Shake your booty

Exercise. I hate it. There are some moments it’s tolerable, but in general, I don’t like sweating.

However, my profession requires me to remain sedentary for long stretches of time. This is exacerbated by the fact that my profession requires copious amounts of M&Ms for creative energy.

(I’m serious! I ate a whole bag of dark chocolate M&Ms when I was writing book three in my Sushi series. Otherwise, it would never have gotten done in time.)

So I have to exercise, or else my bum drips over the edge of the chair (more than it already does), my back aches, and I start getting tingling in my arms and shoulders. I’m not sure what the tingling is, but it can’t be good, right?

I have also discovered that the twenty minute workout doesn’t cut it, except for giving me painful muscles and a headache. High intensity for a short amount of time has not stopped the Great Expanse that is my behind.

Soooo ... I am now trying lower intensity for a longer amount of time.

Instead of Denise Austin’s 30-minute TV show, I bought a few Leslie Sansone indoor walk DVDs at the suggestion of a friend of mine, Kaye Dacus. There are one mile, two mile, and three mile programs. I also bought Denise Austin’s 3 mile indoor walk DVD.

The two mile programs are only 30 minutes, so I tackled the three mile programs. I did Denise on Tuesday and Leslie on Wednesday (sounds like I had lunch with girlfriends, doesn’t it?).

Oh my gosh. Denise and Leslie both kicked my butt. Literally—my gluteus maximus feels like someone took a steel-toed army boot to it.

Luckily, I can opt out of the weights section, although I did try for a few minutes, and I can also use smaller weights than the ones they use.

Did I have fun? No. It was a bit entertaining watching the dog bark at me like I was inventing a new game just for her.

Do I feel good afterwards? Sort of. I’m not as sore in my muscles as when I did the higher intensity aerobics programs, and I went a full 45 minutes with both Denise and Leslie. But endorphins are not racing through my brain, that’s for sure.

It was also very hard to keep to a good diet because my mind keeps trying to seduce me with the fact I burned extra calories today, so I can eat that chocolate chip cookie and it won’t make a difference. Bad Camy, bad Camy.

But I’ll keep up with the lower intensity-longer amount of time thing and see if it helps me lose those 20 (ideally 30) pounds. I did this at one point a few years ago and managed to lose weight then, so in trying it again, I’m hoping to see if it was a fluke or not.

(And if it was a fluke, I’m going to drown my sorrows in a white chocolate mocha with whipped cream.)

Camy Tang lives in San Jose, California. She previously worked in biology research, and she is a staff worker for her church youth group. She runs the Story Sensei critique service, and her Asian chick lit novel, Sushi for One?, released September 1st.

Comments

[Deena @ My BookshelfD]

You finished book three!! Hurray!! Now, if I can only get my hands on book two! LOL!!

[Elizabeth]

I feel your pain, Camy!

All the writing and reading I do means I either exercise more or shop for larger clothes.

I walk several times a week with a girlfriend but it is not enough, I need to walk everyday. Thanks (I think) for the reminder.

[PatriciaW]

It wasn't a fluke, Camy! You did it. It happened. But every year we get older, it gets harder. Sad but true.

I'm with you. I'm doing Denise's Dance Mix video in the mornings. I like that I can mix and match which segments of the video I wish to do, giving myself a bit of variety in the dance routines and changing the length of the workout from 20 min to 55, depending on how many segments I select.

Indoor walking? I assume that means on a treadmill?

Hang in there! You're not alone.

Now if I could just stay away from the snacks in the pantry in the evenings...

[Tasra Dawson]

I've got some Leslie DVDs too, but my son seems to be more interested in doing them than I am. I have my moments of interest, but they don't usually last too long. Hopefully yours will last longer!