Interval Training

While LE is occupied in the mothersphere (her baby's getting another round of cancer treatment, so do keep them all in your prayers and see The Journey
for more details,) I guess I should be keeping up this joint project of ours.

Here's a great resource for those of us who would like to try out interval training, to get our daily walk up to something a little more likely to help with weight loss. It's free downloadable interval workouts. You can find it here. (click on archives to get the first set of mixes). 9 weeks to 5K, they say, but I'm planning, on account of my advanced age, to take 18 weeks. I've been doing this for a month, and so far, so good. I never would have imagined that I could run this much; it's been, oh...about 20 years since I did any running at all. Now I realize that I was trying to run too fast. The beat of the music keeps me at a pace I can sustain.

There's also a large group of steady pace mixes at podrunner.com, but all but a few are too fast for walking. If your MP3 player has a tempo adjustment, you can use them. I find that walking to a beat keeps me working hard when I might slack off.

They say that interval training, however, is better for weight loss than steady state exercise. You build more muscle and your metabolism stays revved up longer. so..give it a try!

Go outside your comfort zone!

Try something new.

I've been using the YMCA for a couple of years solely for its indoor track (and the fact that I could leave my little one in the play area while I walked/ran).

I do much better when I'm only walking/running every other day, plus I keep hearing so many people extolling the wonder of weight training. According to Oprah, the pounds will just melt off of me once I start lifting weights. I'm holding her to that. (Hmmm. I wonder if that's because your muscles are so sore, you can't life a fork to your mouth.)

So, I made an appointment with the trainer to teach me how to use all the circuit machines. I had an appointment at 9:30. Even though I was starting to feel a sore throat, I went.

I'm so glad!

My trainer was very friendly, very helpful, and looks like she eats steel cans for lunch. She spent an hour putting me on all the machines, showing me how to put in my code and adjust everything, demonstrating proper form and the like. She repeatedly assured me that when I forget something (I will), I can just come grab her.

We did the full circuit and I have a funny feeling that I'll be feeling it later.

But I'm so glad I went and I can't wait to go back. It seems like this, too, can be a rather meditative experience. I mean, once I've done it a few times and the routine has become, well, routine.

It feels good to use my body.

If you CAN move ... DO

I was reminded that being able to move is a privilege. My body may protest; it may creak, sag, ache. But still, I can move.

"Kris" is 13. She's spunky, funny, and smart. She's an athlete. She's a musician. For the past 4 years, she has been fighting Wilms' Tumor. She has nearly died as a result of one chemo. She has gotten better, recovered, only to learn that the beast is back.

She's now facing some major complications that are going to require major intervention. There is a good chance that the radiation she will get will cause permanent damage.

Her concern: her legs may be left too weak for her to play basketball. She loves exercise of any type, but especially basketball.

If you can move ... do. And experience the joy.

Don't Let Your Body Keep You From Exercising

If it weren't for my body, I'd completely love exercise.

I love moving my body. I love the feeling of sprinting. Or the meditative trance I can enter when I'm walking. I love the experience of both being alone (walking by myself, with no one around whom I know, earbuds closing out the rest of the world's sound) and being in community (round and round the track we go, the elderly walkers, the fit runners, and me).

If it weren't for my body, it'd be perfect.

Because right now, my body slows me down. I love running, and I want to just run, run, run for a solid hour. But my heart pounds, my lungs feel as if they'll explode, my calves protest and my feet just plain hurt.

And then there's appearance. Standing in my closet this morning (really, don't be like me, set your clothes out the night before), sweatpants and jog bra on, I search for the perfect shirt. One that will cover my butt and will magically transform me into a sleek athlete.

That shirt doesn't appear, so I grab the only long shirt I see -- which happens to be an old maternity tshirt. I am Large Marge, but at least my bum's covered.

I get to the gym and really, appearance doesn't matter anymore. I am there, and I have an hour to walk with Inspiration.

As usual, Inspiration shows up, giving me two good nuggets. I tell God "Thank you," and hit "shuffle" on my ipod for my last couple of laps. God rewards me with exactly the right song for the moment.

It's not good to discriminate, even when the object of your discrimination is you. So I'll keep taking my friend, my plump body, to the gym to enjoy exercising with me. And ... isn't it lovely? ... probably the main thing I'm looking forward to when I get to my goal weight is being able to exercise the way I want to exercise.

Well ... that and not having to wear long tshirts anymore.

Counting Calories

Okay, I'm gearing up for a fresh start next week. First step: I found an online calorie-tracker that I like better than fitday.com: The Daily Plate. I like it because it "pools" nutritional information from users. In other words, if you type in the nutritional info on a Lean Cuisine turkey club panini, then when I search for it, the info will already be there. And I like that you can save meal combinations, so that if you eat the same breakfast all the time (soft-boiled egg, whole wheat toast, 1 tsp butter), you can just name the meal and click on it each day, rather than the individual components.

But there's tons of free programs out there. Just find one and use it every day. They say it's the best way to lose weight!

Starting Again ...

Wherefore Art Thou, Lizard Eater?

Well, soon after writing that you should remove “choice” from your exercise routine – the universe laughed. About 4 weeks of at least one kid being sick at any one time, which meant no trips to the gym. And then it was term paper time. And then the holidays. Okay, no problem. New Year. Time to exercise with everyone else in North America. Hello, flu. All the kids, plus Dad, sick.

Today, everyone is back in school. Knock wood …

But it wasn’t just a delinquency in exercise. Between Thanksgiving and Christmas, I ate what I wanted – and gained the 10 lbs that they say is just a myth. Well, my jeans will assure you that in our case, it was no myth.

Siiiiigh.

We have left undone those things which we ought to have done; and we have done those things which we ought not to have done.
Book of Common Prayer, Morning Prayer

So, did you watch any of those New Years diet commercials? Ugh, aren’t they awful? But there was this one … Valerie Bertinelli saying, This year, when I wake up on New Year’s Day, my thought will not be “this year, I will lose weight.”

Okay, that hit home. What freedom! To just be done! Not that staying healthy is ever “done,” but to have the weight that I want, and to have “maintenance” for my goal.

WOW. Now that sounds delicious.

So, for the rest of this week, I’m gearing up. Cleaning out my pantry, stocking up on the good stuff. Setting up my iPod list. Getting some exercise tapes from the library, so that if I can’t go to the gym, I can still exercise.

Motivation … watching The Mirror Has Two Faces (are there any movies that motivate your weight loss?), skimming favorites like You on a Diet and French Women Don’t Get Fat.

Monday, I begin physically crafting the person I want to be. Monday, I begin in action to become the person I know I can be. Disciplined. A grown-up. In control. The kind of person I’ve been in other aspects of my life – a person who works hard and meets goals. I will act as if success has already been decided.

Anyone else with me?

Christmas is Over and We've All Gotten Fat

It's not just what comes into the office, although that's no small part of it. My guys at home (the skinny one and the adolsecent one) like their Christmas Cookies, and I like making them. And it does seem like there was an awful lot of candy under the tree, in the end. It's a conspiricy. It's really hard to resist.

So, it's time for a few weeks of simple fare, as we finish up the goodies. Posole (New Mexican homany, pork, and chili soup). Fruit. That sort of thing.