Fall For Fitness

My company is launching a fitness challenge - Fall For Fitness. Over the next 12 weeks employees across the states will join teams and compete for most weight lost, most steps walked and most exercise minutes.

I created a team, the Lake Center Loser Corps, to get people from my building to encourage each other and compete against all the other teams in this challenge. The website we're using will have a calorie tracker and allow us to enter our daily activity. Every 2 weeks is a round; round 1 starts on Monday, September 13th and ends Sunday, September 26th.

My goal for this challenge is to walk more (yay free pedometer from the company!), exercise every night after my daughter goes to bed (well, except Sunday night cuz that's just insane after Bible study ends at 10:00 PM), and lose 1-2 pounds per week. If I keep it up (which I should, since I'm the team leader), I should lose 12 pounds (if I lose 1 lb/week) to 24 pounds (2 lbs/week), giving me the chance to lose up to almost 50% of the amount I need to lose to be at my recommended weight.

So my real goals are to lose 2-4 pounds, exercise 360 minutes and walk 70,000 steps per round. That sounds sooo big! But breaking it down by day, that's 1/4 lb, 30 minutes of exercise (taking out Sundays) and 5000 steps.

My average # of steps this week has been around 5500 - 6000, so that shouldn't be too hard to do. 30 minutes of exercise hasn't happened every day, but I'll do my best to either force myself to do it each night or add extra time on some days to make up for the days I can't. If I do this, plus watch what I eat, which I've been doing (cereal with non-fat milk each morning, Eating Right lunches and mostly-healthy dinners at home), then I should have no problem losing .25 pounds a day. Thank goodness for my Wii, with the Wii Fit Plus, Dance Dance Revolution, and Sports Resort software to keep me from getting too bored with my workout routine. Plus, I use the Wii Fit Plus software to weigh myself each day, so tracking that will be a breeze, and motivation to step up my game if I stop losing weight or gain.

So, here goes. I look forward to updating here with my progress; I probably won't do it daily, but update weekly and include my team's progress and standing in the competition each round.

July 9, 2010

Waist: 37.5 inches
Weight: 178.5 lbs
BMI: 30.45

July 8, 2010

Waist: 37.5 inches
Weight: 178.5 lbs
BMI: 30.45

Breakfast: large hard-boiled egg
Snack: chocolate & oats bar
Lunch: chicken with basil cream sauce
Snack: ice cream drumstick
Dinner: two slices of sausage, mushroom & olive pizza, 2% milk

July 7, 2010

Waist: 37.25 inches
Weight: 178.1 lbs
BMI: 30.37

Breakfast: large hard-boiled egg
Snack: oats & peanut butter bar
14 minute walk
Lunch: sweet & sour chicken
16 minute walk
Snack: light fat-free orange creme yogurt
Snack: venti caramel frappucino
Dinner: rotisserie chicken and 1/2 corn on the cob, 2% milk

My second walk of the day was longer because I decided to walk to my department's plaque engraver of choice rather than drive just to have an excuse to smoke and get something from Starbucks. Yay me!! I'll have to remember to bring in a little desk fan if I'm gonna walk outside this summer. My Chinese fan I keep in my purse is great, but leaves me with only one hand for typing.

July 6, 2010

Waist: 37.5 inches
Weight: 180.1 lbs
BMI: 30.71

July 5, 2010

Waist: 37.75 inches
Weight: 181.2 lbs
BMI: 30.90

July 4, 2010

Waist: 37.25 inches
Weight: 178.3 lbs
BMI: 30.45

July 3, 2010

Waist: 37 inches
Weight: 175.9 lbs
BMI: 30.04

Breakfast: handful of Fruit Loops
Rest of the day: various BBQ foods and snacks

Went to my cousins 4th of July/Bon Voyage party. Pretty much snacked all day and just sat around talked.

July 2, 2010

Waist: 37.5 inches
Weight: 177.9 lbs
BMI: 30.37


Breakfast: sausage egg & cheese McGriddle, medium caramel frappé
Lunch: sesame chicken, light vanilla soy milk
Snack: trail mix, Gatorade
Snack: popcorn, Sprite

No walking purposefully today; left work early and did some house hunting

July 1, 2010

Waist: 38 inches
Weight: 179.7 lbs
BMI: 30.67

10 minutes on the Wii Fit
Breakfast: 1 large hard-boiled egg
14 minute walk
Lunch: Eating Right Orange Glazed Chicken
Snack: ice cream drumstick
14 minute walk
Snack: Yoplait Light Boston Creme Pie yogurt
Dinner: green tea, Philadelphia rolls, edamame, mochi

My morning walk went very well! My average speed was 3mph and my shins only started to hurt at minute 10! I'm still using my old walking shoes and of course my iPhone with my special workout mix. I hope I can get my afternoon walk in and a bit of Wii Fit tonight. Feeling good today!

My afternoon walk went very well; my mph was a bit higher. And no pain anywhere!

No Wii Fit tonight; had sushi with my mom and my daughter in Irvine because my dad had a board meeting at our house.

June 30, 2010

Waist: 38 inches
Weight: 180.8 lbs
BMI: 30.86

10 minutes on the Wii Fit
Breakfast: large hard-boiled egg
15 minute walk
Snack: Oats & Peanut Butter bar
Lunch: Chicken with Basil Cream Sauce



I got up earlier than usual today. Was able to do my daily body test on the Wii Fit as well as some yoga and balance games. Hopefully adding this to my walks at work will help with the weight loss.

My morning walk wasn't half bad! It still took me over 15 minutes to walk my route, but I'll get back up to normal speed (3 - 3.5 mph) eventually. I traded out my Champion Stride Fitness Athletic shoes for my older plain-old walking shoes. I felt NO calf or ankle pain. I did have some shin splint pain, but I probably just need to work on my KT Tape placement. I heard on KNX1070 this morning that some doctors are saying that the "toning shoes" can be dangerous as you have to re-learn how to walk in them, and that some consumers are experiencing pain and feel that they don't have enough ankle support. For myself, I'll try them again, but maybe only use them once-in-a-while.

Though I know better, I'm not in the mood to walk this afternoon. I'm angry and hurt and confused by things I'm feeling and thinking. I'm ok, just frustrated and overwhelmed with everything going on in my life. And I'm not in the mood to walk. I feel like driving to Cherry On Top and getting the biggest cup of the most fattening things they've got over there and just eating at my desk for the next hour and ten minutes of work. I feel like screaming, I feel like crying, I feel like hitting something or someone. I feel ugly and fat and I don't want to do anything about it but complain. I want to scream, "MY LIFE TOTALLY SUCKS!!" and have people agree with me, offer to fix it and make it better. I want to be one of those whiny people who make it onto talk shows and are given free this and free that to fix their life even though they're no worse off than I am, if not better off than I am. I want to smoke a whole pack of cigarettes and go driving until I run out of gas. I want it to be next Tuesday already so that I can actually make plans and not feel like my life is just waiting for the next green light.

June 29, 2010

Waist: 38 inches
Weight: 180.6 lbs
BMI: 30.83

Breakfast: large hard-boiled egg
14 minute walk
Snack: Eating Right Oats & Chocolate bar
Lunch: Eating Right Roasted Turkey
Snack: light kettle corn popcorn, venti dark cherry mocha frappucino
24 minutes on the Wii Fit
Dinner: 2 1/2 breadsticks, Sprite, minestrone soup, capellini pomodoro, Andes mint
Dessert: Ben & Jerry's Banana Split ice cream

Well, this morning’s walk was just AWFUL! Both of my calves started to hurt about 2 minutes in. I stopped at minutes 5 and 8 to stretch and massage them. At 10 minutes the top of my right foot started to hurt, and by minute 12 my left ankle was hurting enough I was limping. I don’t know if I’m over doing the walking (which it shouldn’t be an issue: I started walking 2-3 times a day last September with no problems) or if it’s the shoes. I’m stuck with these shoes for the rest of the day, but I think I’ll bring in my old walking shoes and see if that helps. Bonus, though: no shin splint pain.

Welcome back!

It’s been a long time since I brought my walking shoes to work. I started my whole “healthy kick” last summer when my company had a health fair where I learned that my health was very poor: high cholesterol, high BMI and my body fat percentage was high. Being young, I wanted to change that. I started walking on my breaks at work and quit smoking cold-turkey. I lost almost 15 pounds and dropped 2 pants sizes.

I stopped walking on my breaks when work got busy and I felt guilty leaving my desk to walk instead of helping my team with their urgent problems. By the time our busy season was done, I had lost my motivation and gained back most of my weight.

I’m not sure what’s sparked my interest again; maybe it’s the summer weather or the memories of being proud of myself for losing the weight. Or maybe I just want to feel some sort of “ha ha” moment that I’m doing better in almost every aspect of my life than my ex-husband is doing in his. I’m trying not to be bitter or “holier-than-thou,” but as a single parent, it’s hard to feel like I’m doing the right things all the time and that I’m actually moving ahead in life. I’m very independent and I want to be able to prove to myself and to the world that I can take care of myself and my daughter all by myself.

I picked up smoking again, and I’m sure one of these days I’ll quit again. Honestly, I enjoy it. I smoke about 7-8 cigarettes a day, less on the weekends when I’m spending more time with my daughter and my family. But I’m sure that as I walk more and lose more weight, I’ll smoke less and less.

I’m not sure I’m going to post weekly pictures. Maybe monthly? I haven’t decided. Now that I’ve had a major (7 months) setback, I’m a bit embarrassed that I don’t look much different than when I started last September.

So here’s to my health! And yours, too! If there’s anyone else out there struggling to lose weight and/or have a more healthy life, I’d love to hear from you! And, of course, comments and encouragement are always welcome! I’ve got my Champion Stride Fitness Athletic shoes, KT Tape* for my shin splints, and my MapMyRide** app on my iPhone. Let me know if you’ve found something that you have to have when you’re walking/exercising.

Time to go walk!

End-of-day Recap:
Breakfast: 1 large hard-boiled egg.
10 minute walk
Morning snack: Eating Right* Oats & Peanut Butter bar
Lunch: Eating Right Sweet & Sour Chicken
16 minute walk
Afternoon snack: Yoplait Light* Pineapple Upside-Down Cake yogurt.
22 minutes on the Wii Fit
Dinner: whole grain pasta shells with meatballs and Alfredo sauce, green grapes, light soy milk.
Dessert: Happy Corn (puffed corn)

My morning walk just plain stunk. Either I didn’t apply my KT Tape properly, or I’ve got the worst case of shin splints ever. The only way to walk without hurting was to put the ball of my foot down first, then my heel. I cut my walk short due to the pain and the fact that I had to use the ladies room. I’m hoping my next walk (hopefully at lunch) will be easier.

I didn’t get to walk at lunch, but I did walk during my second break. It went a lot better than my first walk, but I was slower than I used to be last fall. And my calves were killing me; not sure if that’s due to being out of shape, having been at Disneyland most of Saturday, getting used to my new shoes, or all of the above. But I did finish my normal route. Feels like victory to me.

I plan on using my Wii Fit for a bit tonight to stretch my muscles. And I hope I remember to weigh myself in the morning so that I can set a 30-day weight-loss goal (nothing crazy, probably 5 pounds to start).
 
-Disclosure-
*I was not provided Champion shoes, KT Tape, Eating Right products or Yoplait yogurt for free. However, if the folks at these companies would like to send me some products, that’d be all right by me.
**I was not provided the MapMyRide app for free – well, ok, I got it for free on the AppStore, but that’s because EVERYONE can get it for free.

Thursday, April 1, 2010

Woohoo! I did it! I worked out on my Wii Fit for the first time this week! And I've already lost 2 pounds since I started! Today I worked out for an hour and burned 215 calories (according to the system). I'm totally in love with the Wii Fit Plus' "Free Step" activity. I can crank up my iPhone and just step in time to any song for 10 minutes and it'll just count my steps for me. No weird music, no "missed steps," just me and the Fit Board and my music. Love it!

I did a lot of aerobics tonight since it's been so long since my last workout. I am so pumped right now, I can't wait to do it all again tomorrow!

Thursday, March 25, 2010

I'm so proud of myself for working out again today. I didn't burn as many calories as yesterday, but I did spend more time on the Wii Fit. Since my abs hurt from Hula Hooping, I focused more on balance, agility and stamina. I've also started to measure my waist, since the Wii Fit Plus software keeps a record of that, too! And even though I'm weighing myself every morning, I know not to get too hung up on my weight day-to-day and just make sure I'm progressing each week.

I love that my sister and others are getting motivated to lose weight by reading this blog, as simple as it may be. I would like to ask that you visit my sister's site and give her some extra motivation. As anyone who's ever gone on a diet or lifestyle change knows, it's very hard to find motivation and keep your eye on it. Please offer my sister some encouragement as she is still starting on her workout plan.

Thanks!

Wednesday, March 24, 2019

Woohoo! Second day in a row on the Wii. Today I picked up the Wii Fit Plus software. Totally awesome.

Here's what I did tonight:

Super Hula Hoop, sideways leg lifts, triangle (yoga), half-moon (yoga), advanced step, rhythm boxing, soccer heading, lotus focus, and perfect 10 (hips). A great 45 minute workout.

I look forward to tomorrow's workout. Whee!

Weeeee!

A few weeks ago I bought myself a Wii with my tax refund and some gift cards I had. And I was very disappointed to find that every gaming/toy store I called in a 10-mile radius from my house was out of Wii Fit kits. Don't get me wrong, I love playing the different sports games that came with the Wii, but even though my arm got sore playing Table Tennis, I don't think it counts as a workout.

Well, I finally got a Wii Fit! A friend of mine had purchased it about a year ago and never opened it! I got it for a sweet deal of only $50!

I know I'm overweight, as the Wii Fit so gently told me, but I'm very glad to be able to weigh myself each morning in the comfort of my own bedroom, and work out each evening, as it's been hard to tear myself away from my cubicle, even though I'm supposed to take two little breaks each day. And I like how I can see a graph of my BMI, weight and usage anytime I like.

I'm very excited to add this new equipment to my workout portfolio.

Getting back on track

So it's been two weeks since my last post. The first week, I was able to walk a few days and even walked from the parking structure at Disneyland to the Main Entrance. I've been maintaining my meal choices since I first started my diet back in September, so I just need to keep up my walking.

I walked a bit last week, but not much. However, I did get a lot of walking in this weekend.

I forgot to bring my shoes back to work yesterday, but I did get to walk today. I'm looking forward to getting back to my regular 45-minute-a-day routine.

AND, I'm soooo exited that my sister has also started her own weight-loss program. Go sister!!

If you'd like to join either of us on our journeys, please let us know. If you just want to give us encouragement, bring it on!!

I expect you're going to see great things from these gals!

Welcome back!

I finally put my walking shoes back on! It's been a few months since I walked on my break at work, and it felt good and bad at the same time. I am glad that I haven't put on any weight since I stopped walking, which means that my meals are still low-calorie enough that by adding walking again, I should resume losing weight. I won't hit my goal by my birthday, but that's okay. Knowing that I can keep it off makes me happy enough.

I can't say for sure that I'll blog every day like I originally did; it's too much work to remember everything when I get home, and I don't want to use company time and resources to do it. So I'll try to post each week about my progress, any setbacks and any accomplishments.

Here's to a new chapter in my weight-loss journey!

Day 90 – November 25, 2009

Tomorrow’s Thanksgiving. I might actually be able to stick to my diet somewhat; Thanksgiving meals are typically the same wherever you go. I can’t eat something that’s not on the table. :) But, I still need to eat well today. Should be do-able.

8:30 AM hard-boiled egg
10:30 AM Yoplait light thick & creamy cherry cobbler yogurt
12:30 PM Lean Cuisine swedish meatballs