Started excercise portion of plan today 1/6/2010!

[maydecant]

I know the SB diet is not enough to get me where I want to go fast enough, altho it sure is fast by most diet standards! I started walking today. I am in Minneapolis and work downtown. We are totally connected by skyways so I do not need to go outside. (Seeing as it is 7 below today that is a good thing) I worried a bit that I had suddently become a "mall walker" and that if seniors in running shoes started giving me the nod, I was in trouble! None the less I perservered and walked for a brisk 30 minutes (with a brief stop in Ann Talor - where I am not allowed to buy clothes until the first 10 lbs are gone).

I feel like I have accomplished something, no matter how minor! Tomorrow I plan to come equipped with said running shoes and if I get the old tip of the chin from the seniors (who aren't really downtown at all actually) so be it! I have to give this plan a JUMP START! Who's with me??

maydecant

[maydecant]

Day 2 of skyway walking! I went at 1 PM instead of 11 AM and the crowds are a bit different. Tricly to navigate around, and I am HOT! I have to watch what I wear on the days I walk. A silk turtlneck may not breathe enough for this activity. Felt good tho and had my ipod today so the time flew. I am purposely not setting goals for this like so many times a week, etc. My schedule won't really allow that, I will just have to go when I can go and not beat myself up if I can't. Every little bit helps! Carpe Diem!!

maydecant

[maydecant]

Day #3 of Skywalking!! I wasn't planning to go but a co-worker encouraged me so I did. Yay! I am not going to be at work tomorrow so I won't have a chance again until Monday. I am glad I did!! I have decided it is a better idea to go at 11:00 AM rather than 1:00 PM. Too much traffic in the Skyway at that time. Hard to work up a good head of steam when you have to keep moving around slower walkers! I did see one "fellow walker" on my way back into Target. He was wearing a T-shirt that said MOVE and he gave me a wave. I am off the exercise track now until Monday as we are traveling starting tomorrow. Have a "beachy" weekend everyone.

maydecant

[RedRox]

Just wanted to say I'm enjoying reading your "skywalking" escapades! Never been to Minneapolis but I've heard of the walkways between buildings and thought they always sounded like fun! If you really need to warm up try some heated yoga at a Corepower studio up there! First week is always free!

[mminch]

Keep walking! If the mall walkers recognize you and nod it is an accomplishment.

I started going to the YMCA at 5:30 am 3-5 days a week back in October.
It only took about two weeks to figure out the regulars.
It took two months before they accepted me as a regular too.

That was a major accomplishment, it meant I had stuck with it and it's become a routine.

Do you ever feel as if certian messages are sent your way at the right moment? The other night I was sitting in bed contemplating if I wanted to go to the gym in the morning. I was channel surfing and came on a channel where an inspirational speaker was talking and said that exercise is not a choice. It shouldn't be a question you ask yourself, 'Do I want to work out today?' It's something you just do - like brushing your teeth.

So I reminded myself that everyday I exercise. I don't ask if, I ask when, what, and where.

[maydecant]

Excellent advice! Certainly the t-shirt which said MOVE did the same for me. Went back at it today after the whole weekend away. Felt kind of tired and crummy from travelling but I went anyway. I was further discouraged by the fact that the scale actually said I had gained a pound! Don't know how the heck that would be, but that is what it said. I was going anyway. I will not give up! Thanks for the motivation! maydecant

[maydecant]

Thanks everybody for your encouragement! I went out even earlier today (10:30) and saw my friend Max along the way who was huffing and puffing to keep up with me! LOL! Excellent time of day to go, very few people out and about at that hour. I got all the way to the Government Center and then looped back. I am hoping to get a pedometer soon so I can really see how far I am going, but I am very warm by the time I get back that is for sure. I waited about 20 minutes before having a bowl of chili (on RedRox's recommendation) and WATER (can't get enough)! It certainly feels good to GO! No reason why I can't go tomorrow also. We will see. Two down for the week! Cyn (maydecant)

p.s. RedRox thanks for the yoga referral. That is one exercise I cannot do as I have a disability in my hands and arms so I cannot support my own weight. Ugh!!

[maydecant]

Well I have not stopped exercising, I just have neglected to write about it! Just got back from a 30 minute Skywalk. Went all the way to the Govt. Center and looped around inside their atrium. I noticed all the offices were dark, and the cafe on the main floor was closed. It was so QUIET! I thought to myself "wow. The economy must *really* be bad to close all these Govt. offices!" It was not until I was looping out that I remembered it was MLK day. Duh! What an idiot.

I did not have my ear buds to my ipod so I stopped at Target to get a second pair. No deterants, no excuses!! I did walk Friday also and wrapped my knee which has been unstable for years. I could not put my hands on my regular slide-on knee bandage so I had to wrap an ACE with velcro on each end and the damn thing looked like a small football by the time I got ready to go, but it held! Yay! Forgot to wrap it today but it seems okay.

On another exercise related note...a "side benefit" to my part time job at a tanning salon/spa is that when it is busy we MOVE. I worked 9 - 2 yesterday and did not stop until half hour before my shift ended. Phew! I was so winded and warm I had to shower when I got home! Still no movement on the scale but I know everyone is sick of me whining about it, including me, so I carry on! I just have to think that eventually the science of it all will catch up with me and I will see the loss I so deserve for all my hard work. Have a good holiday everyone for those of you that get the day off. Cyn

[Kimboroni]

Good for you for getting "out" there! I enjoyed reading about your walks.

Don't worry if the scale fluctuates, and look for longterm trends instead. So much of bodyweight is made up of water, and the amount of water can vary a lot from day to day: excess sodium, your cycle, and even exercise can add some extra water, fooling you into thinking that something is going wrong. But just because the scale goes up a little does not mean that your bodyfat has increased.

[maydecant]

Okay, ssshhhhh... but even after my walk and all the swelling that happens in my hands when I exercise, I can STILL slide my rings off (almost). Phew! This is big progress. I am not weighing this week until Saturday, like I said in my journal. I am going to try to stick to the once a week weigh which is necessary for the Game and all I really should be doing because I am driving myself CRAZY otherwise.

Good Skywalk today even tho I made several stops. Barnes & Noble seems to be sold out of the SB "Supercharged" edition so I will have to order that on line. I got to visit a sweater I am waiting to be marked down at Ann Taylor, and I swung through Target to look at baby shower decorations and such. Bought a few cute things in the $1 "See Spot" Section to give as prizes for the game we will play at the shower. I kept up the pace pretty good and was very warm by the time I got back. I am a FIRM believer in the "Perceived Exertion" scale. We used to use it when I taught water exercise and I think it is great because everybody is different and their level of perceived exertion is very specific to them.

Anyway, one more walk down! That is two this week. I hope to do 1 - 2 more by week's end depending on my work load which promises to make a spike sometime tomorrow. Hang on!

Cyn

[maydecant]

Walked today! yay!! I only walked 2 X last week and that simply will not DO. It was a good brisk walk, 30 minutes as usual. I explored a new area of the skyway and found 4 Dale Chihuly sculptures in the lobby! Score! we have a large towering Chihuly in one of our entries here at Target that was commissioned for the building when it was built. It is my favorite piece of art in the building. I was happy to find more of his work downtown! (He is a glass blower, very organic and colorful forms). I forgot my ipod today and had no peds for my running shoes so I had to go with my stockings, but off I went! I would not let it deter me!

I have *finally* lost weight. 3 lbs. to be exact and I am very happy with it. I could feel it towards the end of last week but did not step on the scale until Saturday which is our weigh in day for the weight loss game. I am 4th in the pack of 8 but I do not care, I am on my way and now it will come OFF! My goal is 3 more walks this week. I am shooting high but I think I can do it! How is everyone else doing??

Cyn

[maydecant]

Ready to go again today. I have a checklist of things I need to make this as easy as possible and I think I have them all:

Ipod - check
t-shirt - check
shoes & peds - check
small swing purse - check
Ipod ear buds - check

I think I am good to go! It will have to be a "late" walk today (1 PM) as I have an 11 AM meeting. I will report back!

Cyn

[RedRox]

Congrats on the loss! Enjoy the walk today. Glad you have everything you need!

[maydecant]

Still walking! Altho it has been a while. Went out today. Had 2 errands to run while I was out and I breezed into the stores and back out. One of the clerks commented on how fast I was moving. LOL! Speaking of which I want to get a pedometer so I can tell how far I am going and I also want to check on my heart rate. Heard a good piece on MPR this morning about the benefits of even moderate exercise, I am even more all about it now. Certainly helps with the stress level too!

I was #1 in my weigh game last week! Whooo! Maybe I can exercise my way to the same ranking this week as well!

Cyn