Move That Body!

Never let the music make you feel lazy
Get on the dance floor, feelin' that backbeat
You never had it so good, you never had it so sweet
Raise your hands up in the air
Shake your derriere like you just don't care
Rockin', rollin', doin' it steady
I do believe y'all are ready to move that body
Move that body, baby

-Technotronic "Move That Body"

B. Good over at She's Opinionated got me thinking with this comment on one of her Weight Watchers Wednesday posts. So far she's lost over forty pounds and counting but knows she has to move her body in order to keep the scale going down.

I hate gyming. I actually have plenty of time to do it, but I still don’t go. And I have this thing about sweating. I hate to do it. So I have to find ways to absentmindedly move my body, so I don’t realize that I’m “working out” and burning calories.

B is not alone. A lot of women feel the same way for various reasons. Big box gyms can be such meat markets. Sweat and permed hair are not a perfect combination. Who has the time? The machines can be so boring.

Over the years, I've given all these excuses and more for not moving my body. However, I realized that the key was to find something that didn't feel like a chore. I had to think of it as my personal time where I was doing something that was good for me...but also something I actually enjoyed.

I started out swimming laps. I've always been in love with the water, learning to swim at an early age. By the time I had my surgery, I had gone natural so I didn't have my hair to worry about.

I walked - but not on a stationary treadmill or around and around an endless track. I walked through the woods and around bodies of water - anywhere scenic. I made an exercise playlist on my IPOD and I moved my body to the music.

I knew the key was not to let my body get used to any one exercise. I had to use different muscle groups. I had to keep myself from getting bored. Here's some of the things I tried:

• Jazzercise: a 60-minute class incorporating cardio, strength, and stretch moves for a total body workout. We’ve taken moves from hip-hop, yoga, Pilates, kick-boxing, and resistance training and bundled them into one hour. All ages, levels, and sizes welcome. I've tried this once or twice and it's quite a workout. You can find it hard to keep up at the beginning but they do offer a very good tutorial on the site to help you learn the core moves before you attend the first class.
  
  
• Strip Aerobics: This is probably one of the best workouts I've ever had. I leave every class exhausted and sore for days afterwards. I prefer the floor/chair class so I've never done the pole workout. I've seen women of all sizes doing both classes. I find that you tend to bond with the other women in the class as you struggle through! It's a fun struggle though...if that makes sense.
  
  
• Bellydancing: This is also another form of exercise I've only tried a few times. I never could figure out how to isolate my movements. I think I'm going to try again though because I find it such a sensual form of exercise and it's great for the abs - definitely my problem area.
  

I'm also interested in trying hand dancing and a hip hop dance class in the near future.

What alternative, fun ways are you finding to move your body?


Vivrant Thang blogs about live, love and music over at Songs In The Key Of Life.

Still Crazy After All These Months...

It Was My Birthday.....

Hey All!

Wow, it is actually April, where does the time go?!?

Lessee , last time I talked to you, the diet went south, my heart was soaring heavenward, and the butt was spreading over the horizon. Since then, Mr. Marvelous turned out to be not so marvelous. Well, he was still nice, just not as.....single as I would have liked him to be. So I bid him adieu and spent the next couple of months plotting a messy and painful revenge for the jerk - I mean, contemplating and meditating on what was next for my life. Oh hell, I spent the next couple of months eating. Screw Dr. Phil, Betty Crocker was my shrink!


Anyhoo, we are starting over yet again - I lost a total of 25 lbs for the diet contest which ended in January....and I gained a total of 25 pounds and counting as of today. Soooo, getting back with my diet buddies both on and offline to see what we can do about this old friend that won't go away! Because I am a diabetic, the Atkins diet was perfect for me and I did lose weight - but life without carbs was kinda wearing on me and Christmas really put the Kibosh on the whole thing. It is a lifestyle, but life without Chocolate Cake was just too hard to bear. So I think that I will join Weight Watchers and get back on my walking/running/almost dying exercise regimen.

I have a new motivation - on May 6th, I will be going to Yosemite in California! Hiking, fresh air, camping out, possibly falling off a mountain, getting mauled by bears on the way to the bathroom which by the way is about 100 yards from the tent - oh yeah can't wait! So I am going to have to get in at least a little shape for all of the exercise and good times that are to come! Can't Wait!


It's the getting started part that is hard - but, I CAN DO IT!!



The pics above were from February 21 of this year - my birthday. I wanted to blog this on that day, but life got in the way, so now that things have calmed down a bit I think I will share now.

I turned 42 that day. Walked into the office to good friends , great food (Bob made these pumpkin muffins that were to die for) and a surprise bouquet from a special buddy of mine. It didn't matter that I had loved and lost, or that I had gained a few pounds. That day I felt really special and loved , and as I do every birthday, I found and counted my blessings to match my age.

.......Then I went out and got blasted out of my mind!! Great day all around!!

Talk at ya later folks! Next post - facing the dreaded scale once again!

Weight Loss Tip of the Day

Dietary control and exercise. It’s true what they say - all you need to do is watch what you eat, and expend more energy than you consume. It’s really that simple. You now know everything you need to know and didn’t need to fork over $500 for the privilege of me telling you the secret of losing weight. You don’t need to read a 4,000 page book, you don’t have to buy a tape series, you don’t need to stay up late at night to watch infomercials to understand this basic premise. It’s 100% true.

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