My Butt Shaping Shoes...OMG

So I bought a pair of Skechers Shape-ups and OMG I can feel my calves. Here's what the website says about them:

"Designed to improve your life by changing the way you walk, Shape-ups feature a unique soft kinetic wedge insert and dynamic rolling bottom to simulate walking on a soft giving surface like sand. With the comfort of Shape-ups, you will feel your heel sink to the ground as you step, roll forward as your weight shifts to its center, and push off with your toes. This movement will result in stronger leg, buttock, back and abdominal muscles as you stabilize your steps."

They recommend for the first week or two only wearing them 25 to 45 minutes per day, until you get used to them. They weren't kidding - I had to stop 3 times when I was walking around the lake the other day because the shape-ups made my legs so sore. I have decided that I am going to wear them as my daily shoes until I get used to them but not try to do a lot of distance walking in them yet. More about the shoes later.

There is always time for fun at the Mall...But

walking comes first and shopping comes second... Primarily because who wants to lug bags around the mall. We usually reserve the last lap for shopping and then a sugar/fat free frozen yogurt.

Recently we stopped at a store called "Torrid" where my daughter tried on boots. When she asked the clerk how anyone could sit down in them the clerk said "They can't, those are walking boots"... Ah ya... if you are a street walker!
Rachel thinks Transvestites might like them too.

Keeping Things Fresh and Funky.

In order to keep my daily walking interesting, I have decided to spend each day trying to find something fresh and/or funky to take a photo of. There is so much art (and weirdness) in Seattle, some of which is tucked away in small nooks and notches, that this task should keep me busy for a very long time... Here are 2 wind catchers I discovered just north of the Pike Place Market on Western.


I will have to bring my real camera with me next time because my cell phone really didn't do them justice.

It was a sunny day today, warm (about 80°) with a slight breeze, and these wind catchers were both turning and sparkling all over in the sun... Very cool.
I wish they were in my yard.

20,151 steps and down another half pound...WOOHOO!!!

Yesterday I recorded a new all time personal best step count - a whopping 20,151 steps in one day. Plus this morning I was pleased to see my scale drop down another half a pound...


I know that a half a pound probably doesn't seem like a big deal to most people but to me it means that my 10,000 steps a day plan is working. So far I have lost 5 LBs and at least 3 inches off my waist. I didn't put on the extra pounds overnight, and it won't come off overnight, so every little victory helps keep me on track...


Slow and steady... one step at a time.

Staying the Course and Avoiding the Sabotage...

Things I have noticed:

1. This is a solo journey. Friends may join, and leave, along the way but the journey is really between you and yourself. No one can motivate you for long if you don't motivate yourself.

2. I am finding it becoming easier to avoid the late night trips to the fridge.

3. I have begun to crave walking and look forward to the time away from work etc...

4. I am choosing healthier snacks, not because I know I should, but because I actually crave them.

5."NO" is my friend when other people offer sweets. BTW - I've never understood why it is that when people know you're on a diet they tempt you with sweets. (SO NOT HELPFUL PEOPLE!)

6. Getting out of my house helps a lot, especially on the weekends. If I am actively participating in life outside my house it is very easy to be active.

7. There are plenty of activities that can compliment your walking (after your steps are achieved). These can be used to keep you away from the fridge and the dreaded boredom snacking. - One of my favorite activities is playing with a drum circles. I sweat more playing my Djembe Drums than I do walking around the lake in the sun! Plus it get your heart rate up, works out your arms, and is an incredible mood/spirit lifter. Drumming is the Rhythm of Life.

8. Having known routes helps if you are short on steps. For example I know a lap around Green lake takes 1 hour and gives me about 7,500 steps. A lap around Alderwood Mall takes about 20 minutes and is good for 2,100 steps etc... When the time is short knowing where to go can make all the difference between frustration and success. Plus I find that sometimes at lunch if I am wandering around aimlessly it becomes less about enjoying the walk, and more about reading the pedometer. If I have a destination in mind it goes much quicker. Google Maps is a great way to find out the distance between 2 points, this makes planning new routes easy to do.

9. 10,000 steps doesn't have to mean power walking it just means not sitting on your ass. Besides if you take your time (sometimes) you are rewarded with something special like my little turtle friend Ted. I would have never seen him if I had been racing around the lake.



10. I often get up over the 12,500+ step (especially on the weekends which falls into the "Highly Active" range. NOTE: If I spend just 2 hours of my day walking I can easily get over 12,500 steps.

11. Results and rewards... I find that I need both. I am seeing results in inches and LBS. At this pace, in less than a year, I will be not only healthier - I will be shopping from the skinny rack!

Is it worth it??? HMMMM that would be a big YES!!!!

Obsessed... ya maybe :-/ ...But so what!

I know some of my friends and coworkers think I am obsessed and "a bit nuts about the whole walking thing," but that's ok.

Since August 29th I had religiously hit the 10,000+ step mark (sometimes even 15-18,000+) EVERY day.

AND THEN IT HAPPENED... I missed my goal on Wednesday Sept. 9th. On that day I only got to 8,755 steps. I knew it had to happen eventually... I had done a 2.5 mile trek at lunch but a prior commitment ate up my evening so there was no time to stop at Green Lake or go to one of the Malls. I had hoped to take a break and hit the treadmill before Midnight (to keep my streak going) but it just didn't happen. It was 2:00 AM when I finally got to bed, disappointed, but I would do better the next day... and then the next morning, in a sleepless haze, I went to work WITHOUT my pedometer $%^#@!!!

NOT AGAIN... Believe me when I say that I was irritated the whole day. Being extremely stubborn, there was no way in hell that I was going to miss the 10,000 step mark for a second day in a row. I repeat NO WAY IN HELL!!! Not only that but I wasn't going to try and estimate my step count for the day.

When I got home I put on my pedometer and walk 3 laps around the Alderwood Mall (before it closed and they kicked me out) and then finished the evening off on my treadmill making a total of 10,115 steps before falling into bed... As my son in the Army might say HOOAH MOMMA!

Obsessed... Yes, and I don't care.

What this effort is all about...

10,000 steps is the recommended daily step goal for a healthy adult. The following pedometer indices have been developed to provide a guideline on how many steps are enough ¹.

Steps Per Day Activity Level for Healthy Adults:

1) Under 5000 steps/day "sedentary lifestyle."
2) 5,000-7,499 steps/day "low active."
3) 7,500-9,999 steps/day "somewhat active."
4) 10,000 steps/day "active".
5) 12,500 steps/day "highly active".

¹ Tudor-Locke, C., & Bassett, D.R. Jr. (2004). How Many Steps/Day Are Enough? Preliminary Pedometer Indices for Public Health. Sports Medicine, 34(1): 1-8.

Does Pedaling Count? (My thighs think so...if that counts.)

Since winter is coming, and therefore the rain and early sunsets, walking the 2.8 miles around Greenlake may not be an option for much longer this year. So far on rainy days I have headed indoors to the local area malls but when the holiday crowds come that will NOT be a pleasant option either so I got myself an exercise bike.

(Note: I have an old treadmill in my cold, spider filled, basement but out of sight out of mind, so the bike is sitting in the middle of my living room (it is harder to ignore that way). - I did 2 miles the first day, 5 miles the second day (3 miles, a break, and then 2 miles)... I am hoping to work up to 10 miles every morning - to go with my 10,000 steps.


I bought the Gold's Gym Power Spin 210 Upright Bike (around $200 at Walmart). The manufacturer want you to spend an additional $70 (plus shipping) for an AC adapter so that you don't have to use D batteries but you can go to the electronics section of Walmart and purchase a universal adapter (It's also available on amazon.com) for less the $20. Note: Using this power supply will probably void your warranty and potentially could damage the bike so use it at your own risk... but here is the information I found on the Internet about the adapter and so far so good.

The brand name is PowerLine and it comes with an adapter plug that fits perfectly. When you get it you will need to set the polarity to positive, the instructions will show you how to set it. There's a battery conversion chart that tells you where to set the voltage for how many batteries your device takes but for this bike you should set it to 6v.

What's cool: It's quiet; It has a fan with 3 different settings; It has a place to plug in an MP3 player; It has 8 programmed workouts but OMG are they hard for beginners... Someday I will work up to them.

What's cool-er: It also has a manual setting that tracks your progress in 1/4 miles increments, laps around a little digital track, so you can watch your progress as your thighs burn.

Feel the burn baby, feel the burn!

Only bummer...you can't pedal it with your stomach... but I guess that is what healthy diets are for.

10,000 step - Walk or Die

Well I have been at 10,000 steps for more than a week now and so far I have lost 4.5 lbs. I still have a long way to go... one step at a time baby, one step at a time...

To start with I got myself an Omron HJ-150 step pedometer from http://www.bodytronics.com/c/pedometers for around $30 including shipping. Forget the PEDPACK (Pedometer Performance Pack) for $4.99 it is not worth the money.

Here is what I love about this pedometer:

1. It was inexpensive and easy to setup.

2. It stores 7 days worth of steps so if I forget to write them down I have a week to do so. (Note: This hasn't been a problem since I hit 10,000 steps, for some reason I suddenly became very motivated to write them in my journal every night.)

3. It automatically sets the step count back to zero at midnight so I have an accurate count of my steps every day and I don't have to remember to change it! (After all the memory is the first thing to go, or was it the waist line... I forget.)

One other thing I have started - I am writing down what I am eating which will keep me honest and make me think twice about eating that big bowl of popcorn.

BUT I do plan on celebrating milestones in my journey to health with rewards. When I lose my first 20lbs I plan on having cheesecake at the Macaroni Grill...

MMMMMMmmmmmMMMMmm cheesecake. (Did I mention it has hot fudge, carmel, and whipped cream! OMG Yummy)