6 Month Challenge

I have always been a fan of the Nintendo Wii System. In May of 2009 Ea Sports released Wii Active and shortly after Wii Active More Workouts; both are awesome alternatives to a gym membership. I bet if I kept up with the programs I would have reached my weight loss goals by now.

When I turned 30 last year I decided that I wasn't really happy with all the weight I gained and that being diagnosed with hypothyroidism is not an excuse for keeping the weight on. Yes, my condition means that  have a slower metabolism than most people thus making it harder to lose weight and keeping weight off. With hard work (and I mean really hard work) along with reasonable goals in 6 months I plan on losing at least 40lbs which would put me at 190lbs.

Starting Slow

Immediately after my birthday I just decided after work to walk to the next train station stop a few blocks away. The following week walking to the next stop after that and so forth and so on. Eventually, I'd find myself walking from Soho to 42nd street which is a 2mile walk, something I haven't done since high school. There were no timers or stop watches just an interest in building a habit. They say anything you do 30 or more times becomes a habit, I did my afternoon walks for 2 months... till the weather got cold. This was when I decided I needed to step it up and maybe look at a gym membership

Weighing My Options

Probably the cheapest gym membership I could find was Planet Fitness at a mere $10/ month. Been there, done that. The nearest gym is a little over a mile away from my home which doesn't seem very far until you've had a long day at work and have to muster up the energy to go to the gym. My other option was New York Sports Club which is literally down the block and around the corner from where I live in Harlem, but even with my employer's discount I would have to fork over about $70/month. They have a multitude of classes that honestly I would probably never attend, and I would more than likely only use the treadmill and elliptical until I got bored.

While talking to a former coworker she mentioned Ea Sports was releasing Wii Active 2. At about $99 it was a very tempting offer lucky for me I was able to purchase it on sale for $60. The New version comes with a heart rate monitor, leg sensor strap, resistance band, usb receiver, and loads of new workouts. Best part of all is the online community, so I started my own group NewYrNewMe (password 01012011 feel free to join anytime) I get to compare my results to other members and push myself a little harder.

I will be posting week to week results from here on but first the before picture...

12/17/2010 I am 230lbs here :-(