My 30 day goal is to exercise at least 250 minutes per week for 30 days. My HOPE is to build a good exercise habit and continue exercising beyond the 30 day mark. However, my ultimate GOAL is to lose weight. While exercising for 250 minutes per week is sure to get me on my way to losing those unwanted pounds, it's not going to do much good if I don't create a calorie deficit.
Please understand that calorie restriction is my Achilles heel. I struggle. I struggle big time. The thought of weeks upon weeks of eating in a certain calorie range takes it toll on me. I understand that in order to see continuous results this is something I'm going to have to do for quite some but sometimes baby steps are the best way to get things going. So maybe I'll just take it week by week.
So, to ensure that I'm going to see a loss, my side challenge is going to be staying within a certain calorie range. My goal is to stay within 1300 - 1400 calories for one week starting on Day 8 of my Exercise challenge (Saturday October 2nd).
I'm choosing the lower end of the calorie range because earlier this summer I had my metabolism tested by a registered dietitian and I'm sad to report I have a lousy metabolism. My tested RMR (resting metabolic rate) is only 1238. That's about 20% less than what it should be. In fact, the RD told me that in order to lose decent weight I would have to eat in the LOWER half of the 1200's - possibly even lower. I don't feel comfortable doing that so I'm trusting on good old exercise to see me the rest of the way.
In any case, I haven't really tested my new findings til now. So, this Saturday, I will weigh myself and then we'll see what one week of calorie restriction and 250 minutes of exercise will do. And hopefully, I will see some results!
The Side Challenge:
Calorie Restriction
The goal:
1300 - 1400 for one week
Start date:
October 2, 2010
End date:
October 9, 2010
Wednesday, September 29, 2010
Exercise: Days 3 and 4
Day 3
So we've had a bit of a heat wave over the past few days and unfortunately, I don't have central air in my apartment. However, I was not going to let that stop me. I set out to do a strength DVD. This time, it was Jillian Michael's No More Trouble Zones. This was also the first time I had ever attempted it. So I set out to begin it in my workout room which was a balmy 95 degrees (at the least). I went through 2 huge ice filled giant bottles of water within twenty minutes and had to throw in the towel just at the 30 minute mark. I was sweating, my heart was beating and I was way too hot. However, I do think that I got in a decent workout.
I went into the main room of my apartment that has A/C and put in 5 minutes of a cool down and stretching and once I decided I was in fact NOT having a heart attack, I gave myself a pat on the back for adding another 35 minutes to my goal.
I wanted to add more minutes to my ever growing number, so I planned to take a walk with my boyfriend once the temps cooled off. I kept waiting, but there was no cooling. We set out around 8:15p in 80+ degree heat. At least the sun wasn't beating down on us. We kept a good pace and rounded out a familiar route in our shortest time yet. Add another 2o minutes.
total for the day:
55 minutes
Day 4
This is the best kind of day. REST DAY :)
total for the day:
0 minutes
Goal Total:
145 / 250 minutes for week 1
So we've had a bit of a heat wave over the past few days and unfortunately, I don't have central air in my apartment. However, I was not going to let that stop me. I set out to do a strength DVD. This time, it was Jillian Michael's No More Trouble Zones. This was also the first time I had ever attempted it. So I set out to begin it in my workout room which was a balmy 95 degrees (at the least). I went through 2 huge ice filled giant bottles of water within twenty minutes and had to throw in the towel just at the 30 minute mark. I was sweating, my heart was beating and I was way too hot. However, I do think that I got in a decent workout.
I went into the main room of my apartment that has A/C and put in 5 minutes of a cool down and stretching and once I decided I was in fact NOT having a heart attack, I gave myself a pat on the back for adding another 35 minutes to my goal.
I wanted to add more minutes to my ever growing number, so I planned to take a walk with my boyfriend once the temps cooled off. I kept waiting, but there was no cooling. We set out around 8:15p in 80+ degree heat. At least the sun wasn't beating down on us. We kept a good pace and rounded out a familiar route in our shortest time yet. Add another 2o minutes.
total for the day:
55 minutes
Day 4
This is the best kind of day. REST DAY :)
total for the day:
0 minutes
Goal Total:
145 / 250 minutes for week 1
Saturday, September 25, 2010
Exercise: Days 1 and 2
Saturday was Day 1 and I decided to do Bob Harper's Inside Out Method: Pure Burn Super Strength DVD.
There are 2 workouts on this: one is 60+ minutes, one is 30+ minutes. I chose to do the 60+ minutes because I really don't consider myself a beginner.
I only got through 35 minutes! It was an awesome workout and I am excited to get my level up to complete all 60 minutes. Still, 35 minutes is not too bad.
Day 2 I went to the gym and did a little circuit with the aerobic equipment. 15 on the elliptical, 15 walking on the treadmill, 25 on the recumbent bike followed by stretching. I have to admit, I'm still pretty sore after Bob's DVD yesterday. Everything hurts.
But I'm down 90 minutes and I think that's a pretty good start.
Tomorrow, I'm going to do another strength DVD. Hopefully my hamstrings will be working by then.
There are 2 workouts on this: one is 60+ minutes, one is 30+ minutes. I chose to do the 60+ minutes because I really don't consider myself a beginner.
I only got through 35 minutes! It was an awesome workout and I am excited to get my level up to complete all 60 minutes. Still, 35 minutes is not too bad.
Day 2 I went to the gym and did a little circuit with the aerobic equipment. 15 on the elliptical, 15 walking on the treadmill, 25 on the recumbent bike followed by stretching. I have to admit, I'm still pretty sore after Bob's DVD yesterday. Everything hurts.
But I'm down 90 minutes and I think that's a pretty good start.
Tomorrow, I'm going to do another strength DVD. Hopefully my hamstrings will be working by then.
Friday, September 24, 2010
Challenge #1: Exercise
Everyone knows exercise is a good thing. It helps keep you strong, healthy, younger looking - the list goes on and on. I've always been on the exercise bandwagon but I've been on a hiatus lately. An injury sidelined me for longer than necessary and I've been using it as a crutch to stay away from my gym.
Exercise is one of those tricky things, when you're in the groove, nothing can stop you from your workout. But take some time off, and I find it to be one of the more difficult things to pick up again.
I not only want to pick up my habit again, but my time off halted my ongoing weight loss and caused me to gain back a few pounds, so I want to do enough to take those back off and more. So how much should I aim for?
Back in 2009, an online article suggested that a person needs to do at least 250 minutes of exercise per week in order to see significant weight loss.
That sounds like a plan to me.
The challenge:
Exercise
The goal:
30 days / 250 minutes per week.
Start date:
September 25, 2010
End date:
October 24, 2010
Exercise is one of those tricky things, when you're in the groove, nothing can stop you from your workout. But take some time off, and I find it to be one of the more difficult things to pick up again.
I not only want to pick up my habit again, but my time off halted my ongoing weight loss and caused me to gain back a few pounds, so I want to do enough to take those back off and more. So how much should I aim for?
Back in 2009, an online article suggested that a person needs to do at least 250 minutes of exercise per week in order to see significant weight loss.
That sounds like a plan to me.
The challenge:
Exercise
The goal:
30 days / 250 minutes per week.
Start date:
September 25, 2010
End date:
October 24, 2010
Thursday, September 23, 2010
The beginning ...
I've recently been having problems with motivation and self-discipline. It's been horrific actually. There are so many things that I want to do: eat better, exercise regularly, watch less tv, wake up earlier, save more, just DO more. The thing is, I always start off ok and then before you know it, I quit. What I lack is self-discipline.
I recently came across a wonderful online article that talked about self-discipline - how it's like a muscle and the only way to make it stronger is to work it. So, I've decided to do just that.
I'm going to try something new for 30 days. Maybe I'll love it, maybe I won't but I'll give it a fair chance for 30 days and I'm going to document it here.
I'm going to start off easy, no need to bite off more than I can chew right?
So how's this going to work? Well, I'll pick my awesome 30 day goal and then take a few days to make a plan of attack and then I'll begin.
My hope is to not only work on my self-discipline, but to gain new experiences and maybe some new (GOOD) habits.
I recently came across a wonderful online article that talked about self-discipline - how it's like a muscle and the only way to make it stronger is to work it. So, I've decided to do just that.
I'm going to try something new for 30 days. Maybe I'll love it, maybe I won't but I'll give it a fair chance for 30 days and I'm going to document it here.
I'm going to start off easy, no need to bite off more than I can chew right?
So how's this going to work? Well, I'll pick my awesome 30 day goal and then take a few days to make a plan of attack and then I'll begin.
My hope is to not only work on my self-discipline, but to gain new experiences and maybe some new (GOOD) habits.
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