Exercise - what do you do?
Posted: Mon May 21, 2012 2:22 pm
Hi all, Kladyelf here.
A little backstory for anyone not in the know... (which is everyone, but anyway)
For a while now I've known that my lifestyle is not the healthiest in the world, I have been overweight and chocolate tends to figure as a food group waaay too much, additionally there are items in my wardrobe that I want to wear but fall into the category of "must lose some weight before i even consider putting that on."
The clincher (or to be more accurately a bunch of clinchers) came last year when the following happened:
1) I read "The Amazing Adventures of Dietgirl" a blog that became a book (i have the book) of a gal who went from 25 stone 1 pound (159.5kg, 351lb) to 12st 7.5lb (79.8kg, 175.5lb) - that's half her original weight people!!! She's funny and Australian and I recommend her for anyone seeking inspiration (she certainly inspired me!)
2) After a Doctors appointment for an unrelated health problem I found i weighed about 14kg over the proper weight for my height/age. My reaction was "Eep! Would weight-loss help?" (Answer: well obviously!) and a subsequent glucose test put me in the at-risk category for the big D (I'm not going to mention it here, i'm just going to huddle in a corner for a while and whimper)
3) Last October (on my birthday in fact) my Mum was diagnosed with the big D (but she's handling it well,) and I found out a family history of the disease that I didn't really know I had
So after a bunch of positive inspirations and scary "Do Something Now" moments I decided to change my lifestyle - cutting out/cutting down on desserts in general and chocolate* in particular as well as taking up regular exercise. (I was already part of a walking group, but now I knew I had to do more.)
I also managed to nab a short-term job (the Australian census) around the middle of the year, where I had to do a lot of walking - and boy do I mean a lot, most of Australia is flat but where I live, (and in particular where I had to go) was one of the hillier bits.
The net result of that exercise and self-restraint was that I lost over 10 kg! Yay me! And I kept up with the exercise, with a walking group, aqua-aerobics and spin class (or as I like to call it "oh no its spin claaaaasss!") and the kilos steadily decreased!
However, that was last year.
That was before Easter (and the post-Easter bargains dangit!)
That was before a schedule change meant my spin class was too hard to get to. *pout*
I started to put on weight again, (a nasty shock I can tells ya!) and I'm trying to make it go down and it is working (albeit slowly...) but my resolve isn't what it was last year (and i don't want to think about this year's glucose test, yikes) and I still get cravings for snickers bars at weird times
But the knock on effect is that I've decided to dust off the saddle and try again. And this has made me curious .... what do all the scrawlers here do to be healthy? what is their favorite form of exercise/activity/oh no I've got [insert painful thing here] class? And how does living in countries where it snows or whatever affect what you do? Do you have a gym where you live? If so what is your favorite instrument of torture there? Is there a food you Dare Not Eat for fear of a feeding frenzy? (my weakness: Cadburys and Green and Black's milk chocolate)
(Egads another long post...) I'm curious and looking for inspiration here folks!
*except for special occasions (eg: Birthdays, Christmas, Easter) ... or at the very least be picky about the chocolate I eat (must be on special, must be fair trade)
A little backstory for anyone not in the know... (which is everyone, but anyway)
For a while now I've known that my lifestyle is not the healthiest in the world, I have been overweight and chocolate tends to figure as a food group waaay too much, additionally there are items in my wardrobe that I want to wear but fall into the category of "must lose some weight before i even consider putting that on."
The clincher (or to be more accurately a bunch of clinchers) came last year when the following happened:
1) I read "The Amazing Adventures of Dietgirl" a blog that became a book (i have the book) of a gal who went from 25 stone 1 pound (159.5kg, 351lb) to 12st 7.5lb (79.8kg, 175.5lb) - that's half her original weight people!!! She's funny and Australian and I recommend her for anyone seeking inspiration (she certainly inspired me!)
2) After a Doctors appointment for an unrelated health problem I found i weighed about 14kg over the proper weight for my height/age. My reaction was "Eep! Would weight-loss help?" (Answer: well obviously!) and a subsequent glucose test put me in the at-risk category for the big D (I'm not going to mention it here, i'm just going to huddle in a corner for a while and whimper)
3) Last October (on my birthday in fact) my Mum was diagnosed with the big D (but she's handling it well,) and I found out a family history of the disease that I didn't really know I had
So after a bunch of positive inspirations and scary "Do Something Now" moments I decided to change my lifestyle - cutting out/cutting down on desserts in general and chocolate* in particular as well as taking up regular exercise. (I was already part of a walking group, but now I knew I had to do more.)
I also managed to nab a short-term job (the Australian census) around the middle of the year, where I had to do a lot of walking - and boy do I mean a lot, most of Australia is flat but where I live, (and in particular where I had to go) was one of the hillier bits.
The net result of that exercise and self-restraint was that I lost over 10 kg! Yay me! And I kept up with the exercise, with a walking group, aqua-aerobics and spin class (or as I like to call it "oh no its spin claaaaasss!") and the kilos steadily decreased!
However, that was last year.
That was before Easter (and the post-Easter bargains dangit!)
That was before a schedule change meant my spin class was too hard to get to. *pout*
I started to put on weight again, (a nasty shock I can tells ya!) and I'm trying to make it go down and it is working (albeit slowly...) but my resolve isn't what it was last year (and i don't want to think about this year's glucose test, yikes) and I still get cravings for snickers bars at weird times
But the knock on effect is that I've decided to dust off the saddle and try again. And this has made me curious .... what do all the scrawlers here do to be healthy? what is their favorite form of exercise/activity/oh no I've got [insert painful thing here] class? And how does living in countries where it snows or whatever affect what you do? Do you have a gym where you live? If so what is your favorite instrument of torture there? Is there a food you Dare Not Eat for fear of a feeding frenzy? (my weakness: Cadburys and Green and Black's milk chocolate)
(Egads another long post...) I'm curious and looking for inspiration here folks!
*except for special occasions (eg: Birthdays, Christmas, Easter) ... or at the very least be picky about the chocolate I eat (must be on special, must be fair trade)