Every day I get six challenges for My Weight Loss Coach. Some of them are minute challenges and therefore I do them and then forget about them. These usually include situps, pushups, jumping jacks, or like today, “Hold your arms out straight for ten seconds, then put them down. Repeat five times.” I figure I’ll post a few of them here when I think to, because then I have yet another thing holding me accountable for it!

Today’s Challenges

• Walk More: Don’t use any elevators or escalators for an entire day.
• Walk More: Find a staircase and walk up, then down, 30 steps.
• Safe Sport: Warm up for 5 minutes before your next physical activity.
• Safe Sport: Cool off for five minutes after your last physical activity.
• Move Around: Put an energetic CD in the player and dance for two whole songs.
• Walk More: Go out for a walk. Come home only after you spot a yellow or brown car.
• Walk More: Go for a thirty-minute walk at lunch.

I do realize that there’s seven challenges there, and that I’ve already completed one for today, but two are leftover from yesterday’s challenges. They’re 24-hour challenges and the clock on the DS hitting midnight starts a new day, even though I have 12 hours left on two of my challenges. Make sense? I hope so.

I quite like this theme. It’s roomy without being overbearing and there’s enough space for everything I want. I feel a bit weird about not having a links bar in the header but to be honest, it’s a good change. I weeded out a few useless links and made a little paragraph about me, and whatever I could fit into that comfortably, I left and linked.

I’ve been playing a lot of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass lately. It was one of the anniversary gifts I got! I’m a HUGE Zelda fan, way back to the NES days, so I’m enjoying it. I have to say that they’ve done an incredibly good job at integrating the touch screen and all of the features the DS has to offer. They’ve done it in a creative way, that has me saying “Oh my goodness, that’s so freaking cool” no less than twice a day when I’m playing it.

The other game I got isn’t so much of a game, but I can say I definitely enjoy it. It’s My Weight Loss Coach and it’s so incredibly cute. There’s a little stick figure on my screen patting me on the back for everything good that I do. They’ve taken advantage of the fact that you can plug in GBA games at the same time as DS games, and made a pedometer that syncs with your game by plugging it into the GBA slot. It’s almost a light-weight approach to weight loss. They give me six challenges per day (no more!) that range from “Do X amount of sit-ups” to “Over the next twenty-four hours, put your salt shaker in the cabinet and leave it there” and if you don’t finish a challenge, instead of beating you over the head with it, they say that there’s no harm in taking easier challenges first.

Speaking of weight loss, I’m pretty sure I won’t be renewing my gym membership for the next year. Don’t get me wrong, I loved going - when I’d go. Because it involved either walking (made difficult by shin splints) or driving there, I’d make excuses not to go. Once the shininess wore off, I was able to justify not going and it didn’t help. Not to mention I’d get there and I’d already be tired, so I would only do a small workout. I lost ten pounds last summer working out at home, and gained it back and ten more while at the gym. While I’m pretty sure there’s a medical reason behind my constant gain and failure to lose, I know that something’s not right when I’m paying bi-weekly for something that isn’t working for me. I figure I’ll work out at home and focus on getting the most I can out of it, and once I’m back on track and have picked up momentum, I’ll consider going back to the gym. That money could be used for better (or more fun!) things. Besides, one of the main reasons for joining was because it’s a social atmosphere, and I’m not getting the social vibe.

So that’s my life lately in a nutshell. I’ve also purchased a new planner, but I’ll be writing more about that in another entry that’s in the making. It’s a planner; it’s like a child to me! I couldn’t just leave it as a footnote!