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Jillian Michaels - 30 Day Shred

Tone without bulk. Anyone can do the workout, although it may take time to get to the point where you can make it all the way through without a break. It is tough, but doable. Much cheaper than a gym membership. Only requires arm weights and, if you prefer, a mat. Plus, it is only 30 minutes.



Gazelle Edge

Easy on the knees. Full body motion. Easy to add tension with arm and leg weights. Cheaper than most exercise equipment or a gym membership.

My Huge Announcement

I announced to the Facebook and Twitter world this morning that today I have lost 50 lbs in less than a year! Obviously this is a huge milestone for me. It probably took me around two to three years to gain it, so I knew it needed to come off slowly and methodically. Here are some answers to things that people ask (or want to ask) when they see how much weight I have lost:

(1) I have not dieted. I eat the same things I ate before I started trying to lose weight. I try to leave a bite when I am eating. I now make sure that the biggest meal of my day is at lunch. I do not eat after 6 p.m. except on Fridays and sometimes Saturdays. Those are the only changes I have made to my eating habits. The cutting out eating after 6 p.m. made the pounds melt off. Basically, I learned my metabolism.

(2) I have exercised - pretty hard too. Jillian Michael's 30 Day Shred is well worth the $9-15 (and some money for hand weights). It takes 30 minutes from start to finish, approximately 20 minutes is feeling like you are going to die workout, but since each exercise lasts a minute at the longest (two minutes if you count the repeat), it is completely doable. The 30 Day Shred jumpstarted my weight loss and it is now going to tone my arms so that I have bridesmaid's dress ready arms for my brother's wedding in May. Those pictures are going to last for years - no old lady arms for me! I also workout on the Gazelle when I am not doing the 30 Day Shred. I can now do three miles in about 36 minutes, which is basically running for 36 minutes with the pace. Easy on the knees, cheap equipment, privacy of my own home. I found workouts that work for me.

(3) I have to exercise 7 days a week. No breaks for me. That does not mean that I do not take a break periodically. I just figured out that I do better not taking a day off. I may workout less one day than the others. I even did not workout during my Mardi Gras trip, although I did walk a whole lot and stand a whole lot (standing burns more calories than sitting, right?) and carry a ton of beads. Maybe eventually my body will allow me to work out only three to four days a week, but I am not there yet.

(4) I have been very careful not to lose too much weight too fast. While doing the Shred video, I would allow myself to lose 5-7 lbs in a week early on. However, I prefer to average only 1-2 lbs, and I did not get upset in the weeks I had no weight loss, in part because I did not have weight gain either. I was sick in December and lost 5 lbs without doing anything other than being sick in a week, so I made sure and packed two of the pounds back on the next week before resuming my weight loss so that I was not losing weight too fast. Weight lost fast usually comes back faster, and I do not want it to come back!

(5) I drink lots of water. I realized I was wasting money at most fast food places by ordering drinks. Since I usually take my lunch back to the office anyway, I started getting my food without the drink and just drinking water. I think I gave up many empty calories by making that financial decision. I still enjoy a good sweet tea periodically, but I pretty much stick to water. Plus, if I drink enough water in the day, I am not as hungry as I am on days when I do not drink enough water. I know I sound like one of those fitness guru columnists on this one, but I have to be honest that I think it helps more than most people want to believe.

(6) 50 lbs is approximately three jean sizes, three or four dress sizes (depending on the maker), two belt sizes, and I do not know how many shirt sizes because I have not bought a shirt that fits in months. No wait - I bought one from Mardi Gras and it was two sizes smaller. I do not know about button up shirts though. The only things in my closet that fit right now are my t-shirts from college (and the new Saints Super Bowl t-shirt I just bought), my Levis I bought two weeks ago and my Mardi Gras shirt. Even my winter coat is too big. Even the suits I bought at the beginning of January are too big. When I can afford to buy clothes that fit, I am sure I will look even skinnier! In fact, the only thing annoying about weight loss is the clothing situation.

So there you go - there are the secrets to my weight loss and the clothing issue that no one is ever brave enough to ask, but everyone wants to know. All future weight loss is about toning and losing that last ten pounds that I can now physically see in my stomach region. The fact that I can physically see exactly where I need to lose the last few pounds is a pretty big deal to me!

Snow and Social Media

There is no longer a need for a weatherman. I knew it would snow in Texarkana just from reading Facebook statuses. I knew how much by receiving statuses from my Facebook friends in Dallas and Quinlan. I knew it started in Texarkana not by seeing the first flake fall, but by reading a tweet. I knew it was sticking when someone started talking about their snowball fight on Twitter. Who needs a window in the office when I can depend on others to keep me informed about the weather?!


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Turning in my girl card?

I have a confession to make. I hated Twilight. I do not get what makes the story so appealing to women. Or teenage girls for that matter.

First of all the movie tried to be too artsy. The use of color and lighting was over the top and added to the ridiculousness of the movie to me.

Second the heroine was dull. Really dull. There was no personality at all. She was emotionless. She did not have an interesting part at any point in the movie. Even worse, she was the narrator.

Third the "hero" and object of Bella's emotionless affection was way too effeminate. He was overly emotional. He expressed his feelings with words too much to be a realistic guy. I don't want a guy who talks about his feelings more than me ... or that has this overwhelming desire to kill me by sucking my blood. Plus I thought the actor is unattractive, and I find it disturbing that grown women are talking about how hot this guy who is forever 17 (and therefore forever a minor) is. My guess is that it is even worse for the new film since the actor that plays Jacob really was 17 when he played the part, and grown women are fantasizing over him too. Too weird for me! I don't get why women think that Edward is ideal.

I was afraid to watch the movie because I felt I would get sucked in like I did with Harry Potter. Fortunately this movie was not well written enough to entice me to read the books like Harry Potter was. Twilight ranks right there with The Notebook for me. I feel that both movies prove that women are too easily entertained. Plus both have too much teen porn - visually in The Notebook and emotionally (through Edward's unmasculine expressions of love) in Twilight. Since women almost universally choose those two movies as some of the best chick flicks of all time, I guess I need to turn in my woman card. However I still like a good Jane Austin book so maybe I can hold onto the woman card a little longer ... so long as I remember that Mr. Darcy doesn't exist!

I doubt that I could bring myself to watch New Moon. I wish I had the time back that I spent watching Twilight.


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