Really I ought to have a ‘before’ picture of myself to go with this blog post, but, since I’m totally avoiding being in front of cameras these days, a shot of Jo’s bicycle will have to do instead. I avoid having my picture taken because I don’t like how I look, and I don’t like how I look because I’m overweight. You know those ladies who are overweight and gorgeous? Yeah. I’m not one of them. Fun, fun.
The good news is that this year I made losing weight one of my highest priorities. I need to be healthier (and obese is not healthy) if I want to live long enough to write even a fraction of the story and poem ideas that are jammed into my brain.
Some of my goals for this year were:
Health: This relates to my writing because the healthier I am the more productive (and less dead) I am.
- Continue to eat healthy. In my case that is a low-sodium pescatarian diet.
- No drinking energy drinks
- Remember soft drinks are a ‘sometimes food’ (Thanks Cookie Monster)
- Workout at least five times a week*
- Lose 40lbs (and 64lbs overall)
I’m doing a fairly good job of sticking to these goals. I’m struggling a little bit with the soft drinks are a ‘sometimes food’ but otherwise things are going well. No energy drinks, I’ve lost 9lbs as of today (I wrote and pre-scheduled this post on March 17th) and I’m pretty good at forcing myself to exercise. The thing is, it hurts LoL
Mostly I’ve been using my stationary exercise bike. I do a pretty intensive 1/2 hour workout on it six days a week. Because that’s exclusively a lower body workout I’ve also been sneaking in a 30 Day Shred workout every once in a while, and now, with the Xbox Kinect I got for my birthday present I’ve decided to add in a Kinect workout regularily too. I’d love to do it everyday, but realistically I think three times a week would be great, because, as I may have mentioned, it hurts.
I have a buggered up ankle that doesn’t like impact much and I’m really out of shape. Really, really out of shape.
Every time I do a full body workout I’m Limpy McGimpsalot the next day. Not just a little bit either, like wincing and moaning everytime I go up or down stairs, sit down, stand up… you get the idea. Sometimes it takes several days before I stop being Ms. Wussypants, and I think I have a pretty high threshhold for pain LOL I’ve been forcing myself to do light workouts (on the bike) on my hurty days (usually) and that often helps reduce the pain, but damn. Hurtiness sucks.
So, for all you in-shape and exercisey-type people… it does stop hurting at some point, right?
I don’t mind a little discomfort, and exercise-sore is actually a kind of satisfying pain, but I could do with a little less of it, to be honest. Please tell me that this is going to decrease if I stick to this LOL
ETA: It turns out that at the peak of my pain I’d actually injured myself (groin owiness) and not really known that was the case and not just that exercise hurts. I took a couple days off and healed up and now I’m back to normal exercise-related aches and pains. The satisfying kinds. I’m still curious though, will these go away as I get more in shape, or not really because, presumably, I’ll always keep pushing myself?
~*~
This blog post is part of the Blogging from A to Z challenge over the month of April and was brought to you by the letter E. Please pop by tomorrow when my daughter will be doing a guest blog about what it’s like to have a writer in the Family.
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Good luck with the weight loss. I could do with hitting the gym, I’ve been snacking like mad the past few weeks.
All the best,
Jack
Here’s my E post:
http://jackedwardspoetry.blogspot.co.uk/2012/04/e-echo-sonnet-tipton.html
Thanks for stopping by 🙂
I’m sloooowly getting better at the ‘not snacking’ thing, but I expect that is going to be a life-long battle for me lol
Congrats on your weight loss!
It does get better and consistency (and rest days) helps with the pains. I promise!
When I first started, I didn’t do a lot of high intensity workouts. I built up to them for variety and to challenge my endurance level.
My favorites include dancing, Tae Bo, and strength training. I now like the 30-day Shred. I didn’t in the beginning. 🙂
Thank you! I feel like every lost pound is a victory LOL
I don’t -hate- the 30 Day Shred, but I’m sure not a fan of it LOL Maybe it will grow on me… maybe.
Hmmmm!!!
Exercise for loosing weight?? that is something I must seriously do on a war-foot basis!!
thanks for visiting my blog and congrats on loosing weight!! Keep achieving!!
Another Author
Thank you very much, and thank you for stopping by 🙂
Oh man! Did my doctor tell you to post this? I am trying be healthier. Thanks for the extra push. Maybe I’ll go take a walk 😀
http://j-scribbles.blogspot.com
Happy A to Z-ing!
LOL nah, your doctor’s not to blame for this one 🙂
I hope you enjoyed your walk.
That’s great you’ve lost five pounds so far! Soreness is normal, pain is not. I would make sure you do lots of stretching to loosen up your joints, especially if you’re doing cardio. Stiff joints and muscles lead to injuries that can be avoided.
Personally, I hate gyms and machines and workouts. I get bored of them easily and can never stick to one. So I joined a karate dojo, and I’m there for at least an hour every day, six days a week. It’s a blast! And I’m not as tired and sore afterwards as I was in the beginning, so it does get better. You just gotta stick it out. 😉
Thank you 🙂
I hate gyms too, so I just workout at home LOL I’m so self-concious I’m like ‘Dude, no way I wanna go to a gym where people can see me!’ I know no one is looking, but still… but still…
I exercise when I can. I need to start getting into a routine, good luck. Thanks for stopping by my blog. =)
Thank you 🙂 And thank you for popping by.
Rhonda, not only do we have the April Platform Challenge in common, but I have also embarked on an exercise routine this year, with the goal of losing forty pounds by New Year’s Eve. I joined my local Y and took up swimming, after conscientiously avoiding any bodies of water larger than a soaking tub for almost forty years. I wrote about the initial decision on my blog, http://ckswarriorqueen.wordpress.com/2012/01/27/swimming/, and have been giving updates since then (I start lap swimming TODAY! WOO~hoo!)
If you are having issues with joint pain, try swimming if you can. It’s very easy on the joints and you can make remarkable progress very quickly with regular practice. I started twelve weeks ago, and was able to quickly progress through the beginners’ class and am halfway through intermediate now. I’ve lost twelve pounds in that time with very little change to my diet (I gave up cheese for Lent).
Once you try swimming, you’ll never go back….
See you at the Platform Challenge!
Oh man, I freaking LOVE swimming, but there isn’t a pool anywhere near me. I can’t afford to take the travel time out of my daily schedule. Alas.
Congrats on your weight loss though, we really do seem to be on the same path 🙂