The Elisean Plains

The stationary bike is my new frenemy.

I’ve pretty much maintained my (thirty pounds over) weight for the last two years. I actually lost a few last year then gained them when I started working again (I bless and curse you, free drinks from the office!) and so far, I’ve been losing and gaining two or three pounds over the course of 2011. No, I don’t check my weight. I don’t have a weighing scale. But I know if I’ve lost or gained weight based on how my jeans fit and the way I wear my belt.

Anyhow, sometime ago, I started using this iPod app called MyFitnessPal which is a free calorie counter, diet and exercise journal. I got the idea about calorie counting from a friend before but didn’t take it seriously because I didn’t want to be looking at labels and calculating calories before I eat anything. Especially since I don’t do the cooking and I REALLY don’t want to deconstruct a meal to count calories. It takes the fun out of eating and I absolutely love to eat.

I recently reloaded the app into the iPod and signed up into the site. I tinkered with it and was deligted that they had “kutsinta” in the database which was exactly what I was eating at the time. So I found myself logging my meals for that day and was horrified to see that I’ve been eating way above my suppossed calorie count limit, and that I’ve been eating mostly fat and sugar. Now, I’ve never been a health nut. I hate dieting and exercising. I live the life of a sloth. I work at home so I only mostly leave the bed to go to the toilet, the fridge and the kitchen. I leave the house a maximum of three times in any given week, and mall-hopping is my exercise. But for someone my age and weight and medical problems (nothing serious but I have allergic rhinitis that is a hop, skip and a jump away from true blue asthma), I need to watch my health.

So I decided to use the app again to calorie count as I have an obssession about listing things down and keeping track of them. Also, it comes with a Twitter-like app that allows me to post food thoughts. I’ve thought of linking it to Twitter but let’s just say I like it private.

So, aside from listing down the food I eat everyday, I also have to list the number of glasses of water I drink and the types and duration of exercise I do. I usually forget but I’ve set the app up to remind me to log my meals in. And because I embarrass myself, I try to exercise just so I can add something. Hence that evil piece of equipment up there which I’ve asked, cajoled and bullied my mom to get for us. I have no idea what I was thinking.

But for the past week, everytime I feel lazy, I pull myself off the bed and away from the computer to spend some time with the bike. I get less lazy that way. Could be because of the endorphins. Sorry, I’m really stupid when it comes to exercise.

As I haven’t checked my weight, I can’t say if it’s effective as yet, but I can say that this new habit has helped me watch how I take care of myself. Doesn’t matter if I get thin or not as that is just a byproduct, but so long as I’m healthy, I’m happy ^^ And positive thinking, I will learn to love that bike. I will learn to love that bike. I will learn to love that bike.

Image from here via Google.