I love my heart rate monitor

 

My Polar F11 arrived in the mail last Tuesday night, and I took it for a test drive starting Wednesday at my one hour spin class. I ordered it from http://www.heartratemonitorsusa.com/ which was recommended by community members on the Weight Watchers website.

It comes with 3 pieces, a wrist watch unit, a chest strap with electrodes, and a transmitter that snaps onto the chest strap.

I picked this particular model because it works with my Virgin HealthMiles, plus the reviews said the strap was more comfortable than the F4 or F6, and the transmitter had a changeable battery unlike the other models. I choose the pretty blue color too.

The set up was super easy; I just entered the date, time, my weight, age and a few other key pieces of information. I also had to take a Fitness Level test which is similar to the VO2max test and scored a “Good”.

I then figured out how to start recording my workouts and was impressed with the amount of calories I was burning. I think it also made me work out extra hard, plus I kept looking at my wrist to see what my number my heart rate was at.

After the workout, I needed to figure out how to download my info to the computer and put it on Polar Personal Trainer. I’m used to downloading my steps on the pedometer with a USB cable, but this little sucker was different. I got the software, and just hold up the wrist watch to my microphone, and it chirps, beeps and hums the info across the net.

Polar Personal Trainer keeps track of all my info including my time, calories burned, percent of fat burned and heart rate zones. Here are my results from a week’s worth of workouts:

Day	Activity	Time	Calories	% Fat Burned
Wednesday	Spin	1:03	655	45%
Thursday	Step	1:00	515	55%
Friday	Body Pump & Elliptical	1:12	595	55%
Saturday	Boot Camp	1:01	720	40%
Monday	Boot Camp & Treadmill 2 mile walk	1:36	811	55%
Tuesday	Cardio	1:00	363	60%

I then learned how to calculate my calories burned and turn them into Activity Points (AP) so I can eat extra points on WW. It’s not official, but some WW members told me 100 calories = 1 activity point. They also said I must eat my AP’s the same day I earn them.

I’m in love with my monitor. It even gave me a trophy at the end of the week. I’m not sure why, but hey, I rocked on my workouts last week!

Take the Diabetes Risk Test

Today is American Diabetes Alert Day.  You have a greater risk for Type 2 diabetes if:

• You are overweight.
• You are age 45 and older.
• You have high blood pressure.
• You have a family history of diabetes.
• You get little or no exercise.

Go take the free risk test at the American Diabetes Association web site to find out if you are at risk. You only have to enter a few pieces of information which include your age, height, weight, lifestyle and family history.

I scored a “5” with a low to medium risk, mainly because I’m overweight. It suggests I keep my weight in control or lose weight, stay active most days of the week, and eat a diet of low fat meals high in fruits, vegetables and whole grain foods.

Check it out at www.diabetes.org/risk and view the at risk weight chart too.

High-tech video game bikes

I’m starting to get a little bored at the gym. I was late to my normal step class today, so I got on the treadmill for a walk when after a few minutes my iPod died. I guess the juice just ran out. I completed about a half a mile in 10 minutes, and then was bored with no music.

I jumped from the treadmill to the elliptical machine where I could watch the television and did a cardio program for 15-20 minutes and then noticed these new fancy bikes with TV’s attached. These were no ordinary TV’s, but they displayed trails and looked like video games.

So I got off the elliptical and hopped on the high-tech bike which turned out to be fantastic! It was an Expresso Fitness machine which claims “Bye bye boredom!” I was definitely not bored, but I did have a little trouble figuring the machine out.

Since I’ve been doing spin, I thought I could handle this machine with no problem. Unfortunately I don’t really know how to shift a bike, and this bike had a shift on it!

I picked out the “Evening Bliss” ride and proceeded to go around a nice track with the sun setting in the sky. There was even a glare from the sun when my bike faced the right direction. It was fun seeing other bike riders on the trail, and I enjoyed picking up my pace to pass them (who knew I was competitive?). It was just like a car video game, but at a much slower pace. I went through the entire program and then remembered my headphones.

Since my iPod had stopped working, I plugged in my headsets and could flip between different radio stations. They had several different types of music stations including country, oldies, dance and rock.

Even though I couldn’t really figure out the shift thingy, I did manage to complete the course. My heart rate got up in the cardio range, and I was sweating.

I signed out, and then decided to sign back in as a guest and picked another course, the “Coastal Run” where the ocean was in the background. While I didn’t pay much attention to the first courses’ graphics, besides the sky, I did notice the interesting backdrop for this course. There were sheep on the sides of the road, and some trees whose leaves flickered.

It was fun passing other bikers on the previous course, but since I got into the video game mindset with this one, I was tempted to knock out the other bikers like you do on the car race track.

I admit it; I bumped into and knocked over two other bikers. I know, I’m evil. There was no big crash and burn though like with the cars, you just saw them “poof” and go away with no fanfare.

Then I looked at the clock and realized I had been at the gym for about an hour and it was time to get home to the family.

Anyway, if this is the future of workouts and gym equipment, boy are we in for a ride. I had too much fun, broke a sweat, and lost track of the time. Its not often that this happens to me at the gym, in fact, it’s never happened. I always am looking at the clock.

Check them out. And if you can explain to me how to shift a bike, I’d appreciate it for my next ride.

My very first podcast

I downloaded and listened to my very first podcast this week. I read about the Couch to 5K program on Weight Watchers website, Googled it and found this site.

Robert leads you through the workout with background music. I walked and ran with the first week podcast where you warm up, run for 60 seconds, walk for 90 seconds, back and forth. It was pretty good music.

I only got my iPod Shuffle a few months ago, so was excited to try a podcast on for a change. My favorite running songs seem to be from Pink’s I’m Not Dead album lately.

Of course it took me 10 minutes to find the podcast on my shuffle, so I ended up doing 41 minutes on the treadmill for a total of 3.15 miles and burned 430 calories.

He recommends a day of rest in between the sessions, but I’m going to spin class tomorrow.

Now maybe I’ll be able to work up to actually doing a 5K this year.

Romance package plus workout

Saturday was husband’s 37th birthday, and we celebrated with a night away from home. My mother agreed to watch our girl.

I did a little research on some B&B’s out of town, but we finally booked the “romance package” at the local Sheraton in Tyson’s Corner. It included a bottle of wine, a platter of cheese and fruit, plus breakfast for two and a late check out.  This being a holiday weekend, we knew traffic too far out of town may be a disaster. My husband only wanted to get just the room (to save money), but I insisted on the romance package.

We arrived shortly before 6:30 p.m. to check-in, and I mentioned my husband’s birthday, and voila our room was upgraded! They asked what kind of wine we wanted, and my husband spoke up and said red. I’m not much of a wine drinker myself.

Up to the room we went, and within a half an hour, we were delivered a beautiful assortment of cheese, crackers, strawberries, and these other little fruit that resembled mini green apples. They sort of tasted like apples too. We had planned to leave the hotel for dinner, but after filling up on cheese, we decided we would share a bite of real dinner downstairs.

The lobby and the restaurant were pretty deserted, and we were the only diners. After Thanksgiving said the waitress, it’s dead. Husband wanted fish & chips, and I wanted a side salad, so we shared both. I mentioned to the waitress about my husband birthday, and after dinner she presented him with a slice of cake with a candle on top! Luckily, he shared with me. It was banana chocolate chip cake with a crème filling that was divine.

After dinner we did a quick tour to view the pool and fitness center. Our plan was to hit both. To our surprise, we also noticed three racquetball courts, but two were being used as storage, and only one was opened. A sign said to ask the front desk for racquets, but we never got around to asking if the one available court, was really open for racquetball or not.

We pre-ordered our breakfast for the following morning and choose the “All-American Breakfast” with a choice of eggs, meat, bread, juice, and beverage. I had scrambled, he had sunny side up. I couldn’t decide between a Danish or muffin, so we checked both boxes and decided to share.

It arrived promptly this morning at the time we specified, the presentation was beautiful, and the food was delicious. We hit the mall and enjoyed a movie, Love in the Time of Cholera, and a small lunch afterwards.

Heading back to the hotel, we decided fitness center first, then the pool. The center had two treadmills, but only one worked. It also had two bikes, but only one worked. They also had weights so I decided to do cardio on the treadmill, while husband did weights. I did about two miles walking with one short run, plus put little time on the one working bike. We finished our workout, showered, changed, and jumped in the pool, and finished off in the hot-tub.

I’m not used to the royal treatment, and it was a great mini-vacation away. The best thing about my birthday present to him was that I got to enjoy everything too.

We may do this again for my birthday in six months.

Turning walking into jogging

I watched the PBS special Marathon Challenge a few weeks ago, and it inspired me to try to run. Not a marathon mind you, but just start running. Vera was cool; she had lost over 85 pounds before starting the program. Betsy wanted to loose weight, so that’s why she started training.

I learned during the program that man could outrun his meals way back in the day, but if I had to outlast my next meal, I don’t think I’d be eating very much.

One of my friends, B, downloaded a spreadsheet and passed it along to me to begin a running program by alternating walking with running. It has a plan where you run for 2 minutes, walk for 4 minutes, and gradually increase your running over 9 weeks till you can run for 30 minutes straight.

I finished my master’s program, so need a new challenge. I bought a sport watch, a Timex, and bought a few pairs of running shorts on clearance. These are my first, and I found them interesting to try on. I ran in a pair yesterday, with no underwear, since they have ones built in. The little pocket inside for your key was cool too. 

I came home yesterday evening, and the temp on the local sign said 64 degrees. It was nice, so I decided to take a walk/jog! I put on my shorts, sports bra, t-shirt, pedometer, placed my keys in my underwear and hit the pavement before 5:30 p.m.

This was my second attempt at the walk/jog thing. My last one was over a week ago, last Monday, but then I got busy with my classes at the gym. I got home before 5pm, so it was still light out then, but yesterday it was already dark.

I started out with a walk down my street, heading towards the main road. When I reached our tennis courts, I started jogging. I did not bring my watch. I huffed and puffed till I got too tired and then walked. I alternated this walking and jogging thing for what seemed to take forever. I headed out of my sub division, on the main road, down another side road, turned around and heading back home.

I arrived home sweaty, at about 6 p.m.; imagine my surprise when I thought I had been gone for nearly an hour, and it was only 30 minutes. That’s after I had stretched too.

I logged about 4,000 steps on my pedometer, so about 2 miles. On my way home tonight, I drove and restarted my odometer to estimate how much I had done. It was exactly 2 miles.

The running shorts did not perform as good as I expected. The underwear part was nice, but I still had the riding up the fat thighs thing going on, but luckily it was dark so no one could see. My sports bra however, did perform very well.

So I did it again tonight, but this time in pants. It was much colder and windy out. My hips hurt, my shins hurt, but I’ll try to increase my running till I can run the whole two miles. Hopefully I’ll be able to do it by the end of January.

Thankfully my pants did not ride up. I much prefer running in them over shorts.

Maybe I’ll try a 5K in 2008?

I better wait and see if I can make it to January first.

Fat workout clothes and sports bras

Fat fashion is kind of an oxymoron. Try finding workout clothes that look decent, fit comfortably and are affordable in plus sizes. One of many issues is that in addition to being fat, I’m also tall and frugal.

I did have some pretty comfortable Curves workout shirts from my days working out there, but don’t really like wearing them to my new gym. Also, when doing jumping jacks and arm stretches above my head, my fat belly tends to hang out and is quiet embarrassing. I needed to find some new workout shirts. I looked at the tag in one of my Curves shirts and it had the label Quail Hallow, so I did a search and found some at Care Free Casuals.

They have plain scoop necks or v-necks and are only about $4 each, so I bought three. They are cut generously and long enough to hide my gut most of the time, and come in a long sleeve version for fall and winter.

I usually wear biker shorts or comfortable pants when working out, but finding sports bras is also difficult if you are a size D. They can run pretty high too if they are good ones. The sports bra Oprah recommends, Enell, is $60 per bra.

I went to try one on this weekend at Sports Her Way (which was referenced on the Enell website), took it to the dressing room and did a little jogging in place. I wasn’t that impressed. It performed about the same as my other sports bras from Target.

I did need a new sports bra though, so I bought one on clearance for $24. Yesterday I went for a walk and alternated running in there too, and it performed pretty well.

I’ll stick to my cheap sports bras.

Step Out walk – it’s no Marine Corps Marathon

This weekend in DC was a big one for walking and running events. Saturday was the Step Out to Fight Diabetes walk, and Sunday we had the Marine Corps Marathon.

Saturday I attended the Step Out walk, in the rain no less. I took the metro to the Archives/Navy Memorial stop and walked a few blocks to 3rd and Pennsylvania. I exceeded my fundraising goal and rose over $650 to help this great cause.

There were two paths a 2 mile walk and a challenging 6 mile walk. I had every intention of walking the 6 mile walk (I had been practicing long walks for the past two weeks), but when I arrived at the set up on, I heard the news that the 6 mile walk had been cancelled due to the rain. I stood in the registration line and collected my long sleeve t-shirt, and missed getting a medal by a few hundred dollars. The medal winners had to raise at least $1,000.

I also grabbed a banana, an Odwalla chocolate chip peanut bar (5 WW points) and a bottle of water from the fuel tent. I wore my rain slicker which had huge pockets and stashed my t-shirt and water.

I hit the 2 mile trail and switched between wearing my hood and using my umbrella. It had been pouring rain around 9 when the walk started, but it started to wear off shortly after. By the time we were done, the rain had stopped completely. We did have to avoid major puddles on the roads and sidewalks, but I was a bit relieved not to have to walk 6 miles in the muck.

I figure I’ll make up the 4 mile difference at the gym this week.

Love Your Body Day

It’s not always easy to love our bodies. Especially if you are overweight and the world tells you that you should lose weight.

I do not love my body when it steps on the scale and even though I’ve been working out hard and eating right, the numbers fail to go down.

But today is Love Your Body Day, so I’m going to tell you what I love about my body.

I love my womb which made and carried my daughter for over 9 months, and my breasts which fed her nearly 9 months after she entered the world. I love my arms to hold her and my hips which still carry her occasionally.

I love my long legs and feet; they took me for an 11,000 step 2 hour walk this morning, two 3 mile walks, plus three workouts at the gym this past week.

Go take the I love My Body Pledge, it’s good stuff:

I, (Name), pledge to speak kindly about my body.

I promise not to talk about how fat my thighs or stomach or butt are, or
about how I really have to lose 5 or 15 or 50 pounds. I promise not to call
myself a fat pig, gross, or any other self-loathing, trash-talking phrase.

I vow to be kind to myself and my body. I will learn to be grateful for its
strength and attractiveness, and be compassionate toward its failings.

I will remind myself that bodies come in all shapes and sizes, and that no
matter what shape and size my body is, it’s worthy of kindness, compassion, and love.

What do you love about your body?

Fight Diabetes

My friend Bob says, “No one feels sorry for the big fat guy with diabetes.”

I have several family members with Type 2 diabetes, and two friends who have Type 1. Type 2 is linked with obesity in some cases, and although I don’t have diabetes and am not pre-diabetic, I know how hard it is to lose weight and exercise (which doctors strongly recommend for people with pre-diabetes as well as newly diagnosed Type 2 diabetes).

I hate asking for money, but I’m asking for money for a great cause. The last time I solicited friends and family I did a walk for the March of Dimes in spring 2006. I walked with my husband and daughter in a stroller, but this time I’m going solo and walking with Bob and my team. Daughter is too big for a stroller, and too impatient for a 6 mile walk.

I’m walking in DC on October 27th for Step Out to Fight Diabetes, and I need your money to help find a cure. I’d love to have you walk with me or help me walk 6 miles by making a donation. There are two walk paths, a 2 miles or 6 miles. If I exceed my goal, I’m going to do the whole 6 miles.

Donate now, or sign up to walk with me. You’ll get a free t-shirt if you walk, although the t-shirts you get for events like this are not all that comfortable, flattering or fashionable. The neck is always too tight, and they are made for a man’s body, not my curvy frame. It’s too tight over the chest and hips, and too big in the shoulders (see picture).

I’ll post an update and photos here after my walk. Here are a few quick diabetes facts:

• Over 21 million American’s have diabetes
• An additional 54 million have pre-diabetes
• Diabetes is the 5th leading cause of death by disease in the U.S.
• Complications of Diabetes includes, heart disease and stroke, high blood pressure, blindness and kidney disease among others