Eat Less (Check!)... Move More???

We've all heard the saying, "Eat less, move more" right?  It's the basic concept behind losing weight.  Well, I've gotten really good about the eating less thing.  However, moving more?  Ugh.  I know that if I want to lose more weight and just become more healthy overall, I really really REALLY need to start incorporating exercise into my life.

For some reason, when I'm on vacation, I have no issues getting into the gym.  I got 2 really good workouts in while I was in Florida.  I busted my butt on the elliptical machine for an hour each time! It helped that their elliptical machines had TVs right on them - an hour of Friends one day followed by an hour of Dog the Bounty Hunter the next makes a workout go by fast! 

So when I got home, I decided to keep up some sort of exercise routine.  On Wednesday night, I went to my first Zumba class at my gym.  According to the wise Wikipedia, Zumba is:

a Latin dance -inspired fitness program created by dancer and choreographer Alberto "Beto" Perez in Colombia during the 1990s. 

Zumba involves dance and aerobic elements. Zumba's choreography incorporates hip-hop, soca, samba, salsa,merengue, mambo, martial arts, and some Bollywood and belly dance moves. Squats and lunges are also included.

In my mind, I looked like this:

What I more than likely looked like was this:

I will go back to Zumba though.  It was fun and a great workout.  In the meantime, I've decided to start back on two exercise programs that I've had a lot of success with in the past:

Running

Seven years ago, I ran a half marathon.  The feeling that I got from running 13.1 miles was amazing.  When I started training for it, I weighed over 200 pounds.  By the time that I ran it (6 months later), I was down to 150 pounds.

Finishing the half marathon
June 2005

When I started training for it, I couldn't even run one mile, let alone 13.1.  So I started with baby steps and followed a program called Couch to 5K.  Check out the link - it really is a great program for anyone who wants to become a runner with little to no running experience.  

Week 1, Day 1 calls for a 5 minute warm up, followed by alternating 1 minute of jogging and 1 minute 30 seconds of walking for 20 minutes, and then a 5 minute cool down.  I've got my iPod playlist all geared up to change songs every time I need to walk or run (I hate staring at the clock on the treadmill) and I'm ready to start after work!

Lifting

Lifting weights is such an important component of weight loss.  While I was training for my half marathon, I was also lifting 2-3 times each week.  I'm also hoping that lifting while I lose weight will make my body look better when I get to my goal (saggy skin scares me!!).  I have a great book called The New Rules of Lifting for Women and it has really good lifting plans.  Tonight, after I hop (fall) off the treadmill, I'm going to be doing some squats, push-ups, seated rows, step-ups and prone jackknifes.  

Have a wonderful weekend!  I'll post my Florida pictures sometime soon!