February 2006, Weight Loss Journal
Updated on July 28, 2007
Exercises for this Month
Using 5 lbs. dumbbells or no weight.
- Ab Crunches
- Leg Lifts
- Twisting Crunches
- Pulling in Abs
- Waist Twists
- Side Bends
- Back Crunches
- Dead Lift
- Good Mornings
- Push-ups
- Bench Press
- Chest Flies
- Shoulder Press
- Front Raises
- Lateral Raises
- Upright Rows
- Bent-over Flies
- Bent-over Rows
- Pull-Overs
- Bicep Curls
- Tricep Extensions
- Tricep Kickbacks
- Wrist Curls
- Reverse Wrist Curls
- Walking
- Jogging
3 Feb 2006
During the last two weeks I started using challenging weights in my strength training workouts. Prior to using challenging weights, I was just preparing my muscles for the work to come by using little or know weight. I'm impressed with how quickly I'm progressing. I started with 3 lb. dumbbells, and I'm already up to 10 lb. dumbbells. I'm a little sore right now because I pushed myself a bit harder than I probably should have during my last lower body workout, but I'm just taking things down a notch until my body recovers.
My jogging has certainly progressed. I can now run 2 min and 30 seconds continuously. True, it doesn't sound impressive, but for somebody who could barely jog for 10 seconds before I started all of this, it's a major improvement. I'm also recovering faster, giving me the ability to jog more intervals. My planned intervals are still 2 min. walking, 1 min. jogging, but I've decided I'm going to keep extending my first interval to build up my continuous jogging time. It would be nice to be able to jog for 5 minutes straight.
I've also started hiking more on my walking days. Walking is great, but the hiking definitely gives me more of a workout, and I love being in nature. Fortunately, I have a hiking trail right down the street. A year ago, I would huff and puff just going 1/4 of the way on that trail. Today, I can hike the whole thing twice and still keep going.
And, if that wasn't motivation enough, my tight clothes are definitely getting baggier by the day. I can't wait until I get to reward myself with a new wardrobe. My fingers have also become so fat that I can't wear my engagement and wedding ring on the same finger, so I'm looking forward to when I can wear them together as a set.
6 Feb 2006
Weight: 192 (lost 8 lbs.)
BMI: 35.1
Ahhhh, another 2 lbs. The numbers going down on that scale is pure motivation. Every Monday, I strip, empty my bladder, and hope that this week's number is lower than the previous week. I give myself a prep-talk: "You've been drinking a lot of water, so if it's higher, it might just be water weight. You've been working out 1 to 2 hours every morning, so you might have gained muscle, which weighs more than fat. Your clothes are fitting more loosely, so you know you're losing inches even if the scale says you've gained weight. You're obviously progressing well with your exercises, and you're feeling stronger and more energetic than ever, so don't let the scale judge your progress." The self-talk goes on and on, and then I finally get on the scale. Seeing that I weigh less this week than I did last week initially gives me a huge sigh of relief, then the giddy pride sets in, and I can't help but smile and dance around to my "I'm Not Gonna Be Fat Anymore" song, a little something I made up to entertain myself. (It's amazing how many songs I make up every day since I've had kids.)
I mentioned that my clothes were fitting more loosely. I'm thrilled about that. Before I started working out and watching my diet, I had gone shopping for clothes, all of it size 20. I got rid of all of my size 16 clothes in my closet because a part of me thought that I would probably never wear them again. The more optimistic part of me decided that if I did get back to a 16, I would reward myself with a new wardrobe. I kept my size 18 clothes because I thought I could work my way back into them. Most of them I could get on, but trying to button them was such an effort I would break a sweat. Yesterday, I put on my tightest pair of size 18 jeans. I had not been able to get them up past my thighs in over 4 years. Yesterday, I wore them, fully buttoned and zipped, all day, and they were comfortable. Comfortable! I didn't have to hold my breath, suck in my abs, or even think about how they felt because they fit perfectly. Oh, it was a happy day. I think I'm going to get rid of my size 20 clothes very soon.
My knees need a break. They're starting to hurt a bit from the jogging and hiking, so today, I'm going to stray from my walking/jogging routine and do something much easier on my knees. I've been recording workouts (I love Tivo), so I can pick and choose from those.
I must admit that there is a little voice in my head, and it tells me to just take the day off, but I refuse. I deserve to be trim and healthy, and that won't happen if I'm sitting on my butt all day. I've got to teach my body to move and get stronger every day, just like I spent every day teaching it to get lazy and fat. I won't let myself take a day off from being healthy. What a strange concept? Taking a day off from being healthy is like saying "Today, I think I'll take a day off from being healthy and try getting cancer" or "Today, I think I'll take a day off from being healthy and try to have a heart attack." Our bodies need to rest, but I think that most of us think that our bodies need to rest much more than they actually require.
I did have a couple of treats this week. I had two scoops of chocolate ice cream (mmmmm) and a handful of potato chips during the Super Bowl. I don't want to tell myself "I can never eat [yummy food] again." I just want to save those high fat, high sugar foods for very special treats. I do tend to eat much more cheese than I should, though. It has become a daily staple in my home, but that too I am learning to enjoy in moderation. You can still get a cheesy flavor with a couple of tablespoons of shredded cheese without having to eat the entire block. I can still get the taste of cream cheese by using a small amount of Neufchatel cheese mixed with nonfat or lowfat cottage cheese or yogurt. I can still have butter for flavoring, but now I just use it for flavor, not as a base for a sauce or as the main fat in a recipe.
Since I'm the main cook in my family, I've forced my family to eat healthier as well. I don't want my kids to grow up with bad food habits, so I'm starting them off correctly now. My husband could stand to eat healthier too because I love him and want him to live a long happy life, so nobody is getting special treatment. I refuse to make a meal for the family and a meal for myself. Everyone gets the same thing. If they don't like it, they don't eat, or they'll have to make something themselves, and since I've rid my kitchen of most junk foods, they won't be able to grab a fatty or sugary instant meal or snack. If they want junk food, they'll have to bake it from scratch.
8 Feb 2006
My knee pain returns after every jog lately. I'm pretty sure that it's because I generally run downhill. In my neighborhood, you can either go uphill or downhill, so I run predominantly downhill (beginners lack of knowledge). It turns out that is probably the source of my knee pain. During some of my walks, I found a street that was mostly flat, so I think I will start running there.
Meanwhile, I have to rest, so no jogging or hiking for me until my knees improve. I'm somewhat sad about having to avoid jogging since I was just starting to see inspiring progress. Oh well, I'm sure that once I start jogging again I'll quickly progress again.
I've decided to change my workout schedule to allow my knees to rest.
- Mon: Walk/Hike, Upper body strength training, Yoga
- Tue: Jog/Walk, Lower body strength training, Yoga
- Wed: Low impact aerobics/biking, abdominal and back strength training, Yoga
- Thu: Walk/Hike, Upper body strength training, Yoga
- Fri: Jog/Walk, Lower body strength training, Yoga
- Sat: Low impact aerobics/biking, abdominal and back strength training, Yoga
- Sun: Yoga
13 Feb 2006
Weight: 193 lbs. (lost 7 lbs.)
BMI: 35.3
I'm rather bummed that I gained a pound, but since it's "that time of the month" for me, I'm sure it's probably just water. I'm trying to not make a big issue out of it.
I'm also bummed that I haven't been able to jog at all. My knees just aren't going to cooperate, so I'm just waiting until the pain stops before I even attempt to jog again. Meanwhile, I'm strengthening my quadriceps to reduce future injuries.
I want to improve my heart and lung function, and walking and low impact aerobics just don't seem to push me enough in cardio training like running does. Maybe I need to do something with bouncing, like jump rope.
I'm now walking at least 30 minutes every morning. I could keep going, but my schedule doesn't allow it because I have to get back home before my husband leaves for work. I've become thoroughly acquainted with my neighborhood, so I started walking in nearby neighborhoods to keep my walks interesting. I have to continue exploring new places. I get bored seeing the same thing every day.
I've been trying to add other forms of exercise into my day. In addition to the daily walking and the weight lifting, I've been dancing and playing with the kids. I also put my bike on a trainer to convert it into an indoor bike (no need to buy a stationary bike), and I'm trying to build up my bike riding muscles, so I can do more with it outdoors. I used to ride my bike every day for hours when I was a kid (and I was still fat!), but now I can only go 10 minutes before I'm feeling that lactic acid in my legs. I've got to build myself up, so I can enjoy bike rides through nature during my summer vacations.
15 Feb 2006
Today, I didn't exercise at all. I was tired and achy, and so was my husband, so I thought maybe we had a virus. It's no excuse, though. I need to get out there and exercise even when I don't feel like it. I'll never lose the weight if I make excuses, like "I don't feel like it today."
I've noticed that when I don't exercise, I start falling back into bad habits. I want to eat more. I start nibbling. I don't monitor my portion sizes. I start saying to myself, "I deserve to eat this." I start making excuses. I start thinking about all the reasons why I don't want to exercise (e.g. "It's too cold outside." "I'll do it after lunch. I'm too busy right now." "I need to let my body rest anyhow.").
I need to keep my health a priority.
16 Feb 2006
I weighed 194 today. It doesn't count for my record because it isn't Monday, but I feel like I'm failing again. The scale is creeping back up, so let's look at this logically, so I don't get pessimistic and quit.
- I've been doing lots of weight lifting, which builds muscle, and muscle weighs more than fat, so I may have gained weight from additional muscle.
- I've been trying to drink more water, so it may just be water weight.
- It is "that time of the month," and that always causes me to retain water.
- I haven't been able to jog, so I thought maybe that's why the scale is creeping back up, but this may not be true. I only jog for a couple of minutes during each interval, and I only do intervals for about 10 minutes and walk for 5 to 10 minutes more. When I walk, I walk for 30 minutes up and down hills. I would actually burn more calories during my walks. I just need to keep walking.
- On Wednesdays and weekends I switch from walking (and jogging if I ever get to do it again; darn knees) to biking (currently my bike is on an indoor trainer). The problem is that I tend to make excuses when it comes to exercising in my house (e.g. I have to clean the room first. It's too loud and everyone is sleeping. The kids keep interrupting me.), and my legs aren't fit enough yet to ride my bike outside for more than a very short time. I think I should change my schedule so that I'm walking even on Wednesdays and weekends. Instead of replacing my walking with biking, I'll just add biking to the workout on those days. Walking will just be what I do every single day to pump up my metabolism first thing in the morning.
- I've been rather hungry lately. It's not a boredom hungry. It's a gnawing in my stomach. My body is probably trying to avoid losing weight (because that's what they do; the human body likes to gain weight not lose it). My body is probably trying to make me eat because the pounds are dropping. I'm eating a healthy diet, so I just need to keep it up and wait for my body to adapt.
20 Feb 2006
Weight: 192 lbs. (lost 8 lbs.)
BMI: 35.1
Ahhh, back down to 192. I feel better.
My knees feel great now, so I decided to try jogging again. I could only go a minute at a time, but it's better than nothing, and since I was only doing 2 1/2 minutes before, I don't think it will be a big deal to get back up to that level (however small it may be). So far, I have no knee pain, but I'll pay close attention to it and rest when I do notice pain. I found a nice level area in a nearby neighborhood, so I'm using that for jogging intervals and avoiding the hills. I know my schedule has me jogging on Tuesdays rather than Mondays, but I might change that. Mondays are just filled with motivation for me, and I'm always eager to give it my all, so I might as well put the extra push on such days.
My strength training is certainly inspiring. I love it. My strength has improved so much. When I started, I was using little 3 lb. dumbbells. Now I'm up to 10 lb. dumbbells comfortably, and today I started moving up to 15. (I just started adding 5 lb. wrist/ankle weights while I use the 10 lb. weights, so everything but my forearms is getting the extra workout (my forearms don't get it because I'm not gripping the weight). I'm debating purchasing a set of 15s or just continuing to use the 10 lb. dumbbell - 5 lb. wrist/ankle weight combo.) It's so nice to be able to look at my strength training progress charts and see the numbers going up. It's so nice to lift a 5 lb. weight and not even realize how heavy it is. It's so nice to feel stronger every day in doing normal activities.
My flexibility has gone from feeling stiff all the time to almost being able to do the splits. My upper body flexibility needs a bit more work, but my lower body is progressing quickly. Plus, it just feels so good to stretch.
I feel much more graceful now when I move. I'm certainly not ballet dancer graceful, but I don't strain as much, I'm not out of breath as much, and I'm not stiff when I move.
Even if I weren't losing any weight, I would keep exercising just to feel as good as I do now. Days when I don't exercise are "bad" days. When I spend the day working on my computer and neglecting any activity, I just feel tired and depressed. I'm learning how to balance my hours in front of the computer with taking lots of exercise breaks and spacing out my work throughout the day. I just generally feel happier when I work this way (even though my old habit energies keep telling me to sit down and finish the project I'm working on, which normally leads to all-night computer sessions, so I spend a lot of mental energy fighting those old habits).
27 Feb 2006
Weight: 188 lbs. (lost 12 lbs.)
BMI: 34.4
I'm doing my happy dance! I got below 190 lbs. I'm thrilled! Now, I'm pretty sure that the dramatic 4 lb. loss is also caused by some dehydration. I haven't been drinking as much water as I had been, but I'm also certain that some of that weight was fat. I know my next weigh-in will probably be a bit higher because of that water, but I have confidence that it won't go up past 192 lbs. So what's the tally thus far: 200 lbs. - 188 lbs. = 12 lbs. = 42,000 calories. And, it wasn't actually that difficult to do.
I've bumped my weightlifting up to a new level with heavier weights again, so I know I'm making progress in the muscle department. It feels so good to finish 3 sets of 10 reps without struggling and announce to myself, "It's time to go shopping for heavier weights!"
I've started jogging again, and I'm getting back up to speed quickly. The flat street in my nearby neighborhood is obviously not a secret. I see many joggers there, so I'm quickly developing a group of fellow-joggers-who-say-hello-to-me-daily. Even if we don't have the energy or breath to talk to each other, we all smile at each other, knowing we have something in common. I especially enjoy seeing other joggers who are obviously beginners like me.
I've also been making progress on my bike trainer. The odometer I bought for it (an early birthday present for myself) keeps me motivated. I see how close I am to completing another mile, so I keep pushing myself just a little further. I'll be biking through state parks all over the Pacific Northwest this summer, and seeing nature at a slower, healthier pace than driving around, with the ability to stop and smell the plant life. We also have some nice biking paths in some of our county parks, so I think I'll be investing in an annual parks pass this month.
I also decided to add some more variety to my workouts by doing more dance workout videos. This week I've done Bhangra, which I love because it's so simple but fun to do, and belly dancing, which was a bit too slow for a high-impact cardio workout but great for developing seductive grace and building abdominal muscles. I want to try some hip-hop style dancing, but I seriously lack coordination, so I need to work up to that. I'm thinking some Latin style dancing will help me get that coordination. Some friends of mine were talking about going to a dance club. Honestly, I've never danced at a dance club because I was never a good dancer, but after doing some of these videos and learning some fun moves, I think I'll be comfortable enough to get on the dance floor.
I'm so happy that I do my workouts first thing in the morning. It's the first time in 10 years that I've been able to workout every day (ok almost every day) without making excuses. Plus, I'm doing stuff that's fun, and I'm learning new skills. I also have more time to think about things during the more mundane exercises, so it's very therapeutic on a psychological level. I'm also listening to more music during my indoor workouts, so I've even rediscovered my love of music (which had dropped to the side for several years, and I'm not quite sure why, distractions I guess).
...by Feed