The Start of a New Year!

Jan 2012

Here we are and it's Jan 6 2012! Wow, 2011 sure went by fast.  The new year is starting off right for me.  Even though I put on 8 lbs over the Christmas holidays, I managed to loose the last of it today and I'm now back down to 210 again.  :o)  On the down side, I didn't hit my goal of 200 by the end of 2011 and didn't quite make my revised goal of getting to 205. :o(

Still I have lots of positives still to draw from my progress so far.  I have lost 40 lbs since June which is a great accomplishment in itself.  I can also take consolation in the fact that I haven't given up yet.  I'm still motivated to hit my goal weight of 185.  Just the fact that I have been able to drop all the holiday weight I put on is very encouraging to me.  Normally I loose on average 2-3 lbs a week, but in just 6 days I dropped 8lbs.  This tells me that it was mostly water weight that I had put on, but still... I'm pleased it's gone.

Some days it can be easy to feel like you've been set back when you don't loose any weight.  Or worse, there are days when the scale tells you that you've put on more weight despite your best efforts to loose it.  So sometimes it is a constant struggle to stay motivated.  But it goes both ways too, and I have days where I feel ecstatic that I've dropped a pound or two unexpectedly.

It's on those days I really have to enjoy the moment and remember the feeling of what it's like to move towards my goal.  I have to breathe in the success and imprint it on my psyche.  I must push myself to want that feeling more often so that I can stay motivated to keep on track.  So I look in the mirror, and instead of looking at the work I still have to do, I see the progress I've made.  I notice the small details of what improvement looks like.  Oh sure I notice the pants feeling looser and the belt moving up a notch, but I also look for other visual clues too.  I notice more definition in my abs, or my arms or my shoulders.  I even notice the features of my face standing out more too.  My cheekbones are gradually becoming more defined and my face is starting to look thinner.  I even can see my adams apple sticking out more too.  My neck is more slender and doesn't look as thick as it once did.  These small things are what drives me to keep going.


Yes it might seem vain to look at yourself in the mirror and study these details but it isn't done for self admiration, but more so for the pride in coming so far and knowing that I don't have much further to go.  I also have noticed the physical fitness levels have been getting better too.  I can go longer on the elliptical trainer and at a much higher resistance without increasing my heart rate.  I'm still hitting between 150-160 bpm, which is still below my max of 170 bpm.  I can curl more weight and I can do more pull ups.  I have also noticed that I can take the stairs near the c-train station without loosing my breath as quickly or for as long.  My legs are stronger and my recovery rates are improving too.  These are all great benefits that I'm enjoying along my journey!

A good quality Elliptical Trainer

Now that I'm really starting to notice the physical fitness improvements, I'm really looking forward to doing more activity.  I keep bugging a friend of mine to go snowshoeing with me and sadly I've been watching the winter disappear without getting out to the mountains.  So it looks like I will have to reach out to other people and groups if I want to enjoy this activity.  I think I might have to call up the Calgary outdoor club and get myself on the invite list to one of their next outings.  I'm not totally discouraged though, I have faith that my friend will eventually go out to the mountains with me a couple of times this year.  I'm sure as he gets more focused on his own weight loss goals, then things like snowshoeing will allow him to achieve them faster too.


Yet snowshoeing isn't the only other winter activity I hope to tap into.  Back in December I signed up for swimming lessons with another friend of mine.  He too has wanted to take lessons for a while.  I know what you're thinking... you're 40+ and you don't know how to swim?  Yes... it's true.  It's on my bucket list of things to do and I'm finally getting around to doing it.  So for the next 10 weeks I'll be swimming on Monday nights at the Y.  I'm really looking forward to being more comfortable in the water and if I happen to loose another 1/2 pound a week while doing it, then all the better! :o)

A chin up bar for my door frame

You know the best part of my weight loss journey so far?  It's that I haven't spent any money on a gym membership.  Nope.  I don't have to get up early, drive to a gym, spend an hour there, shower, drive back and then go to work.  I don't have to fight for time on equipment or worry about whether the person before me wiped down the piece I'm about to use or even feel guilty about not going on any particular day and loose the benefit of the money I'd be paying for the membership.  Nope.  None of that. :o)  I put in 20 mins on my elliptical trainer, and another 20 mins into using my weights for a grand total of 40 mins every morning before going to work.  I know hey?  When I did have a gym membership, I was spending easily an hour and half to two hours of my day working out and making the trek back and forth from the gym.  I'd have to say I'm getting the results I'm looking for without that extra hassle.

To be honest, most weeks I only work out 4 days a week.  Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday with Wednesday off in the middle.  I deliberately make sure I don't work out on the weekends other than the activities I happen to partake in.  I do this so I don't feel guilty about missing a workout.  If I go away for the weekend and can't do any exercise, then my routine is not impacted at all.  If I decide to sleep in, or stay over at the girlfriends place (I'm thinking future state here....) and I don't do a workout on Saturday or Sunday, then I'm still good.  I do my workouts during the week and before work in the morning.  I find that if I get up early enough (which means going to bed earlier, sadly...) and do my workout before going to work, then the rest of the day is mine to do with as I please.  I don't have to suffer through a long work day and still have to worry about fitting in a workout once I get home.  My evenings become flexible this way.  If the boys decide they want to go out after work to shoot some pool, watch the game or go to a movie, then I'm in and doing it guilt free too.  I still have to get up early but at least I will have already done my workout for the day! :o)

$100 worth of weights

The home made Kettle Bell

You can set yourself up the same way at home if you like.  Of course, you can workout at anytime you like for as long or as frequently as you like too.  It's not as hard to get going as you think it is.  I actually spent quite a bit of money on my elliptical trainer, but you can pick them up on kijiji for about $150 bucks.  I also didn't spend more than $100 dollars on my weights which includes a home made kettle bell, and two dumbbells.  I can swap the weight out on any of these pieces. Once upon I time I had picked up a "Pro Stretcher" for my calves for about $20 bucks and I also bought a chin up bar for my door frame (not sure how much that was).  If you get the chin up bar, make sure to reinforce the door frame you plan to use.  I had to tack in a bunch of extra finishing nails on the one I have to keep the trim from coming off.

In reality, all you really need to start with is the kettle bell.  It works out your legs, back, arms and shoulders.  If you do the Russian Kettle Bell Swing properly, you will also feel your abdominal's tighten up too.  I use the elliptical trainer as a way to get in some low impact cardio, but you could run if you like being outside or do stairs in your own home.  The Russian swing will also get your heart rate up in a hurry too and will give you a great cardio workout in addition to building and strengthening your muscles.  

I complemented the kettle bell with two dumbbells.  This allows me to focus more on my arms, shoulders and triceps.  I do push ups for my chest and I use the pull up bar to add some definition to my back.  Voila - that's it!  Oh and the calf stretcher can be replaced by doing stretches up against a wall somewhere.  I bought it because of the terrible shin splints I get, and the calf stretcher does a great job of loosening up the lower part of my legs.

A "Pro Stretch" calf muscle stretcher

It's such a simple setup but it has been working well for me. As I add more muscle, I will be able to loose the weight a little bit easier.  I'm not looking to bulk up and become the Hulk so really all I'm looking for is a little more definition in my physique.  With my heart condition I really don't want to replace fat with a bunch of muscle anyway.  My heart would have to work just as hard to pump blood through added muscle as it would through blubbery fat.  Some muscle is good for me, but not too much.  So with that goal in mind, my "home gym" does exactly what I need it to do.

If it works for me, it might work for you too!