Sunday, January 31, 2010

Celebrate Good Times, 2 Weeks of 30 Minutes a Day on Wii Fit



How else would I celebrate good times but with a song? Kool & the Gang, gotta love them! So now that we've had a song, let's get to the celebration.....After completing workouts on the Wii Fit for at least 30 minutes a day for 14 days, I'm noticing a difference in my physique. I mentioned my pants were getting looser--this is especially true of my workout pants which are falling off my hips! The other thing is that I'm losing some of the extra "flab" if you will off my hips. I'm not concentrating on the weight as much because it seems to fluctuate so much on this balance board. For me the real difference is shaving the weight off my body. I carry most of my weight around my hips and stomach, so I guess that's why I'm noticing it the most. Right now it seems as if my weight is shifting around a bit, but hopefully it will keep getting tighter and work it off slowly. I want to reduce my risk for diabetes and heart disease, so it looks like it has been a step in the right direction. This feels do-able, and that makes me much more likely to stick with it.

Just finished day 15 of exercising, and I'm feeling pretty good about it.

Saturday, January 30, 2010

Dear Wii Fit...


Rugosity
Originally uploaded by Evil Erin



Dear Wii Fit,

I would just to take this opportunity to thank you for pointing out that once again, my body does fit in with the so-called standards of beauty. Without you, I would never have realized that my feet are enormous! You see, every time I decide I'd like to do some bike riding on the Wii Fit Plus, you remind me constantly throughout what was supposed to be a relaxing ride that I need to "Keep my feet in the rectangular areas on the balance board." OK, first of all, it's hard to be relaxed when someone is nagging at you every few seconds. If I wanted that, I'd get my three year old to stand beside me and ask me "Why?" every two seconds. Thanks for the stress. The second thing is my feet are in the rectangular areas--you just think they are not because, yes! I have big feet! Thanks so much for pointing it out. You know what? They're wide too, so they probably hang over the sides of the rectangular areas too. (the horrors!!).

So now instead of enjoying a relaxing pedal over sandy beaches and through dark tunnels, I'm now a stressed out, fat-footed woman. Get a clue and make a bigger balance board for those of us who have big feet. Geesh! I'm sure I'm not the only one!

Respectfully,


Stressed out, fat-footed Mom.

Top 10 Things Not to do While You Have a Migraine

 




10. Eat an ice cream cone. Migraine + ice cream= ice cream headache on top of migraine--double ouch!

 


9.  Any kind of mathematical calculation or anything involving more than two numbers for that matter.  Let's face it, the higher the pain, the lower the math skills.





8. Roller coasters or anything that involves being upside down for any period of time.  When you've got a migraine, the last thing you need is extra stress on your brain.


fairground


7.  Bumper cars--for obvious reasons.


chop


6.  Cooking or making any food requiring the use of sharp knives.  Who needs a cut finger when you're already dealing with head pain? This includes mincing, dicing or anything involving a cheese grater.


Fire Juggling Color (14)



5.  It's probably not a good time to take up a new hobby that requires concentration like juggling fire or chainsaws for example.


Direction
4.  Giving directions to someone else.  The pain dulls your sense of direction and you will get them hopelessly lost.


Biggest graffiti wall in Nordic countries.



3.  Taking directions from someone else.  You will become completely confused and will become hopelessly lost.  Stick to the paths you know while you're suffering from a migraine.


Sun reflecting

2.  Sunbathing without sunglasses while sitting beside a reflecting pool.  The light and glare will make your eyes hurt and make your head hurt more.

and the number 1 thing not to do when you have a migraine?  

(drum roll)

Travel Swag Bag Contents SXSWi
1.  Book flights for other people.  Let's just say my real life job is as a travel agent and trying to find flights for dates/times/places people want to go while your head is throbbing is not an easy thing to do.  Thankfully, I don't think I sent anyone to the wrong cities today. 


And there we have it, folks.  What did I miss?  Feel free to add to the list!

Wednesday, January 27, 2010

Eleven Days, New Record! Wii Fit Plus


11
Originally uploaded by the bbp


I can hardly believe that I have actually completed 11 days of Wii Fit for 30 minutes each day. I like looking on my calendar with all the stamps on it. It gives me a real sense of accomplishment. Today I actually completed 34 minutes of workout because I did two of the routines under form, one for hips and one for figure, 15 minutes there and then 19 minutes on the Island View of cycling. Of course, if I had been able to find that last flag, I wouldn't have gone over time on my workout. Oh well, extra workout time is never a bad thing.

I've been looking around to see if there is any way to get rid of the instructions on exercises I already know how to complete. If you have any suggestions on how to skip over them, please let me know! I'm just glad that my trainer guy isn't as annoying in the Plus version as he was in the regular one, but he still talks way too much!

Monday, January 25, 2010

Wii Fit Day 9 30 Minutes, All I Want to Do is Ride My Bicycle!



Aren't you lucky? A musical post today. I tend to get songs in my head throughout the day and this song is stuck there now. Mostly because I've been doing the harder levels of the cycling on the Wii Fit Plus. Yesterday I got really frustrated trying to find all the blooming flags because I lost all sense of bearings on the Island. I was doing the advanced level with 22 flags then. Tonight I did the Island View Level and had 27 flags, but I found them all fairly easily (perhaps because no one was here telling me which way to go as there was last night). I racked up 18 minutes bike riding tonight. Wowsers!

I've been keeping up my 30 minute workouts every day for 9 days. I think that might be some kind of record for me. My weight has been all over the place according to the balance board, but I have a success story anyway. I put on a pair of pants I wasn't able to wear comfortably a few weeks ago, and they fit! Woohoo! So no matter what the weight is showing, I have lost some of my bulge which makes me happy.

Sunday, January 24, 2010

1 Week Done! 30 Minutes a Day on My Wii Fit!


[The Seven Sisters, Nordland, Norway] (LOC)
Originally uploaded by The Library of Congress



I thought a picture of the Seven Sisters was a great one to represent seven days completed yesterday. 30 minutes a day for 7 days on my Wii Fit. Not bad, huh? Along with trying to eat better, this is part of my plan for getting healthier. I'm not completely sure if it is working yet as the balance board seems to show my weight being down for two days and then up on the third. I've decided to try to focus less on the weight and more on being healthy, but it still frustrates me to no end!

I'm feeling OK. Not spectacular or anything, but perhaps a bit better than I had been. What I really like is that those 30 minutes a day are mine. I'm not working or writing or taking care of the kids, or doing laundry. Those are 30 minutes of me time. It's become more fun too, and I think that really is the key to exercise for me. If it's not fun, I won't be motivated to do it.

So now we start on week 2 and keep on going. Taking small steps every day towards a healthier life.

Friday, January 22, 2010

Wii Yoga too.


Yoga in Malaysia
Originally uploaded by lululemon athletica


Tonight, since my body was hurting either from how I slept or doing the same exercises over so much, I decided to switch it up and do some of the yoga exercises. Yoga's not really my thing, but then I do it, and I realize it's not so bad. I don't like the one legged poses because I am not very good at them, but I'll keep trying them and hope that I can get the hang of them. I only fell off the board completely once, and it was doing the knee bend pose. I am OK when you pull your knee in, but when I release my knee, I go off balance. Thankfully I landed on my feet and no one was awake to take my picture.

I don't get how people who do yoga feel all centered and things, but maybe if I was doing yoga on a beach somewhere warm, I'd feel centered too. Who knows?


And that darn balance board showed me as losing 0.5 kg again. So now according to it, I'm down 0.7 kg, same as I was 2 days ago. If I keep losing and gaining the same 0.7 kgs, I'm going to do something crazy like throw the balance board out the door--but first I'll wait for a big snowstorm and then pitch it outside. In the meantime, I'll keep it and try tomorrow to see what my weight difference is then. Who knows, maybe I have actually lost the weight?

6 days of 30 minutes on the Wii Fit and counting!

Day 5, Wii Fitting my way to Healthy


An indispensable commodity of which the typical New Yorker gets too little (LOC)
Originally uploaded by The Library of Congress


Last night was one of the first nights I have fallen asleep without staying up half the night. I had a fairly good sleep except that our 7 year old came in our room several times through the night telling us that she hadn't slept all night. What she didn't realize is that she was sleeping, then getting up to tell us she wasn't, going back to bed and sleeping...well, you get the point. Despite waking several times, I thought I had a restful sleep. Well, I guess I didn't, because I was exhausted all day. I even went to the extreme of having a coffee this afternoon in the hopes of waking myself up. Since I don't like coffee and it was really strong, it woke my tastebuds up at the very least. I only managed to drink half of it, and that was with the inclusion of 3 packets of sugar.

So by the time I got home from work tonight, I was not looking forward to getting on that Wii Fit board, but I did it. I'm proud of myself because it would have been so easy to slack tonight and skip it. I got my 30 minutes in and that darn machine told me I lost 0.2 kg since yesterday. I'll believe it when my weight actually shows improvement for more than 3 days in a row.

I found something new on the Wii Fit Plus. From the main menu, where you see the board in the background, running on the treadmill, if you click on the board, it gives you two new things you can do. The first is the ultimate balance test--very hard! And the second was weight judgement or something like that. That was funny--you have to put things on the balance board that weigh the amount shown on the screen. I would have done better if I realized you had to hit A after putting things on the scale to weigh them. Oh well, still fun, if not very productive.

Wednesday, January 20, 2010

My Wii Fit is Evil, I tell you!! Evil!!


funny-pictures-evil-plan-almost-complete
Originally uploaded by zebedee.zebedee



I'm pretty sure my Wii Fit is out to get me. It lulled me into a sense of accomplishment--"you've lost 0.7 kg!" and just as I'm feeling good about that, guess what? I get on that damn board today and the bloomin' thing tells me I've gained 0.7kg. Gained! Then it has the audacity to ask me the reasons for my weight gain. I don't know, you tell me, you evil piece of technology. It's like adding salt to an open wound...not only did you gain weight, now we want you to think about it and tell us why. Hello! It was 0.7 kg, nothing major for weight loss or gain, so why the big question? And why for the love of all that is good when the change happens over 24 hours?

The real kick in the teeth is that I've been making a real effort to eat more healthy, avoiding the snacks and stuff and then whammo! That's OK, I'm pretty sure I'll get on tomorrow and the weight will be something else entirely and my Wii Fit Age will probably double or triple as well, just to mess with my head some more.

On the plus side, I did the Tummy and Leaner Mii workouts tonight. I really felt the Tummy one--hopefully that means I'll be able to see a difference if I keep it up.

My 7-year old is doing much better at some of the Wii stuff than the rest of us. She's got the advanced or expert in the cycling. I'm not sure how she does it, because I've watched her ride and it is painful to watch her almost fall off the bridges and things. She's a crazy driver. I guess I should be glad she hasn't taken to her bike in real life--I'm sure she's going to be a kid who will ride into parked cars (not unlike her father was). She has also found the trick of getting a dog to follow her on the course. While the dog is following, if you near a flag, push A and the dog runs ahead and tags the flag for you. That's probably how she's able to score so well even though she can't steer to save her life.

30 minutes down today, that's 4 days and counting. 3 more days to make the week.....

Wii Fit, Day 3, 30 Minutes


Girl Photographing a Dog
Originally uploaded by National Media Museum



Got another 30 minutes under my belt today. My big accomplishment was finishing the skateboard park completely. Too bad I don't dare try any of the stunts in real life. I like my limbs intact too much to try it. I did a couple of the set routines today, Leaner Mii is probably my favourite, but I found it really hard on the cycling today. My poor calves were crying. Maybe I should alternate the days instead of doing that one every day. I also did one under youth, I think it was memory or something (which means it's pretty bad that I can't remember what it was called).

I find the Wii Fit Age is totally useless. yesterday it aged me 10 years to 46 and today, I got 28. I know I haven't changed that much in 2 days to make that big of a change. Oh well, the good news is I feel pretty good. Depression is in check, and I feel happy. Now if I can just start sleeping better at night, I'm sure I'll be feeling even better. And weight was down 0.1 kg today for a total of 0.7 kg lost so far. We'll see how that goes.

Monday, January 18, 2010

Wii Fit Kung Fu Fighting!


Kung Fu Panda (功夫熊貓) - PO 寶
Originally uploaded by kudumomo



Well, I did it again! Two nights in a row doing 30 minutes on the Wii Fit. I'm having fun with the Kung Fu. I found out that if you actually get the hit right in one spot, you shake the walls and the swords that are hanging. Pretty cool! I even opened up the advanced level on Kung Fu. I was OK at the beginner level--one step at a time, nothing too complicated. On the advanced level, they do three or four moves and the first pair of miis aren't finished before the second one starts. I am not co-ordinated at all, so it was pretty funny. Good thing everyone else is in bed.

I also opened up expert level on snow ball fighting, but apparently when they throw snow balls the size of snowmen's heads, I don't do very well. In expert, it's one hit and you are out. I got in 8 hits as my highest score there.

And another new favourite is the marching. Again, beginner is easy, Advanced is crazy!

I felt yesterday's workout in my arms a bit today, so that made me feel like I'd accomplished something. And--big news....I dropped 0.6 kg since yesterday. I have to go in and figure out how to change the weight to pounds. I can think distance in metric, but weight is one of those things I have to do Imperially. Anyway, that's today in a nutshell.


And just because the song is stuck in my head, enjoy the video below...

Sunday, January 17, 2010

Wii Be Gettin' Fitter! Day 1


P5240324
Originally uploaded by Tscherno



See, everyone loves the Wii Fit. OK, well, that's not my cat (I don't actually have one, but that's OK), but I thought it was a cute picture anyway.

So, earlier I said I was going to get serious about losing weight. I tried to eat better today, had a salad and everything. Then we went to my parents for dinner and ordered in pizza and there was mint chocolate chip ice cream and cookies for dessert. In my defense, chocolate is my weakness, I had no choice! Ywah, I know, I did have a choice. Oh well. Hopefully tomorrow I make some better decisions.

On the plus side, Hubs and I both did time on the Wii Fit tonight. I let him set a smaller goal of 15 minutes, because he hasn't been doing this much and I want him to start getting in shape for his health. He needs to be exercising. His cardiologist has never in his professional career seen someone whose good cholesterol was so low (and that's not a good thing).

Anyway, I decided tonight to get serious, so I tried some of the Wii Fit Plus Routines. I thought they were going to be boring workouts like doing the strength training exercises that I loathe. But guess what? They were fun! The Leaner Mii workout under the Health menu was great! I did Hula Hoop, Island Cycling and Skateboard Arena. All three are things I would normally do, but now they are linked up as a routine. I also tried the Warm-Up and Relax routines under the lifestyle menu. Warm-up was OK, but Relax wasn't that relaxing. When I was done, I was pretty pumped up.

After the three routines, I did some other games just to make my time up to 30 minutes. And success!

I forgot to mention the best part--after 7 days off, I didn't lose any weight, but I didn't gain any weight either. That in itself feels like a major win. Now to just start getting healthier by dropping the weight.

This is My Wake Up Call


Wake up call?
Originally uploaded by Banalities



Last night, my seven year old looked at me and quietly said, "Mama, you look like you should lose weight". There was nothing malicious in the way she said it, just a statement of fact. And for once, I didn't get defensive and feel bad. She is right. I need to lose weight. Especially since there is diabetes in my family, both Type I and Type II. I'm more likely to develop Type II, especially because of my weight, especially since I carry it around my middle.

The ironic thing is that I first got my depression treated because of my little girl. I wanted her to have a mother who would be there. So, for this little girl, and for myself, I'm going to start taking my weight more seriously.

So, what does that mean? First off, I'm going to get up off my butt and actually use the Wii Fit more instead of just thinking about it. I've just issued a challenge to my husband that we're each going to use the Wii Fit everyday. He needs to take care of his heart, so if we can motivate each other, it should be fun (I hope!). I'm also going to have to change my eating habits. I've already bought more fruits and veggies this week and we're going to have to eat them.

So here goes something--and hopefully it's the weight!

Tuesday, January 12, 2010

Special Kid, Special Parent

I've finally started my own website and gotten rid of today.com. I'm really excited about my new site and would love if you visit me there. Its called Special Kid, Special Parent and it is about parenting a child with special needs. It will be a very personal blog, describing the journey my husband and I have been taking with our now 3 year old daughter in finding ways to help her and teach her. She's come so far in the last year and I can't tell you how proud I am of her, but if you check out my blog there, you can read some of it!

Monday, January 11, 2010

Catching up


Three girls making a "sandman" at the beach
Originally uploaded by State Library and Archives of Florida



With the cold weather here, I went searching for a picture that showed somewhere warm so I could pretend that I was there too. I liked this one since it shows a "sandman" instead of a snowman. I wish it was warm enough to make a snowman, but the snow we have right now is not the right kind for making snowmen. Oh well.

I'm still working on decluttering the house. It's taking longer than I would have liked, but as Flylady says, it didn't get this way in one day. My biggest trick is keeping a box to put the little one's outgrown clothes in as soon as they come out of the wash. I've also got one in the little one's closet for the clothes that are too small for the big one but too big for the little one. When the box with the little one's old clothes gets full, it gets donated.

I'm also trying to keep our recycling clutter under control, so I got some clear recycling bags to put it in. It keeps it from spreading across the house until pick up day.

The kids are starting to help out more around the house. They are both now responsible for putting their laundry away in their drawers and they collect up their dirty laundry as well. They like to help with filling and emptying the dishwasher too. I'm trying to get them into the habit of putting things away when they are finished with them, but that is an ongoing struggle.

And last but not least, I'm trying to use my Wii Fit more often. I'm enjoying the Wii Fit Plus games. I haven't tried any of the other things on it--the games are just too much fun! And if a workout isn't fun, I won't do it because then it feels like punishment instead.

Now that I think about it, that's probably how the kids feel about cleaning up too. I'll have to make sure to keep cleaning up fun for them.

Monday, January 4, 2010

Wii Fit Plus Segway--Fun!


Segways
Originally uploaded by wfyurasko


Well, it took a couple tries, but I got the hang of the Segway. The first time through, I missed the instructions about trying to pop the beach balls, so I rode around in circles trying to take the ramps. The second time, I actually saw the instructions and I destroyed 9 out of 10 of them. The tenth one was being pulled around by one of the gophers and I missed it, but I almost got it! I felt the burn in my calves though. Ouch! It was fun, but hard.

Got my 15 minutes in today. I'm up to Enhanced on the number bumping thing. I've got to add up to 20 now. Almost got it the first time through, missed the last one, oh well. There's always tomorrow!

Sunday, January 3, 2010

Getting a Little Fitter and a Little More Organized at the Same Time!


The Coles sisters on a bicycle trip from Montreal to Ottawa, QC-ON, 1916 1916, 20th century
Originally uploaded by Musée McCord Museum


I am nothing if not a multitasker. I'm proud to say that I did some exercise on the Wii Fit tonight. I wasn't going to, but I had to put a load of laundry on so I'd have clean pants for work tomorrow. And since I'm working during the day tomorrow, I wanted to stay up long enough to put them in the dryer. As luck would have it, there was not a load waiting to go in the dryer, and I knew it would only take about 15 minutes to wash the clothes, so I figured I'd spend that time on the Fit. Good choice, huh? Trust me, I had some reading I'd rather have been doing, but I did it.

I had a great time doing the cycling today. I always used to love riding my bike in the country "up north" when I was a kid. There was such freedom in getting to the top of a hill, pedalling like mad and coasting to the bottom. I felt unstoppable! Now on the Wii Fit Plus, I'm not unstoppable. In fact, I discovered that you can, in fact, ride your bike right off the side of the cliff--now that is called research, people! (OK, so it's really called oversteering, but I won't tell if you don't!).

I'm thinking it would be a good idea to set aside some money and get a bike for myself this summer. If I get a trailer, the little one can ride with me and the big kid can ride her own bike (although we're still working on getting her to do that without training wheels).

So, there you go, Flylady is right. You can do just about anything for 15 minutes.