My “Walk Away The Pounds” Experience

I am on the hunt for a good fitness DVD  to do at home.  A year or so ago I tried going to aerobics classes at the Y but felt awkward around those that already know the moves.  It didn’t take long before I gave up on that.

With money so tight these days I didn’t want to just buy a DVD and end up not liking it.  I read reviews of various fitness DVD’s out there and the Walk Away the Pounds series of DVD’s got me interested.

The Leslie Sansone – Walk Away the Pounds – 30 Minute Walk DVD was $13.49, and I was hesitant to even shell out that much without knowing if I would really stick with it or not.

I decided to “rent” Leslie Sansone: Walk Away The Pounds: 30 Minute Walk for seven days through Amazon.com’s Digital Downloads.  For $2,99 I could try before I buy.  It was money well-spent.

The warm-up, exercises and cool-down in this video are great for someone like me who has a hard time getting steps down.  I didn’t get overwhelmed by the steps and was able to keep up with them.  What a refreshing change!  I even sweated quite a lot at the end of the 30-minute walk, which they said was about two miles.

This would have been something I’d buy if not for Leslie Sansone’s annoying prattle and giggling in the video.  It was distracting to me and I just couldn’t get myself to go through it one more time.  What may be annoying for me might not be annoying for you, however.  If you are curious, do what I did:  rent it to try before you buy.

Got any fitness videos to recommend?  Let me know via the Comments section!

Saved $26.50 and Lost 2 Lbs

In my post A Quick Way to Save Money and Lose Weight I mentioned that I wanted to save money and lose weight at the same time.  That post also mentioned that by planning my workday lunches and snacks in advance I was able to save $27.50 last week.

I can also happily report that I have lost 2 lbs last week!  I have not been taking any diet pills or started any exercise regimen at all, so I am very excited.

I must confess that a couple of times last week, I went to the vending machine and got some crunchy Cheetos (so that makes it $1 less than what I originally saved).  The snacks I had prepared for the week were all sweet (fresh cherries, fruit cups, chocolate animal crackers) .  I should have known that, from past experiences, eating something sweet triggers my craving for something salty, and vice versa.

This week I am doing the same thing.  I had already shopped for my lunches and snacks for the coming work week.  I have frozen entrees again, then yogurt and Cheetos for snacks.  I have already pre-packaged the Cheetos into snack baggies and I am only bringing one baggie a day to avoid eating all of the Cheetos in one day.  I believe in moderation, not self-denial.

The weather should help this week.  It is supposed to be really cold all week so that really kills the desire to go out for a quick drive (and drive-thru) at lunch time.

A Quick Way to Save Money and Lose Weight

At the beginning of the year I had signed up for The Self Jump Start Diet, which is a day-at-a-time makeover of your food habits.  I learned a couple of things there that I am putting into practice that I know will save me money, and hopefully will help me lose weight:

Tip # 4:  Have a Game Plan — Plan your healthy meals and snacks in advance.

Tip # 7:  Stash Snacks — Stash a supply of filling snacks to grab when you need a bite.

On a normal work day I do not eat breakfast, I have a mid-morning snack, then lunch, then a mid-afternoon snack.  I am ashamed to confess that for the most part, the snacks come from the vending machine.  The items there cost between $0.50 to $1.00 so I will just average it out to $0.75 per item, which makes it $1.50 per day.  Lunch costs between $6.00 to $10.00, so an average of $8.00.  So everyday I spend around $9.50 on lunch and snacks at work for a total of $47.50.

So on Sunday I went grocery shopping and planned my lunch and office snacks for this week.  Lunch will be my favorite frozen entrees.  They cost $1.78 x 5 = $8.90.  Since those darn things never keep me full until dinner, I have a variety of snacks:  chocolate animal crackers (they are great with tea, and satisfies my craving to have the chocolate taste in my mouth), fresh cherries, fruit cups  and yogurt-covered raisins.  Overall I spent less than $20 for this week’s planned lunch and snacks, and they are much-healthier alternatives than the vending machine and fast food selections.

The evidence is already clear:  if I stick with my plan this week and not be tempted to go out and get sushi, my savings this week is at least $27.50.  50 weeks of that comes to $1,375!  Wow, that’s more than my monthly mortgage payment!

I am eagerly awaiting the other half of the desired results:  losing weight.

What about you, what are you doing different this year?