As a software engineer at least part of my day is focused on metrics. Management always seem to be trying to measure progress and sucess. How many lines of code were written? How many bugs were found? How many bugs were fixed? How many support calls did we get? How does that compare to last week, last month, last release?
Now, I'm faced with a simliar problem. How do I measure success? I've said that I don't expect to see big changes, especially right away. But looking back in a week or month or year, how will I know that I've made any progress. The obvious answer is weight. But I really don't want to make this all about weight, more about becoming more healthy and more fit. I'm going to come up with some sort of metrics, data that I can report. If you have any suggestions, please let me know.
On the first of each month I'll report my progress, but for now, I'll just report that this morning I weighed 203 pounds. That's the heaviest I've ever weighed, and I hope it's the heaviest I'll ever weigh.
And of course, I'll report on my weekly changes.
Wednesday, January 14, 2009
Slim In 6 (years mabybe)
Several years ago I bought the "Slim in 6" work out series by Beach Body. It promises a beach ready body in just 6 weeks. Sometimes, I wish that merely making the purchase was enough to see the physical transformation.
The dvd came with three work outs, "Start It Up", "Ramp It Up", and then "Burn It Up". The package included a nice big chart to track your progress. It indicates that you should use the "Start It Up" video for the first three work outs before moving on to the more intense "Ramp It Up" work out. After a couple of weeks you finish off the series with "Burn It Up".
My problem was that I could never make it past the "Start It Up" phase. Several times, I would start my 'six weeks' all gung-ho. I did the "Start It Up" work out as directed by the chart. Then, as directed, I would move onto the "Ramp It Up" workout. I was always a little leery about the warning something like, "It is recommended that you master the Start It Up work out before moving on to the Ramp It Up workout."
I pondered at the definition of "master". Does master mean that I don't pass out before the end of the work out? Does it mean that I don't fall over when I do the squats? Does it mean that I should follow the instructions on the chart, and only do it three times?"
"The chart says three times," I would tell myself. And then I died. Well, not literally of course, but I wanted too, after trying the "Ramp It Up" workout. I never have made it all the way through that workout. It was very discouraging. So I would give up.
It has never made much sense to my why I do such things. Why didn't I just continue on with the "Start It Up" workout for another week or two. I would tell myself, "But the chart says to move on, If I keep doing the 'weenie' video, I'll never make it to "Ramp It Up" before my six weeks is up!"
I'm an engineer for crying out loud, you would think that I could see through my own illogical rantings. I should have been telling myself, "If you quit, you'll never make it through the 'weenie' video, ever!" That's the truth!
Yesterday, I chose to do the "Start It Up" video for my 30 minutes of exercise. I did pretty good, I didn't do all the squats or push-ups, but I completed the video. It felt good. It kinda made me want to jump back on the "Slim in 6" wagon. I was ready to pull out the old chart again. But I didn't. I'm taking it slow. Maybe I'll do the video again tonight, but probably not. I've got others in my collection. If the fog outside clears, I might just go for another walk.
Slim in 6
What I like
On screen clock shows you how much time is left in your work out. I like to watch it and say, "I can do this for another 10 minutes" or "Yay! I'm half way through!"
What I don't like
There isn't really a warm up and cool down/stretching session as part of the work out videos. There is a separate "Slim & Limber" work out which is 15 minutes of stretching. That just seems like extra effort. I want it all at once, included in the work out. It's a weird mental thing.
The dvd came with three work outs, "Start It Up", "Ramp It Up", and then "Burn It Up". The package included a nice big chart to track your progress. It indicates that you should use the "Start It Up" video for the first three work outs before moving on to the more intense "Ramp It Up" work out. After a couple of weeks you finish off the series with "Burn It Up".
My problem was that I could never make it past the "Start It Up" phase. Several times, I would start my 'six weeks' all gung-ho. I did the "Start It Up" work out as directed by the chart. Then, as directed, I would move onto the "Ramp It Up" workout. I was always a little leery about the warning something like, "It is recommended that you master the Start It Up work out before moving on to the Ramp It Up workout."
I pondered at the definition of "master". Does master mean that I don't pass out before the end of the work out? Does it mean that I don't fall over when I do the squats? Does it mean that I should follow the instructions on the chart, and only do it three times?"
"The chart says three times," I would tell myself. And then I died. Well, not literally of course, but I wanted too, after trying the "Ramp It Up" workout. I never have made it all the way through that workout. It was very discouraging. So I would give up.
It has never made much sense to my why I do such things. Why didn't I just continue on with the "Start It Up" workout for another week or two. I would tell myself, "But the chart says to move on, If I keep doing the 'weenie' video, I'll never make it to "Ramp It Up" before my six weeks is up!"
I'm an engineer for crying out loud, you would think that I could see through my own illogical rantings. I should have been telling myself, "If you quit, you'll never make it through the 'weenie' video, ever!" That's the truth!
Yesterday, I chose to do the "Start It Up" video for my 30 minutes of exercise. I did pretty good, I didn't do all the squats or push-ups, but I completed the video. It felt good. It kinda made me want to jump back on the "Slim in 6" wagon. I was ready to pull out the old chart again. But I didn't. I'm taking it slow. Maybe I'll do the video again tonight, but probably not. I've got others in my collection. If the fog outside clears, I might just go for another walk.
Slim in 6
What I like
On screen clock shows you how much time is left in your work out. I like to watch it and say, "I can do this for another 10 minutes" or "Yay! I'm half way through!"
What I don't like
There isn't really a warm up and cool down/stretching session as part of the work out videos. There is a separate "Slim & Limber" work out which is 15 minutes of stretching. That just seems like extra effort. I want it all at once, included in the work out. It's a weird mental thing.
Monday, January 12, 2009
Thirty minutes is a long time
That was harder than I thought. I didn't manage to get out to walk today until after the boys went to bed. That meant that I had to do my 30 minutes in one big chunk. I was kinda disappointed when after just a few minutes my shins started to hurt, but I pressed on. I was even more disappointed when I was standing in front of my driveway after my first lap around the neighborhood, and I realized that it only took 10 minutes to complete the lap. Standing in front of my driveway for a second time, I thought about stopping and going inside. I was cold and I only had 8 more minutes to walk.I was walking slower now than when I had first started. I didn't think I would make it another lap, so I did a did a half of a lap. I conveniently live in a subdivision with a figure 8 layout. I walked into my driveway with 2 minutes left. I did a little bit of stretching, and I was done. I completed my first 30 minutes of exercise! Now, I just have to go drink my water.
Sunday, January 11, 2009
Change: 30 minutes of exercise every day
Drinking more water has gone pretty good. Some days I had to drink it just before going to bed. Most days though I was able to drink the 16 ounces (or more) during the day.
The next 7 days, I will excersize for at least 30 minutes everyday. Just a half hour every day. I'm going to make it really easy on myself and start with walking. I can even break it down into three 10 minutes chunks if I can't get away for 30 minutes at one time.
The next 7 days, I will excersize for at least 30 minutes everyday. Just a half hour every day. I'm going to make it really easy on myself and start with walking. I can even break it down into three 10 minutes chunks if I can't get away for 30 minutes at one time.
Tuesday, January 6, 2009
Remembering...
I can't believe it is already the 6th of January. I'm back at work after a wonderful break. The holiday wasn't as relaxing as I had hoped, but we met my parents in Seattle after Christmas and had a whirl wind trip.
We visited my grandmother, who is in a nursing home. It was good to take my boys to see her, though they won't remember the visit, and neither will she. We were able to get some 4 generation pictures taken - which we already have with all the other living great grandparents.
My grandmother wears a pendant around her neck that contains a photo of my cousin, my brother and myself, when we were young. She kept showing it to me, and talking about 'her little people' and how precious the necklace was to her. It was both heart-warming and heart-wrenching at the same time.
I was glad to know how much she cares for me and how special I am to her. It was also so sad to keep telling her, "that's me, that's me in that picture." As we were leaving, she said, "Don't forget about me."
I won't. She doesn't know that I think of her often. She doesn't remember the cards and phone calls. I hope that even if she doesn't remember me, she remembers that the little girl in the picture remembers her and loves her.
I love looking at the pictures of me with my great grandparents. Some passed away before I was old enough to remember and some I visited on my way to college. I hope that the pictures we took on our trip will help teach my children the importance of family.
I hope to be around to see my great-grandchildren some day.
We visited my grandmother, who is in a nursing home. It was good to take my boys to see her, though they won't remember the visit, and neither will she. We were able to get some 4 generation pictures taken - which we already have with all the other living great grandparents.
My grandmother wears a pendant around her neck that contains a photo of my cousin, my brother and myself, when we were young. She kept showing it to me, and talking about 'her little people' and how precious the necklace was to her. It was both heart-warming and heart-wrenching at the same time.
I was glad to know how much she cares for me and how special I am to her. It was also so sad to keep telling her, "that's me, that's me in that picture." As we were leaving, she said, "Don't forget about me."
I won't. She doesn't know that I think of her often. She doesn't remember the cards and phone calls. I hope that even if she doesn't remember me, she remembers that the little girl in the picture remembers her and loves her.
I love looking at the pictures of me with my great grandparents. Some passed away before I was old enough to remember and some I visited on my way to college. I hope that the pictures we took on our trip will help teach my children the importance of family.
I hope to be around to see my great-grandchildren some day.
Saturday, January 3, 2009
Change: drink 16 oz of water a day
I thought I would be pretty specific about my changes, especially this first one. I want something I can measure, so that I can know I'm being successful. I know that 16 ounces of water isn't a lot. I know that in the past I've consumed almost a gallon of water a day. I've recently realized that some days, all the water I consume is when I'm brushing my teeth. That's not good! If I drink more, great! It's a start. And I'm starting today! Even though it's 10 pm and it means that I'll probably be up all night using the bathroom, I will drink 16 ounces of water before I go to bed.
Small Changes
My twins first birthday is just around the corner, and my 31st birthday follows shortly. I was disgusted with myself when I realized that I weigh more today than I did the day they were born.
I was probably one of very few women that was disappointed when I wieghed myself the day my boys turned 6 months old, and I was back at my pre-pregnancy wieght. This is because 2 weeks after they were born, I was 20 pounds lighter than I was when I concieved. The only time in my life when I had difficulty gaining weight, I was pregnant. I think that is part of my problem. When I was pregnant I got used to eating everything, trying to put on extra pounds. I ended up only gaining 12 pounds, but my boys were healthy. After they were born, I spent most of my time nursing them, and trying to eat enough to support all of us. But I also spent a lot of time in my arm chair, always with at least one boy attached to my breast.
Not that I'm blaming the a year of bad habits on my weight explosion. It's a life time of bad habits that is responsible. I just spent a year with an excuse. And now I don't have an excuse. It's time to get control. It's time to eleminate the bad habits, it's time to not only loose wieght, but to be healthy. My boys are eating table food, but I don't want them to eat what I'm eating. Packaged dinners and frozen pizzas are exactly healthy meals. I want to teach them to be healthier than I am.
I've tried diets before. I've done weight watchers and dabbled with Atkins, but it all seems a little bit overwhelming for me. I get a good start, but I always seem to loose steam. I think part of it is a fear of failure, and I think part of it is this preverse perfectionist in me. If I can't do a diet perfectly, if I cheat a little here or there, I can't do it at all. I'll probably talk more about being a perverse prefectionist more later, as it applies to much of my life.
So, this time I've decided not to jump right in. I'm going to take small steps and make many small changes over time. But I'm going to start with one small change. I don't expect to see big changes in me, but just small ones. I plan on making one small change a week. Part of me thinks that I focus on one change until I've developed a new good habit, and it takes 21 days to develop a habit. Part of me thinks the week is the way to go, heck, I can do anything for a week.
You can see that I don't really have a plan, but I hope you'll follow me on my journey. I'll record my goals and my progress. I'll tell you more about me and my health issues, and reasons I want to change. Feel free to offer support or insight. This is really new for me and scary. I'm a very private person, especially when it comes to wieght loss and health issues. So, be kind.
I was probably one of very few women that was disappointed when I wieghed myself the day my boys turned 6 months old, and I was back at my pre-pregnancy wieght. This is because 2 weeks after they were born, I was 20 pounds lighter than I was when I concieved. The only time in my life when I had difficulty gaining weight, I was pregnant. I think that is part of my problem. When I was pregnant I got used to eating everything, trying to put on extra pounds. I ended up only gaining 12 pounds, but my boys were healthy. After they were born, I spent most of my time nursing them, and trying to eat enough to support all of us. But I also spent a lot of time in my arm chair, always with at least one boy attached to my breast.
Not that I'm blaming the a year of bad habits on my weight explosion. It's a life time of bad habits that is responsible. I just spent a year with an excuse. And now I don't have an excuse. It's time to get control. It's time to eleminate the bad habits, it's time to not only loose wieght, but to be healthy. My boys are eating table food, but I don't want them to eat what I'm eating. Packaged dinners and frozen pizzas are exactly healthy meals. I want to teach them to be healthier than I am.
I've tried diets before. I've done weight watchers and dabbled with Atkins, but it all seems a little bit overwhelming for me. I get a good start, but I always seem to loose steam. I think part of it is a fear of failure, and I think part of it is this preverse perfectionist in me. If I can't do a diet perfectly, if I cheat a little here or there, I can't do it at all. I'll probably talk more about being a perverse prefectionist more later, as it applies to much of my life.
So, this time I've decided not to jump right in. I'm going to take small steps and make many small changes over time. But I'm going to start with one small change. I don't expect to see big changes in me, but just small ones. I plan on making one small change a week. Part of me thinks that I focus on one change until I've developed a new good habit, and it takes 21 days to develop a habit. Part of me thinks the week is the way to go, heck, I can do anything for a week.
You can see that I don't really have a plan, but I hope you'll follow me on my journey. I'll record my goals and my progress. I'll tell you more about me and my health issues, and reasons I want to change. Feel free to offer support or insight. This is really new for me and scary. I'm a very private person, especially when it comes to wieght loss and health issues. So, be kind.
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