Tredmill or Beatles Rockband?

Time to get serious.
We've talked about it.
We've planned for it.
We've worked at it.
And for crying out loud, I'm exactly where I began!

I go through cycles of motivation, and the lulls in the cycles have gotten shorter, but still I have yet to master making fitness a routine part of life.

I get sidetracked and other times, it just goes on the back burner altogether.  I've gave it some thought and I think this is the problem - it doesn't go along with my life philosophy.

My life philosophy is actually quite simple - When I get to the end of my life, I want tons of colorful memories and no regrets.  I want to be able to tell/think about the people I met along the way and all the things we laughed about and things that we thought mattered.

What I won't be talking/thinking about is how many hours I spent on a tredmill somewhere, or how many consecutive crunches I can do, or how many salads I ate.

This philosophy has a flaw because fitness can be the very thing that leads to a long life.  Maybe.  There are no guarantees, but do I want to spend my time sacrificing a some time each week in order for the other hours to feel great, healthy, and energized?  Or do I want to settle for the safe route of having mediocre energy, feeling okay, and have the healthy, fitness thing hanging over my head in exchange for using those hours for activities that I deeply enjoy?

Bottom line is that I need to make a decision in integrating fitness into my life philosophy.  I need to see that fitness is supportive to what I believe is important in my life.  I think only then will I be able to fully make this lifestyle change.

Some workouts I do truly enjoy, but put that next to hanging out with Matthew and friends, or art, and suddenly, exercise doesn't seem so great anymore.  I am putting it together in my head that fitness and eating right may be the very thing that gives me more time to do these activities.

This is more of a process than I first thought it would be!


(Photo:  Samm, Matthew, and Lodden right before we moved to Portland.  Their expressions are priceless during our fun session of Beatles rockband.  We had a blast!)

I'm a Wannabe Ice Diva

So what is all of this health stuff for?  What is all of this exercise for?  Inspired by my Momalah learning a hobby and some lady on an Oprah rerun, I now have a goal that will give me some direction.  I'll give you a hint...

Please excuse the aerobic exercise musak and the commentator..."Look at the position in that camel...that's good."

Debi Thomas was a favorite in my family - I remember my Mom and especially my Aunt Corrine rooting for her during the 1988 Olympics.  This is when I became a fan of figure skating.  All of this time I thought that I had missed the boat.  I thought one needed to be training at five years old in order to do this, and then I saw the lady on Oprah who began figure skating in her 40s or 50s in order to lose weight and get healthy.

Well, cheers to that!

I have decided to begin adult figure skating lessons in March or May (depending upon financial budget)!  Triple Axl, here I come!  Okay, perhaps one needs to learn how to skate first...but I am extremely excited and feel that the exercising that I'm doing now is going to contribute to getting me ready for this learning experience.  Thank goodness I love everything about falling too!  I'm sure I will get quite a few time-outs due to my laugh attacks...hopefully I will learn to contain it a bit, but then again, if I haven't learned how to do that for the past thirty years, how the hell am I going to learn how to do that now?...Perhaps, I will fashion some sort of mask and gag so they cannot hear or see my face contorting into hysterics.

Until then, my exercise will have a new meaning as it prepares me for the skating lessons...you know, so that way I don't break an arm or leg in the first week...if this happens in the third week or after a month, I will feel quite accomplished indeed! lol

...please knock on wood...   :)

Exercise - It's What's For Dinner

As you know, I've been doing the myfitnesspal thing in order to keep a food diary and understand calories better.  My calories are quite low - 1200 daily target in order to lose 1.5 pounds weekly.  This has been difficult to accomplish honestly.  The only way that I have found to be successful is by burning some calories through exercise.  Right or wrong, I am exercising so that I can eat more and still be successful on reaching the target without going way over it.

I've always heard that if one eats less than 1200 calories daily that the body's starvation mode is activated...then I heard that it was eating less than 800.  I really don't know which number it is, but none the less, I do make sure than I have ate at least 1200 calories so that I don't run into this.  Don't worry, y'all, anorexia does not live here!

Antoinette, one of our readers, wrote about great success with her Jillian Michaels DVDs, and this encouraged me.  I had just dug them out of hiding and have used them quite a bit over the past month.  Thanks, Antoinette!  I mean, why did I bother to buy all of these DVDs if they are only to be piled away gaining dust?

The following DVDs are ones that I have been doing lately and have enjoyed for different reasons:

Jillian Michaels: The Biggest Winner - Shape Up Backside:  AKA "The Orange One" in the Set
* Burns a lot of calories so I can say yes to a cookie.

Jillian Michaels: The Biggest Winner - Shape Up Frontside:  AKA "The Red One" in the Set
* Again, burns a lot of calories and both of these dvds will help me create more muscle...I need it!

The Tracy Anderson Method Dance Cardio
* Intense cardio that challenges me enough and stays interesting and humorous.

Crunch Fat Burning Pilates (Featuring None Other Than Little Miss Poised- Ellen Barrett)
* When I get done with this, I feel great!  Better posture and I feel extremely ballerina like...not enough to try out for the Nutcracker, but you get my point.  I feel taller, leaner, less clumsy...even if it is only for a day, it's worth it.

Walk Away the Pounds with Lesle Sansone - 1 Mile and 2 Mile
*  I use these when I want a little more cardio that is easy-going, or for days when I don't want to exercise.  There's no excuse to not do one of these workouts.

Prevention Dance It Off! Express Workout with Jennifer Galardi
* Different dance sections...It's fun, gets me sweating, and despite some of the cheesy espressions and enthusiasm, I like it.  I have future plans inspired by this workout DVD that you'll see soon...heeheehee...

The Tracy Anderson Method Mat Workout
* This one is EXTREMELY CHALLENGING to me, but I have future plans of incorporating it more often once my body is a bit more conditioned.


So there you have it.  I am kind of a workout DVD junkie because I prefer tripping over my feet in the privacy of my own home and can get as cheesetastic with the moves as humanly possible.  Have you done any of these workouts too?  Do you have any suggestions or ones that you really love?  I would love to know!  Thanks for reading, and have a fantastic weekend!

Speedo Man and Outsiders/Insiders

Last night I was inspired by a man in speedos.  His name is Jerry Davis and a local news station in Portland showed this scantily clad man jogging between the piles of snow on the streets of Chehalis, Washington.  This is the genius that inspired me - he said that if he's not improving himself, he's working on dying and he's too young for that.  He is almost seventy years old and there he is, jogging much further and faster than I could dream.

People in the town have not always been very supportive of Jerry, but that has changed over time.  Some were disgusted by his presence, while others were accepting from the start.  A quick youtube search about this man will reveal what I'm talking about.  We can be so judgemental about each other until we take the time to get to know each other.

Which brings me to something that has been on my mind.  I noticed a large amount of complaints on fb about newbies populating the gyms to the tone of "Damn them with their resolutions!  They're taking up my space and time!" and scowling remarks as the resolutionists walk, instead of run(HOW DARE THEM!), on the tredmills.  This evidently has the same effect on the regular gym goers annually as they eagerly wait for the resolutions to fail after a few weeks.  I know because I was one of the regulars one year.

I had joined the gym in November and had been going regularly enough by New Year's that I considered myself to be one of them...kind-of.  I was somewhat between the two groups.  I simply began my resolution a couple of months ahead of New Year's crowd, so I was somewhat of a resolutionist-in-disguise as the hardcore regulars accepted me into their group.  Well, should I really say accepted?  It was more like the trainers would call me by first name and acknowledge my presence, I recognized the faces of the men who loudly grunted in the far corner with the free weights, and I was acquaintances with the guy who looked like Nino from the movie Amelie and an old man named Charlie.  None the less, it was significantly different from my previous gym going experiences (I did an ethnography about joining and going to the gym as my thesis for an Anthropology class a couple of years before this and had an extremely different result).  Anyway, I felt this time around that I was entitled by New Years.  Entitled to scowl at densely populated gym as I went inside.  Entitled to getting my time on the tredmill without such a long wait.  Entitled to see these new people as a passing fad.  Entitled to see them as outsiders and not belonging.

It felt good to feel this way.  I felt better than them.  It was ugly, hateful, childish, and false, but it felt good to my weak confidence.  It declared that I was one of the group, an insider at a gym!  WOW!  What an amusing thing this was!  Yet, I had to shun these feelings of entitlement out, because I knew what a lie it was.  I knew that I was one of them and they were me...I had only got lucky for the time of year in which I had joined.  It was as simple as that.

True to fashion, guess what happened?  I came down with a horrible cold mid-January and stopped going.  The end.  I followed my old pattern right along with the some of the resoltionists, and confirmed to the regulars that I was laboring all that time in a disguise.

So anyway, the whole point of this long post is to bring up the myth and reality of Outsider/Insider mentality.  It is a real division if we believe it is.  It is a cohesive social device in a group.  One of the ways in which we establish this social glue is to exclude others.  It is an ugly device in human nature, but it's there.  The bottom line is that this is all false thinking.  We know it is.  We know there are no outsiders and there are no insiders if we use higher thinking.  Jerry Davis is a spandexed one of us.  The resolutionists are only the regulars in an earlier form.  We need to have patience and handle each other carefully.  They are us and we are them...yeah, the ending of V for Vendetta thing.

After all, if we're not supporting each other in improving, we are supporting each other in dying, and we're all too young for that.

Gaining to Lose and An Honest Prick

I recieved this post on my facebook wall from a great friend and thought that it was definitely worth sharing.  I don't know who Scott Sonnon is, but the paragraph came with the photo and it was a good read.

"Does this photo convince you now, to throw away the scale? You will GAIN weight ...to shape up! Why are you trying to lose WEIGHT? Are you competing in a sport? Weight is irrelevant if you're not fighting in a weight class. Lower fat by upping muscle. Stop worrying about weight, and start increasing the coals in the furnace: muscle. This is especially true for women, who naturally have less genetically given muscle mass. You cut, and you'll gain (skinny fat.) Build to lose fat. Stoke the furnace, and throw away the scale. If you need a measure, how do your clothes fit today?"

By: Scott Sonnon

Okay, so what do you think?  I'm thinking that perhaps Jillian Michaels weighs at least 1,000 pounds...

But really, the reason why I am posting this is because this crap is happening to me.  I have been exercising like one of those healthy people in Lifetime movies (they have severe personal problems though, but there is always a scene inside a gym or of the main character jogging down the street).  None the less, I have been doing a wide range of exercise dvds lately, including some weight training.  I know that I am gaining muscle.  So why is it such a huge disheartening thing when my weight goes up by a couple of pounds?
 

I know that I'm gaining muscle and I shouldn't look at the numbers as a fail.  I have to remind myself that more muscle will burn more calories, and actually I'm creating a great foundation for long-term weight loss.  I need to look at the big picture...or the pictures above!  This image has stuck in my brain and I'm glad that it has - it is a great reminder of health and fitness not being determined simply by a single number.

I will never get rid of my scales though.  Whenever I don't have scales in my home, I gain weight.  The worst incident of this was when I lived in Florida.  I went without a scale for about a year, and managed to gain about 55 pounds!  That's quite impressive for the timespan of a year!  The only significant measure of this was how I felt emotionally - I was terribly insecure at times.  It sounds ridiculous, but I honestly had no idea that I was that much heavier.  It was kind of a funny thing really...like a bus that parks in a compact car parking spot.  You would think that my clothes would tell the story, but they didn't because I wore a lot of baggy type of clothes - straightlegged men's jeans with more fitted shirts...they were either t-shirts, or stretchy type of shirts...

In fact, the only person in Florida who said a thing was an anonymous man at a fun gay bar who came over to me right in the middle of a song he was dancing around to and said, "I used to be just like you, but then I lost 60 pounds, and honey, I've never felt better!"

Honesty is not always the best policy...the prick.  Oh well, it was news to me! haha!

New Pal for You!

Maybe up until this point it has all been a rehearsal.  With the impending New Year's holiday, my motivation is getting a boost, and why not grab onto that annual hope wagon?

Since this blog began, I have:
*practiced eating well and mindfully on and off.
*rehearsed my sweet moves of exercise (maybe not so sweet...) on and off.
*established goals on and off.

And now it is all coming together because of my friends.  E, J, and Samm introduced me to My Fitness Pal online:  www.myfitnesspal.com

It is free and actually makes logging exercise and food fun.  "What?!  Shut yo' face, Krystal!"  And I'm here to say that yes, I think it is fun.  Either I am extremely lame, or it actually does make it more fun, or maybe perhaps it is a combination of the two...

None the less, I love it so far.  It's been a lot of fun and seeing my friends on there motivates me.  Logging in the calories and seeing that I can burn some of them through exercise motivates me to get off my chair and EXERCISE!  I have no idea why, but it just makes the mysteries of weight loss seem more tangible and under my own control.  For that reason, I'm going to stick with the site (I took a few days off due to holiday cookie bliss, and now I'm in it for the long run!)  I invite you to join too if you're interested in getting healthier/losing a few pounds, and would be honored to stay connected with any of you on there.  (krystallbooth at yahoo.com if you want to send a friend request through the site)

Sorry if this sounds like some sort of craptastic infomercial stuff, but I felt that I had a responsibility to uphold in sharing this site of awesomeness! lol  Cheers to New Year's and all of your new goals whatever they may be!

Dieting With Jesus

Are you ready for the annual cycle of Christmas celebrating through indulgence and New Year's guilt and repentance?  Have no fear, children, I have just the thing to get us through.

 Advertisement Found: 
"Dieting With Jesus Magnets!

Dieting With Jesus… because that ass needs a miracle! The Lord is our shepherd and he's thinning out the flock.
*Your body is a temple. Fill it with salad.
*Work those buns anywhere.
*Fat jeans or skinny jeans? You decide.
*Omega-3 fatty acids are a blessing for that tummy.

Magnets measure approximately 2 inches wide x 2 inches tall."

Originally I found this image on Vic the Vicar's blog (http://www.victhevicar.blogspot.com).  Vic's entry for these magnets is hilarious!  I highly recommend the read (posted on December 4)!
Then I found the advertisement for these blessed little things on perpetualkid.com.  Imagine the joy upon the face of a child when opening these up on Christmas morn! ...or hopefully someone in the family will like them...

That's a sweet headband, Jesus!  I think I will go workout!  Thanks again, my Man/Spirit!

Juices is the Reason for the Season!

For my Christmas gift to myself this year, I bought a juicer.  I recently watched a documentary, "Fat, Sick, and Nearly Dead," in which a man goes on a juice diet for two months and loses 93 pounds.  Although only drinking juice for two months isn't practical, we can definitely take some advice and include it in our diets every other day or so.

If you're like me, breakfast is usually a chore.  I've just never been hungry first thing in the morning.  Now I can throw some random fruits and vegetables in the juicer and ensure I have a healthy breakfast to kick-start my metabolism before my busy days (and apparently it's better for me than coffee, although I still can't give that up completely).  It's fun to experiment with different kinds of juices. Here's a picture of my concoction from today - orange, sweet potato, ginger juice (it's also fun to say).

While I know I won't lose 93 pounds over the next two months, this will definitely help me with my own weight loss goals just in time for those pesky New Year's Resolutions.

The Biggest Loser Finale!

Tonight is the finale!  The end of it all!  I don't know if you've been watching this season of "The Biggest Loser", but I know I'm not the only one of my friends who promptly reaches for ice cream or a candy bar on Tuesday nights to make the viewing that much more enjoyable.  Wrong?  Yes, but for crying out loud, during those certain challenges with mounds of doughnuts and all the talk about food isn't just tempting the contestants!

Last week, we found the final three contestants:  Ramon (won his spot on the finale through winning the marathon), John, and Antone.  I guess it is the battle of the boys this season, and I was sad to see Becky and Vinny not in the final three.  The two of them just seem like such big-hearted people, but of course it's only reality tv.  Do we really know these people?  No.  For all we know, Becky and Vinny could be evil-doers in their communities by nightly dumping over  Miss Mabel's trashcan, taking bats to mailboxes, egging the Reverend's house, and setting the town square on fire.  This behavior surely wouldn't warrant a prize of such grandeur.

Then again, the title of "The Biggest Loser" and the cash prize isn't exactly determined by good behavior.  (Oh, we love to hate and love the contestants of reality shows and label them as "good" or "bad"!  In fact, I still harbor animosity towards the ultimate villain, Omarosa, from The Apprentice and that was years ago!  Lame, but true.)

I don't want to damn any of the contestants, but I would like to post what Antone said last week.  He said, "I'm really sick of John to be honest with you."

I'm excited to see what happens!  Cheers to our journeys and finding inspiration (even if it comes with a side of ice cream every now and then).

A Sampling from a Smorgasbord

Exercise TV on Cable...a blessing from above found on On Demand.  Seriously.  There is about every kind of workout found on this On Demand channel.  There's walking, kickboxing, yoga, cardio, dance, and weight training/toning workouts.  Some of these are almost a full hour, and others are ten minutes.

It is an exercise smorgasbord!

Lately, I've been trying out the "10 Pound Slimdown Kickbox" and the "10 Pound Slimdown Yoga" that are led by Chris Freytag.  The kickboxing surprisingly doesn't have a lot of kicking...hmmm.  It is a 40 minute workout and I know this because there is a daunting little clock in the corner of the screen that counts down the minutes.  Here is my experience with the workout...

Minute:Second/ Thought
39:14  Okay, here we go...so glad I'm making myself do this.
38:05  This feels great - not bad at all!
36:33  My legs do not want to stand after those squats and lunges...
35:28  Chris Freytag is crazy - appears to be on crack.
34:00  I look like an ass.
28:00  I'm going to die.
23:12  Pretty sure I shouldn't have heard that sound coming from my ankle.
18:29 Jiggling, jiggling, jiggling...again, so glad no one is watching.
16:00  Water, water, water
13:21 I am POWERFUL!
11:33  Did the music just speed up?
7:45  Dear Lord,...!!!
5:32  I AM IRON MAN
4:13  Shouldn't we be cooling down, Chris?
2:20 Cool down...finally.

I DID IT!

Within five minutes of finishing, I suddenly forget that it was challenging at all, and say, "That wasn't bad at all."  I don't know if it's my ego at work, or convenient amnesia so I do the workout in the future.  This is why I decided to break down the minutes so you have an honest perspective. 

I honestly love the Extreme Yoga workout - the one that is 20 minutes.  It's perfect and feels great after the kickboxing.  It makes the total workout last for a full hour and is a great stretch after the kickboxing since the cool down is lacking.

What workouts have you enjoyed...or have been making yourself do lately?  Any suggestions?