Shaping Up

For the next few months I have a  nice little side project: getting in shape! We received a Wii Fit for christmas, and have been using that quite a bit. At a Superbowl party my friends and I decided we could all use some incentive to lose a bit of extra fat, so we enetered into a small contest. We all weighed in, and the largest loser in 2.5 months and then again a month later will receive one-third and two-thirds of the proze money, respectively. We are basing the weight loss on percentages, since we are all wildly different in height and weight.

I don't believe in dieting for the most part. I've always eaten everything I want, and since I have a good metabolism  and am relatively active this has worked for me. I was curious how my calorie intake stacked up to me exercise caloric expenditure, so I found two great tools online: myfitnesspal.com, which lets you track calories and exercise online and through your phone, and a smaller "calorie counter" app for my google homepage. Both are quite easy to use and I'm finding that my calorie intake is actually quite lower than what I thought it was, despite large intakes of cheese (I'm an addict!).

So by lowering my calorie intake by a couple hundred a day (easy to do by substituting pitas for breads, and grabbing smaller portions of desserts and cheeses) I am aiming to make my exercise routing much more effective. Let the love handles dissolve!

For exercise I am on the wii for at least an hour a day -- 35 minutes of strength and yoga exercises in the "my routine" area of the wii fit, at least 10 minutes of running and hula hooping, and then another 20-30 minutes of games like sword fighting, boxing, segway courses and balance training. As the weather warms I am taking to the roads and trails with the kids and dog, as weather permits.I hope to start running in a few weeks, tho I'll be needing to find a jogging stroller first. Today it I am getting over a cold and it's snowing outside, so I'll just stick to the 35 minutes of yoga and let the rest slide.

I must say, the wii is just about the best present I ever asked for in terms of how much we're using it and how much we're getting out of it. I don't have the time or money to get to a gym, and it's too cold and yucky out most winter days to get out and exercise. My house is on the wee side (just under 1200 ft, with a big wood stove in the living room) so there's no room for home gym equipment. The wii is compact, fun and the whole family enjoys it. Even my mother-in-law has gotten one after enjoying ours.

What are you all doing for exercise and fitness during these winter months?