I generally dont drink “energy drinks” other than 5 hour energy drinks before long runs. I just dont need that caffiene and sugar. I get jittery very easily but my husband loves those types of drinks. He purchased a Rockstar Recovery Lemonade during our last road trip and I had a few sips. It was surprisingly good. It was a light, non carbonated not overly sweet lemonade. The entire can has only 20 calories! But I still wont buy it for myself, all of the ‘add-ins’ like 160mg of caffiene remove the appeal for me but hey its an energy drink, its not marketed for people like me. Its too bad they include all that junk, it was tastey drink that probably would have replaced my diet coke on more than one occasion.
My husband saw an ad in the newspaper for a Bowflex XTL Power Pro and mentioned it to me. I said Id love to get one but the cost was entirely too high. For several weeks I had been using a full paint can (about 10lbs) to work my upper body until my youngest son grabbed it one afternoon and threw it against his bedroom door (which his older brother had barracaded) the dark blue paint exploded all over the hallway carpet. That was the end of my paint can weights. My husband surprised me by calling the number and we went down to look at it. It included the lat tower and the leg extension attachement, instruction manual and all the little attachement extras (pull down bar etc). We ended up purchasing it and bringing it home that day. We paid $550, new they are easily over $1500. A gym membership here costs around $50 a month per person so in a year it will pay for itself-if I use it several times a week.
When I scaled back my running I dug out my old work out videos. One I used to do a lot is The New Method Pilates Precision Toning and Sculpting so I figured Id give it another shot. The title is wordy and it doesnt stop there. Jennifer Kries is in incredible shape but she talks and talks and talks. If she could scale that back about 50% it would be a much more enjoyable video or if they had a music only version that would be great. If you are looking for a really good burning work out this probably isnt for you if you have any fitness level at all. I need a good bang for my work out buck and spending an hour and not breaking a sweat isnt worth it for me. But if you like a light work out that will increase your flexibility this is a great video for that. If you want to build strength and burn fat check out The Biggest Losers yoga DVD. That is much better geared to melting the fat off.
It is 3 days shy of a year since I last updated this blog. I have had a pretty decent year regarding weightloss, until the past month or so. I have crept into the 150’s again and I am really struggling. I have begun waking up before my children in order to wake up. The problem is I have early risers. I try to be working out by 5am and children often start waking up before 6. My knees have been bothering me a lot lately as well so my running has been non-exsistant. I have been rotating through a few work out DVD’s, The New Method Pilates and The Biggest Loser Yoga DVD. I have a recumbent bike but Ive been laying low with that since my knees started really bothering me.
Almost 3 months ago I weighed 149lbs, by now I should be close to my goal of 143lbs but unfortunatly I am stuck right aroun 149lbs. Im not claiming a ‘plateau’ at all. On January 13th I underwent surgery that has made me unable to exercise until this week. Prior to my surgery I was down to 147.4lbs, so I wasnt far off my loss curve even with the holiday’s! 2lbs in 6 weeks isnt ‘amazing’ but it is a loss. During my five weeks off of exercise I definatly felt my depression coming back, I use running to curb my depressive tendancies and keep me sane. During this time I did gain some weight, ’some’ ha ha! I was up to 152, but today I am back to 149, so I am back to eating right and walking. Just walking for now, Im not well enough to run yet but I have a new pair of my favorite running shoes waiting for me for my first attempt at a run. I have a couple pair of Brooks Radius 07’s tucked away since they are discontinued, they are my absolute favorite shoe ever and I am looking forward to the cushiony goodness when I am up to running again!