How has your journey been??

[ndnmmm06]

Hey! as you can see...my weight loss is real slow and steady (lost 7 pounds in 1 month)...with a few bumps in the road....i'm usually the type to go for a quick fix and try to see fast results...but this time i'm purposely taking it slow so that i can avoid burnout...plus "slow and steady wins the race"

i have a "weight loss" binder...
http://zenhabits.net/fotos/20090113gradual.jpg

this picture is on the front of my binder...because it helps me remember gradual change yields big results...
like when u leave the house and there's water dripping into a bucket..by the time u get home a few hours later...the bucket is overflowing...

i'm one of those people that QUICKLY lose motivation...so this picture is a huge help for me...

i had a surgery about 2 months ugo....and during my recovery time at home ( i wasn't allowed to drive)...i ate ALL the junk food i can think of...the brownies with ice cream..the doritos and cheetohs...ON PURPOSE...i wanted to know just how GREAT junk food can make me feel..if junk food is SOOO great..lemme see how great it is.....and guess what..like everyone says...it doesn't make you happy at all...
i remember after 2-3 days of doing that...i couldn't BELIEVE how disgusting it felt..my face felt like there were cheeseburgers stuffed in my cheeks...it was gross...

so now that i know how "only junk food-no exercise" makes me feel...now i wanted to know how exercise and healthy eating made me feel...

so after that day...i bought the "Biggest Loser Yoga for Weight Loss" DVD and started doing that...i am not usually the type to do the "slow, boring" stuff....(i hate running..i think it's so boring)....but i do this dvd because it doesn't take alot of time or alot of space..and it's not hard on your joints(i have weak knees)...it's only 30 minutes..so it doesnt feel like it takes a huge chunk of my day..and the results are showing both outside and inside...very gradual..but they're still there...my favorite part of doing the yoga is that it is only 30 minutes (5 min warmup, 20 min yoga, 5 min cooldown)..and surprisingly it's not as boring as it sounds...it's Bob from Biggest Loser and former contestants in the background doing it.and some of them are still overweight when they're doing it....so it made me feel like i was a part of them...i didn't feel alone in this journey...

also..yoga helps you realize just how weak you really are..and..before u see the outer results..u'll feel in the inner results...u'll feel stronger inside...
whenever i use to stretch..my arms wouldn't reach to my ankles..and now...i can grab my foot! (IN 4 WEEKS!)..can u believe it!...
even my sister (who's skinny) can't do that!

everytime i feel like i dont wanna do this and just pig out....i think of that day i felt disgusting from eating only junk food and not doing any exercise...

how has your journey been?

[Barb135]

It sounds like you've hit on a pretty good plan there -- slow and steady is the best way to do it, so you can make the changes last.  

I'm not familiar with the "Biggest Loser Yoga for Weight Loss" DVD, but I love yoga.  Yoga stretches your muscles and strengthens your core muscles.  I am not normally one for slow boring things either, but the movements in yoga are so deliberate it takes a lot of concentration to get the poses right.  It's also very low impact.  And best of all, is that you only need to stretch or do as much as you are able to do.  

When I got my first yoga dvd, I watched a few minutes of it and said to myself "yeah, right -- like I'm gonna be able to stretch like THAT ---- EVER".........well, I almost didn't even try it, but fortunately I figured I best get some use out of the dvd since I'd spent the $ on it........am I ever glad I did.........I still can't stretch and move like the "trainer" can, but I'm a lot better than I was when I started out.  

Unfortunately, I have really slacked off on ALL of my exercise and am trying to come up with a way that I can fit in time for it when I actually have ENERGY to do it - I get up at 3:30 am; work from 6:00 am-2:30 pm and by the time I get home, all I want to do is crash---------

I know I'll be able to come up with some sort of plan though - I just have to keep working on it.

[ndnmmm06]

Hey!

That's crazy how you wake up at 3:30am when you have work at 6am----why?

i kno how life can get in the way of taking time out for yourself...

as soon as i come home from work..i jus take off my work clothes and go straight into my yoga clothes(which are already layin on my bed when i get home) and JUST DO IT!!...before i even look at my mail...before i go into the kitchen...anything...as soon as you see "triggers"--like food or the computer or tv--it'll keep u from doin it...i come home from work mentally exhausted some days...and the yoga is like the "me time" to calm my mind that i really need (like i said--only 30 minutes)...yeah ur body is fighting to hold poses..but ur mind is being cleansed...

also...do u wake up at 3:30am to prepare meals or set up things for your day ahead?...try doin a few of those things the night before..sometimes..u take extra long time for preparation in the morning due to grogginess and sleepiness when it takes shorter time the night before...

i'm a HUGE fan of sleep...so that's why the 3:30am shocks me...i HAVE to have my sleep haha....and sleep is JUST as important for weight loss as ur diet and exercise...it gives muscles time to restore/build/rest..etc...it keeps ur mind more alert throughout the day...and probably would help that "exhausted feeling" u get after work go away...

[Barb135]

I have to get up at 3:30 in order to get showered, dry my hair and ready for work, take care of the dogs, clean up their dishes, etc, which all takes me about an hour, then my commute is anywhere from 30 -50 minutes, depending on how I hit the traffic lights -- traffic is minimal at that time, but seems like some days I get caught by every single light there is - and there's about 20 of them along my route.............lol   In addition, I've never been one to walk into work at the last possible minute and have to jump right into it, so I like to get there a few minutes early so I can have coffee, check e-mail, sometimes log onto medhelp, etc before i have to get moving for the day because once I get started I rarely have a chance to stop.  

I generally fix whatever I'm going to take with me for food, the night before and I keep a bowl of boiled eggs in the fridge and fruit on the counter, so I can just grab one for breakfast before I leave the house.  I've tried showering and washing my hair the night before also, but I have night sweats so badly that I have to do it in the morning anyway.  I have to wear a uniform so there's never a question of what I will wear on any given day.  The only thing I have a choice in, is what shoes I'm wearing, so that's not much to worry about.  

The first thing I do when I get home is take the dogs for their walk --- and by the time I get done with that, I'm ready to crash.  I know you are right -- I used to do the same thing you do when I got home - exercise, then crashed, letting hubby walk the dogs, but he's not willing to take on that task most days now.  And then there's still all the things that have to be done to keep the household going - laundry, cleaning, cooking; and I even get behind on those things.  I'm usually in bed no later than 7:30, so not long after I hit "post comment" here, I'll be off...........

I'm not trying to make excuses for not exercising -- I actually enjoy it when I can do it when I'm not exhausted and without having to let other things go.  I keep telling myself that 30 minutes is no big deal and I'm currently on a "campaign" to get back into a daily routine.  I'm starting at 20 min/day and planning to add 5 min/day each week.  Does that make sense?? I'm doing 20 min/day this week, next week, I will up it to 25 min/day -- and keep doing that until I can get back an hour of time......wish me luck............

Oh, I want to look into that dvd you mentioned - is that available in stores or does it have to be ordered?  

[ndnmmm06]

Yeah the DVD can be bought at stores...i got mine from Best Buy for $12...I think it's cheaper at Amazon.com....

Man...seeing ur schedule...i can understand how hard it must be to fit in working out....
Good Luck and I'm sure u'll find a way....

[Barb135]

Well, I did good tonight ----- pretty proud of myself.........I got hubby to walk the dogs and I went to work on my Wii Fit...... I did 20 minutes of yoga and about 12 minutes of step aerobics, for a total of 32 minutes -- THEN I did 5 reps of each of 3 stretching exercises that my doctor gave me for my back!!  It's not a lot, but it's 37 minutes more than I've been able to accomplish recently...........

I'm going to try to find that dvd this weekend.  In the meantime, I'll go with the Wii Fit and must do the stretching exercises or the doc will be unhappy with me.........lol

I didn't do anything on the health rider today, but I think I've done enough as it is -- I know I'm going to feel it in the morning......................lol

Oh -- and I discovered that Wii Fit says I weigh 2.6 pounds LESS than my bathroom scale says --- of course, I'm going to go by Wii Fit -- after all, I can use all the help I can get ---- but I guess it doesn't matter that much since they both say I'm over weight!!  Bathroom scale says 145.8 and Wii Fit says 143.2 so I think I'll adjust my weight tracker to the Wii Fit --- I'm only 5' tall.......

[Barb135]

I got that dvd today - Biggest Loser - Yoga for Weight Loss..........I watched it on the computer just to see what it's like.  Tomorrow, I will actually do a work out.  A lot of the poses are also on the Wii Fit, so I'm familiar with them. The difference is that Wii Fit stops after each pose and takes quite a while, where this dvd goes right on through, from one pose to another............I'm going to like it, I think.  I may try to alternate Wii Fit with the dvd -- and I have some others as well........

[Barb135]

"Biggest Loser Yoga for Weight Loss" --- what a work out.........I finished it a short time ago and I'm going to go soak in a hot tub because my muscles are on fire.........I just know I'm going to be ever so sore tomorrow................but it's a great dvd.......I'm so happy I've been doing yoga and the Wii Fit, or I'm never have been able to keep up......