What are your plans to lose weight and stay healthy this winter. I don't want to be one of those people that gain weight over the winter b/c of inactivity which can happen to a lot of us in the Colder areas of North America. Colorado has already had a snow storm. I have had to finally turn the furnace on here in SW Ontario.
My plan is:
Cardio of some kind 6 days a week and strength train 3 days a week.
My MIL gave me her elliptical trainer. Picked it up yesterday. I tried it this morning. was able to do 5 min before I thought I would lose a lung. I am hoping that by the time the warmer weather rolls around I can do an hour on it. Right now I am doing 5 min intervals 2 hr. apart. Can we say out of shape.
I swim 3X a week. I have to drive 45 miles OW to do it and in the winter I've been caught in a blizzard a few times and had to wait it out at a gas station. I've been thinking about getting a treadmill for the intervening days and also on days I can't do the drive.
Sometimes, depending on how cold it is (e.g. -25F) I have to talk myself into going out at all. Have to get my butt in gear because even those trips use calories, like just walking around Walmart for two hours.
I love winter veggies but they have more calories than a lot of fruits that I eat in the summer so I have to watch that. I ate an entire butternut squash yesterday for example!
I know what you mean about the furnace. I finally had to turn it on upstairs a couple of days ago. I have radiators. And I have to put plastic coverings on the upstairs computer room windows to get ready for those nor'easters. Burrrrr.
I gave myself an early Christmas present -- a Wii Fit, just to battle exactly this concern. Although Oregon doesn't get much snow, walking/hiking in the rain and cold gets old. Now I have NO excuses!!
Indoor exercise: recumbent bike & Wii Fit
Outdoor exercise: walking twice a week unless it is absolutely freezing or pouring rain, when my child is in preschool.
Food: enjoy winter stuff like pomegranates, Clementines, winter squash, leeks, hot veggie soups, beans.
Other: use the mood light daily starting in December.
I am lucky to be living in a place that is much warmer than some of the places you guys are in. We do get ice storms though and they are nasty. I am also lucky enough to have a free gym with an indoor track. I will be spending time there during the winter. I plan to spend the winter becoming a runner and in the spring transfer it to the great outdoors. I also have an elliptical and lots of exercise DVDs at home.
I've been swimming indoors all summer and fall, so that won't be a change for me. I have a treadmill in my basement, and I didn't use it much at first, but now, I get on it if I miss swim time.
Well I managed to do 4 5 min segmants on the Elliptical yesterday and I can really feel it in my upper legs(quads) I did manage to get 5 min in this morning before work. Right now I am going to have a nap. Not sleeping well at night.
I plan to keep to my calorie counting, which has slacked off, but I'm re-committing!!
I plan to continue to hit the gym at least 4 days a week and do a minimum of an hour of cardio.
I just got a new diet buddy and I plan to beat her in ever single challenge.
2b125by45 - You will be surprised at how much you can do on the elliptical in no time. At the beginning of July when I started using mine 5 minutes on minimum resistance was killing me. Working up to 10 at a time was seriously hard, but getting from 10 to 15 was a bit easier, from 15 to 20 was even easier, 20 to 25 was a piece of cake, and I actually did 30 for the first time on accident. Now I do at least 30 every time and am working more on my resistance. Most of my 30 minutes is spent at 2 or more these days and I can do 5 for 5 minutes straight and 10 for 2 minutes at a time. I've done up to 45 minutes total on the machine at a time, with varying resistance levels. If I kept the resistance levels lower I am sure I could do an hour or more at this point. I've only been working on it 4 months. I'm sure that you can work up to an hour over the winter, especially if you focus on time first and worry about resistance levels later.
I'm planning to train to run a half marathon this winter. I live in a fairly snow-free climate, but it's still cold and I'm not sure how much running outside my lungs will be able to take, but I'm going to try.
when I first tried the elliptical I struggled with 5 min too. I had to work up to it, now I do it for however long a time (usually break it up 20 treadmill, 20 elliptical or arc machine)
I find it easier to keep on track in the winter than the summer. I think going out more in the summer I'm more tempted to eat out, and more likely to do it too. during the winter I'm more motivated to cook at home. my exercise is mostly the gym and home exercise, I walk too, but the walking feels more like it helps me mentally, though it doesn't hurt to have the extra activity.
FitGirlyGirl, I didn't even know the Elliptical came with resistance. I will have to check mine. Thanks for all your encouragement ladys. I am glad to see this is how you build up, 5 min at a time.
I live in california, so snow isn't an issue. But I hate rain, so I'm going to have constant battle to get myself out of my house and into the gym. Luckily, I have a pretty motivated gym buddy, so I should be ok.
I have to start planning meals better because when it gets cold, I just want things to be easy!
Winter is approaching,
