Just Dance

I have an awesome new workout!

I bought "Just Dance 3" for the Wii because I was SICK to DEATH of "Turbo Jam" and "The Firm". It's been too crappy to walk outside for, oh, five months now (*grumble*), so I was seriously lacking in the exercise department. Planet Fitness was lots of fun until they extended their $10/month special. It's so unbelievably crowded now that I can't stand it. It really screws up my cardio burn and wastes my time when I have to wait for an elliptical, bike, or treadmill.

Anyway.

I've been playing this game for a few days, and it's super awesome. I LOVE dancing. Like, I cannot stress that enough. I. LOVE. DANCING. I was really into sport dancing during high school and college, and then I started dancing with the SCA and at clubs every weekend. Then, I moved here, and I have no SCA... no clubs... no dancing. Booooo.

This volume has some really great songs, including one by The Chemical Brothers called "Hey Boy, Hey Girl". I usually do that one a few times throughout my workout. I keep going back to it because I love the song and the trippy tribal dance done to it. (It's the one pictured at the top of the page.) Tonight, I played for about 45 minutes and burned close to 400 calories. Not bad. When I think about how often I danced back in the day, it's no wonder I lost 80 pounds in 2000-2001 without even trying.

I can probably increase that burn once I get my legs more involved. Right now, I'm concentrating on getting the arm movements precise since that's how the game scores you. I've noticed that once I get a song down-pat, I move my legs quite a bit more. On some songs, my heart rate goes up to 151-156, but on the songs I'm unfamiliar with, I hover closer to 130. Regardless, I'm moving, and that's all that's important. :)

The other nice thing about it is that you can either flip through the songs and pick ones you like (like I did), or you can set it to "Sweat Mode", and it'll cycle through songs for you. "Sweat Mode" is nice because there's only one brief pause between songs where it asks you to click "A" to move on. So you can just click it and keep going, or you can use that time to drink some water. With the regular mode, you have to click through the menu and select a song, so there's a bit more down time. I like it because I'm picky about music. ;) ("Sweat Mode" does give you the option of picking a different song, but it only gives you 2-3 to choose from, not the entire menu, probably because it only wants to use songs with bpms that match the one you just played.)

It's so much fun that I'm sitting here excited to play it again. I'm tired, but I really want to play a couple songs a few more times, even though I know I'll probably die if I do another 15-20 minutes. Now I know how runners feel when they get that high! :) Plus, Brent is home, and I'm always embarrassed to work out in front of him. Haha.

Have you done any new workouts lately? What is your favorite workout right now?

New Workouts

I'm on a new work schedule now, which means I have 1.5 - 2 hours to myself when I get home from work. It's the perfect amount of time to workout in private and then make some dinner for both of us before Brent gets home. We have a really big living room, but I've always been too shy to do the Wii workouts when Brent is home. (I know, I know...)

Anyway, I bought the Gold's Gym dance workout from a used game store a while ago. I tried it last night, and it was a lot of fun, but it didn't have much variety for the songs. It was mostly Latin stuff, which I like, but I wanted popular songs I know and love. Since I did have fun with it, I plan to buy the "Just Dance" series.

The one thing I didn't care for was stopping after every song to review my results and then pick a new song. I like to keep my heart rate up, and even though I was sort of dancing in place (which is hard to do when you're trying to select tiny buttons on the screen), my HRM kept beeping at me. On one hand, it's nice that my recovery rate is speeding up; on the other hand, it's killing my burn!

After 20 minutes of that, I retreated to the bedroom** to try the 20-minute Turbo Jam workout. I like it, but it's not as intense as the regular workout. It IS a really good option for when you're pressed for time and just want to get a quick 150-200 calories burned off, so there is that. I'm not knocking it at all. I think this will be my workout for those days I'm tired/sick/sore and just cannot bring myself to do 45-60 minutes of high-intensity. I figure 20 minutes at low-intensity and 200 calories burned is better than sitting in my recliner burning 0 calories. ;)

I saw another half-pound drop on the scale this morning, which means my body is definitely responding to the exercise and strict food regimen. For several weeks, I'd lose a pound, gain two, lose a pound, gain it right back, etc. I've been in a steady decline all week, though, with a fraction of a pound or a whole pound gone almost every morning. I still have about 1.5 pounds of "wtf holidays wtf?!?" weight to drop, and then it's onto the final decade of the 300s. :)



**Our bedroom doubles as "my room", since Brent has an office. I have a DVD player, weights, and other workout stuff in there.

Wii Fit w/ HRM

I did the Wii Fit again last night. This time, I wore my HRM.

In 22 minutes, I burned a little over 450 calories! That's accounting for my BMR (what I would burn even if I were just laying in bed).

I did the regular Hula Hoop again and then did the advanced Hula Hoop. That one was much harder because I had to rotate to the right, and then it switched to the left. My left knee was bothering me, so I had to stop halfway through the left rotation. I probably could have finished, but I really don't want to screw up my knee. Given the way I have to stand on the balance board while I rotate, I should probably skip the Hula Hoop until I've lost more weight.

I also did the advanced step a few times. I skipped the basic because it's so slow and easy. I managed to beat my high score, but it still wasn't very challenging. I found the step platform on Amazon last night. I'm going to order it so the step is more of a workout. I really need to tone my thighs. I promise to take it easy if it bothers my knee.

This time, the basic run was much easier. I did so well that it unlocked the longer run. The short run is three minutes, but I'm not ready to do the longer run yet. Maybe in a few weeks. I want to get through the short run without feeling like I'm going to die first. Eventually, I'll be able to do the free run, where you pick an amount of time (I believe the max is 20 minutes).

I realize "running" with the Wii is nothing like running outdoors. For one, I'm not propelling myself forward. I'm mostly running in place, with little bouts of running around the balance board to keep it from getting boring. Secondly, the living room floor is flat hardwood, which is probably easier on my feet than concrete.

It does give me a chance to work on keeping my arms in the right position, though, and it's helping to condition my heart and lungs. I don't know if I'll ever start training for a 5K, but I think it would be fun to do it just once to say I did it. (Plus, it's on my 101/1001 list.)

I'm really looking forward to doing this workout every night. I don't think I've ever said that about scheduled exercise before! :)

Wii Fit

This is not Mii.
After the Wii Fit weighed me under 330 a couple weeks ago, I didn't play because we were on our way somewhere. I can't believe it's been two weeks! Gamer fail. Girlfriend fail too. Brent bought this for me several weeks ago! He understood why I didn't touch it when I was too heavy for it, but now that I'm under the weight limit, I've been feeling bad that I haven't played.

Anyway, Brent went to Chicago for a concert last night, so I had the house to myself for the first time in forever. As soon as I got home from work, I loaded up the Wii Fit. It weighed me 3.75 pounds under the last time. /flex

The first game I played was the basic step aerobics. It was really, really simple. I did it a few times to try and beat my high score.

Then I moved onto the basic Hula Hoop game. That was kind of fun, but I felt really stupid doing the movement. It was a decent workout for my butt and thighs, though.

The next game I played was the basic running game, shown above. Holy cow! I tried to stay on pace as best as I could, and I kept watching the little slider move closer and closer to the end.

This is where game psychology works.

I was tired and didn't want to keep going, but I could see my little Mii moving closer and closer to the finish. I didn't want to "lose" the game or score super low, so I kept running and running and even increased my pace a few times to try to stay even with the pacer. I probably looked like a moron, flailing my arms up and down and running around the living room, but it was a great aerobic workout!

Once I finished that, I moved onto the more advanced aerobic step. That was a lot more fun. It was a little more challenging than the basic step but wasn't hard. It just had a few additional movements, and they speeded up near the end. I did that a few times too. I kind of wished the step was a little higher so I'd get a better workout. Apparently, I'm not alone. Today, I found some listings for a modification you can buy to raise the balance board and get a better workout. I haven't looked at safety ratings or weight limits yet, so I'm not sure if it's feasible.

Every time I finished a workout, it would show how much time I'd spent on it and my calories burned. The Wii uses a formula to calculate the calories, and I doubt they're accurate, so I'm going to wear my HRM next time. It assigns a certain number to each workout, depending on its intensity. This allows you to choose a workout based on how "difficult" it is. Then, it uses that number, your weight, the workout time, and (I think) something else to calculate the calories. Again, I'm not entirely sure it's anywhere near accurate, but the game does state that via a little blurb during the tutorial.

Not my data
The Wii provides you with a graph and summary of your weight change, BMI change, "actual age" change (it determines this using several balance tests along with your weight), time spent working out, and calories burned. I really like this. I'm already tracking my weight and such on MFP, but it's nice to see it on the Wii too. I'll take as many pats on the back as possible. ;)

I was pleased to see my "actual age" has already changed from 46 to 44. Here's hoping I can get it to my real age (35) or lower within the next few weeks.

I'm going to move the Wii into my bedroom tonight. I feel really self-conscious working out in front of Brent, even though I know he loves me and doesn't care about how silly I look. I always get self-conscious when someone is watching me do anything, though, whether it's working out or something more simple, like playing a video game.

I miss some of my old exercise DVDs, but I'll probably stick with the Wii Fit for now since it's low-impact and a LOT of fun. I need to incorporate some actual strength training in there again, though. I can tell I'm getting "flabby" where the inches are coming off. I'll probably do the Wii Fit every day and then do The Firm's "Upper Body" workout every other day since the Wii works my lower body. Building muscle will not only help with shaping those areas, it will also give me more core strength and keep me healthy.

Bottom line: I definitely recommend the Wii Fit (get the Plus for more games) for anyone just starting out, especially if you're over 300 pounds. It's easy on the joints, easy to follow, very encouraging, and it puts a lot of fun into exercising since you're "just playing a game". If you're a gamer, it definitely plays on the psychology of beating your high score and doing things perfectly (it displays a "Perfect!" when you do a move exactly on-time and on-form). If someone else in your house plays, you can try to beat each other's high scores. I have a feeling Brent is going to start working out with me. He cannot stand to have a lower score than someone. ;)

Wii Fit

You guys! It finally accepted me!

Remember when I wrote earlier today that I hit my "325" mini-goal and that I'd try the Wii Fit again, but it would probably reject me like it has every day since I got under 330?

Nope!

I passed the weight test, and it actually reported my weight as 325.5, even though I was 325.4 by my scale this morning (before eating tacos for lunch and two of those delicious Fiber One bars as snacks). I was pretty amazed that it didn't weigh me higher. I thought I'd made it by the skin of my teeth at 329.6 or something, but it was almost five full pounds under the weight limit.

Anyway, yay!!! Now I can play fitness games. :-D

Onto the next mini-goal!

Doctor Appt

I went to the doctor today because it has been a Really Long Time. I wanted to set up some blood tests and have him analyze me for PCOS. I never had hormonal tests done, and this plateau and gaining weight even while eating at maintenance (back in the day, I mean) has me irked.

He's a new doctor to me but came highly recommended by a couple friends. He was SO NICE. He commended my meals and said I have the nutrition down-pat. He asked what kind of exercises I do. He asked about how/when I get hungry and what I crave. He asked eleventy billion questions instead of saying, "So, what are we going to do about your weight?"

It was like ten tons came off my back.

Additionally, when he measured my height, I discovered I've gotten shorter by about 1.5". Ha! The last time I had a doctor measure my height, I was 23-years old. He said it's common to shrink over time. I was pretty excited because I really want to grow old and be just like Sophia.

Coincidentally, today would have been Estelle Getty's birthday
Anyway, he printed out a lab request for more tests than I ever thought possible. It's two pages! In addition to checking every single hormone level, my cholesterol, and my triglycerides, he's also having my thyroid checked, iron checked, and fasting glucose done. He told me to just fast for 12 hours, go in, have the bloodwork done, and then go have some food. He gave me a separate sheet to bring back two hours later, asking them to check my glucose again. He said it's a way to trick them and check for insulin resistance; otherwise, if he orders a standard glucose tolerance test, they'll keep me hostage there and have me chug that horrible sugar-syrup drink. Blecch. He told me to just go to IHOP or some other place and "eat like [I'm] on vacation". :) Told you he rocks.

I cannot express just how kind and awesome he was. I was so happy I wanted to cry. He treated me like someone who can overcome this and succeed, as long as we can get over whatever hurdles the PCOS may be causing. He didn't treat me like "just another obese patient", which is how I've felt since I was 23.

Additionally, my resting heart rate has come way down, and my blood pressure was just slightly below normal. I've never, ever had blood pressure that low. It's usually borderline hypertensive! I was so excited.

When I got home, I emailed Brent to let him know how everything went, and I told him I want to get a Wii and buy the Wii Fit. I meant in a few months, when I lose enough to use the balance board (I'm too heavy by about 12 pounds). When he got home from work, though, he had a present for me. It was a Wii and the Wii Fit!!! I was so excited.

I felt bad, though, because he wanted me to try it out, and I had to explain I was over the weight limit. Then he said, "No, it's 330 pounds. You're fine," and then I had to explain that, no, his girlfriend weighs more than 330 pounds. To his credit, he didn't react. He just said, "Oh, well then you can use it in a couple months. You can still have fun and play regular video games on it, though." I said I'd play Sims and Mario Kart and stuff and then told him I can get EA Active, since that doesn't use a balance board.

As soon as I said that, he changed out of his pajamas and back into regular clothes. I asked where he was going, and he said, "I'm going to Game Stop before they close. I want you to have your new toy tonight, not this weekend." Awwww. *love*

As a thank you gift, I made him a new dessert, but I'm going to put that in a separate entry to keep the recipe entry separate from a regular blog entry.