fitness

One of my new bloggy finds is a blog called Half As Good As You by Casey.

She was moaning about how hard it was to lose weight and somehow in comments a bunch of us decided that maybe online motivation would work. Well why not? Nothing else seems to… for me anyway.

So Club Half As Small As You was born and it’s free – bar a little commitment.

It’s about finding a group of peers who will encourage you to get fit and maybe in the process lose a little of that excess weight… you know, the saddle bags, the love handles, the bingo wings… etc.

To start with – like any old fashioned 12-step program – an acknowledgement of the problem is in order:

My name is Cellobella and I need to get fit and lose weight.

Next – the answer’s to the Club Half As Small As You questionnaire:

1. What motivates you and why do you want to do this challenge? It may be that you’re training to run a 10K or merely just to be able to walk to the mailbox and not break a sweat (don’t worry, I fall on this end of the spectrum).

What motivates me?  Plainly not much.   However the only success I’ve had is peer pressure.  That is exercising with a group.  I’m doing this challenge because I’ve tried other stuff and it hasn’t worked and who knows… it might even be fun.

2. What is your long term goal? Do you want to lose weight or just tone your body. Are you trying to fit into your old prom dress for your upcoming reunion? Do you want to want to “pump yourself up” like Hans and Frans? Spill it.

I want to want to exercise – and I’m hoping that feeling those endorphins rush around my body from physical activity will become addictive.  In the process losing some weight would be a good thing.

3. What is your long term weight loss goal? You don’t need to tell us your current weight, just how much you’d like to eventually lose. This can be in weight or inches. Jamie and I have a sewing tape measure that we use for our weekly measurements. We got ours in the sewing section at Wal-Mart, if you look at Target, you won’t find it.

10 kilograms would be nice.

4. What tools are available to you? Treadmill, elliptical, jogging stroller, ThighMaster, Trampoline. Maybe a rabid dog to chase the weight off?

Sandshoes.  Bathers.  Goggles. Running shorts.  And I could go to the gym.

5. How often can you exercise? Be realistic here but try to make as much time as possible. This might include stepping AWAY from the blog for a couple of nights a week. I know, *gasp*. I’m crying on the inside too but it needs to be done. Fatty. Ok, that was mean and it won’t happen again. I promise.

3-4 times a week is probably realistic.  I theoretically could exercise every day if I got up early enough.  I find that it has to be in the morning or I don’t.

6. What do you plan on doing? Beer curls, switch the remote to the other hand for a few days, start smoking more. Maybe you want to actually exercise and start eating better? I hear that never works but go ahead and try if you want.

Reduce alcohol intake.  Take salads to work for lunch.  Get up at 6am and go jogging (gasp!).

7. What has worked for you in the past? Let us in on your secrets, what has worked for you before and how you went about it. We won’t tell.

The last time I lost a LOT of weight I was breastfeeding and had managed to contract Giardia… I was also following the “Fit for Life” food combining principals.   Given the first two are out I guess I’ll try healthy eating and exercise.

There. That wasn’t so hard. Want to join us? Head over to Casey’s to find out more.