Feb 28 2007
Slow Burn
The beginning of February was the jump-start I needed for my fitness and weight loss regimen. Like many others, I was hoping to use January and the new year to reinvigorate my weight loss journey, but February seemed a better fit for me - my mind was ready!
My orientation at the new fitness center worked out quite well on a cold Friday morning, February 2. One of the staff members (who is also a knitter and a friend of mine!) did some various measurements, weights, etc. I was disappointed to see that I had gained some weight back after a few months of hiatus. However, I used this disappointment as fuel to get back into the regimen, and reach my goal, once and for all.
Since the beginning of this month, I have maintained a steady workout schedule, working out at least 5 days a week - sometimes more! - doing a mix of different aerobic/cardio exercises, weight training, as well as yoga and Pilates.
One class, taught by the fitness instructor, is a total body conditioning class called “Healthy Backs” that uses weights, strength training, and cardio exercises to strengthen the muscles in your shoulders, arms, back, and hips. The first time I took this class, it really “did me in”. I was so sore in my legs from long sets of lunges and squats. I could barely walk, much less climb stairs. Simply put, I overdid it, and it hurt. However, I knew I could adapt, and made a mental note to not push myself past the threshold. Luckily, I felt better after the next workout: still tired from a strenuous session, but not incredibly sore due to some quality stretching after the class. It made a big difference. I am proud of myself for sticking to it. With that, I have also seen some results: I have lost about five lbs of weight!
The weight loss is once again a combination of diet and exercise; I have cut calories, and keep a log on Peertrainer of every thing that I eat. PeerTrainer has been a great tool for motivation. The community has grown - over 40 knitters/bloggers share ideas and tips on diet, exercise and weight loss there. Feel free to join us in the Losin’ Knit team!
For the last two weeks, I have been focusing on fat burning - exercising at a lower target range for a longer period of time in order to burn a greater percentage of my calories from fat stores. Many exercisers tend to fatigue themselves while working out in a higher heart range, and anaerobic exercise. This kind of exercise does burn a larger amount of calories, but the great majority of calories are from carbohydrates and sugars - not from the fat that many people doing exercise for weight loss want to target. For me, this fat-burning range is about 133-151 beats per minutes, or about 70% of my maximum heart rate. (For more details on heart rate training, see my post “Oh, My Beating Heart!”, with information on the kind of heart rate monitor that I use).
The weight is not coming off as quickly as it did last year, when I first began working out and dieting. However, I can see the way that my body is adapting to the new regimen - toning muscles, no “catch my breath” moments when climbing flights of stairs, and more endurance to go a little longer than I did before. It’s the small things, right?
In true librarian fashion, I have been doing a lot of research. I find that reading great amounts of information on a subject inspires and motivates me, and I am using that motivation for my health. Some of the articles that I have stumbled upon:
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Know your Mind-Body Type/Find your Most Compatible Workout - This is a quiz (but better than the teen mag quizzes!) you can use to determine what kind of exercises and workouts may be best for your body and personality type. It takes about 6-7 minutes to complete. I had an interesting result: I straddled three separate categories the first time I took the quiz (Summer/Indian Summer/Autumn), and then was a Summer/Autumn the second time I took it. However, many of the exercises mentioned are ones that I enjoy most, so it seems to work!
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Why Conscious Fitness is the Key to Losing Weight - Makes the case for a varied and integrated routine, combining all sorts of elements. States that cardio is not the only weight-loss solution. I wholeheartedly agree!
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Want a Good Workout? You Better Believe It! Simply believing in your routine - whether it is a traditional workout or not - can do wonders for your overall health. Another point for mind-body connection!
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Just-Right Fitness Another article that looks at other ways to lose weight and stay fit - it is not about quantity and longevity, but the quality of your activity.
More articles and information on the Weight Loss Journey page!
Good for you, Lolly. It’s a challenge to stay the course, that’s true. I’m trying, though.
that is great! I’m waiting for my tax return to go join the gym….I have to get moving!
Thanks for the links to the articles! And thanks for introducing us to Peertrainer, too! I think it has really helped me in the short time I’ve been on it.
Again, congrats on the loss!
Congrats on your 5 pounds–every one is a victory
I’ve really enjoyed peertrainer since you linked it before. It’s helping me become more aware of what I’m eating–now I just need to get my workouts in line. Thank goodness spring is coming–I see lots of walks with the kiddos in my future.
I made button(as lame as it is) for Losin’ Knit–it’s in the sidebar of my blog if you want it.
Congrats again!
Hooray for getting back in the routine, I’m sure it feels great to be back in the swing. My best hope for you is that you can maintain the positive attitude you have in this post for the rest of your weight loss journey. You’ve also inspired me, so I hope that I can have as much success as you’ve had!
Good job on the five pounds and the strong mind-set. That will help more than anything else.
Thanks for those links. I’ll have to book mark them to read through all of them later. I’ve been trying to get on that fitness kick lately too. I’m finding that it’s not as easy to lose weight or maintain my weight as it has been in the past and I really need to be more active. (All this knitting isn’t helping the cause. heh). Keep up the good work! Keep the buuuurnnnn!
HI,
Thanks for all these great resources and congrats on your success. I’d be really interested in joining the knit group on peertrainer, but can’t find the group on the site!!
Way to go on loosing the five pounds - keep going, it’s working. Now, if only we could knit and exercise at the same time - that would be incentive enough for me…
great job! you have been inspiration for me to get in shape. i even bought the same exact heart rate monitor! (i LOVE that thing, it’s such a motivator for me)
keep up the good work!
I’m trying to get back on track too- I’ve gained back half the weight I lost a year ago
and have totally slacked off on exercise since the marathon. Thanks for the inspiration!
You go, girl! I’m trying to stay fit too, for lots of reasons: for me, for soccer in the fall, for being at the beach. Plus I like the way I feel after I work out. Achievement! I’m a Spring-type. ^_^ Running and weight-lifting. Also I do this abs workout at school, which was HARD the first time, and hurt a lot, but was HARD the second time, and hurt less. Yay! Being healthy is nice. I’m a fan.
congrats again on getting back on that horse and losing weight with diet and exercise! i’m going to have to remember to come back here and read all of this once i’m fully recovered from giving birth. i’ve managed to keep my weight loss low but i know that i’m going to have to get back in shape afterward!
Woo!! Keep up the awesome work!!!!!!
so proud of you, babe.
Way to go!
Thanks for the links and the reminder about PeerTrainer - I joined the team and then was ill - but I am nearly ready to get back into working out. This post was an excellent motivator.
Good going! Great inspiration for me. I rejoined the big WW and got my first star this week. (first five LBS down). I need to get motivated for the exercise part of things, as the weather has been slowing me down a bit. I enjoy getting outside and exercising more than anything.
As you’ve seen, I use peertrainer, and am enjoying it as well as succeeding! Thanks to you! It’s exciting to see so many others joining us. I’m excited for us all, to see what we can do. Best wishes to you in your continued success!
Well done to you Lolly for keeping at the diet and excersise. I know from experience how hard it is to keep moyivated. I have put pounds on again and your tips and links are fab for motivation which I need. Thank you!
I like the “want a good workout? You better believe it!” idea. So many people go into dieting excerise with the thought that they’re already going to fail even before they start!
I really admire your perseverance!
Thanks for all the fantastic advice. Just the encouragement I need.
Congrats on your weight loss and more importantly on your committment to fitness. Plus, I am forever grateful to you for inspiring me to buy a heart rate monitor. It has revolutionized the way I work out.
Good luck with the body conditioning! It’s definitely about the little things. I just went back on weight watchers last week. It’s weird how sometime’s you’re ready and sometimes you’re not. When I tried going back on ww at the beginning of January, my heart just wasn’t into it. But now I’m really motivated. And your motivation inspires me even more! I’ll have to go check out Peertrainer as well. Keep up the great work!
What a great idea. I’d love to join but I’m pretty stuck in my ways about keeping a food diary on paper. I might join up for the group dynamic though. I’m so glad there have been lots of knitters on the exercise thing. It’s such a sedentary and obsessive hobby that you really have to make a conscious effort to get the exercise in. I started my blog just to be accountable about exercise and knitting. I’ve been pretty good about sticking to the exercise-before-knitting mantra too. At least, it helps me a lot.
Congratulations on making such a big lifestyle change! You’re doing such a great job!
Thanks lolly! I really need a kick to get started with my Health & Fitness regime again.
[...] 13, 2007 at 12:04 pm · Filed under motivation, weblog Because of these blog posts, slow burn and Oh, my beating heart, from Lolly Knitting Around I did some research at Polar USA and made an [...]