Kate:

Okay, we’ve been slacking on this blog.  Apologies to anyone who reads this regularly!  The reason I haven’t been posting is because I didn’t want to take up the blog with continual postings on falling off the wagon.  Who needs all those “Woe is me” posts?  I don’t like writing them and I’m sure no one wants to read them.  I promise to write more often!

So, I’ve started to get things back on track, and I feel great.  What prompted this post was the fantastic weather a few days ago.  It was close to 80 degrees here in Chicago, and it’s been awhile since we’ve had such a beautiful day where I felt like getting out for a walk.  If you’ve ever been to Chicago, or seen a weather map for that matter, you know that it’s pretty miserable here in the winter.  When it snows, the sidewalks shrink to icy one-lane paths.  Wind chill is so bad that you don’t want to travel more than absolutely necessary.  So, my walks took a back seat to hibernation.

I left my apartment (okay, dragged myself out of the apartment since I made the mistake of checking my email when I came home from work, and that lead to other internet surfing) and headed south.  I walked for a mile and a quarter then turned around and came back.  It took me about an hour to complete the round-trip.  I walk with purpose, but I’m not trying to win a race.  I usually go for length of walk rather than speed.

I read this MSN article yesterday that lets me know my way is okay:

Endurance training (about an hour at a moderate intensity) has been shown to keep your calorie burn revved for up to 7½ hours post-exercise. Long walks will help maximize results because there is a dose response to exercise; that is, the more you do, the greater the benefits you’ll receive. These will likely be the slowest walks you do in the program.

Yesterday I walked again, this time setting out from work and walking towards home.  I walked about 2.6 miles before taking the bus.  I wasn’t wearing the best shoes and didn’t want to get nasty blisters that would prevent me from walking more often.  My goal is to eventually walk all the way home from work.  That’s 7.28 miles, and should take me about 2 and a half hours.  I’ll work up to that!

Want to track the miles of your walk?  I love Google’s pedometer.

Lo:

Sorry for the missed entry last week, I was up .4 pounds for a total of 281.4. However I was ON plan all week, so I figured it was just a fluke change in water weight or something . This week’s weigh-in confirmed my suspicions and I am down a whopping 5 lbs!!! Happy dance! I have been sick with a nasty cold for about 2 weeks, so I haven’t been very active. I think the loss is due to my diligence with sticking to the plan. The most important thing is that I have been binge-free for over a month, and I am feeling much more in control of my food choices.
Now that I feel I have a handle on the plan, I really want to start improving my food choices. Currently I tend to reach for easy meals and processed foods, and I have not been getting the fruits and veggies that I know my body needs. I created a schedule for March that has my exercise plan, and gives me the ability to track if I am on plan, or perfectly on plan (meaning I am getting my Healthy 8’s). If I can be Perfectly on plan for 20 days in March, I get new spring nail polish!! Woo:)

Kate:

I feel like I’m finally back on track.  I think my PMS was not helping my willpower at all.  The perfect storm of the holidays, spending time at home, being on this new medication, and struggling against a plateau is over.  Well, I’ve decided that it’s over, anyway.

I’ve gone back to diligently keeping a food journal, and that’s been extremely helpful.  Also, I’ve started using the exercise DVDs I bought along with some of the programs I’ve recorded off FitTV.  It took me a while after getting everything together (DVDs, dumbbells, exercise mat) to really get going because I kept coming up with reasons I couldn’t start.  I didn’t think there was enough room in my living room without moving furniture and that seemed insurmountable when I was dealing with a lack of motivation.

So, now I’ve gotten my weight down to 312, and it feels good to be losing weight again.  I’ve made an appointment with Kirsten at CLM for next week, and I’m hoping she’ll be able to give me a little self-esteem boost along with some tips on how to keep going.

Sometimes it’s hard to believe that losing weight is going to work this time, especially for those of us who have tried and failed every other time.   We just have to keep with it; I know it will work.

Ok, so I used to have this set idea of what working out should look like: 30-40 minutes elliptical, maybe some treadmill. However, recently I have discovered some other great workouts I can do at home! So I bought this Wii a while ago, and bought the “Wii Fit” that goes with it, and while fun I never really felt it gave me a solid workout. Well, after some quick research through Amazon.com reviews…I found that Wii has all kinds of workout games available now. So, to the point, I got the “EA Sports Active”, and I have been using that for some of my workouts. It is awesome!! I love the 30-day challenge option, because it motivates me to keep up with my workout regime. Also, it has pre-made workouts that combine upper and lower body strengthening with cardio. My only complaints are the lack of core strengthening, and the leg strap can be annoying. I still definitely recommend this game if you are in the market. Next I want to try the “Biggest Loser” Wii game that just came out:) Let me know if it is any good.

Kate:

Well, it’s December now, and it’s cold.  Today was the first snow in Chicago, and I know it’s only going to get worse.  Last winter was pretty mild, so this one is bound to be bad.

Exercising is so much harder when it’s cold outside.  The motivation to leave the apartment when not absolutely necessary goes way down.  I have some workout DVDs, including Jillian Michaels’ 30-Day Shred, but I’ve only gotten as far as watching them to see what they’re all about.  That doesn’t burn many calories!

Yesterday I walked round-trip to the movie theater to see An Education.  6.5 miles, a great movie, and I got some Christmas shopping done!  By the time I got home, I really needed a warm shower and some serious time defrosting.  I was really proud of myself for making the effort, and today I made it to the gym.

However, I really need to explore other options for exercising during the winter, when I just can’t bear the cold.  Sticking within my calorie range goes a long way, but I don’t think it’s going to get the job done the way I want it to.  Any suggestions?

Lo:

Ok, so it is time for a little background history on me and the dreaded exercise. Truth be told, I don’t dread exercise like many people. I actually enjoy it quite a bit. I had long stretches in high school and college when I would exercise 4-6 days per week. I would feel so great about myself, and it would help me in making healthier food choices (not quite sure how that works, but it does!). Earlier this year, I actually had an opportunity to work with a personal trainer at my local gym. It was incredibly challenging, but also incredibly informative. I learned about my body, and the importance of core training, and strength training (which I had never embraced before). However, like others, I have fallen out of the habit, and I feel like I have wronged the fitness world. Now I have grown flabby and lethargic. More than anything I want to pick up where I left off, but that is not quite how things work.  My apartment complex has a brand new, gorgeous 24-hour gym  with an elliptical, treadmills, and even weight machines… so I have literally NO excuse not to go. My hesitation isn’t with the exercise itself, but with my self-consciousness with my body while it is moving. I don’t like the idea of people seeing me exercise, like it is some sin for a big person to try to work out.  So, ok ok ok, where is this going. Basically, one of my current goals is to be “active” for 30 minutes, three times per week. This isn’t too hard, because I am walking my dogs daily…just not for that long. Now I am going to push a little farther, and make one of those three activities a gym workout. I think this might be good for me, and I can even go before school when nobody is there. I will let you know how this goes.

Very short-term goal

• Within the next week, go to the gym one timeJ

Gertie:

There is an interesting article/blog post today in the NY Times about the usefulness of exercise when it comes to losing weight.

While I’m often limit my comment reading on major forums like the Times because it can make you hate the internet, if not all of humanity, the comments on this particular article are rather fascinating.  There are a lot of familiar voices from people who have struggled for years with diet and exercise, as well as others discussing the health benefits of staying active and fit beyond numbers on a scale.

What do you all think?

Kate:

I’ve read a LOT of books about weight loss, but it all comes down to the same basic idea: eat less, move more.  Thank you, Oprah.

My approach to losing weight this time is to keep track of my daily intake with a food journal.  (I use about.com’s Calorie Count which has a link to the right.)  I try to stick to somewhere between 1400-1700 calories a day, but more importantly, Calorie Count gives you a grade.  Sure, I could eat a filling salad for lunch then consume the rest of my calories in ice cream, but I’m also trying to be healthy, not just lose weight.

Calorie Count also has message boards and daily articles about healthy eating.  I have yet to form an online community since I have plenty of personal support at the Center for Lifestyle Medicine, but I know people on there have benefited greatly from their online friends.

The other component to productive weight loss is “move more”.  I knew I would need to take it slow or I’d never stick with it.  There are no morbidly obese people who love hitting the gym every day, I promise.  So, I got a couple of friends to agree to walk with me.  One friend and I would walk every Tuesday for about 90 minutes.  It went by very quickly because we would just chat the whole time.  My goal was not to walk to the point of breathlessness, I just needed to get out and be active.

My Tuesday night friend got buried in schoolwork, so I decided to take my activity to the next level.  I’ve been a gym member for 4 years, so I decided to go more regularly.  I enjoy the elliptical machine because I feel like I burn a lot of calories without as much effort.  I don’t even have to pick up my feet!

In addition, I try to add more mileage to my day.  I take the El rather than the bus because it means I have to walk more and climb steps.  I’ll walk to the library rather than drive.  I just try to find little ways to get in the exercise.  It’s not as overwhelming.

No Olympics For Chicago

Gertie Stein:

So, after a gazillion years of posters, commercials, debates, and speeches by the likes of Mayor Daley, President Obama, and Her Highness Oprah Winfrey, it was formally announced last Friday that the 2016 summer Olympics are headed to…..Rio.

Chicago was a little bamboozled by this news. I think everyone was so caught up in the debate as to whether the city should be spending all that money on the games, they never stopped to take into consideration that the Olympic committee might not think we’re as much hot shit as we think we are!

I was sort of down the middle on the issue…my opinions changing as often as my taste in men. On Monday the Olympics were swarthy, brave and ready to sweep me off my feet, but by Tuesday they were more like the greasy bad boy who looked vaguely attractive until the ugly lights came on.

As someone who is daily trying to motivate myself to exercise, though, I have to say I will miss the posters and banners lining Lake Shore Drive. Those rainbow colored sprinters and swimmers were supposed to make me feel patriotic, I suppose, but they often made me feel laaaaaazy and, subsequently, eager to get off my butt.

sigh.

Chicago 2016 Poster