So a big breakthrough for me today. I did my Wii workout, but lately I've been getting kinda fed up with boxing. It's just not FAST enough for me anymore. It's like my body is rebelling. My scores are totally sucking since my 1466 high score. It took an entire 10 mins to get my heart rate up to my target zone. After round 2, I said "screw it" and started looking for alternative exercises. The Free Run looked like it burned a lot of calories, but it was a 10 minute run. I had tried it before, when I first started MFP, and was done, ready to die, after 3 mins. I did it again today. It said I ran just over a mile & a quarter in 10 mins. I DID THE WHOLE 10 MINS!! I can't believe it. It burned 100 cals, too. Man, do I miss the days when boxing torched 100 cals!
Now, I know the Wii isn't the most accurate critter in the world, but it got me kind of excited. I've never been a runner, yet now I'm curious if I really CAN run a mile, and if so, how long it would take me. Andy has been working overtime as a project deadline nears, but maybe if he has the day off tomorrow, he can watch Grace while I go hunt down a running track & find out!
And you know what else? After that 10 minute run... I did MORE running. I think I went through 300 cals in 20 mins. I ALMOST feel like Superman!
Saturday, January 9, 2010
Friday, January 8, 2010
BLAH
Put my Wii workout off till 9:30 tonight, and just did terrible. I wimped out at 200 cals when my goal is set at 310. I often do 350 even! Just not feeling it tonight. HRM said I burned 272, Wii was only 200 or so. I had a really hard time getting my heart rate up. I think my body is telling me it's time for a harder workout. I hope I have the courage. I did just enough to zero out my calories consumed for the day.
Thursday, January 7, 2010
Fat Polar Falcons!
So for Christmas, Andy gave me a Heart Rate Monitor to help me better monitor my exercise and weight loss. Only problem was this one was evil and did not want to cooperate. It kept resetting itself, and even froze, similar to a computer's blue screen of death, when I tried to get all my stats back into it. So I took it back to the store, and whined at Andy for a better one. I did some shopping and found the Polar F7. I don't know why, but I always want to call it a Polar Falcon. Anyway, I ordered it just before New Years & it said it wouldn't be here till January 12th. I religiously checked the tracking on amazon.com where I bought it. This morning when I checked, I was surprised to see that it had been scanned in Orem. Now the problem was waiting. Often, our mailman doesn't get here till 5pm or so. I workout when Grace has her nap at 12:30. Would the mailman get here before I exercised? 10:30am I hear the familiar stop and go of the post truck and got all giddy!
IT'S HERE! I eagerly opened it and got it set up right away. It was extremely user friendly, with even better directions than the HRM I got for Christmas.
So as soon as Grace goes down, I start my workout. My little Polar Falcon beeps softly at me as I start exercising. After a minute, it goes quiet. I panick & look down. Oh, I reached my target zone. Okay, cool. I settle in and am pleased to see that the calorie count on my HRM is higher than what the Wii says. Y'know, I tend to believe the HRM since it's strapped to my chest and only a few inches away from my LIFE FORCE! It ticks away at me. I work extra hard to get into the middle range of my heart rate. I'm sore & sweaty, like a good workout should make you feel. In the end, my HRM says I burned 577 calories, while the Wii says 366. I punch in the minutes I worked out on to my exercise log on MFP. It comes up with 487. I feel it is a fair compromise between the two disparages.
Now to try it out with my Wii Biggest Loser game! That thing drives me bananas. I should not be dripping sweat & huffing & puffing & only have burned 100 calories! My new Polar Falcon is going to set the record straight once and for all!
It also said that the calories burned were 35% fat. Anyone have any suggestions on where my heart rate needs to be to burn 50% fat?
I hope my body keeps cooperating for the next 80 lbs!
Weigh in tomorrow (Friday). Keep an eye on that ticker. I'm hoping for it to say 22 lbs lost!
IT'S HERE! I eagerly opened it and got it set up right away. It was extremely user friendly, with even better directions than the HRM I got for Christmas.
So as soon as Grace goes down, I start my workout. My little Polar Falcon beeps softly at me as I start exercising. After a minute, it goes quiet. I panick & look down. Oh, I reached my target zone. Okay, cool. I settle in and am pleased to see that the calorie count on my HRM is higher than what the Wii says. Y'know, I tend to believe the HRM since it's strapped to my chest and only a few inches away from my LIFE FORCE! It ticks away at me. I work extra hard to get into the middle range of my heart rate. I'm sore & sweaty, like a good workout should make you feel. In the end, my HRM says I burned 577 calories, while the Wii says 366. I punch in the minutes I worked out on to my exercise log on MFP. It comes up with 487. I feel it is a fair compromise between the two disparages.
Now to try it out with my Wii Biggest Loser game! That thing drives me bananas. I should not be dripping sweat & huffing & puffing & only have burned 100 calories! My new Polar Falcon is going to set the record straight once and for all!
It also said that the calories burned were 35% fat. Anyone have any suggestions on where my heart rate needs to be to burn 50% fat?
I hope my body keeps cooperating for the next 80 lbs!
Weigh in tomorrow (Friday). Keep an eye on that ticker. I'm hoping for it to say 22 lbs lost!
Friday, January 1, 2010
HAPPY NEW YEAR!
Happy New Year, Everybody! Heck... HAPPY NEW DECADE! Was the last 10 years a blast, or what?
I almost made it to midnight last night, but conked out in the middle of a very funny movie we were watching. For some reason, my limit is pretty much 10p. After that, I conk out during whatever show I'm watching. The movie we watched was called The Gamers: Rise Of Dorkness. You should totally catch it, especially if you have EVER played (or watched someone play) a D&D role play game. It was very clean. You know me, I'm a big fan of clean humor! The only dirty part was the bard constantly seducing every woman he ran in to, but it was more like "Hey, baby, wanna tune my mandolin?" *wink, wink*
That was it! LOL
We treated ourselves to a blu-ray player for Christmas, and we can download Netflix directly to it which is awesome. That's how we found The Gamers movie.
So I wanted to update you on my weight loss. My goal was to get down to 228 by New Years. The past week I was stuck at 230 or higher. I was getting frustrated, and was afraid I would not meet my goal. I step on the scale this morning, wait, then look down... 228.8!! YES! Goal #1 reached. Goal #2 is to reach 198 by March 23-- my half birthday. I honestly can't wait to see Clarene next month. If I continue dropping 10 lbs a month like I have been, I'll have dropped a total of 30 lbs by then. When she asks "How did you lose all that?" I will throw my head back and laugh, "Playing video games!"
Seriously, the majority of my weight loss has come from busting my butt on Wii Fit Plus. I do a lot of Rhythm Boxing, and burn off at least 300 cals a day. I try to keep my sodium under 1500, and my daily calorie intake (what I eat) to 1200 or so. For those of you concerned, no, I'm not starving. I eat when I'm hungry, I just make healthy choices. I think I explained you can eat a virtual mountain of fruits and veggies for the same amount as a cheeseburger, right? This doesn't mean I've gone vegan, it just means more fruits & veggies (and Nuts-- that's new!), and fewer cheeseburgers.
Now, like any fanatic, I've made New Years Resolutions for the first 6 months of the year. Maybe they will motivate you to make a few for yourself.
1) Declutter my life. I've decided less is more, and even noticed that I actually do laundry with Grace having a smaller wardrobe. Weeding out my own wardrobe (and Andy's) should result in similar results.
2) Organize the house. I think by doing the above, this should fall naturally in to place.
3) Finish all commissions in my studio by June 1. It needs to be done so we can transform the studio into Grace's bedroom by her birthday.
4) Paint the house. We bought all the supplies last year, but never got to it. This needs to happen by the end of June. My mom has mentioned bringing my favorite aunt out in July. She & Grace share a birthday!
5) Lose a total of 75 lbs by July 9-- Grace's birthday.
These are in chronological order, rather than order of importance. I've found the last few months that planning everything out REALLY helps me stay on track & meet goals I've set for myself.
Last of all: Continue clawing our way out of debt. I think the fact that we've dramatically reduced the amount we eat out each month will really help with this last goal/problem. We've gone from eating out 2-3 times a week, to 1-2 times a month. After mimicking restaurant stuff at home, it's just cheaper (and tastes better) to do it there!
Anyway, there it is. My New Year's plan. Got yours yet? Hop to it!
I almost made it to midnight last night, but conked out in the middle of a very funny movie we were watching. For some reason, my limit is pretty much 10p. After that, I conk out during whatever show I'm watching. The movie we watched was called The Gamers: Rise Of Dorkness. You should totally catch it, especially if you have EVER played (or watched someone play) a D&D role play game. It was very clean. You know me, I'm a big fan of clean humor! The only dirty part was the bard constantly seducing every woman he ran in to, but it was more like "Hey, baby, wanna tune my mandolin?" *wink, wink*
That was it! LOL
We treated ourselves to a blu-ray player for Christmas, and we can download Netflix directly to it which is awesome. That's how we found The Gamers movie.
So I wanted to update you on my weight loss. My goal was to get down to 228 by New Years. The past week I was stuck at 230 or higher. I was getting frustrated, and was afraid I would not meet my goal. I step on the scale this morning, wait, then look down... 228.8!! YES! Goal #1 reached. Goal #2 is to reach 198 by March 23-- my half birthday. I honestly can't wait to see Clarene next month. If I continue dropping 10 lbs a month like I have been, I'll have dropped a total of 30 lbs by then. When she asks "How did you lose all that?" I will throw my head back and laugh, "Playing video games!"
Seriously, the majority of my weight loss has come from busting my butt on Wii Fit Plus. I do a lot of Rhythm Boxing, and burn off at least 300 cals a day. I try to keep my sodium under 1500, and my daily calorie intake (what I eat) to 1200 or so. For those of you concerned, no, I'm not starving. I eat when I'm hungry, I just make healthy choices. I think I explained you can eat a virtual mountain of fruits and veggies for the same amount as a cheeseburger, right? This doesn't mean I've gone vegan, it just means more fruits & veggies (and Nuts-- that's new!), and fewer cheeseburgers.
Now, like any fanatic, I've made New Years Resolutions for the first 6 months of the year. Maybe they will motivate you to make a few for yourself.
1) Declutter my life. I've decided less is more, and even noticed that I actually do laundry with Grace having a smaller wardrobe. Weeding out my own wardrobe (and Andy's) should result in similar results.
2) Organize the house. I think by doing the above, this should fall naturally in to place.
3) Finish all commissions in my studio by June 1. It needs to be done so we can transform the studio into Grace's bedroom by her birthday.
4) Paint the house. We bought all the supplies last year, but never got to it. This needs to happen by the end of June. My mom has mentioned bringing my favorite aunt out in July. She & Grace share a birthday!
5) Lose a total of 75 lbs by July 9-- Grace's birthday.
These are in chronological order, rather than order of importance. I've found the last few months that planning everything out REALLY helps me stay on track & meet goals I've set for myself.
Last of all: Continue clawing our way out of debt. I think the fact that we've dramatically reduced the amount we eat out each month will really help with this last goal/problem. We've gone from eating out 2-3 times a week, to 1-2 times a month. After mimicking restaurant stuff at home, it's just cheaper (and tastes better) to do it there!
Anyway, there it is. My New Year's plan. Got yours yet? Hop to it!
Tuesday, December 15, 2009
It's A New Feature, Darling
Today is our 8th wedding anniversary.
Andy STILL can't decide what he wants for dinner. I told him blatantly, "I just want a frickin' cheeseburger! McDonalds, Five Guys, In N Out... take your pick." He laughed. So now I'm hunting down a restaurant that meets his specs (sit down, relax, people bring food to you), where they serve a cheeseburger I can actually eat. I thought Outback would be a good option. Whenever I ate there, I always got veggies instead of fries & stuff. I thought of their bloomin onion burger. MMMM! Divine. Yeah, no. 2000+ sodium!
Ugh.
I feel like I choke & gag with sticker shock when I look at the nutritional value on some of the stuff I used to eat.
Mimi's Cafe has a 1/2 lb cheeseburger for less than 1000 sodium. Might be an option
Andy implied, "It's a special occasion, dear..." I told him I refuse to put on 3 lbs because of a 2000 sodium cheeseburger. I refuse to put weight back on EVER. *Mimics Edna Mole from The Incredibles* You must fight... WIN!
It's a new feature, darling ;)
Andy STILL can't decide what he wants for dinner. I told him blatantly, "I just want a frickin' cheeseburger! McDonalds, Five Guys, In N Out... take your pick." He laughed. So now I'm hunting down a restaurant that meets his specs (sit down, relax, people bring food to you), where they serve a cheeseburger I can actually eat. I thought Outback would be a good option. Whenever I ate there, I always got veggies instead of fries & stuff. I thought of their bloomin onion burger. MMMM! Divine. Yeah, no. 2000+ sodium!
Ugh.
I feel like I choke & gag with sticker shock when I look at the nutritional value on some of the stuff I used to eat.
Mimi's Cafe has a 1/2 lb cheeseburger for less than 1000 sodium. Might be an option
Andy implied, "It's a special occasion, dear..." I told him I refuse to put on 3 lbs because of a 2000 sodium cheeseburger. I refuse to put weight back on EVER. *Mimics Edna Mole from The Incredibles* You must fight... WIN!
It's a new feature, darling ;)
Thursday, December 10, 2009
It's Peanut Butter... VEGGIE Time?!
So I just polished off a tall, steaming mug of Godiva dark hot chocolate, complete with homemade sugar-free whip cream, slightly less stiff than butter. MMMMM!
It was awesome.
Now... can anyone explain why I'm craving VEGGIES like nobody's business? I just want some stir fry now. Gaaaah! How long until dinner tomorrow? 20 HOURS? What do you mean 20 HOURS?!!
It's amazing how my body is changing internally (as well as externally) on this journey. Instead of cheeseburgers, I crave stir fry. Want to hear something really sad? I'm an absolute HOUND for egg nog. Well, I used to be. I was getting shivers of delight and ecstasy just thinking about it last week. I decided to splurge and get some, and vowed that a quart would last me through Christmas, because of it's high calories. I couldn't wait to sink into the orgasmic creaminess of it. I popped off the top, hoisted the jug to my lips, aaaand... Wait a second. I don't remember egg nog tasting like THIS!
Suddenly, egg nog is found lacking. WHAT THE FUDGE?!
*Sobs*
Anyone want a quart of egg nog?
No?
*Sigh*
FIIIIIINE!
On a bright note, we've done a LOT better about not eating out all the time.
1) Nothing really appeals to me.
2) If I have a craving, I find a healthier way to make it.
Just the other night we had pizza. I made an amazing, supreme style pizza. It was like 6 inches tall from all the toppings. Now, normally, 1-2 pieces of Za from your favorite chain would normally run 600-800 calories, right? The pizza I made... Less than 700 calories in HALF the pie! HALF!!!
It was a large pizza, too! I only used 1 cup of cheese for the whole pizza, and piled my side high with bell peppers, mushrooms, olives, red onion, pineapple... I don't even like olives or mushrooms! Andy made a 2nd pizza, and I started munching on that too, but restrained myself. Eat your heart out, Pizza The Hutt!
More good news: Thanks to diet and exercise, my blood sugar keeps dropping. Coincidentally, so does the amount of insulin I give myself in a day. Within the last month, I've dropped down by HALF. Clarene is going to be so psyched when she sees me in February. Hopefully I can keep up the weight loss. I'm down to 235 now. I wonder if I can get down to 230 by Christmas?
Maybe if I stop drinking hot chocolate.
MAYBE.
It was awesome.
Now... can anyone explain why I'm craving VEGGIES like nobody's business? I just want some stir fry now. Gaaaah! How long until dinner tomorrow? 20 HOURS? What do you mean 20 HOURS?!!
It's amazing how my body is changing internally (as well as externally) on this journey. Instead of cheeseburgers, I crave stir fry. Want to hear something really sad? I'm an absolute HOUND for egg nog. Well, I used to be. I was getting shivers of delight and ecstasy just thinking about it last week. I decided to splurge and get some, and vowed that a quart would last me through Christmas, because of it's high calories. I couldn't wait to sink into the orgasmic creaminess of it. I popped off the top, hoisted the jug to my lips, aaaand... Wait a second. I don't remember egg nog tasting like THIS!
Suddenly, egg nog is found lacking. WHAT THE FUDGE?!
*Sobs*
Anyone want a quart of egg nog?
No?
*Sigh*
FIIIIIINE!
On a bright note, we've done a LOT better about not eating out all the time.
1) Nothing really appeals to me.
2) If I have a craving, I find a healthier way to make it.
Just the other night we had pizza. I made an amazing, supreme style pizza. It was like 6 inches tall from all the toppings. Now, normally, 1-2 pieces of Za from your favorite chain would normally run 600-800 calories, right? The pizza I made... Less than 700 calories in HALF the pie! HALF!!!
It was a large pizza, too! I only used 1 cup of cheese for the whole pizza, and piled my side high with bell peppers, mushrooms, olives, red onion, pineapple... I don't even like olives or mushrooms! Andy made a 2nd pizza, and I started munching on that too, but restrained myself. Eat your heart out, Pizza The Hutt!
More good news: Thanks to diet and exercise, my blood sugar keeps dropping. Coincidentally, so does the amount of insulin I give myself in a day. Within the last month, I've dropped down by HALF. Clarene is going to be so psyched when she sees me in February. Hopefully I can keep up the weight loss. I'm down to 235 now. I wonder if I can get down to 230 by Christmas?
Maybe if I stop drinking hot chocolate.
MAYBE.
Monday, December 7, 2009
"BLEAH" and "BLECH!"
So I had just finished my Biggest Loser Yoga workout with Bob when I heard "BLEAH!" across the baby monitor. I had a sinking sensation what it was. I went into check on Grace, because I heard the ominous "BLEAH!" again, and sure enough... regurgitated dinner EVERYWHERE. Joy.
So hubby & I got her hosed off, hosed off her bedding, and put her in clean clothes. I told her Mommy & her would put a movie on and have a nice 'nuggle. I take her to the living room and lean over with her to let her pick out a movie and... "BLEAH!" all over the carpet.
I called Andy to come running so I could clean up. She had gotten it on her clean pajamas, so I grabbed another clean set. Finally we cuddled up on the couch, and I put "Up" on, because she hasn't seen it yet. I'm relishing this quiet time, snuggling close to the love of my life, when she sits up, crawls to the other side of me, and... "BLEAH!"
She hasn't thrown up since, and just asked for some water, which I obliged.
And yes, in case you're wondering, even after all of that hullabaloo, being a mom is STILL the best job in the world!
So hubby & I got her hosed off, hosed off her bedding, and put her in clean clothes. I told her Mommy & her would put a movie on and have a nice 'nuggle. I take her to the living room and lean over with her to let her pick out a movie and... "BLEAH!" all over the carpet.
I called Andy to come running so I could clean up. She had gotten it on her clean pajamas, so I grabbed another clean set. Finally we cuddled up on the couch, and I put "Up" on, because she hasn't seen it yet. I'm relishing this quiet time, snuggling close to the love of my life, when she sits up, crawls to the other side of me, and... "BLEAH!"
She hasn't thrown up since, and just asked for some water, which I obliged.
And yes, in case you're wondering, even after all of that hullabaloo, being a mom is STILL the best job in the world!