Day 59 (day 3 / week 9)

This morning I woke up and my back and chest were really achy and kind of hurt a little (like it did on day 45). Because I had felt this once before, and have already learned that working through this pain, only makes it worse, I decided to make it a (non)rest day (doing Slim & 6pack and Slim & Limber from the Slim in 6 series). The thing I like about the (non)rest days is that I can focus on my abs, and I get to take the time and really just focus on a well deserved stretch. I'm a little disappointed though that I won't be able to take today to get one last workout in and really work hard before I take my measurements tomorrow (not that one day will make a difference lol). Oh well, better safe than sorry. I would really regret it if I tried to do something more with this pain. As I sit here and type this, I can feel the achiness in my chest every time I take a breath, so this is definitely a smart choice :).

My Turbo Jam Maximum Results is in Sparks, NV! It made it's grand entrance early this morning at 1:05 am (PST). I wish I knew which UPS facility the box was sitting in, so I could go pick it up lol. Knowing it's here, and knowing I won't be able to get my grubby little hands on it until Monday, stinks. Oh well, such is life. lol. I just hope I remember to put my "knock softly, baby sleeping" sign on the door, so that the UPS guy doesn't wake Logan up during his nap (any and all deliveries are always made during Logan's nap lol).

On another note we are definitely moving back to Las Vegas. Tomorrow we are going to turn in our 30 day notice to our apartment complex, so in 30 days we are outta here! It will be really interesting to see how I am going to get a regular workout in (without cheating and saying "I moved boxes! *in a Carlos Mencia de-de-de-voice*), and how/if it will cut into the 30 Day Shred.

Hope everyone has a great workout! See you tomorrow :)

I can do this. I am a star.

Day 58 (day 2 / week 9)

Thank goodness for Anita! Some of you may know who I'm talking about, and some of you don't. Anita is one of Jillian Michaels' "best girls." More specifically, she is the one that does the modified movements on the 30 Day Shred. Man, if it weren't for that girl being the designated n00b, I might have turned off Level 2, and went back to Level 1. (I have always wanted to use n00b in a sentence, so I just threw it in there. I guess I would be a n00b to the term "n00b" lol)

Today I did the 30 Day Shred and did Level 2 (day 5). I was a little scared becuase she didn't do the knee circles, so I was afraid they would hurt, but I guess we really didn't need to do them. Level 2 is tough, let me tell you! But it's gonna get me into great shape, so I'm excited. I was able to do some of the regular moves, and with others, I had to use Anita's modification.

Sunday is March 1st, and I am excited about doing my measurements, and taking a picture again. My pants are baggy, so I know I have lost inches on my legs and... inch off of my hips (I would say "inches" but I don't want to get ahead of myself lol). During these pictures, for the next few months, I am going to wear the same shirt (a brown, Goodbye Alice in Wonderland, Jewel Kilcher shirt and black stretchy pants) until I look like a ridiculous clown, then I will change, and use those same clothes for the pictures as well. :)

Hope everyone has a great Friday! Yaay! It's Friday :). Get in a great workout and enjoy the weekend! :)

Smiles and blessings to everyone!

I can do this. I am a n00b, I mean a star. :-D

Day 57 (day 1 / week 9)

This morning after Logan woke up, I did the 30 day Shred, Level 1 (Day 4). He was NOT happy, but I decided to let him fuss for the short amount of time that it takes me to do this video. During the beginning stretch portion, he demanded to be picked up, so I swung him around on my hips, and then again on my knees. After that, he was fine :). He wants so badly to do jumping jacks! During all 3 of the ab sections, Logan layed his head on my stomach, and laughed every time I crushed up. He's so cute!

So the morning went by pretty quickly and then it was time for Logan's nap. I was so bored so I decided to do the 30 day Shred, Level 1, again! I just love it! I love the way it feels (she still annoys me though) and I love the feeling of accomplishment after it's over. My endurance has increased greatly but I still can't kick myself in the butt. I sure try though! lol. I think I am going to start Level 2 tomorrow.

I really can't believe how fast time is going by.

I am not putting myself on a diet (I don't eat badly to begin with), but I am going to start being more accountable for what I'm eating when we go out (1x/wk), now that it's easier for me to pass on the french fries and go for a salad instead. I also want to start buying even more nutritionally dense foods, that we don't already buy--I want to be adventurous since it's so easy with Logan. My hubby calls me a picky eater, and I hate that! (he's so right though, and I hate that even more!) lol.

I hope everyone has a great Thursday and workout! I can't believe it's almost March!!??!? oye!

I can do this. I am a star.

Day 56 (day 7 / week 8)

Today I went for a long walk with Logan (a little over an hour). I don't know how fast I walked, but my bottom and hamstrings are a little sore now. I put 30 min walk on sparkpeople.com, just becuase I didn't know and that was the slowest I could do. It was extremely windy and I was fortunate enough to walk against the wind on the way there, and again, on the way home *sarcasm.* I was breathing pretty heavily, almost like I was walking up a hill or something (I wasn't, but it totally felt like it!). My face hurts from the cold wind and it was only 45 so I'm a total wimp. Yesterday after Logan woke up from his nap, we went for a walk then also, and it was nice (unlike today). We will probably go for another walk again (if my feet can handle it--horrible shoes!) after he wakes up from his nap :).

I am sitting here typing this and feeling almost like if I don't do the 30 Day Shred today, that I will be totally coping out. I was completely ready to just use my walk as my exercise today, but it's not the kind of exercise that is going to get me below 200 any time soon. I really want to get this fat off of me, and no one else, no matter how nice, sweet and generous they are, can do it for me. I want to fit into my skinny clothes again. It seems like because I was really fit once before, that I am having to work that much harder now, just to drop the weight. Knowing this and not doing something, feels like I am consciously letting myself down. I don't want my son to ever remember that his mama was this big.

I think I just talked myself into doing the 30 Day Shred lol.

(28 mins later)

I am so glad that I talked myself into pushing play. Today was day 3 and I did level 1 again. I am so that I did this. SO GLAD. I'm a "what if?" kind of person, and now I won't have to wonder "What if I didn't stop at day 3?" cause I did it! Yaay! I decided that when Turbo Jam comes (it's in Hodgkins, IL right now according to the tracking number) I wont do it until I am done with the 30 day Shred. I know I am going to see amazing results from this video and I am excited to see what they are.

I am pumped, all sweaty and need to go push the furniture back (yes, I have to move furniture everyday to exercise--don't use lack of space as an excuse!). I had my hair all pretty and straight, and now I have a pony tail wonk also (stupid wonk) lol. So lovely :).

I really hope that you guys can talk yourself into exercising, if you are sitting on the fence. Even if you did all of your exercise for the week and you can fit in some more--do it! You will be so glad, and so proud of yourself for doing it! I'm proud of you! YOU'RE A STAR!

I will see you guys tomorrow!

I can do this. I am a star.

Day 55 (day 6 / week 8)

I really can't believe how fast time is going by. I remember being in grade school and high school, and thinking that the time went by so slowly.

Today was day 2 of the 30 Day Shred (still level 1). I started to do it early this morning, but The Monkey Boy woke up early and wouldn't let me exercise, so I only got the first 5 mins in and some push ups. Later in the morning, he went off to play by himself in his cozy coupe, so I decided it was a good time to get the 28 minutes in. I like that that it's short because I am able to fit it in, when he is off being a toddler. At the same time, I wish it would last longer, because I feel like I'm getting a great workout, and I don't want it to stop.

Once he heard the video start, he ran out of his room to join me. He had fun with the beginning stretch part--laughing and flailing his arms all over the place. He can't jump yet, so he had me laughing when he was trying to do the jumping jacks. He tried to do the push ups with me, and during the ab portion, he tried to help me by lifting my elbows higher (lol), and after that he rested his head on my stomach. During the butt kicking jog part, he ran around me in circles lol. Such a silly boy. I had fun and so did he :).

I still want my Turbo Jam though... lol. I did get an email yesterday telling me that it shipped! Yaay! *running man* *cabbage patch* *McHammer* *The Right Stuff*

I hope you all have a great workout! Don't put off until tomorrow, what you can do today! I used to always say, "I'll exercise tomorrow," but once tomorrow came, I was disappointed, because it was one day lost, that I will never get to count toward exercising. You can do this!

I can do this. I am a star.

Day 54 (day 5 / week 8)

I'm so excited! First let me get the boring stuff out of the way:

Today I did Jillian Michaels' 30 day Shred, and I really enjoyed it. Of course, I went out to the mailbox to see if my Turbo Jam video was here yet lol (nada). There were a lot of jumping jacks, and I was fine *shrugs.* She annoys me a little bit, but when I say I want to workout, this is what I want to do. This kind of intensity and movement, is what I love. It gives me the same kind of vibe that the Beachbody videos do.

Speaking of Beachbody (here comes the exciting stuff!!), the owner of Beachbody, Carl Daikeler, commented on my blog yesterday (how exciting!!)! I have mentioned a few times, that I go to team beachbody and workout with other live people on WOWY. I mentioned that a guy that I don't know (DaleBramall) keeps sending me workout invites that I have been going to on a regular basis. Well Carl Daikeler is trying to break the record for the most people working out together, on WOWY at one time (currently 522 people, 11:40 ET, 5/5/07), and has set a date! You don't have to be doing beachbody workouts to do this. You can be a walker, or run on the treadmill, or do yoga, strength training, stretch or whatever you want! There is an option for all of these and for "other" if you don't know what to select, and you just fill in the time you workout (it prompts you to do everything and it's FREE).

If all of you guys could join me, I would be honored and excited (did I mention that it's FREE??)!

Here is the message Carl left (so exciting):

You might consider the Ten Minute Trainer for squeezing in a routine, especially when you're dealing with a kid's schedule!

But it seems like you've got a solid plan no matter what.

Now, is it possible you could also join us March 7th for a massive online workout, and help get the word out? I want to get people like you to the Beachbody WOWY Gym (www.wowy.com) to break the record of people working out at the same time, Saturday March 7th at 11AM ET/8AM PT.

It would be great if you can make it and bring some people with you!

Carl Daikeler
Beachbody

www.end-the-trend.com

So all you guys have to do is register with WOWY (www.wowy.com) and click "sign up now." It's free, and they wont sell your address', send you any junk mail or emails. You don't need a coach (they will assign you one), and I believe once you sign up, it takes you to milliondollarbody.com.

Find WOWY (on the right blue banner), and on Saturday March 7th at 11AM ET/8AM PT, click on "Start workout now" and follow the prompts. I suggest just playing around with it, so that when the actual date comes, you aren't flustered and don't know what to do, or where to go. I will also post reminders :).

This will be so much fun! I'm so excited! He included a link to become a coach, but I cant afford the $40 start up fee and additional $14. I just like working out with them. I also hate pushing products. I don't want this blog to become about that. Maybe someday *shrugs.*

If you have any questions, please feel free to ask me in the comments, or send me an email.

I'm so excited about this!

We can do this! We are STARS!

Day 53 (day 4 / week 8)

I'm so excited, yet a little disappointed in myself. I think I just realized that I sabotaged my current workout program. I am only 3 or 4 days into The Biggest Loser Workout, and I am not enjoying myself at all. I like the strength and sculpt, but that just makes sense, because back when I was a gym rat, I always enjoyed weightlifting more than cardio. This program makes my knees hurt more than they have been. I really have to force myself to do the jumping jacks because I despise them. I really do (my knees just hurt so much doing over 60 in a row). I hope this glucosamine starts working soon. I don't remember how long ago I started taking it, but I'm waiting patiently!

*knocks on knee* You in there yet, glucosamine??

Anyway, how I sabotaged this program was (and I'm SO excited) was that my hubby gave me the "go ahead" to buy Turbo Jam Maximum Results! YAAY!!! He said that because I have stuck to exercising, and have done it for almost 3 months in a row, that it wouldn't be wasting money to buy it, and he said it wasn't that expensive (compared to his new $300 toy). I know it's crappy of me, but as soon as I get it, The Biggest Loser Workout is going back on the shelf for later on in the year, when my knees feel better. I know it's coming in the back of my head, so I'm not working, like this program is my last resort. I'm so excited! I can't wait until it gets here!

Today I didn't want to exercise. My in-laws left this morning, and I am just exhausted! I wanted to be up by 5:30 this morning to exercise, but my hubby "let" me sleep until 6:30. I should probably replace him with a real alarm clock on the weekends, because he always lets me sleep in. It's sweet and all, but I have stuff to do (*ahem* exercise) before our baby-doll wakes up, ya know? So I really struggled to exercise. I skipped the warm up and the cool down, and just did the Low Intensity Cardio. I really hope Turbo Jam gets here soon.... lol.

We got home at 9pm last night, so I wasn't able to workout again. I had a feeling this would happen, with relatives visiting and all, so I'm not too disappointed. At least I did something!

Hope everyone is having a great weekend and workout!

See you tomorrow :).

I can do this. I am a star.

Day 52 (day 3 / week 8)

My in-laws are in town and that puts a damper on personal time, for me to exercise. I woke up late this morning (6:30am) so I knew right away that I wasn't going to be able to let my knees/body wake up a little (takes about 15 minutes) do 40-45 minutes of exercise (how long my current workout is), take a shower, post here and then wake Logan up all by 7:30am. I decided to make this a (non)rest day, because of this. Exercise has become a habit for me now, it's no longer a chore, so I feel like I'm forgetting to do something lol. I would love Love LOVE to find some time later today to get in a workout, so if I do, I will update this blog at the bottom, and add the minutes/workout to my label :).

Today I went back to Slim in 6 and did Slim & 6pack and Slim & Limber. I did these things almost immediately after waking up, so I felt very stiff stretching, or maybe like I couldn't stretch anymore than I was. Bob gives us a thorough stretch after every workout, so maybe I am already all stretched out (lol j/k--I can be funny in the morning, right?). There isn't any bonus material on my current workout, like on Slim in 6, so I guess I will just go back to that, whenever I want to have a (non)rest day, until I advance to high intensity part of The Biggest Loser Workout (in 3 weeks).

Well I gotta go start the day! If I get a chance to get in a better workout, I'll update this! *crossing fingers* As for now, today is a (non)rest day.

Have a great weekend and a great workout!

I can do this. I am a star.

Day 51 (day 2 / week 8)

Today I did The Biggest Loser Workout plan #3. Boy, the whole plan numbers thing is confusing (if you can't tell by yesterday's post). Plan #3 works fine on my DVD, so I wont have to worry about plan #2 and #4 (this is what I should have said yesterday) for another 3 weeks (I do plan 1 and 3 for 3 weeks not plan 2).

Plan #3 is strength and sculpt. I was breathing pretty heavily. I guess it could be considered a type of circuit training, because of how fast he moves from one muscle group to the other. When I did this months ago, it was a little difficult with my 5# weights, but Slim in 6 really helped to prepare me for this, which is great. I can totally handle my hand weights now, and they aren't too heavy. I miss the daily ab work with Debbie, but am interested to see how this "shock" from changing to a totally different type of workout routine, will change my body. Part of me thinks that I will see better results with Slim in 6 than with the Biggest Loser Workout, but only time will tell. We'll find out in 6 weeks!

I can't believe it's almost the start of month 3! Can you believe it?? It's almost 3 months in! yaay!

I hope everyone has a happy Friday and a super workout!

I can do this. I am a star.

Day 50 (day 1 / week 8)

Today I decided that since it's the beginning of a week, to just change my workout now, since the workouts I am choosing to do, are based weekly. I can do this, cause it's my workout :).

I miss Debbie Siebers already lol.

Bob is easy on the eyes and makes me laugh so it's ok. He makes us do jumping jacks though, so we'll see how long and far his good looks carry him ;) (j/k).

Today I did The Biggest Loser Workout, plan #1, and boy am I sweaty! Slim in 6 made the jumping jacks much easier, but have I mentioned yet that I really don't like jumping jacks? I REALLY don't like them at all--but they are much easier (I still don't like them though). lol

I am doing the, "6-week workout plan," which has four pre-set workout plans:

#1
Warm-up
Low intensity cardio
cool down stretch

#2
Warm-up
High intensity cardio
cool down stretch

#3
Warm-up
Strength & sculpt
cool down stretch

#4
Warm-up
Boot camp
cool down stretch


Weeks 1-3, I alternate workouts #1 and #3.

Weeks 4-6, I alternate workouts #2 and #4.

I am excited to move on, but I look forward to going back and doing Slim in 6 when I am in better shape, later on in the year.

I am a little nervous about this video (The Biggest Loser Workout) not because it's hard, but because my son got a hold of the disk at some point (who knows when) and it's pretty badly scratched. I really don't want to have to stop doing this workout because they wont play. So far plan #1 is ok and doesn't skip. Tomorrow I will find out about plan #2. *fingers crossed*. If #2 works, then I wont have to worry about it for 3 weeks :).

Can you believe it's day 50 already? I'm glad time is going by fast for me. I hope it's going by fast for you too, and that you are sticking with this.

We are stars! We can do this!

See you guys tomorrow :)

I can do this. I am a star.
sorry for publishing this more than once. I am a typo queen :D

Day 49 (day 7 / week 7)

I can't believe it! I got up early to exercise, and was able to! I got up at 5:20am and started exercising at 6am. I could never understand why I can exercise in the afternoon, and not first thing in the morning, and I think it has to do something with not giving my knees a chance to wake up (lol). Today may prove my theory on this, or maybe the glucosamine is just starting to work--who knows, but I am very happy to get this out of the way. Free! Yaay!

Today I did "Burn It Up!" and I think that this afternoon I might do the Slim & Limber and Slim & 6pack during Logan's nap. I am going to add it to my labels, and if I don't do them, then I will delete them so that I don't add that up at the end of the year (yes, I plan to add up the minutes, and inches lost and number of times that I do each video). I have been updating my labels lately, and will be changing some stuff around on my blog, so it looks a little different.

Yesterday, after I posted for the day, I did go do Slim & 6pack like I said I would, and was very happy that I did.

Tomorrow will be the start of 8 weeks of exercising in a row, and I am noticing changes in my eating habits. Since I started exercising, I haven't changed what I have been eating so much (I never ate poorly to begin with), but now I see that starting to change (when eating out). Things that used to sound really good to me, don't anymore (like a Whopper with cheese, or a Quarter Pounder with cheese, french fries, etc). Last night we went to Burger King, and I had a Tendergrill Chicken Garden Salad with Light Italian dressing, and 2 of those new Burger Shots. All of this was only 580 calories (according to sparkpeople). I also finished off my son's apple fries, since he wasn't going to so maybe add 25 calories to that. The burger that my hubby got (BK Steakhouse Burger) had 950 calories! Just the sandwich itself! Brace yourselves...he ate 2! My body just wont let me eat like that anymore (not that I have ever eaten 2 steakhouse burgers before lol). When I eat large amounts of food, or really greasy foods (like french fries now), I feel really icky, and I totally think this is because I am exercising. My body doesn't want it anymore. This makes me happy :).

My hubby bought me this book maybe 2 weeks ago at Costco, called Eat This, Not That! and it's been really fun to read! I bring it along with me if we are going to eat out, and I have been learning a lot. I don't eat everything it suggests, but I really like the tips that it gives...eg:

Grill flavor is an ingredient in some Burger King items, like the TENDERGRILL Chicken Sancwich and the breakfast sausage. The "flavor" is actually partially hydrogenated soybean oil.

I ate that salad, knowing this fully well, and was going to wipe the chicken off, but figured--eh, whatever (it's already included in their nutritional values).

I think you guys would really enjoy this book. David Zinczenko also wrote a similar book but for grocery store foods. :) (there is a little sample section in this book as well).

Well off to wake Logan up!

Hope everyone has a happy hump day and a great workout! It feels great, doesn't it??

I can do this. I am a star!

Day 48 (day 6 / week 7)

I don't know why, but I have been letting myself get really distracted in the last couple of days.

Today I only did 30 minutes of "Burn It Up!" because I got distracted again. Oh well, I guess it's better than nothing, but I wish I could clean my brain out, the way I have been cleaning my apartment. Ooh! Which reminds me...

I don't know if I will count this as exercise, but I did over 2 hours of heavy house cleaning today. I was a cleaning monster today. My in-laws are coming on Friday and I am trying to get things in order for them. We aren't Clean House slobs, but we just have too many things and no where to put any of it--so I have been getting rid of some stuff, and creating homes for others. Sparkpeople.com does consider heavy cleaning a cardiovascular exercise, so maybe I wont be so hard on myself for getting distracted today. Sparkspeople.com says that I burned 461.5 calories/hour doing heavy cleaning--don't know how accurate that is, but I'll take it! My heart rate was elevated, but I don't know if it was 460 kcal/hr elevated lol.

We went to Costco the other day (we go a lot) and one of the sample carts had this stuff called Green Envy, a daily detox. It promotes proper digestion, detoxifying and cleansing your body, anti-bloating and boosting your energy and immunity because you are getting rid of the garbage toxins that your body stores. I convinced my hubby to buy it ($19 for 32 servings) and have been taking it for a few days now. I feel that since I am trying to make my outside healthier, I might as well work on the inside as well. This morning I noticed a boost in energy, which is what spurred the heavy house cleaning. There is no caffeine in it or anything, I think that my body is just able to give me the energy now, because I am getting rid of the toxins that have been stored in my body for so long. It's disgusting, and I keep it chilled. I use one of those cough syrup cups and shoot it back quickly so I don't have to taste it **dry heave**. If it gives me energy, and is cleaning out my system, then I don't mind swallowing this junk everyday, but oye it's nasty lol. It tastes just like I would imagine all of those veggies mentioned in the costco ad would taste like, blended together. *dry heave*

Anyway, hope everyone has a great workout! You all are stars for doing this with me! I just decided to do the Slim & 6pack so that I have at least done some ab work today (it's only 11 mins).

See you tomorrow!

I can do this, I am a star.

Day 47 (day 5 / week 7)

Today I did Burn It Up again, and boy was I distracted! I only did 52 minutes, because I let myself be distracted by all sorts of other things for 8 minutes!

I want to get Turbo Jam Maximum Results really badly (stupid convincing infomercials). This weekend I looked at 3 different stores for it, but they don't have much of an option for Beachbody stuff. I can easily buy it here for $59.85, but I want it in my grubby little hands now (lol) and my hubby probably wont buy it for me anyway. During those 8 minutes, I sat my butt down (tisk tisk) and watched this video (the infomercial) so that I could confirm that this exactly what I wanted (Chalene has more than one Turbo Jam video, and I was getting a little confused as to which one I actually wanted). I settled for 2nd best and bought Jillian Michaels' 30 Day Shred instead at Target for $9, because a lot of you have done it, are currently doing it or have mentioned it. I'm excited to do it. Someday I'll get Turbo Jam...someday :).

I also decided that I am focusing too much on my measurements (and looking forward to it). I am NOT going to take my measurements on Friday, I am just going to stick with my original plan of only taking my measurements at the beginning of every month. I don't want to become obsessive over losing weight/inches, and if I start focusing on the numbers again, more than I originally planned for, then it will.

I need to start trying to exercise early again (although my knees wont allow it) because my in-laws are visiting this weekend, and I won't be able to exercise in the afternoon. Please pray that I (and my knees) can find the strength to exercise early. I don't see another time in the day where I can.

Hope everyone has a great Monday and workout!

I can do this. I am a star.

Day 46 (day 4 / week 7)

I'm really glad that I took a (non)rest day yesterday, because my back and chest muscles don't hurt at all today. I was able to do my workout without the slightest hint that I was feeling achy before. I should have done this at the first indication of any achyness in my back.

Today was another busy day. We are generally pretty busy on the weekends, because my husband hates being home. We got home at 2pm, I popped dinner (crockpot chicken and dumplings) in the crockpot and then did "Burn It Up!" I am pretty bored with this, but am sad to see it go on Friday. I know that Slim in 6 is giving me some great results, so that's what keeps me doing this everyday. I can't wait to post my measurements so you can see how well it works!

Today my hubby said that my jeans are big on me now (baggy in the backside and legs). I was so excited to hear this! It's hard at this point for me to see any changes (in clothing) for 2 reasons, 1: I see myself everyday, so I won't see the difference as easily as someone that doesn't see me everyday and 2: I have only been exercising for 7 weeks, so I am not going to see any big changes in clothing yet. I can't wait until I don't have to shop for plus size clothing anymore. I probably won't buy a new wardrobe or any new clothes, until it's absolutely necessary (needing a belt for my underwear and/or pants and shirt look clownishly large) because of this. It will probably play on my psyche in a negative way to go shopping for plus size clothing, while I am exercising everyday.

I was right about my feet thinning out! I can now wear the socks I used to wear before I got preggy, and they aren't so tight that they hurt (they fit normally :)). yaay :).

I hope everyone is having a great weekend and enjoying your workouts!

I can do this. I am a star.

Day 45 (day 3 / week 7)

Right now, I have a set workout that I do everyday (Slim in 6), but I really believe that we should listen to our bodies, and let our body make that final decision for us on the intensity (in regards to soreness--not laziness ;)). Yesterday my back felt achy. Today my chest hurts, in the same spot where back feels achy, but in the front (again, probably from roughhousing with Jason--wont I ever learn??? lol). My chest is so achy that I had to take some Advil this morning, and I'm about due again (starting to get pretty uncomfortable again).

Because of how achy I still feel, I decided to make today a (non)rest day. I don't think it would be wise to lift weights, or do any push ups feeling this way. I don't want to make a small problem bigger. I did Slim & 6pack, an 11 min ab workout, and Slim & Limber, a 15 minute stretch routine, to give my achy back and chest muscles a rest. I still feel a little achy, but I feel great (stretching always does that). I can stretch a lot deeper now, and because I have both routines memorized, I can really focus on the muscle contractions (for abs) and the breath going into the muscles (while stretching), with my eyes being closed. It's a great feeling.

Hope everyone is having a happy heart day! Give your heart a gift and go do some exercise instead of giving it away :).

I can do this. I am a star.

Day 44 (day 2 / week 7)

Yesterday I was roughhousing with my hubby again (pretty hard), and I woke up feeling it this morning (yes, we still act like we are in grade school lol). I woke up at 5 because I had errands to run and I felt pretty achy for most of the morning (almost like I bruised rib). Logan was in one of his moods (again) so I put him down for a nap, and sure enough it stuck! Yaay for napping cranky children!

I did only 40 minutes of "Burn It Up" today. I guess I'm in a lazy mood, I'm cold and I am also kind of tired (I have a "tired" headache). I guess all that matters is that I exercised! yaay!

Anyway hope everyone has a great workout and a great hallmark holiday! See you tomorrow :).

I can do this. I am a star.

Day 43 (day 1 / week 7)

I am totally confusing myself lol.

On Day 35 (day 7 / week 5) I said:

I also decided today, since tomorrow starts week 6, and I am doing "Slim in 6" that I would continue phase 3 through week 7, until week 8. I am pretty sure I didn't start this series until I was a week into January anyway, so I am just balancing it out I guess.

(this font looks pretty in italics)

All week I have been saying (and thinking) that tomorrow was my last day with Slim in 6, because I started this program a week into January, and I wanted to balance it out. Well, I must have mommy brain again, cause it's not week 8 yet. I think I got way ahead of myself.

This being said I will continue to do Burn It Up! until NEXT Friday, and I will take my measurements then too (since I originally took my measurements at the beginning of Slim in 6). oye, mommy brain! (thinking about this again starts to confuse me, so I will just leave it at that lol).

Today I did only 45 minutes of Burn It Up! I was pretty busy today, and am about to go-go-go again!

Hope everyone has a great day and workout! I can't believe tomorrow is already Friday!

I can do this. I am a star. with a bad case of mommy brain

Day 42 (day 7 / week 6)

I got up earlier this morning to exercise and actually turned "Burn it Up!" on. About 5 minutes into it, my knees really started to bother me--they just wont let me exercise early grrr! hurry up and work glucosamine!--so I did Slim & 6pack instead.

I got Logan up, did our stuff, and he decided to take a nap early today (11:30 am). Yaay! So I turned "Burn It Up!" on again, and my knees were fine this time. So today I guess I exercised twice! I am so excited to see the inches go down, and it's making me eager to exercise more :).

I mentioned a few days ago that I wasn't sure if I was going to take my measurements again at the end of Slim in 6, and that I was going to ask my hubby, but he never answered my question lol. So I decided to take the initiative and took a few measurements today, to decide if I want to do them on Friday (lol I know, totally silly). Well, I am DEFINITELY going to take them on Friday, because I have lost even more inches (yes! plural!)!! Yaay!

I am really glad I stuck to Slim in 6 and I would definitely suggest it to anyone wanting to see results. It's tough but she works you up to it. I'm almost sad to see it go, because I'm seeing great results, but I will definitely go back to it later on in the year (maybe sooner than later) once I need to shock my muscles again. (I linked that expression, just in case anyone doesn't know the importance of this when it comes to seeing results :))

See you tomorrow! Hope you are as pumped to exercise as I am!

I can do this! I am a star!

Day 41 (day 6 / week 6)

Today I woke up and did my daily morning junk. I put on a pair of pants on that I haven't worn in over a month, and wow they fit different! They still fit me, but I can feel that my bottom lifts the fabric off of my thigh (i felt like i was wearing a skirt for a second lol). I also noticed that my pooch has gone down a lot. My belly button is starting to pull in, and I have not noticed that before! I was super excited to exercise today because of this :) :) :) :). I still have a large pooch, but its going down. Yaay! I feel so blessed to notice this! (seeing myself everyday, I wouldn't think that i would actually notice something like this).

I did "Burn It Up!" again, and was very happy to do it! I am looking so forward to the rest of this year. I can't wait to see the results I will have in a month, 6 months and even at the end of the year. I'm glad that time flies cause it will be here sooner than I can imagine.

Hope everyone has a great workout!

I can do this. I am a star!

Day 40 (day 5 / week 6)

Yaay! Today is the 40th day that I have been exercising in a row! Whowouldathunkit?

Today I did "Burn it Up" again, but totally punked out on the push ups lol. I was oddly thinking about my son's foot size. Where I was laying on my stomach to do my push ups was one of his socks (just 1). I went off day dreaming about how hard it is for us to find socks that fit and how the socks at the swap meet are so much smaller than the ones at the store but the numbers are a lot larger (we just bought him a size 3-5yrs sock at K-Mart that fit but bought him a size 3-5yrs sock at the swap meet over a year ago that are itty bitty--he almost wears a size 8 shoe now,and he JUST turned 2!). Anyway before I knew it, Debbie Siebers was telling us to roll over to work on our abs and then I noticed how strange the weather was. I continued to do the ab work but just thought about the bipolar weather today. It just doesn't know how it wants to be. It's snow flurries, then sunny, then horizontal snow, then sunny, now it's snowing again, but it sounds like hail on the metal awning outside (all of this since 7am and it's almost 2pm now). It's 35 degrees out according to the desktop weather channel application but whatever, not important lol.

So I guess today was a total daydream exercise day (as you can see!) lol.

I am debating on whether or not I want to take my measurements again at the end of the "Slim in 6" series (Friday is the last day) because I will be done with the series. I took my last measurements at the beginning of Phase 3, so I didn't see the benefits of it. I'll ask my hubby what he thinks.

After Friday, I am going to start The Biggest Loser Workout again. I love Bob and his tattoos :).

Hope everyone has a great week! Exercising is such a great way to start off the week and turn the Monday blues around :).
*wink wink*

Guess what! It's sunny again :) lol

I can do this. I am a star. (40 days and strong!)

Day 39 (day 4 / week 6)

For me, planning exercise can be a breeze, or extremely challenging with a toddler. It's either black and white, never gray. This is why I want to exercise in the mornings. I think tonight, if Logan lets me, I am going to go to sleep even earlier so I can attempt to exercise tomorrow morning when my hubby leaves for work. I think I need to wake up 1/2 hr earlier, than I have been (making it 5:30am :( ). If I wait for his nap to exercise, like I have been, I have to wait until he is asleep, and then just pray that he stays down the entire time I exercise. Usually he does, but today he didn't. I think Logan must be going through a growth spurt or something, because his schedule is all out of whack, and it seems to do that when he is going through a growth spurt.

Today I planned to do, "Burn It Up!" AND "Slim & Limber." I don't normally do both of them together (I save S&L for non-rest days) so I was making a big commitment today and was strangely looking forward to it. Today was one of those challenging times to plan exercise. I couldn't even finish "Burn It Up!" because Logan woke up crying, and wouldn't go back to sleep. Dada was not much help, as he played on the computer while I stopped exercising to go get Logan, but I guess Logan is my job, so I am not that surprised. Logan is still a little whiny but currently content sitting with Dada watching Wall-wa (WALL-E) as I type this.

I was able to get 20 minutes of exercise in before Logan woke up. I am disappointed and shouldn't be, because I did exactly what I said I wanted to do in my resolution: consciously exercise, and I did. I exercised, but not for as long as I hoped to. Oh Well. That's life with a toddler.

I'm not complaining though, because it could be so much worse! He could do this everyday (I count my blessings that he doesn't)! Starting tomorrow I will just plan to wake up early to exercise since I can rely on Logan sleeping then. I just pray that I can do it. I have been getting up early, but have been struggling with the exercise part. I just need to remember that God gives us the strength to do what we need to do. He has helped me wake up early, and I can rely on Him to help me to get off my butt to exercise. :)

Hope everyone has a blessed Sunday and a great workout!

I can do this. I am a star.

Day 38 (day 3 / week 6)

I don't know why I can't get into the swing of things, to exercise in the morning. I really want to. I wake up early enough, so that I have at least an hour to exercise before Logan wakes up, but I procrastinate for 1/2 hr and then say, "Nope! I'll exercise this afternoon instead." If I was just gonna do nothing, I might as well sleep in, ya know? lol.

Today I did Slim in 6's, "Burn It Up!" again and felt clunky (kind of like how I would feel if I were one of those big platform shoes that I used to wear in the 90s). I ate before and I think that's why. It wasn't a lot, but it was enough to be noticeable. I didn't feel crampy or anything, just sluggish. I got through it and that's all that matters. I thought there for a minute that I was going to stop, but I just took quick break, and then started back in again. I know that I would have been mad at myself if I stopped midway into the workout.

Now that I have stuck to this resolution, I am actually pretty excited about it. Time is flying by pretty quickly and I think that helps too :).

Anyway, hope you guys have a good workout and a great weekend! Any fun plans? It's rainy here, so we wont do anything, but check on a friends cat, since they are out of town. It's fun to watch Logan run around their house looking for their cat saying "meow? meow?" really softly. Logan doesn't know that the cat is actually hiding from him. Logan's so cute :). Have fun!

I can do this. I am a star.

Day 37 (day 2 / week 6)

I knew that today was going to be really busy, so I woke up early to exercise. I'm really tired. Usually before I workout I go onto WOWY (team beachbody) and sign in for a live exercise session. I started to do this today, but I got distracted with a friend from HS who is coming to Reno next week and asked if I could pick him up from the airport. By the time I got finished chatting with him (on facebook), it was too late to exercise and I needed to get Logan up (with cuddle time), fed, bathed and on our way to our WIC appointment. By the time I got home, I was just pooped.

This being said I made it a (non)rest day. I did Slim & 6pack (a 11 minute ab workout) and I did about 20 minutes of weightlifting with my 5# hand weights and resistance band for a total of 30 mins. I wanted to do the Slim & Limber (stretching) but I have a feeling that I will fall asleep if I do it lol. I worked my lats, deltoids, biceps, triceps,pectoral muscles and abs. They feel a little tight, so I will probably end up stretching at some point later this evening.

I am really tired and my eyes hurt so I am going to see if I can take a 15 minute nap to shake this feeling off. Logan is going to wake up from his nap any minute so if this doesn't help, I hope I get a 2nd wind here soon!

Hope everyone has a great Friday and a happy weekend workout!

I can do this. I am a star.

Day 36 (day 1 / week 6)

Today is the 36th day that I have exercised, in a row. Exercising day after day isn't an amazing thing, although I do appreciate the compliment. It's a facade to what I am really doing--documenting my new years resolution. I am just reaping the benefits of it :). I am no different than you. Underneath every blog post is a mind game that I am playing with myself, and so far I'm winning. I have gotten to know how my brain works, when it comes to exercise, through a lot of failure, tears and prayer. I found that when I exercise, to exercise, it fizzles out (like it has for a lot of you), I don't stick to it and my rest days turn permanent until my next bout of exercise.

I am not strong enough to exercise to be fit and healthy (I'm too lazy for that). I used to be, and I hope that doing this will put me in that place again. It's like, reading a book that you HAVE TO read in school (remember those?). I was NEVER able to read books because I had to. I had to want to, so in order to do that, I would have to trick my brain into thinking, "oh, I want to read this book, it's interesting and I'm interested in the civil war era and that's why I am going to read it." I would have to do this a lot, with a lot of things. I know I wouldn't be able to stick with this if I think about it as exercising to exercise, and that's why I try not to thing about it that way. I just do it. It took me many, many, many times of starting up and quitting to realize this. It's all psychological for me, of course. I am just reaping the benefits of my blog and it's great so far.

I really hope that those of you struggling out there, like me, can find what it is, to trick your brain into exercising. It's hard and I feel extremely blessed, that I found a way to trick my brain into doing it. If I didn't have this blog, and all of you supporting me, I surely would have stopped by now.

I did, "burn it up" again (no surprise) and can do the "jogging" part now. I did it yesterday, and was able to do it today. It's so silly, cause you only "jog" for like 10 seconds, through various times in the video, and then go to a brisk march. Up until now I have always done kind of a shuffle hop march, if that makes any sense. I wasn't able to get myself up off of the ground to do it, like get my feet to kick back to a jog (maybe I'm not light enough or my legs aren't strong enough) but my legs are getting stronger, so we will just chalk it up to that. It seemed harder than yesterday and I have no idea why. I guess that's just life. *shrugs* lol.

I feel great, and I can definitely tell you that if I didn't promise myself, and all of you that I would do this everyday, I would have quit when I took my measurements. It seems like so much work to see so little results, but this is only day 36. I WILL see better results the longer I do this. Try to keep that in mind when you exercise for a week and get on the scale, and don't see what you want. I promise you, if you stick with it, it WILL get better for you. If I can do this, you can too! If I am a star, so are you! Never forget that! We all just shine for different skies, and have different things that make us shine.

We can do this! We are stars!

Day 35 (day 7 / week 5)

I had an exercise invite for 5am this morning, but I totally flaked lol. I didn't get a good night's sleep, so I wanted to sleep. I exercised this afternoon after I put dinner in the crockpot and put Logan down for his nap.

For some reason my perception of "Burn It Up!" has changed in the last 2 days. I used to dread doing it in the back of my head. Doing the lunges yesterday felt good (mentally), and I did it again today. My knees popped more today than yesterday but I just tried to ignore it. Pushing through them for some reason has changed my perception of this video. I realized today that when I push through something that I don't want to do, I find myself in this zone that I used to find myself in when I was a gym rat.

I don't think I mentioned it, but yesterday I decided that I would count and do the leg kicks that I don't like, on my own, while the video is on (so I do the section in the same amount of time) and just rotate legs, instead of doing them both at the same time. Usually we do 4 variations of kicks on the right leg, then do push ups, then do the left leg, and more push ups. I think we do between 15-20 push ups each time. I can't remember exactly how many because it's different each time (like 15 and then 22). I decided to do the 1st variation with the right leg then the left leg, then 10 push ups, then the 2nd variation on the right leg then the left and 10 push ups and so on. I do 30 kicks for each variation (for a total of 120 on each leg), which I think is a little more than the video, and I do 4 sets of 10 push ups, which is also a little more than the video combined.

It's funny how if I control it on my own, I can do more than the video, but if I do it with the video, I can't do it--it has to be psychological (see I told you everything is psychological to me!) especially the push ups.

Anyway I also decided that the yoga portion annoys me lol. It's like for 55 minutes we are, go! go! go! fast, push it! and working like maniacs to just slow super down for the yoga. I am still all worked up, and can't cool down that quickly unless I stretch. So, that's what I decided to do. It feels better and I just leave the video on while I do it (playing the yoga portion in the background), and just do the Slim & Limber stretches. I have done the video so much that I have it memorized lol.

I also decided today, since tomorrow starts week 6, and I am doing "Slim in 6" that I would continue phase 3 through week 7, until week 8. I am pretty sure I didn't start this series until I was a week into January anyway, so I am just balancing it out I guess.

I guess that's it!

Hope you have a good workout and a great day!

I can do this. I am a star.

Day 34 (day 6 / week 5)

I just finished my workout and feel great! I did "Burn It Up" again, and didn't wuss out of the lunges today. Just the thought of lunges hurt my knees. I have been taking glucosamine everyday and wish it would hurry up and work! lol. I see them (on the video) doing the lunges, and I want to do them so badly I can taste it! So today I did some, but it hurt. I still did them though--that's what matters :).

I had a WOWY exercise invitation for this morning at 9am with the same person that keeps sending them to me, DaleBramall. I don't know him and have never spoken to him, but he's getting me to exercise w/out any procastination (I take it very seriously for some reason lol), so I continue to accept the invitations (he sends them maybe 3-4 days/wk). So anyway, this morning I attempted to exercise during the 9am hour, but Logan made it extremely difficult.

At first it was cute, cause he had his arms in the air, and was having fun with the resistance band, but about 10-15 minutes into it, we start doing a front kick and back kick type thing, with opposite legs. My plan was to keep Logan in front of me at all times so that I wouldn't accidentally kick him, but he noticed that I would turn around everytime he went behind me and made a game out of it. I was so worried that I was going to kick him that I stopped, and he wanted "fumbfob" anyway (that's Spongebob to any of you that don't speak toddler).

We went to the store today to gather the extra stuff I didn't have on hand for dinner for the next 2 weeks, and to make Logan laugh, I started doing lunges while pushing the cart. They didn't hurt at all, but maybe it was because I was destracted by trying to make him laugh (everything is pyschological to me lol). Maybe it was the support of the cart *shrugs* either way he laughes so hard it made people stare. I love that :).

Tonight I am making Creamy Corn and Spinach Enchiladas in the crockpot and am so excited! It looks so good (making it) and Logan helped, so it's almost a sure-fire guarantee that he is going to eat it too.

Well I need to go wake him up from his nap!

Hope you have a good day and a great workout!

I can do this. I am a star.

Day 33 (day 5 / week 5)

I did "Burn It Up!" again today, and was super pumped! I heard Logan starting to wake up 5 minutes into my workout, and decided that I would leave him there, until he absolutely protested to get out (about 30 minutes). I put my video on hold, went and got him, plopped him on the couch and was able to finish the resistance bands portion before he started crying for his snuggle time.

My plan is to finish this video TODAY, since I am more than 1/2 way done with it. The other day MizFit said that 10+10+10 mins of exercise (at different times), is 30 minutes of exercise although it's not all at one time (I remembered this as a debate in my exercise physiology classes), so I can still count it as 60 minutes of exercise, as long as I do it :).

All I need to finish is the leg kicking portion that I am not to fond of, the abs and yoga, so it won't be too hard to do. Logan is eating right now, and should be in a better mood afterward. He has had his daily dosage of Spongebob and that should be the cherry on top of it all.

Hope everyone has a great Monday and a great workout!

I can do this. I am a star.

Day 32 (day 4 / week 5)

Today I started to do "Burn It Up" but I just felt really achy and exhausted. I decided to to my "Slim in Limber" video to stretch, and then 20 minutes of strength training, with my 5# hand weights. I did, lateral shoulder raises (2/28), tricep extensions (2/28), bicep curls (2/28), push ups (3/15) and for my lats, upright rows--I think that's what it's called--(1/28).

Some of you might wonder "why 2 sets of 28 reps?" I did this because I do 20 reps normally (for muscle endurance), and then I hold the 20th, and then I do 8 reps fast = 28 :). My plan was to do the same with the push ups, but I just cant do that many at one time. I can do 15 at one time, but I'm toasted and burned after that.

I did a lot of lifting boxes again today.

I almost forgot! My measurements! I did them the same way I did a month ago, and I added some, because I...well I'm anal like that (lol). I want to know everywhere that I am losing inches. I wish I would have taken them last month because this month I am disappointed with the numbers, but they are only numbers and will continue to drop, so I wont trip out about it. I don't know if I want to post my pic, but I guess I will. I am not comfortable with it at all, but I guess I'll get over it eventually, because it will only get better...

Jan 2009

Feb 2009

(not really any difference)

Everything is measured at the thickest part, unless previously or otherwise noted.

Measurements: (day 30 / day 10) (- "/# lost)

Wt: 213.4 / 215 (-1.6#--probably water weight)
Chest: 43.5" / 43.75" (-.25")
Waist: 39" / 41.5" (-2.5")
Hips: 47.75" / 47.75" (-0")
Neck: 14.25"
Under bust: 36.75"
1" below belly button: 47.5"
below my bottom (above my thigh): 44"
R Thigh: 27"
L Thigh: 27.5"
R Calf: 14.5"
L Calf: 15.5"
R upper Arm: 14"
L upper Arm: 13.5"

so I lost almost 3 inches total. That's great! yaay! I'm not worried about, or thinking about my weight, because I know it means absolutely nothing. I haven't even been doing this for 6 weeks yet, so I am happy to even see any results! :)

Hope everyone has a great superbowl Sunday and workout if you can fit it in :).

I can do this. I am a star missing almost 3" lol.