Kettletell.com

Oh, for the love of kettlebells!

I hope that — for those of you who celebrate Valentine’s Day– February 14th was a day to cherish your loved ones; honor yourself; and spend time giving and receiving from the heart.

For me, Valentine’s Day in Hawaii also marked Lunar New Year! My favorite part of celebrating what is termed “Chinese New Year” in Hawaii is the Lion Dance.

Eating lots of treats used to be on the list, but now, I’m looking for more active ways to celebrate all holidays with my friends and family.

Which brings me to the next part of this blog- the “weigh in.” Really, my measurements have not been much different from week to week, so I’ve been eyeing the scale a lot more closely.

What I have noticed is that I’m finally at the point where I will know my weight based on how my clothes fit. Now that’s bordering on obsession. (My trainer would be so happy!)

There’s no significant difference in my weight and measurements from 2 weeks ago. (My trainer would be not so happy…)

At this rate, I’m not going to make it to 179. But remember my mottos:

Don’t Give Up!
and
It’s better to do a little bit of somethin’ than a whoooooole lot of nothin’!

So, “Happy Hearts Day!” Enjoy this season of aloha.

Please send me a comment below… your encouragement makes a huge difference in my attitude, behaviors and motivation!

Have you ever noticed that as soon as you set an ambitious goal, obstacles appear?

My hurdle occurred on Day #1 of my Isagenix cleanse this month, in the form of a kid’s bean burrito.

You may be thinking to yourself, “That’s not that hard to say ‘no’ to!” Unless you’re me and you haven’t eaten solid food in 2 days.

Add to that the challenge of living in a household where you come home to dessert baking in the oven or delivered to the door from a loving friend, and you’ve just entered a minefield. Anywhere I step, I’m running into something that could blow this cleanse out of the water:  fresh baked banana mufffins, Hawaiian food, a bean burrito.  Check it out:

Well, at least I stuck with the original plan, avoided the kalua pig (my downfall last time), had a laugh with my sister about all the food in the house, and moved on.

Sometimes, I just need a minute to review, renegotiate and recommit to my goal.

How about you? What are you taking on and what’s been challenging you? Leave me a reply below!

Hey, kettlepeeps!

Have you ever looked back at small pieces of your life and felt pretty good about it? I find that I usually don’t give myself kudos for small accomplishments, but today, I am.

I’m happy that I haven’t given up on myself in my quest to lose weight and gain healthy habits. I moved my goal date from October 30,2009 (with a 55lb loss) to June 30, 2010 (with a 70 pound loss) and I believe I will do it.

I’ve always lacked a sense of confidence (if you couldn’t tell) when it came to physical activity. I avoided competitive sports, even bowling, until I was well out of college.

I’ve always held at least two jobs, or a job and a side-job, which kept me perpetually running around. I “worked out,” but usually that meant a group class, like high impact aerobics, or my own mix of cardio and body weight training. I’ve only felt comfortable in my own skin with dance, or more specifically (non-competitive) hula.

I started and stopped Weight Watchers after moderate success. I really gave up on working out and meal planning when I was pregnant with my son.

Not surprisingly, these things took a toll on my overall health and well-being.

As of May 2009, I decided to take on something new, set a goal, and strive for it publicly.

I don’t have to be perfect, in fact, who is? But I can hold myself accountable and have some fun while I’m at it. Enter kettlebells.

I started training at FitPro Hawaii, and made some solid gains (or losses) over the past 8 months. It’s been a bumpy ride, and I’m back in the 190s, but I’m still progressing:

My new workout partner, Ty, and I have decided that we are going “ballistic.” To him, this means being able to hike up a mountain wearing a weight vest. For me, this means getting off my tush and making sure I do something, even a little thing, each and every day.

And, there’s friendly competition there. No, I’m not aiming to do as many push ups as he does. But I am working hard to be consistent and show up where I need to be, no complaints.

In 2010, I’m tackling my eating habits. It will be a challenge, Lord help me. But it can be done.

And you-- I’m really curious-- what are you leaving behind, and what are you looking forward to?

Leave me a comment! And thanks for joining me on this journey. Aloha!

I’ve been politely questioned, rudely asked, and even teased about my weight. None of that really made a difference in terms of motivating me to get healthy, in fact, it may have had the opposite effect.

My trainer is taking a different approach — a financial consequence.

Liz and I have agreed. If we don’t come in weighing one pound less consistently every week, our hourly rate will increase by a dollar… permanently!

A pound is a comfortable goal. I’m confident I won’t go into the poor house, and can maintain weight loss of a pound a week. Two pounds a week, however, is my actual goal.

My exercise plan can certainly be improved since I have not been consistent in that regard. Some weeks I’ve had 5 workouts, and most weeks, just three. So, that can be easily fixed.

Healthy eating has not been a priority for me in weeks. Now, this is a touchy area for me. In my word, I say I want to eat healthy, but in deed, I’m not. My healthy integrity has gone out the door!

I’ve recommitted to eating well, one day at a time. I like my food journal on my phone, even if I don’t like its name. I’m always going to be a nerd, so I like seeing the calculations.

Here’s the part that takes real commitment, though– measuring everything– and I mean EVERYTHING I put in my mouth!

Here’s a few examples:

Coffee with 1 tbsp creamer

Examining the Nutrition Facts on Every Single Item

Note to self: a cup of spaghetti is not enough for a cup of sauce

Once I have everything entered in my journal, I’ll be able to recall it without trouble. This week, I find myself spending a lot of time looking up and then entering stats for things like “Organic Veggie Straws” and “BBQ Chicken.”

I’m also keeping track of my workouts on the exercise journal. Does anyone out there know how many kcals are burned in a 30 minute kettlebell workout? I don’t want to use the “weight lifting” stats, because that just doesn’t seem to capture the entire workout.

That just about sums it up. (Get it? SUMS it up? Aw, forget it.) Of course, I’d love to hear from you… it keeps me motivated! Please leave a comment below in the “reply” box. I look forward to reading it!

Mahalo!

Sunday came and went… as did my weekly status posting. Don’t worry, I haven’t fallen off completely.

I’ve actually been spending time with my family members and away from my computer.  I did manage to take a snapshot of my  morning weigh in on Sunday:

As you can see, I went up a little.

I noticed a rather uncomfortable “full” feeling on Sunday. I don’t walk around starving, but I don’t walk around full, either.

I realized that my sister’s visit was yet another opportunity to fall back into old patterns. In my family, that means  going out to eat and always ordering dessert.

I ate in four restaurants over a two-day period. Part of me just wanted to go out to eat without worrying so much about fat or caloric content. I wanted to be carefree, but instead ended up careless.

I do believe that with true freedom comes great responsibility.

What do you think? Leave me a comment below.

Aloha!