The past month has been full of new stuff. First, a new vacuum cleaner. Yes, those of us with basically no life enjoy getting a new vacuum cleaner. Especially when the new one works! I don't know why it took me months to realize that the one I had wasn't working. I'd vacuum and you couldn't really tell. Of everything to do with house cleaning, I'm the pickiest about floors; I hate dirty floors or natty looking carpet. So, I did a bit of research. Consumer Reports now rates vacuums on how well they pick up pet hair in addition to their other factors. Having a cat that sheds just cause, I wanted a vacuum sure to get the pet hair up. Their highest rated was a Kenmore of all things. I'd just about decided on another high end brand (with awesome customer reviews), but CR rated it pretty low. So, I checked out the user comments for the Kenmore. Over the top. Well, it was cheaper than the other brand and that weekend was on sale, $100 off. So, I got it. Oh, gosh. How lovely to have a vacuum cleaner that actually picks up lint off the floor and the pet hair and the kitty litter. After my first run through the house, I checked the bag - it was full! Since I wasn't sure about the vacuum, I didn't get extra bags. I have extra bags now.
Last weekend, my new furniture arrived. I love the buffet! It's perfect where it sits and will provide awesome storage. I'm just tickled every time I look at it. The TV credenza and coffee table are great, too. Again, great storage. I'm put all my video's in the credenza and only used half the space! However, my bookcase and the TV credenza on the same wall is just too much, so I'll be re-arranging furniture. Probably going to move the bookcase into my home office, which I had given thought to doing off and for the past year.
My last new item is kinda little, but one I'm also throughly enjoying. A rice cooker, with a steamer tray. I debated on this off and on for quite a while and finally got one. Oh, gosh, it's great. Just put the rice and water in and it cooks up wonderful rice. This has been really good because with my move toward better, more healthy eating, I've been eating more rice and including it in the dishes I take to work for lunch. Being able to dump the stuff in and leave it is great. I'm hoping to try more varieties of rice as well.
And, speaking of the new, healthy me. It's not going as fast as I'd like, but so far I've lost 18 pounds. Some weeks are slower than others, but fortunately there has been no gain. And that makes me happy. Some of my clothes are getting very droopy, but I'm hoping to wait until I lose at least 10 more pounds before shopping for new clothes. Spin class is still the longest hour of the week, but I like the results, so I'm still going on Saturday mornings.
Showing posts with label diet. Show all posts
Showing posts with label diet. Show all posts
Sunday, February 3, 2008
Wednesday, September 12, 2007
Re-energized....
Well, I posted recently about being re-energized for exercise. Which is true. And, even with the leg keeping me out of the exercise game for a week, I find I am still very motivated. Not only am I working out more, I'm trying to improve/hone the exercise routine and do more yoga.
The major improvement is I switched my gym membership to a new gym closer to my house (same club). Their equipment is the latest and they have weight machines by Hoist which involve the core as well as the muscle group being used. They're pretty cool. A big change, which is working nicely in the first couple of weeks, is that I do all my strength training at one time, rather than alternating days for arms and legs. This has cut down on the number of days I have to go to the gym (a major de-motivator for me as I hate packing the gym bag) and is giving me more nights to do yoga. And, this gym's pool (a salt water one) is not in plain view of the front door. I'm hoping to incorporate swimming once a week into the routine (start of this is dependent on when I get a swimsuit suitable for lap swimming).
In addition to this, about a month ago I got on the scales. Gasp! I knew why I felt like a beached whale - I was carrying around the weight of a whale! I checked out several options and finally decided on a free website called SparkPeople (SP). It's been 3 weeks now and I've lost seven pounds. So, I'm pleased. To put it in perspective though, I lost around 25 pounds about five years ago and kept it off for several years. Between Arkansas, the return move to Texas, and the loss of motivation to exercise these past few months, I gained all of it back and then some.
The SparkPeople site is aimed at helping you develop better, healthier eating habits. It also involves tracking what you eat, which in the past has not worked for me. Maybe it's because this is online or because it shows where the calories are coming from (fat, carbs, protein) and where you are falling in the recommended range. I'm a sucker for statistics. So far, no problems with the tracker or staying within my calorie range.
SP also has a fitness tracker, so I'll be moving a lot of my exercise chat to the SP site, but will post little updates here on occasion.
The major improvement is I switched my gym membership to a new gym closer to my house (same club). Their equipment is the latest and they have weight machines by Hoist which involve the core as well as the muscle group being used. They're pretty cool. A big change, which is working nicely in the first couple of weeks, is that I do all my strength training at one time, rather than alternating days for arms and legs. This has cut down on the number of days I have to go to the gym (a major de-motivator for me as I hate packing the gym bag) and is giving me more nights to do yoga. And, this gym's pool (a salt water one) is not in plain view of the front door. I'm hoping to incorporate swimming once a week into the routine (start of this is dependent on when I get a swimsuit suitable for lap swimming).
In addition to this, about a month ago I got on the scales. Gasp! I knew why I felt like a beached whale - I was carrying around the weight of a whale! I checked out several options and finally decided on a free website called SparkPeople (SP). It's been 3 weeks now and I've lost seven pounds. So, I'm pleased. To put it in perspective though, I lost around 25 pounds about five years ago and kept it off for several years. Between Arkansas, the return move to Texas, and the loss of motivation to exercise these past few months, I gained all of it back and then some.
The SparkPeople site is aimed at helping you develop better, healthier eating habits. It also involves tracking what you eat, which in the past has not worked for me. Maybe it's because this is online or because it shows where the calories are coming from (fat, carbs, protein) and where you are falling in the recommended range. I'm a sucker for statistics. So far, no problems with the tracker or staying within my calorie range.
SP also has a fitness tracker, so I'll be moving a lot of my exercise chat to the SP site, but will post little updates here on occasion.
Thursday, March 22, 2007
I did it...
Probably not what you think. This past Tuesday, in addition to the Camp 24 class (the one with the core board), I did the 30 Minute step class before it. I was surprised and pleased to learn that doing a step class is like riding a bike, you don't really forget how to do it. For the most part, I kept up. I did get turned around a couple of times, but I followed the routines pretty darn well for someone who hasn't done a step class in probably 6 or 7 years. And, I enjoyed it! Probably more so than the core board class, though that one has some nice toning and balance exercises in it. I'm even considering trying the 30 minute Step Jam class on Thursdays. Not tonight though as I meet with my personnel trainer. The room for the class was exceptionally warm and humid (and it takes a lot for me to say that), so I was very hot by the time I was done with two classes. But, I felt great.
It's been going well with the trainer. After tonight I have one more session. We went over a suggested nutrition plan last week. Gads... 4 meals. I've learned I don't do well with that. They also suggested egg white omelets. Uh no... I want the protein. I did decide I would no longer make my snacks sweet per se, but keep them on the level of fruit or yogurt or peanut butter crackers or something like that. I did get bananas and grapes at the store this week and was extra pleased to find Yoplait's Lite Thick and Creamy in Orange flavor. It's my favorite. I baked muffins this weekend (poppyseed), but over half the batter was turned into mini-muffins. I'm finding two mini-muffins is just enough for a quick snack. And, the grapes are the larger, sweet ones. I very much like grapes, but not the sour ones (no one does, I guess). So, I'm enjoying them. I've found this week that I actually packed too much food, so today I cut back a bit. I'll alternate the yogurt and afternoon fruit. And, I'm drinking water with lunch, so that's a step toward more water.
It's been going well with the trainer. After tonight I have one more session. We went over a suggested nutrition plan last week. Gads... 4 meals. I've learned I don't do well with that. They also suggested egg white omelets. Uh no... I want the protein. I did decide I would no longer make my snacks sweet per se, but keep them on the level of fruit or yogurt or peanut butter crackers or something like that. I did get bananas and grapes at the store this week and was extra pleased to find Yoplait's Lite Thick and Creamy in Orange flavor. It's my favorite. I baked muffins this weekend (poppyseed), but over half the batter was turned into mini-muffins. I'm finding two mini-muffins is just enough for a quick snack. And, the grapes are the larger, sweet ones. I very much like grapes, but not the sour ones (no one does, I guess). So, I'm enjoying them. I've found this week that I actually packed too much food, so today I cut back a bit. I'll alternate the yogurt and afternoon fruit. And, I'm drinking water with lunch, so that's a step toward more water.
Thursday, March 8, 2007
Accountability....
You hear about accountability a lot in church - having someone you're accountable to for your actions. I've always been accountable to myself in that regard. However, when it comes to food, that's a different story. As part of my return to exercise and my desire to free the beached whale, I signed up for a few sessions with a personal trainer. Last night was my second session. Part of the deal is keeping a food log. Ugh. I have never liked doing this as it puts it out there in black and white. Her question to me last night was "so, what's with all the chocolate chip cookies?" Yep, I baked this weekend and they were my munchies for the first part of this week. Not good. I knew this, but it's also good to have someone say, uh, no, not that many. She was like, how about 2? I like that it's not a give it up mentality as that just gets you in trouble. I think I can do that. Well, I packed 3 this morning, but I also asked her about other options for the afternoon. Crackers are good. That's good - I'm a fan of Cheez Its. Fortunately, I don't do cookies in the evening. I think once I line up good meals, then my snacking should go down. I hope.
She also asked how much water I was drinking. Prior to moving to AR, I drank A LOT of water. During the commute, during workout, during lunch, in the evening. So, even though I'm the soda queen, I balanced it with the water very nicely. Gotta get there again, too. And, yes, I know more water will help me lose a few pounds, thus helping to unbeach the whale.
She also asked how much water I was drinking. Prior to moving to AR, I drank A LOT of water. During the commute, during workout, during lunch, in the evening. So, even though I'm the soda queen, I balanced it with the water very nicely. Gotta get there again, too. And, yes, I know more water will help me lose a few pounds, thus helping to unbeach the whale.
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