Friday, February 29, 2008

Gaming the weight off with Wii Fit


Last year, Nintendo announced an add-on for the Wii called Wii Fit. It has already been released in Japan and is making its way over here in May.

However, that hasn't stopped a couple of people to document their experiences with the device. The most complete follows 4cr's Vinnk in something called The Great Experiment: Wii Fit. The next is Kotaku's Brian Ashcraft giving his opinion on the device.

It seems the most intriguing part of Wii Fit are the yoga exercises, because after all, it is essentially a balance board. While I don't see this as a sure fire way to lose weight, it is interesting to see exercise turned into a game of sorts. Perhaps this is a way to get kids excited about staying active. You know, in case the kid's treadmill doesn't work out.

Weekly Weigh-In: Week 9



This week I am down to 196.6 from 198.4 for a total of 1.8 lbs. I have only recently started measuring my waist, but this week is 38" which is down half an inch from last week.

All in all, I'm pleased with this week's results.

I am going to the beach this summer with my mom and brother, so I have more motivation: to look good on the beach. We are planning to leave on June 28th. As soon as I hit my weight goal I need to start working towards that date.

Thursday, February 28, 2008

High Intensity Interval Training

Like I have mentioned before, I have started High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT). The best way to explain it is that I'm "working harder, working faster." Last night was the perfect time to try it out, too.

I went to the Alabama basketball game where we defeated Arkansas 59-56. However, I knew that I wouldn't have much time to exercise, shower, eat, and leave on time to meet everyone at the Coliseum. Having done the slower speed (30 minutes) HIIT before, I figured it was the perfect time to try out the short workout but at a quicker pace(13 minutes).

The following is from an Interval plan from the Bellyoff workouts, which I used yesterday.


The trick with HIIT is that no matter how fast you run in the "Hard" interval, you must slow down to a walk on the "Easy" interval. I'll let the creator of Turbulence Training and The Belly Off Program, Craig Ballantyne, explain it better.



Tuesday, February 26, 2008

Healthy Fast Food?

There are some days where I just don't feel like making my lunch for the day. When that happens, I often struggle with finding something healthy and quick for lunch.

This is where Men's Health Eat This Not That comes into play.

A fantastic guide on fast food and restaurant chains, I have used this on a number of occasions, even today. I ate Chick-fil-A today and this is what I had:

Chick-fil-A Nuggets (8-pack) with Barbecue Sauce
Calories 305
Fat 13 g
Sat. Fat 2.5 g
Sodium 1,020 mg
Salad with Fat Free Honey Mustard
Calories 60
Fat 0g
Sat. Fat 0g
Sodium 200mg

The only downside I messed up on was that the dressing had HFCS, but that's because I rushed and didn't read it. One thing to keep in mind about the dressing is that they give you two servings when one will do. Other than that, a very filling lunch under 500 calories and $5.

Sunday, February 24, 2008

Bodyweight 100

Today was another Bodyweight exercise day. Since I have basically been doing nothing up until I started in January, it has been an effort to rebuild muscle. I don't mind because I can see improvements in my weekly workouts, but the end-of-the-week Bodyweight exercises are still challenging.

If you follow the Men's Health plan exactly, I should be on week 8. However, considering that I have to rebuild everything from scratch, I am still on week 1. In other words, still doing the Bodyweight 100 instead of the Bodyweight 500.

I have set a goal for myself in that I don't want to move on until I can complete the entire 100. Each week the chin-ups are proving to be the road block.

No matter. I will keep repeating the Bodyweight 100 until I can do every rep.

Friday, February 22, 2008

Weight loss milestone



Since the beginning of the year, I have taken it upon myself to eat clean and exercise more. The goal: to get back down to 185 lbs. Friday is my "official" weigh-in date and today marked the day I came in under 200 lbs. I consider it a milestone because it has been at least 3-4 years since I have been here.

I am no stranger to eating clean and exercising because I performed similarly back in the summer of 2004 by running and dieting. When I was in college, I lifted weights. The only difference between then and now is that, in addition to cardio (running), I have incorporated bodyweight exercises to replace fat with muscle mass. The combination of the two should produce the best results.

This past week I decided to start HIIT (High Intensity Interval Training) on my cardio days. Let me tell you, this is some hardcore exercising! Best of all, it is most effective in burning fat, even after you finish exercising. The treadmill that I use has some pre-programmed runs that vary the inclines and such. Up until now, I have used the "Weight Loss" program, and even tried the HIIT on that program. What a mistake! Kicked my ass, for sure. Today I'll just set a certain incline and then try to complete the intervals.