Monday, January 31, 2011

Weekly Post

M: Nothing- I did 1 hour on the bike last Sunday and my morning sickness returned (overdid it)
T: Prevention DVD
W: 2 mile walk pushing Luke
Th: Bike for 35 minutes, yard work
F: Bike for 40 minutes
S: Prevention DVD, 1 1/2 mile walk
S: Nothing

It was a good week. I keep thinking that my $100 investment in the exercise bike is one of the best I ever made. Right now, I am mostly reading the Lord of the Rings series while riding. I have actually never read the books before, so I am having a lot of fun! Luke likes to have me ride too- he says, "Stay on bike Mommy, stay on!" in his forceful two-year-old way. :)

Emily- I honestly do NOT like exercising either. But, I love the way it makes me feel and how it helps me control other things in my life (like diet mainly). I have found over time that I like certain things more than others. Maybe the Shred is not the right thing for you? You found a great way to eat after a lot of experimenting. :)

Kelly-It is so good to hear that you are able to get some exercise in these days! We are praying for a healthy baby and mommy everyday.

Jessica- Did you work out much with your pregnancies? Obviously the twins were different, but were there things that you particularly like to stay in shape?

Saturday, January 29, 2011

exercise updates and thoughts (re: Emily)

So, last week, I only ended up working out Thurs (ran two miles), but that made 4 days of working out.  This week:
M: 10 minutes thigh pilates, ran 1 mile
T: ran 2 miles
W: quick 20 minutes hike with kiddos
Th: 20 minutes pilates plus 6 minute upper body light weight lifting (from a video)
F: chased kids over zoo for 2+ hours

Today: I should get about a 1 1/2 miles of walking in.

Re: exercise thoughts

I used to hate exercise.  Absolutely hate it.  Part of it was viewing its benefits only in terms of losing weight.  My parents put me on strange diets all through high school because they thought I was too plump (though, in retrospect, although I felt that way, I realize now that I wasn't fat at all.  I wasn't thin, but I wasn't fat).  Anyhow, I cannot stand diets because of that and, for awhile, couldn't stand exercise.

I exercised lightly off and on after having babies simply because I was feeling really insecure about my body and would rather exercise a little than diet.

The turning point for me was when a retired psychologist told me that exercise was the best long-term cure for my panic attacks.  It gave me a reason to exercise and the initial benefits (mental and emotional) were of such great value to me that I started exercising more for those reasons than for the sake of 'looking good'.  I did lose weight in the process and became the happiest with my body than I have ever been.  But my happiness wasn't in my thinness but in the strength of my body.  I felt healthy.  Healthy mentally, emotionally and physically.  And that helps me to be a better mother, wife and friend.

So, for me, that is why I exercise.  To feel 'healthy' in a well-rounded way.

Honesty

I just did level 1 of Jillian's Shred for the first time in I don't remember how long. Probably last summer! And I have to admit that Anita was NOT "carrying me through it"...she was kicking my butt!

Anyway, what I remembered (after about the first three minutes) is how very much I do not like working out. Jess, I am so not you. :) I don't like sweating, I don't like hurting, and I don't like giving up even half an hour of precious time to sweat and hurt.

Two years ago I did this consistently because I was really unhappy with myself and my body. I hadn't yet found an eating pattern that worked, and I wasn't taking an antidepressant either. Now I do feel good about my eating, and the meds have taken away the anxiety that was driving most of my life.

I have this thought that it would be nice to lose 10 lbs, but honestly I no longer find it super compelling. (This is a FANTASTIC place for me to be!)

I also have a thought that it would be a good idea to stay in shape so that I'll be more healthy as I get older (Jess, you've written about that before) and that is more intellectually compelling but tends to lack force in the midst of day to day life.

I don't really have any insights or conclusions right now. I'd love to hear your thoughts, exercise buddies. :)

Wednesday, January 26, 2011

I exercise...sporadically.

Last night Gabe and I listened to the President's address. And because I had temporarily run out of laundry to fold, and because I tend to despise sitting still and watching a screen for over 30 minutes...I picked up my weights. :)

Thanks to Jillian and all the shred I did (long, long ago...) I actually have some good, basic weight lifting in my head. So I cycled through what I could remember, and I am sore today, so I must have done something right.

In in that frustrating spot right now of feeling that I ought to be exercising (especially to keep my knees from hurting) but just not finding a place for it in my life. It does not work with the kids underfoot, and by the time they're having quiet time the LAST thing that I have energy for is working out. And besides, there is laundry to fold.

I'm sure you all know the struggle. I just haven't found a good solution for this particular life stage.

I do exercise

Hi, ladies! Although I've read the blog on and off, I've not posted until now. I do exercise, but until recently it couldn't be a top priority. Now Evan and I are both doing Jillian Michael's 30 Day Shred every day. Jillian, ah, you are a strange woman with your wild eyes and flaring nose, but you're right, you do get results. My arm, back, and leg muscles are much stronger already. I'm almost two weeks into it, and Level 1 has become fairly easy, so Evan and I will move to Level 2 tomorrow or the next day.

I'll try to keep our results posted.

--Bethany

Saturday, January 22, 2011

Week 32 Summary for Jess

1/16 - Sunday - Banish Fat, Boost Metabolism DVD
1/17 - Bob Harper Cardio Conditioning DVD - 60 min. section
1/18 -
1/19 - Dancing with the Stars: Dance Off the Pounds DVD - swing and jive sections
1/20
1/21 - Jackie Warner Xtreme Timesaver Training DVD

1/22 - Bob Harper Super Strength DVD - 60 min. section (minus last 10 min. - ran out of time)


Yippee! Now that's more like it. 5 days this week!

I've been favoring doing strength training interspersed with dance DVDs, and so next week I'm planning on changing it up and doing Jillian's circuit training DVDs (the Shred and the Biggest Winner) five days in a row. Of course, I'm not sure I'll make it, but I feel like challenging myself with something different. And then, I think, back to strength and dance, because I really, really like them. :)

-Jess

Friday, January 21, 2011

Good Week

Monday: Prevention DVD
Tuesday: 2 mile walk with stroller
Wednesday: Bike ride- 30 minutes, about 8 miles
Thursday: vaccumed the house (yes, I am counting that right now :) )
Friday: Prevention DVD, squatting against a wall, and dancing with Luke

I am feeling good and beginning slowly to bring in light weights to the Prevention DVD. I also discovered this week that I can actually still do a few full push-ups. Yay for Jillian!

This weekend may not be the best- Nathan is very sick and I am mostly trying to take the extra share of Luke care. Who knows though, we may do a walk or something.

Hope you all are doing well out there!

Wednesday, January 19, 2011

Whoophee!

So the end of last week, I started realizing that it was sugar causing my nausea to continue.  Just the littlest bit in any form (juice, one cookie, cereal, etc).  I also figured out eating pasta was a problem too.  Anyhow, since stopping eating those foods, my nausea is gone.  It comes back if I cheat, but doesn't bother me if I'm strict with my diet. Yeah!  I feel as much myself as I can be now, considering my body is inhabited by an alien right now.

That means, I am exercising again! Regularly!!!!

Monday: 10 minutes hip Pilates, ran 1 mile
Tuesday: ran 2 miles
Wednesday: 10 minutes hip Pilates, 10 minutes thigh Pilates

I plan on exercising the next two days too.  I am already feeling the benefits of regular exercise again.  I am sleeping better and more energetic throughout the day.  I am so glad to find my nausea turned out to be a simple food problem and can be controlled!

Sunday, January 16, 2011

Week 31 Summary for Jess

1/9 - Sunday
1/10 - 20 min. walk
1/11
1/12 - Jackie Warner Xtreme Timesaver Training DVD
1/13 - Dance with Julianne: Cardio Ballroom DVD - cha-cha and jive sections
1/14 - No More Trouble Zones DVD + 10 mins. alternating jumping rope & jumping jacks

1/15 - 3 hours walking around botanical gardens, often while carrying a child. :)


The beginning of this week was hard; I was in a funk, and the only exercise I got was a short walk to the park with my sister and our kids. But the end of the week picked up, and given how the week started, I'm pretty happy with the amount of exercise I got.

Today I did the Banish Fat, Boost Metabolism DVD with my husband. It's the only exercise DVD of mine that he really likes (it's got a far amount of kickboxing stuff in it), and it's fun to get to work out with him. (He stays in shape the rest of the time commuting to work by unicycle and teaching karate.)

Kelly and Katie, I'm glad that you're getting to work out again! And Kelly, I think your workouts with the kids sound really cool. I'll have to try to work something like that into our homeschooling eventually. The only thing we really do that's like that is dancing - when I put on upbeat music to do jumping jacks and jump-rope to, the girls often join in with bouncy dancing, which is really fun. But I think it's neat you're teaching your kids such a valuable life skill/health habit/healthy coping mechanism so early.

-Jess

Saturday, January 15, 2011

Yay!

I did nearly all of my Prevention DVD today (sans the ab work on the floor- for obvious reasons). I am very excited!

Tuesday, January 11, 2011

establishing a new routine

Although I haven't yet figured out how my regular, personalized exercise will go just yet (still waiting for Jesse to nail down his schedule for the term), I have started a new routine with the kids that benefits me too.

Before school each morning, we now to do morning stretches together and Pilates moves for 10-15 minutes.  Then we do math and history.  After that, we all run around the block (about a 1/3 of a mile) and then we have reading and grammar lessons.  It's been working great.

The idea was actually for Mary's sake.  She sometimes struggles with focusing and having pent-up energy, and I also think she might struggle with panic a bit too (though at her age, it comes across as "the crazies").  So the exercise routine was initially initiated simply for her sake.  But it is benefitting us all.  Even if I do get in a 'real' exercise, I am getting a light work out that takes up about 20 minutes of my day Monday-Friday.  Given that I have been nothing, this is definitely a step up!

I also am hoping that helping my kids identify exercise routines now might be beneficial when they are older.  Exercise will hopefully already be a normal part of their day and not an 'extra' to be squeezed in.

Weak

Well, we are back in Houston after a month-long sojourn through CA. It was a great trip and I got some good long walks in (thanks to grandparents!), but we are certainly glad to be home.

The office that my midwives use is in a high rise building in downtown Houston. When I was leaving my appointment and walking back up the stairs to my car, I was shocked at how weak I felt. Climbing 6 flights of stairs, I almost had to stop part way up.

I am not really sad about this or anything, it's just that I used to think that walking was enough to get fit. Though I have still been walking and doing other little things, I have learned how much different it is to do a really difficult workout tape, or just any significant amount of weight lifting/push-ups/squats etc...

Hopefully I can resume some more vigorous exercise, but for right now, I am still working on getting through each day. My morning sickness returned with a vengeance after flying home solo with Luke. Traveling for 8 hours with a 2-year old and a 25lb backpack left me totally spent.

Monday, January 10, 2011

Week 30 Summary for Jess

1/2 - Sunday - Banish Fat, Boost Metabolism DVD
1/3 - Bob Harper Super Strength DVD - 60 min. section
1/4
1/5 - Dance with Julianne: Just Dance! DVD - first and last sections
1/6 - Jackie Warner Xtreme Timesaver Training DVD
1/7 - Dance Off the Inches: Fat-Burning Belly Dance DVD

1/8

Five! Yay, I'm happy.

btw, that new Jackie Warner DVD? So painful. Harder than anything I've tried yet. I don't know if I'll EVER be able to get through it without stopping. It's all compound movies (like a deep curtsy-squat up into a side kick with a punch WITH weights) and the killer is that you do each for an entire minute straight. On each side. Ow, ow, ow . . .

But I'm going to keep trying!

I'm also really enjoying my dancing DVDs these days. They're just fun. It's very nice to do something that's simply enjoyable in between all those painful weights-circuits DVDs.


Hope your ultrasound goes well, Kelly!

-Jess

Thursday, January 6, 2011

A bit annoyed, frustrated, confused

Okay.  Beginning with the good news, I tried running today.  After the bike incident, Jesse suggested that maybe the problem was the style of exercise I was trying as it was not what I was used to.  So, I went jogging today.  I intended to do a small one mile loop but felt so invigorated in the beginning that I set off on my 2 mile loop.  I made it and felt GOOD!!!  Granted, I did not run the whole way, but I ran about a mile and a half of it and that is good.    The endorphins definitely helped!  I did have to nap later in the day, but on the whole, I do feel more energetic.

On another note, I gained 14 lbs this last month.  How?  I have no clue as I did not do any holiday binging (the nausea prevented that!) and I still fit into all my pre-pregnancy clothes with the help of a belly band and my pants are not tight.  I do have a belly but the 14 lbs is really confusing me as the baby certainly doesn't weight that much!  My midwife didn't seem concerned and was actually glad I gained that much weight (she thought I was underweight), but given that the weight didn't distribute itself around my body like it normally does when I gain weight, I am not satisfied with the answer.  Not.at.all.  I was really depressed after finding out I gained that much and I want an answer!  Unfortunately it is alluding me.

It does make me suspect twins more.  I'll find out on Monday.  If it is not twins, then the weight gain will be even more perplexing.  Did any of you gain weight like that in a pregnancy?  The most I ever gained in a month was 7 lbs (granted I would do quite a few months in a row of that, but that's beside the point).

Saturday, January 1, 2011

Week 29 Summary for Jess

12/26 -
12/27 - Bob Harper Cardio Conditioning DVD - 20 min. section + 7 min. alternating jump-rope and jumping jacks
12/28 - Bob Harper Super Strength DVD - 60 min. section - but only half of it! :) (so, 30 min.)
12/29 - Dancing with the Stars: Dance, Body, Tone
12/30

12/31 - Jackie Warner Xtreme (I know! the spelling!) Timesaver Training DVD

1/1 - Dancing with the Stars: Dance Off the Pounds DVD - swing and jive sections


The Jackie Warner Xtreme might be my new favorite DVD. It's intense. Every move is weights plus a large muscle movement, to make it aerobic. I love it. I'm sore. :)


And, Kelly, you get full points for effort from me!

-Jess