Exercising leads to fatness

I don't know if you all are aware of this or not, studies have shown that exercising leads to weight gain. I'm not talking about the infamous "building muscle" weight gain. I am talking about the good old fashioned puttin on the fat pounds. Oh...alright...I have not found an "official" study that states that if you exercise you will gain weight. I am referring to my own personal study of my life.

Why is it that every single time I start exercising, I start packing on the pounds? I have been walking for the past 3 months, about 2-3 times a week, yes, that in and of itself is a stinkin mir-a-cle!, so why oh why am I fatter than ever? Well...I can tell you why. After my 2.4 mile morning walk, I come home and feel "justified" in eating a donut(I guess I should say donut's because lets get honest here...who can eat just one donut?). Then, an hour later, I feel justified in having four cookies, with a side of See's chocolate, and then for lunch, I feel justifed in having those chicken nuggets, and so on and so on because...Hey! I exercised today! So, just because I exercise...it gives me license to eat and eat? Shouldn't I be turning more health conscious and watching what I eat, because I exercised? Especially since I really, really, dislike exercising. I'll admit it...I am SO lazy when it comes to exercising. If I didn't have a friend that literally called me every....single...morning to get me out walking, I would never do it. I told her I am going to make her a 65 lb. fat suit for her to wear, because that is how much heavier I am than her. That might slow her down a little bit, and help her realize why it is so hard to get this old "voluptuous" body moving every single day.

So...now what? I'm not sure. I just polished off two huge bowls of Captain Crunch Berries...because...Hey! I exercised today.

Sedentary

sed·en·tary \ˈse-d^ən-ˌter-ē\

a : doing or requiring much sitting
b : not physically active

Yes, I'm still obsessing about this. Because 5, 500 steps a day is really, really hard. Especially when my pedometer keeps getting reset whenever I lean against a counter. Considering it's so hard for me to *just get the "sedentary-level" steps in each day* it's a complete downer when the pedometer resets. I either have to start all over again or give up. Usually, I give up.

But I don't want to be lazy.

la·zy \ˈlā-zē\

1 : disinclined to activity or exertion : not energetic or vigorous
2 : moving slowly

I've been watching the athletes compete in the Olympics (we've been obsessively watching this year, don't know why. I don't think we've missed a single "episode" of coverage yet. Crazy.) And I admire them. I admire everything about them. Everything about what it takes to move your body like they do. The hard work they have invested in their sport. The excellence they have striven for, and, achieved. They are stunning. They are amazing. They are inspiring.

They are so not me.

When I watch the athletes do their thing, when I hear them talk about their work ethic, I think I could maybe do that--I want to do that, I want to work that hard and feel that great about myself and my abilities.

And so I realized something.

I am lazy.

If there's a shorter way around, someone else to fetch me something, or if I can consolidate efforts to avoid having to walk to the kitchen/laundry room/etc. more than once, I'll do it. I'm a cheater. And I am lazy.
So, I'm back to using my little pedometer (I'll just avoid leaning against things.) I will get 5, 500 steps each day. And I will eat less. I will because I am sick of being fat. And I don't have to just let it live with me. It's time to evict that fat.

I will not be sedentary. I'll find reasons to get up and move around--take those extra trips upstairs, or wherever. And I'm banishing laziness to another realm.

Today? 7, 408 steps. Yay for me!

Tired of Being Super Dieter?

I don't know about you, but I'm sick of dieting. Sick of counting carbs and calories. Sick of wondering if THIS diet will work. Sick of gaining back everything I lose and then some.

One of my writing friends posted this link on a yahoo group I belong to and I thought it looked interesting. But then I sighed deeply, wondering if it was another quick fix to an emotional, internal problem I haven't been able to heal yet. As with every new diet, I hesitated even opening the link, but then thought . . . what the heck.

I've only briefly scanned a couple of the pages, so I'm not sure I will try it or not, but what I've read certainly sounds promising. If you decide to give it a try, please let me know what you think. I'm going to do more research this week and might give it a go myself. Here's the link: http://loseweight.emofree.com/

Good Luck!!

Keeping a Food Journal

I've tried keeping a food journal before and end up either not being honest with recording what I shove in my mouth, or neglecting the task completely. I've decided I need to give it another try and do my best to be honest. I'm also going to keep track of the calories and carbs. I think that will help me realize how fast they add up and exactly what damage I'm doing to my body.

The second thing I need to do is move more. I keep telling myself that, but find that at the end of the day, I've barely left my office chair to roam around the house and then it's either for food or a bathroom break. With the weather getting nicer outside, I've made it a goal to take more breaks from writing and get out of the house more often. It will also help clear my mind so I can hear my muse whispering.

So, what steps are you taking to reduce the bad foods and increase activity. I'd love to hear all about it.

Going Places

I picked up a cheap pedometer at ShopKo the other day. Just $8.00 and it keeps track of my steps and shows me how I'm doing on meeting a daily goal.

Remember how I said that the average woman takes 5, 500 steps a day, and that's considered sedentary? And how I thought I probably only walked 2, 000 steps a day?

Well, I wasn't far wrong.

My world is very, very small. I rarely venture out of my home, and when I do, I park near the places I need to go.

I set the goal to take 5, 500 steps. I know that's just "sedentary," but I still thought it would be an improvement for me.

By 2:00 p.m. today I'd only taken about 1,500 steps. I began to worry I wouldn't make my 5, 500 goal. I had to run some errands, so I parked far from the doors. By 9:00 p.m. I was still 1,500 steps short of my goal. So I took my dog and walked around the cul de sac, then walked around again.

Now as I write this, my pedometer sits at 5, 535. Yay! I met my goal! But it did take conscious effort to get there.

I realized, while walking around the neighborhood for the second time, that my pedometer is taking me places. It's a very small thing, tracking my steps, but already it got me out of my chair and out of my house.
I'll keep my goal at 5, 500 for a while, maybe for the rest of February. But then I think I'll see where else my pedometer takes me. Because I'm going places. I can feel it.

Workout Wednesday & A Recipe

It's time to start moving ladies! Get up off that couch or away from that computer and MOVE!! That's right, click on this song below, stand up and MOVE IT GIRL!!! Let's get happy, healthy and in the mood for a GREAT DAY!!!



BONUS: For a great recipe go HERE. Baked Parmesan Chicken Breasts. YUMMY!!

Rules To Slim By

Right at this very moment, I'm feeling strong. Booyah! I'm gonna lose weight, gosh darn it!

Here are my rules to slim by:

Leave a couple bites at every meal.
Did you know that following this simple plan can save you 700 calories a week? Enough to stave off the typical two pounds most of us gain each year.

Cook at home one more night each week.
Yes, we eat out way too often. It's my goal to only eat out twice a week and no more.

No eating past 8:00 p.m.
That means no random snacking while sitting on the couch at night. This one will probably be the hardest for me to stick to.

Get a good night's sleep.
I don't have any bad habits that involve the bedroom, like watching TV or taking my laptop to bed, I just don't get to bed early enough. I'm going to work at improving that.

Walk 15 extra minutes every day.
I'm gonna get a pedometer to help me out with this one. According to an article I read, the average woman takes about 5,500 steps a day which is basically sedentary. But whatever our starting point, we should try to increase our steps by 2,000 a day (or about fifteen minutes and 100 calories burned.)

This is going to be hard for me too. If the average woman takes 5,500 steps a day, I probably take, oh, 2,000? I definitely need to increase my movement every day.

If I've planned to exercise, I should do it whether I've missed my optimum time or not.
Last night I did that and I was so proud of myself. I like to exercise in the morning, but it just didn't happen for me. So, at 9:00 last night I finally had some time and I went and did half an hour on my elliptical. It felt awesome to have not let myself down.

By golly, this is gonna me!

You Are What You Wear

Yesterday, while I was sitting in church, I watched people as they came into the chapel and took their seats. I took note of what they were wearing, how the women had their hair done and how some had taken extra time to do their little girls hair up just right. Some were dressed in plain, but nice dresses, some were in fancier garb and a few were even in professional skirt and blazer type attire. I thought about my frumpy dress and how I wished I had a new one. I only have 3-4 dresses that still fit me and even they have seen better days. It was then that I realized I haven't bought new clothes for ages. My pants are getting so thin you can practically see through them and my shirts have been washed so many times, they are at least 5 shades lighter than their original vibrant colors.

So why don't I buy clothes? Easy, I keep thinking I'll lose weight and get into a smaller size. Every time I think about spending money on a new pair of jeans I tell myself it would be a waste of money because they'll be too big for me when I lose all the weight I'm planning to lose. But then I don't and I end up wearing the same old things over and over until they are rags.

Unfortunately, this does two things. One, it depresses me because I never have new and wonderful clothes. And two, I look like crap--which depresses me even more. I truly believe that our attitude and self esteem would sky rocket if we just took the time to do the little things each morning. Never go without doing your hair up and putting on makeup. Don't just wear jewelry when you go out, accessorize for yourself. And go get a few new items to wear, regardless if you're planning on losing or not. At least have one nice outfit that you can feel good in. The change in your self image could give you the boost you need to actually stick to that diet and make better eating and exercise choices.

Deciding What's Best For Me

I had a minor meltdown yesterday.

A friend of mine (great friend, well-meaning) gave me a bottle of oral hCG.

And it kind of freaked me out.

Not that she would give it to me, but the idea that I might do that diet again. I liked the hCG diet the first time I did it, but didn't follow the protocol very well the second time. It's not the diet with which I had the problem. The problem came in the aftermath. And all the fat that is now on my body but once wasn't.

I am now at the weight I was last spring when I went on the hCG diet. But I am two sizes bigger than I was. Yes, bigger. I have way more fat now than I did before. I don't know why. I'm not a scientist and I don't know why such a thing might be, but the fact remains that for me, it's true.

Recently, I've been feeling rather hopeful and kind to myself. Like I said in my post the other day--I'm not giving up, I'm still hanging in there, still trying.

I've been following the baby-step philosophy and I was all ready to post about that today, when this whole issue popped up.

Like I said, I kind of freaked out.

If I go on the diet again I might lose weight. Which would be great, because I totally need to lose weight. But what if I gain it all back again? What if I get even fatter? Again?

If I go on the diet, I might not stick to it as well as I need to and I might fail. Again. (Like when I have I gone on a diet when I haven't failed--eventually?)

Back and forth, back and forth. Should I go on the diet, or shouldn't I? Stress! Freaking out!

And then I talked to a friend (who, coincidentally is gorgeous and healthy and fit) about my panic and . . . relief . . . she gave me permission not go on the hCG diet. Just because my friend gave the medicine to me, does not mean I have to take it. I can keep it and maybe one day I'll want to use it, but for now, it's totally and completely okay for me to do what I'm doing.

Which is baby steps. As in, right now, I'm happy to exercise in whatever form I can. Fifteen minutes on my elliptical. A ten minute walk. Anything that's more movement than before is a success. I'm leaving a couple bites of food on my plate at every meal. If you do that, I've read, it can mean 500 calories saved by the end of the week for the average person. That's enough to stave off the annual 5 lb gain most people experience.

The freak-out has successfully come to an end and I'm at peace with my very small steps forward--for now. How about you?

Workout Wednesday

Here's your inspiration music for the week. I LOVE Black Eyed Peas and this song gets me moving every time, whether I'm sitting in my car, at my desk or working out. Hope you enjoy.

Happy New Year!

Walking through my house the other day, I had an aha! moment.

I was thinking to myself how I hadn't been very successful with my New Year's resolutions "this year." The inner dialogue going on in my head was pretty recriminating and I wasn't cutting myself any slack.

And then, this little voice that's normally timid and shy perked up and said, "Hey! Cut it out!"

Turns out that little chicken-self had something to say in my defense. We're only one month into the New Year. I haven't failed YET.

Elbert Hubbard said, "There is no failure except in no longer trying." I believe this to be true in my writing, so why can't it be true in other aspects of my life?

The answer? It can.

So if I haven't failed yet, then today is as good a day as any, to try, try again.

Therefore, Happy New Year!

If your resolutions have already been flushed down the toilet, then join me in facing this new year together. February first is the new January first, haven't you heard?

I have not failed, because I am not giving up.
So there.

Not So Fast

Okay, so starting out with having only protein for breakfast didn't work. Why? Because I countered the act of dietary obedience with allowing myself the luxury of scarfing down everything chocolate I could get my hands on. We're not talking about an occasional piece of the luscious brown stuff, oh no. I managed to take in the entire candy isle in one week. How can a person succeed in the dieting world with so much temptation everywhere around her. It's just not the basic chocolate bar, but you can get just about anything made of chocolate these days . . .


There's milk chocolate, dark chocolate, white chocolate, pink chocolate, chocolates filled with cherries and just about anything else you can think of, chocolate cake, chocolate cream pie, chocolate covered strawberries, and chocolate ice cream. But then, let's not forget all those specialty chocolates, made for that person who has everything. There's the . . .

Chocolate Keyboard
A must for the writer in me.

And I wouldn't want any of my work to be lost, so there's the
chocolate USB drive to save all those wonderfully crafted words.

But then when I want to take a break and go shopping, there's even fancy chocolate shoes I can buy. But they'd never be on my feet, unless you count the fat that wraps around my ankles.

Oh, and we cant forget chocolate roses sent by that secret admirer.

Or the candy kiss left on your pillow by that certain someone.

And my own personal favorite, the M&M. And we all know you can't just eat one of those. Once you get started, you can't stop.

And then at the end of the day, when you think you've had your fill of chocolate, you find yourself on a cold winter's night, wishing you had a little something to keep you warm. Do you turn to your lover or a woolen blanket, nope . . . nothing warms the heart like a hot cup of cocoa.

Is there any wonder why I can't sleep at night, wired with all that sugar and caffeine?
So this week my goal is to eliminate MOST of my sugar intake. I will allow myself a tiny amount of the brown stuff, but not every day and in small amounts. Do you think that's possible or will I end up like this poor woman?
Death By Chocolate!
What a way to go.

So tell me what your weaknesses are.
Is it chocolate, chips or Cheetos?
And how do you overcome your craving for them?