Fitness

Well that was a rather depressing post yesterday, wasn't it? Ironically I feel better just for getting things off my chest, but let's move things right along! I have been on a quest since March to improve my health (I just mentioned the sleeping problems, right?) and things are going well. About a month ago, maybe 6 weeks ago, I realized that I WANT to exercise when I get home from work. And since I log every bit of physical activity I get, I looked back and realized that I'm exercising at least every other day which is a huge improvement. Here's what I've been doing:

Food. I've been eating a mostly vegetarian diet lately. I have laziness and the economy to blame for that. I think chicken is gross to cook and beef is too expensive to justify and really I haven't been in the mood to eat meat. So I've been eating lots of beans, eggs, and soy instead. Also lots of cereal, apples, pasta, broccoli, zucchini, yogurt, cheese, hard boiled eggs, and whatever other fresh fruits and veggies I can find. I take lunch to work every day and I hardly eat out. It's a win-win. It's also cheap, I found a recipe for black bean and corn quesadillas that uses mostly canned ingredients and lasts for DAYS. Somehow my pantry got filled with cans of corn, beans, and tomatoes, like I'm preparing for nuclear fallout, so I'm trying to use a lot of that up.

Movement. I do a lot of Walk Away the Pounds tapes. I know they are corny but they get me sweating and that's the whole point. I have the Express tape and the Abs tape. I never do the 1 mile walks anymore, just the two miles (and I have a 3 mile walk when I get there). The Express 2 mile walk is easier but the Abs 2 mile walk has a lot of different movements on it and makes the time go by faster. Sometimes when there's something I want to watch on TV I just walk for about 40 minutes as I watch (hello debates!), but sometimes I do the tapes as a refresher. I also do yoga- either my Heavyweight Yoga tape, which I think is fantastic even if the production quality isn't so hot, or yoga from Rodney Yee's book Moving Toward Balance. Other times I'll do basic strength training stuff- push-ups, plank, crunches, lunges, and squats. I do all of them veeeerrrrryyyyy slooooooooowwwwwly and concentrate on form. I get really sore the next day.

Flexibility. After I exercise I stretch. I really like stretching, and I am amazed at how fast my body has changed. I can sit on the floor with my legs straight out in front of me and wrap my hands around the bottoms of my feet. I haven't been able to do that since I was something like two years old. I can almost touch my head to my knees (it would be easier if all that fat wasn't in the way!), so I'm to the point where I like to see how far I can stretch day after day.

So that's what's happening here in body land. My clothes are getting too big (wait, I'm getting small). I've lost weight and gained muscle so everything is feeling a little different. And I like it! Heather Meadows has been a huge inspiration, I am so amazed at the way her body has changed in just a few months. She's working hard and it pushes me to work hard too. Thanks Heather!