My Expensive Clothes Hanger? Nah.

Yes, I actually have exercise equipment in my apartment. I have one of those ellipticals, also known as elliptical trainers, sitting in my office. While it does not have clothes hanging off of it, it is gathering dust. I've considered selling it...but I paid a ton of money for it, and it's a nice machine. Why I can't get motivated to use it, I don't know. Will my lack of motivation improve as the weather gets warmer, and the days get longer? Maybe. Guess I also need to find the adapter to plug it in...the batteries it can also use last about 2 weeks. Ugh. So many excuses. I'm really lazy!

Tags: exercise, elliptical trainers, elliptical

Museum or Home Gym?

Going off of my last post about the Shangri-La Diet, you will be surprised that a lot of people have used it successfully without exercise. Whoa. I'm still going to exercise, but I'm not going to do it intensely as that usually makes me want to eat everything in sight, since my body requires more calories to make up for the deficit exercising causes. One of these days, I hope to be able to have a place big enough to be able to buy decent home gym equipment. My new apartment has a second bedroom, where my elliptical trainer and desk will go. But it's definitely not big enough for more than that. I'm not saying I want a full-blown gym with all the latest equipment, but maybe a weight bench would be good, rather than having to use a chair that's not really the right height for me. Or perhaps a Pilates Reformer, because that's the most effective piece of equipment for me, anyway. Oh well, someday I'll have a house with enough space. The question is...will I use it, or will it become a museum? Hmm....

Tags: Shangri-La Diet, home gym, Pilates, exercise

Alli: No Ally of Mine

Alli, Xenadrine, Relacore, Hydroxycut...what do they all have in common? They're all diet supplements. Alli is FDA-approved, but who wants to take something that might cause, um, really nasty digestive side-effects, even if you eat according to their low-fat guidelines? Not me, thanks. (Think of the warnings on the labels with anything containing Olestra....ewww!) I already eat a relatively low-fat diet because I have issues with digesting fat. And, I'd really only lose 2.5 pounds, without exercise, considering I have only about 10 pounds left to lose. So I think I'll save a lot of money...and preserve my dignity

All This Exercise Is Making Me Hungry!

Seriously...ever since I started back at the gym, I'm soooo hungry! Guess now I might need to find something to control my appetite, as I am trying to lose weight...which is hard when you can't seem to get enough to eat. Read about Tenuate, which is supposed to be an appetite suppressant. But usually with me...appetite suppressants either make me MORE hungry, or make me very jittery. So, I try to stay away from them. But this is ridiculous. I ate breakfast at 7:30 this morning, and I was hungry before I got to work at 9! Ugh. Not fair. Hope this one works!

Tags: fitness, appetite suppressant, diet pills, diet

Woo Hoo!

I've lost 6 pounds in the last two weeks. Finally, some success in my weight loss goal of 15 pounds. It's about time, I have to say. Of course, I have no one else to blame but myself for taking so long to eat healthier, and learn to make choices. That's been the key for me, I think, is learning how to prioritize food vs. health in my life. Yes, I still eat food for comfort, but not like I used to. I don't eat two hours before bed time, which is usually 11:00 PM during the week, and I just ask myself every time I'm faced with a food I'd normally want to gobble down whether I'd have that food now, or be the size I was 2 years ago. So far, so good...and I'm back with my personal trainer as well. Perhaps that'll speed up the process a bit...at least I hope it does!

Tags: weight loss, diet, dieting, food, exercise

My New Diet Trick

Okay, so I heard about this cognitive therapy approach to weight loss...basically think thin to be thin. Of course, it's not that easy. There is some actual work involved. But the one thing I took away from what I read was to come up with the real reasons why you want to lose weight, and ask yourself a question using whichever reason is more important to you at the time.

In my case, I ask myself, "Would I rather eat this now, or be a size 8 again?" Basically, what would make me happier in the long run? I don't know why or how, but it seems to be working. Maybe it's because I'm looking at a larger picture of things, because I tend to tell myself, "oh, this piece of chocolate today won't hurt me." But then I eat 5 or 6 of them, many days in a row, and that can hurt my goal. I'm thinking with time, I won't need to try another diet trial.

My next step is to do the same thing with exercise, ask myself, "would I rather watch this show/play on the PC, or would I rather be a size 8 again?" Taking small steps, and doing things in stages is much easier, at least in my experience.

Bittersweet Symphony That's Life

Here it is yet again...New Year's Eve. I have a love/hate relationship with this day, because it makes me look back on a year that has not gone as well as I would have liked (that's the hate part). But, it also allows me to feel hopeful (things have sucked big time, lately) that maybe, just maybe...this coming year will be better? Although, I have hoped that for the last three years, but it hasn't worked out like I would have liked.

I almost never have resolutions, because I know I won't stick to them...like losing my extra 20 pounds I've gained since I started seeing my current SO. But, I have to lose this weight. I've just seen pictures of myself...and I don't like what I see. The only thing that is different about this year than last year is...I'm seeing a personal trainer. I have been for 4 weeks straight. Granted, I did not follow any sort of diet...and I think I might have actually GAINED weight (or maybe my muscles are bigger, therefore making things a little tighter?). But, with the new year...I am going to try to follow some sort of diet...not anything crazy, like low-carb. Because, let's face it...I'm not getting any younger, and this weight is not going to magically fall off of me like it has in the past when I exercised at such a high intensity. Truly, I need to find a way to eat more sensibly, and just say "no" when my skinny boyfriend asks me if I want some of the peanut butter chocolate chip cookies he just made. Will I be able to? Aye, there's the rub. I can say it all I want...but I actually have to follow through with it. Maybe this year, what I set my mind to do, will actually happen...

Tags: New Year, New Year's resolution, diary, journal, fitness, diet, exercise

Almost Time for that New Year's Resolution

It is so hard to keep yourself on a diet around the holidays. Seriously, how am I supposed to be able to resist all of the goodies that come around this time of year? I think after Christmas and New Year's, like every other person on the planet, I am going to stick to a diet to go with my personal training sessions. I'm actually starting to see results from only 3 weeks, but it's only my muscles getting more defined...I'm not losing any fat, it seems. So, I'm going to do a diet comparison. I know low-carb is out for me, but I'm thinking of cutting out refined grains and sugars, otherwise known as the SugarBusters diet. It has worked in the past, and since I am training fairly hard twice a week, I'm thinking it'll work even better. At least I'll still be able to eat grains, consume dairy, etc. I just can't eat any products containing white flour and sugar. Once I get over the initial shock of sugar leaving my system, I think I'll be okay. We'll see.

Tags: fitness, diet, personal training, diet comparison, diary, journal

Personal Trainers Are the Bomb!

Ow...ow...OW! Okay, now that I've gotten that out of my system...

Last night I went back to my personal trainer, who I haven't seen for about a month due to some circumstances beyond my control, mainly my grandfather's passing, and then my gallbladder deciding to freak out on me (which is still an issue, by the way). My God! He put me through the wringer, to put it nicely. I can barely move my legs, and my abs are starting to hurt...so even breathing is a bit painful. But, it's what I signed up for...and what I pay him to do!

It was interesting, but he had me do a circuit like I've never done before, which involved step work, lunges, mountain climbers (think doing pushups, but with switching out your legs), squats, and then a boatload of crunches and hip raises using a fitness ball. Holy moly! I'm kind of hoping he has me do that from now on, because it really works what I want to be worked.

Then, in a few weeks, I will be taking ice skating lessons with my boyfriend (that's another entire blog entry - we worked things out, basically). Between the two, I should have a nice lower body, methinks...and that's the area I am most concerned with. I'm also hoping it will help me when he wants to go skiing, because the last time I went...my legs just could not take the strain, and I ended up sitting at the lodge by myself. No fun! Well, neither is the punishment my trainer is putting me through, but as long as I get the results I want...it's okay by me. :)

Tags: exercise, fitness, skiing, ice skating, personal trainer, journal, diary