That little matter called Fitness

I have been so excited about our birds, and I feel as though I should blog even more about them. They are darned cute, and each day they develop a bit more personality. Lately, they have been sneezing, which of course made me go into 'uber-mom' mode and worry they were getting sick. And they are not even human children!

Putting that aside for a moment, though, I'd like to talk about that little matter called Fitness. Fitness is defined by Dictionary.com as health, or capability of the body of distributing inhaled oxygen to muscle tissue during increased physical effort. My body - she has no fitness! Seriously. I start to exercise, my heart rate goes up, up, up, and soon I'm panting and having little cramps here and there. It's frustrating. But maybe, just maybe, my fitness is getting better - that's the goal, anyway.

I have been swimming. I have been doing the couch to 5K training program. This weekend I added weights to my routine. I walk, I use the sit-down bike and the elliptical machines. At the end of this week, I will have gone to the Y 3 months in a row at my minimum 12 times/month (I may have gone more, but I at least hit my minimum). As a reward, I am buying myself brand new, shiny, 'real' running shoes from a 'real' running store. Probably even this weekend yet. Why is this important? Because I have a bad habit of wanting to do something so I go out and buy all brand new equipment to do it and then I don't. Or, I do it but not as much as I should. So, this time I said...baby steps. One thing at a time. You wish to lose weight. You wish to be in shape. You have some athletic shoes. They aren't the greatest, but start there. Start slowly, and build. Give yourself a reward if you can stick with this for 3 whole months. And I did - stick with this for 3 months. So off I go to get new shoes. (Last night after running 2.5 miles I had the shin splints very badly, so now I know it is time for new shoes)

The mass issue isn't progressing as I would like. I am very slowly going on a downward trend, and this is very good indeed. I need to keep reminding myself that all at once is a Bad Thing, and not sustainable. The pace I am on IS sustainable. But it is so golly-darned frustrating! Starting last week I imposed a new rule (one rule at a time, building, always building). I may only eat out 2 times in one week for all meals encompassed. This is HARD! I've fallen into the bad habit of eating out a lot, and wanting to eat out a lot. But it is so very hard to control intake of calories and even portion size when you eat out. And kids - I need only eat 1550 calories per day to maintain my current weight. That means eating about 1350 per day if I want to lose a pound a week. Of course, if I excersize 300 calories one day, I can eat 1650 that day and still lose a pound a week. This is NOT your 2000 calorie a day diet. This is a horse of a different color. I had been eating towards 2000/day, and subsequently gaining weight. Time for me to step back from my food and say "I've had enough" or "I don't need that." Too bad I'm so very much in love with food!

Summary:
Good things: I have consistantly gone down in mass. I have excersized at least 3 times/week (ave) for 3 months. I am noticing the ability to run 'a little longer' that I could 3 months ago.
Reward: New shoes!!!
Goals: Eat out maximum of 2 times/week for any and all meals. This means trying out new recipes at home, and I do like to cook. Begin training for Korteloppet. Karin...are we go for registration? If we do, there is no turning back! It's scary, and a good feeling! Rachel! Come home, ski it with us! Whee! (Also anyone else who wishes to try. Price goes up Oct 31st though.)