I Just Finished Leslie Sansone's 5-Mile Fat Burning Walk

... and let me tell you, it worked my body hard, but I think if I keep this up, it'll really show results on my body. Very happy that I tried it!

What I really love about her is that she's upbeat and encouraging. She tells you to do the exercise as you prefer to and not to push yourself if you can't handle it. It seems easy enough at a glance (walking is one of the most basic things we do everyday!) but she adds enough variations to work all the muscles in the body out. I think I'll keep doing these exercises inbetween my Wii Fit and DDR sessions to mix things up a bit. :)

Want to try it out, too? You can get Leslie Sansone's 5-Mile Fat Burning Workout below. (Affiliate link.)



- Mel

Leslie Sansone Helps Me Walk to Be Fit at Home

For those days when I'm feeling less than stellar or just not as strong as usual, I've been using this video to start exercising at home. It's a walking exercise video by Leslie Sansone. It doesn't take that long and it's complete from warm-up to cool-down. I love how encouraging and cheerful she is in this video. It makes me feel like I'm actually in an exercise class. :D What I love about it is that I don't need that much space, which is perfect for working out in my small room.

I've tried her 3 mile workout too. I totally broke a sweat, but it's still such a friendly exercise for beginners that you feel confident that you can finish it.

I use exercise videos to mix up my Wii Fit and Dance Dance Revolution routine. I never knew how fun they could be, if you find the right ones for you. Try a quick search on Youtube and maybe you'll find one for you, too. :D

- Mel

Keeping Habits When You're Sick, And Giving Yourself More Credit

Oof. Hello again, internet world. It's been a while, hasn't it?

I've been sick for about two weeks now with a cold that just doesn't want to quit. Hence, a few of the habits I had been building up... let's just say I slacked off of some of them, including this "blog whatever strikes your fancy" blog. The good news is that, for Doodle a Day and exercise, even if I missed a day or two (I missed three at most with exercise), I'm back on track again.

Really, the important part is not to give up. Yes, we'll be hit with some unexpected roadblocks like big, important, short-notice projects, or illness, or much more grave situations, and it's only human to err if you forget to do something for a few days. (Heck, I forgot to do a blog post here for about 2 weeks now.) But y'know? Just pick it back up when you can, when you're in a better state physically, emotionally, mentally, whatever it takes for you to feel better and be roarin' to go. :)

That's the advice I'm giving myself for now. It's only the second month of the year, and while I may be thinking more of my failures rather than what I've achieved... if I actually take a step back, I've been doing at least one important thing a week. Even if that thing may not seem important to me or someone else, such as doodling once a day, or exercising, or finishing a paid piece of work, or even writing a chapter of your novel for class... if you add all those little things up, you're actually doing quite a lot of stuff. At least, I realized I am, and I don't give myself enough credit where it's due. I think it's partly because of societal pressures to always push yourself and do more than you can realistically handle.

It's okay to be human. That's what makes our small achievements that much more meaningful to look back on. :)

- Mel

My Gaming Workout: Week 1 Results

Upon having my Body Test taken today, Wii Fit declared that I had reached my goal of shaving off 2.0lbs earlier than the deadline I set for myself! I don't really know if losing that much in a week is anything to write home about, but I'm happy that I actually made some progress. :D My center of balance is nearly center now, too.

I also finally got my dance pad working with Stepmania on my laptop. I'm finding more and more ways to stay fit each day!

My reward: finally got myself a yoga mat after wanting one for about half a year! Ahhh, simple pleasures in life. <3

I bet lots of us made the usual "lose weight!" or "be fit!" resolutions last January. I don't make resolutions anymore, but for those of you who did, how are you doing so far? :)

- Mel

Gaming Workouts

I've been working out at home for the past few days using Wii Fit as well as a PS2 + Dance Dance Revolution dance pad and game. Both of these I've had for several years now (the Wii Fit for maybe 2 years, and the PS2 DDR's workout mode was set to 2002 by default, and it wouldn't allow me to go past year 2003 when I was fixing the date!) but both devices had gone kaput at the same time. It took me several months of convincing myself (with the help of my friend) that I'm not a complete idiot for accidentally plugging the next generation console into the wrong socket, finding time to go to the repair shop, and actually making time to exercise.

Finally, finally, I'm actually using tools I bought for my self-improvement for longer than a day or two!

So far, so good! I've only missed one day (I think it was my second or third day, haha) but I'm enjoying myself. I don't know if I'm burning as many calories as both games claim I have, but it feels good to get moving. I have irrational anxiety issues about exercising outside the house, so this is a welcome method for me.

My workout usually consists of 30 minutes of cardio on DDR, and 30 minutes of Wii Fit, usually Yoga and Strength exercises, with a few of the fun games thrown in. Today, I added this 6-minute cardio workout to my routine. It's perfect because I hardly have any space in my home. I only did the low intensity versions, but my heart was beating like mad! (In the healthy way. ;D )

I set my Wii Fit goal for me to be 2 lbs. less in two weeks. I honestly can't remember if it was its default setting or if I set it that way. Here's hoping I reach those results!

- Mel

Actually Did Wake Up, Go Figure

To be precise, instead of taking a short nap like I had intended, I accidentally fell asleep for several hours in the evening. To nobody's surprise, it caused me to be unable to fall asleep on my usual bedtime. I "got up" at around 5:27am, but unlike all the other nights where I feel deprived of sleep, I actually feel pretty awake.

I've been thinking of tackling my personal anxiety and jogging around our community in the morning, but it was still too dark for me to go out. Intending to pursue another personal goal for the nth time, I pulled out the Wii Fit Balance Board from under my bed, dusted it off, and turned on the Wii so I could put the Wii Fit game in.

My Wii Fit game was nowhere to be seen. Dang. Someone wants me to keep my curvy, chubby figure.

On the flip side, now that adds motivation for another Goal in the Horizon: continue decluttering the house so that I can find my fitness game. I settled for Wii Sports, instead. I suck at Wii Tennis now. Now count how many times I said Wii. Wheeeeee! (That last word doesn't count.)

I've been interested in getting Zumba for the Wii for a while now, but I think I should make the other stuff a habit before I commit to something like that. Speaking of which, I have got to nab my Stepmania song files from my external drive in Makati. Gotta make use of that old dance pad, assuming it still works.

That's my morning so far. I feel like so much has happened even if hardly anything happened. That's the power of having lots of time on your hands by waking up earlier. Today is also my first day to go back to graduate school after the Christmas break. Hope I can adjust well enough to tackling my classes and personal projects, plus self-improvement.

Got a date with Plato, Hocrates, and a slew of other philosophers. Later!

- Mel