[Breezee]

Hey all!

I'm basically a new member (I made 2 posts back in 2002). So, five years... I'm married now, have a full time job, etc, and I weigh almost my highest ever. That's not a good thing.

I lost a lot of weight once before and I remember it being such a difficult road to travel. It's not really a fear of failing for me, I know I can lose weight if I put in the effort, instead I have a reluctance to put in those months of hard work if the rewards aren't any better than they were last time. Being thin didn't offer me many of the life changing effects I imagined it would.

Is there anyone else who's had that experience? How did you change your goals or mindset to make all the work worth it?

I don't mean for this to sound all doom & gloom! I love food. Eating tasty items is one of the things that always makes me smile (which is how I got where I am in the first place). If I can find a way to make the yummy stuff healthier I'll be headed in the right direction. The better news is I also really enjoy some types of exercising, once I get past the embarrassment of actually doing it. I like to feel strong and I get a rush from dancing. There is hope for me!

[mauvaisroux]

Hi breezee and welcome!

Sometimes people expect things to be miraculously fixed, changed or radically improved by their weight loss but to me losing weight is a process that includes changing habits, changing your lifestyle and changing your way of thinking.

You can only control what's going on with you and can only change your own attitude and how you react to things. Just cause you lose weight or suddenly win a lot of money doesn't mean life will suddenly become easier or better or blissful.

For myself I just keep plugging away at it and embrace the small changes and good things that happen as a result - better health, more energy, spending time taking care of myself, etc.

Maybe you can think of some things to motivate you like being in good health so you can enjoy life, being able to have the energy to go out and do things, having a long life with you partner, loving the skin your in and taking care of yourself, etc.

Just think how you feel when you are dancing and how much more there would be if you were to have more energy to focus on something you enjoy so much.

What kind of dancing do you do? Do you take classes?

[Breezee]

Originally Posted by mauvaisroux

What kind of dancing do you do? Do you take classes?

I don't take any classes. I couldn't really afford it even if I wanted to, heh. In college I was a cheerleader for a couple years, and then was on the dance team which was mostly jazz & hip hop type stuff. I've done a lil bit of belly dance, and I'm strongly considering getting a Bhangra video to see what that's like once I have spending cash. I'll do just about anything other than line dancing or ballet.

I think I may just have to take the focus off of the diet part and put it on getting more exercise. A life of eating 1500cal a day just to weigh 130lbs has very little appeal for me. I'd much rather exercise my way to a cheerful 160lbs, even if that does put my BMI slightly over the "healthy" line. (I'm 5' 6")

[mauvaisroux]

I was wondering as I take bellydance classes.

I've seen a bit of Banghra and it looks like fun!

[Breezee]

I finally have some spending money. (yay tax return!) I decided to re-join Netflix because they have the Bhangra videos! This way I can spend $15 to try out 3-4 videos of various types to see which are the most fun instead of spending that amount on one video and it not being what I expected. I'll let you guys know if it's fun!

[Breezee]

I got 2 Bhangra videos from Netflix.

Masala Bhangra - Bollywood style:
The camera person seemed to be fascinated with the instructor's face and didn't grasp the concept that it helps the viewer learn the moves if they can see the whole body. Perhaps if I had gotten the 1st workout instead of the 3rd one it would have been a little better in that regard. I think they key would be to do the first part several times so you can learn the names of the moves, then the rest of the dvd would make sense. Anyway, it's a VERY high impact dance/workout. If I was already somewhat in shape I think it could have been a lot of fun but for now I can't keep up with it.

Honey Kalaria's Bollywood Workout:
This one is somewhat lower impact and I could actually keep up with most of it. The instructor is a bit cheesy for my taste, but she has a cute English accent so I forgive her... kinda. I think the key for this one is to just ignore the hand positions at first. There's a section at the end called Advanced Dance that is just a show piece and not something you learn.

There's another one I'm gonna add to my queue, hopefully it'll be a little better for me than these two.

[squeaker]

I hate trying to find videos where I like the workout AND the instructor. Most of them are waaaaaaay too happy and cheesy for my tastes. I do like that some of the DVDs I have come across give you the option to watch the video with the music only. But that only helps after you know what you are doing, or are a bit more coordinated then me. I need to look at my feet while they talk...

Good luck with the next one Breezee!

[mauvaisroux]

I hear ya! I have the Goddess Bellydance workout tapes and I just can't deal with the instructor and her flakiness. I just follow the moves and put the
her on mute

Thanks for the reviews breezee!

[Breezee]

Yay! I found one I like!!

The Bollywood Dance Workout With Hemalayaa:
This one is pretty easy to follow, the photography/set is very well done, and the minor hiccups in the video editing really don't disrupt the workout very much. It's not Bhangra really, just Indian/Bollywood styled moves, but it's fun. There were a couple things I had to skip due to bad knees but I have that with almost any video. This one does have the option for music only, which I like. The instructor doesn't annoy me right now, but if I had to listen to her tell me to laugh at myself week after week I'd probably go a bit nutty, heh.