Pedal, Pedal, Pedal

Over the summer, I bought a FitDesk.  It's an ultra-portable exercise bike with a big foam desk on the handlebars for setting a laptop, so you can pedal while you surf or do work on the computer.  When it arrived, it was in that hot part of the summer, where even raising one's arms overhead brought on an excessive amount of perspiration, so even though I was intrigued by my FitDesk and liked the idea of it, it didn't get much use.

I was in the habit of NOT using my FitDesk for much of the fall, too.  Now, I do really well with workout videos and dumbbells.  Other fitness equipment I buy, not so much. In my basement, there's a cheap but perfectly fine rowing machine I never use (no video I've found to row along with!), a bigass, not portable upright bike that I bought back at the old house with the best of intentions of riding it while watching TV or reading a book- except the display on it is so big that I can't see above it or around it to watch TV, and reading a book or magazine while riding it didn't work out, either.  There's also a giant treadmill down there that very rarely gets used.  That one, along with a bigass Bowflex over at the office, can be attributed to Shane's failed forays into fitness ("I'd work out after work on a Bowflex if it was right at the office!" "I could see myself running on a treadmill, if we had one in the house!"  Freakin' HAAAAA!)

So I've been a little concerned that my FitDesk was going to join the list of Failed Fitness Equipment we have in the house, until I've managed to pack back on a buncha weight.  I DO work out most days, but I think the workout makes me self-righteous about not needing to move much the rest of the day, and it also makes me feel entitled to eating half a jar of Nutella, either with or without toast.  Further investigation shows I have no right to wonder how I got porky again.

So, to the FitDesk I went last Thursday, while we watched the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade.  I was trying to preemptively burn off the calories I'd eat at dinner.  I did my Lumosity Brain Training while riding my FitDesk bike, even banged out a couple blog entries.  Actually, I earned a bunch of "Top Five [Personal] Scores" on Lumosity, which I haven't done in a while, doing my brain training, sitting on the couch.  Hmmm.  Maybe my brain gets fat too, along with my butt, while I just sit on the couch?

There was a side-effect, though, that almost made me stop riding my FitDesk.  When I went to pedal on Friday, my butt felt like my sitz bones were going to come right through the glute and fat that covers them up.  I looked on Amazon for more comfortable bike seats and didn't see anything I liked.  I figured I'd just pedal through the pain, and figure out some way to rig up a pillow or something to the bike seat, or maybe break down and order some padded-butt shorts or something to wear around the house. 

I didn't need to, though.  I've been riding the bike at different tensions, with the original seat that came with it, for almost a week now.  I ride and surf and write when Zoe's down for her naps and I don't have housework that needs immediate attention.  I ride the bike while we catch up on our TV shows, time I'd otherwise be lounging on the couch.  I think I'm going to give it a go, knitting while riding my bike.  I'll call it Xtreme Knitting or something.

It's still a little early to tell how many calories I'm burning, pedaling during time I'd otherwise be expanding on the couch.  I know that with losing weight, slow and steady is better (but less exciting) than dramatic weight-loss.  I can be patient.  One thing I can't do without spilling is eat on the bike.  That's another bonus.  It's easy to eat while sitting on a sofa!

We'll all just have to stay tuned to see how this turns out.  I'm going to keep up with riding my FitDesk, though.  And I just got a shiny new book from Oxygen Magazine, loaded with a meal plan.  I have high hopes, and while I won't dwell on it, I'll keep anybody posted, when there's something about it to post!