[suechef]

Hello all,

This is my first post. I've been reading a lot of the lists, especially the Success & Support lists, and found lots of inspiration. I have what is probably a fairly unique dilemma.

First a little about what I'm doing. I started my plan Oct. 12 at 185 pounds, and am now down to about 162 (though I am on a yo-yo plateau right now which is driving me a little nuts, since I am doing all the right things including a lot of exercise, but I just keep trying to talk myself through it - I haven't been below this weight for 20 years - except once, briefly, on prescription pills about 15 years ago - so I think my body is just saying, whoa, who said you get to be in the 150s? I will overcome!!).

Anyway, from October to the end of May I am here in the city, and can work out daily either in our building's gym, or down at the pool where I belong to the master's swim club. Gym workouts are at least an hour of cardio, usually more (elliptical, bike, treadmill, rowing), and swim workouts are usually 1.5 hours, doing 3 km or more. So I'm burning between 500 and 1300 cals a day doing that. I'm trying to eat between 1200-1600 per day; occasionally I go over, but my "worst" day has been under 1800, so math-wise there's no way I can't lose. I eat really well (my husband & I both love to cook, and I eat no junk except chocolate in moderation - nearly every day - and cream in my coffee)

BUT - in the summer I cook at a fly-in fishing lodge up north. No "facilities" for exercise. We have two lodges, one built on sand so I can jog if the knees permit, but the other is built on granite and one can't walk, let alone jog. So I am stuck trying to workout in my cabin. I can do yoga & we have some small hand weights, but it's the cardio that I have trouble with. Any great ideas on what I might do? (there is no electricity, so videos are out).

many thanks for any advice.
Sue

[almostheaven]

Can you get a stationary bike or are you able to jump rope?

[suechef]

Thanks for the reply. Bike is out, since I'd have to get them to fly one in & I suspect they'd balk at that, though perhaps by May when they see how well I'm doing they'll relent. I was just doing some searching for info on skipping and came back to your reply! Last time I tried it I couldn't manage much time, it was exhausting (duh! that's a good thing!), so maybe I should start doing it now so I'm used to it by then. I think it may be the key. I work at least ten hours a day up there, so I don't really want to do loooong workouts (mostly I want to sleep when I'm not cooking). So the intensity of skipping may be the ticket. My only other problem with it is that it shakes the cabin! makes me feel like an elephant. (as Dr. Phil would no doubt say, get over it!).

cheerio,
Sue

[niksa]

What about a pedometer and hiking/walking 10k steps a day? That might be a good option.

[suechef]

Thanks, Niksa, for your exercise on the spot input, I forgot about the post & didn't look back until today. Walking/hiking is a nice idea, but most of the terrain there is very tough (which in a way is good), but more importantly there are a LOT of bears around, and I have a wee bit of a bear phobia. I had to shoot one the first year I was up there (8 years ago) which is an experience I don't care to repeat (it wasn't attacking, but it wouldn't go away for several weeks & there were little kids around, not to mention drunken fishermen, so an "incident" was becoming inevitable, so she had to go, but I hated it). Anyway, the bottom line is exercise-in-the-cabin is it. I did take up a little inflatable rowboat one year, which worked fine until the bears decided to drag it into the woods (repeatedly), and I didn't have enough patches for all the holes. Bears love rubber & plastic, go figure! cheers,
Sue

[almostheaven]

Running from bears is good exercise.