I’ve never been much for exercise DVDs, but in my quest for different types of workouts while avoiding the gym, I decided to use part of a Christmas gift card to give a couple of DVDs a try.

First up: Rodney Yee’s Yoga for Beginners (link to my Amazon account, but on sale at Target this week for $11.99) A yoga-instructing friend had expressed a profound adoration of Rodney Yee early in her yoga practice, so I thought this might be a good choice. I’m not disappointed. The DVD contains two routines: a series of morning poses for energy and an evening routine for relaxation and rejuvenation. More importantly to me, it contains a separate segment focused solely on poses–their purpose, the correct positions, common mistakes, etc. Everything a klutzy girl needs!

I’m going to seriously work at developing an almost-every-day practice, but at minimum, I’ll work through some of the poses each day. This DVD will definitely get some use.

My second DVD choice was based solely on blogger community popularity. I bought it despite the fact that I’m not a huge Jillian Michaels fan (keep your tomatoes; it’s nothing personal!)  The DVD I’m referring to is, of course, Jillian Michaels – 30 Day Shred.(link to my Amazon account, but on sale at Target this week for $8.00) If you’re one of the 12 bloggers who hasn’t tried this DVD, I’ll dish: It’s based on a 3-2-1 formula, which is 3 minutes of strength, 2 minutes of cardio, and 1 minute of ab work. Repeated several times, in circuit fashion. There are also active stretches to warm-up and stretchy stretches to cool down. All together, it’s a little less than 30 minutes for each workout. There are three total, and within each there are demos for a beginner and a more experienced exerciser. (Note: in all honesty, even the beginner level would’ve been too difficult for me 100 pounds ago.)

So far, I’ve only tried one workout and wasn’t able to fully execute it. My workouts normally consist of heavier weights with fewer reps, which meant I wasn’t able to do all the reps with the weights I have. (I went to fail on each circuit, then tossed the weights on the bed and continued the exercises in proper form, sans weights.) I’m also accustomed to 30-60 second recoveries between sets. Not having those recoveries was tough, but that may have been because of the too-heavy weights. I’ll try again with lesser weights. (I’m thinking I’ll fill a couple of empty water bottles with sand and see how that works. Or I’ll cave in and buy some lighter weights at Target. They’re also on sale this week.)

Another problem I had was with the cardio portion of the workout. It has a lot of jumping about and for the girl who has leftover belly flab, jumping about is very uncomfortable. And not in a good way. I’ll have to figure out a workaround for that. It’s do-able.

The bottom line is that I didn’t hate this DVD. In fact, even in the one partial workout, I liked most of the exercises (yaaay! squat punches!)  It’s a good workout and due to the lack of recovery periods, it’s a quick workout. If I have the proper equipment, it might be just the ticket on days when I need to save a few minutes.

So there you have it. I haven’t fallen in love with exercise DVDs, but I’m not sorry I bought either of these. One will get ongoing use and the other will be a good fill-in during the cold dreary days of winter when the long, 20-yard sprint from the car to the gym door is too much to bear.

Your opinions on these or other exercise DVDs are always welcome and greatly appreciated!

~

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You may not have noticed but I’ve been in a funk lately. It’s not a big deal, just an end of year, post holiday, off my schedule, ate too much crap, lost my will to exercise, funk. I haven’t really posted about it as I’ve been trying to pull myself out by being positive. It’s sort of working.

So tonight I thought I would try again (the being positive thing) by plucking few Ask Roni questions to answer. The first one brought a tear to my eye and stopped me in my tracks.

Dear Roni,
On your videos, you always talk about how you ramble. I am a rambler too, so please excuse me if I get side tracked. By the way, I don’t see rambling as bad, it just means that we have a lot of thoughts or feelings to express.

Anyway, This isn’t really a question, but a big thank you. It’s kind of funny.. I feel like I really know you, because I am always reading your blog, but you don’t know me. So here’s my story. In May of 2008, I went on a vacation to the beach in North Carolina with some good friends from University that I don’t get to see very often. I looked at all the pictures and couldn’t believe what I saw. I was so unhappy with myself that I had let my weight get to that point (I weighed 200lbs—I am 5’6). I began a journey where I have lost a little over 50lbs and have been maintaining that loss for a few months now. During this journey, I started to not only lose the weight and feel better about myself, but to try new things that I never thought I could do. For example, I, like you, found a passion for running. Who knew I could be an athlete? I started to learn how to cook healthy things for myself Who knew I could cook? I started with weight watchers, but have started to bridge my own path because I want to learn more about nutrition and how to properly fuel my body. I have signed up to participate in an event in Toronto (where I live) called the CN tower stair climb, where I will climb 1,776 stairs and have raised money to benefit WWF (World Wildlife Fund, not the sweaty wrestlers). I have always wanted to do this event, but never believed in myself to do it. I always thought I could never be like the people that did those sorts of things, until I started to do them. I’m sure you know what I mean.

You, through your blogs and thoughts and experiences that you share and videos have slowly made me realize that it is my thoughts that have kept me from being able to do what I wanted, not my body. My body was just expressing the unhappiness and lack of control that existed in my life. (It’s kind of like the wizard of oz where they all realize they’ve always had the power within themselves–cheesy, I know, but true nonetheless). Today, I signed up to complete two half marathons this year, and I just started running like you, and it blows my mind how far I’ve come. This made me realize that I really need to thank you. The question that you posted last week about your "actual goal" really got me thinking. weight loss was for so long my goal. At least it seemed that way on the outside, but there has really been more to it all along. Through reaching my goal of weight loss I have had to accomplish so many things such as changing my thinking, changing my fitness, changing the way I eat, etc. So, what has been the actual goal of this all along? I think for me, it was to bridge a better relationship with myself and to give myself the chance to be someone that I liked. When I looked at that picture last year from my vacation, I was physically unhappy but also very mentally and emotionally unhappy with who I was. This has been very long-winded and probably very sappy, but I wanted to let you know that there are people out here who don’t always comment, but really benefit from the advice and inspiration that you give out through your blogs. Thank you for being so real and sharing your experiences. All the best to you!
Dotty

Dotty,

Thank you so much for "de-lurking" and sending me this amazing email. Sometimes these funks I get into make me lose sight of my goals. This blog may have started as a way to help me stay accountable but over the course of these almost 5 years (holy smokes!) it’s become so much more then that.

The way you described your realization that there was more then weight loss all along is EXACTLY how I feel. It’s amazing what happens when that switch gets flipped. I wish I could go around flipping it in others (there’s a mental picture for you. lol) I hope by sharing my thoughts and experiences it does that for some.

Thanks again. I really did need this tonight. You have helped me more the you realize and I thank you.

-Roni

P.S. Updates on all those amazing events please!!! Did you run the two half marathons?!?

Here’s my menu today. . . Two days home and cooking is helping the funk immensely!

Food	Units
~*~*~*~tuesday journal~*~*~*~
western egg muffins
bowl of progresso light soup – santa fe chicken
fresh mango split with the little guy.
2 meatballs (like http://bit.ly/8nfnhf) & a small sausage. i’m making sauce today. what kind of cook would i be if i didn’t taste test! ;~p
handful of junior mints… man those things are good.
popping cherry tomatoes while making dinner
some pasta but mostly spaghetti squash with homemade sauce and meatballs
3 more junior mints and then i offered some to the garbage disposal. he seemed please i know i was.
oh! forgot.. hit a yoga class before dinner
94% ff popcorn <- it's that or i raid the xmas chocolate stash, i choose that.
Total:	N/A

Table provided by Roni’s Food Tweet, Eat, Post Generator.

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Oh how I needed today. No work, no commute, no traffic, no rushing, no eating out, no baked goods or candy. Just me and the little guy playing, cooking, RELAXING.

After some pretty intense play (I’m talking action figures, nerf gun fights, jump rope), we baked. . .

We decided to make an old favorite, Whole Wheat Banana Muffins.

It was nice. Especially since the little guy has been less and less interested in helping me in the kitchen lately.

This morning was like old times and nothing makes me happier then to cook something with my son and have him enjoy eating a healthy home cooked meal.

After our late breakfast I decided to take a bath. That’s right a mid day bath and let me tell you, it was all that I thought it could be!

I filled the tube with bubbles, put on a face mask and started to read Twilight, one of my Christmas presents.

Once we were both dressed, the little guy and I headed out to clean the car and hit the grocery store. It was nice to shop for a week where we would be home for most meals and I wouldn’t have to cook after sitting in traffic on my commute home from an 8 hour day at work.

While cooking dinner I squished in a game of Trouble, errr, I mean Scooby Doo Pop ‘N’ Race.

While I finished dinner and snapped photos of The Husband’s New Favorite Chicken with Veggie Couscous, a Nerf battle of epic proportions ensued in the house. Here you’ll see the little guy cocking his weapon while hunting down Daddy.

After dinner, we cleaned up and watched, what else, our new Scooby DVD’s.

I now sit here watching FoodNetwork and blogging with you. My house is still quite the disaster zone but I made progress by cleaning the car and stocking my fridge. Tomorrow is house and laundry, not to mention another day of cooking and eating food at home. It makes me smile just thinking about it.

Here’s the food journal today. I didn’t eat much but I wasn’t that hungry. I think my body was in shock from all the smidgens yesterday (if you don’t know what I speak of don’t ask… you REALLY don’t want to know.

Food	Units
~*~*~*~monday’s ‘back to reality’ journal~*~*~*~
woke up still pretty full from the past few days. trying to listen to it… started day with a huge glass of ice water
a whole wheat banana muffin that i made with the little guy this morning. so much fun!
can of progresso light soup, carrot sticks and a half of grilled cheese (what the little guy didn’t eat)
another whole wheat banana muffin
handful of goldfish while putting the groceries away.
chicken with veggie couscous
bag of 94% ff popcorn
Total:	N/A

Table provided by Roni’s Food Tweet, Eat, Post Generator.

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errr….I mean making up with, not making out with. Or so I thought – then I took pictures for the post. More on “making out” later!

So forever (okay, just 2 years) I have eating oatmeal for breakfast. Lady of routine, one pack of instant sugar free apple cinnamon oatmeal.

Until a couple of weeks ago, when I realized I was eating 99.9% carbs all day every day. And I decided I better step outside of the instant oatmeal and find some other options.

Well, not together but both on the same plate. You see, I’ve heard so many people at the gym (well, trainers mostly) talk about 2 hard boiled eggs & peanut butter toast for breakfast.

And…if you have paid attention to my blog, ya’ll know I’m deeply scared of having peanut butter in my house. Wanna know why? Cuz I LOVE IT. TOO MUCH. Give me a jar of peanut butter and I’ll tell ya a bazillion food combination that would tempt your taste buds (or at least tempt a binger like myself!) I’m not kidding – you see, pre-weight loss, peanut butter was my go-to food. I would put peanut butter on EVERYTHING!

• Kit Kat dipped in peanut butter
• Peanut butter & cheese sandwiches
• Crackers & peanut butter
• Pretzels & peanut butter
• Celery & peanut butter
• Oreo’s dipped in peanut butter
• Peanut butter smeared banana
• Peanut butter on a spoon
• or a fork
• or on my finger

And it wouldn’t be just a serving. I would totally overdose on peanut butter. And then when I started counting calories, I made the decision that peanut butter was just not worth the potential binge so I never brought it into my house.

But I really want the added protein from the peanut butter. (I want to increase my protein intake.) And, since the light-bulb moment about controlling my response to the environment instead of controlling the environment, I made a risky decision this weekend.

My shopping list…

Yes, I’ve decided to purchase a jar of peanut butter. So while standing in the peanut butter section, I felt my armpits start to sweat. I examined the nutritional labels carefully and to be honest, felt very overwhelmed looking at the calories. Flashbacks of peanut butter filled binges flashed in my mind.

But alas, I bought it anyways.
I can control my response to my environment.

Enter The Peanut butter

ah, how I’ve missed you.
Can we make out?
okay okay, no making out
with the peanut butter!

(P.S. notice the glasses? Doctor says I better start wearing them all the time so I dug around and found an old pair I had. Glasses bother me, they rub on my nose too much – maybe I’ll look into contacts.)

Anyways, this Beck Diet book is giving me the confidence that I can live with Peanut butter without impaling my tongue deep into the jar to lick the remaining insides out. I tried this morning to add it to my toast but when I turned the jar over to look at the servings and saw 1 serving = 2 tablespoons = 190 calories, I got overwhelmed and decided I would only use 1 tablespoon.

I know it’s a mental struggle. I made it through day one of having the peanut butter in my house. We’ll see how I do for the rest of the week. I’m going to try to incorporate the recommended 2 tablespoons in my breakfast tomorrow.

Do you have a food in particular you struggle with? One that, no matter what, you just cannot seem to control yourself around?

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Well well, look at that – everyone came back. That means we made it through the holiday season and are all ready for New Years, right?

Quick recap…

Craisins, Special K Bars & Fiber One Bars

Iggy totally took home the most gifts.

Carlos and I got him a new sweater

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Yesterday I looked at my favorite blog posts from this year.  When I was doing the research for that post I looked through a lot of my blog posts over the past year and I realized was that I’ve had an amazing year.  I’ve done a lot of cool things and had some wonderful experiences with great people.  Today’s post is just a look back at all that I have done in 2009.

MY YEAR IN REVIEW

I started the year off living at home, but with a promotion to a new job at work.  I didn’t really like the job but appreciated more hours and money and the ability to do some new things with the YMCA (which I love). I dated some crappy guys and tried to have a little bit of fun that got me out of the house, like celebrating friend’s birthdays.  (Ignore the timestamps… this was in Feb 2009, the camera was wrong.)

Still, things weren’t so great for whatever reason and I ended up spending half my time being miserable and gaining weight until I hit 251 (OMG!).

I did have quite a bit of fun though… I even went on spring break to Puerto Rico!  I never went on a typical spring break vacation until the year after I graduated college.  It was a gorgeous place and sooo relaxing and fun.

In April I decided to get things back under control at least weight wise and did a biggest Loser contest with my mom and her work friends.  She kicked my butt and I came in second, but I still lost a bit of weight and started my forward momentum to getting my life back on track.

Quit my job in July because I wanted something different, something more, and I wanted to travel.  I took a roadtrip to Pennsylvania with college friends for a wedding.

I spent a few days in DC with my good friend MaryBeth and had fun exploring the city.  I was actually a history major in college so I love any city with good history (even though I forget most of it… I was a bad history major).

I headed to Chicago for a few days and I met some amazing people at BlogHer, including Carla, Roni, AJ, Lisa, Cammy, Kath, Jenn, Mara. I learned a little bit about blogging, ate some yummy food with cool people, and had a freaking awesome weekend.

After I came home I decided to move out of my family’s house and move in with a friend.  Moving out was a great decision for me and helped me clear my head and prepare for future endeavors.  I lived there for a month in between jobs, using an air mattress as my bed.  Comfy.

While I was there I did a lot of exercise and I even worked out with bloggers who live in Memphis, including Cammy and JackSh*t!!  I enjoyed meeting and being active with both of them.  And if you weren’t aware, JackSh*t is HILARIOUS and a really nice guy.

I was offered an interesting position at Green Mountain, which I had never heard of or ever planned to attend, which led me to move to Vermont for three months.  I had a job blogging and making videos for GM’s official blog and youtube page, which was amazing, and I also worked out a lot and got in really good shape while dropping 18 pounds. It was a beautiful place to live and exercise.

Some of the people who came there as participant while I was there changed my life.  I learned a lot about myself and other people while I was there.  It was really rewarding to watch people come alive again after so many years of living under their potential.

And I really enjoyed traveling with them as I visited Boston, Cape Cod, New Hampshire, and a ton of places in Vermont.  I even saw the ocean!

I started talking to and fell in love with a really awesome guy, Kepa, who also blogs about healthy living.  This one fact probably made my year, and will definitely make next year as I’m going to freaking New Zealand to see him in January.  I’ve actually been trying to go to New Zealand for about four years, before I even met Kepa, so this trip will be a dream come true in many ways.  But yeah, love is sweet and I’m happy I found it this year.

For the last few weeks of the year I’ve been living back in Memphis with my great friends Hilary and Chris.  I’ve celebrated holidays with my family and spent some fun nights with friends.  I’m catching up with everyone I can and spending time with my mom before I leave again.

It has been an amazing year for me with so many great things happening that I NEVER expected.  I’ve had some rough times, struggled a bit with feeling out of place, feeling alone, feeling confused about the future and the like.  But everything that happened was worth it.  It was a fantastic year and I’m super excited for the new year and all it will bring.

So what about you?  How was your year?  What was the BEST thing you did this year?

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I love the opportunity to reflect on the year as it comes to a close and this whole week will be dedicated to that endeavor.  I started this process last year on my blog and wrote about my favorite blog posts in 2008 as well as the things I’ve learned.  This year I’m separating those titles and will write about what I learned this year later in the week.

This year choosing my favorite blog posts has been more challenging than last year.  Around the middle of the year I hit my blogging stride as well as my healthy living one, and I’ve written a lot of great posts since then, I think. This blog has helped me tremendously as I’ve continued to work out things in my own mind that will translate into a better, healthier life for myself.  I’ve appreciated the fact that I’ve gained a few readers this year (THANKS!) but honestly just writing for myself has been the best benefit of all.  So today I’m going to share my favorite blog posts from this year.   If you missed any, check them out.

So for now, here are my favorite posts I wrote this year.  Enjoy!

January: My History With Emotional Eating

A while back I made the decision to deal with my emotional eating issues, and one of the posts I used to do that was a report of my history with emotional eating.  Writing about when and why I did it really helped me clarify some things which helped me go about fixing them.  So if you care to read it, you can check out my history with emotional eating.

February: 10 Ways To Motivate Yourself To Exercise

I wrote a list (I love making lists!) of great ways to motivate yourself when you don’t really want to exercise.  I really like this list because I use it when I don’t totally feel like working out (it happens).

March: Ways I Learned To Love My Body

If you’ve read my blog for any amount of time you might know that I have a pretty healthy self-esteem and love for my body.  In March I was included in a Glamour.com article about ways women learned to love their bodies.  I talked about negatively comparing your body to others and why I won’t do it.  Dare to not compare your body!

April: <a href="http://amerrylife.com/2009/04/29/4-things-i-will-not-do-to-lose-weight“>Four Things I Will Not Do To Lose weight

I set down the law about what I won’t be doing to lose weight (starving, diet pills, expensive plans, quick weight loss).  And you know what?  I haven’t done those thing nor will I do them anytime soon.  I totally recommend taking time to figure out what you will and won’t do.  Setting boundaries for yourself is always a good idea.

May: <a href="http://amerrylife.com/2009/05/13/lessons-learned-from-the-biggest-loser-season-7″>Lessons Learned From The biggest Loser

Last season I watched all episodes of The biggest Loser.  Even though I don’t always agree with the methods on the show, I garnered quite a few lessons about life and healthy living including: true change lies within, weight holds people back, you are worth it, there is nothing you can’t do, you shouldn’t doubt yourself, let your body do the work, if you don’t want to change, you won’t, and don’t ever give up.  The season had some amazing stories and great lessons.

June: Be Yourself No Matter What

I wrote this post about someone else, but I needed to hear it myself.  It is an important lesson to learn that many people never do: be yourself no matter what!  Or as MizFit would say, be unapologetically yourself.   That is something I have definitely been working on for a while and I think I’ve got it pretty much down.

July: No More Waiting For Life To Begin

Want to live a pretty amazing life?  Apparently all you need to do is put that thought out there.  Once I decided to start living and stop waiting for things to happen in my life, some amazing things happened.   This post in July was the beginning of some really good things for me, that led to me to feel like myself again and take some chances and have new experiences.

August: The Fat Voice – It’s All In Your Head

After a lot of though about weight and how it affects our own self perception, I realized the fat voice that tells us we aren’t good enough is just all in our head. weight doesn’t have to define you… you can shut down the negative voice that is just in your head.

September: Hi, I’m Comfortable

One of the things I learned while I was at Green Mountain is that I have a healthy self-esteem that many women don’t have because of their weight.  Despite my size or supposed flaws, I am very comfortable in my skin and happy with my body and what it can do.  This was the experience where I learned this about myself.

October: Exposed: Why I Love My Body

In October I participated in what has now become a little movement in positive body image.  I took off my clothes and publicly expressed what I liked about my body, which was a nerve wracking experience for someone who is rather modest in the way I dress and act.  But I loved doing it and the response to the post.

November: Final Assessment and Reflections on Green Mountain

This post, with a video, was my final check in at Green Mountain at Fox Run. I lost some weight and learned a few things while I was working there that I really appreciate.  I also ended up looking pretty good while I was there, if I do say so myself.  This post looks back at my goals, what I did, and my plans.

December: <a href="http://amerrylife.com/2009/12/18/tolerating-hunger-for-weight-loss”>Tolerating Hunger For weight Loss

This was one of my favorite posts because it is something that no one likes to think about, but something that is soooooo important for normal eating and healthy weight loss.  Learning what real physical hunger is is important and a necessary element

There you have it!  Some of my favorite posts from this past year.  I have a ton of other faves, especially my 500th post.  I know it isn’t many, compared to other blogs, but I was proud to get to that number and proud of the fact that I’m dedicated to this journey!

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I see the dumbest things when I watch football on Sundays. Even worse than the mindless beer commercials yesterday was the commercial for Taco Bell touting itself as healthy drive-thru fare. Yikes! They’re even calling their menu the Drive-Thru-Diet. Here’s the disclaimer: “Drive-Thru-Diet® is not a weight-loss program. For a healthier lifestyle, pay attention to total calorie and fat intake and regular exercise. Taco Bell’s Fresco Menu can help with calorie reductions of 20 to 100 per item compared to corresponding products on our regular menu. Not a low calorie food. For complete nutritional information please visit TacoBell.com.”

It’s not a weight-loss program, and yet they call it a “diet.” Hmmm… Tell you what, Taco Hell, I’ll just keep staying away from your restaurant as I have for five years. That way I’m guaranteed a “healthier lifestyle.” Besides, I make better refried beans, use real lettuce, and am much more generous with tomatoes when I make tacos and burritos at home. Drive-Thru-Diet my ass…

I’m skipping the “frescolustions” this year and making some real resolutions. As many of you know, my weight loss is the result of a New Year’s resolution that stuck. Five years ago, I decided to lose some weight. How much I wasn’t sure. I just remember thinking, I want to be in Onederland again. A year later, I was.

Because a year will pass whether I change anything or not, I’m resolving to make a few tweaks to the old way of life. And I’m going to be succinct about it because it’s more fun that way.

Here’s what I mean: Smithmag.com created the Six-Word Memoirs project in 2006 and have since published two books of six-word memoirs submitted by readers. I first found the site when they held a Six-Word Resolution contest in 2007. Of all the winners, my favorite resolution was, “Kiss Jon Stewart on the mouth” submitted by Martha Garvey. I haven’t talked to Martha for awhile, so I’m not sure if she ever resolved that resolution.

So here are my 2010 six-word resolutions:

In terms of my body: “Make friends with my flabby bits.” And once I’ve done that: “Wear shorts higher than my knees.”
Professionally: “Stop giving it away for kudos.”
Financially: “No pedicures until Mastercard’s paid off.”
Nutritionally: “Go vegan for awhile, maybe longer.” (P.S. I fell in love with a new blog: FatFree Vegan Kitchen. I lost myself for an hour looking through her recipes. What to try first…)

So what are your six-word resolutions for 2010? And if it’s “Try Taco Bell’s Drive-Thru-Diet,” that’s OK, you can tell me. I won’t say anything. Really. I promise.

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Move it or lose it…

Do you like books & movies? Check out my other blog: Nite Swimming.

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What do you see when you look in the mirror? If you’re seeing the negative, you need a new mirror! Or a new frame of mind. Glamour magazine recently asked some lovely ladies what they see when they gaze upon the looking glass. And while we all have flaws, these women celebrate their best features. [...]

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