Since coming home from China I have lost a little weight every day. This morning I weighed 167.8 pounds. I keep thinking, "Wow, I only have 17.8 pounds left to lose. Wow. This is crazy!" It's happening, it really is. By the end of the year I will be to my goal weight and well into the training for my first triathlon next summer. I feel great and am so much happier than I was a year ago. I'm stronger, more focused, and feel so much better about life. The weight loss is only a small part of that, though. Even though I have focused a lot on the weight loss since I started this blog, I do believe the daily exercise has been the real key in improving the way I feel. The two go together, if I hadn't been counting calories and losing weight, I don't know if I would have been motivated to keep exercising. If I still weighed 224 pounds I don't think I could have run 6.4 miles on Saturday, and the improvement I'm seeing when I exercise is part of what keeps me motivated. Also, it would hurt a lot more to run if I was still that heavy. But if I had to choose one or the other, if they came in separate packages and I had to pick which one was more key to my overall health, happiness and well being, I would pick the exercise over the weight loss. I hope all women over 40 are getting the message that regular exercise, including lifting weights, is critically important to their health, happiness and well being. There is no doubt in my mind that exercising now will make my 60s, 70s, 80, 90s, and beyond a hell of a lot more fun!
Yesterday's calorie count: 1547
Yesterday evening's exercise: House cleaning (Carla comes home on Thursday and my dad, Kay, and my sister are coming to visit this weekend! Yeah! We'll have a full house!). Does house cleaning count for my evening activity? I think it does. Mostly, I think the point is to be active in the evening, after sitting all day at work. Ruth, what's the verdict on that one?
This morning's exercise: Cardio Routine which includes 100 floors (24 minutes) on stairmaster, 1500 meters (8 minutes) on rowing machine, 2500 strides (20 minutes) on elliptical machine.
Some of the latest research shows that 45 minutes of exercise increases your metabolism for 14 hours. Another way to look at that is that after 14 hours, your body acts like it would if you had not exercised, until the next time you do. Some people have taken this to mean that it is better to spit your workout into two sessions at least on some days. Adding a walk in the evening is probably all that you need if you are working out 60 minutes in the morning.
ReplyDeleteMakes sense. I like going for walks in the evening! Works for me.
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