Swimming and app-ilicous repeat

So yesterday I went swimming for the first time in three weeks and today's workout on the treadmill was much better than it has been for three weeks. I believe swimming makes all the difference for me. Let's hope it reflects on the scale tomorrow.

Remember the Ab workout app I showed you a few weeks ago. Well this month I downloaded an app for my arms. This months workout is heavily cardio oriented so I decided to add in a quick upper body work out twice a week.

This app has a 5, 7.5 and 10 minute option like the Ab workout. It is all free weight and body weight exercises so you don't need more than a pair of dumbbells or even soup cans for beginners. It offers overhead press, biceps curls, triceps extension, bent over row, front raises, bridge dips, push-ups, and side plank.

Bottom line: Overall I think it is a great light weight workout for cardio focused people, but not meant for those of you who prefer weight training.

Check in 10/21/2011

Physical Check in:

Ah Friday! I haven't been looking forward to this weeks weigh in because I have yet again hit that time of the month. So I thought for sure I would have gained weight, but I again stayed exactly the same.

Perhaps this means I actually lost weight and when the bloat is gone it will reflect that.


Starting Weight: 271lbs
Current Weight: 256.8lbs
Goals Weight: 169lbs


Mental Check in:

While I am hopeful next week will reflect a weight loss, the fact that I have been at the exact same weigh for three weeks is really depressing me. On a happy note the pool FINALLY reopened today. It was closed for 3 weeks. Hmmm...3 weeks seems to be the theme. Tomorrow I am doing some volunteering so I will be swapping out my swim plans for a hike but YES to swimming on Sunday! Hallelujah.

Check out this great photo of the Great Bay in Greenland, NH. I didn't include it in my last post but wanted you to see it.

Sunday in Pictures - Two Days Late

I am a little behind in blogging but the goods news is that I am caught up in eating. I seem to be in a binge free, high exercise zone this week. This Sunday I went to the Great Bay Discovery Center and Estuary. They are all about preserving the marshes and bay that dumps into the Atlantic Ocean. It provides an important food source for Osprey, Owls, Blue Heron and even Bald Eagles. None of which I actually got to see, but that's OK. Here are some photos.

A photo of the bay during low tide.

This is Actually in the parking lot. I just love these little bushes they grow wild all over NH and early in the fall season you actually see each leaf get striped like a rainbow. The tips are Green the a bit further up it goes yellow, then orange, then red. This late in the season has almost no green.


This is a wigwam, Native Americans in New England didn't live in teepees. Wigwams use flexible branches to form an igloo shape then covered in birch bark or straw.

The path is entirely wood because the water rise and recedes in the marshes, and wetlands with the tides.

At the very beginning of the path they have a some "boats" for the kids to play on. This is a replica of a lobster boat, but mostly I love the name. The Nerr Miss -

Somehow seems to sum up my life.

New Workout - Old Habits

I have new workout routine because I my body was getting used to the old one. At the same time though I am finding it hard to stay on my diet track. Most notably at night - this past week I have binged between the hours of 8pm -10pm 3 out 5 nights. Does anyone have any suggestions on how to curb this?


On the up side my new routine is focused on cardio to burn more calories and build up my fitness. The pool is still closed - hopefully it will open by the weekend - so in the meantime I am replacing my swims with hiking. Here is my new routine....


Monday - Biking 30 minutes building up to an hour. (I feel like my lungs are handling the workout well so far, but "down there" is another story. My rear and vagina are so numb after 30 minutes of biking I switch over to the elliptical. Also 5-10 of Abs workout.


Tuesday - Intervals Walking 3-5 minutes, running 3 minutes for 30 - 45 minutes. (my goal is to run 5 minutes and walk two, but 2 minutes of running is hard on this obese body) 5-10 minutes of upper body toning


Wednesday - Swimming Laps 1 hour (currently hiking to make up for the lack of water) 5-10minutes of Abs workout.


Thursday - Walk/Run 2 miles - Starting with walking most of the way until I can eventually walk a mile then run a mile. 5-10 minutes of upper body toning


Friday - Walking for 1 hour at a brisk pace. 5-10 minutes of ab workout.


Saturday - Swimming Laps for 30 minutes


Sunday - Casual swim or walk not timed.


Today I went hiking at a trail that is two hundred yards from my parents home and maintained by the beaver brook association. I have to stay hiking today worked wonders for me, as you may know I was suffering from some mild constipation the last few days. As soon as I made it up the hill my body said it was time to go. So I rushed back to my parents house through the woods. Here are a couple photos before nature called.

The view on the road to my parents house.

Walking the 200 yards from my parents driveway to the trail. The sign says bridge closed, the "bridge" has been closed for decades and the locals knew if you tried to drive on you would end up in the brook. The sign was only put there ten years ago to the damn flatlanders the don't know a dead end when you see it; and then they added some large boulders to idiot proof it.

Love this hiking trail because it leads into lots of fields and some time in the spring you see deer.

What do you think?

Saturday in Pictures

So I decided I was sick of walking around Nashua and decided to take a trip to the very rural Fitswilliam. Apparently I choose a bad weekend because every town between Nashua and Fitzwilliam had a pumpkin festival, apple festival, fall festival, or community yard. Not that I mind, they are really fun to visit and the detours often show you new scenic routes, but sometimes the traffic and the people annoy me.

Today I went for a walk in Rhododendron State Park in Fitzwilliam, NH. While it's best to go in May, June & July for the blooms - I enjoy going any time of the year because it is a quiet, easy trail that almost no one visits because they all pay $3.00 to go to Mt. Monadnock aka the most climbed Mountain in the world. Also I found that the local arborist maintain the area and they took the time to bring art into the trail in the form of stone benches, and columns, to hand painted trail maps on wood.
Above is said hand painted map of the trails. The big trail is Little Monadnock, which starts out easy and then get harder towards the top. The smaller loop is Rhododendron Loop which has some small offshoots like Laurel trail, and Wildflower trail.

The Rhododendron Loop is fun because it is like going through a tunnel of trees. This shot is of the canopy above me.

As you can see the trail looks like a tunnel up ahead is a bridge over brook with one of the few breaks in the canopy.

This is the shot of the trip home on Rhododendron Road. You can see the leaves are starting to change, right now northern NH is at the peak of leaf season. In another week or two southern NH will be at it's brightest.

Check in 10/7/2011

Taken 10-7-2011 - That jacket is actually a size 18, not a 20. I can button the top button, but not the bottom. So maybe in a month or two I will be able to button both.

Taken 9-9-2011. Remember this from the beginning of month one the was 15lbs ago.

Physical Check-in

Starting Weight: 271lbs

Last Week: 256.4lbs

This Week: 256.8lbs

Goal Weight: 169lbs

I saw a slight uptick this week. I felt like I wasn't loosing any weight. I think part of it was the lack of swimming, but I think a part of it was the fact that I haven't been eating breakfast until 10am for the last two weeks. It my have stunted my metabolism a bit.

I reviewed my food log and I feel confident about my portion sizes and my calorie intake, but there is always room for improvement. So I have 3 goals this week -

1. Get back in the pool (let's hope it open for tomorrow morning),

2. Eat breakfast between 6am-8am,

3. Measure my portions all week just to make sure I am not over splurging on the calories.

Mental Check-in

I am bummed at the increase in weight. Let's face it, being a woman it could be anything, my boobs hurt so maybe I am a bit bloated while ovulating, I have been stressed with all the additional interviews this week, and...TMI...do not read the next line if you are easily grossed out...I have been CONSTIPATED. Yes, that right for the last three days I have yet to see a decent bowel movement. What's good for a stuck colon, more water, exercise like walking or jogging, and maybe some prunes.


I feel like I worked really hard and I completed my first month of exercise routine and I am changing that up to focus heavily on cardio for the next month. So let's hope next week is better.

App-ilicous

Today's Fitness app is Nike's Boom. This App is cheestastic, but I find it oddly motivating. It takes and shuffles the music from you iPhone for your work. No big deal as I can do that on my own, but I have to say I like that is doesn't change songs when I am moving. When I have my iPhone in iPod mode the songs change mid-way through because my ginormous body giggles the phone in my pocket when I exercise telling it "Hey - she wants to change this song."

The other cheese factor is the "attaboys" you can select pro-athlete to cheer you on with canned and cliche expressions during your workout. The only thing is that there aren't any female athletes. It also records your workout so you can take a look at your work out history, but it doesn't give you much information other then the date of the work out and how long it was.

It gives me two options:

1 - Basic Workout - I select my warm-up, cool-down and exercise time. A trainer from SPARQ called Matt James tells you to start and finish and gives you a little canned encouragement every 10 minutes or so.

2 - Interval Training - Probably the more useful of the two. You can select how many sets you want to do, how long, and time between set. And it blow a whistle every time your supposed to change. The frequent whistle is irritating but you don't have to do you own timing then.

It has a couple other features like getting SPARQ rated. - Your enter a lot of your metrics like body weight, how fast you do the 40 yards dash, etc. I don't need to compete so I don't use it, but some dudes out there might like it. It also has a featured gear section, but I don't feel the need to use because I am not a Nike aficionado. You can also sign up for Team LiveStrong, which I couldn't tell you about either because I haven't registered.

Like I said Oddly Motivational, but ultimately can be replaced with your iPod and a stopwatch.

About Monday's Gripe....

On Monday I complained about the fact that I felt like I wasn't losing any weight. I think I figured out why. The pool has been closed since Thursday. They are doing some work on the ceiling. I really feel like swimming laps makes a huge difference, I get out of the pool hungry, and physically spent, but not fatigued mentally.

I said it before - swimming a mile is like running 4. I am looking forward to the pool reopening. Let's just hope that my weigh in on Friday does not reflect how I feel.

Sluggish Weight Loss

Do you have those days where you are working out and following your diet rules but you feel like your loosing nothing! That is what is has been like the last 4 days. I'm working out, I am eating right, but I feel very bloated and just BLAH! Especially my belly.

Any Suggestions?

Weekly Check In

Physical Check in:
Starting Weight: 271 lbs
Current Weight: 256.4 lbs
Goal Weight: 169 lbs

Well I met my first short term goal. If you remember from the very first blog post, I said my goal was to lose 14lbs. 5% of my body weight. I lost just over 14lbs.

So setting a new 5% goal. My next short term goal is 13lbs. I know some of you are asking why not 10%...well 25lbs is too far away. Most professionals recommend 10% but I get discouraged easily and I am all about instant gratification. So if get the satisfaction of losing weight by making smaller goals then that is what I am going to do. In the long run it doesn't matter if the end goal is the same.

Next week I will be gearing up for a photo, after all it is the beginning of the month.

Mental Check in:

I am doing well mentally, but I am a little sad that the only place I have seen weight lost is in my boobs. I mean I know I haven't lost 14lbs all in my breasts. My rather healthy sized D cups are shriveling before my eyes.

I mean I knew it was going to happen, when I was at my thinnest (a healthy 140lbs) I was practically back in training bras BUT COME ON! WHY is it always the chest that goes first? Why not my thunder thighs or my Texas sized ass.

My workout routine

"Start by doing what is necessary; then do what's possible, and suddenly you are doing the impossible." - St. Francis of Assisi

For me what is necessary is my daily workout. It seems to give me a sense of calm, and focus, something I lacked when I wasn't working out. I have to say it showed in my work.

I have been working out religiously now for 3 weeks and it feels good to get back in the swing of a regular workout, I find I have more energy to look for a job, and maintain my diet. Without exercise I think I would have already failed at trying to lose weight again.

So here is my beginner's routine. Now I should note that I had some level of fitness despite my obesity because I did workout sporadically and make an effort to walk everywhere I possibly can.

Monday - 30-45 minutes of walking, and lower body strength training.

Tuesday - 30 - 45 minutes of Swimming laps, 5 minutes of Abs(from my Ab Workout App)

Wednesday -20-30 minutes of Elliptical, and Upper body strength training

Thursday -30-45 minutes of Swimming laps, 5 minutes of Abs

Friday - 20-30 of elliptical and Core strength training

Saturday - 20-30 minutes of a leisurely swimming or water exercise

Sunday - 30 - 60 minutes Leisurely walk around town - window shopping - or in a local park

If you notice Saturday and Sunday aren't hard core exercise just something to get my body moving in the AM. Monday, Wednesday and Friday are my strength training days and Tuesday/Thursday offers some hardcore swimming which gives my knees a rest, but also burns major calories. Swimming 1 mile is like running 4 miles.

This may seem like a lot, but if all I can do it 10 minutes I would do that and call it a day, just as long as I get something in. Fortunately I get to burn extra calories while I am unemployed. Of course it is important to change your routine so your body doesn't adjust. So at the end of 4 weeks this routine will change. I am thinking I might like to add in some Zumba.

Does anyone have any recommendations? Hopefully with a new workout routine will come the possible and then the impossible.

Check In 9/23/2011

Physical Check in:

Weight: 260.8lbs only lost 0.2lbs

Mental Check in:

It's a miracle I lost any weight, I started my cycle this week and have been so bloated I have been scared to step on the scale. Not to mention every month it feels like my uterus is falling out so the last thing I want to do is exercise. Fortunately I only missed one workout this week and that was yesterday. Let's hope the bloat is hiding more weight loss that I will see next week.

App-ilicous

So I have a great app for people just starting out on exercise. It is call iMapMyWalk the free version for iPhone is more than enough for me. It uses GPS to Map your walk and give you distance, calories burned, time. It stores your last ten workouts to review and you can post your walk to facebook. I LOVE it, because before I used to have to set my odemeter to zero in my car and drive a walk to get the approximate distance.

The only draw back is that sometimes the GPS signal is not super accurate. So if you want an exact estimation forget it. For me close enough is good enough. They also have MapMyRun, and MapMyRide, MapMyHike, MapMyFitness.

Check them out...

Weekly Check In

Physical Check In:

Weight: 261 lbs :)

I am wicked excited I just lost my first 10lbs in 11 days! That is nearly a pound a day. However from here on out I will not have such dramatic results! From this point forward I am looking for 2lbs a week. Wish me luck!

Mental Check In:

My weight diet has not been as good as I hoped this week, so my focus is to make healthy choices consistantly. So over the next 2-3 days I will post my food diary to keep me honest, good or bad. Otherwise my workouts have been good and I take my vitamins daily. So HOORAY for me.

App-ilicous

Last week I told you about my favorite "diet log" App called Daily Burn. It really is a great app one of the features I like is that you can select a work regime and it gives you a guide to follow or you can make your own.

However the workout I chose are only 3 days week and for me that just isn't enough, so on Tuesday and Thursday I add a little extra cardio and some abs. Of course I found an app called Daily Ab Workout, you get the basic workout for free and can upgrade it for $0.99. You select 5, 7.5 or 10 minutes for the workout. Then it gives you a list of 10 exercises, it shows you the exercise then gives you verbal cues to start and change. This fatty selects the 5 minute workout because I am not fit enough 10 minutes of abs.

There are other options like Daily Arm, Butt & Leg. I wouldn't recommend the daily cardio workout because for me 5-10 minutes just isn't enough.

Baby Steps, or rather 10 minutes of baby steps.

I am planning on sharing some thoughts on exercise in this post but I totally F***ED UP; so a little side note about my day first. You know that expression "If you fail to plan, you plan to fail." I TOTALLY HATE IT, but it is absolutely true. I knew today was busy and got up early to exercise, eat and get my Sh*t together & out the door on time. At 11:30am I was at a "Lunch & Learn" seminar for the local chamber and guess what? I failed to plan my LUNCH. It totally F****D me up for the day, by the time I got out of there I was so friggin' hungry I went to the first place I could find and it just set me wrong for the rest of the day. By the hair of my perfectly waxed chin I stay within my calorie goals, but the Fat portion of my day is so far into the red it could compete with the national debt.

But I digress....I wanted since very early this morning to write about exercise. Why? because I wanted to write about something I am good at - relatively speaking. I actually went to school for exercise physiology so I have some idea what I am talking about. Unlike my diet; exercise is something I actually enjoy. Once I get past the whole, fat girl on a (insert exercise machine here) stigma.

I know some of you know what I mean. You don't want to go to the gym out of fear all the skinny bitches are gonna look and laugh. I mean the fear alone can be crippling, not too mention the fact that it would suck if you couldn't even lift whatever measly weight you were trying to curl.

Then there is the fatigue factor, trust me I don't wake up the eager beaver ready sweat my ass off, I would much rather sleep another 30 minutes before rolling my but outta bed.

My recommendation to those of you, both fat and thin, that struggle with exercise. Bargain with yourself, take one baby step, I do it everyday. Tell yourself "Just 10 minutes." More often than not you will say "Hey, this feels good" after 10 minutes and keep going, or at least decide that as long as your out of bed 30 minutes early you'll make an effort.

And if all you do is 10 minutes, it's better than nothing.