Tuesday, April 19, 2011

My Weight Loss Journey: Exercise


me and my wide behind, doing the Shred

For me, exercise is the number one component for losing weight. My eating habits are good for the most part, so for now I feel its necessary to focus on implementing exercise in my life.

After losing 4 lbs simply by cutting back the coke (cola), I became very motivated to try and lose more weight.

In January, once my pup's foot was healed, we began walking again on a regular basis. We started very slowly, and just to the end of the block but we soon were walking further and we walked every day for nearly 3 weeks. Unfortunately, we hit another deep freeze and that put our walking to an end again. This was a real bummer for me, as I noticed that by walking more regularly, my own chronic pain was becoming a bit more tolerable.

Near the end of January, I found The Shred at Walmart for less than $7 and decided to buy it with a gift card I had gotten. I also bought an exercise mat and two 2lb. weights. I have been more or less doing the Shred a few times a week since I got it.

I have not done the Shred for two weeks though. But not because I've been slacking! My friend and I got ourselves a FREE two week membership at the Y. In the two weeks, I went several times and I became good friends with the treadmill. I also got to know the bike and weight machines, but my love was with the treadmill. (Remember this??)

For quite some time now, I have been feeling the need to run. Well, when you live in Canada and there's snow and ice on the ground from October - April, and not to mention the deep freezes, I was anxiously waiting for Spring to arrive to give it a try. I've been reading running blogs (such as this one) and reading up on Couch to 5k and being motivated by the Biggest Loser contestants who are heavier than I and yet, somehow manage a marathon... So, when I went to the Y, I got on the treadmill and the next thing you know, I was running. Yes, me! Me with the bummed knee and the fatty-fat. It felt great, though I do need some proper runners so my feet won't hurt. At my best, I managed to go 1.34 miles in 30 minutes (walk/run alternating in 1 minute spurts).

Sadly, the two week membership ended this past Wednesday. So now I must motivate myself to exercise at home again. My friend gave me a new exercise DVD which I tried out for the first time on Sunday.

My plan now is to alternate the dvd's and continue to walk when the weather is decent. I really hope to get some new shoes soon so I can try running outside, but that may have to wait until I get another job. Until then, I will keep doing what I'm doing, and hope the weight keeps coming off.

Follow my weight loss journey

3 comments:

Jenners said...

I'm so proud pf you. I've been trying to walk at least 30 minutes five days a week. It has been helping in many ways. Now I need to work on my food!

Shea said...

Sounds like a good plan. Good runners will really make a difference.

Shannen said...

Living in Maine, I understand about snow/cold October - April. Thankfully we are coming out of it now! I have a YMCA close to my house. They give out a lot of scholarships and reduced rates to people that can't pay for membership. I don't know how they work in Canada, but you should check it out when cold weather rolls back around again.