Weekly Goals Update

Just a quick update of my weekly goals.

Goal #1: Exercise every morning (Mon - Fri) this week.

Progress:  Well, I made it out of bed early again this morning.  As I slowly ease my way back into exercising I did another yoga video this morning.  It started out easy enough but I was sweating and out of breath by the time I got halfway through.

Goal #2: Take both kids outside every day and spent some time playing with them.

Progress:  We spent probably 45 min outside this morning.  It wasn't too cold but it was a bit windy.  We looked at our shadows and LK even played a bit of shadow tag with me.  Then I took them for a short walk in the wagon.  It turned out quite nice this afternoon so when the older girls went out to do their chores LK tagged along and they played outside for a while.

 

 

All that fresh air tuckered someone out.  She didn't quite make it through lunch (and yes she is a messy eater).

 

 

Weekly Goals

Well, this space has been a bit quiet lately.  Things have been busy and keeping up with a two year old and a one year old is always a challenge.  However, I do feel like I could be doing more or doing things better.  So I've set a couple of goals for this week and plan to post how I am doing here to keep myself accountable.

Goal #1: Exercise every morning (Mon - Fri) this week.  I have not been exercising much at all lately and this is something I would really like to add to my routine as I feel much better and have more energy when I exercise regularly.

Progress:  Well, I got up this morning but did not feel like exercising (who really feels like exercising at 6AM).  I took a couple of minutes to wake up and then popped in a yoga strength training DVD.  I felt great when I was done.

Goal #2: Take both kids outside every day and spent some time playing with them.  I must admit since the weather has turned colder we haven't been spending much time outside.  I've taken to just rushing out with LK for few minutes to feed the chickens and cats while Lil naps.  However, she loves to be outside as well and we could all stand to spend some more time outside.  This is Saskatchewan and the weather is only going to get colder so we might as well get used to it.  I am bringing  my camera along and will share some photos of our outside fun.

Progress:  Here are some pictures from today's outside time.  It was really nice when we first went out but then it started to rain.

 

 

 

 

Do you set weekly goals?  How do you keep yourself accountable? 

Have a great week!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Weigh-In Wednesday and Buying Exercise DVD's

Wednesday is here again.  I weighed myself this morning and the scale still hasn't budged.  It is stuck at 159 lbs. But don't worry I'm not giving up and I know I still have a lot of changes to make.  But first, how did I do last week?  I did pretty well on the exercise front exercising every day (except the weekend) during LK's morning nap.  This definitely is a habit I want to continue and I feel so much better when I do it.   I drank my water pretty faithfully as well.  On the pop front I did have 3 cans of coke over the week but that is definitely better than the 7+ cans I will sometimes drink.  For this week coming up I want to work on reducing my portion sizes and eating more fruits and vegetables.

Now I mentioned previously that I typically work out using exercise videos.  This work well for me as I do not live close to a gym, the weather is Sask is pretty unpredictable and most of the year not great for working out in, and the DVD's motivate me to keep going.  If you are looking to purchase exercise DVD's I recommend checking out Collage Video.  They have so many workout videos there with short clips so you can get a feel for what you are buying.  They also have user reviews and a bar graph showing how many minutes in the video are devoted to warm-up, aerobics, toning, and stretching.  In addition Collage Video has a forum so if you are interested in a particular video you can post there asking for others opinions of it.   Before you buy a workout video be sure to check if it requires any equipment.  This is important to know as you don't want to get a video home only to discover it requires equipment  you don't have (there are many videos that don't require any equipment).  Another option for those of us who are cheap (ahem, frugal) is to check the discount bins at Walmart and other stores.  I have picked up a number of videos for only a dollar or two this way.  Some of them were not so good but others I have really liked so I think I have come out ahead.  The other place I have purchased videos is Amazon.ca.  Because Collage Video is based in the States and I am in Canada by buying from Amazon.ca I can save on shipping and customs fees.

Do you do workout videos?  Where do you typically purchase them?

Weigh-In Wednesday and Book Review: Baby Boot Camp

Well I am a little late in posting this but as I do want to be accountable I thought I better get this posted.  I am afraid that I didn't do all that well with my goals last week.  We made pizza last weekend and I ate a ton of pizza and drank coke.  We had lot's leftover so the next day I continued to eat pizza and drink coke.  So I was not suprised when I steppped on the scale today to find out that I had not lost any weight.  If I want to reach my goal I am going to have to get serious about this.  I also did not do as much activity as I would have liked.  However it is a new week and I am recommitting to my goals.  I want to drink only one coke this week and focus on drinking water.  Also I want to fit in a workout every day.  I know I can lose weight faster by focusing on diet and cutting calories but as a nursing mom I don't want to cut calories too drastically .  Also I find that exercises helps me to feel better about myself which in turn leads to me making healthier choices in what I eat. So exercise will be my main focus.  I have already worked out three days this week so I hope I can keep it up.  My favourite way to exercise (as it is most convient for me) is to use exercise DVDs.  This week I have done Kathy Smith's Power Walk for Weight Loss, the Upper Body portion of Kathy Smith's Lift Weights to Lose Weight 2, and part of Leslie Sansone's Walk Slim 4 Fast Miles.

However, I wanted to talk a little about this book I have Baby Boot Camp.  If you are new mom who wants to workout at your own pace and incorporate your baby into some of your moves this is a great book.  It has excellent pictures showing every exercise.  It is broken down into chapters by your baby's age (0-3 months, 3-6 months, 6-9 months, and 9-12 months).  Each chapter has two nine minute total body strength workouts: one using your baby and your body weight, and the other using dumbells.  It also has cardio workout guidelines, tips for walking with your baby, and a chapter on stretching. I have done a number of the workouts in this book and enjoyed them.  I like the tips on using your baby so I can play with my baby while I get some activity in.This book would be a great gift for any new mom in your life.  I still like doing DVDs when I can but this book has great workout tips for when I have to workout when my baby is awake.

This post is linked to Watch My Weight Wednesday's at Angie's Healthy Living Blog.

Castle Butte

Today we went to Castle Butte.  It is basically a large, really cool hill in the Big Muddy Valley.  It is about a 45 min drive from our house.  This is Castle Butte.

It cost us money for the gas to drive there but otherwise the trip was free.  We packed up some drinks and snacks and spent the afternoon hiking, climbing the hill, and exploring the caves.  Both girls made it to the top.  My oldest one is a little more cautious and was a bit scared on the way down.  My six year old loved it though.  She climbed it twice while we were there is already asking to go back.

Here they are climbing up to explore a little cave.

It was a great way to spend a Sunday afternoon.  Here is a picture of the whole family.

Weigh-In Wednesday

Today's weight : 165.  Yeah! That is down one more pound.  I didn't do anything drastic this past week just tried to eat a little less.  I didn't do any formal workouts this past week between fighting off this cold and spending time doing yardwork.  In the summer when it is nice I like to spend a lot of time outside and I have a big yard and garden to take care of but I would still like to do 2-3 more formal workouts a week.  So I will see if I can do at least a couple of workouts this week. 

Weigh In Wednesday

We are finally having some nice weather here and I am unable to enjoy it as much as I would like because I am suffering with a cold.  I am going to hang my laundry outside today and will try to spend a little time enjoying the sunshine but first I still have my dishes to do and supper to start.

Well on to Weigh In Wednesday.  Today I weigh 166lbs. Yeah!  That is down 4 lbs from last week and down 1 lb overall.  So I did much better this week but there still is lot's of room for improvement.  I still tend to mindlessly eat so I am going to continue try to really be aware of what I am eating.

I did work out 5 of the last 7 days and will continue to try and reach that goal but admitedly I doubt I will make it this week as this cold definately has me not feeling like working out.  This week the DVD I did the most was Women's Health Train For Your Body Type.  It has a bunch of workout sections that are 10 to 15 min long and you can pick and choose which ones you want to do and customize your workout.  I found this was a good workout to ease my way back into working out but it was still challenging enough that I really felt like I had worked out.  I didn't do the cardio part much as it is high-impact and I can't really do high-impact at this point but instead did walking workouts for cardio.

Weigh-In Wednesday

Well if I didn't want to post my weight online last week, I really don't want to post it this week.  But I said I would do this so here it goes: my weight this week is 170 lbs.  That's right, I didn't lose any weight and instead gained 3 lbs.  Not exactly the result I was hoping for.  However, I am not totally surprised as I ate way too much over the weekend and most of it was junk.  But if at first you don't succeed, try, try again.  So I will try to do better this week.  I am going to try to focus on being really aware of what I am eating and why I am eating it.

Also I worked out 4 of the past 7 days.  So not too bad but not great.  This week I hope to work out at least 5 of 7 days.  I generally work out with exercise DVDs.  I don't live near a gym and working out at home is much more convenient then having to go out.  Often my son is lying on the floor watching as I move around above him.  I have acquired a bit of a collection of exercise DVDs over the years so I have some variety.  You can get DVDs on nearly every type of workout (yoga, pilates, kickboxing, weight lifting, toning, bootcamp, dance etc.) and there are many different instructors with many different styles so you are sure to be able to find one that appeals to you.  It has been cold and snowy here so having an exercise DVD to work out with is much better that trying to go out in that cold. 

Weigh-In Wednesday

I can't believe I'm going to post my weight for everyone to see.  But my sister is getting married on June 26, 2010 and I would like to lose a bit more of this baby weight before then.  So to keep myself accountable I will be weighing myself on Wednesdays and posting it.  I currently weigh 167 lbs. and I would like to be below 160 lbs by the wedding.  Long term I would like to lose more than that but I am trying to make this an achievable goal and then go from there.  I am still breastfeeding so I am not planning on doing any drastic diet but just trying to make healthier food choices and eat a little less than I normally do.   I am also going to try to work out everyday even if it is only for 10 minutes.