Fun ways to sneak in fitness

Tuesday, March 01, 2011

Someone sent me a SparkGoodie with the comment that they HATE to exercise, and asking if I had any good ideas for ways to get some fitness in that are more fun. I hope that person reads my blog, because here's everything I've got!

• Pretend you’re in middle school again and go play at the playground. Do the monkey bars, climb the mini rock wall if there is one, run through the sand, and have fun!
• On a similar note, get some friends together and play grade-school yard games. Four square, hop-scotch, tag, and double-dutch are all personal favorites of mine. If you’ve got kids, this is something fun you can do together!!
• Wash the car in the summer (hey, I think it’s a blast!) – your car gets clean and you get a good workout in.
• Tend a garden. All that weed-pulling is hard work!!
• Go for a bike ride.
• Play active games, like charades and Twister.
• Video games are a fun way to work out, whether you go for actual workout games (like WiiFit Plus or EA Sports Active 2), dancing games ( like Zumba, Dance Dance Revolution, or Dancing With the Stars), or just games that make you move (like Wii Sports or Wii Resort!).
• Find a project to do – build a tree house, repaint a bedroom, restore a piece of furniture. All that activity -- sawing, hammering, scraping, sanding -- is good exercise. Just don’t call it work!
• Visit the zoo – that’s a good walk, and there are so many cute animals to look at! Just make sure to avoid the greasy zoo food. Or if plants are more your style, walk around a conservatory.
• This isn’t so much fun, but it’s an easy way to sneak in some working out. While you’re watching TV, get up and walk in place (or do sit-up, jumping jacks, jump rope, whatever!) during commercial breaks.
• Instead of going to dinner and a movie, do something active on your date night. Snowboarding, paintball, and rock climbing are all things I’m trying to get in shape enough to do!
• Take a martial arts class. This is also great for stress relief!!
• Have sex. (Try and tell me THAT’S not fun!) Extra points if you’re on top! XP
• Learn to pole dance.
• Dance. Who says you have to do the workout moves they’re doing on those aerobics videos? Put on your favorite tunes and get your groove on.


I hope that gives you some good ideas!! =)

Elley

  

  Member Comments About This Blog Post:

KAZINMICH 3/5/2011 10:53PM

I miss playing on the playground! Report Inappropriate Comment

MIRACLELOVE77 3/2/2011 12:21AM

haha that's great. I REALLY want to go to the playground now! Report Inappropriate Comment

PEANUTSJ 3/1/2011 5:28PM

Someday, when I have a house, not only will I have a garden, but I will have a yard. A yard in which to run around and chase my hubby. A hubby to have calorie-burning sex with. YAY! Report Inappropriate Comment

IRISHFRY 3/1/2011 5:24PM

you are awesome. great ideas. and you reminded me that i wanted to start a veggie garden. Report Inappropriate Comment

Is it Thursday yet?

Monday, February 28, 2011

I'm excited for Thursday and our mini-vacation/long weekend in the fancy hotel in Des Moines, Iowa. Today is month end at work (I'm currently working as an accountant) so I'm super-busy today. It looks like it's going to be a very long work day for me, and I'm hoping I can make it out of here by 6 p.m. so I can make it to Zumba @ Curves tonight! I brought a Lean Cuisine for dinner just in case I'm stuck here as late as I think I'm going to be, so I can heat it up and scarf it down, and still hopefully have time to run to Zumba. Urgh, I hate long days.

I'm doing OK sticking to my diet and sticking to my exercise. I bought a weekly planner over the weekend and am using stickers in the planner to track my water intake. Today is Day 1 of 8 cups+ water daily! This and going to Curves 3x/week are the goals I am focusing on "streaking" this month. I can do it!!

  

  Member Comments About This Blog Post:

AML05030 2/28/2011 10:04PM

DO IT!!! DO IT!!!! :) Busy days are better then boring days!! Report Inappropriate Comment

PEANUTSJ 2/28/2011 10:59AM

Yes you can do it! I am so glad that you are rewarding yourself with a long weekend away. Sometimes we just need a break from our routine in order to give ourselves a little life make-over. I really hope you have a wonderful time. Thanks for swimming yesterday and I'll see you tomorrow night! Report Inappropriate Comment

I really need to stop weighing myself every day...

Saturday, February 26, 2011

I just can't help it! I weigh in on my WiiFit, and I'm using it ANYWAY, so it's right there and I just can't help it. When I get on the thing, I need to weigh myself. I really need to stop doing it. If my weight is up (which it often is, since this is usually right after dinner that I give in!) I feel like a failure, BUT THEN AGAIN it also makes me push myself a little harder to exercise more to get my weight down. And if my weight is down (which it sometimes is when I weigh myself first thing in my morning, which is my official weigh in time), I worry and obsess about what if I don't weigh this little for my OFFICIAL weigh in on Sunday?

So I just need to stop weighing myself. If it's not Sunday morning between 6 and 7 a.m., I am not weighing in. THAT'S FINAL!! ...I'll try, LOL.

Also, I'm going to add another photo to my monthly photo log of my weight loss. Currently I have a full body frontal shot, full body side shot, and a frontal face shot. I'm also going to do this:

and take a photo! I think I might actually be able to do it again now, and I think it will be a good record of how much more flexible I get as time goes on. =) I might also time myself to see how long I can hold it! Fun, no?

My dad, brother, and grandma all came over last night to celebrate my lil' brother's 23rd birthday. We had fajitas (I made mine a fajita salad!) and it was excellent. =) My grandma also told me great job on my 20 lbs lost so far, which made me feel proud all over again of what I've achieved. She also said that as "a little added incentive" she'd give me $100 when I lose my full 100 lbs! WOW! That's super nice of her, and now I have another reward to add down there on my goal sheet. I sure could use the money to afford my current reward (which is a new wardrobe!), haha!

I'm stuck at work today for another 2 1/2 hours, and then I'm going grocery shopping, making lunch, hopefully walking 3-4 miles with Dad, eating dinner, and doing a little WiiFit free step while I watch a movie tonight. =)

We leave on Thursday for our mini-vacation (my 20 lbs lost reward!) and I am SO EXCITED! Especially since I'm working 4 hours today and 4 hours tomorrow, so this weekend is a little work-filled - it just means I'll really have earned my 4-day weekend that will start Thursday!! =)

Thanks to everyone who gave me some great ideas for portable snacks to bring along to the hotel. I got some string cheese and am going to hard boil some eggs, and I got these AMAZING garlic & herb low-carb tortillas I'm excited about as well!

Keep going strong, fellow sparkers. Make it a great day!


Elley

  

  Member Comments About This Blog Post:

FRAN0426 2/26/2011 5:29PM

on the 20 pound lose--thatsa great. Have a wonderful mini-vacation . I don;t weigh myself every day, as how the clothes fit also lets you knw if your gaining or losing the weight. My self , don;t need to know if I add a few ounces or lose a few ounces ecah day. Best of luck on your journey. Such a nice incentive from your grandmother, your'll need the money to buy new clothes then. Report Inappropriate Comment

NEELIXNKES 2/26/2011 10:39AM

I have a question... you and several others talk about watching something while using the wii fit. With mine I don't think I can do that unless I am watching on the laptop. Is that how you do it? Sorry but I am trying to figure out how to add a little more entertainment to my wii fit time. Report Inappropriate Comment

STACIEH40 2/26/2011 10:26AM

Sounds like you have the right attitude! Congrats on the 20lbs lost. Don't forget, the scale is not the only measurement of success. You are making good choices and being active. That is something to celebrate no matter what the number on the scale says. Keep up the great work and have a fantastic vacation! Report Inappropriate Comment

AML05030 2/26/2011 9:48AM

SCALES!!!! They make every morning weird. I am compulsive. I never thought I would be, but now i weigh myself every morning and only count it on Wednesday mornings. OOOH! Mini vacation! GO YOU! Have fun! Report Inappropriate Comment

Why hello, size 16 jeans!!

Friday, February 25, 2011

This morning I was getting dressed and I get to wear jeans to work today. I took out my trusty old 18W’s (which are really vanity-sized due to the high amount of stretch in them – when I wear them the first time after washing they’re tight, second time they’re fine, third time they’re even better, and then it’s time to wash them again!) and eyeballed them distastefully. This would be going on time #4 (or#5…) in a row of wearing this pair without washing, and they were all crusted with road salt on the bottoms. Yuck.

I went to my closet to look for another pair of “fat pants.” The only 2 pairs of jeans in there were a 14 and a 16, lurking in there for me to unwittingly put on and then feel like crap about myself because I don’t fit into these pants anymore. Crapola. I had accidentally grabbed this pair of 16’s back in December and tried to squeeze into them and could barely get them over my thighs, let alone button them. Game for an exercise in humiliation, I decided to see how much closer they were to fitting.

I am extremely proud to say that I am WEARING these humiliatingly too-small jeans today, and they fit WONDERFULLY. WAHOO!! Size 16 jeans: DEFEATED! You’re next, size 14 jeans!

More great stuff: I had my second phone call with my weight loss coach last night, and had nothing but great stuff to tell her. I could hear the smile in her voice, she was so happy for me. =) She said, “We don’t usually do this – we usually wait until a member has reached their goal weight… But since you’re making such progress and are clearly on your way I was wondering if you’d be willing to let me use you as one of our success stories.” I said heck yes, you can! She had me tell her exactly what I’m doing that is working so well for me, and I mentioned SparkPeople.com, like, a million times and said I could not do it without the great community here. Hopefully that will help direct some other people who are struggling to this site so they can feel great and start LOVING their body, their health, and their life – just like I’m learning to do!! =)

Elley

  

  Member Comments About This Blog Post:

AML05030 2/25/2011 2:05PM

YAAAAY! FITTING PANTS!!!! I love that feeling. I think I am getting over ambitious for it. I WANT IT. I remember at the 'start' of my weight loss I told my mom that "one day I'd be wearing single digit pants.... like 10 (1 + 0 = 1, right?)." She said "10 is very small." Well, I am still working toward it! ALSO! Great job in the SP representing :) I wish more people would meet Sparkpeople and embrace it! Report Inappropriate Comment

GETITGETITGIRL 2/25/2011 12:28PM

Congrats! That is so awesome, and it must feel amazing to have all of your hard work paying off in such rewarding ways. I'm in a 16 too and looking forward to the battle for 14 :P Love the background, by the way. Report Inappropriate Comment

MEWIEGELE 2/25/2011 11:11AM

Congrats!! That is so awesome! I wore this one pair of jeans... well still wear actually lol but it was litterally the only ones I could fit into and they still gave me a giant muffin top. I hate them. My other 16's are size 16 but when held up to eachother they are drastically different. Stupid manufacturers! lol You are doing great, keep it going and going and going!! Report Inappropriate Comment

MNNICE 2/25/2011 10:33AM

Way to go! And what great motivation to keep you working toward those 14s!! Report Inappropriate Comment

ANGYAS 2/25/2011 9:21AM

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KAZINMICH 2/25/2011 9:20AM

Congratulations!!! I finally got into 22s that I couldn't zipper in December. My first ultimate goal is to get into 16s and 14s. I have a ways to go, your blog is inspiring. I know I will get there. I can already squeeze into a few 20s and I'm dreaming of the bathing suit I can buy for summer!!! :) And all the complements at the pool with family! You are doing awesome! Keep up the great work! Report Inappropriate Comment

LVL20MAGIKARP 2/25/2011 8:45AM

OMG that is so AWESOME! Report Inappropriate Comment

PEANUTSJ 2/25/2011 8:17AM

Congratulations on the 16s! That is excellent! When I fit comfortably back into my 18s I am going to buy 3 new pairs of pants, and I know I've got a long while before 16, but I'm working on getting there! I am so proud of you! Yay! Report Inappropriate Comment

BAYSIDE07 2/25/2011 7:46AM

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ELEGIACSTANZAS 2/25/2011 7:26AM

Yay!!! Living legend! x Report Inappropriate Comment

ERIN4771 2/25/2011 7:21AM

congratulations elly!! what an awesome feeling to go down a size, so empowering!!! keep up the great work you are doing, it's obviously paying off, and will continue to do so with that great attitude you have!!! Report Inappropriate Comment

Plugging away...

Thursday, February 24, 2011

My cold is still hanging on to me and won't quite let go. I'm managing to push through anyway, just doing lower-intensity workouts than I otherwise would like too. Lots of free step on the WiiFit.

I had my first call with my weight-loss coach through my work's Wellness program back in mid-January, and I have a follow-up call today. On the last call, I set goals to walk 10k steps a day and to work out for 30 minutes a day, every day. I managed to stick to those goals extremely well (at least up until I came down with this darned cold last Wednesday). Today I get to set some new goals, and those are going to be:

1) Drink 8 cups of water a day
--- This is something I'm really struggling with, and I rarely manage to make this goal. I'm going to go out this weekend and buy a weekly planner and a pack of cute stickers, and each time I drink an 8 oz cup of water I get a sticker on that date! I love stickers, so hopefully this will help me be mindful of tracking my water intake better.

2) Lift weights 3 times a week
--- This is another thing I struggle with, mostly because it's harder to make it in to Curves than it is to just get up and starting walking at home. I'm also restricted by the hours during which Curves is open and how that fits with my own schedule. I CAN do this, I just need to try harder!

Other than that... Things are going OK. I've been doing a LOT of the WiiFit free step while I watch TV, which makes me feel a little better about "wasting" time in front of the TV. I even got a 3" riser to put under my WiiFit board, so I have more of the step to step on and off of! I've also got some hand weights and a resistance band nearby to boost my workout. =)

I didn't stick to my nutrition plan yesterday and instead had crispy chicken strips with barbeque sauce, fries, and a soda for lunch. It was DELICIOUS and amazing and now I've got my alotment of greasy fried foods out of my system for the next couple of months. We ended up going out for Chinese food with family that night, so I tried to take it easy and just had steamed rice and the vegetable stir-fry. It was still yummy, but less fatty and greasy than my usual chicken fried rice, egg-rolls, and meat-based entree.

I'm back on the wagon tonight, and have good meal plans through Monday. I have to figure out something to have on Tuesday and Wednesday before this evening, 'cuz Johnny's taking me grocery shopping. =) Then on Thursday (a week from today!) we leave for our mini-vacation in Des Moines, Iowa.

I'm a little concerned about what I'm going to do for food while we're in Des Moines. I don't want to eat out for every meal, but I'm not sure if our hotel has a mini-fridge available in the room. I guess I could always bring a cooler with a few things (sandwich fixings, hard boiled eggs and the like) and replace the ice from the ice machine... Yeah! That sounds like a great idea! I'll bring some stuff to make lunches, and when we go out to dinner I'll use all the knowledge and tips I've garnered from reading hundreds of healthy eating articles to make smart choices (like looking for words like grilled, baked, steamed, broiled, poached, stir-fried, roasted, blackened and avoiding words like buttery, breaded, buttered, fried, pan-fried, creamed, scalloped, au gratin, a la mode!)

I can do this! WOO!

What are you excited about this week??

Elley

  

  Member Comments About This Blog Post:

MATRIAYA 2/24/2011 1:37PM

Drinking 8 glasses of water a day is hard! I find when I'm doing Leslie it's a lot easier to drink lots of water, but if I'm just sitting at work it's harder to motivate myself. I even tried the water bottle trick. I got one of those massive Smart Water liters. Those help a lot! B/c then you want to free the fish inside, and to do that you must DRINK. Have fun on your vacation love! The cooler w/ ice is a fabulous idea! Hard boiled eggs are a wonderful delicious low cal snack. You win! Report Inappropriate Comment

NINJA_SMOO 2/24/2011 1:25PM

Also - you can use the coffee maker in the room to make soup. The hot plate will heat it up nicely for you :) Report Inappropriate Comment

PEANUTSJ 2/24/2011 1:03PM

You'll do just fine in Iowa. I has faith. The cooler idea is a great one, but if they have a mini-fridge I'd stick with that - and don't let your hubby fill it with soda. You can always call the hotel to find out about the room contents, and if there's a microwave - 100 calorie bag of popcorn makes a good movie snack! Don't forget to fill up with protein, I'd bring some string cheese or hard-boiled eggs. I'm so happy that you're going to get a weekend away. You totally deserve it! Report Inappropriate Comment

PEANUTSJ 2/24/2011 1:00PM

I'm excited about having started the calorie rotation. I'm excited to see what I weigh in at next tuesday, and am avoiding the scale until then so that it's more of a surprise! Yay! Report Inappropriate Comment