High Fructose What?? Holy Crapola!!

So I was browsing the net today looking for alternative ways to better my diet. I am not to the point where all my snacks are fruit or chips and salsa (about the only veggie I can tolerate.. haha). I do have corn or green beans for dinner, but in an effort to continually improve I continue to read articles on the net.

Today's focus after randomly reading things for a bit was high fructose corn syrup. I honestly never thought a thing about it. Sure it is in food, but so are 50 million other things that I don't really know a thing about. However from what I gather high fructose corn syrup is an additive that is added in excess in EVERYTHING in today's manufactured foods. There are plenty of articles about how to leads to weight gain, etc.

So today's quest was to do some grocery shopping (I had to do it anyway), however I wanted to find foods that did not contain high fructose corn syrup. I know totally avoiding it is not going to happen. My goal is to just reduce my consumption drastically. I figured I had items on my list and I would try to find a brand/version without the high fructose corn syrup.

I managed to get everything on my list, however it was a difficult and a long shopping trip. More often than not I ended up with a low sugar, organic, or all natural version to get it without high fructose corn syrup.

W3D2 with some resistance on the elliptical~

So I just completed W3D2 and wow that whole resistance thing makes a bit of a difference. I did the warm up and cool down at a resistance of 5, the walks during the workout at a resistance of 2, and the runs at 1 (note I was incorrect yesterday, there was no 0 setting). I burned over 300 calories and made it just under a mile. I was sweating more with this workout than with any of the others, so I think I will continue to use these resistance settings. Overall though it felt great!!

Day Off Mild Workout ~ Playing with the Resistance on the Elliptical

So today is my scheduled day off from the C25K workout. I decided I would "walk" on the elliptical for a few minutes. I wanted to see the effects of changing the resistance of the elliptical. I decided my speed would be "35" with a resistance of "5". I really need to read the user manual to see what these values equate to, but for now I will remain lazy and just post the values.

Well after 18 minutes at a speed of 35, I burned 250 calories. Typically a complete workout has been around 250 to 275. This is based on the calorie counter on the elliptical. I am unsure of how accurate this calorie counter is, however it gave me a method of comparison. With this in mind, I think I will do the next workout at a resistance level of 2. I think 5 is a bit high for the jogs, so I will settle for 2 and see how difficult it is. It seems that walking with the resistance increased, increased the amount of calories burned. This makes sense because the walking was more difficult, however I did not expect it to have that big of an impact.

In other news, I got some Kinesio tape in the mail today. I have had some residual swelling in my one knee. This has been fairly common since I have had surgery on it (10 years ago). So I don't think it is solely tied to my workout. However, upon reading online this tape is supposed to improve circulation and reduce the swelling. It has been seen on a couple Olympic athletes (more noticeable in the summer games when athletes are not bundled from head to toe). I ordered this from Amazon, with my Amazon cash. Upon placing the tape on my knee, I can feel it on the skin (ya I am sure you are thinking that is an obvious statement). However, it feels different than typical tape. Being an accident prone athlete from the time I could walk, I know a thing or two about how tape typically feels. This doesn't seem to provide any sort of support. It is highly flexible. In a way it feels like it is lifting the skin up off my knee a bit. It isn't painful or annoying, however it is noticeable. I will wear it for awhile and see how it works....

Day Off... How I earn Amazon Cash for my gadgets!!

Well today is my day off from the C25K program. I worked out the last two days with the program, so I am definitely not doing the program today. I may go for a walk with the dogs here in a bit, but it is looking like it may be nasty out.

Well as promised the other day, I will explain how I get amazon cash to order some of the workout gadgets I have been using/buying. I don't necessarily use the cash only on workout stuff, as I have been doing this for some time and buy lots of odds and ends off Amazon. As we all know Amazon has just about everything on it...

The following sites are sites I visit to acquire points/cash which I then convert to Amazon gift cards. I save up till I have a nice chunk of change, then I buy whatever I want. I browse Amazon enough that I have an account and when I find something I want, I add it to my "Wishlist". This will save it for later purchase.

1. Swagbucks: http://www.swagbucks.com/refer/lhart24
Here you use their search engine (it is based off google). When searching, you will randomly win varying amounts of swag. Collect 450 and you can cash in for a $5 Amazon gift card. You can also collect swag codes to earn swag and also complete offers. Some of the offers are extremely easy (viewing a youtube video) and can be done daily. With no referrals and using the site daily for searches, I can get a gift card every couple weeks.

2. Superpoints: http://www.superpoints.com/spd/lynseyhart1
Here you can daily do the following activities for points, which you cash in for an Amazon gift card. Daily do: Super Lucky Button, Lucky Search, and Surveys. Depending on your rank on the site, will determine how much of each you get. Increasing rank to a certain point is extremely easy. For one you just have to verify your account and fill in the basic information. Some of the higher ranks you have to have X amount of friends. I just requested redemption and so far it hasn't showed up. I will remove the link if it turns out to be bogus

3. Cashcow: http://gptcashcow.com/members/register.php?ref=lhart24
This site is your basic Paid to Click site. You earn varying amounts (.001 to .03 etc) for clicking on an ad and viewing it for a few seconds. Takes a couple weeks to get to the $10.00 withdraw threshold, however is extremely easy. Daily clicks are in two areas on the site. The first is Members (in toolbar) - Paid to Click. Here you just click on the links, select the code at the top (so they know you aren't a bot), and wait the alloted time. Warning, there is one ad (determines you are not a bot) that REMOVES money from your account. Read the ad descriptions carefully, the one you don't want to click is a big red banner. The second place is Offers (in toolbar) - Daily Surveys/Clicks (hoover here) - Daily clicks pops up as a side menu. On these you have to click on the link displayed, this will load a page, click a link on that page, and then click submit on the main list. I can get through all these in about 10 to 15 minutes a day depending on the number of ads.

4. Prize Rebel: http://www.prizerebel.com/index.php?r=1968279
Complete offers and get points for gift cards. I was able to quickly get $5.00. I only do the offers that don't require phone numbers and don't require credit card info. Offers are added weekly and it is fairly easy to do. I did use a junk email account I set up on yahoo. I did not use my legit email.

5. My Points: https://www.mypoints.com/emp/u/refSignup.do?refCode=PQwlz4VbwglMJ--99&arr=s9&afsrc=1&src=FB_CONNECT&src=PG_FAF_EDIT
Get points for shopping online, searching with their toolbar, completing your profile, and reading emails.

With all these sites, it is a lot easier to get points/cash if you have referrals. So once you get set up, refer all your friends and family. Sometimes it takes a little explanation to get someone going on the sites. So be sure you know about the sites and can answer their questions. If you have any questions for me.. just post :-)

All the links are also in the banners and the link list over to the right of the blog homepage.

Onward and upward... time to start week 3...

Today I started Week 3 of the C25K workout (yes a bit early again.. I didn't take a day off). There were a couple 3 minute jogs in there. The workout overall went good, and I am still progressing and enjoying things. At first I really thought I would have to repeat weeks, but so far I don't feel it is necessary. I feel winded after the jogs, but am able to recover in during the walking period.

I am thinking since I seem to have energy and want to work out. I will work out for 2 days, take a day off, work out for 2 days, take a day off... This adds an additional workout day to each week and I think will only help me in my goal to become healthier.

Progress is still going good as I am now down to 171 lbs. Weight is slowly dropping off.

Week 2 is complete!!!

W2D3 is complete and I am looking forward to W3. W3 will contain longer jogs (3 minutes). This should give me a bit more of a workout and I am really looking forward to it.

My lunch tote has arrived. It actually works exceptionally well. My leftovers were hot for lunch today. I am thinking my lunches are going to get a whole lot more appetizing.

The Nike sensor also arrived. I have yet to use it as I need to get it calibrated etc. I am thinking I will also use this when I walk at work. Typically a couple times during the day, I will get up and stretch and walk "the lap". I work in a fairly large building, so "the lap" refers to the outer perimeter main hallways. I think it is something like a half mile loop..... Well I guess once I get my sensor calibrated I will find out for sure.

Dominated W2D2 ~ A lil early!

So I jumped the gun and worked out back to back nights. I had energy and my schedule allowed for it. I managed to go faster and burn more calories that I did during W2D1, so my body seems to be able to handle it. However tomorrow I will definitely have to take a day off. I really don't want to push it so much I injure a knee (or anything else for that matter).

I am loving the elliptical. My knees haven't bother me nearly as much. Even when not working out, they bothered me more than this. Guess the working out is helping the joints a bit, which is a great thing.

W2D1 has been Conquered!!!

W2D1 has been completed and I define it as a success. The jogging times were a bit longer, however I was still able to complete them and feel great. I am actually looking forward to the next two workouts this week.

On the lunch front, I found a couple tasty snacks. First is cinnamon flax seed glazed walnuts.. all natural and super tasty!! Also applesauce cups, I prefer cinnamon flavored. The new lunch tote hasn't arrived so I haven't had a chance to use it. In order to provide some more variety, I took crackers and cheese one day. Crackers and homemade chicken salad another day. Both were appetizing, healthy, filling, and added variety. Considering that an accomplishment.

Strolling right along...

I had energy today. I didn't really want to continue to be lazy on my "off" days of the program. So I decided to take the dog for a 1 hour walk around town today. We walked semi-briskly in between him stopping and peeing on every other weed we found. At the end, I was ready to keep going and he was ready for a nap. So I will consider this a success.

I am going to try and throw in some walking or some sort of workout on my off days. I want to keep my motivation up and continue the progress. Maybe once the workout require longer running times, I may not feel as motivated on the off days and will use the recovery day to do just that .. recover.

Continuing to Success ~ Week 1 is complete!!!!

Well the pattern continues, I manage to complete W1D3 and have actually enjoyed it. I am looking forward to W2 as it will be more challenging (longer running times). The knees are still holding up and my pants are getting a lil more loose.

I do like the running shoes. They are comfortable and flexible. I have had no blisters and them along with the elliptical seem to cushion my stride very well.

I decided to order the lunch tote. I used my amazon cash and got it for free. I also ordered the Nike sensors for my iPod touch, so soon I should be able to upload data from all my workouts. It will help me know when I am slacking.

I have also decided to cut out all alcoholic beverages out of my life. This is the next step in my healthy diet. I have also cut out all fast food (with the exception of Subway... ). The less grease, the better.

W1D2 is complete

Well sticking with the program, I managed to complete W1D2. The knees are holding up well and I managed to go a little farther than I did W1D1. I am still motivated to stick to the program and continue to workout.

I did manage find a hot lunch tote. It's kind of expensive for what it is, however I will use my amazon cash and get it for "free". I will have to post later how to earn amazon cash to get all kinds of cool stuff... Here is the website for the lunch totes:
http://www.warmandtote.com/

I have also been researching "healthy" eating... ugh there is just so much out there. One will say this is good, one will say it is horrible. I think the general consensus is moderation is key. There do seem to be a few key things to cut out that help though (ie soda ... it provides no nutritional benefit). I will continue to read over things and see what I find.

I have managed to bring my lunch to work every day in Jan. and so far for every day in Feb. This is a huge change and I think is making a huge difference. First off, it is cheaper. But also my food I bring in is so much healthier than what is offered at work... I weighed in at 173, so it seems to be having the proper effect.

Elliptical arrived and assembled ... Workout has begun

Well the elliptical was delivered and I spent a couple hours assembling the thing... ugh.. that was a workout in and of itself.

So I decided to stay somewhat on a schedule I would repeat W1D1 of the C25K program. The workout actually went rather well. There is a heart rate monitor on the elliptical, however I have to hold onto the stationary handles, and well it is just awkward to try and hold on and keep your heart rate up. So I may get a monitor with a chest strap and use that instead. Still deciding on this... However it will more than likely happen as I do want to try and keep my heart rate within the proper target zone.

So far I am liking the running program; the alternating between running and walking is nice. I can run and know the break/walk is coming soon. It is enough to keep my moving though and slowly progresses. This may just be the program to get me going and in shape....

The forum is also really good for support/tips and just general advice from other runners.

Workout program!!!!

So after my failed attempt a week ago, I decided it was time to brave the gym to give the elliptical a try. I repeated W1D1 of the C25K running program with my springy running shoes. I started out kind of slow, wasn't actually sure I could complete the workout and the knees were still a little stiff. However, I was able to complete the workout, the knees fell great (okay not really great, but no worse), and W1D1 is complete.

For information on the running program visit:
http://c25k.com/forum/forums/

I also decided since I have an avid hatred of the gym... okay actually working out in front of other people. I ordered an elliptical. Sears had a good deal going, I used a coupon and a gift card, and went through a point program to get money back. So overall I got a killer deal on the thing. I ordered the NordicTrack E5 vi.

Other gadgets I may be purchasing...
~Nike Sensor for my iPod Touch
~heart rate monitor
~hot lunch box....

Trial Run at the C25K running program....New Shoes

So I went online and ordered some running shoes. I got some springy Spira running shoes per the recommendation from the store. This shiny new lil things inspired me to go on a trial run for the C25K running program. I decided to just do it around town on the pavement. I made it all of ten minutes before my knees were throbbing. Wowser all around. After about 10 minutes (5 of which was a warm up walk), I retreated back to the house to come up with a new game plan.

After a lil debate, I decided I would go to the gym and retry W1D1 on an elliptical. This will come after a bit of a recovery period. I still will bring along the spiffy new sneakers though....