Wednesday, November 3, 2010

Fitness Magazine: a pleasant surprise!

Happy November 3rd! This is officially my favorite day of the month. No offense to all of my fantastic friends and family who have birthdays this month or to the girl(s) who are coming to see me later this month but I am just loving this day. NO MORE POLITICAL ADS!!!! It might seem like a small thing to get so excited about but I am thrilled that I no longer have to hear about the fact that regardless of who we put in office they will cheat, lie, steal, kick puppies and pinch babies. I'm not going to lie, I don't know that anybody that I voted for was actually elected into office but I am keeping my hopes high that whoever is making decisions will embrace a moderate attitude and do what's best for the state and the country. As someone who doesn't have a lot of money having republicans in control always makes me a little nervous, they're not known for supporting the lower and middle classes, but I'm going to put my negative opinions aside and hope for the best!

November has started off pretty well for me, especially in contrast to the end of October. I was terrible over the weekend. I didn't work out at all and I ate like crap. I don't feel too guilty about it but I need to get back in gear. I've started working out in the mornings again. I've attempted this many times and never really get into the habit. However, I've decided that if I really want to reach the goals that I set for myself, in the timeline that I want, I need to get more vigorous cardio during the week. Don't get me wrong, I've been doing cardio throughout the week but I cannot accomplish in my apartment what I can on a treadmill. So, it was either workout late in the evenings, meaning after 9:00, or get up at 5:00 a few mornings a week. I wouldn't mind working out at night but I already have issues sleeping and I fear that getting an energy boost that late in the evening will just escalate those problems. Right now I've decided that Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday mornings are my treadmill days. The rest of the week I will fill in with resistance, flexibility and balance training. I really want to push myself. When I lost weight last in the late winter and early spring of 2009 I got to around 30 pounds off and then I lost focus. I not only gained back everything I lost but about 15 pounds more. I cannot keep doing this. Anyway, I'm doing really well right now and I keep adding monthly goals and have been pretty successful.

OK, do you remember last year when signed up to do Lighten Up Iowa we got a free years subscription to a magazine? Well, I ended up getting Fitness Magazine. I wasn't sure if I'd like it or if there would be anything in the magazine geared towards someone like me. When I got my first issues I browsed through it quickly and didn't pay much attention to anything. I saw a lot of half naked thin, fit women and workout pants for over $100. After that first issue I don't think that I looked at them again. Recently I started pulling them out again. I figure that if I look beyond the cover and thumb through them more carefully I might just find some interesting things. You know what...I did!

First, I like that there are healthy recipes in each issues. I've only tried one but I have intentions of trying more. I like that they often times have reviews of products for your everyday life. From shoes, to healthy frozen foods, to face creams. I like that they have real experts in areas of diet, fitness and weight loss who contribute to each article. I think some of the information that they share is definitely geared more towards the already fit population but they have things for beginners as well. I really, really like that they have success stories from people like us in EVERY issue. In each issue they have three women who have gone through the same struggles as us talk about their success. They are short snippets but they're there. It was in one such snippet that I found a motto that I think would work well for anybody who wants to lose weight and get healthier: eat clean, exercise dirty! I think the woman in question had lost 70 pounds and she said she did it mostly by eliminating highly processed foods and by doing her cardio. She ate well and sweat a lot! As busy women, it's not always possible to cut out processed foods completely but by cutting back we can certainly make a difference in our overall fitness, especially when paired with regular exercise. There have been other items of interest from the magazine...did you know that canola oil is actually better for you that olive oil (not to mention way cheaper) and I have actually enjoyed reading it. I don't know that I would be interested in subscribing once the free trial is over but it has been a very pleasant surprise.

I should go because I don't have much more to say. I hope that November is treating you well so far!

2 comments:

LeAnn said...

Wow, it's already the 8th. Last week was crazy busy and this week won't be much better. I got up super early today, accidentally, so I thought I get in one comment. I hope to blog soon, but I need to catch up on a couple other things first. I, too, am happy that the political stuff can stop for awhile. It's just a waste of time, listening to those unhelpful ads.

November had a rough start for me. It's just been so busy, and now I have a full blown cold. I got lots of rest yesterday, so hopefully today I can go to work. The work out plan will start soon, but I need to feel better and get caught up at work first. My plan is to do it somewhere between 4:30 and 5:30 pm three nights a week. My mornings are too precious. There is a local wellness center that I'd like to try, especially as the weather will not be conducive to work-outs much longer. I hope to beat the 5 pm rush/crowd, if there is one.

I barely look at my Fitness magazine, but that's most due to lack of time. It's off-putting to see a slim, toned chick on the cover every time. Oh well. I'm glad you found pieces to be interesting. If I remember correctly, I did pay attention to some of the exercises it gave and how to do them.

Well, I better be off. I will be more available for blogging and commenting in the next few weeks.

project.100.gone said...

Been meaning to comment on this entry for days but my computer situation has prevented it. (My PC needs to be thrown in the dumpster and I haven't gotten my laptop officially set up in a comfy place to do a lot of typing)

I'm quite surprised about the recipe potential in Fitness Magazine. I am struggling to remember the name of the magazine I get through the Lighten Up Iowa deal. I think it had something to do with diabetes. I really need to start cooking at home more often and utilizing my own recipes and those you share on here. I still need to try the honey-lime chicken you mentioned weeks ago.