and I have concluded one thing:
If you’re going to read a book while your knees are pumping up and down, do not try to highlight at the same time. The text now looks like my four-year-old got her hands on an orange pen and went to town. Which is sort of apropos, since the book is about parenting
This is me this morning after my half hour on the stationary bike. I’m exhausted. I’m so out of shape it’s surprising I can get up the stairs to bed.
Mmmmm, bed. The question at this point isn’t WILL I take a nap, it’s WHERE WILL I? The kids are in daycare today, which means I should get some things done – although as any mother will tell you, sleeping is doing. It might be the ultimate example of productivity as a parent.
The diet continues to go well. Having wheat back in makes things a million times easier, although I’m astounded at how much I want to eat it. I’m already wondering how I went 9 days without it – was I given some sort of super power I just don’t remember?
I threw my scale into the back of my closet last night. I’d gone out for breakfast with Greg, and we were talking about how exercise is the one thing that has made me feel great in the past, but that I have a lot of trouble sticking to. I began realizing over the course of the conversation that the way it’s set up in my brain is that exercise will lead me to weight loss.
Exercise —> weight loss.
Easy enough, right? Most people seem to think this way. Okay, most overweight women seem to think this way.
Except that I don’t think that’s motivation enough for me. Certainly I want to lose weight, if for nothing else than to get my cycles back on track. But a number just isn’t a motivator.
Instead, I’m reading a book called Spark: The Revolutionary New Science of Exercise and the Brain
So while we were sitting at breakfast, mulling all this over, I said suddenly, and pardon my language but I promise there were no kids present: “Fuck the scale! Fuck the numbers!”
“That’s right!”, Greg said. “It’s never done you any good. Throw the damn thing away, or stick it somewhere you won’t find it.”
And I did. I stuck it in my closet, wedged it between a dresser and the wall. It felt like giving up a crutch. How will I know if I’m doing well? How will I know if I’m getting thinner?
Isn’t it funny how different those two questions are?
I’ll know I’m “doing well” if:
I’ll know if I’m “getting thinner” if:
There. That doesn’t seem too hard, does it? And I can attest to the fact that today it felt good to get up and not weigh myself. Maybe tomorrow I’ll feel differently. I guess we’ll see.
You might remember I bought a stationary bike awhile ago, and it’s been sitting in our living room. I use it maybe once a week, but I haven’t been regular about it, and I’m trying to start. Here’s me this morning, yes, at TEN IN THE MORNING.
My Mom took the kids last night, so we got to stay up late playing World of Warcraft (Dude! I made level 79!), and then I read a story about zombies, and then I woke up at 2am from a nightmare that a zombified (and much younger) Ryan O’Neal was trying to give me a watch with four hands, and take me out for chocolate croissants.
After that, I slept in until 9:30am. As you might notice, I’m still a little tired.
But today! Today I will ride my bike! Today I will get some exercise! Right after I post this! And have some breakfast. Not chocolate croissants.
On the 12th I had 4 days of bike riding every day, and I talked about consistency. Then we got busy with Valentine’s Day, some serious fatigue, and suddenly I realized I’d gone two days without riding. I considered breaking the streak, but I knew I’d be sorry. Instead, I decided to make it up.
Today: 90 minutes. I put in three days worth of riding, at once. My butt and legs are sore, bt I feel triumphant. Tomorrow I’ll hopefully continue as normal.
Update and questions about the LifeSpan Fitness R3 Recumbent Bike
A commenter, NeedToExercise, recently asked some great questions at the end of my post, “So about that stationary bike purchase“, about the LifeSpan Fitness R3 Recumbent Bike. They also asked about owning a treadmill. I thought these questions and answers might be of interest to other readers, so I’m putting them in a post.
I am concerned about the short labor warranty.
I’m embarrassed to admit this, but I didn’t even look at that! I figure that getting any large in-home equipment repaired would be a big pain, and so I mostly looked for items that had consistently good reviews, especially ones that started out, “I’ve owned this piece of equipment for two years, and…”.
It’s definitely possible this machine could break, at which point I’d likely get on the many engineers I know to dismantle it and see what they could do. So far, the machine appears pretty durable. My four-year-old and six-year-old haven’t destroyed anything on it (I should really knock on wood when I say things like that, shouldn’t I?).
I have heard the hand grips do not provide very great heart rate monitoring, from some reviews I read on Amazon. I would be interested to hear your comments regarding the hand grips and heart rate monitoring and if it works for you.
My hand grips seem to work really well, but only after a minute or so of monitoring. I’ll sit on the machine, start pedaling, and then I’ll put my hands on the grips. For the first ten or even twenty seconds, the numbers will be inaccurate, frequently too low and then getting higher and higher until it reaches the correct range. Occasionally it will be higher than it should, and come down. Always, if I just leave my hands there, it eventually stabilizes after a minute or so and begins giving me consistent, accurate numbers. I don’t like leaving my hands in one place very long, so I don’t use the grips longer than 8-10 minutes.
Someone else on Amazon mentioned that their seat squeaked, and I think any squeak would drive me crazy. I would be interested in how this bike holds up over time for you and your family.
I’m pleased to report that so far, no squeaks! I can see how that would drive someone crazy. I wonder if they tried to oil it or correct it in some other manner? Duct tape? Loud music?
Also, I think perhaps I have had knee trouble with bikes in the past. This could be because maybe I pushed myself harder than I should have, as I get knee injuries very easily.
I’m not sure if you mean regular bikes, or recumbent bikes. Recumbents are generally considered to be better on the knees. There several places on the web where this is mentioned. You can google “recumbents better on knees“, for some resources.
I am considering ordering one with some sort of white glove delivery so that they will bring it into my home and assemble it…..
This isn’t a bad idea at all. That way you’ll know it’s done right. I live with a software engineer who is both handy with tools and knows how to do something that I find impossible; follow written directions well. He’ll read through the entire series of directions, then get started, checking his work as he goes along. And his stuff always turns out perfect. If I didn’t live with him, all my bookshelves would be leaning slightly to one side, and everything would creak and make strange cracking sounds. A bowl of “extra pieces” would be the elegant centerpiece at my dinner table.
I also wanted to ask you, when you did have your treadmill, how much room behind it did you allow? Did you have a TV nearby?
I only had about 203 feet behind, and during a few furniture permutations of arranging, I’m sure I had even less. This wasn’t the smartest thing in the world, I will admit, and once we had Miles we moved it FAR away from the wall (if you ever want to be completely grossed out, ask a treadmill sale reLifeSpan Fitness R3 Recumbent Bikep to describe children’s injuries from treadmills in the home – those rotating motors that can handle a 300-pound person make mincemeat out of the limbs of 50-pound kids).
I did have a TV nearby. I used to watch a movie while I was walking. I also had the treadmill near a window, so I had the nice ability to watch the screen for a few minutes, and then gaze outside for a few minutes. I really enjoyed this, especially on blustery cold days when I could watch the rain fall, while staying dry and listening to Bridget Jones’s Diary.
Does your LifeSpan R3 Recumbent Bike have a power plug, and if so, how long is the cord?
It does have a cord, yes. I just pulled it away from the bike, and Greg and I estimated it to be about ten feet long.
I hope all this helps! If you have any other questions, please feel free to ask!