Health and Weight Loss

Here is is March already and I haven't posted any updates. Time just gets away from me. 

Yes, I am still on the track to wellness.  I haven't slowed down on the exercising, in fact I picked up on it!  Things that I thought were not probable I now know are in fact doable! Things I thought  impossible I now think... hmm maybe there is a chance.  I have to say modern technology has really helped me along with my diet and exercise. There are some great Apps out there. And I love my techie gadgets. Lose It is an app where you can set weight loss goals for yourself, and it provides you with the option of doing it at increments of 1, 1.5 or 2 pounds a week.  I chose 1.5 pounds a week. It then gives you the amount of calories you must eat to get to that goal.  If you eat something you can either manually record it or scan the bar code from the label and it will look it up for you. If you exercise you also record it and it will figure the calories burned back into your plan.  I have found this application to work quite accurately. (barring this week where I have been having some problems for the last 3 days at loosing any weight) You can also join challenges through the Lose It app with other people of your choosing, be it strangers or people you know and set up a challenge yourself.

I have been doing a lot of run/walking.  Interval walking I think it is called. I walk briskly for a couple of minutes then jog or sprint for a minute. Have you tried the Couch to 5 K app? I am using that to help me with the intervals.  I really like it, and I have a secret desire to run a 5K someday. That is one of the things I used to think was impossible.  Now.. who knows...maybe I will.  I just need a whole lot more training. I don't get short of breath so much, but my calf muscles tighten up so easily.  I guess it could be a matter of stretching, but I do walk for 5 minutes before running at all.  I also love the RunKeeper App to help me keep track of my miles and calories burned.

Status: 

I am down 18 pounds. 9 pounds per month, but I seem to be having trouble moving the scale in the last several days which is killing me.

 My numbers are looking good, cholesterol is down by 22 points from 194 to 172.My bad cholesterol down by over 25 points. All my numbers are normal except my HDL (good cholesterol) is still a little low at 33 . Blood pressure 126/68.  I will get all of this repeated in the summer.

In Jan:

Walked : 22.74 miles

Biked: 42.45 miles

In Feb:

Walked: 34.14 miles

Biked: 47.16 miles

In addition, I did weight lifting, punching bag and a few other cardios both months. (I wear a pedometer to work and walk anywhere from an additional 4-8 miles a week, but don't count that in my totals, since I figure my body is used to doing that)

I may increase my fish oil to 2-3 tablets (2000mg-3000mg daily) to see if that will help to bring up my HDL cholesterol.  The jury is still out on the CLA, I am not sure if that is helping at all. I haven't really seen any difference since I started to take it.

So, I would love to hear how you are doing if you too are on this journey. If you check out any of the apps I mentioned let me know what you think of them.  They all have FREE versions, which is what I use. But they are worth paying for in my opinion. I could sure use a buddy or two to help me stay motivated.

Have a great month, Michelle