For the next few weeks every Monday, I’ll share a playlist of songs that I have in my Workout Playlist on my iPhone. I’ll include clips to listen to, where you can buy them and why I have them in my list. Just so you know, I do get a portion of the sales of these songs from Amazon, so if you buy them, you’re helping me out.
Running by No Doubt: This is a great warmup song. It has a slow beat and it says the word running over and over, so it actually makes me want to start running. Plus, nothing beats Gwen Stefani at waking me up in the morning.
Time To Start by Blue Man Group: This song has the words, “It’s time to start” right at the beginning of the song, so I like to play it at the beginning of a workout when I need to run. It was even my powersong for a while. I love it when they say the Rock Concert Movements. It makes me want to jump and yell and bob my head to the music. “Ready Go!”
Around The World by Aqua: I love this song because she talks about cooking healthy food. A while back, I was adding my treadmill mileage up and imagining that I was running around the world, so the phrase, “around the world” means that to me as well.
Zero by Seven Red Seven: I know this song is supposed to be about someone who feels worthless, but it really doesn’t represent that to me. I might never get into a pair of size zero jeans, but I like to work toward that goal. With lyrics that say, “I am zero,” over and over, it helps me imagine myself thinner.
Shake Your Bon-Bon by Ricky Martin: I don’t care what anyone says. No one can shake their bon-bon like Ricky Martin. When I feel like I can’t run anymore, hearing this song puts a little kick in my step. Plus he says, “Go around the world in a day,” which reminds me of the miles that I’m racking up to go around the world.
Blowing’ You Off At 8 by SkinnySongs: This week’s SkinnySong is about a woman who has the best day of her life when she meets up with a past boyfriend who dumped her. He notices how hot she looks now and wants her back, but she doesn’t want anything to do with him. It’s the perfect revenge song for anyone who has been dumped because they’re too fat.
TiK ToK by Ke$ha: This is just a fun bit of fluff song that just makes me want to get up and move. It’s got a great beat and it talks about going out on the town. It says the words, “Don’t stop, make it pop!” so many times that I just can’t stop my workout!
Running Up That Hill by Placebo: Although not as run-worthy as the Kate Bush version from thirty years ago, this song is a great workout song, if only because it says, “running up that hill” so many times. I like to play it toward the end of my workout when I need to slow down, but keep on running. “It doesn’t hurt me!”
The Youth by MGMT: I like this song because of the lyrics, “The youth are starting to change, are you starting to change? Together, together, together, together!” I like to imagine all the changes that I’m making to myself and how they will help me be a better person. This is also a slower song that good for your cooldown.
Bandy Bandy by Zap Mama: This song is so mellow that it’s really only good for stretching at the end of your workout, but I love it because it urges me to “wave” my body. A bandy bandy is a type of cobra, so imagining my body like a lithe and agile snake is a great way for me to get my post-workout stretch done.
Listen to the clips for these songs. If you find just one song this week that motivates you to exercise, then buy it and make it your powersong when you’re working out this week. I bet you’ll find that you’re more willing to get your butt to the gym and your workouts are easier.
A special thank you goes out to Johnny Wander for showing us all the Ultimate Clementine Peeling Technique.
Here is the Ultimate Clementine Peeling Technique:
That’s a little different than the technique I usually use:
Clementines are so easy to peel that you CAN pull them off in one single ribbon. I’ve talked about them many times before, so read up on these great fruits.
I don’t usually write running shoe reviews because they all feel the same to me. I don’t have the foot problems that a lot of people have, so pretty much any shoe works for me. With that, I don’t end up LOVING my shoes the way other people do. Since the shoes from anywhere would work for me, I rarely fall in LOVE with shoes, not even enough to clean them.
That was until I got my Nike Zoom Sister One Limited Editions.
You are looking at my beloved running shoes. Not since my ill-fated Nike Air Zoom Moire+, who only lasted one year at the Nike Store, have I found a pair of shoes I love enough to CLEAN.
I like them because they are light-weight. They feel really good on my feet and don’t do that annoying thing other shoes do that make my socks fall off my feet and bunch up around my arch. Even though they are quite plastic, they allow my feet to breathe. They even look good when I’m just tooling around town with jeans and a sweater, but since I’ve cleaned them, they aren’t allowed to go outdoors anymore.
I love them that much.
Once I realized that they were the perfect pair of shoes for me, I immediately ordered two more pair from the Nike Store. Since the Air Moire+ were canceled so quickly, I refuse to be left hanging like I was last time. I’ll have two pair in waiting so that I can keep happily running for the next few years.
Now, if I could only get Nike to realize that fat people need workout CLOTHES as well as shoes, then I wouldn’t have to hate them…
I’ve talked about music that can make your workout easier, but here are some free MP3 downloads of Marine Corps Cadences that might help you run a little faster as well.
I put them in my workout playlist and when I listen to it on random, these cadences jump in between songs to give me a boost. Something about the chanting while running is very helpful, even when I’m not the one doing the chanting.
One of the most surprisingly good apps for me has been iPeriod for the iPhone. You can download it here:
It’s a program meant to track your menstrual cycle, but I have been using it for tracking my weight, my moods and how often I exercise and stay on my eating program. You can add four of your own items to track (I added exercise, eating healthy and some work items). Additionally, it allows you to track your mood, so you can see if that affects your eating.
Tracking the weight is the best of any other app I’ve tried (including Edibles, sorry to say). Here is screen shot of my weight over the last month.
As you can see I have had some lows and highs. Once I get more data, I’ll be able to see if the trend is that I’m losing or maintaining. I’d LIKE it to be losing, so I can alter my program to match my goals.
I really didn’t think iPeriod would be that good for me, but what was meant to be a menstrual tracker has become so much more for me. Fortunately, they have MANY privacy features, including turning OFF its name so that no one knows that it has anything to do with my monthly cycle.
If you are looking for a good app to track your weight, try iPeriod and see how it works for you!
If I find myself at Wendy’s, it’s so easy to eat healthy. There are SEVERAL meals that I can have that are low in calories and yummy. Here are my favorite selections:
Small Chili and a Side Salad: This is my absolute favorite meal to have at Wendy’s. For about 4 WW Points, I can have a full tummy and feel satisfied. Instead of using dressing on the side salad, I pour the small chili on it and it feels like a decadent salad.
Kid’s Meal Hamburger, Fries and Tiny Frosty: This is substantially more calories with my estimate at 11 WW Points, but if I’m craving a classic hamburger, I get the taste of it without all the calories. For the same amount of Points as their Baconator, I can have a whole meal. Plus I get a toy!
Plain Baked Potato with Light Classic Ranch Dressing: When I’m feeling like something different, I choose the plain baked potato and add the Light Classic Ranch Dressing for about 7 WW Points. This isn’t the best option for me because there isn’t any protein, but sometimes I just really want a baked potato.
Grilled Chicken Go Wrap and a Side Salad: For 5 WW Points, you can’t go wrong with their chicken wrap and a salad. I ask for lemon to squeeze on the salad and use that instead of dressing.
You can create your own diet meal by reviewing the nutrition information before you go to the restaurant.
In the end, you can lose weight by eating at any restaurant. You just need to know what to order and how much to eat. You don’t need to cut any of your favorites out of your diet as long as you learn how to eat them correctly.
Last month, I wrote about this song and why I put it on my workout playlist.
Everything You Know Is Wrong by Weird Al Yankovic: This song is kind of silly and the verses sing about everything EXCEPT working out (unless you count the Almighty running past your room in heaven). The chorus, however, reminds me that sometimes I believe things that aren’t true. If I’m feeling like I can’t finish my workout, listening to this song is really good at showing me that I might be wrong.
Apparently, this concept is new and can be a revelation to some. Here is a TED Talk about this very idea from Derek Sivers:
I love this quote from him:
- Derek Sivers, TED Talk: Weird, or just different? Nov 2009
It’s the truth. Everything you know is wrong. If you think diets don’t work, then you’re wrong. If you think exercise makes you hungry, then you’re wrong. If you think your diet is the perfect one for everybody, then you’re wrong. If you think hard exercise is the best way to lose weight, then you’re wrong. No matter what you think about diet and fitness, you’re wrong. There is always someone out there who does well on a wacky diet. There is always someone out there who reacts to exercise differently. We are such a diverse species that there is a way for everything to work and there is a way for everything to fail.
You need to find what works for you and keep doing it until it doesn’t work anymore and then start the process all over again.
The next time that you feel like you can’t follow your diet anymore, repeat to yourself, “Everything you know is wrong.” The next time you feel like you are going to stop your workout before it’s finished, repeat to yourself, “Everything you know is wrong.” Make it your mantra any time that little voice inside your head is telling you that you cannot do something and you’ll find out all the different ways you have been wrong your entire life.
For the next few weeks every Monday, I’ll share a playlist of songs that I have in my Workout Playlist on my iPhone. I’ll include clips to listen to, where you can buy them and why I have them in my list. Just so you know, I do get a portion of the sales of these songs from Amazon, so if you buy them, you’re helping me out.
Shining Light by Annie Lennox: This is a great warmup song. I like to think that maybe someone thinks this about me. I love the lyrics, “You are a force, you are a constant source, yeah you are a shining light.” When I’m starting my workout, I like to listen to this song to get me ready to work hard.
Move It Like This by Baha Men: This song is so fun that I just can’t help but run a little harder on the treadmill when I hear it. I know they are talking about dancing, but it makes me want to do better.
Everybody But Me by Lykke Li: This song reminds me how hard it can be to be fat and want to have fun with everyone, but you don’t. “Everybody’s dancing. I don’t want to. Everybody’s joking. I don’t want to. Everybody’s laughing. I don’t want to. Everybody but me.” Pushing past that anxiety has been the most helpful thing I’ve done for myself and my health.
Beautiful by Moby: If Lykke Li reminds me of how being fat can be, Moby wrote this song to make me feel beautiful. I prefer the Benni Benassi remix, but this one has the same lyrics and upbeat mood.
Working Overtime by New Order: This song reminds me that if I concentrate on work so much that I neglect myself that I’ll be like the guy in this song. It’s alright to take an hour a day to exercise. It’s worth it.
Think I’ll Go To Saks by SkinnySongs: I love this song. I’ve never been able to shop at the expensive stores like Saks or Neiman Marcus because those clothes just never came in my size. I love the idea of being able to try on the clothes in those stores, feel them fit me perfectly and just not buy them.
With Every Heartbeat – with Kleerup by Robyn: This song has a great beat to run to, but I really love the lyrics. “So I don’t look back/ Still I’m dying with every step I take/ But I don’t look back/ Just a little, little bit better” It doesn’t hurt that it has the word heartbeat in the lyrics, so it reminds me that it’s okay to hear my heart pump a little harder.
Movement In Still Life by Bt: “Dance to the beat! Shuffle my feet!” I don’t know why songs that tell me to dance get me running, but they work every time.
Don’t Give Up by Peter Gabriel and Kate Bush: This is a great cooldown song. I really like how she tells him to keep going, “Don’t give up because you have friends. Don’t give up, you’re not beaten yet. Don’t give up, I know you can make it good.”
Listen to the clips for these songs. If you find just one song this week that motivates you to exercise, then buy it and make it your powersong when you’re working out this week. I bet you’ll find that you’re more willing to get your butt to the gym and your workouts are easier.
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