Tea Gets Fit, Week 3

[teaberryblue]

I am way super behind on things I want to post! Special family news from this weekend, plus two ice creams and three cocktails coming up soon! But this is the one that is the most behind.

It seems like I’ve been doing this for longer than two weeks! A lot of the routines seem easier than they did in the beginning. Even though I can’t follow along perfectly– or even well- yet, I actually feel like I’m not hopeless or lost, and nothing feels like it’s out of the realm of “ever possible.” Two days this past week, I had barely broken a sweat after ten minutes of working out, so I did another ten minute routine. The third day I tried that, though, I was too tired and achey after one to try to do more.

I’m also getting significantly better at several of the Wii Fit routines! The one problem with the Wii Fit is it automatically weighs you and uses your BMI as a milestone for how well you’re doing. I wish there were other ways to set to measure your progress! I am not really interested in losing weight, but it’s annoying for the machine to keep telling me I’m not meeting my milestones because I’m not losing any weight. Well, I am, but not as much as the Wii thinks I should. My weight is down about a pound after a week and a half.

I have been walking a lot outdoors, lately, too. Today, I walked for about two and a half hours, not including the approximate hour I spent walking between home and work twice. I’m impressed I walked as much as I did!

A lot of people say that working out regularly gives them more energy and makes them sleep better, though, and I don’t feel that at all. In fact, I’ve been sleeping worse and having a harder time waking up in the morning since I started.

I think that is all the update for this week!

Mirrored from Antagonia.net.

Comments

[theafaye.livejournal.com]

BMI's a total crock. It takes no notice of body type of muscle/fat ratio. When I started running regularly, I actually put on weight, despite being better defined and toned because I was developing muscle.

You definitely look more toned compared to the first set of photos. Shows just how much a bit of work can pay off.

[teaberryblue.livejournal.com]

I think that's more that those shorts have a higher waistband so they're hiding the belly bit.

I think BMI can be useful if you know exactly what yours is and what your current fitness goals are-- it was very useful for me when I was extremely underweight for gauging how much weight I needed to put on and helped me see exactly how unhealthy my weight loss was (it was as a result of clinical depression, not an eating disorder!) but 90% of the time, I totally agree with you.

[theafaye.livejournal.com]

I was marked down as obese by a GP surgery I registered with because they weighed me and took my height and that's where my BMI came out as. I was three months pregnant and no one looking at me would ever have said I was obese - but them's the figures, so they must be right.

My husband used to be a holistic therapist and did a lot of work with sportsmen. He hated BMI because it really didn't show where someone's healthy weight is because that's such an individual thing for you. He worked with a rugby player, for example, who would be classed as morbidly obese but didn't have an ounce of fat on his body - he was short and a muscle powerhouse. So although I see where you're coming from, you would be better off getting a clinician to come up with a personalised plan than to look at a chart which has one size to fit all and go with what that tells you to do because that may well NOT be the healthy goal. I mean, I don't care what your BMI is - looking at your photos, you don't need to lose any weight at all and toning is really more for your comfort and fitness levels than anything else. The problem comes there when you aren't in a space to look at yourself in the mirror and judge whether what you see is healthy or not. BMI won't necessarily tell you that.

[negativeneve.livejournal.com]

I'm noticing a definite toning in your tummy Tea!

[teaberryblue.livejournal.com]

I think it's just that these shorts have a high waistband compared to others.

[guingel.livejournal.com]

I am impressed with your commitment! Especially during summer! Especially the walking. O_O Sooooo hot.

[teaberryblue.livejournal.com]

Thanks! I am going to have to change it up after I move, if I move, because ugh, no more going home.

[lawchicky.livejournal.com]

I just realized, I've been watching you shrink while my midsection grows from week to week!

[teaberryblue.livejournal.com]

Eeee! Adorable! And I haven't shrunk that much.

[dragonmagelet.livejournal.com]

I have found that, in order for exercise to make a positive impact on my energy level and sleep, I have to get a LOT of exercise in a single day. When I was doing farm chores and hiking around in the snow every day, I felt great and I slept like a log. But simply working out for an hour or two a day, even if it is every day, just doesn't affect my internal chemistry enough to make a difference.

[teaberryblue.livejournal.com]

Damn! And an hour or two is a lot more exercise than I have time for.

[cacophonesque.livejournal.com]

I like reading these posts. They make me feel a bit more motivated toward working on my own fitness goals. And I feel like they give me a reasonable and realistic perspective on what to expect and work toward.

I've been considering trying to do something similar. Maybe once I have my camera cord--even if the thought of photographing my body terrifies me. Because maybe by doing so, I could help other people to feel motivated in the way that you've helped me.

[teaberryblue.livejournal.com]

Thank you, Destiny! That is part of what I wanted to do it. I think that we all get hung up on our bodies and it's hard because most of the bodies we see in photographs that aren't clothed bodies are airbrushed or pretty idealized forms to start with. Posting pictures of my normal body makes me feel better about my own goals as attainable goals and is making me feel more comfortable with looking at myself-- looking at photos makes me feel a lot more forgiving than looking in the mirror. I also feel like putting myself out there like this is my way of saying, "look, I can put on shorts and a bra and not feel like I'm being sexualized by it." I hope it encourages you! And it would be neat to see more normal bodies on the internet.

[whimcee.livejournal.com]

Try stretching - your muscles might be tight and preventing you from relaxing which might be preventing you from sleeping better? Plus stretching is just generally good for you, I think. Good luck!

[teaberryblue.livejournal.com]

Oooh, hmm. I could start stretching right before bed. I'm doing it after I work out already but that's several hours earlier.

[skirmish-of-wit.livejournal.com]

When I was a kid, I went through an insomniac phase, and stretching was one of the things that helped me fall asleep. I don't know how much of that was mental (because my parents said it would help) but FWIW.

[teaberryblue.livejournal.com]

Oooh! My parents said hot milk would help, which is why I keep cows now.

[blythe025.livejournal.com]

Looking good!

[teaberryblue.livejournal.com]

Thanks!

[joeymichaels.livejournal.com]

It takes a while to get to the "sleep better" point.

[teaberryblue.livejournal.com]

Aha! Okay!

[joeymichaels.livejournal.com]

Trying to think of my process when I started working out last. I think that when I got up to my full workout (which resulted in me being so covered with sweat I needed to drink like six jugs of water each time) that I would sleep like a total log.

When I first started working out, I was all kinds of anxious and wired for about a month or so.