*pat on the back*

I don't know if it's because I am pregnant now, or just because life is changing, but I look forward to my days off so much more now, than before. Before it was just like "eeh" I could give or take them. They were nice, but I didn't urn for them the way I do now.

Today I got up early (baah!), got the Monkey Boy fed, dressed and off to school. He really enjoys going to school. I just hope this new-found excitement lasts. I got my nonfat decaf blended ice mocha at Starbucks and headed home to exercise.

I procrastinated for about an hour playing my guitar (hey, it wouldn't be me if there wasn't a little bit of procrastination going on lol). I miss my guitar and singing. It sounds silly but once upon a time I used to play all the time at a guitar shop at open mic night, when I lived in Redondo Beach, CA. I used to write my own songs/poetry and used to be really artsy fartsy. When I was pregnant with my first son I used to play a lot and sing, and he came out being a really well mannered little chill boy, who loves Loves LOVES music, so I am doing it again. I don't know if it's superstition, but I enjoy it, and I believe the baby's ears are developed, so maybe he can feel/hear the guitar, the melody and my voice.



Anyway after I got that out of my system, I got to it and exercised.

One of the questions I have been asked pretty frequently in emails (sorry I am bad w/ responding) is how do I stay motivated to just get up and do it. I thought about it today, and I think about it like this: I just make it a part of my day, like I do brushing my teeth or getting dressed. I have to do it. I don't see it as an optional part of my day. On the days that I feel like I want to make it optional, I just think about how great I feel after doing it (huge sense of accomplishment!), and how I feel feel and look, after time. Before/after pictures are great motivation, and even publishing your accomplishments for all to see is great motivation also because people are so inspiring and so supportive! How can you not get out and do it again when you have people believing in you. It's awesome! That being said, thank you for all of your support. As you can see, YOU are a big part of my motivation, especially on the days that I don't want to do it :).

I was really ambitious today. I created another workout on EA Sports Active 2, with over 20 activities and this time a more well rounded lower body workout (including a warmup, cardio, strength more cardio and even a cool down). The goal was for about 30 minutes but keeping my HR below 130--as the first OB/Gyn recommended. I completed 28:34 minutes and burned 162.5 calories.

I completed most of what I signed myself up for, but skipped maybe 4 of the activities using my HR as a guide. I had a lot of cardio on there, and during the 10 min step aerobics segment, I had a really hard time keeping my HR below 125. I felt great, and didn't feel winded at all, but I guess the doc knows best, right? I even had to stop mid workout and let my HR drop a little (like she suggested), so it was a good idea that I didn't follow through with the other aerobic segment that I had. My goal was to keep my HR in the 2nd Zone (between 115-130 I think).



The other segments I skipped over were some squats and lunges. I haven't done either of the 2 for a while, and I was feeling it pretty good. I did 1 set if 16 of each--which was on the easy setting. I really thought it would have given me a set of 10 which is why I opted for 2 of each to begin with.

Anyway here is a summary of my stats. I had some pretty good goals for today, which I accomplished for the most part *pat on the back.*



Have an awesome day!

If I can do this, so can you...
You can do this, You are a star!

Remember Me?

Hi everyone! It's been a SUPER long time since my last post (months and months), and I apologize. A lot has happened, and a lot has changed for me (all good but some w/ a negative side note).

First off, I am able to get on today, because 2 hours ago I dropped my son (a 4 year old monkey boy) off for his very first day of school! It was bittersweet and really strange to be completely alone on a day off. What an odd feeling. I can do whatever I want whenever I want, again! Whatever on earth that is, I don't know, but I will figure it out in the next month or so (I hope).

Secondly I have some news. I found out a while ago, but along w/ the good news, came some disappointing news.

When I started my first 365 days of exercise, I had put some realistic restrictions on this goal--ie: i would stop if ___blankety blank___ happened (I can't seem to find the post that I mentioned this in *grumble*) . Well one of those "blank" things happened, and I was forced to stop...not by my own will, but per doctors orders. I'm pregnant! I am 5 months pregnant now, and the original ob/gyn I went to, told me to stop exercising how I was. She put some big restrictions on exercising for me, and it was just a let down. Anyway, this might explain part of my hiatus from this blog.

When I was pregnant with my first child, I was told I could continue to do the current exercise regimen I was doing, and just not to do anything strenuous (nothing that got my HR over 150) or w/ lots and lots of jumping. She wasn't too concerned with my duration either. The doctor I had started with, this time, told me to exercise no more than 2-3 days a week, no more than 20 minute per sessions (no more than 2 sessions each day), and to keep my HR below 130. What a huge disappointment! My walks alone were 30+ minutes and my HR got up into the 140s.

I thought, "ok no big deal, I have a HRM, I'll just use that to monitor my HR," since it's hard for me to tell when my HR goes over 130 (exercising w/ my HR in the 140s-150s is easy for me, for long durations). I put my HRM on, and I guess it was picking up the baby's HR also, because my HRM just freaked out, it would jump from 180-210 just at rest. I thought at first it was my HRM, so I bought a new one, and the new one did the same.

Anyway, I saw this doctor about 4 times and just didn't feel comfortable with her. A lot of the things she told me contradicted a lot of what I learned from my first pregnancy--not just in regards to exercising (I know not every doctor is the same but she literally elevated my blood pressure and annoyed every fiber of my being) and the woman never even asked me what my birth plan was, so I switched. To her partner. lol.

I haven't had the "exercise" talk with her partner yet, but I am making an effort to be compliant with my current restrictions *grumble*. Now that the monkey boy is in school, finding the time to exercise (and blog) w/out added stress is so much easier!

I remembered that my EA Sports Active 2 had a HRM built into the leg and arm sensors so I tried that out this morning. I did only about 12 minutes and did some upper body strength. I set my goals for exercising 3 days a week (but started a 4 day/week program) and set my calorie and hourly goals pretty low. It's really disappointing to take such HUGE steps backwards, but I guess I have to do what I have to do. I'm pregnant now, and that is the biggest difference from when I started this goal. I can no longer do 365 days of exercise, until after the baby is born. Hopefully I can start over in Jan 2012. For now I will just do what I am allowed, for the sake of the baby.

The baby is due December 16th, and we are having another boy, that we are going to name Matthew Alexander, after my father (Alexander is his middle name).



My plan is to update this blog on the days that the monkey boy goes to school, if I am not working, and to exercise on my set days off (for now they are Tuesday, Friday-Sunday).

My biggest goal right now is just to keep my weight down (I've only gained 13 lbs in 5 months, which is awesome compared to my first pregnancy), as I am still considered obese, and I don't need to gain much weight for this baby. (it's a parasite and will take what it needs--believe me I have plenty to give!). My first pregnancy I gained A LOT of weight, and I don't plan to do that this time. Lucky for me, my cravings are cold fruit and cold veggies (isn't that awesome!?!). As long as my new ob/gyn is ok w/ my goals, this is what I plan to do. I will see her in a month and go over it with her then.

I will still update here on what I am doing. Exercise in pregnancy is important (although my 1st ob/gyn doesn't agree) and I am sure there are a lot of preggy women out there in the same boat that I am in, so I hope this helps to keep ya'll motivated.

On top of all of this, we are trying to buy a house before the baby is born. If we can't, then our goal is to buy a house in May 2012.

So, if I can do all of this, pregnant, so can you!

See you in a few days!

I can do this. I am a star!

Day 56-74 (technical difficulties)

I'm having some difficulties with my computer and am having difficulties accessing blogger and a few other websites (they wont load properly for me). On top of that I am have been having A LOT of issues with my router (we have to reset it 3-4x a day *grumble*). On most days I can't even access my sparkpeople fitness/nutrition pages to update my exercise minutes (I don't get the pop up when I click on the "add" buttons to add to my diary) ! I have a bunch of tiny scraps of paper that I have things like "3/1/11 DDR 62/328" written on. I think it's time for a new computer :(.

Since I CAN get on right now *fingers crossed that it lets me publish* I will update now. I really hope this works. I have been keeping up my exercises daily but am still doing daily goals (having to do w/ not cheating lol).

Day 56: 2/25/11... 56 mins, 2.67 miles (walking)
Day 57: 2/26/11... 51 mins, 2.51 miles (walking)
Day 58: 2/27/11... 43 mins, 2 miles (walking)
Day 59: 2/28/11... 45 mins, heavy cleaning
Day 60: 3/1/11... 62 mins, Wii dance dance revolution (DDR)
Day 61: 3/2/11... 47 mins, 1.25 miles (walking) (my pedometer reset itself)
Day 62: 3/3/11 (our 5 year anny)... 57 mins, 2.47 miles (walking)
Day 63: 3/4/11... 60 mins, 2.84 mi and 20 mins heavy cleaning
Day 64: 3/5/11... 52 mins, 2.42 mi
Day 65: 3/6/11...62 mins, 3.33 mi
Day 66: 3/7/11... 30 mins heavy cleaning and 32 mins Wii DDR
Day 67: 3/8/11... 62 mins, 3.2 mi
Day 68: 3/9/11... 45 mins, 2 mi
Day 69: 3/10/11... 60 mins, 2.5 mi
Day 70: 3/11/11... 64 mins, 3.05 mi
Day 71: 3/12/11... 68 mins, 2.93 mi
Day 72: 3/13/11 (hubby's b-day)... 73 mins, 3.33 mi
Day 73: 3/14/11... 48 mins, 2.34 mi
Day 74: Today! 3/15/11... 54 mins, 2.91 mi

I hope I can publish this. I keep seeing the little "autosave failed" and it's making me nervous. My "H" key just popped off and won't pop back on either. lol. I guess it's just one of those days.

If I can find a decent app for my phone (my touch from T-Mobile) then I will try to update from there.

Hope everyone is well out there in bloggy land. Man, I hope this works...

I can do all things in Christ who gives me strength! (Phil 4:13)

Day 55 (I heart DDR)

Can ya'll guess what I did today? Yep. Dance Dance Revolution (DDR). This time I did it for 94 minutes and burned 482 calories. I didn't do it all at once, but throughout the day (30 min spurts).

Off to eat dinner w/ the family. Make today count! The simplest of things will do :).

I can do all things in Christ who gives me strength! (Phil 4:13)

Day 54 (Wed 2/23/11)

Another Dance Dance Revolution day. I love this game.

64 minutes, 365 calories
40 minutes, 265 calories (heavy cleaning)

I can do all things in Christ who gives me strength! (Phil 4:13)

Day 53 (tuesday 2/22/11)

It was a workday. I walked 3.08 miles in 60 minutes for exercise.

I can do all things in Christ who gives me strength! (Phil 4:13)

Day 52 *shaking fist*

Can you guess what I did for exercise today? DDR! Again. Yep. I found a new reason to do it. It seems that the songs get stuck in my hubby's head pretty easily, if I do them more than once in a row. Fun stuff. I've got all sorts of great songs to torture him with. New Kids on the Block's, "The Right Stuff (You Got It)," Rick Astley's "Never Gonna Give You Up," Coldplay the Pussycat Dolls and other really catchy songs. The Monkey Boy's fav so far is "Good Times" by Chic. I hear them singing or humming along and it just makes me laugh inside. I don't think he realizes my diabolical plan to torture him even when I am not around. All I have to do is say the word "Karen" and he thinks of the song that I often sing (after hearing that name) that Plankton from Spongebob Squarepants wrote to his computer wife Karen for their anniversary. So funny. I also sing it to my co-worker at work, cause that's her name. It would be funnier if she knew the song though.

What's that you say? You don't know it either? Well here you go!:



My son is singing this song now after searching for this video to post here lol. My hubby just squawked "See what you started?! *shaking fist*"

Anyway, my goal for the day was 400 calories and I was able to do that (405 calories) in 72 minutes.

DDR is an awesome and fun workout.

Oh my Karen, oh my Karen, ooh, my computer wife Karen...

I can do all things in Christ who gives me strength! (Phil 4:13)

Day 51 (I think I'm addicted)

Can you believe I have stuck to this for over 50 days? Yaay. It's gone by pretty quickly. I'm glad I decided to take time by the reins and take it for a ride. I feel like I am taking advantage of every single day. As I get older I feel like time goes by quicker and I regret feeling like sometimes it goes by wasted.

I think I am addicted. I did DDR again today on the Wii, and it's just so much fun. My hips were completely sore today, which is a good indicator that I touched muscles that I haven't touched in a while. I didn't know there were even muscles where they hurt! If there is muscle there, it's probably covered in fat like the rest of me, so yaay for touching it! *touch* *touch* *touch* (hopefully I can walk tomorrow lol).

I set a goal today to do the same thing that I did yesterday (roughly 60 minutes and 400 calories). I got to 60 minutes (actually 63) no problem but had only burned 327 calories. It must be the song choice *shrugs*. I decided to go longer, using calories as a target, instead of time and burned an additional 110 calories in 17 minutes--making it a total of 80 minutes and 437 calories. Yaay.

I'm done. And sweaty... I should take a sweaty picture for Jen's blog. No, not a pretty sight. I did take pictures of my dancing buddy (well the end results of my 2 workouts) . I dressed her myself. All in pink. I love me some pink.


I can do all things in Christ who gives me strength! (Phil 4:13)

Day 50 (Yaay for DDR!)

During 2009 when I did my first 365 day challenge of exercise, I accumulated quite a few exercise-at-home type videos/games. One of them was Dance Dance Revolution (DDR) for the Wii. It is a lot of fun and has all sorts of modes. Back then I couldn't do the harder/faster songs, like I can do them now, so it's even more fun than it was back then.

The mode I choose most often is the Exercise Mode, which tracks your minutes and estimated calories burned based off of your weight and accuracy with the moves (it estimates your HR). I use the Wii Balance Board and the nunchucks. It consists of hula hooping turns, hip swings (to the left, right, front and back), punches and punch/shakes (hard to explain).

Today I did 60 minutes of DDR and burned 407 calories--it might have been 404. It showed me on my last song, but didn't take me to a "yaay you completed your goal" page, like I thought it would. Anyway, it was roughly around 400 calories (I saw 40_ calories). It took me longer than 60 minutes to complete, because each song is like less than 3 minutes, and then you have to select another song, but it was fun, and it went by fast enough. My hips, ankles and calves are a little sore now.

Yaay for posting early! Now I won't procrastinate and dread the rest of the day doing it. :)

I can do all things in Christ who gives me strength! (Phil 4:13)

Day 49 (2/18/11)

Friday was a good day for exercise. I did 2 workouts on EA Sports Active 2, back to back. I worked out for about 45 minutes and burned roughly 256 calories.

I don't know if I mentioned it before, but EASA2 has a heart rate monitor, and gives you a breakdown of your heart rate during your workout. Here are the stats for my 2 workouts, and the key in how it categorizes the different HR levels.

Workout #1

Workout #2
HR Zone key:

Did you notice that I am now doing "medium" intensity, instead of easy? I can totally handle it and it rocks!!! Parts can be a little difficult still, but I can do it! I can do all sorts of stuff I couldn't do last year and the year before like jumping squats, jumping lunges, jumping anything--I couldn't really jump w/out a lot of pain before. Nothing feels better than seeing/feeling your body get stronger. The only thing that stinks about that is, now it's (my body) gonna expect more out of me, to see results. Awe man, but yaay!

I can do all things in Christ who gives me strength! (Phil 4:13)

Day 48 (2/17/11)

I can't believe I totally forgot about Thursday. I thought I had just flaked out on yesterday's post (Friday 2/18).

Oh well. What's done is done.

I got in 5978 steps in 55 minutes. It was a work day so that is actually pretty good :).

I can do all things in Christ who gives me strength! (Phil 4:13)

Day 47 (Wordless Wednesday)

I can do all things in Christ who gives me strength! (Phil 4:13)

Day 46 (2/15/11)

I did 30 minutes of heavy cleaning and walked for 25 minutes. My pedometer reset itself and I only got 2471 steps out of it.

I can do all things in Christ who gives me strength! (Phil 4:13)

Day 45 (2/14/11)

Monday 2/14/11

6941 steps in 66 minutes. It was a work day.

I can do all things in Christ who gives me strength! (Phil 4:13)

Day 44

Today I walked 5495 steps.

Off to bed. I work in the morning.

I can do all things in Christ who gives me strength! (Phil 4:13)

Day 43 (saturday)

Saturday I tried to catch up on some missed workouts on EA Sports Active 2. I did 2 of them. It was a great workout.


Before this, though, I did about 30 minutes of heavy cleaning. I also walked 4905 steps.

It was a good day for exercise. My goal was to do 60 minutes, and I surpassed that :).

I can do all things in Christ who gives me strength! (Phil 4:13)

Day 42

5136 steps in 46 minutes.

I'm off tomorrow and plan to exercise a minimum of 60 minutes. Hopefully I'll stick to it!

I can do all things in Christ who gives me strength! (Phil 4:13)

Day 41

I am so tired of blogging and I am not even 45 days into it! I am able to find the motivation to exercise (going to Disneyland again in May and want a good "after" picture to compare w/ last year's pic), but the blogging part is coming a little harder.

Today I didn't do much. I walked only a mile in 15 minutes. I guess it's a (non)rest day.

I can do all things in Christ who gives me strength! (Phil 4:13)

Day 40 (2/9/11)

Wed Feb. 10, 2011

11618 steps (roughly 5.5 miles).
I got called into jury duty and did A LOT of walking and climbing stairs. We had a 2 hour lunch and I got there almost an hour early so I walked around beforehand and climbed up and down stairs just for the exercise, waiting to be let go. I walked for a good 2.5 hours.

I can do all things in Christ who gives me strength! (Phil 4:13)

Day 39 (2/8/11)

Tuesday Feb. 8, 2011

6875 steps in 53 minutes (roughly 3.25 miles).

I can do all things in Christ who gives me strength! (Phil 4:13)

Day 38 (do something intentional)

Work. Oye. So glad it's over, so sad that I have to go back. Hopefully the day won't repeat itself.

squat + holds--10 ea
lunges + holds 3 (on each side)

not much but its something more than what I was doing last year and it was intentional.

g'n!

I can do all things in Christ who gives me strength! (Phil 4:13)

Day 37

You know what bugs me each time I do this exercise game (EA Sports Active 2)? It says at the bottom that I can go to their website for a more in-depth Workout Results, which I REALLY want to do. When I first go this, it made me create a user name so I could do this. Well when I go to the website and type in the user name I created, to get my workout results, it tells me that it's already in use. Well duh! By me! The website is making me create a new user name. What's the point in prompting me to make a user name, if I can't use it?

*shrugs*

I feel as though I have complained about this already lol. It just bugs me ;).

I get to work in the morning. yaay me.

Have a good one.

I can do all things in Christ who gives me strength! (Phil 4:13)

Day 36 (Silent Saturday)

Day 35

Today was a busy day. I went and got the Monkey Boy glasses. We did a lot of walking and while we sat (him in my lap) I decided it was a good opportunity to work on my calf muscles.

I did 40 calf raises, w/ the monkey boy in my lap (30+ lbs). Needless to say, my calves are a little sore. I guess it was another (non)rest day. I plan to catch up on my EA Sports Active 2 workouts tomorrow.

Off to bed. *yawn*

I can do all things in Christ who gives me strength! (Phil 4:13)

Day 34

This post is for yesterday (Thursday). I fell asleep when I got home from work and didn't wake up! I'm glad I did my exercising at work.

I wanted to try to use my surroundings at work. I am stuck at a desk for the majority of the day and it reminds me of this group I am in on sparkpeople (quickfire challenge). They post challenges to do at work, while sitting at a desk and such.

I sit in a rolling chair, and sometimes it can be hard to control (it's squirrely). I decided to use that as an advantage. I did push/pull always, to work my biceps, back and triceps. When you push and pull you're working all sorts of muscles at the same time. Sweet.

I did 25 push/pull thingies in my rolling chair--much harder than it sounds. I felt it mostly in my forearms.

I also wore my pedometer and did 5919 steps for 54:39 minutes.

Be back later today to post about today's exercise adventure. Gonna go search for small enough frames for the Monkey Boy (he got a prescription for glasses on Wednesday).

I can do all things in Christ who gives me strength! (Phil 4:13)

Day 33 (Wordless Wednesday)

I can do all things in Christ who gives me strength! (Phil 4:13)

Day 32

Today is gonna be a quickie.

I did alternating lunges. My legs are sore now. I LOVE that feeling (but not the next morning). I did 50, on each side, in consecutive groups of 10. Monkey Boy joined me. He's so cute.

The end!

I can do all things in Christ who gives me strength! (Phil 4:13)

Day 31

Today was an exhausting day at work. I'm so glad I don't have to go back for 2 days and that I get to sleep in. Hubby is still on call until Friday, so we might get woken up until then (I didn't sleep well last night anticipating him getting called in again).

I got home and was just bushed. Mondays at work area always really busy. I'm so glad it's over. I got home, did some walking lunges and that's it. I guess it'll be a (non)rest day. I just want to go to sleep. Can I just say though, that I am super surprised that I can do walking lunges??? I haven't done those since high school volleyball. It's a good sign that I'm getting stronger! I couldn't even do them in 2009 when I felt like I was in better shape than I am now.

I did 5813 steps at work for 54:22 minutes. Funny how it's always around the 5K mark.

Off to bed.

I can do all things in Christ who gives me strength! (Phil 4:13)

Day 30 (1 down 11 to go!)

I have to tell you that all day today, while at work, I was looking forward to coming home to exercise. Today is the 30t day of the 30 day challenge that I have been doing! I was excited to see how it would end.

I knew I would receive a trophy for completing the challenge, but I didn't know if there would be fireworks or something (lol--Wii Fit would do something like that). There wasn't. It was just Bob Greene congratulating me for completing the challenge. He flips his hair around, his mouth has A LOT of expression in it and his hands are extremely animated when he talks and that's all I can really focus on. LOL. Yes, I'm one of those. I do that when we watch the news and it probably drives my hubby crazy, cause I always have to point something out.

So I got a new trophy (for completing the challenge) and it was nice and shiny. I love me some shiny. It should have been pink though. lol. I bought this game in 2009 when I did my first 365 days of exercise, and I don't think I have ever completed the "30 Day Challenge" in one shot, so this is a yahoo moment (it's about time!). I really thought I did this in 30 days or less but it I didn't get that trophy, so I will have to try again for it in the coming months. Maybe if I do it tomorrow, I will get it. We'll see.


So I am excited to say that I have completed my first medium sized goal in 2011--to complete the 30 day challenge on EA Sports Active :). Yaay! 1 month down, 11 to go!

It was 14 minutes and I burned 94 calories.

I also wore my pedometer to work (the one that sleeps on the job) and it said that I did 5301 steps in 52:43 minutes.

I have to work again tomorrow so I'll be back in the evening.

Make it count! This year is already flying by pretty fast already. Can you believe it's almost February?? Soon it will be April and then it will be July again! I can't believe how fast time goes by.

Take care.

I can do all things in Christ who gives me strength! (Phil 4:13)

Day 29 (1 day left!)

Today was my day off and I completely forgot that my MIL was giving me my birthday present today--a photo shoot of my son (he just turned 4). I exercised first thing when I got up, like I planned, but then we headed to the mall and I put on my pedometer (the spiffy one I mentioned yesterday) because I knew I would be doing A LOT of walking.

At home I did EA Sports Active's 30 day challenge (can you believe I have only 1 day left???) and that ended up being 12 minutes burning 68 calories.

I am surprised and a little disappointed w/ my spiffy pedometer, because I think it falls asleep on the job and doesn't keep track like it should. I noticed it this morning when I was outside with the monkey walking, while he was riding his bike. I walked down the street and up again, and it said I took like 4 steps. What the hizzy yo?

So when I got home from the mall, I looked at it (from being there for 4--count'em 4 hours!) and it said 4050 steps and that I was only moving for 43 minutes. *buzzer* wrong answer. Maybe it needs a new battery. Maybe I'll have hubby do that tomorrow while I'm at work and wear my dino pedometer (it's old).

Ok well I'm off to bed. Have a good weekend!

I can do all things in Christ who gives me strength! (Phil 4:13)

Day 28 (If I can do it, so can you!)

Today was another workday. I guess I mention this because I want to show people out there that it is possible to work full time, have a family and fit exercise in, even if it is just a short amount. I work 12 hour shifts, have a mentally taxing desk job and can do it. If I can do it, so can you!

My family is very supportive in that they (my 4 year old son and hubby) let me exercise when I get home from work. It's truly a blessing because I get to take care of myself, and get to show my son, by example, how important exercise should be, and how important it is to make time for, no matter what's going on in your life.

Today I wore a special pedometer that I bought in 2009 during my first challenge. It keeps track of steps, calories burned (don't know how accurate this part is though), miles, time and length of time that you are moving. Today I only did 4987 steps, and was in motion for a total of 49:54 (out of 12.5 hours, isn't that sad?). It said I burned 151 calories.

I got home and put in EA Sports Active. I like that I can speed through it. Today's workout only took me 11 minutes, and I burned 74 calories. It was a lot of jumping. Jumping that I couldn't do when I first got this game in 2009. It's amazing how much of a change I see in myself over the last 2 years. It's great.

I also discovered that a co-worker that did the HCG diet recently (with his wife) has a website that he sells it on now (the stuff my other friend from work gave to me, that I mentioned here previously)! More on this later... very exciting stuff though.

Off to bed. I'm off from work tomorrow so I plan to get this done earlier than later (lol we'll see).

I can do all things in Christ who gives me strength! (Phil 4:13)

Day 27 (short but sweet)

Doh! 27 days in and I forget to blog? Oye. I realized this at 11:30pm, while 1/2 asleep. lol.

1/27/11 I did EA Sports Active and it only had me do 14 minutes. I burned 79 calories (thank goodness for my sparkpeople fitness tracker--I wouldn't have remembered this!). It was an arm day.

Off to work! Be back tonight.

I can do all things in Christ who gives me strength! (Phil 4:13)

Day 26

Today was an exhausting day at work. The day just couldn't end soon enough for me.

My goal for exercise today was to get in 10,000 steps. For those of you that don't know, I changed jobs last year. I am not working on the floor as a CNA anymore but now as a Monitor Tech/Unit Secretary for the same department I was working for (I'm forced to stay at my desk unless I can find someone to cover me). I stare at heart rhythmns all day looking for changes (I work on a critical care unit) and entering doctor's orders on the computer.

As a CNA I was on my feet for a minimum of 10 hours and on an average day walked 14k-16k (6.6-7.5 miles) steps. The job I have now is pretty sedentary. I sit for the majority of the day, so getting in 10k steps on a work day seemed like a good challenge to me. It sure was!

I didn't quite make 10k steps, but I got close. 9322 steps (4.41 miles). Not bad for sitting on my butt all day at work. I did walk a lot more today than I usually do. I wore my pedometer to work last week and barely hit 3200 steps. Not bad at all :).

I'm ready to go to bed. I'll be up and ready to do EA Sports Active first thing in the am.

Have a good night!

I can do all things in Christ who gives me strength! (Phil 4:13)

Day 25

Today I had to go to work so I couldn't exercise until after I got home. I did EA Sports Active (1) again, and this time it had me do 15 minutes and burn 106 calories.

I was able to obtain my first set of lab work to compare with what I have now, and my numbers are definitely looking better. I'll post more details on my day off, but there is a difference of 24lbs to begin with, so that's a nice drop in number.

I'll be back tomorrow night after work again. This is my last week of my 30 day Challenge on EA Sports Active, so that's exciting to see a goal come to an end.

Have a good night!

I can do all things in Christ who gives me strength! (Phil 4:13)

Day 24

Today I woke up and exercised first thing (I love when I do that). I did EA Sports Active again and this time it was only 14 minutes and I burned 84 calories.

It was a busy day with a doctor appointment for the Monkey Boy (poor thing is sick a lot). He has more medicine and has to do his breathing treatments again (poor thing cried and cried). My hubby is upset that he has to take all of these meds (he needs glasses too), but I just feel blessed because we CAN afford his medicine and CAN afford to take him to the doctor when he is sick (since it is so often). I guess it is just bitter-sweet.

So I am still waiting for my syringes to come in to use with the HCG that I got in a few weeks ago (I wonder what is taking so long???). I took my HCG (homeopathic) this morning and saw that I only have a few days left. After talking it out w/ hubby, and seeing my weight not increase too much over the last few days, we both decided to stop until I know I have a steady supply (when the syringes come in). It would stink to run out and not have the syringes yet. I'm maintaining my weight in the 180s for now, and decided to not be in such a rush (although I do want to have another baby soon). I have a good low sugar/high protein shake that I will start drinking for breakfast, and am being very adamant about taking my vitamins (stupid vitamin deficiencies). It will be whatever God wants it to be. He has given me the strength thus far. I just feel blessed that I just have so much support around me to accomplish whatever it is that I want to do, and that I have a fighting spirit to not give up.

Off to bed. These late night blogging sessions have to stop. Guess that will go on the list of things to work on also. At least I got the late night exercise sessions to stop being a regular thing (on my days off).

Good night!

I can do all things in Christ who gives me strength! (Phil 4:13)

Day 23

Today is my birthday. I'm now 33! It's also the last day that I can't take HCG, yaay (it's been a rough week w/out it)! Since I haven't been able to take HCG hubby convinced me that I should go the alternate route (advised from a doctors office) and go off of the low calorie diet, and just do phase 3, when I can't take it. It's the best thing for my health right now, and I am not seeing any severe repercussions so it's all good (long, boring story). Tomorrow will be right as rain again.

My hubby surprised me with flowers this morning when I woke up (pretty pink and purple ones that remind me of my wedding bouquet), and I was greeted with a BIG happy birthday from my little boy when he woke up with a very hoarse voice (he's sick AGAIN). We went to lunch, shopping and came home and chillaxed for a little while cause the little one was in a crabby mood (can't blame him). We went to dinner, came home and I exercised.

I did the EA Sports Active (the first one) and did 18 minutes worth and burned 111 calories.

It's late and although the little boy is sick, we had a good day. I even got a group picture out of it (I can never get a decent picture w/ the Monkey Boy anymore).



Off to bed. Hope you had a great weekend and made it count!

I can do all things in Christ who gives me strength! (Phil 4:13)

Day 22

Today was a family day for us (weekends when I am off usually are). We walked all over today, for the most part window shopping. I forgot to wear my pedometer so I am not sure how far total (I walked more today than the average day.)

After getting home pretty late I did some speed heavy cleaning. Have you ever done that? It's fun. It was a completely conscious thing (doing it purposely) so I could totally feel my heart pumping as I was doing it. I also did some lunges and squats to pick things off of the floor. Monday was my son's birthday so it looks like a little Tasmanian Monkey Boy hit this place. It was nice to get this place in some sort of order again.

I guess I would call today a non-rest day, as I didn't pop in my EA Sports Active (it's a rest day there) and do my usually stereotypical exercises.

Off to bed.

I can do all things in Christ who gives me strength! (Phil 4:13)

Day 21

Today was a LONG day. It was non stop almost from the moment I woke up, until now. I am glad I exercised first thing this morning, or I would be stuck doing it now, when I am very grateful to have my bed waiting for me.

I had a doctors appointment this morning and got some news that I didn't expect, at all. Some good stuff, some not so good, but either way I have a new reason for losing weight. I'll talk more about that later. It's a bit embarrassing because I feel like I have been naive to a certain part of my life. *shrugs*

Anyway today I did the EA Sports Active (1st one) for 19 minutes and burned 125 calories. I weighed in today at 184.8 and lost some inches.

It's late so I'm gonna hit the sack. Have a good weekend!

I can do all things in Christ who gives me strength! (Phil 4:13)

Day 20... Man, I love me some pink + sparkly!

It was a long day at work and I just finished exercising (it's always a long day at work having to be there for over 12 hours). Today was my last day until Tuesday. Yaay! My birthday is this weekend and so I'm happy to have it off although I don't have any special plans. Hubby already spoiled me this year with my pink bling bling swarovski license plate frame, pink sub woofer and amp (accent colors on my silver '08 Scion XB are black and pink+sparkly ;)--did ya'll know I was into cars?) and by letting me buy EA Sports Active 2. What a generous hubby I have!

Today for exercise I did EA Sports Active (the first one) for 19 minutes and burned 125 calories. I am more than 1/2 way completed with my 30 day challenge and can see a change in my strength and endurance. I can totally do things this time around than I could previously. It's amazing how much more easily you can move when you have less junk hanging on you (aka fat). It was a good day for exercise.

I weighed in this morning at 185.2 (yaay). That's all I'm gonna say about that. I currently cant take HCG due to a protocol restriction at the moment and I am bumming on that (there are surprisingly a few reasons why Dr. Simeons says you should take HCG). Oh well. A few more days and I can start again.

On another note, I realized what my problem is, and I just need to meditate and pray on it. Prayer helps find all answers. I need to take this to heart and just do it. Tomorrow I have a doctors appointment with my awesome doctor to get the results of my (pre HCG--round 3) blood work, and get my ultrasound results. Then I have a nail appointment (time for some different pink and sparklies!). Then I'm going to Costco to stock up on asparagus and all that good stuff I can eat. Joy.

Plan to exercise in the morning, but we'll see about the actual blog post.

Take care!

I can do all things in Christ who gives me strength! (Phil 4:13)

Day 19 (it was my stinkin' FIL (hehe))

So I just polished off 14 minutes and 86 calories on the Wii with EA Sports Active. I really didn't want to, but I knew it would end sooner than it would take me to whine about doing it, so I just sucked it up and did it.

So the last few day's I haven't mentioned weight/measurements because I was on a scheduled break and was cheating. Those numbers usually aren't too pretty. I did an apple day yesterday (cheated last night, ugh!) but had a revelation. Why should I not cheat? It's not because I want to be successful so that I can have a baby sooner than later...it's because my stinkin' father-in-law is doing it (the HCG diet--his 1st round, my 3rd)...and he is NOT cheating! If he can do it I can to. What the hizzy yo!?! pssht.

So today I did NOT cheat (can you believe that's what it took?). I had an apple day (ate apples all day again) but for dinner I had chicken. Just chicken. I feel pretty good. Tired from an exhausting day at work (super busy), but that's to be expected.

I don't remember what I weighed on Monday (forgot to write it down, doh!).
Tuesday I weighed in at 189.6
Today I weighed in at 187.4
Boy, at this rate, it feels like Christmas waiting for tomorrow morning to come! lol. I'm glad those cheats/scheduled break didn't hurt too badly.

Tomorrow will be interesting though, because I haven't been shopping and don't have any HCG approved veggies in the house. When I get home from work, that's usually a dangerous time for me (I just want to eat). Wonder what I'll do. My last round I was experimenting with fresh/frozen edamame. It's high in protein and I was finding several sources that said it was high in fiber and low enough in starch. I don't have any iodine to test it myself. Anyone experiment w/ it and have results? We'll see. Hopefully the strength from today will spill on over to tomorrow.

Off to bed.

I can do all things in Christ who gives me strength! (Phil 4:13)

Day 18 (a twofer)

I worked today, went and picked the boy up at Nana and Papa's house (STILL waiting for Hubby to get home and it's 10pm!), came home, waited some more for Hubby, video chatted with him for a few minutes and then got to some exercise.

I have a lot of energy today. I am surprised because it's an apple day--in my previous rounds, apple day's always made me feel yucky w/ low energy (not today!). I threw on EA Sports Active (the 1st one) and did 15 minutes and burned 94 calories. After that was done, I threw on the 2nd one (can you believe it?!?) and did an additional 17 minutes and burned 77 more calories.

I guess I'm gonna hit the sack! Have to work again tomorrow so it'll be another late post.

I can do all things in Christ who gives me strength! (Phil 4:13)

Day 17 (Happy Birthday Monkey Boy!)

Today is my son's 4th birthday. Happy Birthday Monkey Boy!!!

It was his special day and I let him do whatever he wanted and went wherever he wanted (usually he's full of "great ideas" but today he needed some help). He wanted to go to IHop for breakfast--I had one of the healthy option omelets w/ mushrooms, egg substitute and tomatoes--and I took him to Target to pick something special out for his birthday. He just didn't seem that into it, so I took him to Toys R Us also. He seemed a little off all day (not as energetic) and I didn't think much of it until late afternoon when we were playing at home. The poor thing ended up w/ a fever (low grade). He's better now (broke it by himself), but poor thing. How sucky to not feel 100% on your special day. He seems like he's better than he was earlier, but he's still not himself.

Anyway I did some random exercises today. Lunges, squats, side lunges, torso twists...I tried to do some jump squats, but my left knee was just not as willing as I was. I am still a little sore from yesterday, which really surprises me.

Today was a scheduled break from HCG. I wanted to let the Monkey Boy eat where ever he wanted, w/out mama's restrictions and it wasn't a bad day (for me). I take that back. Dinner was at Cici's and that wasn't the best, but he was happy and he ate well.

Have to work in the morning. Be back tomorrow evening.

I can do all things in Christ who gives me strength! (Phil 4:13)

Day 16

Today was such a busy day. I knew it was going to be challenging to get up early enough to exercise (seeing that I love sleep so much) and I didn't. I decided then to use what I had learned during my previous 365 days of exercise, and use what I had to make exercise.

I ended up doing about 90 minutes of speed walking today. My legs are SORE (I didn't expect this at all). I sped walked on purpose (I didn't have to, but I like to embarrass my hubby in public lol). We had a lot of errands to do today before meeting up at Chuck E Cheese (we had my son's 4th birthday party today there) and I sped walked everywhere we went. It was about 10-15 minutes in each spurt, so it wasn't consecutive. It was like my own personal Quickfire Challenge (you usually spread them out throughout the day). Good stuff.

I woke up weighing the same again. I'm not surprised. Actually, I am kind of, because I thought I would have gained (all the cheating). I do have some GREAT news though. I didn't cheat at chuck e cheese today! Can you believe it? We had cupcakes, cookies and pizza and I didn't touch any of it! The day wasn't a total success though as I did cheat once I got home, but last night I had decided to make today and tomorrow (Sunday and Monday) a scheduled break in the diet, because I knew the temptation would be too strong. My cheats were all w/in phase 3 limitations though, so that's not that bad. So that being said, I am pretty happy w/ myself. Today had huge potential to be a total train wreck for me.

Tomorrow morning I am going to take my son to IHop for breakfast because it's his birthday. I will probably have an egg white omelette and maybe some turkey bacon (all phase 3 legal--hopefully there won't be too much damage!). We'll see. Maybe tomorrow will be the day that I find my will power again.

Have a good night!

I can do all things in Christ who gives me strength! (Phil 4:13)

Day 15 (I really must stop cheating. like. forreally.)

I'm so...tired. Must...sleep. Must stop cheating... :(

I almost fell asleep exercising. I waited too late to start. I did the EA Sports Active 2 for 17 minutes--I was really impatient tonight...just wanted it to be over and done w/ so I can be 1 step closer to my bed--and burned a whopping 83 calories! wow. How impressive is that?

This morning I weighed in the same as yesterday, but lost inches I think on my hips and somewhere else (wanna say my leg??). I forget where off hand, and am too tired/lazy to go find my phone to get those numbers. I'm sure it's dead where ever it is. I'll just update w/ tomorrow's blog in the morning (yes, I am committing myself to exercise early, before I do anything else).

Good night! DLTBBB!

I can do all things in Christ who gives me strength! (Phil 4:13)

Day 14

Man I'm so tired. I worked today and didn't get the best sleep last night. I had to force myself to do something. It wasn't much, but it was better than nothing at all.

I did the EA Sports Active (1) tonight. I wanted to do #2, but I promised myself that I would finish the 30 Day Challenge and I want to stick to it. I did 13 exercises, burned 52 calories in 9 minutes. It was a lot of leg stuff. It said it was an arm day, but it was totally legs (why is it so backwards??). Some basketball drills (arms/lunges), alternating lunges, squats, squat holds and some shoulder presses (maybe that's where they get the arm day from *shrugs*).

Off to bed.

Oh! I almost forgot.

R3P2D5 (Round 3, Phase 2, Day 5)

This morning I weighed in at 186.8 despite my cheating (-3.8 off of my start weight, -8.8 off of my highest weight from my load days)...

*sigh*

I cheated again today :(. I guess I'll try harder tomorrow. One of these days the cheating is gonna catch up w/ me...

Bust: 37.5 (-1)
R Arm: 11 (-0)
Waist: 33.5 (-1.5)
Hips: 42 (-1)
R Thigh: 21 (-0)

Ok this time I'm off to bed, for real.

GN! DLTBBB!!

I can do all things in Christ who gives me strength! (Phil 4:13)

Day 13

I got a new toy! Last night we went to Target and they had EA Sports Active 2 on sale--40% off! I have been eying it for some time and hubby said I could buy it (an early bday present to me).

So this morning I woke up, did the original EA Sports Active, and then popped in #2. My USB thingy was faulty so it wouldn't let me use it. It tracks the info transmitted from the heart rate monitor and sensors that come with the game. Totally cool game (comes w/ a HRM?!? How awesome is that!). Needless to say I was disappointed that I couldn't do anything w/ it.

I called the customer service number and they said to send it back to them, and they would replace it (he said it was a pretty common problem w/ EASA2). I decided to just go back to Target and exchange it there, since I really want to play this thing. The replacement was not faulty and I was able to use it. Yaay!

I did the original for 21 minutes, burning 129 calories, and the EASA2 for 18 minutes and burned 91 calories. The 2nd one is different than the first. The first starts off w/ cardio (running or the like) and the 2nd starts w/ like a warm up-warm up (like active stretching), and ends with stretching. It has a real warm up and cool down, and tracks your HR the entire time--you actually see it up on the screen. Pretty cool.

Anyway, as far as my diet (R3P2D3) I'm not doing that great! Although my weight and measurements were the same as yesterday, that isn't real great. I think this round has been the toughest for me. I totally cheated last night and again today (I didn't do this w/ Phase 1 + 2). I would say that I don't know what my problem is, but I do. I was eating pretty healthy before I started round 3, and to go backwards and eat all of the "forbidden" foods to load w/, made me realize what I have been missing out on. It gave me a taste of stuff that I had forgotten that I liked. REALLY liked :(. I totally blew it again today, because I said that if I didn't gain, I wouldn't cheat... but I did, but only towards the end of the day. I was totally good until hubby got home and made something for dinner for him and the Monkey Boy, and I wanted a bite of. And I did. Then another and another, and by the time my fish was done cooking, I was pretty much full.

Oh well, I guess I will just try again tomorrow. It'll be easier because I have to work, and being confined to a desk makes it easy to not cheat. I know I can do it, if I can just make it a few days w/out cheating (lucky for me I work for the next 2 days). I will have to be really strong after that, because it's The Monkey Boy's birthday, and well, you know what goes w/ birthdays. Cake and/or cupcakes.

I'll be back tomorrow evening. Hope everyone has a good night!

I can do all things in Christ who gives me strength! (Phil 4:13)

Day 12

Today I did the Wii Fit Plus, as it is a "rest day" on EA Active Sports. I did 30 minutes and burned 109 calories. I want to continue to exercise, but I don't want to overdue it while I'm on this diet.

R3P2D2 (Round 3, Phase 2, Day 2)

This morning I weighed in at 188.2! Sweet.


Bust: 38.0 (-0.5)
R Arm: 11 (-0)
Waist: 34 (-1)
Hips: 42.5 (-0.5)
R Thigh: 21 (-0)

Not bad! We will see how tomorrow goes. Off to wake the Monkey Boy up!

Have a good day. Make it count!

I can do all things in Christ who gives me strength! (Phil 4:13)

Day 11 (17 squared)

Today I saw a theme with exercise. 17. I did 17 exercises for 17 minutes and burned 117 calories (EA Active again). Fun stuff, huh? It said I was gonna focus on my arms again, but it was just a bunch of lunges in different directions.

R3P2D1 (Round 3, Phase 2, Day 1)
I weighed in this morning at 193.4 (*tear*) but didn't do my measurements. I'll start tomorrow. I Did 2.25 load days--2 load days and load dinner last night because I burned my fish *grumble* (I've never burned anything in my life until now! What the hizzy yo?). Yesterday I weighed in at 195.6 so I actually dropped!

Today for breakfast I had coffee and a honey crisp apple (yum!!)
for lunch I had a salad : dark green romaine w/ cherry tomatoes and ground chicken
for dinner I had garlic halibut and french cut green beans (I ran out of asparagus) cooked in some fat free chicken broth.

I also drank 5 bottles of water (17 ozs)

I couldn't help myself because they were staring me in the face--I also had 2 chocolate chip cookies. Hubby made me throw them away *cry*

Doesn't sound like a lot, but I feel great! Of course I took my HCG. I wouldn't eat like this w/out it.

I worked today, it's getting late and I want to snuggle w/ the hubby before bed. Be back tomorrow.

I can do all things in Christ who gives me strength! (Phil 4:13)

Day 10 (a long time ago)

It feels like I exercised such a long time ago that it feels like I didn't exercise. It was only this morning, and I was done by 9am. Sweet.

I did EA Active Sports and burned 114 calories for 18 minutes. Later this afternoon I got into a cleaning frenzy and did some heavy cleaning for maybe 90 minutes. When hubby got home, he could tell because he said "wow, someone has been busy" lol. I guess that's a man's way of saying it looks nice :).

I had my ultrasound of my thyroid today (I thought it was Saturday but I guess I was wrong) but wont know any results until Jan 21st. Maybe.

Have to work tomorrow, so off to bed.

Have a good night!

I can do all things in Christ who gives me strength! (Phil 4:13)

Day 9 *shrugs*

Today's gonna be a short post. The Monkey Boy and Hubby are waiting for me to watch Mr. Bean.

Today I did the Wii Fit Plus. It has...I forget what they are called, customized workouts or something like that. You just tell it what you want to work on (posture, legs/hips, arms, overindulge, etc) and it gives you workouts (you can have up to 3+ for each) based on your selections.

I did 15 mins worth and burned 77 calories.

Today is day 2 of Phase 1 (HCG Diet--Round 3). It's my 2nd load day and I feel like I am gonna pop. Yesterday I ate ALL day and pretty much fatty crap foods. I gained only 1 lb. *shrugs*. If I eat healthy and exercise, I gain TWO lbs. Eat crap all day, gain 1. *shrugs.* At least it will be gone soon.

Be back tomorrow.

I can do all things in Christ who gives me strength! (Phil 4:13)

Day 8

Today is another late day. I just finished EA Sports Active and it's almost 10pm! I'm just glad I did it. I think it was supposed to be a "rest day" because it mentioned something about rest days --I aimlessly hit the "A" button so I didn't catch what it said--but it gave me a workout anyway. I'm pretty sure the pattern is 2 on 1 off, and today was a 3rd in a row. Anyway it was focusing on upper body, was 16 minutes and I burned 99 calories.

I noticed something today when we were out and about. I'm not sore! I don't know when this happened, but it just feels like I have recently used my muscles, like I have muscles (I am more aware of them again lol).

I woke up this morning w/ a 2lb gain, so I'm back to around the +10lb mark (I started the week off at 180). I really don't get it. I decided to go ahead and start w/ Round 3 (starting off w/ the homeopathic HCG that a friend from work gave to me). Today was load day 1 (tomorrow is the last). People talk about how there are 2 really awesome things about this diet--the load days and the weight loss. Although I do agree w/ one of them, it's not the first. The load days are torture to me. Stuffing myself and eating all the stuff I normally don't eat isn't as great as you'd think it would be. The HCG makes me feel full too, although I'm sure tomorrow will be a whole lot worse. The positive part is that the Monkey Boy is having a growth spurt so he is eating a lot to and that makes me VERY happy (who isn't happy when their baby dolls eat?). Here are my stats, although I'm a little embarrassed to be throwing them out there in the wind:

190.4 (ugh!!!!!!)
Bust: 38.5
R Arm: 11
Waist: 35
Hips: 43
R Thigh: 21

This is my 3rd round and I am wondering how my body will react. My first round, I lost a lot pretty quickly. My second round was pretty sluggish, but I still lost a fair amount of weight. Since I started this resolution (again) I have gained 10lbs, so I just want it off. If...when I get down to my magic number, then I want to try to have another baby. That's the whole reason why I'm doing this again. I want people to know that I'm pregnant when they look at me. Not that I'm just a "rolly pollie."

Off to bed!

See you tomorrow. The plan is to get this done and over with, sooner than later ;). We'll see.

I can do all things in Christ who gives me strength! (Phil 4:13)

Day 7 (Stickers!)

Today I woke up and exercised right away. I did EA Active Sports on the Wii, in medium intensity. It was 23 minutes and I burned 153 calories.

There was a point where I wanted to just stop (jumping squats...ugh!) and my little boy was a great motivational coach! He told me "just do it" and I said "I can't" (reversed roles this time) and he kept telling me I could do it, and then he said that I would get a prize if I did it. So I did and my prize was a sticker wad lol. How sweet is that. I <3 my Monkey Boy.

Today I procrastinated w/ blogging. 1030pm and I'm just getting around to it. lol oh well. Oh! My partial egg day worked. I lost 2 lbs, so I didn't start round 3 today. Maybe tomorrow. I keep putting it off because technically I shouldn't start until the 10th, but I want 2 days at home so that I can load properly and I have to work on Tuesday (hard to do a load day when you are confined to a desk). We'll see what tomorrow brings. If I gain again, maybe a day or 2 early won't hurt.

OK off to bed, after I finish playing Bejeweled 3.

I can do all things in Christ who gives me strength! (Phil 4:13)

Day 6 "You made that look easy"

Duh, maybe that's because it was! I just got finished doing Wii's EA Sports Active and it focused on upper body strength. It was only 16 minutes long and I burned 92 calories. "You made that look easy" was the last thing that my "trainer" said lol (so dumb).

I guess I'm done. It's late, I'm tired and I exercised. I'm just happy I am sticking to this. I feel like it never stopped, with the blogging and the procrastinating and the working... like I am back in the same place that I was at the beginning of last year. *shrugs*

Oh! I gained ANOTHER 2 lbs. What the hizzy yo? I did a partial egg day, eating 8 egg whites and a large chicken salad for dinner. It came w/ dressing on it, so I was a little bummed about that, but whatever. I'm really considering starting HCG tomorrow. If I gain again in the morning, I'm definitely going to start. I havent gotten my order in yet, but a friend from work gave me the homeopathic drops that she had (she had an allergic reaction to it. yikes!). Isn't that nice of her?

Ok off to bed. See you tomorrow! Hope everyone is well and blessed!

I can do all things in Christ who gives me strength! (Phil 4:13)

Day 5 What the hizzy?

Today I did the Wii Fit again (it's an actual rest day on EA Active Sports--I checked twice lol). I did one of the Wii Fit Plus routine thingies. It was 41 minutes long (but took like an hour!) and a mixture of cardio (running), hula hooping (which I suck at btw), strength training (squats, lunges etc) yoga and posture/balance/relaxation stuff (a lot of it is standing still and focusing on not moving at all--not easy for me to do I guess lol).

Anyway I got it over and done with. Yaay. Now I can relax.

I made an interesting observation this morning...actually yesterday morning, but I wanted to see if it was just a 1 day thing. Since I started exercising daily, I have been gaining weight daily. I am so used to weighing myself daily from the HCG diet and staying within the +/- 2 lbs that it stuck and I continue to do it. Day 1+2, it was like +.6lbs, yesterday and today have been a whopping 2lbs a day increase! Protocol calls for a steak day, but I can't do red meat (it makes me gain even more) so I guess I'll do an egg day. What the hizzy though? You would think exercise would help you lose. The other thing that bugs me is that my pants are tighter! I will be starting the diet on the 10th...I'm REALLY tempted to start early, but I should follow the protocol and do the 8 wks I'm supposed to (I'm about to start phase 3). Whatever. We'll see. It's only been 5 days. If I continue to gain, I'll just quit the whole thing.

Haha! I'm TOTALLY j/k. I'm not gonna quit. Especially since I already know that I can do this. I'm a star! (deja vu).

Working tomorrow, so it'll be a late post.

Have a good night!

I can do all things in Christ who gives me strength! (Phil 4:13)

Day 4 is procrastination day!

It's 10pm and I JUST finished exercising. I thought for a second that I was going to blow it. I did the EA Active Sports 30 Day Challenge (day 2). I think this thing is playing mind games, because I swore I read AND heard her (my "trainer") say that we were focusing on upper body today, but all we did were various lunges (reverse lunges w/ a leg lift, side lunges with toe points and forward lunges). In my book, this counts as a leg day. We did some tennis drills, shoulder stuff and bicep curls too, but a lot more leg stuff. I exercised for only 22 minutes and burned 140 calories.

I was able to get in to see my doctor today and am so happy! It's the first time I have seen this doctor for personal reasons (I see her at work often) and was a little nervous. A while back I had mentioned here that I was doing the HCG diet and saw great results (have lost 40 lbs total) and wanted to discuss it with my doctor. I want to get blood work done again to compare with my previous lab work as an "after" and kind of as a "before" as I plan to do it again soon. My last doctor was completely "anti" so I was afraid of what her reaction would be.

She was 100% supportive and on board! She even offers the HCG diet in her office for $300 though--I buy mine online for $56 (3-5000IU ampules) and the supplies for $30-45 depending if I'm doing injections or sublingual AND this lasts me for 45 days. I'm seeing great results and have had no ill effects. She said that the research is 60 years old and no one wants to put in the effort to challenge his research. She follows the book Dr. Simeons wrote (like I do) and was so supportive. I was stoked! I am getting lab work done tomorrow and will compare it to what I had done before I started on the HCG diet with my previous doctor. When I have results, I will share them. Maybe. lol. Oh, and my sinus infection is almost gone (the whole reason why I went in the first place!). Double yaay.

I'm sure some of you are wondering why I didn't post my measurements and picture yet, like I did with the 2009 challenge (I would post a picture and measurements at the beginning of every month). I wanted to wait until I started the HCG diet again, so that will be soon!

I procrastinated all day with exercise, and see where it has left me? Exercising at 9:30pm when I should be in bed.

I'm off again tomorrow, so I'll be back... hopefully much earlier next time.

I can do all things in Christ who gives me strength! (Phil 4:13)

Day 3 (it's not a TOO-mah!)

I am so glad to be home. I thought I was going to have to work an hour later tonight, but everything played out the way it was supposed to in the end. All day long I was looking forward to coming home to exercise. It's a nice feeling to have again.

I got home and threw my gym clothes on (the Hubby and Monkey Boy were still at Nana+Papa's house), turned on the Wii and got to business.

I restarted my EA Active Sports 30 Day challenge (lol) and sped through it, on the low setting. I had so much energy! Come to think of it, I had more energy today than I have in a while (make sense though, right?). It ended up being 16 minutes worth and 111 calories burned (5 METS baby!). Then I threw in the Wii Fit disk and did 10 minutes of the boxing thing. My back is gonna be sore (I hope). That was 13 mins and 70 calories.

I don't have to work tomorrow. Yaay. Have a doctors appointment though. It snowed here in Vegas, and I completely missed it. Got to work before it started, and when I got out, it had left no trace at all that it had ever been there. I miss the snow.

Hope everyone is starting 2011 off with a bang!

I'll be back tomorrow.
Like the terminator.
(it's not a TOO-mah!)

I can do all things in Christ who gives me strength! (Phil 4:13)

Day 2 *fart noise*

So today is day 2, and I have to say it was not that bad, even with having to work.

I got home from work and Hubby and Monkey Boy were both ready and willing to let Mama have the TV for exercise. Of course this didn't mean that they weren't going to be entertained by my exercising. I decided to do the Wii Fit today, because I thought today was a rest day on EA Active Sports, so I threw on the Wii Fit and started off w/ the body test (my Wii Fit age was 32--same as my real age), and did some strength training. I did:

Rowing Squats, 10 (100%) and then 30 (100%) and
Torso Twists, 3 (94%) then 6 (92%).

This is where the boys got their entertainment. They both thought it was totally necessary and EXTREMELY funny to make fart noises as mommy did the rowing squats. Wow. I sure do fart a lot (I think hubby was more into it than The Monkey Boy!). :)

Then I did some of the games:

Obstacle Course, Beginner--453 yards
Bird's-eye bull's-eye--184 points
soccer heading--65 points and
3 rounds of penguin slide (I think it was 3. it was either 2 or 3--mommy brain).

In all I did 21 minutes. Not a lot, but not bad considering I have been at work since 6am and didn't get home until close to 7pm.

I headed over to EA Active Sports to log in my journal (side note: I made a short term goal to follow through exactly with what EA Sports has planned for the 30 day challenge--I have yet to complete it, the way it wants me to so here goes nothing!) and saw that today was NOT a rest day like my hubby insisted. I plan to do it (fingers crossed) after the Monkey Boy gets tired of the Wii Fit. I just hope it's not too late. If I don't get to it, I'll just reset it again so I can do a pefect 30 days lol (can you guess how many times I've reset it? lol).

I feel pretty good today. Not nearly as sick as I was, so the antibiotics are definitely helping. I'm not as sore as I though I would be either. Just a little ache, but nothing that screams at me. I am proud of myself for not lagging after I got home from work. Yaay me!

Have to work again tomorrow, but I'll be back.

I can do all things in Christ who gives me strength! (Phil 4:13)

Day 1...oye.

Happy New Year!

Oh my gosh, I can't believe how much I dread typing this! I' procrastinated this ALL day. It's not hard, I just don't want to do it. Can't ya'll just read my mind so that I don't have to type this?? There is so much that I want to express, that I just get frustrated (not the right word--I just want to procrastinate...more), because I can't spit it all out fast enough, so I'll make this simple...after all, I have 365 days to do this.

I am going to do 365 days of exercise again. Yep. Again. I did it once before, I can do it again. Right? After getting exercise out of the way to type this now, I wonder if I can. I went through all of this before, so I know that I can do it. I know my legs are going to hurt tomorrow, and that will make the excuses easier to come. Bring it. One day at a time. Right? Looking at it now, I wonder how I am going to do this, becuase of some of the plans I have (more on those later) but I will just look at it one day at a time. God gives us the strength to do what we gotta do, right?

2010 was great, but it went by so fast and I am now disappointed that I didn't make every day count, the way I did in 2009 with exercise and this blog. My motivation back then, was my blog (at first). The only reason why I exercised, was to have a blog post for that day, but now I don't even want to blog, so I have to find the motivation for that, now too. I hate typing. *shrugs*

I am not doing 365 days of exericse, to lose weight--the diet I found and mentioned previously has been much more of a success in that department, but I miss how exercising regularly made me feel. Exercising is awe inspiring and it feels great when you are on a roll with it. It's just hard to get the momentum going at first. I want to be in that place again. I'm afraid that 2011 will go by just as quickly, and I want to be conscious of doing something daily, that is beneficial (I also plan to read the Bible daily). I don't want to cheat myself of time again (that makes it sound like I did absolutely nothing in 2010, doesn't it? lol).

Anyway, today I exercised. I am sick (on antibiotics) but forced myself to exercise. I slept most of the day but turned on EA Active Sports at 8:30 this evening (low intensity). I exercised for almost 20 mins an burned over 100 calories. Not great, but a start.

Have to work in the morning, so it will be interesting to see how this goes. I told Hubby that I would do the Wii again, but we'll see! Oye.

Anyway, hope you all had a happy and safe New Year celebration.

I'll be back tomorrow...oye.

Heres to a great 2011!

I can do all things in Christ who gives me strength! (Phil 4:13)