Jane’s World: TC Trimdown, Weeks 6, 7 & 8 – Break Out of Your Exercise Rut

Reporting in with Weeks 6, 7 and 8 of the TC Trimdown! It’s good to break out of your exercise rut, and sometimes that involves exercising with someone else. I love to hike, and we have some great trails right here on the Old Mission Peninsula, whether you’re looking for a nice stroll through the woods (lower level of the Lighthouse Park Trail, for example) or something with a few hills, like Pelizzari Park (especially if you hike the whole route).

I also do a weekly yoga class with Sally Van Vleck, who runs the Neahtawanta Inn and has been teaching yoga since time immemorial. I’ve been doing yoga with Sally for about 15 years, and it has helped me so much, not just physically, but also mentally through all of life’s ups and downs. At the end of every class, we do a few minutes of guided meditation, which helps me to carry that over into my own meditation at home.

In the summer, I love to kayak, and in the winter, there’s nothing like donning my snowshoes and mushing through a snow-covered landscape. It wasn’t until I snowshoed yesterday with my friend and neighbor Pat Sharpnack that I realized I’m a “casual snowshoer.” Little did I know that when she texted to see if I wanted to snowshoe around our neighborhood orchards and woods that I would get the workout of my life! While it was definitely a challenge, it was also a good reminder to break out of my own routine and exercise with someone else.

Here’s how my thought process went through the journey:

Powering up the first hill: If you want a good workout, snowshoe with Pat Sharpnack!

Attempting to catch my breath at the top of the hill: Never ever under any circumstances snowshoe with Pat Sharpnack.

Heading back to the house: I should snowshoe with Pat Sharpnack every day!

Not only did she blaze a fast trail through the snow over hill and dale, but she kept up a lively conversation the entire time. Our neighbor Tammy Krentz – all of us are doing the TC Trimdown – easily kept up with Pat.

Meanwhile, I’m at the back of our trio just hoping I don’t have a cardiac event as I gamely attempt to keep pace with those two. I had my camera with me, so I used that as my excuse to stop and take photos catch my breath as we trekked through orchards and woodlands.

By the time we did a big loop around the neighboring property and circled back near my house, I begged off and mushed home as those two snowshoe warriors continued their journey up the next hill.

The good news is that by the end, I really felt like I accomplished something good for my health, and I felt great! Well, after I collapsed for a little while to recover. I should snowshoe with Pat every day! Ok, maybe not every day. At the moment, I am the embodiment of our TC Trimdown team name: Sore Losers. But it really does show how you can get a little complacent with your own exercise routine.

And like Tammy said, it is such a blessing to be able to step out our door and be part of all the amazing outdoor activities here on the Old Mission Peninsula. It’s everything!

So, how am I doing eight weeks into the TC Trimdown? I’ve lost 20 pounds, that’s how I’m doing! But it definitely has become more challenging. The first week, I lost 6.4 pounds, continuing on a roll with 2 to 3 pounds each week.

The past couple weeks, I’ve lost one pound each week, which is still great, but I’m hoping to step that up as we head into the home stretch of the TC Trimdown.

When I started the Trimdown, I set a goal of losing 40 pounds during the 13-week challenge. As mentioned, after eight weeks, I’ve lost 20 pounds. With five weeks left of the challenge, I’m adjusting that goal to be 30 pounds. That’s two pounds each week for the next five weeks. I think I can do that if I stay the course – and snowshoe with Pat as often as possible. Here’s the rundown…

TC Trimdown: The Weigh-In

• Starting Weight: 196.0
• Week One: 189.6 (down 6.4 lbs.)
• Week Two: 186.6 (down 3 lbs.)
• Week Three: 183.8 (down 2.8 lbs.)
• Week Four: 182.6 (down 1.2 lbs.)
• Week Five: 180.6 (down 2 lbs.)
• Week Six: 178.0 (down 2.6 lbs.)
• Week Seven: 177.0 (down 1 lb.)
• Week Eight: 176.0 (down 1 lb.)
• Total Weight Loss So Far: 20.0 lbs.

Also Read…

• TC Trimdown: Week One Report
• TC Trimdown: Week Two Report
• TC Trimdown: Week Three Report
• TC Trimdown: Weeks Four & Five Report

Are you doing the TC Trimdown or otherwise on a weight-loss journey? Leave comments below on how you’re doing!