Gun Extravaganza

Yesterday the entire family headed out to the gun show, and Mr. Kawaii and I spent around 3 hours walking the several long rows of vendors, seeing all there was to see.  By the end of our three hours at the show, we had walked the hall nearly twice and both of us had broken a sweat.  According to the calorie burning tool on AolHealth, 3 hours of non-grocery shopping with sitting and standing burns roughly 611 calories.  Not bad for milling around finding something amazing to buy.

We did doubly good by avoiding the various snacks, treats and candies at the show.  I smuggled in a couple of low-calorie granola bars for us to nibble on when the smells of hot-dogs, pizza, jerky and baked goods got to be too much.  The healthy snack tided us over until lunch time, when we sat down and shared a basket of fries and a single slice of pizza.  All in all, a great day with the family and a healthy activity out of the house.  Double bonus!

This Workout Brought to you by... Netflix

Recently, Mr. Kawaii and I joined the golden age of video rental by joining Netflix.  Although it's been around for years now, it took our local video rental store closing down for us to finally make the leap to give Netflix a try.  As we have been browsing through the instant downloads on our Xbox, I noticed that there are quite a few workout videos available to watch instantly, and DVDs available by mail.

This morning when I poked my head out the door and a blast of cold air hit me in the face, I decided to stay in and give the Netflix queue a try.  I quickly found Self: Bikini Ready Fast! and decided to give it a shot.  It was a pretty low-impact strength training workout, and I pulled my trusty Kidney Bean cans out of the cabinet to substitute for weights.  It was easy to follow along, and I was SUPREMELY pleased when at the end of the exercise the instructor gave tips on eating a healthy diet including a little bit of everything.  She spoke of the importance of including fats, carbs, protein and fiber into well-rounded eating habits as well as giving ourselves a break now and again to splurge on our favorite foods.

With all the hype of wildly popular shows like The Biggest Loser focusing on how to lose as much weight as possible - and fast - a big gap has been left for people who are looking for sustainable solutions.  Restrictive diets and hours-long exercise routines are difficult for most people to follow for more than a few weeks at a time, and it takes a big reality check for those of us who need to come to terms with understanding that eating 1,100 calories and spending 3 hours at the gym every single day is just not something we can do.

I have learned over the last year that the most difficult and rewarding part of living a healthy lifestyle is finding patience.  We need patience for ourselves so that we can move at our own pace and find long-lasting results, we need patience for others who think we aren't getting "enough" results and we need patience for our bodies to know that they will change in their own way and time.  Changing the way we live is a very difficult task, which is why so few people are able to see their goals through to the end.  The most important thing for me, and for you, is to just keep trying.  We'll get there when we get there!

Flexing Fannies

I hit the living room for another round of yoga today and managed to stay on the mat for about 25 minutes before my left knee took on a life of its own and began dancing and wiggling in a kind of muscle spasm I've never seen before.  Rather than push myself through the last 5 minutes of the workout and risk my Jello-knee going completely haywire I did a little cool-down stretching and then walked away.

Unfortunately as the weather has started getting nicer and my friends and family have realized that spring is quickly approaching, our group has become littered with twisted ankles and pulled muscles.  We're all in a rush to get back into our workout routines and while getting back into shape after a winter of hibernating under a stack of pumpkin pies, roasted turkeys and chocolate covered strawberries is rapidly climbing to the top of our list it is best to tread softly during these first few weeks of workout weather.

My knee has stopped jiggling, so I think it's time to hit the showers.  On to the rest of the day!

Guns, Knives and Exercise

I'm hopping on for just a brief moment before going back to enjoying my relaxing day off. :)

Today Mr. Kawaii and I headed to a Gun and Knife show at the Expo Center in Portland and walked through the show for about 2 1/2 hours before finally deciding it was time to stop shopping and head home for some lunch.  We had a great time, saw lots of really cool and interesting things, successfully avoided the hot dog and hamburger stands and got to enjoy being out and about together.

It's been a great day!

Walking and Contemplation

I haven't been doing a great job of blogging (obviously), but I have been trying to get a little activity in as my back has been healing.  Gettting in a few squats here and there, burning calories cleaning up the house after my time stuck in bed and taking short walks have helped me to feel less like a bump on a log.

During the clean sweep of the house, I managed to find a very old roll of film that has been floating around the house for years, and after many reminders from my mom I was able to finally remember to drop it off to get it developed.  After another week, I finally remembered to pick UP said pictures from Walgreens and Mr. Kawaii and I sat down to go through them last night.

The photos ended up being from waaay back during the first Christmas Mr. Kawaii and I spent together (4 years ago).  It was fun to look back to the beginning of our relationship together, but inevitably the thing that I paid the most attention to was how thin I was 4 years ago.  I've gained a solid 50 pounds from that Christmas, and at first I got a little down on myself for my "failure" but on my walk this morning I re-thought my stance.

Back when those photos were taken, Mr. Kawaii and I had only been together a few months.  Just a year before, I had gone through a terrible divorce.  I spent months walking between 3 and 6 miles a day in addition to going to the gym and doing an hour of yoga every morning... I worked out constantly because I was miserable and quite honestly couldn't afford to do anything else.  I was in great shape, but I was unhappy.  I had no friends, no money, was at risk of losing my apartment and was very unsure of whether or not I'd get another paycheck.  Life sucked, and although I fit into some really cute size 8 jeans back then, there is no way I'd want to go back.

I reminded myself again that I haven't gained any more weight in 12 months - which is a huge improvement to where I was, gaining 15 to 20 pounds a year.  All I have to do is keep focusing on finding time in my schedule to get exercise in and continue eating appropriate portions and I'll be able to watch that waistline start to shrink.  I can do it!

Sweating Out the Turkey

After a few of days of nothing but turkey, yams and apple pie, I figured it was probably time to get back into the workout groove.  Luckily, when I woke up this morning I was full of energy and ready to go, so I ran with the feeling and popped Denise Austin's Fat Blasting Yoga in and pushed play before I had a chance to talk myself out of it.

Even though it's been a while since I last practiced any yoga poses, my body fell right back into it as if it hadn't taken a break at all.  I couldn't believe that I had enough energy and strength to complete the first segment, let alone all three, but here I sit an hour later with every muscle stretched and pose completed (except for the one where you sit cross-legged and push your body off the floor with your hands - that is just crazy talk).

When I first purchased this particular workout DVD years ago, it came with a 21 day challenge.  "In 21 days, you'll see great results," Denise promises at the beginning of the program.  So, what the heck.  I haven't done a fitness challenge in a while so I think I'll give it a go.  I've got nothing to lose but inches 'round the middle!

Chasing the 4:35 Train

Adding some oompf to an otherwise computer-keying day, I decided to take a walk through the neighborhood to the local grocery store this afternoon.  On my way back as I crossed over the train tracks I noticed the afternoon train coming down the line.  I decided to try to beat the train through the neighborhood (the tracks run parallel to the road that I walk to get to my house) and held my giant bundle of toilet paper and brownie mix tight against my chest as I hoofed it across the concrete.

The train probably moves at 4 or 5 miles an hour, which is still slightly faster than I can walk and so I really had to push myself which is surprisingly difficult with 12 rolls of toilet paper filling both arms and a sack of boxed goodness pounding against your outer thigh.  The people in the neighborhood all looked at me in confusion as I peeked between the houses to see how I was progressing and trying to stay in front of the nose of the train.

Sadly the train beat me to the end of the street, but only by a nose.  I was even with the conductor's window at the end of the "race".  I take a proud second place though, realizing that the conductor has thousands of tons of steel, fuel and momentum keeping him moving and all I've got are a pair of New Balance shoes and the promise of frosted brownies in my future.

Recognizing My Own Success Story

I realized this morning that I have been blogging about my exercise adventure for just about 6 months now, and what a journey it has been.  I've seen my share of highs and lows over the last six months, have been witness to great changes in M and K, and even a few in myself.  I spent the morning on a 2.5 mile walk with Pooch, and we spent our time out on the sidewalk reflecting on where I've been and where I'm heading.

When I started this blog, it was with the idea that if I had some outside accountability that maybe I'd be able to stick with the whole "lifestyle change" concept long enough for it to start working.  Work it has, although not in the way that I had expected it to.  I was seeking instant results on the scale, expecting to drop 40 or 50 pounds within six months and be back to a size 8 before Christmas.

Although those aren't the results that I've seen so far, I am confident that they are on the horizon and I am taking one step at a time in the right direction.  Unfortunately, in my past I have done a number on my body through 10 years of binge eating and starvation topped off with 4 years of eating fast food roughly 12 times a week.  Because of my past diet insanity, my body is still afraid to let go of the pounds although it has started shifting things around and transforming some of those former lumps into muscle that are so real you can see and feel them lurking under my skin.

All those trips to the gym, laps around the track and yoga sessions in the living room have given me results that are frequent and substantial enough to keep me going, and through blogging about the craziness of trying to jog with a dog who wants to paint fences every 50 feet and being attacked by flora and fauna in equal doses in the back yard, I have been able to share my experience with others.

This experience has reminded me that sometimes we just have to recognize our own success story instead of comparing ourselves to others.  We might not all be millionaire-triathlete-raceway-superstars, but we are all treading the paces of our own journey to shape who we will become in the years ahead of us.  And while yes, it is great when there are enthusiastic people like M and K to encourage us along the way, there will always be those days when we just have to get up and be our own cheerleader.

So, in the spirit of cheering for myself, here are my awesome results that have stacked up over the last six months:

• Gone from barely being able to zip up my size 18 jeans to comfortably fitting into my size 16 jeans and size 14 dresses.
• Lost 3 pounds since starting this blog, and 6 pounds overall.
• Have traversed the gap in my belt, going from barely able to get into the last notch on the belt to now being 4 notches in.
• Discovered that I have "tank top arms" for the first time in years, with muscular shoulders and emerging biceps.
• Went from walking a 22 minute mile to being able to walk/jog a 16 minute mile.
• Have slimmed to a point where my fingers are thin enough to wear my wedding ring every day, even to sleep.
• Can see my wrist bones for the first time since 1997.
• No longer feel like I am "spilling out" over the edge of chairs, car seats or benches.
• Have more energy than I know what to do with some days!

Sure, I haven't met my goals of losing 40 pounds and dropping to a size 8, but look at all the things I HAVE done!  Most of the things I have achieved are things that I never even thought of as goals, but they went ahead and showed up anyway.  The proof is in the fat-free lactose-free sugar-free pudding, and I know that as long as I continue avoiding the drive-thru lane and keep finding ways to be active that I will continue to inch my way towards the smaller bottom of my dreams.

Nearing the Finish line at the 2010 Great Columbia Crossing
October, 2010

Hump Ahead

 (Source)

We've been suffering the turbulence of life's little "humps" for the last few weeks, and while the sign above says that they end in 350 yards, I'm beginning to think they're measuring them wrong.  For me, it seems that when life problems pop up along the roadway of daily living, it is really easy to just say, "Fudge it," and hit the drive-thru instead of hitting the yoga/track/Wii Fit/cardio-anything.  This past week has been one of those times in particular, and I fear to say that the last few days I have really fallen off the "Get Fit" bandwagon.

After torturing M yesterday with yoga, we decided to return to the familiar track since today it was only in the mid-80's instead of the mid 90's.  Getting out and getting moving really felt great, although my calves and shins cursed me for skipping out on long walks for the last 6 days.  I also felt the lethargy left over from fries and pizza, the sad stress eating fare of the last couple of days.

As I said to M at the end of my 2nd mile (inlcuding jogging at least one turn on 5 of the laps!), my body just can't handle the grease and grime of take-out meals any more.  A couple of years of lean eating has changed the way my body reacts to fatty foods, and the results are almost immediately apparent when I eat poorly.  I won't go into the nitty-gritty details with you, but I will say that I'm looking forward to having a light dinner of fruit and a sandwich instead of a full spread of deep-fried comfort food.

So, all that said, I am determined to get back into the groove come hell or high-water.  Or maybe low-water... I have a fear of deep amounts of H2O!