Archive for the 'Exercise/Weight loss' Category

December 9th, 2008 - Used nature’s gym today

It’s gorgeously winter today: We had about 11″ of snow as of Monday morning. Then it started snowing around 3:30 and kept it up most of the night. And it should continue today. Perhaps up to 14″ in the next two days. When you walk to work at 6:45am, few people have cleared their sidewalks yet, so it’s a workout. I could have walked in the streets–which were quite clear (well, relatively speaking), but walking in the snow meant I could skip my cardio workout at the gym later today. I probably won’t skip it, but it’s such a GOOD idea to use the world around us to get exercise. It saves money, energy (in terms of creating products not my own personal energy), and time. I had to walk to work anyway, so why not get more of a workout in at the same time?

Others aren’t as thrilled as I am with the snow. But when you don’t have to deal with it except walking, it’s great fun! (And the walking is better with all this snow–not as much ice to worry about.)

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December 3rd, 2008 - Another thing about being sick

I was worried about my weight loss continuing while I was sick. Traditionally, when sick with a cold, I eat a lot. The stuff running down my throat makes me sick to my stomach unless I’m eating or sucking on candy (which also helps with sore throats). I think I was lucky the first couple days because I slept so much I ate pretty normally. The rest of the time, I made an effort to stick to what I typically ate. I originally wasn’t going to count calories while sick, but I ended up doing it anyway, although I wasn’t going to punish myself if I went over. In fact, I never went over! (Assuming I did indeed remember to write down everything I ate. That’s debatable, but except for Thanksgiving and one other day, I didn’t even go over 1260 calories. And those two I did go over were under 1500. So I had plenty of wiggle room. And Thanksgiving only went over because I didn’t know Eric was going to bring home doughnuts later, so I ate an extra special breakfast (butter! cocoa with milk!).

I spent two weeks not exercising. I didn’t even walk to work until this week. Either I didn’t go in, I drove, or Eric drove me. I didn’t even take the bus (which would give me a 3 block walk at least).

I didn’t lose much, but I did continue to lose! If you take my best weigh in, I have only 1.7 pounds left. If you take my most recent one, 2.5. The latter is unlikely in just two more weeks, so I’m hoping the former is more my real weight. The “deadline” is Dec 12.

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September 3rd, 2008 - Massage #2

Yesterday, I had another massage. That means I’ve lost the first 10 pounds! I’m afraid the second ten will go a lot slower. Those first few pounds went quickly, as often happens. It’s the longer time that they say is more difficult. I’ve had virtually no problem keeping my calories low. With the change to eating less bread and more of my fresh veggies, it’s actually be difficult to hit the minimum recommended (1200 for women) some days. I know this will get a LOT more difficult as the garden fades in the next month. I’m used to eating a couple slices of bread for two meals a day and each slice is 100 calories on it’s own. Well, at least I’ll have some processed foods to eat.

That sounds weird. What I mean is food *I* have processed by drying or canning!

So, the second massage was last night. Wasn’t quite as great as the first time, and I didn’t realize till I got home that one knot was still there. I had started to tell her about it beforehand, but got sidetracked and forgot about it. Still overall a good one. And I slept oh so soundly last night! (So did Maggie. When I got her up for the 8:30pm potty, a time at which she is usually wide awake already, she was so sleepy she couldn’t find the toilet paper then she didn’t know what to do with it once she got some. Poor girl! But that’s far better than changing her sheets and giving her bath because she peed through her training pants!) I think next time I’ll just get a 30-minute massage, which is just the back, as that’s where I appreciate it the most.

I’ve also decided that when we are financially independent, I’m going to get a massage every single week! At today’s prices, figuring a 30-minute massage 3x a month and a full body the 4th, we’re talking $1680/year (or $2680 for the full one every week, not counting any discounts or vacations). I got the idea from Millionaire Mommy Next Door, the lady who started the Abundance Project. She has a weekly standing appointment. I started dreaming of it after reading that post. I can just imagine having the time and money for such an indulgence! Eric said his choice if we were financially independent would be a personal trainer 4x/week. That’s a good one, too, and I could certainly use a professional trainer to help with my sciatica/exercise issues. But, ::sigh::, it would take more than simply being financially independent, as those two things would add quite a bit to our annual costs (in the vicinity of $10,000 for that many training sessions!).

But, if I could teach my online course a second time each year, that would almost cover massages and one training appointment a week….

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July 26th, 2006 - Hand cranked cell phone charger!

I finally found a hand cranked cell phone recharger!!! And it’s from a company I trust: Real Goods/Gaiam. I liked the compost things I found at this site so decide to explore the rest of their products. It’s only $25. I did need a good incentive for my exercise/goals as I’ve fallen off course the last two weeks (haven’t been feeling well, plus it’s really hot even in the morning, plus classes keep getting canceled).

Hmm….in looking at info on other sites, I don’t think it works with my phone. One site lists all the compatible cell phone models, and while Ericcson is listed, Sony Ericcson is not; ProTravelGear has lengthier list (PDF) which includes models numbers just before and after mine….. The funny thing is that first site’s FAQ says you wouldn’t want to fully charge your cell phone this way. But they are assuming you let your batter run down before recharging! I plus mine in almost every night, so it’s only in for about 15-20 minutes unless I’ve had unusual usage. (It might need less time than that; I just plug it in while getting ready for bed.) I’d easily run the charger while watching TV or at a boring meeting. ;-) (Never mind. Another review reports that makes too much noise for doing during business meetings. Guess I wasn’t the only person who thought of that!) He also states that it does work on most Sony Ericssons. Hmmmmm….. [The last guy also provides a link and discount code at the end of the review.]

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July 12th, 2006 - Reusable Bottles

My next exercise/work incentive might be a non-plastic Reusable Bottle. Of course, I’d ideally have at least 4–one at work, one for exercise (I suppose I could combine these two and carry and back and forth), one for home, and one beside my bed. But, ::sigh:: they tend to be fairly expensive. I currently use plastic containers. At home, I use two water bottles. For exercise classes, I bring along the regular home one. At work, I have a 32 ounce hospital insulated plastic “cup.” (Cup for something so large with a lid and plastic straw seems wrong.)

I would definitely like to convert given some of the dangers of plastic. But I believe this is one of those I won’t do. I also can’t live w/o plastic freezer containers. My older canning materials speak of freezable glass jars, but I’ve never seen any. And I freeze a lot! (Like the bulk peaches I bought Monday. 50#. That’s a lot of peaches.)

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June 29th, 2006 - Incentives work!

As promised, I bought my latest incentive for keeping up with my summer goals: microfiber cleaning cloths. I used my original post about these to get back to them, but I linked to the wrong items! I do not need the flannel cleaning cloths I linked to before. I maintained 5 out of 6 goals 4 of out the 5 weeks in June. Unfortunately, the third week–the one in which I had three days of candidate interviews and a sick day–I didn’t keep up and completed only 4 goals. I hoped to make up for it the following week, but that was the week after being sick, so I barely completed my goals for that week, much less doing more.

I’m not quite sure about next month: There are no exercise classes next week. Hopefully, Amy and I will meet for a private Trail Mix walk on Wednesday, however. I hope to attend 4 (instead of just 2) exercise classes this week, so they could count for next week’s goals.

What will my next incentive be? … Okay, I lied. I hadn’t actually completed the purchase when I made this post. I decided to add my next incentive to the order: Microfiber Sh-Wipes (3 pack). It saves me $3 in shipping. I will hand the items over to Eric to hold till the end of the month (assuming I complete my goals of course). “Sh-Wipes” because they go with the Sh-Mop. I bought a Sh-Mop years ago; it’s the best mop I’ve ever used. It has terry-clothish head covers which you wet in the sink. You do NOT dip them in and out of a dirty bucket of water. I like my Sh-Mop, but to be honest, I don’t like mopping and my Sh-Mop covers are pretty dirty even after washing because our floors are usually so dirty when they finally get mopped. I hope that shiny new covers will help. Plus, they will be easier to ring out and can be used dry instead of wet. I really like microfiber products anyway.

As I write this–I already placed the order and I’m not cancelling it–I’m realizing I just bought MORE STUFF. But these will honestly be used and I’ve been thinking about buying them since the products were first offered up to a year ago. I may be able to get rid of my dust Sh-mop, between the new covers and the Dyson I may not dust mop anymore!

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May 31st, 2006 - Incentives

Last week, since we aren’t moving, I bought the incentive I promised myself for keeping up with my exercise for 3 months (two books, although I actually bought 3 to save on shipping). My next goal’s incentive will be a set of 4 microfiber cleaning cloths from the Online Clean Team Catalog. I’ve been wanting these (along with the mf dustmop and wet mop) for quite a while. I almost bought them yesterday and then I realized they’d be a good incentive.

I’m working on what my goals for the summer are. Once I’m sure of them (hopefully today), I’ll post them.

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May 23rd, 2006 - Biking and other exercise

I’m riding my bike to work again! Now that the rain stopped, it’s still a bit chilly in the mornings but it is nice enough to ride. I am wearing my knee brace when riding. (I injured my knee riding last September and had to stop riding earlier than planned in the fall. It hurts now and again when doing heavy exercise, so I am nervous about reinjuring it.)

Speaking of exercise, at the end of the month I will be starting at least two exercise classes through the university. Due to the Healthy Titans 2010 program*, half the normal registration cost is covered. This brings it to $25 (for any/all classes), which is very affordable. T/Th 6:30-7:15 is Pilates. Wed 11:45-12:30 is Yoga. (I wish Yoga were twice a week instead.) They also have a structured lunchtime walking program that I might join on M/F, but I’m not sure. I really like my lunch times–usually I read but in the summer I often bike home. However, I don’t walk much now since I bike instead so it might be nice. I also like the idea of having some socializing time with others, since I don’t do that much. I’ve been very interested in pilates and yoga classes, but they typically cost $2 or $3 per class, which always seemed too expensive to me. You also paid per class (you could buy a punch card or just pay when you came); I was afraid that would deter me from attending. A one-time fee is more likely to get me to attend because the fee per class goes down each time I show up!

* I thought I’d written about this, but I can’t find the posts. Our university is working on a healthy living project that might ultimately reduce our insurance premiums. It started with a health assessment for up to 200 people. I was one of the first to sign up! (Eric joked that maybe I should wait and only be in the second group in a year where they’ll start doing comparisons since I’m probably likely to score quite well.) It included BMI, cholestoral, and other tests I can’t recall. This was done through a local healthcare group. We were also offered a physical fitness assessment–which was done by students in the kinesiology and health department (which I think is totally cool to invovle them in projects like this!). For participating in that, we also got a free pedometer (which also has a radio and ear phones). This next step is to offer half price registration for the exercise classes and weight room. Also, supervisors are supposed to allow their workers time off work to have the assessments done or attend classes (I’m certain on the former but less sure on the latter).

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May 5th, 2006 - Losing weight

My weight loss wasn’t going very well until we decided to buy the house and move and my father-in-law got much sicker and then died. I hate to recommend these two life events as weight-loss plans, but they are working for me. I’ve skipped dinner a number of times. The last two weeks, except on meal of pasta, all I’ve had for dinner is two slices of toast and a glass of milk, and twice a bowl of ice cream later on. I haven’t felt as hungry at work either and have done nicely with smaller snacks for the most part. I’m down about 8 pounds already. My goal was 10 pounds for the year.

I can’t recall if I posted about this before. I made a deal with myself that when I lost 3 pounds, I could buy Mary Bell’s The Dehydrator Cookbook. Since things were slowly–I had lost about one pound in three months–I modified the deal that if I kept up with the exercise for 3 months, I could buy the book. Well, the 3 months passed and we decided to buy a house so I don’t want to buy a new book now that I’d just have to pack up again! I also had a second deal for the next 3 pounds for another book. I guess I can get both of them once we move! I’m not going to have much produce to dry this summer, since my garden will be small to non-existent. June is pretty late for planting, even in Wisconsin. I hope I can get a few things going, however. I will buy from the farmer’s market, too.

Maybe I should modify the deal again to make sure that when I get to buying them, I have kept the weight off. Don’t want to do it if I’ve gained it back someone in the next two months.

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My Adventures in Simple Living

Archive for the 'Exercise/Weight loss' Category

December 9th, 2008 - Used nature’s gym today

December 3rd, 2008 - Another thing about being sick

September 3rd, 2008 - Massage #2

July 26th, 2006 - Hand cranked cell phone charger!

July 12th, 2006 - Reusable Bottles

June 29th, 2006 - Incentives work!

May 31st, 2006 - Incentives

May 23rd, 2006 - Biking and other exercise

May 5th, 2006 - Losing weight

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