Time to step up my game

I think there is a automatic shrink machine in my closet and it has targeted my favourite jeans. 

Oh how I wish that were true.  It's not, and I know it, but I would feel a lot less guilty if it was.

It is easy to come up with reasons NOT to exercise.  My first excuse was that my foot hurt.  It really did.  I had a strangled nerve and a severely damaged tendon in my left foot.  Walking just exacerbated the pain.  My second excuse was that I was healing from surgery.  The incision was quite a bit longer than I had expected it to be, and made wearing shoes more difficult.  My third excuse was that it was too hot.  Daytime highs were ranging from 108-115 (Fahrenheit).  It isn't exactly a good idea to be exercising in that heat.

I'm tired of my excuses.

I'm tired of my favourite jeans not fitting.

I AM doing something about it.

My best friend and I have started a little competition.  Every Friday evening at 8:30 we report to each other how many miles we have walked/ran during the week.  The one with the most, wins.  The prize?  Bragging rights.  Come one, we all know bragging rights are sometimes the best prize.  We wanted to set an attainable goal and increase it overtime.  It would be useless to start too high and get discouraged before we even started.  A beginning distance of 3 miles per week was agreed upon.  As we get more comfortable, and huff and puff less, we will increase the distance.  One foreseeable problem is winter.  Even though we live in the desert, the winters can get pretty cold.  Add in the wind, and no one wants to be outside.  Thankfully video games can help.  My Wii has a walking game on one of the disks so I'll still be able to get my mileage in.

I know walking is a great first step (pun totally intended).  I also know that it isn't enough.  I asked the DOC on Twitter last week if anyone had done Zumba and what their opinion was.  I received positive feedback about how much fun and how much of a workout it was.  I have a problem though.  I don't dance.  Honestly, I don't.  The thought of having to "dance" in front of people will keep me home.  This is where video games come into play again.  I know that it is a lot easier to make my husband disappear for an hour than it is to tell a room full of people to not look at me. 

My husband and I went on a mission yesterday to find me a Zumba game for our Wii.  SUCCESS!!  Let me tell you, that is one heck of a workout.  I started with the tutorial to make sure that I could at least do most of the moves.  Barely, but I could.  (Yes, my husband disappeared for an hour.  No, the cats didn't, but at least they don't have camera phones.)  I then did the 20 minute routine for beginners.  Overall it took me about an hour.  I plan on doing a routine three times a week, and increasing in difficulty a little at a time.

One think I need to work on is remembering to set a temporary basal rate.  I didn't this first time, and seeing that 104 on my CGM was nice, but the two arrows down was not.  I don't want to run low during, or after, and have to stop and eat something.  I also don't want to be high throughout the exercise either.  How do I know how much to reduce by? for how long?  Sounds like I'll be testing this out for awhile.  I doubt I'll get it perfect, but keeping my fingers crossed that I'll get at least close.

Even though I had fun, and will be doing this regularly, I don't expect it to help me be comfortable dancing in public.  I'm not sure anything would.  I am hoping that this will scare the automatic shrinking machine out of my closet.  What do you think?