No gym membership - no problem! Rainy day exercises you can do at home!

Since it was supposed to be raining all day yesterday and today, I asked some friends on Facebook for some suggestions of exercises you can do at home.  My friends gave me great advice, and I now have plenty of exercises that can be done at home!  I also have some suggestions of my own, which have helped me in the past!  Some of the exercises require some equipment, but most of the equipment is fairly cheap, and it will pay off to have it!

YOGA - Yoga is a great way to build balance, strength, and flexibility.  You can do simple yoga moves to help you relax and relieve stress, and the stretching helps with flexibility.

WORKOUT DVD'S - These are great for individuals who do not have a gym membership or are not comfortable working out in front of others.  In addition, you can do these whenever you have time, and you can do them in the comfort of your own home!

WALKING/JOGGING IN PLACE - This is great for rainy days because you do not have to leave home.  In addition, it is a great way to do some cardio, if you do not get bored easily!

DANCE AROUND THE HOUSE - Turn on the radio, put it on your favorite music to dance to, and turn it up.  Dancing burns lots of calories and is a great cardio workout.  In addition, just dancing around the house can work several muscles at once.

CLEAN THE HOUSE - While this may not seem like fun, it will burn some calories.  So dust, vacuum, sweep, mop, clean windows, or do whatever needs to be done!  You can get some spring cleaning done on those rainy days when you cannot exercise outside!

You can also do some individual muscle exercises, such as bicep curls, tricep kickbacks, squats, leg lifts, crunches, arm swings, halos, planks, and push-ups.  Check out http://liztaylortraining.blogspot.com/ for some great tips and advice on these types of workouts, and she also has great info on many other topics, such as makeup, love, and your career! 

In addition, if you have a Wii or Xbox, I have heard that their workout games are amazing (I am thinking about purchasing the Wii for myself soon)!

Some equipment that may be necessary for some of these workouts:

DUMBBELLS - Dumbbells are great for weight training and targeting certain muscles.  Most dumbbells are cheap, and you can find the right weight for you.  If you do not have dumbbells or cannot afford them at this time, you can use water jugs (if they have handles) or canned goods.  While these may not be enough weight for you, it is still beneficial.

MAT/YOGA MAT - If you are working out on a hard surface, a mat is very beneficial.  It is useful for exercises that require you to lay on the floor, or for different yoga positions!

BODY BALL - The body ball is perfect to help with certain exercises that you may be limited with, such as push-ups, wall squats, crunches, and you can also use the body ball as if it were a bench in certain exercises, such as chest butterflies or chest presses!

KETTLEBELL - This kettlebell is amazing.  It allows you to do weight training and cardio, all in one.  The arm swings that I mentioned earlier are super cardio exercises, and they help build muscle all over.  After I get done working out with my kettlebell, all my muscles are sore.  There are several exercises you can do with the kettlebell, and they are all beneficial if you are trying to lose weight!  In addition, I only paid about $8 for this at Wal-Mart, and it came with a workout DVD and a chart of different exercises.

Other great accessories to have are a weighted jump rope (jumping rope is a great cardio routine), resistance bands (these are easy to use & you can do many leg exercises with them that you cannot do with dumbbells), and most importantly, a scale.  While the scale will not help you while you are working out, it is very beneficial to ensure that your exercises and diet are producing results!  Some individuals, especially women, think that the scale is their enemy, but it is actually your best friend, and when you start believing that, it will help you tremendously!

I would like to think Brandi, Renee, Amy, Liz, and Sarah for helping me find some new ways to exercise indoors!  If anyone else has any ideas that are not listed, let me know, and I will be glad to add them!

Food Journal, Day 1, March 28, 2011 *Lost another pound :)*

So, I wanted to post this, just so everyone can see how I am tracking my food intake on a daily basis.  I will not post these everyday, but this is my format for my spreadsheet.  It makes it super easy to calculate my totals because the spreadsheet enters the formulas for me!

As you can see, my calorie intake for yesterday was 1736.5, which is great because my calories needed to maintain my weight is in the 2300's, so that creates a deficit of over 600 calories.  This along with the walking that I am doing should help me to lose the 2 lbs a week that I want to lose, and hopefully I will lose even more than that!

Exercise Journal for 3-21 to 3-27

So, I created spreadsheets for everything to help me with my weight loss and exercise.  I have one spreadsheet for my exercise journal, one for my food journal, one for my calorie deficit, and one for all the nutritional information of the foods that I eat on a regular basis.  This will help me tremendously with my journey, and it makes it exciting for me.  I get super excited to enter my information into the spreadsheet and see how many calories I have burned, how many calories I have eaten, and what my deficit is for the day.

Well, for week 1, as you can see in the spreadsheet, I walked a total of 10.8 miles, burned around 2,180 calories, and lost 2.6 lbs.  YAY!  I am so stoked to continue my journey and to continue tracking my progress.

I have started creating my meal plans, and I have goals to eat in between 1200 and 1800 calories a day, depending on the day and how much I exercise.  In addition, I am using several different websites to help me with how many calories I need a day to maintain my weight, how many calories I burn during exercise (I do have a heart rate monitor that I also use during exercise to track my calorie burn), and the nutritional information for all foods that do not have this information on the labels.  If any of you would like to know these websites, just let me know.

Today, I have already had a great breakfast!  I enjoyed coffee, cinnamon & spice oatmeal, and a cup of strawberry halves.

This breakfast was only 228 calories, very filling, and extremely delicious.  In addition, I have cube steak in the crock pot, and I will be adding potatoes, corn, onions, and carrots to it for supper.  Most likely, I will also cook broccoli, so that I will have a very filling supper, with plenty of great veggies.

New Walking Plan & Recent Weight Loss

So, I gave up sodas for Lent, as I have posted before.  Well, I did this to become closer to the Lord, which I feel is working.  But, I also thought I would gain many health benefits by not drinking those sugar-packed sodas.  But, for the first two weeks, I gained 5 lbs.  Yes, I said 5 lbs!  How crazy is that!  Now, I believe part of it was water weight because I did increase my water consumption by almost three times what I used to drink.  But, 5 lbs, that is just ridiculous!

Now, this recent weight gain put me at my heaviest weight EVER!  On Monday, I weighed in at 198.8 lbs.  I hate to even post that, but I know by doing it, I am holding myself accountable.  When I saw this number, I almost cried.  I used to weigh in between 130 and 140 lbs.  This is where I want to be again, and very soon!  So this is my year to lose all the weight that I have gained due to medical and health problems, stress, and just plain laziness!

So, this past week I have started walking everyday.  I enjoy walking (outdoors, not on a treadmill) because it is relaxing, and I get to experience what the Lord has made and all HIS beautiful work!  I especially enjoy walking when I have someone that is willing to walk with me, but I am fine walking by myself every now and then (it gives me time to think and recuperate from everyday stress)!

Over the past four days, I have walked around 6.5 miles (I think it is more than that because of warm-ups and cool-downs)!  This is around 2 hours and 11 minutes of walking.  This is awesome for me!  In addition, I plan to continue walking at least 1 mile every Monday thru Friday!  I also hope to get some other activities in on the weekends, which can be more walking, playing with my nieces or nephews outside, football, soccer, or some other physical activity that will get my heart rate up.

So, I stepped on the scale this morning, just for the heck of it.  I have lost weight! YAY!  The scale stated that I now weigh 197.4, which is awesome because I am losing weight.  In addition, I had on clothes that I normally would not weigh myself in, so I know that this number is a little higher than what I actually weigh!  I am so excited to see the numbers on the scale getting smaller, and I plan to keep walking, so that the number on the scale continually goes down!

In addition to walking, I have went grocery shopping and picked up many healthy and delicious foods for me to start eating.  I actually bought some Greek yogurt to try, also, and I loved it (so this will become part of my normal diet)!  I will be creating a food journal and planning my meals ahead of time, so that I know exactly what calories I am consuming, and I have started an exercise journal to track how many minutes and what type of exercise I am doing each day!

I will begin to post these soon, and I will try to post them about once a week!  I also have new goals in mind because I have quite a few dates that are special to me this year, so I am going to post my new goals when I post my journal entries.  I will go on and post one main goal for me this year, and that is to lose 20 lbs by July 16.  This date is very important to me, as it is my Commencement ceremony.  I will receive my Associates Degree in Elementary Education in May, and I will be participating in the Commencement ceremony in Charlotte, NC on July 16!  I would love to be much thinner before then, so that I will feel comfortable walking in front of all the other students and parents that will be there!

So, for now I say, keep moving, eat right, and watch the number on the scale get smaller each day! :)  Have a blessed day!

Add color to your plate!

http://www.eatright.org/nnm/

The foods you eat on a daily basis should not be colorless or dark and dreary.  Turn your plate into a rainbow by adding plenty of colorful fruits and vegetables to your diet.  I just found out that March is National Nutrition Month.  The American Dietetic Association sponsors this nutritional campaign every March, and this month is “Eat Right with Color,” (ADA, 2011, para. 1).



http://www.qualitativelife.com/rawfood/2011/01/30/raw-food-delicious/colorful-vegetables-and-fruits/?lang=it

It can be very easy to add plenty of colorful fruits and vegetables to your diet, and it is very beneficial to your health.  Colorful foods are packed with minerals, nutrients, vitamins, and antioxidants that are necessary for a healthy body, mind, and lifestyle!


http://mysweetyroom.onsugar.com/Fruits-good-Skin-1636120

These fruits and vegetables can be added to your day by eating them as snacks, dessert, side dishes, or main meals.  Look for the opportunity to add an extra fruit or vegetable to your diet, and when you are shopping, always add one fruit or vegetable to your basket that you have never tried before!

RED

Apples

Bell Peppers

Guava

Potatoes

Rhubarb

Strawberries

Tomato

Watermelon

ORANGE

Apricots

Carrots

Cantaloupe

Oranges

Peaches

Pumpkin

Squash

Tangerines

YELLOW

Bananas

Corn

Honeydew Melon

Lemon

Pineapple

Squash

GREEN

Apples

Avocado

Broccoli

Kiwi

Lettuce

Peas

Spinach

BLUE / PURPLE

Blackberries

Blueberries

Cabbage

Eggplant

Grapes

Pomegranates

References

American Dietetic Association (ADA). (2011). National Nutrition Month 2011. Retrieved from http://www.eatright.org/nnm/

Freerice.com

Found this new awesome site that donates 10 grains of rice for every question you answer correctly.  They have different subjects, like Math, English, and Languages.  So, not only will you possibly be learning something, you will be helping to end world hunger.  This site works through the United Nations World Food Programme to help donate this rice to nations and individuals who are less fortunate then we are.

So, please go play some, learn some, and help end world hunger!
Again, the website is Freerice.com!

My struggles to quit smoking!

So, for Lent, I decided that I wanted to quit smoking.  Now, I can honestly say that I have been trying, but the urge and cravings are so strong sometimes.  I do not want to try to quit anymore though, I want to just do it.

I have never been the type to use programs, patches, gums, etc.  When I decided I wanted to quit, I just quit.  I would put cigarettes down, and not pick them up for weeks or months later.  But this time, it seems so hard for me & I don't know why.

Well, I think I know part of the reason why.  I am trying to do the LORD'S WILL, and that means the devil is trying to stop me.  Any Christian knows what I mean.  So, I will continue to pray, trust in the Lord, have faith, and hope that others will pray for me that I can quit sooner rather than later.

By the way, I have done great with giving up sodas for Lent.  I did not have a soda from the time I woke up
Wednesday morning until Sunday around lunch time.  So, I only had sodas on Sunday, which is allowed, but I don't think I will have any this Sunday, because they did not taste the same as usual.  In addition, I feel better not loading my diet down with sugary drinks and all that caffeine.  I do still drink coffee occasionally (which makes me think I am going to fix a pot in just a minute), but I feel so much better without all the sugar.  I now drink water, coffee, low calorie and sugar Gatorade, and zero calorie and sugar Powerade!

God bless you all & Have a great night!

A to Z: Things you may or may not know about me!

(A) Age: 24

(B) Bed Size: Full

(C) Chore You Really Dislike:  Washing silverware!  Most other dishes are fine, silverware sucks!

(D) Dogs?  Sorta - ha ha!  I help take care of him while he is here!  Ug is a pit bull/masset mix! 

(E) Essential Start Your Day:  Trying to always remember that this is another day the Lord has given me to serve and worship Him on!

(F) Favorite Color:  Purple

(G) Gold or Silver? White Gold or Silver

(H) Height: 5'5.5"

(I) Instruments You Play:  I used to play the clarinet, and I know some about the piano and guitar.

(J) Job Title:  Student

(K) Kids:  My brothers six kids, 3 girls, three boys!  I don't have any of my own, yet!

(L) Live: very small town in NC

(M) Mom's Name:  Linda

(N) Nicknames:  KYow, KY, or KayKay

(O) Overnight Hospital Stays?  When Stormi was born!

(P) Pet Peeve:  being lied to

(Q) Quote from a Movie:  don't know any off the top of my head

(R) Right or Left Handed?  Right.

(S) Siblings: Two brothers - One on Earth, and One in Heaven with our Maker and Lord - I am the youngest :)

(T) Time You Wake Up?  Around 6:10 or 6:15

(U) Underwear:  I wear those!

(V) Vegetable You Dislike:  I don't know that I have a vegetable that I dislike :)

(W) What Makes You Run Late:  other people mostly :) ha ha - normally I am on time or early

(X) X-Rays:  Plenty.  Teeth, chest, back, ankle, stomach, left arm, and probably some others

(Y) Yummy Food You Make:  a lot - I love to bake and cook!

(Z) Zoo, Favorite Animal:  Monkeys, I love monkeys!

Ash Wednesday - Lent

As far as I can remember, I have never participated in Lent and the process of giving up something for the time between Ash Wednesday & Easter Sunday!  But, this year will be different.  This year I plan to give up sodas, and I am going to try to quit smoking.  I do not like the word "quit" though.  So, I am going to try to stop smoking, indefinitely!

The reason I chose the two things are because I feel they are weighing me down and holding me back from Jesus.  Instead of relying on the Lord, I have become addicted to items that are bad for my health and my religion.

I want to become a stronger person, individual, and Christian.  I want to crave the Lord not sodas or cigarettes.  I want to live my life to the fullest, without anything holding me down.  Cigarettes and soda are ruining my health, which is ruining my progress to become a stronger person and Christian.

Lent is the time to celebrate the Resurrection of Jesus!  It is a time to pray, as Jesus did, while removing items from your life that are holding you back.  During this time, I will try to pray and read the Bible several times throughout the day, while giving up items that are holding me back in my life.  In addition, I plan to clean and get rid of items that are old and not needed anymore.  I believe that by committing to Lent and sacrificing items, I will become more in tune with the Lord and His will in my life.