Gym Member

So yes my fitness improving has been slow and somewhat stagnate. On a whim I went to look at a gym with my friend and last week joined. I was adamant before that I would only workout at home but lately I have time on my hand so I am better of forgoing a makeup purchase or lunch date and be a gym member. 

My 1st week has been completed and it has left me in pain and my workouts pale in comparison to others. That fitness equipment I have at home that is not used often is now actually part of my gym routine. The good ole cross trainer. It hurts my thighs so much and often I do not feel I can go past the pain threshold. I manage 5 minutes only at present though this shall pass with time. My 1st day was the hardest which was with a personal trainer who showed me how to use the equipment to get the best results. 

I will blog updates on my fitness goals an weight loss aspirations on this blog as and when. Though over on my new fitness blog That Sweet Sugar Dumpling I intend to blog every few days. Right now my goal is to be more active once I have fully achieved that my next goal will be to adjust what foods I eat. Contrary to the popular belief systems about folk who are over weight I am not a food hoarder. I just need to be more active and eat more fruit and not skip meals. Breakfast is such a chore to eat but I will have to ensure I have it so I do not workout on empty.

One more thing I so need to learn to swim. I am going to save up for lessons. I have ordered some tankini's so I can dip my toes in the pool but I want to do more than just wade in the water.

Ab Circuits ~ Defining my core

My friends are always trying to get me to join them on their fitness ventures. I always say no because my fitness is well below par. The promises I made to myself years ago on this blog have ye to be fulfilled. My fitness DVD's , Wii games and mini home gym has grown a little. I just need to use them. So surprisingly to myself my friend wanted to do some ab circuits.

Thankfully this was just an intense core workout and not a sweat bath. During the class I grimaced at my lack of stomach muscles, my inability to pull my belly button into my spine or keep my bum in the air long enough. You would think having a weight placed on your back while your lifting your body through your stomach in some form of way would have done me in but no. It was at the start where we laid on our backs with knees bent doing sit ups. All I could hear the instructor saying was keep your chin off your chest. 

My chest is full of bosom as you know from my last trip to Bravissimo. Let me tell you my chest was giving me problems I felt like my bosom was choking me. It was just too my pressure for me. I was so relieved when we moved onto exercises on our sides and stomach. Lesson learned I must invest in a proper sports bra. Hopefully it will keep my bosom at bay. Can you imagine if this was a cardio session.

The instructor was a lovely lady who told me to keep coming back and it will get easier. She even gave me a core exercise to do when driving. At a red light suck stomach in pull through belly button towards back and release on green. You need to have your car seat upright which is how I drive anyway. 

I think I will keep doing this class until my work circumstances changes. Bonus discovered I can join a scheme that gets me discounted classed and free swimming. If only I could swim. At my age I have no idea how long that will take to learn.

Serena still my body idol

Yep my weight battle is just that. A battle that everyone comments on. I am actually trying to count points and feel content. I spotted this advert featuring the ever fit Serena Williams over at Black Girls Guide to Weight Loss. She is definitely comfortable in her skin. I pray one day I will be too. Oh yeah she is my body idol but I do not want her body. I want my own version.

Fitness at any age

Saw this whilst browsing World Star HipHop site. This lady is 72yrs old and has such an amazing body. I need to step up my game big time. I find stories like these so inspirational.

BET Heart of the City

Star Jones made a documentary for BET called Heart of the City :Dying to eat in Jackson. It is about the problems faced by obesity and the challenges it creates. The show talks with men and women who are obese of different ages who share their challenges in losing weight. They often have a reason to make changes such as being more mobile improving health and breaking the cycle for their children.

I found the documentary very inspiring. One lady had lost 100lbs in a year and is aiming to lose more. The initiatives that have been set up for weight loss and educating about benefits of changing to healthy food choices are really good.

Star Jones says about her involvement in the show

I used to be scared to step out there on the issue of Obesity but I realized that I wasn't being fair because I have a public platform and I need to use it for good…………I am not the "poster child" for a specific weight loss method but I am a true advocate for adopting a healthy lifestyle because with all humility, doing so has saved my life.

I found this documentary very inspiring. As you know my weight is a love hate relationship. I procrastinate a lot but have been making efforts. Have you seen this documentary yet? What are your thoughts?

Read more on the documentary and get helpful information on the website for the show Heart of the City.

Weighing in bluntly

I have spoken about my weight on here before. I have not disclosed how much I weigh because I am not pleased one bit about it. When I was slimmer as when I lived in London I was told I was fat or too big etc. I am naturally curvy and back then I was a 12/14. Now I am bigger. It takes a lot of weight increase to move up a dress size. I was also a lot more active.

I mentioned to older friend that I had gained she asked why and then turn around and said “…. why don’t you just stop eating…”. So yes I must become an anorexic to lose weight. Brilliant! I chose not to answer.

One of my hairdressers (I use 2 different ones – different salon vibes) lost loads of weight on weight watchers. We spoke and she was like, she never ate loads of food, she just ate the wrong foods, the quick fixes. Which is what I do. However I have been forcing myself to bring a packed lunch for work because what they serve in that canteen all smells the same and looks the same.

My friends brother is uber fit and when it comes to fitness he is on it. We had a blackberry messenger conversation the other day. ( it is nice he cares enough to always check on how I am doing ). It started off with me stating I was going to sell my cross trainer for a treadmill. He tells me the cross trainer is better as it works the whole body etc etc. Then the conversation moves onto what am I actually doing how am I getting on with my goals. He says “It’s not hard to lose weight……you need to train your brain too”. I get depressed sometimes and he rubbishes that and says Depression is caused by your own actions. He further says I am weak minded and that I always have excuses so either I am weak or do not want to lose weight!!!

Its like a skinny person telling me how shift excess. What so funny about those above is that they did not know me before weight took hold of me. I went to my cousins christening and got slated by some elders. I know Jamaicans just say it how they see it, no consideration or what. But damn!!! I never asked anyone anything. My cousins were like SoFro you need to trim down, you should have breastfed longer mek de baby suck off some of dat weight. It nah good fe you, you a spoil. If it was not for that man flirting with me I would have felt like a right ugly duckling. It is like people do not seem to realise that I see me each and every moment of the day. I know how my clothes fit.

I am trying to get healthy. I want to concentrate on improving my health than move onto weight loss. My cousin has lost so much weight. She said that she still eats the same amount of food but has changed what she eats. She has cut down on some things too.

So yeah that is what it is.

DS Personal Yoga training

I must confess I do like to shop and buy on impulse. Though I research like crazy. However I was thinking to myself yesterday I need to relax in the evening when the boys are sleeping. So I thought why not get a Yoga game for my DS.

The prices I saw for this ranged from £20 to £11. So off I go today to have a look after work. I ended up in HMV expecting to pay the least amount and surprisingly bought the last copy in the shop for £8. They had quite a few games going cheap, but I had to restrain myself as I am going on holiday in just over a week.

Personal Yoga training promise to teach you the skills in 15 minutes per day. You learn and progress at your own pace. There are over 180 poses to chose from. Yoga is meant to be could for relaxation. I will master this. I put on a stone though no one seems to have noticed. So my weight loss goals have just gotten harder. Lets hope my DS can help me out plus all the other stuff that I have at my disposal

Weight Loss Tips x 10

A friend posted a link to a programme on the BBC called "10 Things you need to know about Losing weight". It was an hour long and I thought ok let me watch this. It was interesting to watch but a lot of what was discussed had been discussed already. Such as soup, protein etc making you feel fuller longer. Not doing a full review as just wanted to list the 10 points that were discussed.

1 – Do not skip meals

2 - Use smaller plates

3 – Count your calories

4 – Do not blame your metabolism

5 – Protein Staves off hunger

6 – Soup keeps you feeling fuller for longer

7 – The wider the choice of food you have the more you eat (buffet etc)

8 – Low-fat dairy helps you excrete fat

9 – Everyone burns fat, even when you finish exercising and when your are sleeping

10 – Keep moving and you will lose weight

Some are obvious such as numbers 10, 3 and 2. Whilst points 1, 2, 3, 5, 10 I have heard discussed many times before.

By the way the journalist name is Michael Mosley. One thing I did learn is that hidden fat is bad for you.

I can hear Wii and its army of get fit games and accessories calling me. But yeah didn’t really learn anything new. Just told in a different ways. How about you. Do you have any weight loss tips?

This Wii Fit business

I tell myself a lot of the time that I want this I want that. Yet when I really want something it can take ages for me to commit to buying it. Of course if I had money falling out of the sky or I won the Euro I would be less cautious. But…….I want this. I have put it in my head that the cost of this is the same cost as a video camera which will be my next major purchase not to mention my very own Mac Book.

Anyway earlier this month I spoke about my wants and what I would like. It gets more frustrating that now everyone in my team seems to have one and they enjoying it. I believe Nintendo have done well because it will be me and my two boys enjoying this together. Yeah for those who actually know me that read my blog, the husband can be a part of it too. If I cannot manage to set it up myself I will ask him or Google or YouTube it. LOL!

I have found a good bargain at ToysRus for £217 which gets me the console and the Wii Fit game and balance board. In Choice Catalogue they have a package that costs £309. There are other deals flying around now too. Though what gets me even more excited are the fitness games. Such as Jillian Michaels' Fitness Ultimatum 2009 , My Fitness Coach and EA Sports Active.

Yes I am a person who tends to take the resources than needs to actual put them in practice. Mario Kart and Big Brain Academy will a be a definite purchase along the way. Anyway decided will buy this before the month ends.

My version of her body

I so would love to have my very own version of Serena Williams’ body. Just so well toned and looking good. I wouldn’t want to be as muscular though. When I say this to my some of my European friends they look at me like I am crazy. They say but she is way too big. Which baffles me because her body helps tabloids sell and some blogs get a good read.

But yes Serena I would love to have my own version of your body. After all healthy curves is the way to go!!!

Getting Fit, I guess health will follow

I want to get fit. I spoke months ago about getting healthy but I have yet to master that plan. I have seen my weight increase but now that I am conscious of it, it has started to go down but not much yet. I am surrounded by people who do not believe me. That is fine. They do not have to. I must believe in myself and make that commitment to myself. So this week I began introducing 30 minute exercises to my week. I did Mr Motivators DVD BLT. It is soca aerobics and is split in sections so you can tailor it to suit you. I did not feel like doing everything so I did the Soca parts whilst my two sons thought I was just ramping. I managed it and felt it too.

I have other DVD’s too. Billy Blanks Tae Bo 2( I also have 2 VHS’). My most recent purchase was the Pilates weight loss for Dummies DVD. I have always wanted to try it out. I will need to take my time with it. Luckily the DVD gives you advanced and beginners to work from. Not forgetting the 10 minute workout by Erin on YouTube that I spoke of recently. I am considering buying Mel B’s DVD Totally Fit. It has got some really good reviews. In fact I think I will buy it.

As well as my DVD’s I also have a Reebok Yoga set ( it is just a matt and foam block and VHS), Reebok Aerobic Step, which I bought after watching various diet shows including X-Weighted where a fitness test consists of stepping up and down as many times as you can in one minute. Thought hey step aerobics. I also have Carl Lewis Cross Trainer and mini work out kit that consists of a thigh master trainer, skipping ropes, 2 light weights and these hand things that you hold and squeeze in your hand and fight the resistance. Not sure what that is supposed to achieve but it came in the kit.

So I have a lot of resources at home. I will be using these over the coming days and weeks until I am set in a routine. Any tips for using what I have. Please leave me a comment and do let me know any fitness or health sites worth checking out.

Exercise the YouTube way

I am not doing good on the healthy eating. So I thought I would try sort out my lack of exercise. My twitter friend/buddy Erin Huggins offered to make a Pilates DVD for me. It is just under 10 minutes and is a full body workout. I thought what the heck, 10 minutes I can fit that in. When I got up I really felt my stomach muscles. The only problem it seems the muscles in my lower back are a bit tender. I do not know why that is. Either too much fat, child birth or something. Pulling at straws huh. Anyway check out the video and have a go. Know that I am not flexible but I can do this exercise routine within my comfort zone.

Check out Erin's YouTube Channel for more Pilates and other exercise routines.