Exercise Equipment: The Stationary Bike

As I move along in my weight loss journey, I am able to pinpoint exactly why I wasn’t able to stick with it before. Uh…it is hard to stick with! Period. I mean, you have to put on some exercise clothes, find time, go to the gym, or clear space in the living room, sweat, push yourself…okay, but the pay off is worth it, right?

I never realize until after I exercise why I love doing it, the process getting there can be a bit challenging. I’m moving into the two month mark of kick boxing class, and I’ve gotten a lot better at it. There are other days when I want to go to the gym and try out some exercise equipment, but I’m not sure which ones to try or how they work so I did a little bit of research. There is so much to know about using and even buying exercise equipment. I’m pretty familiar with the stationary bike and I have a bit of a soft spot for them.

I’m starting to wish that I could find room in my apartment to build a mini gym. I’ve thought about buying a stationary bike for rainy/snowy days or for days that I want to be at home. I found a useful website that explains what to look for when buying a stationary bike. I like what they said about cycling:“The cycling movement itself is another reason; almost everyone can cycle, there's very little co-ordination required and the weight-bearing nature of the exercise makes it particularly easy on the hips, knees and ankles - ideal for beginners, the elderly or those suffering /recovering from injury. The icing on the cake is that cycling is also a truly excellent cardiovascular exercise”

I truly agree with this, I started out on the stationary bike because it didn’t make me feel like my legs would buckle under my weight. It felt obtainable and I could challenge myself. The bike gave me strength and confidence to progress and push myself.

Will return to normal schedule soon

Things in the blog will return to normal around mid-August. August 13^th to be exact.

We are preparing for a huge event that is seriously around the corner, and is a bit stressful. Which is taking away from my blog time and brain power (no, I wont get fired for posting this) at work and after work. After this event, I am flying to WV to visit and to throw my sisters bridal shower.

So, more posts and leaving comments…oh, and updating my links section. Sometimes I feel a bit silly saying that all of the blogs I list inspire me. A lot of them go as quickly as they come and some of them I simply read out of habit. There are only a handful of blogs that I go to for weight-loss inspiration. I try to keep this blog about weight-loss only for various reasons. I find that when I start writing here about my life I start to lose focus on the weight loss part. I do have another blog that is in the slow updating lane as well, www.loveyoudeer.com.

To keep things on track, me and josh developed a mini 3-week challenge made up of stickers and a diet and exercise chart. The person who wins this challenge gets a 5 point lead in the next, bigger challenge. So far we are tied, which makes sense because we live together. I’d like to beat him though; he gets really frustrated when I beat him at anything. J

mirror,mirror

This week was a productive week weight loss wise; I am teeter tottering on the scale between 268 and 270. I'll do an official weigh-in in the morning.

I did not count points past wednesday, but I practiced a lot of intuitive eating which has been a refreshing change.

I recently bought a couple of new skirts and trouser jeans from old navy (online- gasp!) and they are all a size 22! I once read a comment on someone's blog saying "does anyone even wear a size 22?" yes, me!

About a year ago I measured my waist and wrote down 45-46 inches (that’s hard to put out there) and just recently I measured my waist for the brides maids dress, and I was surprised to see that my waist is now 40.5 inches. It’s nice to see weight loss not only in pounds, but inches.

I was going to comment on "fat acceptance" last week, but after I got into writing on the subject I became overwhelmed with history and facts. It is hard to describe, but I feel that in a way the message of fat acceptance (to fat people not the rest of the world) is to accept oneself at whatever weight. Which I feel makes sense for those who are at a healthy weight for their body, but still feel fat. (IE: Some fight that you can be overweight and healthy, which I can somewhat agree to, but I’ve yet to meet a healthy obese person)

I on the other hand have not been at a healthy weight for my body since the 3rd grade. I've never felt ugly, despite the message I get from everyone else on a daily basis. I've felt awkward, dumb, lazy, out of control, and misplaced because of my weight, but never once did I personally think I was ugly. Frankly, at my highest weight of around 315, I never saw a morbidly obese person in the mirror. The proof was there, but like an anorexic person that sees fat on a thin frame, I merely saw chubby. I never see it until I see photos of myself sitting down, or at side angle. Then I cringe, destroy the photo and swear to never eat anything but carrots until I am thin. The denial is self admittedly there and has kept me from thinking “this is a problem”. I would think, “I’m beautiful and curvy” but the truth is that I should never have accepted this way of living that in a lot of ways has diminished the quality of my life. I wondered how many people feel like this until I read the latest entry by 101 reasons I hate being fat. In her eye opening entry she says:

”I know a lot of people have disorders where they perceive that they are much heavier than they are. Like those anorexic chicks that think they are completely obese. I've always said that I have the opposite problem I've always felt I looked thinner than I actually was. Maybe this is why I've maintained a relatively solid ego all these years, cause I never really felt I was so fat. Maybe that's why I got so fat anyway, cause I never noticed the pounds creeping on. So I've always known I was at least chubby, and in my mind's eye I see myself as about 180 or 190, when in fact I'm more like 260-something.”

So it gets weird, the more weight that I lose the more I can start seeing the truths about my weight. I am fat, not curvy. I am healthier than I was a year ago, but I still have a long ways to go. I have to understand that staying fat was not out of love for my body. Its hard for everyone to admit when they have been wrong. I feel like I am slowly admitting to myself that I have been wrong about my health. I don’t want to continue putting excuses and denial in the same slot as truth and health.

I live in a sauna

I’m lucky and unlucky at the same time. We don’t have formal air conditioning in the apartment, and when I say formal I mean there isn’t a thermostat and a giant generator-ish fan in the back yard. We have a clunky robot looking portable air conditioner in our well-sealed bed room. The timer went off in the middle of the night and I woke up thinking I was trapped in a heat box. Oh well. Its like living in a sauna, which is great for losing water weight! (Insert a bit of sarcasm) So, I like roughing it a little, and I can handle daily cold showers.

Let me declare this the summer of weight loss!

The perk to the official arrival of summer heat in ny is that I anticipate a drop in my appetite aside from the daily ice cream cravings. When it’s cold, I find myself wanting to nest and bundle up with blankets and macaroni and cheese or baked goods.

I got on the scale this morning which is at 272.5. Last week is was 275.5 and the week before that was 269.5.

I say leave the diet pills on the shelves and turn off the air conditioner!

A New Week

A new week! Ever since I started weight watchers, my weeks weigh-in and food wise always start on Sundays. This past week, was just too lazy as far as posting food and updating my exercise like I usually do.

I finished my 5th week of Cardio kick box, which is so weird because I feel like I just started. Where does time go? I feel guilty for not posting my food, and not even writing it down like I promised I would. I don’t have any real reason, but I could come up with some excuses.

My blog post about fat acceptance is coming, I decided to do a little bit of research on the topic before saying a bunch of nonsense.

Anyhow, I defiantly need to buckle down this week and re-set some old healthy habits and let go of some old not so healthy habits. I’m still on track to be at 259 by the end of the month, which is good because I am flying to WV August 7th and we all know how weird I am about flying as a fat person.

I am also in the process of weeding through clothes that are now too big, which is something I vowed to do. Instead of holding on to them, I plan to sell them on ebay as a declaration in never wearing being big enough to wear them again.

Things I want to keep in mind this week:
Continue with kick boxing Monday and Wednesday
Schedule two other forms of exercise for the week
Set time aside for strength training
Plan menu’s and food ahead of time
Be mindful about food decisions and making the best possible one
Avoid denial about weight problem
Schedule a weigh-in for next Monday
Track all points
Make posts daily

I actually sat down the other day and cut out some healthy recipes for this week and ordered my groceries according to what the recipes called for.
Here are some things I am making this week:
California Rolls
Tortilla chicken soup
Zucchini Pancakes
A light version of pesto
Black Bean soup
Wraps of some sort
Tuna potato cakes
Buffalo chicken pizza/salad
Turkey burgers

“One way to get thin is to re-establish a purpose in life.”
Cyril Connolly

“Gluttony is an emotional escape, a sign something is eating us. “
Peter De Vries

bad blogger

Its been awhile since I've updated...left comments or er returned emails. So sorry about that, I think I've gotten out of the habit of recording and updated. Anyhow, I vow new posts everyday, returning and leaving comments, adding new blog links, returning emails and also returning the token fat girl myspace messages.

Have a Happy Weekend!

PS: Real post by the end of the day inspired by Marshmallows fat acceptance post

Happy New Month

Isn’t there something hopeful about a new month? My last entry has sparked some new motivation in me and I feel very hopeful about the month of July. I got on the scale this morning and it read 275.5 (eek) and I don’t feel bad about it, which in itself is progress. I think part of me instinctually would have said “oh fuck it, where’s the cookies?”, but in reality I know that most of it is water weight fluctuations in part with some bad food decisions this week (pad thai anyone?). With better care of what I eat and exercise I will be down to 266 by the weeks end, which is what I’m aiming for.
260 = a 50 lb. total weight loss since moving to nyc which is pretty awesome

I have a few goals for this month and just some things I’d like to do/keep in mind for the month:

-Enter the 250’s by months end (259 will do)
-Not wasting away my weekends in the house cleaning and organizing, by maintaining a schedule and some sort of order in the house during the week (house=apartment…I know this isn’t weight related, but it’s a huge factor with my mental health)
-Be better prepared for days when I know that I will be faced with tempting foods
-Plan flexible menus for the week ahead every Sunday
-Continue weekly weigh-ins (record them)
-Record Measurements at the beginning of the month (today) and compare on the first day of the next month
-Keep active: at the gym (continue kick box class and strength training, and with creative projects)
-Avoid bringing stress home
-Try at least two new things that may be frightening
-Keep a small hand written journal for venting and positive thoughts
-Record all food every day in blog
-Spending free time working on projects instead of watching DVDs from netflix

So there you have it, I’m really excited about this month for some reason. I feel like I’m awakening my perspective in a lot of ways and becoming a more positive and thoughtful person.