Thursday, September 27, 2012

A Day Spiral....



A day spiral can happen at anytime, for me it usually happens when I am stressed out! What is a day spiral ? Well a day spiral is when you start off with a missed work out or a "cheat meal" and you let your entire day spiral out of control. I usually am thinking that I have already missed a work out or ate too much so, I throw in the towel for the day.  Luckily for me I learned early in this journey that it is never too late to change.  If you miss a workout, get one in later. Eat to much at a  meal,  throw in an extra workout or just deal with it. 

Everyday will have it's challenges , the common denominator in each day is you. You can make the decisions that will determine if you take a step back or forward. Don't let a day spiral  turn into a week of bad decisions. I received a e-mail from a reader asking me how I stay on track. The reality is that there is no magic answer. I am learning as I go and some days I fall back into bad habits.

The difference between the old me and the new me is that I have the tools  that I need to  be successful. I am constantly reading and learning about health and fitness. I surround my self with people who are trying to maintain a healthy lifestyle. My lifestyle is now very active so, I am constantly on the move. So how do I stay on track? I guess it is because I am living a differently, I have changed my life. So this is just how I live now, being sedentary and eating fast food is a rare occasion  in my current life.  I have made this habit , it is now a part of how I live my life. 

Wednesday, September 12, 2012

Tales from the treadmill


I have changed my workout routine since the semester began. My office hours are early afternoon so I head to the campus gym at about 8:00am  and I can usually get in a  great workout before I head to my office.  So I have been running indoors consistently for about 3 weeks and I have noticed a few things about the treadmill. I usually wear my ipod and heart monitor while I am running.

I have noticed that, my gadgets usually are off from the treadmills read outs. So I started doing some research.  I found that the calorie estimate on the treadmill is based on the average  exerciser, it has nothing to do with you. So if an average person burns 200 calories running a mile, then that is what it will say.  you in fact may be burning more of less.  So don't base your workout on that caloric burn, your best bet is to use your own heart rate monitor. That way you will have an accurate read out of how much energy you are expelling.

When it comes to distance the treadmill cannot determine your stride.  I happen to be 5'3 and my monitor calculates me running father on the readout than , the treadmill does by a quarter mile.  I have also found a new machine to torture myself, it is called Jacob's ladder.  Click the video below to see a short video about it.


I honestly feel like a clumsy on this machine and I have not stayed on it longer than 15 minutes.  I am working on improving my stamina on it though. For now it is a new challenge that I am embracing. 

Sunday, September 9, 2012

Scale withdrawl

So I might have  a bit of scale withdraw, I actually tried to piece together my old one.  then I caught myself and had to laugh. I am glad that I decided not to purchase a new one though. I do feel a bit more encouraged that I am not reflecting on the scale every day.