Fitness Friday - Weeks 21 and 22

I was gutted that last Friday blogger was out of action and I couldn't let you all know that I lost 3 lbs! To say I was delighted was an understatement as it undid all the gains from April. This week was a more modest 1 lb but it's all going in the right direction. So how have I done it:

Diet

I vaguely followed the Slim Down plan from a previous Rosemary Conley magazine. This is a 7 day kick start of 1200 calories a day but I didn't fully stick to it. The normal plan for someone my weight allows me to have just over 1400 calories a day so there was enough flexibility to allow for some extras.

Exercise

As people that follow me on Twitter know I'm doing lots of Wii Zumba! In the first week I did 5 sessions and this week I did 3. After moving up from the 20 minute beginner to 45 minute session there was a noticeable difference to my abs. Its great that the exercise tones as well as gets the heart rate going and burning fat. I have also had some Wii Just Dance sessions, done flexibility on the Wii Personal Trainer and had one session of a Rosemary Conley DVD. It's feeling great to mix the different kinds of exercise up to stop boredom setting in.

Next week's plan:

Diet

I am going to try and carry on sticking to the calorie and fat limits on the Rosemary Conley plan. Its a simple system but you need to keep track of how much you've had. I find that the healthy power snacks make a huge difference to preventing over eating when I remember to eat them!

Exercise

As its working I'm going to carry on with my mix of exercising. I even get my kids to join in and choose the Dance tracks etc. My daughter thinks my "Zumba bum" move is amazing so they don't mind me exercising when they are around which makes it easier.

So its onwards and downwards and watch this space!

Fitness Friday: Week 20

First of all apologies for missing the last few weeks, the school holidays have played havoc with my blogging and my diet/exercise so I have in fact gained a couple of pounds... Aargh I was so pleased with the 1 and 1/2 stone I'd lost and seriously need to get back on track. So this is my plan:

Diet

Today I started following the Slim Down plan from last month's Rosemary Conley magazine. This is a 7 day kick start of 1200 calories a day which I can follow for 2 weeks. The magazine reckons should lose me 5 lb this week. It worked back in January so let's hope I can stick to it and see the results on the scales next Thursday at class.

Exercise

I have been better at  getting exercise into my routine the last few days. Getting in a 50 minute combination of Wii Personal Fitness Instructor and Zumba after the school run makes me feel better. I have also had a couple of Just Dance 2 short sessions when time is short. The Zumba is working on the waistline and abdomen which is my main area to shrink so let's hope a few home classes a week will work wonders!

Watch this space for next week's result and click on the logo to see how everyone else is getting on (hopefully better than me!)

Wii - Fitness for all the family?

As you may be aware from previous blogposts this year I am really trying to get both myself and my children nice and fit. With all the bad weather and time constraints one of the main ways we have been doing this is by using the Wii to have fun exercise sessions. Obviously with children aged 7 and 3 they have different capabilities and require varying amounts of input so we have experimented with a few different games (thank heavens for Christmas and birthday money!).


We had 2 of the original fitness games Wii Fit for me and Family Fitness Trainer more for the children. In the past I've found the Wii Fit great for a regular workout and for charting my progress. Unfortunately I'm having issues with the balance board which is preventing me using it at the minute (must get around to sorting it out!). 


Family Fitness Trainer uses a mat that is plugged into the Wii. It is fairly simple to operate but requires some level of co-ordination - which my 4 year old sometimes finds tricky. My children do enjoy competing against each other and earning points and high scores. I have to admit that being competitive myself I enjoy staying top of the high score table for Mole Stomper. 


On the recommendation of my Rosemary Conley instructor I bought Just Dance 2 in January. This can be used either just as a fun way to exercise with friends or family OR you can set yourself a daily Sweat challenge to complete 1, 3 or 5 dance routines to earn points. What I like about this is that its easy to squeeze in a 15 minute session including warm up. My children love choosing the silliest songs such as Monster Mash or Walk Like an Egyptian.


My daughter had previously had High School Musical 3 Dance but found it quite hard to follow the directions on the screen to copy the moves. It maybe as she gets older she finds this easier. This year she bought Dance Juniors which is much simpler to use and we enjoyed a couple of sessions, though she doesn't ask to play it often.

Fitness Friday - Week 10

Spring must definitely having a good effect on my motivation as when I stepped on the scales at class yesterday I had lost 2 lbs! This is now over 1.5 stone since I began in the Autumn with nearly a stone just since I signed up for Fitness Friday in January. I thought it would a good time to test the Inch Loss side of the Rosemary Conley plan. When I started I was given a magic measure and I dutifully measured all the key body parts and clipped the tags on. Today I remeasured and I have lost a total of 21 inches across my body with an amazing 5 from my waist alone. So what did I do this week:

Diet

The kids went back to school on Monday so it was an end to the non-stop snacking of the holidays. I was able to take my time to choose the healthy options and stick to my calorie allowance. If I have a large lunch I can compensate with a salad only tea.

Exercise

The Wii was turned back on at the weekend and I've done quite a few Tough Just Dance 2 sessions. I also finally got my eBay bargain My Personal Fitness Trainer out of its cellophane and set it up. After about 20 minutes of entering all my measurements it gave me my first targeted workout. So far I've done 2 upper body and 1 lower body workout. I have to admit that the morning after a 30 minute leg workout I found it hard walking upstairs... At my class I was back to the top level of exercise and it feels good to have a vigorous cardio routine.

Fitness Friday - week 4

This week always had the potential to be a big let down after last week's big loss. When I was diagnosed with an ear infection on Monday it put a stop to my fitness plan so I wasn't expecting a decent drop. So I was very pleased to be told I had dropped another 2.5 lbs this week. That makes 8 lb over the last fortnight and 16 lb in total since I started at Rosemary Conley in October. I even got another certificate to celebrate this milestone. 

Fitness Friday - week 3

So did the last week live up to my hopes from last week? Having had people comment that I looked slimmer I was hopeful when I went to class today and the answer is a very big YES!!! At my weigh in yesterday I had lost 5.5 lbs which is a great start to the Fitness Friday campaign. It makes me 0.5 lb away from losing a total of a stone since I started! The psychological effect of the first digit of my weight now being lower made me feel great, it also got me the Slimmer of the Week award.

How I did it:

Wii Just Dance 2 - A challenge!

My Rosemary Conley instruction recommended Wii Just Dance 2 as a great way of boosting our fitness levels and getting in some exercise whatever the weather. As the kids and I had a very generous Christmas present from a cousin I went and ordered the game. This evening I tried it out for the first time and managed 4 routines on the Sweat section for a pretty good 15 minute workout.


There seem to be a lot of people who have also got the game so I thought how about a challenge? So here's the deal over the next week try and get a higher score as possible on track 1 Avril Lavigne – "Girlfriend". Then post your score in the Linky below. There are no prizes just a bit of fun and healthy competition! If this works then next Sunday I'll create a challenge for track 2...

Fitness Friday - week 2

Well the good news is that having gone for my first Rosmary Conley session since before Christmas is that I didn't gain weight over Christmas! So I am starting 2011 without having gone backwards and adding to the weight I need to lose.

Last week's progress

As of the 2nd January I got back on the healthy eating programme and have cut out the naughty snacks and the alcohol. I am fitting in more walking into my daily schedule and went to my Rosemary Conley class which includes a 45 minute workout (hard work after month off!). At the class I tried to stick to doing the level 3 toughest routine which is higher impact and much more energetic.