I'm a new member, please call me fish, and I realized I might be posting about these videos a lot so I thought maybe I should just put it in one spot. : )
I went from 240 pounds to 180(ish). I did it by changing my eating and exercise habits into something I could keep doing, not for a week or a month before getting discouraged.
Then you ask yourself, pssh - why's she in here then? Because of a very blargh period in my life + bad reaction to medication all the weight came back, most of it in under a month. With the blargh and the fat and the no energy I ended up dropping all the things that made me fit and happy so the rest of the weight came back.
So! I'm back on the wagon and I know I can get into the same wonderful groove I was in before (doesn't the starting up part, suck!XD). Posting it for me and for people out there I hope can be helped by knowing someone followed this and got fit and healthy. The fact that I'm not now isn't the fault of what I did but that I stopped it all.
WALK AWAY THE POUNDS:
Walk Away is the best thing ever to start a cardio fitness routine, imo. You can make them as intense as you want them to be (seriously, when I was fit I would be hardcore pumping arms, knees up blasting through those tapes while she walked). It's a walking in place video so you can do it in any size space (If I can do it in my dorm you can do it anywhere).
Leslie Sansone is a nice smiley woman but she isn't irritating like some Fitness Video Chicks, she lets you know it's okay to walk at your pace (just being off the couch is important!) if you can go brisk like they do, or slower, or faster, whatever. Her walkers are fun too, although Janeane bugs me and I like Beth, Jodi, and Andera (and Randy!XD). This is fine as there is a fitness video law that you have to hate one of the back-ground people. XD If you aren't dance aerobic coordinated, such as my klutzy self xd these videos are great because of their lack of crazy moves - the only moves in (most) of the videos are!
Walking!
Knee Lifts
KickBacks
Side Steps (and double side steps if you have the room)
Kicks
There are various arm movements and one of her walkers will always do the leg and arm movements at a milder range of motion for people with bad joints or just can't do full motions. The modifier never seems separate from the group or off to the side like in some fitness videos.
Pretty sure these are my videos in one handy DVD, this series uses the Walk Away "weighted balls" which are water-filed weights, I really like using the balls (when I bought the videos they came in a VHS set with the balls) they're two pounds but that little bit is a nice boost for the muscles. If you don't want to buy (not even sure you still can?) the balls you can use soup cans! Or hand weights, or dumbells, or no weights (one of Leslie's walkers will always do the routine with no weights), I know you can also find soft 2 pound weighted balls at most fitness places.
I remember everyone (after I got super into the videos) saying to stay away from the Walk Away with Ab Belt, apparently it's pretty cheap and breaks (could be fixed by now). The "Walk Blaster" thing on Walk Away's homepage came out a couple years after I had my videos and seems a little gimicky (although I'm sure you would still lose with it). Actually, back in the day she didn't have any of the supplements or diet cards or anything, those are all new things after the videos got popular, I certainly wouldn't spend the extra money on her vitamins. Walk Away Express (with stretchie band) came out just after the Walk Blaster and I think you can find those in stores. My mom has them and likes the stretchie but I'm still partial to my weighted balls (I carried 5 pound hand weights when the balls became much too light).
WALK AWAY THE POUNDS THE FREE VERSION!
The free version of Walk Away is simply to walk in front of your TV instead od sitting in front of it. You can do the moves, side stepping, and knee lifting, throw in some arm movements or just walk. When I first lacked a VHS player or even before, I would do that. Well, I pretty much had the 3 mile routine memorized so I could just go off that. Even when I did the video once I didn't need her cues (and could say most of them outloud with her XD) I would crank up my workout mix on my computer and turn down the TV volume.
Walking in place instead of sitting is a great exercise because A)You're moving and B)you can really up the intensity when you're ready. Some people will say walking isn't a real workout and walking in front of the TV isn't even doing anything. Too bad I know several people that proves this as a lie of naysayers. It was popular with a bunch of the people I knew on ediets and the reviews on amazon are super high.
Walk Away the videos or Walk Away Version FREE are really great beginner to intermediate workouts. I lost 40 pounds only doing Walk Away (mostly the 3 mile) most days of the week (45 minutes, including warm up/cool down, but if I was feeling full of energy I would go longer after the video), lifting challenging weights every other day (started out with 5, 8, and 10 pound dumb bells), and learning how to eat when I'm hungry and stop when I'm not hungry (which is well before "full"). I didn't kick my a** for hours each day and I didn't live off carrot sticks.
Unless people are omgstfu over this post I'm planning on posting on more of the things that worked for me and by god, they're going to work for me again! I know I just to need to keep moving forward until I love the sweat and the energy and the moving and the FEELING good again.
~fish, on her way to shedding her first 40 again, then the next twenty, then 10 after that to reach my first goal.
Start Slow, Go Hard! (my new motto)
Gaian Losers (weight loss support guild!)
Achieve your weight loss goals!
