.

Anyway...............Welcome to my new health and fitness blog!

A while back, I tried to encorporate a bit of weight loss/healthy living blogging on The Savory Notebook, my cooking blog, but I just couldn't figure out a way to make it work the way I wanted it to. I've been playing around with starting a new blog, maybe even moving to a different blogging site, just to see what else is out there. In the end, I decided to copy my other template and just make a few changes. Much easier.

As you'll see in the sidebar, there's a link to a calendar that will show my calorie count, exercise habits and other progress. I've also linked to all my recipes on The Savory Notebook and have gone back and have marked any low-fat recipes so that they are easy to find. I will try to go through and post nutritional information for recipes that don't currently have any, but it will be a slow process.

While I hope to blog about health and fitness no matter what my current level of fitness is, my immediate goals are to lose about 15 pounds. I reached my goal once several years ago and maintained it for a while, but the weight has been creeping back on, slowly but surely. To be fair, I'm still at a relatively healthy weight, but a few more pounds and I won't be. It's very frustrating that I don't fit into most of my clothes. And now that I'm not working, it's oh so easy to sit around the house all day in my sweats - no waistband to tell me that things are getting out of control!

If you have a health and fitness blog that you would like me to link to, please leave me a comment and I will take a look. As long as your blog promotes healthy living in a safe and reasonable manner (no extreme measures such as diet pills, liquid diets, or surgery), I would be happy to include a link. Also - if you have a blog that promotes healthy eating, please let me know. It doesn't have to be healthy eating 24/7, but if you cook low-fat or are trying to eat a healthier diet, I'd love to include you. I've put a few links up, but I'm sure I am forgetting or missing others.

So, ready or not, here we go.