Exercise!!!

It's been a long, long time since I was dedicated to exercise and health.  I admit - I am human and while I probably live healthier than most Americans, I know I can improve!  I know my cholesterol is elevated and I have about 15-20 pounds to lose.  The ideal answer to solve both issues?  Diet and exercise!!!

It isn't rocket science but many, many intelligent people (including myself) are not always good about adapting a good lifestyle for themselves.  I intend to lay out goals and do my best to follow them by changing my life in the most positive way.  I need to address what I'm eating and I need to move my body.  

Today I'll focus on moving my body.  It's the hardest thing for me to do - MOVE more.  Making time, especially on days that I work (I'm a substitute teacher but I do work most days during the school year), is my biggest challenge.  How will I address this goal?  Well, I have two standing work out "appointments" with friends each week. Thursdays I do a walk/jog for about 3.5 miles with a girlfriend of mine.  She is in better shape than me so I feel like I hold her back but that makes me move more than I might!  On Saturdays, I have a girlfriend who prefers to walk and last weekend we logged in 3 miles and did get some killer hills in which was terrific.  We hope to hike together this weekend.  I am also doing at least 2 workout videos/DVDs each week that I have in my vast collection.  I adore kickboxing and also have Jillian Michaels DVDs as well as the Supreme 90 day system which is similar to P90X.....so I'm considering trying it out.  

This week's schedule will look like this:

Monday - DVD workout TBD

Wednesday - DVD workout TBD

Thursday - Walk/Jog (Wog!) with my friend

Saturday - Hike in the desert

I am able to add to my points bank by calculating approximately 80 calories = 1+ point.  It used to be 100 calories = 1 point but with the newer points plus system the general consensus is 70-80 calories are equal to 1+ point.  I do wear a heart rate monitor that has my weight, age, etc. to determine exactly how many calories I am burning and I also wear my iPhone with an app that measures the distance I cover (when I walk or jog) as well as the elevation gain and time it takes to do particular routes.

I'll keep you posted with my progress!  Last week I was able to add 17+ points to my tracker - and I didn't even use them.  It's so nice to have a buffer when I want to eat something or drink something special.

What is your favorite (relatively speaking!) exercise you do to get in shape?