This is the first in a two part series about a weight loss challenge
I've become involved with through a group I'm part of online. This is not a sponsored post and all products mentioned were either purchased with my own money or given to me as gifts by friends and/or family members.
Sometime about 6 weeks ago an online group I'm a part of decided to
start a weight loss challenge. We could choose our own goal
weight/number of pounds to lose and the challenge would end on June 1.
Our check ins are on Wednesday and for the most part, I think I'm the
only one still keeping track - at least according to the last few weeks
of updating the document. But anyhow...
I chose 30
pounds. In reality it's about 10 pounds more than I could really lose in
that time period if I lost 1.5 to 2 pounds a week. I know this, but
it's still my goal. I know that for me, it's probably unrealistic to
lose 2 pounds a week, especially in the beginning. I'm trying to change
my lifestyle as well as lose weight.
Tomorrow's Foodie Friday post will talk about how I keep track of food and what I eat. Today's post is about what I do for exercise.
Several years ago (probably about 7 or 8) I bought a treadmill. Nothing overly fancy, but it did have some bells and whistles (built in fan!) and it did the job - while I used it as a treadmill at least. Over the years it has become a near permanent fixture in the corner of my bedroom. I rarely used it and it was gathering more dust than anything.
Once the weight loss challenge started I figured I'd give it a whirl again. Adjust it so I could use it and it would still fold up nicely and then go to town. Yeah or not. I remembered why I stopped using it. It's so loud I need to jack the volume on the TV up to about 20 to hear it. All I can see aside from the TV is the wall in front of me, which aside from being painted a very nice color has nothing going for it.
I used it for about the first 3 days and got bored. Very bored. So bored I quit. I started looking at other options for exercise. I have the Wii Fit, and I used that for another few days but it just wasn't giving me what I was looking for. It too got boring after a few days, mostly because it failed to challenge me. There are only so many times you can do the advanced step class thing before you could do it in your sleep. Up, down, side, side, repeat!
After talking with a friend, I decided I wanted to try Zumba. Several people on my Facebook do it and really seem to enjoy it. They take classes at the local Y or rec center, but that's not really my style. In all honesty, I'm entirely too shy and self-conscious for that kind of thing. She had Zumba for the Wii and she never used it, so she gave it to me! I was so excited when that box came in the mail.
I went straight upstairs and started to figure it out. It was pretty easy to get set up - just enter your name, choose a difficulty level (I'm on easy right now) and you're pretty good to go!
There are so many options for how to use the game. You can set up at work out schedule if you'd like to do it on a consistent basis or you can just play one of the routines or classes at your will.
I started out in the 20 minute beginner classes. In the beginning they kicked my butt. From what I've heard about live Zumba classes, this game is pretty accurate. It just kind of throws you into the moves (though you can learn some of them through the tutorials) and with minimal visual cues, you're off and running - sometimes literally! It took probably about a good 3 - 5 days of doing it on a regular basis to get some of the routines down and I've now got some definite favorites.
I stayed on the beginner level for a couple of weeks to build up my endurance and learn how to do the steps and play the game. From there I bumped up and added a 20 minute intermediate routine every now and then to spice things up. This last week I've bumped up yet again to the expert level and have tried out some of their 20 minute routines as well. I'm not yet ready for a 45 minute expert routine, but I can do a 45 minute intermediate one with relatively few problems.
Now for the nitty gritty. I love the game, overall at least. It's fun and I don't usually realize how long I've been doing it. I get to the end of a routine and sometimes I'm seriously bummed that there isn't more because I'm not ready to cool down and I've still got another 10 minutes of energy left. I wish I was able to build my own routine of whatever length I would like.
The one thing I dislike the most is that the tutorial does not show you all of the dance moves. It shows around 10 I think, but there are far more than that in the game. There are a few steps that I wish I could watch in slow motion so I could see exactly what I'm doing wrong and how I always end up off time with the instructor. Other than that, I really have no complaints.
I love the music. I love most of the moves and I love that it's helping me lose weight while having fun.
Have you played? Do you take a regular Zumba class? Tell me your thoughts on Zumba.
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