Brushes off the dust on this thing

The past couple of months have been brought to you by high processed foods and lack of exercise. About November my get up and go got up and went. It left me in a funk that I am slowly coming out of. I have been paralyzed with fear to write and fear to start exercising again. The why bother gene has kicked into high gear. I am starting to kick it to the curb. I miss working out and getting sweaty. I miss getting stronger. I am just finding it really hard to get started again. The following is what I have done in the past couple of weeks to ease back into exercising and eating healthy again.

1) I am not Catholic but I really like the idea of Lent and giving up something. This year I gave up chocolate and Fast food. My definition of fast food has been a restaurant where I can talk to a clown, or someplace I do not tip. It has been hard but getting easier. There is 2 more weeks to go. I have been enjoying other sweet things instead of chocolate like homemade larabars and vanilla ice cream when I have been wanting something sweet.

2) In the past 2 weeks I have walked home 3 times from work. It is about 1 mile and takes me about 28 minutes. The first time I did it I was in PAIN for about 3 days after. Yesterday was really good and I am not feeling pain today.

3) LM and I joined a Sunday Pilates class. We missed last week but I plan to not miss anymore.

4) This is the one I am most excited and most scared about. My Y is now offering a night TRX class. I saw the message on facebook and quickly called to sign up. I will be taking TRX for 4 weeks starting Tuesday April 3rd. Of course once I signed up the doubts started. Oh boy did they start. I paid money for this class though and I am not going to let it stop me!

Update in Bullet Points

Monday was busy with 30 minutes on the elliptical in the AM and 1 hour of Pilates in the PM

Weight was down 2.9lbs (271.8 lbs)
 
I completed the 100 hours and will get my Y T-Shirt soon
 
Tues is not as busy. AM Strength Training and relaxing at home after work

Looking to Participate in the YMCA Reindeer Ramble 5K Run/Walk on Dec 10th 
 
Having fun recording things on Fitocracy and leveling up. 
 
Wed the plan is Cardio in the AM and Pilates after work
 
Saturday we plan to go to LAC to sign up and start our free membership. (1 month for me)
 
I hope to also find out about the personal training (3-1 hour sessions)

That is about it for now. I will try to have a more in depth post soon.

Day 2 of my Strength Training

Today is the 2nd day of my 21 day express workout challenge. I increased the weight up to 8lbs on some of the exercises since I was not sore on Monday.

Modified Compound SuperSet #1
Shouders: Dumbbell Upright Rows - 8lbs                           2 sets/18-20 reps/ 60 sec rest
Calves: Two-Legged Dumbbell Calf Raises  - 8lbs             2 sets/18-20 reps/ 60 sec rest


Modified Compound SuperSet #2
Biceps: Dumbbell Curls  -  8lbs                                           2 sets/18-20 reps/ 60 sec rest
Triceps: Lying Dumbbell Triceps Extensions  -  5lbs           2 sets/18-20 reps/ 60 sec rest

On Friday the routine gets more challenging. I am going to struggle with one of the exercises on Friday (push-up with side rotation) The book does have suggestions for working up to the exercise. Next week I will be doing the same exercises but increasing to 3 sets, lowering the reps to 15-18 and the rest between is 45 seconds. Week 3 I will be doing 4 sets, 12-15 reps and 30 second rest.

Today I also went to the Y for Pilates at 5:30. I am enjoying taking Pilates twice a week. I am glad K was back today teaching at the Y. Her teaching style is really good. I went to the beginner class and it had 6 people! 3 were relatively new.

On Saturday LM and I are going to participate in Cardio for Comfort- A fundraiser for Hospice of Lexington being held at the Lexington Athletic Club.







They are going to have a wide range of classes going on for 2 hours. Per the information I have seen they will have 2-3 different classes every 30 minutes. I am excited to try out Boot Camp. I may also give Spinning a chance. The cost is $20 and the benefits are helping out a great organization, a couple of workouts, a t-shirt and the chance for door prizes. I have always wanted to see what LAC is like and now I can. The gym looks really cool/interesting but I know I would not go since it is across town from where I live.

Cardio for Comfort Event Listing on Facebook

Now that I am more active it is fun to find local events to participate in. Run/Walks are listed on a local shoe store's website. There is one every weekend. I will definitely write about them!

Saturday Exercise

Today I had my 2nd Pilates class at Bliss Holistic Wellness Center in Lexington Kentucky. It is at a more reasonable hour (10:30am) than the session at the Y (7:30am) that I finished 2 weeks ago. I got a great deal with Groupon where I paid $22 for 5 classes. Today K had us using the ring during class. I have a love/hate relationship with the Magic Circle. It is great because it gets me to concentrate and center. I have a focus point to help make sure what needs to stay steady does and what is moving is the only thing moving. I hate it because of the same reason. I have to modify some of the exercises at time and K is very good at advising on modifications. One big problem I have is knee pain when kneeling. I am thinking I might have to find out what is out there that might help. I do not like not being able to kneel.

So with the hour class today and the 30 minutes yesterday I am only 4.5 hours away from the 100 hour club. I started in April. This means that in 8 months I got 100 hours of exercise in. That is an average of 12.5 hours (750 minutes) a month. Woohoo!! I wonder if I could join again in December and try for another year. I would only have 7 months to get the 100 hours since I would have to finish by June 30th 2012. I could wait till January and then have the full year to complete the 100 hours. I would have to average about 14.5 hours a month to finish in 7 months. Just something to think about.

Time to get on with my Saturday and also think about what I want to get food shopping tomorrow. I need to figure out things to take to work and cut out the eating fast food. Goal for next week is fast food at most twice.

Wow, a graph again

It is Friday weigh in day and the graph is below.

I have 4 weeks to lose 14.5 lbs to make my original goal to be 250lbs by my 40th birthday. For me I do not think it is possible. I am very much ok with this thought. I am modifying my goal to be 225 by 2/25. I think the new goal is kinda catchy! Sometimes for me it is about the numbers. I just can not let it be all about the number on the scale.

With that being said I am realizing my blog title is not really fitting. I am Yapping but not really about weight loss. The blog post the other day by Waisting Time: Whats in a name got me to think about wanting to change my blog name again. I just do not know what to change weight loss to. I know I want to keep YAPS. I just adore the acronym. But what am I really yapping about?

In other news I have worked out every day for the past 6 days:

Saturday: 1mi walk for the health and soul fair. It had only about 20 people and I was dead last. I still finished though! I walked with LM from: 146 TShirts.
Sunday: 30 minutes on the elliptical at the Y
Monday: 30 minutes on the elliptical at the Y
Tues: 60 minutes water aerobics. I used the 8lb weights!
Wednesday: Pilates class. I bumped it up a notch and went to the Int/Adv class. I am still sore. I was surprised at how much I was able to do.
Thursday: Bowling. Yes I really think it counts as exercise.
Friday: Elliptical again for 30 minutes. This time I tried the variety program instead of interval.

Tomorrow I have pilates in the morning. Then I will see if LM wants to do some cardio at the Y. Maybe even a nice relaxing soak to reward myself after working out all week. I am debating about taking Sunday off.

Thursday NSVs

Now for some NSVs

1) I did 27 hours in 2 months per the Y 100-hour club log. That is over the 11 hours/month I need to get the 100 hours before the end of 2011. I might even be able to finish by the end of November. I already have 5 hours for the month of June.

2) My cardio health is getting better. Monday night on the treadmill my heart rate was staying under 135 even when I was pushing up the speed. (target is 90-153) I had to increase the incline to get my heart rate up some. It use to be that on the interval program I would go up to about 150 bpm when I did the program as set. (2 minutes 0 incline/2.6 speed and 2 minutes 3 incline/2.4 speed) I still feel that my pace is SLOW. I am also still trying to get the courage to jog more. I also need to remember to wear my heart rate monitor. I got the battery changed for a reason.

3) I am also getting stronger. In Pilates last night I was able to (with alittle forced momentum) do the roll up (like a sit up) I felt like I was having such a hard time last night during that class and then I just went for it and was able to do it. I did not let my mental 'I can't' talk keep me from it,.

4) I have lost about 2 inches in my waist.

5) After about a week of not recording my food I have been consistently recording for the past 5 days.

I am thinking about going to a Free yoga class on Sunday that happens every 2nd Sunday in town. I am so looking for free/cheap group exercises or fun things to do. A discount deal today from Pete's Deals is to get 10 boot camp classes for $40. The 2 things that keep me from purchasing the deal are: Time (6am) and location (totally across town) I did have a fleeting thought that I am not ready, but the main reasons are the 2 above. It is just not logistically feasible. Maybe another deal with come along that will work. I do like that right now I am doing 3 different classes a week: Water Aerobics, Pilates, and Tai Chi.

What are some exercises/classes you enjoy? How do you change up your routine?

Thursday Non-Scale Victories

Time again for my Thursday NSVs! I really like doing this before Friday's weigh in. It helps to have these in my mind if the number on the scale is not lower than last week.

1) I tried Pilates last night at the Y. It was an hour class and I could really feel it in my abs and legs. I liked that it was a small class and so much better than the Zumba class. I really feel the instructor was watching out for me and making sure I was getting the moves. When she went to have us go on our hands and knees I advised that I could not do that because of the arthritis and she said it was not a problem. There were only in the position about 2 minutes. It hurts to kneel because the cushion in my right knee is pretty worn down. I think I am going to continue with the Pilates so I might need to find a way to kneel. Maybe if I had a small towel to kneel on to give me some cushion.

2) In the first 27 days of April I have worked out 15 days. I have done an average of 30-60 minutes of exercise each time. Water Aerobics, Tai Chi, Treadmill and the Elliptical are my go-to exercises. I also tried Zumba and Pilates. On the treadmill and the elliptical I see improvement. I last longer and can increase the intensity. I also experimented and tried some of the programs on the machines instead of just using manual. My workout partner LM was using some of the programs and helped me get over my worry that it would be too hard.

3) I joined the 100 hour challenge at the Y. I have till the end of December to get the 100 hours. I am able to go back and record all the days I have worked out in April. So I have 9 months to get 100 hours. They have allowed sign ups since January. The longer I wait the shorter time I would have. Now if I had waited till July I would have had a full year to compete the 100 hours. Anyone who signs up from July-Dec will have till June 2012. I decided to join now since I ran the numbers and I can finish by the end of December.

4) I am taking more care with my appearance. I have started to wear makeup and jewelry again. My ears have to get use to earrings. I have 4 piercings in each ear. Part of my 'wild' youth. I need to organize my jewelry again so I accessorize my outfits. It is hard to wear bracelets at work though because of the typing. Oh well.

5) My balance is getting better with the Tai Chi Class. The newest move we learned has us standing on the left leg as we raise up the right and the kick it slowly forward. After water aerobics on Tues I did the Tai Chi moves in the water. It was quite fun!

What are some of your Non-Scale Victories this week?