Well, I made it to the gym today - along with 
shadowdaddy, our first co-workout, yay! The 25 minute routine seems to have settled in pretty well - 4 minutes rowing, 14 on the bike, then 7 minutes on the elliptical thingie. I went for a different distance to the pedals on the bike today and my heart got up to about 150 in three minutes or so, which is good as I've been having a hard time getting even to 145. The elliptical's heart reader said I was at 165 after about two or three minutes, which I think means it's not working correctly. I took a nice shower afterwards, including washing my hair, and for the record I think the L'Occitaine shea butter shampoo is fairly useless - I'll stick with Tigi, and L'Occitaine should stick with moisturizers and body washes.
Afterwards I had the quiche I brought back from York, though I had to wait for 15 minutes to use the microwave. Do we really only have one on this entire floor? And, you know, I really need a heart monitor thingie so I don't have to rely on the equipment at the gym.
So, now that I biffed my appointment with the heart doctor (really, I thought I was going to get a letter telling me when the appointment was), should I call my primary care physician and get re-referred? I'm certainly curious to see if my blood pressure has gone down at all since I've been doing this exercise as it's really quite boring and I'd just as soon not bother. I have had no luck on the 20 pounds of weight loss he requested and God only knows I have no idea what's up with "sodium in my food," as I'm convinced there's not usually much in it anyways, only now that he brought it up I've been finding myself obsessed with salting things!
shadowdaddy, our first co-workout, yay! The 25 minute routine seems to have settled in pretty well - 4 minutes rowing, 14 on the bike, then 7 minutes on the elliptical thingie. I went for a different distance to the pedals on the bike today and my heart got up to about 150 in three minutes or so, which is good as I've been having a hard time getting even to 145. The elliptical's heart reader said I was at 165 after about two or three minutes, which I think means it's not working correctly. I took a nice shower afterwards, including washing my hair, and for the record I think the L'Occitaine shea butter shampoo is fairly useless - I'll stick with Tigi, and L'Occitaine should stick with moisturizers and body washes.Afterwards I had the quiche I brought back from York, though I had to wait for 15 minutes to use the microwave. Do we really only have one on this entire floor? And, you know, I really need a heart monitor thingie so I don't have to rely on the equipment at the gym.
So, now that I biffed my appointment with the heart doctor (really, I thought I was going to get a letter telling me when the appointment was), should I call my primary care physician and get re-referred? I'm certainly curious to see if my blood pressure has gone down at all since I've been doing this exercise as it's really quite boring and I'd just as soon not bother. I have had no luck on the 20 pounds of weight loss he requested and God only knows I have no idea what's up with "sodium in my food," as I'm convinced there's not usually much in it anyways, only now that he brought it up I've been finding myself obsessed with salting things!
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So it is your doctor that has you on this gym kick? I had high-ish blood pressure and triglycerides a few years ago, and was able to bring it down. I tried to exercise more at that time, but didn't. I also didn't lose any weight at that time, but I did get healthier, got my levels down, and calmed down.
Here is how I did it:
1. eating less meat and splurging more on fish,
2. always keeping lots of tasty produce around at home and work,
3. cooking more,
4. deciding I don't care that much about work after all,
5. and just relaxing in general.
My current exercise kick actually stems from having more energy in general, and is less about health/weight loss, and more about fun, shockingly enough. I do have a heart rate monitor, but don't use it much. I'd still recommend it if you need to know how hard you are working, so you aren't tied down to the gym. I find the cardio stuff at the gym dead boring, and I've never mastered the art of reading while sweating. I sometimes take classes at the gym, and find the time goes easier with a group, but YMMV.
The chest strap thingy on the HRM is surprisingly comfortable, but the wristband is big and clunky, and gets gross when I sweat. Try to find a smaller model than my Omiron. (Polar has a women's model that is smallish.)
I have used it while running, walking, and biking. The gym still seems foreign to me; it seems odd to be expending so much energy with so little scenery change. I'd really rather run around Green Lake, walk to work, or bike to the store. It is summer, and you live in an interesting place! What a shame to spend it inside hooked up to a machine.
Also, there are environmental issues to exercising outdoors in London. First, it rains really hard here, and during the winter it is quite cold. Second, the air in central London is nasty. I'm not sure if emissions regulations are really different here but I frequently get nauseous walking down the road because some vehicle just puffed out a pile of poison gas next to me. Third, it's super urban - while you could find a way to jog on tiny back streets, biking can't get good straightaways and you stop for lights all of the time. That's if you don't get killed because of having to ride in traffic (there are no shoulders on the roads here).
Anyway, the good thing about the machines is that they keep me in a controllable environment where I'm able to keep my workout to the amount of time I have allotted (30 minutes of exercise, gone from the office for no more than an hour) and have no weak excuses about the weather. Boredom is my enemy, but I'm not seeing a lot of good options for getting exercise away from the gym. I already walk all over the place and with biking and running out ... well, there's the gym. I could certainly do other things at home (since I'm right next to the Thames), but that is only really going to work on weekends. The key for me is getting exercise during the time available to me during the day, and the lunchtime workout is where it is at.
So I should get a heart monitor but I'm not seeing how I'm going to avoid the boredom of going to the gym as long as I'm doing lunchtime workouts and I'm in central London and I'm not running. Oh well.
RE: stress list -
1) don't eat much meat, hate fish
2) tasty produce a good idea but I don't snack much these days!
3) cooking is hard as I go out several nights a week, but I always cook when I'm at home as it's just too expensive to go out to eat
4) work's not stressing me out since I quit my last job
5) relaxing good.
Speaking of which, off I go!
Did I tell you that our oldest had high blood pressure? Quite shocking given that he is only 13 yrs old. There are salt substitutes which helps him keep on track but for the most part that is about all he can do as he is pretty active.
The 20 lbs. of weight loss can be accomplished by eating more raw fruits and veggies. Spike (no salt seasoning) is a great seasoning that I love to put on steamed veggies although I am not certain if they sell it outside the states. Calorie counting would be your best bet, I am not certain what your weight is now but maybe 1400 - 1600 calories. Fat grams per day no more than 35 grams. Dieting sucks but I did lose 100 lbs by just counting calories and exercising. I wasnt hungry the entire time either.
Calorie counting is very hard for me because I eat out so much! But I'm sure that's what I need to get back to doing.