Caffeine Update: Coke 2, Me 0

Retro Cola
Originally uploaded by Derbeth

So, are you wondering how I fared against the Coke this week? Well, wonder no more--Coke kicked my butt! After my last post, I still had half of a 591 mL bottle left. That made it to the next morning. Then I found my toddler had been playing in corn starch and was currently wearing it from head to toe. I caved and had the rest of the diet Coke in one long draught.

I thought I'd do better today because I had no Coke in the house at all. Then I got a migraine because of the weather change and I called my husband to bring me some acetaminophen (I was totally out) and a Coke. I know it sounds strange, but when my migraines are really bad, a Coke will usually help it to go. Anyway, darling hubby brought me a regular Coke and yes, I drank the whole thing. On the plus side, I didn't drink any diet Coke today, so at least I eliminated the aspartame today. I also drank a lot of water when I finished the Coke and made sure to give my teeth a good brushing. Hopefully tomorrow I'll be more successful in my endeavours to "can" Coke from my diet. Wish me luck!

Pondering Diet Colas...

Girl worker at lunch also absorbing California sunshine, Douglas Aircraft Company, Long Beach, Calif. (LOC)
Originally uploaded by The Library of Congress

I wouldn't say I'm addicted to diet cola, but sometimes I crave cola (diet or not). Those times are usually when I am under a lot of stress and the cola seems to help to lessen that stress. It also helps with my migraines too. Sometimes the caffeine is the kick that I need to get over the migraine. Weird, I know.

Anyway, I've known for awhile that the cola isn't good for my teeth (I'm really prone to cavities), and a conversation with a co-worker got me thinking today. He mentioned that he noticed I drink a lot of Diet Coke (I wouldn't say it's a lot, but he saw me drinking it two days in a row, so whatever!). He said that the aspartame wasn't good for you, etc. I did some web searching tonight and basically skimmed a few websites for information. It looks like there are two opposing camps in the diet cola debate--one says it's fine and the other says it's not. So, which camp is right? It would probably be smart to see who is funding which camp before coming to a definitive conclusion.

Be that as it may, since I'm trying to be healthier anyway, I'm going to take a huge step and try to cut cola in general and diet pop in particular from my diet. That's right, I'm going to have to start drinking coffee or tea if I want to get my caffeine fix and since I hate coffee, well, you get the idea, I'm basically going to try to cut caffeine out. Yikes! It's do-able, right? I won't fall to pieces without my caffeine fix, right? I can get through a day without it...maybe.

Wish me luck, my friends, wish me luck!

Upbeat Me

My last post was somewhat...well, depressing, and I haven't posted to let you know I've been much better since then. I found myself on the way to work the next day thinking that I just couldn't handle it anymore. I caught myself thinking that way and I started to repeat out loud, "I can do this, I can do this." It made a difference because I stopped focusing on the depressing thoughts and got out from underneath my dark cloud.

I'm still working on getting my exercise time in on the Wii Fit. I'm getting really good at the rhythm boxing. The trainer mentioned that you get double points if you hit in time with the music and I'm working on getting my points up there. My high score is 1062 and I'm trying to beat my best score every time--of course, that works a lot better when I get the footing right!

I spent some time and money on me last week and made a trip to the Body Shop to stock up on cleanser, moisturizer and body wash. I was completely out of all three, so it was time for me to get in there for sure. It felt good to be taking care of me, knowing that using the products will make me feel better about me. It was kind of fun to "spoil" myself, even though they are products I needed.

As for organizing, well, I'm not getting very far there. I just can't seem to keep up with the mess. I can get a whole bunch of papers picked up and into the recycling and the next day there is a whole whack more. Where does it end? I'm still trying to declutter a bit at a time though. This month my company is asking us to bring re-useable items in to the office to be donated to a youth center which will use the items in a fundraising garage sale. I'm going to try to find some items to take in every day if I can. That way I'm decluttering and I'm also getting it out of the house--and if I can help someone else with my items, so much the better. Wish me luck!

My Depression Rant

Mrs. Edwards & Frl. Kussin [boxing] (LOC)
Originally uploaded by The Library of Congress

I didn't intend for my blog to focus on my depression, but today it is. I'm just frustrated today. Depression is like your shadow, it always is there. It never leaves you alone. And when everything is going along fine that's when depression suddenly sticks its foot out to trip you up. Whamo! It's always sudden too. One minute you could be happy as a lark and the next moment you want to cry for no real reason. I hate that. I wish there was a way to be cured from this stupid condition because I'm so over it.

My day was a little rough, but I was doing OK until I came home from work. That's when I just started to feel like I couldn't handle things any more. Now I'm sitting here procrastinating doing my Wii Fit workout because I feel so lousy. Yes, I know working out would probably make me feel better, but right now the amount of energy required to get up and do it feels overwhelming.

OK, I did it. I surprised myself and even when it seemed like I couldn't get my balance board charged, I didn't give up (the thought did cross my mind though!). I did the short body test and then went right to my rhythmic boxing. I got my highest score ever tonight :) Boxing is a great stress relief. Not only am I moving, I'm also getting out my agressions without actually hitting anything or anyone. I really got my heart pumping while boxing tonight. I won't say I feel fantastic, but I feel better than I did before. It was only 13 minutes of exercise, but it made a difference.

So here's something for me to ponder: If a little bit of exercise made a difference, what would a lot of exercise do? Could it improve my depression a lot? I've been fairly consistent with the exercise for 20 days now. It will be interesting to see if my depression improves over time as I exercise more consistently.

Ten Favourite Wii Fit Activities

Tonight I thought I'd do something different because I couldn't decide what activities to do. I used the favourites section which holds my top ten activities ranked in order for the most times I've tried them. Doing all 10 netted me 30 minutes!

10. Penguin Slide--Balance Game.
I don't hate this game, but it's not my favourite either. I mostly do it to make my 2 year old laugh to see Mama bouncing and sliding on the ice.

9. Zen--Balance Game.
Meh, it's not exciting, but sitting down for that time and allowing the spine feels great. I once lasted over a minute, but have not yet repeated the feat.

8. Rhythm Boxing-Aerobics.
Easily one of my top exercises. I get frustrated when I get my rights and lefts mixed up (I never was highly co-ordinated), but it's still fun and I like making the bag destruct at the end. I made my trainer say, "Nice job!" tonight. Love that.

7. Tightrope--Balance Game.
I cannot get this one! I get as far as the chomping thing and I jump off into the air no where near the rope. One day I'll keep doing it over and over until I conquer it (but not today).

6. Ski Jump--Balance Game.
I just realized yesterday that I should be keeping my red dot for my center of balance in line with the blue dot on the screen. Amazing how much farther you can jump when you do it right!

5. Slalom Skiing--Balance Game
I thought I was doing great when I got through the first half of the course with no misses. Then came the second half to show me just how crazy I was for thinking that.

4. Soccer Heading--Balance Game.
This one drives me nuts. Why can't these Miis keep their cleats on? Who taught them to tie their shoes? And what's with the panda heads? Still, I'm getting better, so I can't complain too much.

3. Advanced Step--Aerobics.
I think this is my favourite activity so far. It's fun and relatively easy, even for someone like me who gets directions confused so easily.

2. Ball Drop--Balance Game.
I like this one but I get so frustrated when I drop a ball off the table. My little one likes to watch me play this one and is always saying, "Aw, mama!" when I let one of the other characters fall off the board.

1. Bubble Balnce--Balance Game.
The reason this is number 1? Because I'm damn stubborn and kept trying and trying and trying one night to no avail. I still haven't gotten past the fork in the river, but I will one day!

Have you checked out your top ten activities? Which is your favourite?

You probably noticed the lack of Yoga and Strength Training in my list. I'm working on the yoga slowly but surely. Some of the poses are really great and then there are those crazy ones where I cannot balance at all, but I'll keep plugging away at them and I'll get them eventually. I'll probably add in the strength training eventually too. I just don't like the activities, so I don't feel motivated to give it a try.

Update Day 15 with my Wii Fit

I logged my 15th day on my Wii Fit today and I was really surprised that I've kept it up and still find it fun. I missed one day because when I got home I felt lousy, so I went to bed instead of exercising. Other than that, I've logged at least the body test and 15 minutes of exercise a day.

Has it made a difference? Well, not in my weight which seems to fluctuate up and down by a pound or two every log in (it would help if I did the body test at the same time each day). However, I feel stronger and I feel my core (abdominal) area tightening up a bit. My husband told me that I looked firmer too, so I guess it's making a difference there. I'm also sleeping a bit better lately too. Time will tell if this will have a long lasting effect on me or not.

I have been focused on doing the aerobic exercises and a few of the balance games each time I use the Fit. I like to do Rythym Boxing first in the Expert mode because that gets me thirteen minutes of time right away. It's not as easy as it looks, especially for someone unco-ordinated like me. I am fine with the steps to the front of the balance board, but the backward steps get me confused and I tend to mess those up. I was really proud of myself on the two occasions where the trainer told me "Nice Job!". Much better to hear than "You didn't even break a sweat, did you?" or "Let's train again this week."

I also love the Advanced Step routine. It's fun and fairly easy (except for when my feet get tangled up). I don't even moan any more when they speed it up part way through the workout! Yay me!

If I've got a lot of energy or time, I'll do the expert level of Super Hula Hoop. Ten minutes of Hula Hooping, 5 mintues to the right and 5 minutes to the left. By the end, I'm pretty sure my hips are going to just fall to the floor! I can really feel it work my thighs and hips, so hopefully its doing me some good.

After that, I'll do the Ball Drop and Bubble game and maybe a couple of others before I quit. I'm still trying to conquer the Bubble game. I get right to the fork in the river and I pop the bubble every time. I'm stubborn enough to want to keep trying until I get it.

I've done the yoga sporadically. I'm starting to get the hang of it and can really feel my muscles working on holding the poses. Once I get through all the poses more consistently, I'm planning on adding in the Strength Training exercises as well. I should probably switch back and forth between strength and yoga for optimum results. I should probably look into that and figure out which way it is best to do them.

So, I'm still having fun on my Wii Fit. Hopefully I'll be noticing some weight loss over the next few weeks. I'm really ready to lose this weight.

Ten Things I Like About My Wii Fit

Just for fun, I thought I'd make a list of ten things I like about my Wii Fit. Feel free to add to it, I don't mind.

1. Everyone in the family can use it (OK, with the exception of my 2 year old, but she still likes to watch us use it). My 6 year old loves the hula hooping and ski jumping, even if she can't get it quite right. Hubs can use it to do strength training and I use it right now mostly for aerobic activity. We took it to my parents' house this weekend because they were interested in it and my mom absolutely loved it!

2. It's fun. It doesn't feel like exercise.

3. It's my "me time" where I get to focus on me for a few minutes everyday.

4. There's always something new. Even though I've unlocked most of the activities and exercises, there are always different levels within the exercises, so I can keep interested.

5. It costs way less than a gym membership and I'm more likely to use it every day.

6. I feel motivated to do activities--whether to beat my score, complete an activity or just have fun.

7. I can montior my weight/BMI easily over time and it keeps me focussed on reaching my goals.

8. The Wii Fit has a sense of humour. No really, it does! On April Fool's Day, the balance board was wearing a hat and threw confetti and stuff and promised it wouldn't try to fool me. Guess what? It posted my Wii Fit Age and then dropped a higher number on it. Got me all excited for nothing.

9. I found out that I actually kind of like yoga after all. I'm not very good at it yet, but it's not as boring or hard as I had previously thought it to be.

10. Did I mention it's fun??

Why do you love your Wii Fit??

Getting Organized!

Since I post about the Wii Fit pretty much everyday, I thought I'd post a little video about it here. I wish my house looked as clean as all these other houses where they're using the Wii Fit! Anyway, I have been using the Wii Fit now for a full week--I did a minimum of 15 minutes plus the body test every day. I found it funny that my weight fluctuated quite a bit this week, but as the machine pointed out, I've been weighing in at different times each day.

Organized: I spent some time yesterday emptying out the laundry baskets. I'm really good at getting them washed, dried and folded, but then the baskets sit all week instead of being put away. Sigh. At least it's done for now. What I need to do is spend some time going through our closet and take out clothes that hubs and I are no longer wearing, are really old or just plain don't fit. The T-shirt I'm wearing now I've had since I was in university--and my 10 year anniversary is three years in the past. How sad is that? Time to thin out the closet a bit. That will be one of my focuses this week.

I also went through hubs' receipts that he finallybrought in from the car. Now I have to input them all in my spreadsheet so we can get them out to the accountant to take care of.

Today, I got all Flylady and actually shined my kitchen sink! I've had it done before, but it never lasts long. The idea is that you should start to build the habit by shining your sink every night before bed and by a month, the habit should be well, habit. So, I've got a nice clean and empty sink right now. Hopefully it will stay that way because it makes the whole kitchen look better and it makes me feel less stress. To put it simply, my shiny sink makes me smile.

Day 6, Still Kicking!

,So, I've made it six whole days doing a fitness test on my Wii Fit. I haven't been as consistent with the amount of time spent doing the activities, but I'm still having fun and trying to get it done. During the week, things are hectic here, so I'm hoping to log some extra time on the weekend. I've also been getting outside with my little one and getting some exercise in with her, so that helps too.

Organizing: My wonderful mother came by today because she knew I had some boxes to donate and she is having a pick up from the Canadian Diabetes Association tomorrow. I got 3 boxes of stuff that have been packed and ready to go out my door. It makes a huge difference! Now to get rid of some more stuff. Tomorrow I have to spend some time on paperwork for taxes (hubs has a small business)...lots of receipts to sort out and enter into my spread sheet. I'm going to try to organize it so that I can get the receipts entered monthly and keep up a bit better for next year.

And healthy: I'm proud to say I've been eating pretty well over the last few days. Spinach salad is my lunch lately. I'll probably change that up next week and get Romaine lettuce instead just so I don't get too bored of one or the other. I even went a whole day with no Coke products (Coke is my weakness and Diet Coke too!). I'm feeling pretty good, tired as normal, but otherwise pretty good. I'm looking forward to the weekend now :)