I need to go back to doing what works
When I started this Hundred Day Head Start on September 23, I wanted to break some rules and see if it made a difference. I threw out the spreadsheets I used to plan my daily exercise and log my daily fat, carbs and protein. I didn’t want to be tied to anyone’s methodology, including my own.
That isn’t working.
I’m having too many bad days. I’m inconsistent, and scrambling to lose a pound a here and a pound there. I have to face it, I NEED structure.
So, I’m going to pull those things from the virtual wastebasket, dust ‘em off, and rebuild them. I’ll write more about them tomorrow, maybe see if I can make them available for download here as well.
Tags: exerciseIs there a blogger needing encouragement to start exercising?
My Google alert for ‘exercise motivation’ spit this one out at me today: The urge to try again.
I just thought I’d highlight it because it resonated with me. I think we all have been/are in this position - we want to make changes for the better, but are having problems getting start. Once we start, we do well, but it’s taking that first step.
Perhaps if we all dropped by this blog and gave her a little encouragement, it would help?
Tags: exerciseThere is better content to read elsewhere today
Jimmy Moore has a great interview posted with Jennette Fulda of ‘Half of Me’ fame. I was very interested to hear how she doesn’t expect people to do what she did (South Beach), and the role exercise played in her loss of 200 pounds. It’s obvious from the interview that this is a very smart, funny person, and she has a book coming out next year.
Go check out two great blogs!
Tags: exerciseLifehacker has some great tips to enjoy exercise
Lifehack published an article recently titled “13 Tips to Actually Enjoy Exercise“. It has some solid idea, things I used to do but I’m not doing right now. It might be time to take a look at things that worked for me in the past and start replicating them.
Here’s Lifehacker’s tips:
- Make it a Habit
- Get a Partner
- Tune Your Challenge Level
- Set Goals
- Get Past Your Comfort Zone
- Experiment
- Music
- Short Workouts
- Daily Challenges
- Reward Showing Up, Not Weight Loss
- Make Exercise Your Stress Relief
- Record Improvements
- Make Time
Check out the original post, there’s some good stuff there.
Tags: exercise, tipsFair Warning - Weigh-Ins
Ok, we’ll be coming up on the 30-day mark for the Hundred Day Head Start in a couple days, and it’s time to check progress. I’m going to be surfing around Monday or so and checking for weigh-ins, so let’s have a good weekend. Get your exercise, stay away from the bad stuff, and let’s try to be at least one pound under what we were a month ago!
I’m not above public ridicule and humiliation! 
How I strengthen my core
Starting exercise after a layoff, I always have back trouble. The muscles in my lower back hurt and the pain radiates down my butt to my thighs, because the back is compensating for weak abdominals and hip muscles. So, I focus on the core muscles for several days when starting back to exercise, then work them twice a week. Here’s what I do:
- Crunch - Just a standard ab crunch, no muss, no fuss, done til I can feel it burn.
- Air Squats - When I was a kid, we called them ‘deep-knee bends’, but I guess we aren’t allowed to refer to knees anymore. Knees offend easily.
- Stairs - No, not “I must have walked the stairs 20 times today”. It’s lacing up the shoes and heading up and down the stairs ten or twenty times without stopping. The heart pounds and the sweat drips.
- Lunges - I typically do these before my walks a couple times each week to warm up the muscles.
After a couple weeks, I add a few more varieties of crunches - twisting, raised legs, etc. Trying to work and balance the muscles more. I also focus on “Balance” with a big “B”. Place an object on the floor. Stand on one foot. Pick it up. Stand straight up, still on one foot. Put it down. Repeat 10 times, then switch legs. You’ll feel it.
What do you do?
Tags: exerciseThe power of groups to motivate in diets and exercise
Are you participating in any organized group diet or exercise activity? Except for this little informal world of blogging, of course.
I haven’t, but I believe they have a lot of value. Some people need organized diets and methods of planning their nutrition. A lot of people also need the motivation of the group dynamic - the weekly weigh-in, the group walks a couple times each week.
Don’t think you have to do it alone. There are a lot of groups and organizations that can help. It doesn’t have to cost money, either - are there a couple friends at work that might want to meet before or after work and walk a couple days each week? Maybe during lunch?
I found a great path at my church last Wednesday when I was waiting for my daughter during her CCD class. It was beautiful and quiet. Will I see other parents there from time to time? Undoubtedly. Will I be open to seeing if they want to have a standing walking time during the kids’ class? I should be, but as I already revealed, I have some issues.
But, I’ll try.
Tags: diet, exercise, kidsDo dieting couples lose more weight?
WFTV in Orlando recently did a story about this. The premise is that couples provide support and accountability to each other. In the case of my wife and I, when we diet together we usually just cheat together, a sort of co-dependent thing. Doesn’t work for us. But, they provide some tips for dieting couples:
- Grocery shop together
- Re-think old recipes
- Don’t be afraid to eat other
- Don’t compete
- Make exercise fun
What is your experience? Except for Ellen, of course, with her beanpole husband…
Tim is a good exercise boy
I’ve been a good boy the past few days - 1.5 miles on Monday, 1.1 miles on Tuesday 1.5 glorious miles on Wednesday.
I know I’m being good when I make my wife angry about my exercise :-). She wanted to go out to eat after my daughter’s soccer game Tuesday night, and I refused so I could walk.
Good Tim.
For me, exercise has to be a habit, part of my daily routine done at roughly the same time of day, every day. A couple times a week doesn’t work because I soon find myself negotiating ‘which’ days to exercise, and procrastinaing - “oh, I’ll do it tomorrow instead”. When I’ve lost my focus in the past, it’s always been because I was going through a busy period where I was forced to prioritize other activities. It’s the old law of physics: A body in motion tends to stay in motion; a body at rest tends to stay at rest.
I set the minimum threshold for my daily exercise of 20 minutes works. I usually do more, but making that commitment helps me focus on getting out the door. Good for week’s like this, where I’m actually doing 40 hrs of work like the rest of the world. It is one of only 2 weeks each year that I have to work like this, which is why the blogs have gotten short shrift the past few days. It’s also why I’m doing this.
But, I’m being a good boy as far as exercise goes. How about you?
Tags: exerciseHundred Day Head Start in Top 100 Health & Wellness Blogs
I was checking my stats package and followed an incoming link I didn’t recognize to find this site was listed in the Top 100 Health & Wellness Blogs at the Nursing Online Education Database website.
Cool! Talk about motivating someone to stick to their diet and exercise plan…
I also saw that Jenn is listed as well. Nice!
This list was difficult to cobble together, as there are so many health and wellness blogs listed on the Web. But, certain criteria were used to whittle the list down to the blogs that you can enjoy. To that end, each blog chosen had to include contact information. After all, you don’t want to take advice from someone who wants to remain anonymous, do you? Additionally, a sense of humor didn’t hurt the choices below. Losing weight, getting fit, and learning about diseases is serious enough - a laugh or two can provide some good medicine along the way.
Finally, these top blogs were chosen for their popularity among users as well as their successes - both as professionals and as individuals who have changed or who are publicly changing lifestyles and overcoming their diseases and disabilities.
Thanks to everyone for reading, linking, and participating.
Tags: diet, exercise, honors