Naturally Curvy

A lot of health/fitness bloggers around the internet are trying new things, setting up challenges and – by the looks of things – getting 2010 off to a great start.

My 2010 started with pain, pain, misery, pain, gallbladder removal and recovery. Fun stuff.

While I’m still technically not supposed to have any ’strenuous activity’ for the next two weeks, I’m thinking of doing a twelve day challenge starting on Monday.

(Hey, if I can handle sex now, I’m pretty sure I can handle exercise more strenuous than walking.)

(…like I was going to go a month without sex. Pfft.)

I have a new dance/exercise DVD I am eager to try out, as I love dancing. On another note, I’m realizing that dinner is a problem area for me. It’s disproportionate (bigger) than all my other meals, and I want to fix that. Thirdly, I’ve been slacking on my water.

So, for twelve days (because I’m leaving on the 13th and will be gone for a week), I want to do three things:

1. Workout every morning.
2. Drink 1.5 litres (at least) of water every day.
3. Replace dinner with a meal replacement shake.

Okay, so it’s not the most genius or hard challenge you’ve ever heard of, but I’m not set on wearing myself out. I just want to give the dancing a geniune go, get back in the groove of drinking more water and see if having a calorie-controlled dinner will help me lose weight.

It should be interesting.

Are you challenging yourself to anything next month (next Monday)? Right now?

Jenera asked some exercise questions on her blog, and I decided to answer here. Because I can. And I’m like that.

* What is your favorite exercise/routine/activity?

It’s funny you ask, because I’ve only just realized that dance is my favourite exercise. I do it all the time without even thinking about it. I’m currently trying to find dance DVDs that look like fun and won’t cost me a pay check (or two).

Gentle yoga (because I have a wonky hip) is a close second.

* What do you normally wear to workout?

Sports bra, big t-shirt and trackie-dakks (as they are called here). Just kind of loose pants with an elastic band. I’ve been known to switch to shorts on hot days and do it in my PJs on lazy days.

* Do you exercise in the morning/afternoon/evening?

Morning, but I don’t get up early for it. Wake up, exercise time is the only routine I have really been able to stick with. I’m usually too tired or have something to do in the evening. I’ve been known to do a lunchtime workout, but I’ve never stuck with it for long.

* For those that do it in the morning, do you eat breakfast before or after?

Definitely after, and a half hour after at that. I don’t want my body to be distracted by digestion when I’m working out. Plus, it makes me feel ill.

* How long should I be holding yoga poses for?

Slow count of five?

* Any other tips to staying on routine?

They say it takes 21 days to establish a habit. I reckon, give yourself a gift – a nice one – every 21 days, not just after the first block. Make it something really good that you’ll want to work for (hiring a sitter for the day and going off wandering?).

With Australia Day said and done, and with the husband back at work…

…I meant to consider today my new Monday for the week.

…I meant to get out of bed at 9am.

…I meant to start the day with my yoga DVD (thanks again, Jenera! I love it.)

…I meant to prepare a nice breakfast to start the day with.

Instead? I overslept for some reason, despite the fact that I went to bed early last night. My ideas for yoga and a nice brekkie flew out the door when I started ambling around the house with moderate pains and a bit of a sick stomach – signs that I overdid it yesterday.

It’s so easy – too easy – to forget that it has only been about a week and a half since I had surgery. The surface scars are healing nicely, but the incisions underneath mean I still need to take it easy. It seems even walking the normal distances I used to walk takes it out of me something fierce.

As the weight I lost after surgery is piling up, I hate to sit back and ‘take it easy’ on myself, despite knowing that’s what I have to do to heal properly. But I can’t really afford uncomfortable, sleepy mornings like this very often, either, so I guess I will do what I must.

Bleh.

Lately I have been thinking about my body, where I’ve come from on my journey to health and where I am going.

In all my thinking, I have come to hypothesize that there are two kinds of fats:

1. Idle fats
2. Work fats

Idle fats are the fats you lose by eating less. No, I’m not talking about fasting or anything like that. I’m talking if you count calories and stay in a healthier range or if you go on meal replacement like I did. These are the fats that leave you when you have less calorie consumption and little to no additional exercise or movement.

Sure, when I was on meal replacements, I did exercise. But, it wasn’t all that strenuous, nor was anything I did kept up for very long. But I still lost idle fat.

Now I have come to a new place in my journey to health. I’ve done meal replacements, lost weight and now that has stalled. Why? Well, there could be many reasons. My thought? I have now hit the work fat.

Work fat is like its name; you have to work it off. You can’t lead your usual life with the usual motions and expect for this stuff to drop off. This is the stuff that requires exercise and hard work. This is the true fat, not sugar fat, that is the essence of burning fat to be able to work and survive.

I have lost 46 pounds so far, and I’m not ashamed to admit, that was pretty much all idle fat. I just plain didn’t do a lot of exercise.

Appropriately, I’m now halfway to my goal weight, and idle fat loss isn’t enough. Now it’s time to buck up the exercise and get to it.

This is going to be a heck of an interesting 45 pounds to lose.

Start: 264
Last Week: 220
Today: 218

I don’t know if I should really be weighing myself yet, but my weight does finally appear to be settling down after the surgery. I got down as low as 214 – which was a great feeling – but I know it only really happened because I almost completely lost my appetite for the week after my surgery.

Things seem to be going well on the healing side of things. Though many people experience problems of some sort after surgery, I have only experienced minor discomfort when it comes to eating and digesting food.

I know I should be happy about this. Any sane person would. But part of me wishes I had a harder time…

That sounds like a horrible thing to say, but life would be a bit easier if I simply couldn’t have certain things. Knowing I have the option… Well, that puts my willpower right back in the spotlight, and my willpower isn’t that strong yet.

The husband is home today and tomorrow (Australia Day), so I’m planning on relaxation and baking. I’m looking forward to starting up on yoga again on Wednesday as well as possibly getting on the elliptical again – depending on how yoga goes and if we can get the elliptical into the spare room.

How is everyone else doing?