Monday 3/13 Excercise

Crunch in Bed Before you even get out of bed in the morning, do 10 stomach crunches while lying flat on your mattress. Increase daily by one until you get up to 100. Think you'll never get there? Try it. You may eventually have to set your clock to wake up 15 minutes earlier, a small price to pay for a flatter stomach. So what have you done today? Mary 415/167/147 20 lbs to Personal Goal 13 lbs below Doctors Goal In the words of Bill Phillips': "Exercise is the spark. Nutrition is the fuel. Without both, there can be no flame -- no results."

I will sometimes do crunches or even more difficult - leg lifts while lying in bed watching TV. I also try to do squats and lunges here in the office. Only while no one is looking. Another thing that I did the other day - and it seemed to tire my legs out! My office is carpeted and I have the usual office chair on wheels, so there is quite a bit of friction/resistance of the wheels on carpet. I "walked" my chair forward while sitting in it on the carpet, a distance of about 60 feet. Really felt it in my thighs, including the back of the thighs. I guess I'll go walk my chair... since I haven't done anything yet. Irene

Irene, Interesting concept of chair walking. I also look for little ways to exercise throughout the day. Since I work virtually, often times during meetings where I basically am a listener, I will do calve raises, squats and lunges while I am on the phone. Mary

I have a 5" or 6" step up from my kitchen to my living room, and while I'm waiting for water to boil, etc. I either stand with my toes on the step and my heels hanging off the back and then raise and lower myself; or I step up and down 30 times on each leg. It only takes a couple of minutes, but I figure I must be doing some good!! I sometimes do the leg lifts in bed too... Today I haven't done anything, but might do a 30 minute video this evening. Hugs, Nancy

Nancy, I bet you have awesome calves and legs!!! Every movement counts throughout the day to burn calories and build muscle. Now that I have been blessed with this surgery I feel I need to atone for all the years that I did not take care of my poor body. The other fact is that I do not ever want to go back from where I came, is a great motivator for me. Mary

Since I left early this morning for a business trip, I was unable to exercise until after work and dinner with a friend. So I went for a 30 min. walk after I checked-in to the hotel room. Mary