Day 273 + 274

Yesterday and today I did Insanity. Yesterday was Cardio Recovery and lasted for 34 minutes...the longest 34 minutes of my life. I sure did sweat though.

Today was Cardio Power & Resistance and lasted just shy of 40 mins.

I'm not sure why,  but out of all of the Insanity videos we've don't this far, today's  video is my favorite to do. It's hard and I still can't do it all the way through without breaks, but I enjoy it the most (belt kicks, walking pushups and all).

Tomorrow I'll continue with the program and Sunday I'll probably do Turbo Jam again.

One day at a time. One choice at a time.

I can do all things in Christ who gives me strength.

Day 272

Today was a struggle.  I woke up early enough but procrastinated, so I started late and really wasn't into it. I hate the stretch/yoga parts. It makes it go by really slowly and today seemed particularly long. Today's video was, "plyometric cardio circuit," and it was 38 or 40 mins. I'm definitely feeling stronger and more confident with what I can do and also a little more flexible...probably all that stretching that I hate so much lol. I get it, I totally do, i just don't like it in the middle of a fast paced workout. It really slows things down... lol

One day at a time. One choice at a time.

I can do all things in Christ who gives me strength.

Day 261-271

Oh my goodness, I just logged in thinking it been, I don't maybe a week since I posted but my previous post was a draft and was never published!  And that was like over a week. That was on the 16 so... oye...

The good news is that I have been exercising everyday. The bad news is I totally lost count of the days, and I get a big fat "F" for documentation.

I started insanity a little over a week ago, and it's killing me. My brain doesn't like doing, "walk like a duck, talk like a duck," exercise, and this is a big huge quacker. I have my favorite days and not-so-favorite days,  but I'm truckin' along one day at a time,  and I don't let myself think more than 1 day at a time bc Insanity is overwhelming to think about.

Alright,  I'm gonna try to recap my exercise days from the 16th. Oye, I've made such a mess!

Today (Tue 9/27, day 271)
Stair leg kickbacks, 20 total 5 reps each leg. I wasn't able to get up early enough for insanity and have been non stop since 8am

Yesterday (Monday 9/26, day 270)
Insanity 40 mins

Sun 9/25 (269)
turbo jam, cardio party, 10 mins. I was late for work and got home late also.

Sat 9/24 (268)
insanity, cardio recovery 38 mins?

Fri 9/23 (266)
Insanity, cardio power and resistance

Thurs 9/22 (266)
Insanity, Plyometric cardio circuit

Wed 9/21 (265)
As many squats/pulsing squats (rotating) and pushups as I could in a minute to get my heart rate up, then rest for 30 secs in between each, until my hr dropped and repeated. I did 3 cycles  (I was inspired by the fit test).

Tue 9/20 (264)
Insanity, Fit test

Mon 9/19 (263)
3 sets of 15 compound biceps curls with overhead delt press

Sun 9/18 (262)
Cize, get into it

Sat 9/17 (261)
Cize, turn it on

I think that's it! I love runkeeper and myfitnesspal for the fact that I had this tracked there.

I've gotta get up early to do Insanity again.  Ugh, it's getting up early that I hate.

One day at a time. One choice at a time.

I can do all things in Christ who gives me strength.

Day 253, 254, 255, 256, 257, 258, 259 and 260!

Holy cow I can't quite wrap my brain around how long ago I posted but it's gotta be like a week. Thank goodness for myfitnesspal bc I can go there to reference or even to runkeeper since I use them both daily to log my exercise.

Basically i'm just finishing up the last week of Shaun T's Cize. I think there were there was a day or two where I didn't do that but I did push ups or squats or combination of both. There was even a day that I could only squeeze and 5 minutes but at least it was something.

Friday 9/9: Cize Living in the 8s, 55 mins

Sat 9/10: Cize, go for it, first 20 mins

Sun 9/11: Cize Go For It, the last 20 mins+cooldown

Mon 9/12: Cize Crazy 8s 5 minutes (bad day)

Tues 9/13: Cize You Got This 20 mins

Wed 9/14: Cize full out + cool down 38 mins

Thurs 9/15: 5 sets of 10 alternating push-ups and sumo squats

Friday (today) 9/16: Cize Turn It On (?) 35 minutes (it's a bonus disk).

I bought Insanity today and AM completely insane. I have no idea how I'm going to do it,  except for 1 day at a time I guess. I'm scared... I also decided since I'm going big that I'm gonna cut out ALL sweet indulgences for the entire 60 days,  that way when I'm done,  I won't have cravings anymore (takes roughly 6 weeks to make/break habits). What a better time like Halloween/Thanksgiving to do it when it's in your face up front and center. There's no escaping it. I know I can do it and I'm excited!

Gotta jump in bed to wake up early b4 work to exercise!

One day at a time.  One choice at a time.

I can do all things in Christ who gives me strength.

Day 248, 249, 250, 251 + 252

This is the longer stretch I've gone without posting. This week really escaped me.

Sunday: 3 sets of 15 pushups and 3 sets of planks (20 secs each)

Monday: 54 mins, Cize, Go For It. I repeated several parts to learn them properly.

Tuesday: 20 mins (was late for school) Cize, Livin' in the 8s

Wednesday: 45 mins, Cize, Go cooldown.

Today:  43 minutes, Cize, Living in the 8s. I still didn't finish the whole thing,  I ran out of time even after giving myself an hour. I want to do this one over again tomorrow and finish it.

One day at a time. One choice at a time.

I can do all things in Christ who gives me strength.

Day 245, 246 + 247

for the last three days I have been sticking to shantese size program. I'm currently in the second week of it and i'm doing to programs called Full Out (Friday) and In The Pocket (Thursday and today,  Saturday). Tomorrow I plan to do Full Out and Monday I'll switch to the week 3 videos.

I'm excited to see what's in store next!

I also did do my measurements on the 1st, so I just need to type it up and post it.

One day at a time. One choice at a time.

I can do all things in Christ who gives me strength.

Day 244

This morning I did Cize's Full Out video. It lasted for 37 minutes. The first time I did it was on Monday and I think my heart rate was only like an average of 116 so I remember thinking that it wasn't as hard as the previous week. There were some jumps and things I couldn't do that hurt my knees and just chalked up to my weight but overall I felt it was easier than the week before. And then I did yesterday. It was hard and I had a very hard time trying to get through it. so then today I repeat mondays workout and I forced myself through all the jumps and DID IT (although I'm paying for it now)  it wasn't as easy as it was on Monday, so I'm not sure what my deal was lol. today my ever to her it was 139 and I was sweating afterwards. Dripping sweat.

Tomorrow morning I have to do the hard one and I am not looking forward to it. I have to wake up earlier than I have been to exercise (bc of back to school) and I hate that. I know that I'll get over it, but i'm just gonna have a little tantrum until I do lol. I have to wake up early and do the hard one??? Ugh! I'm thinking that I'm gonna try to do this week's workout a second time and extend the 4 wks to 5 weeks. I will be a pro at this hard routine before I'm done.

One day at a time. One choice at a time.

I can do all things in Christ who gives me strength.

Day 240, 241, 242 + 243

This morning I did 20 mins if Cize, "in the pocket," but had to take the kid to school so I stopped early.  After I got home,  I restarted it and did 47 mins.  I had to pause several times because it was difficult and needed to practice on my own (the video was moving much faster than I could keep up with).

Yesterday I did Cize also, "full out," (38 minutes) which was difficult, but not like today. This week is much harder than last, and I bet next week is going to blow my socks off.

Sunday I did push ups and leg abductors, 3 sets of 15.

Saturday I did Cize, Crazy 8s for 32 mins.

I need to do better with posting. Haha

One dayat a time. One choice at a time.

I can do all things in Christ who gives me strength.

Day 237, 238 +239

I just got finished doing you got this from Shaun T's exercise program called Cize. I only did the scheduled program and the cooldown which lasted for 47 minutes. I didn't did the 8 Count Abs bc I think it's stupid. I've already decided that I am going to do this program again,  so it's a goal of mine to do it then,  if I don't join in,  in the next 3 weeks.

Yesterday (Thursday) I flaked and procrastinated. I just did some stair exercises. I did 15 sets of 5 leg kick backs on each leg and woke up sore this morning, always a good sign that I'm doing something right :).

The day before that, on Wednesday, I stuck to the Cize program and did Crazy 8s. I don't know why but This particular video, Crazy 8s, gives me so much energy when i'm done. I feel so pumped and energized after I'm done. Love it!

I have to work tomorrow but I plan to continue to do the program.

One day at a time. One choice a time.

I can do all things in Christ who gives me strength.

Day 236

I just got finished doing day 2 of Cize on the advance calendar. Today's videos were You Got This (+ cooldown) and 8 Count Abs which lasted for about 56 minutes. 

Eight Count Abs only lasted for 8 minutes,  but it was hard. There are no modified moves and I an waay to big to do these so I modified them a little so that I could still do it...or honestly I would have just sat and watched it instead.

I think yesterday seemed a little harder than today, but maybe it's bc I know what to expect now. I still like it and it's still fun. There aren't any modified moves at all and I'm happy to say that I've been able to do all of the little hops and jumping so far. I am finding that I am working a lot harder with Cize than I did with Rockin' Body and I'm not associating it so much with exercise like I did with the latter. It IS exercise but my brain, I think, sees it more as learning to dance. I'm still really stiff but I feel determined and I think that motivates me,  which also helps with not constantly looking at the huge countdown clock on the bottom left hand corner.

Of to the shower.

One day at a time. One choice at a time.

I can do all things in Christ who gives me strength.

Day 235

Holy wow! That was a great workout! Today is the first day of Cize, another Shaun T Beachbody workout and I did Crazy 8s. It lasted for 30 mins and had like a 3 min cooldown at the end. It was a lot of fun! It was a really good workout! I am sweating, I'm bright red, I was definitely working it. I feel like I have a ton of energy right now and like I got a good workout this morning.  My average heart rate was at 151 in my high was at 168. It's a very dance workout video, like 1 step up from Rockin' Body. I'm so glad to be doing this. I hope I enjoy the rest as much as I enjoyed today.

As far as Rockin' Body, here are my accomplishments...

I lost 8.6 lbs, lost 2.5 inches off my hips, almost an inch off my belly, 1 inch off chest, a 1/2 an inch off my right arm, nothing off my left arm, and I gained 1 inch on my right thigh and gained 1/4 inch on my left.

My clothes don't feel different yet, but I think that will take some time. I think most noticeably for me  are my feet! They have gotten a lot thinner (they were wide) bc they slosh around in my my shoes now. They are so big! Lol.

For last couple months I haven't  been posting my measurements (zero motivation due to lack of change on the scale/measurements idid take) but I took my measurements at the beginning of this month right before I did Rockin body,  so if there's any differences at the end of August I will post those as well.

Not bad. Not bad at all :)

One day at a time. One choice at a time.

I can do all things in Christ who gives me strength.

Day 234

Short n sweet

Tonight I did 3 sets of 12 narrow push-ups and 3 sets of 12 wide push-ups.

Today someone I hadn't seen in a month at work asked if I was losing weight. That was like the best thing I could have heard! So motivational for someone to notice that doesn't know that I exercise everyday! It means it's working!

One day at a time. One choice at a time.

I can do all things in Christ who gives me strength.

Day 230, 231, 232 + 233

I have no idea what my deal is. I'm only in my 30's and my memory is already shot. I could have sworn I had posted something in the last two days. If my memory is this bad now... oye I don't even wanna know what's gonna happen when I'm older.

8/20
This morning I did Rockin' Body, Shaun T's dance party. I only did 40 minutes because I was running late for work.

8/19
Yesterday I did pushups. I did three sets of ten narrow push-ups and three sets of ten wide push-ups. Push-ups are my new friend. Lol

8/18
Thursday I did rockin body disco groove and booty time. It was 60 minutes total.

8/17
Wednesday morning I did rockin body Rock it Out and hard-core abs 58 mins total.

Tomorrow will be the last day of doing this rockin body program, and I plan to start a new one called Cize also by Shaun T. I hope i'm able to stay motivated through it!

One day at a time. One choice at a time. I can do all things in Christ who gives me strength.

Day 229

I just finished 45 minutes of Shaun T's dance party from Beachbody's The Rockin' Body series.

I'm feeling pretty motivated as I had a "pep talk," a virtual pep talk with somebody that I follow on Facebook (Stephanie Kathmann Fitness) . She's super fit and she's a Beachbody Coach and fitness trainer and she is very inspiring to me. What she had to say this morning was exactly what I needed to hear. It's hard to swallow but I needed to hear it.

Basically she just said that if you're not working hard like, it's not uncomfortable for you and you are not feeling sore, you are not discouraged because of how tough it is (exercise) then you're not doing it right. She said she didn't get to where she is by just being comfortable with what she's doing. She talked about a few exercise videos that she had done where she felt discouraged and she was pissed off because they were super hard for her (having to stop every couple minutes bc it was so intense), and she's pretty fit so she was wondering who on earth was able to complete that video bc "she would like to meet this person." Well, she stuck to it and she pushed through it and finished, only to come back to it again later, and she was able to complete the whole thing. So she ended up being the person she wanted to meet.

It was a very motivational vlog post, so i took it to heart today and over exaggerated my moves and worked hard.  I want this.  Im not gonna let myself get in the way of my weight loss goals. I have a lot of excuses and they just keep me in my comfort zone. I'm able to accomplish goals,  but there is no wow factor involved. I want my future self to be wowed by my journey and accomplishments.

Anyway, I'm gonna try to link the video here so that anyone out there needing to hear it, the way i did, can. :)

One day at a time. One choice at a time. I can do all things in Christ who gives me strength.

Day 227 + 228

Yesterday after work I did my kickbacks on each of the stairs. I got home later than I expected and I was not motivated at all to turn on rockin' body. It was considered a rest day on the program anyway comma so there wasn't anything for me to schedule to do.

This morning I got up and continue with the Rockin body program. Today was Party Express and Hard-core abs and I think it was 38 minutes total. I felt really sluggish but at the same time it seems like it's getting a lot easier for me. My heart rate maintain most the time in the 120's which confirms that yeah, maybe it is getting easier, which is good but also sucks because I'm burning less calories!

I purchased another Beachbody video on ebay by the same dude that does Rockin Body, Shaun T, called Cize, I just found out that the auction was "compromised by a third party" and so there is no video although i paid and they are going to give me a refund. Boo. I was looking forward to that. I'll find it again with a good price.

Off to read!

One day at a. One choice at a time.

I can do all things in Christ who gives me strength.

Day 224, 225+226

I'm getting ready for bed right now and I just remembered, in this moment, that I have been forgetting to blog...again And I think I know why. Maybe maybe not. Regardless, when I don't blog in the morning (mornings are crazy for me) I'm usually able to remember to do it at night before bed. But I've been reading this book series and I'm obsessed into the third book, and at night all I think about is reading before bed...cause i want to know what happens. So, i guess it's a good thing that I've been exercising in the morning! LOL.

I'm just going to do a screenshot of what I've been doing for the last 3 days (it was all Rockin' Body).I hope it works!

The one on the top is this morning (Saturday)

sore 

One day at a time. One choice at a time.

 I can do all things in Christ who gives me strength.

Day 221, 222 + 223

I can't believe i haven't posted in 3 days although I'm not entirely surprised, given my track record. Brain fart? Mommy Brain? IDK.

On Monday morning i was supposed to do Party Express and Rock it Out (rockin' body), but i only did the latter. It was 47 minutes and i hated most of that time, which is why i chose to do this and not the first one. Haha, makes sense, right? I figured if i was only going to do only one,  it should be a semi-punishment so i did the awful one. I finally figured out why i don't like it. Nothing repeats. With all the others,  you're  learning new moves the entire time and then putting them all together. It makes the time go be much faster. I appreciate this so much now that the workout combos seem to be getting longer. I  think i have to do this again on Friday. Boo!

Yesterday morning i did Shaun T's Dance Party and that lasted 45 minutes.  This is my favorite one to do right now.  It's very entertaining and i ferl like i can try hard and not kill myself in the process.

This morning i didn't exercise. I wanted to get to the store b4 the rush,  and i knew it was a gamble bc we all know that if i don't do it in the morning,  i probably won't do it at all. I procrastinated all day and just finished 48 mins of Disco Groove and Hard-core abs. Disco Groove is the other fun one that i like. Not as entertaining, but still fun.

Anyway, of to bed.

One day at a time. One choice at a time.

I can do all things in Christ who gives me strength.

Day 219 +220

I'm so proud of myself! I woke up early both yesterday and today to get exercise done before work and I did it. Yesterday I did Rock It Out (?) and today I did Booty Time time. Yesterday was 45 minutes and today was 30 minutes. Off to work!

One day at a time. Once we set a time.

I can do all things in Christ who gives me strength.

Day 217 + 218

I'm really surprised that I spaced blogging yesterday. I think I'm more surprised that I didn't even think about it LOL. I stuck with The Rockin' Body plan and did Party Express and disco Groove. It's a total of 63 minutes.

Today I did  Shaun T's Dance Party (45 mins). While I was doing it, I remembered saying that it was fun. I thought to myself, "wth this is not fun," but then I got to the fun part.  I would say it's about the second half of the video  and for some strange reason  you catch a second wind. And then it's just fun. LOL. It's getting to that part that sucks.

So the schedule for this workout series has you exercising 6 days a week and then resting on Sunday. But because I am exercising 365 days, I decided to break up Saturday's workout (I'm scheduled to do two) and do the second part on Sunday. Oye. I'm going to have to wake up super early because this video segment is 45 minutes (the 2nd is 30!) and I have to start getting ready for work no later 6 a.m. to leave @ 6:30.oye. Oye oye.

Off to bed. This is definitely going to be a test. But I know I can do it. oye. I've been so on track this week, and do good, that i don't want to blow it.

One day at a time. One choice at a time.

I can do all things in Christ who gives me strength.

Day 216

I just got finish doing Rockin' Body Shaun T's Dance Party remix (??). (How is it that I could spend 40-plus minutes doing something and forget the name of it almost immediately after I walk away from it LOL). I got a little distracted the beginning but was able to get more focused about 10 minutes into it LOL.

I have to say this is becoming fun. today was fun. yesterday was fun(ish) but hard, I woke up really sore, but today was really really fun.

It took me a hot minute to realize that I have not been doing my measurements and I think it's because I wasn't so focused on trying to lose weight. Like, I was just trying to exercise everyday and that was a challenge at times (I'm a mental toddler, remember?). When I started this new Rockin Body program I did take my measurements and so when I'm finished with it I will post my before and after measurements, for the program.

I'm realizing that although my goal was to exercise 365 days, new goals have developed and the 365 day thing... it's just a number that's going to continue to grow (uh oh, i feel my internal toddler stirring). (To self) I'm just kidding nope, no obligation after 365, don't have to do anything...;-)
I would really like to be down to my goal weight at 130ish by the time I reach 40 which gives me a couple of years. That's 110 lbs. Oye. One day at a time, one pound at a time, one choice at a time.

I can do alp things in Christ who gives me strength.

Day 214 + 215

If you had to guess how old I was based off of some of the decisions I make, you would think that I was a toddler. I don't know why, but even as an adult I have to fight the urge to not do the opposite of whatever somebody else asks of me. I guess to be fair (to myself) that really only has to do with like a diet and exercise. And to be super fair (to everybody else) I really only do this with me. It's not even a stubborn thing, it's more like if I feel obligated to do something, like forcing myself, that's usually when I don't do it.

Case in point, yesterday's exercise.

The day before yesterday I kind of left things off like, "oh, we're just going to pick up off where we left off on Friday and we're going to continue to do the exercise videos," right? Well, yesterday rolls around and I'm like, "oh hell no," and I don't even know why. I had a busy day planned, but who doesn't? But I bet it has more to do with the fact that I left myself feeling obligated to do it LOL.

Yesterday I did not do the Rockin' Body series, but I did my beloved side lunge knee ups instead.

However when I woke up this morning, I kicked myself and was like, "what are you doing man??" I knew that I was going to have a super hectic busy day again and could have easily talked myself out of it AGAIN, but when I don't follow through with these types of things, it really only hurts me. Especially because I have this goal. I guess having this goal is what is really making me feel obligated, but I'm just gonna have to suck this up and just do it. I am NOT a toddler lol.

So, to make up for yesterday, I decided to do yesterday's workout (Party Express and Hard-core Abs) AND today's workout (Rock It Out) AND i was able to do it with my heart rate monitor also, which I guess give me that added motivation. Yaay!  I heart my HRM! My average heart rate was 138 and my maximum was 156. I did a total of 83 minutes and burned 537 calories (i even paused in between all the videos).

At the end of the day, I am exhausted but happy that I did this. Let this be a lesson to My Future Self: procrastination gets me nothing but a double workout. Lol

One day at a time. One choice at a time.

I can do all things in Christ who gives me strength.

Day 212 + 213

Today after work I use my stairs and I did tricep dips on my stairs. My intention was to do 5 sets for each stair but it got really exhausting so I think I only did 13 or 15 stairs.

Yesterday I used my stairs after work as well, and I did push ups on each stair. I did 10 for each stair.

Back to the program for tomorrow.

This weekend we made plans to go on vacation in December during little brother's birthday and I'm so excited!! So i officially made a goal to lose weight by then. That was something that ididn't do at the beginning of this resolution for areason. But now I am determined to lose 40-50 lbs, but we'll see. That's about 10lbs a month,  which i don't think I've ever been able to do but I'm determined. I think moreso now than I've ever been. I've learned about myself that if i make easy goals, I punk out on them sooner than later so this is a challenge in willing to accept. But we'll see as soon as the slightest temptation presents itself haha.

So starting tomorrow, this means war! (against myself!).

One day at a time. One choice at a time.

I can do all things in Christ who gives me strength!

Day 210 + 211

I'm not really sure what happened with my blog post from yesterday but I was doing really good and I was on a roll with posting daily. I guess yesterday I just escaped me.

I continue with the plan and I did the Rockin' Body workout I was scheduled to do Party Express and Booty Time and I completed them both in 55 minutes. Booty time kicked my butt. I struggled through that. I kept wanting to quit but the fact that his segments are so small it makes it easier to shake it off and try it again.

Today I had so much going on from the moment I woke up that I did not do the Rockin' Body workout it all. In hindsight I wish I had woken up earlier to fit it in, but it is what it is. Instead I did 17 sets of 10 pulsing squats (up my stairs, yes I finally counted them, 17 lol).

Off to bed to go to work tomorrow morning. It'll be interesting if I have enough energy to do this workout tomorrow. We'll see.

One day at a time. One choice at a time.

I can do all things in Christ who gives me strength.

Day 209

Today I stuck to the scheduled workouts for Rockin' Body and did Disco Groove and Hard-core Abs. The whole thing was about 48 minutes long.

I was a little bit sore when I woke up this morning but it wasn't like the previous days. So now I'm wondering if it was the squats?? This Rockin' Body thing ain't no joke on the legs though. The wide stepping really hits the spot but it doesn't last forever so it's tolerable. However, the more pressing issue at hand is my lack of inner diva! I need to figure out how to channel my inner Diva with this Rockin' Body workout, cause I'm not going to let no man out diva me! Ha! OMG! You should see this guy! He's so hilarious and fun and he definitely makes the time go by.

I feel like with this work out I'm more concerned with trying to get the dance moves down which distracts away from the fact that I'm actually exercising...which just so happens to be my FAVORITE type of exercise at the moment. Yay for that, but never more in my life have I ever felt like an awkward white dude that can't dance. This guy swings his hips around better than I do!
Oh no he did-int! *snap*

Whew!

Anyway, gotta get up to do it all over again tomorrow. Oye.

One day at a time. One choice at a time.

I can do all things in Christ who gives me strength.

Day 208

This morning I stuck with the plan to do the Rockin body workouts. The calendar today had me to Mark, Move & Groove and Party Express. The whole thing took about 40 minutes (42).

I was really surprised because yesterday, late afternoon, I started to get really sore. I don't know if it's from the lunges that kicked my butt a couple days ago, or if it's from this new DVD that I'm doing, but I had a hard time trying to walk around the grocery store yesterday LOL. The muscles on my hips and my lower back are really sore and so are my quads.

If all the soreness is from this Rockin' Body workout, I'll be really surprised! It's not that hard at all and when I'm doing it and it doesn't FEEL like it would be the cause of the soreness. If I'm even more sore tomorrow morning then I'll know it's definitely from these workouts, that might be a little exciting!

Cheesy fun with a cherry on top!

One day at a time. When she was at a time.

I can do all things in Christ who gives me strength.

Day 206 + 207

Last night after work i was still pretty sore from the lunges the night before so I tried to even out the leg soreness (does this only sound crazy to me??lol). I did 3 sets of 15 vertical leg abductors.

Two weeks ago a friend from work and I were chatting about how much we both love exercise videos that are dancy/cheesy fun and games like Dance Dance Revolution and  she told me to try something called Rockin' Body. I found it on ebay for $20 and didn't realize it was beachbody until i had them in my grubby little hands.

I started it this morning despite my sore legs. It even came with a calendar and all the paperwork so I don't even have to use my brain! Lol.

This morning's workout was called Mark, Move & Groove. It was only 15 minutes long and I have to say I was sweating after it. That's exactly what my friend at work said happens with her! Nice to know that I'm on the right page this time LOL.

Alright going to go dye my roots. I'm thinking I might get on the elliptical while I let it process so I'll update this if I do.

One day at a time. When do I see the time.

I can do all things in Christ who gives me strength.

Day 205

Tonight I did 10 sets of 10 pulsing reverse lunges. When I got finished with my last one, i felt like my knees are going to give out. I I almost fell getting into bed! LOL

The perks of getting older (and i was mindful of my knee positioning!).

One day at a time. One choice at a time.

I can do all things in Christ who gives me strength.

Day 203 + 204

This morning i got onto the elliptical for 35 mins.

Yesterday, i did leg kickbacks on the stairs,  5 on each side per step (19 or 20 steps...i keep forgetting to count).

One day at a time. One choice at a time.

I can do all things in Christ who gives me strength.

Day 201 + 202

Both yesterday and today I did my exercise in the AM.

Yesterday i did the 10 Minute Trainer, cardio and i felt like my ankles were going to break. They hurt most of the day, as well as my sides and core muscles. Whooped my butt.

This morning i started to do 10 Minute Trainer, total body but got a phone call from a distressed friend, so i just got onto the elliptical for 15 mins while i listened.

That's it.

One day at a time. One choice at a time.

I can do all things in Christ who gives me strength.

Day 200

I just got finished doing 25 mins of Turbo Jam Cardio Party Mix #2. Truthfully, I feel like I'm starting to get sick so I'm surprised I did that much. It was difficult, but I think a lot of it was mental because they DO have the low-impact version. I didn't do the whole 43 minutes either. I'm definitely not where I was at when I was doing turbo Jam before. I'm sure I have to work my way up to that point but today I definitely don't feel very well. I'm glad I'm getting this over and done with LOL. It should be like this EVERYDAY! Oye.

One day at a time. One choice at a time. I can do all things in Christ who gives me strength.

Day 197, 198, 199

Tonight after work i did squats. As i was walking up my stairs,  i did 5 squats on each step. I think i have 19 or 20 stairs.my legs felt so tight when i got to the top and my heart was racing!

Yesterday i used my stairs also. Each stair i did 10 back leg lifts and 10 side leg lifts with each leg and all 19 or 20 steps.

The day b4 that i did overhead tricep extensions. My hubby thinks he's funny bc he messes with me whenever i do them. He tries to pull my arms back down when I'm trying to raise them. I guess the joke is on him though bc it turns out to be a better workout lol (arms are still sore).

One day at a time. One choice at a time.

I can do all things in Christ who gives me strength.

Day 194, 195 +196

I'm definitely feeling a lack of motivation for blogging these days. I guess i just don't feel like talking about anything in particular and I'm tired when i do get around to doing it.

I do have to say that i find it quite hilarious that for 8 years Michelle Obama has been trying to get people outside moving around and Nintendo did it like overnight with this whole Pokémon Go thing. Lol!

Anyway here's my passed 3 days.

Tonight i got onto the elliptical for 15 minutes.

Yesterday I did foward leg lifts until my legs felt like giant sandbags.

The night before i did leg abductors also until they felt like sand bags.

My oldest son started swimming in a local swim club recently, 3 days a week for an hour,  and i had the brilliant idea today that maybe i should swim laps during that time also. They have available lanes for anyone wanting to do so. I'm really anxious thinking about it,  having to go in public with my bathing suit on...but everything these days makes me anxious so i just need to suck it up and do it. Oye!

One day at a time. One choice at a time.

I can do all things in Christ who gives me strength.

Day 192 + 193

Yesterday i did my fav side lunge with knee ups (3/10) and alternating toe touches (??).

Today i did rotating squats, squat pulses and squats with a knee up (3/10).

Gotta get up early! Busy day ahead!

One day at a time. One choice at a time.

I can do all things in Christ who gives me strength.

Day 190 + 191

Yesterday i worked my butt off cleaning.  I cleaned for probably a good 8 hours,  scrubbing walls and the floors in my hands and knees.  I vacuumed every square inch of carpet not once or twice, but 3 times and even our stairs twice. By the end of the day my arms were rubber. Im considering this my exercise bc i sweated way more doing this than an hour on my elliptical.

Tonight after work I did alternative bicep curls and overhead tricep extensions with my 8lb hand weights.  I was trying to figure out why it was so difficult compared to the last times, and then i remembered my rubber arms. Probably wasn't a smart move doing 2 arm days back to back.

I'm going to be making sime changes in the future,  but i need to get a better plan in place.  I'll articulate more on the subject on Monday.

One day at a time. One choice at a time.

I can do all things in Christ who gives me strength.

Day 188 + 189

Gonna make it quick, it's waaay passed my bedtime.

Yesterday i did tricep extensions. Tonight i got onto the elliptical for 10 minutes. Definitely losing motivation and trying to think of what i can do to switch things up.

One day at a time. One choice at a time.

I can do all things in Christ who gives me strength.

Day 186 + 187

Yesterday I did my side lunges that i love so much, and today I did leg abductor.

I lost my beloved exercise videos, slim in 6 AND turbo jam. I'm getting really bored with the elliptical so i need to shake things up a little.

It's late so off to bed.

One day at a time. One choice at a time.

I can do all things in Christ who gives me strength.

Day 184 + 185

Last night I did 5 sets 20 pulsing squats.

Tonight I did 50 kickbacks (idk what they are called). Hope to be back to my normal elliptical routine tomorrow morning. (Work always messes up my exercise routine)

One day at a time. One choice at a time.

I can do all things in Christ who gives me strength.

Day 183

Today i did my new fav squat/lunge, the side lunge with knee ups. I did 3 sets of 10, and could immediately feel it when i started walking. I hope I'm sore tomorrow at work! Love that feeling!

One day at a time. One choice at a time.

I can do all things in Christ who gives me strength.

Day 181 + 182

I'm not sure what happened to the post for day 181 (yesterday) . I did 30 mins of elliptical after waking up and decided to give it a rest with the squats bc my legs had gotten so sore.

Today, day 182, i got onto the elliptical for 45 mins.  I'm still a little sore from the lunges, but that's OK. I plan to start up with them tomorrow.  We'll see.

One day at a time. One choice at a time.

I can do all things in Christ who gives me strength.

Day 180

Well, it seems as though I'm on a roll. Today got up early and I got onto the optical for 60 minutes. My bottom is soooo sore. These side lunges with a knee raise or knee ups made me so sore. I had a hard time trying to get around today because of it. So what did I do? I did some more hahaha.

I hope I can get out of bed tomorrow LOL

One day at a time. One choice at a time.

I can do all things in Christ who gives me strength.

Day 179

Today i was a good girl. Today I got on the elliptical for 67 minutes, completed my 10k steps, and did some more of those side lunge knee ups. My legs were so sore today,  the kind of sore that i love,  and the part of my butt that i want to work the fat off of, or gain more muscle on, was the spot that was sore from doing them. Hypothetically that means if i do them more frequently maybe I can shrink my butt!?? Haha who knows, but it's fun to think about and do.

One day at a time. One choice at a time.

I can do all things in Christ who gives me strength.

Day 178

Tonight i did side lunges with a knee up and i did 3 sets of 10. I'm totally brain farting what that's called (my brain is numb from alarm fatigue at work) but is basically using multiple muscle groups combining more than 1 moves (like squat jumps) and (IMO) is super fun with a semi painful outcome. It's basically multitasking with exercise!

Gotta exercise in the AM. No excuses.

I can do this,  I am a star!

Haha flashback from 2009!

One day at a time. One choice at a time.

I can do all things in Christ who gives me strength.

Compound exercises! That's what is called! :) (yaay, now I'll be able to sleep)

Day 177

So tired so gonna make this quick...

I have no idea what the things that i did are called,  so for all intents and purposes I'm gonna call then kick backs and side leg lifts. Whatever you call  them, i did 3 sets of 10 each.

One day at a time. One choice at a time.

I can do all things in Christ who gives me strength.

Day 176

Not sure why it's so easy for me to lose momentum from day today as quickly as I do. Yesterday I did great. Today not so great. I did 3 sets of 20 squats.

One day at a time. One choice at a time.

I can do all things in Christ who gives me strength.

Day 175

Today I was a hot mess. I woke up this morning and procrastinated a little, and then I got smart.  I said to myself, "I know your games... I'm not going to let you get dressed until you exercise," because I know if I got dressed that's it. Game over.

Well I ended up hanging out my PJs until about noon LOL (called myself out on my own game, ha!). That was the first time that I had been in my PJ's for that long probably since like high school... well I don't know if it's been that long but it's been a really long time. Dude, I even went in the backyard and watered my flowers that way. I didn't think it was going to be an issue because I never see anybody, but of course the neighbor kids had to be looking out the window, so they started banging on the window, I waved which made matters worse, and of course everybody had to come to see what's going on. Oh hey, it's just me in my PJs and husbands 3-sizes-too-big-for-me clown flip flops, in the pre-heated oven that is my backyard (perks of living in Vegas), watering my 1/2 dead, scorched  flowers, close to noon. No biggie.

So I did finally get on the elliptical and I stayed on for 40 minutes *gasp* a whopping 40 minutes... consecutively! I know! I was surprised myself! It's been awhile since I've done THAT too LOL.

Anyway. It's another day tomorrow. Hoping for good things. I found out that my step brother is getting married on Jan 14th, so i made that a goal date for me to be below 200. I'm not close with him,  so I doubt I'll even go, but I'm using it as an excuse anyway. *fingers crossed*

I can do all things in Christ who gives me strength. One day at a time. One choice at a time.

Day 174

Tonight I worked on my arms. I mainly worked on my biceps. I did various types of arm curls including preacher curls and static curls. Today feels like a lazy day and a busy day all at the same time, but, I was on que with my diet. If only I could get them both to work out on the same day...

One day at a time. One choice at a time.

I can do all things in Christ who gives me strength.

Day 173

Today I was a good girl bc I woke up and got onto the elliptical for 30 minutes...but I was ultimately punished for something bc i found a scorpion next to my bedroom door  *eek!*

One day at a time. One choice at a time.

I can do all things in Christ who gives me strength.

Day 172

Today I failed when it came to exercise. My plan was to wake up early and get on the elliptical, but little brother came into my room again and so I ended up just staying with him until he woke up and then we just got ready for the day and time slipped from their. We had swim lessons for a little one early this morning, and tryouts for a swim club for the big one in the late afternoon that didn't pan out. We have to come back again next Monday because it was too hot IN the building (108F) so they closed the pool. We had swim for the big one in the evening and so we were pretty much out all day.

Anyway, I forced myself onto the elliptical before bed for 20 minutes but I was really just going through the motions.

Whoever said, "the more you exercise, the easier it gets," was wrong (I think I might have said of this at some point??? LOL). Today is day 172 and I still struggle everyday.

Another day over and done with and I really need to do this in the morning tomorrow. I don't know why I let myself procrastinate. I know where my trouble areas are. And knowing is half the battle right? LOL

One day at a time. One choice at a time. I can do all things in Christ who gives me strength.

Day 171

Today was a crazy day at work. It wasn't stressful like most days it was but it was stressful and a completely different way. With the heat being over 110F today,  we had rolling blackouts here in Las Vegas all day and it affected my hospital in the later part of the day.  Our power kept going out and my telemetry system kept crashing. The air conditioning even stopped working. It happened at the end of my shift so it was quite hilarious to me... But not anybody else LOL oh well (i knew our system was gonna crash at some point) . There weren't any patients affected by it bc the generators kicked in so that was good.

Anyway,  tonight i did 3 sets of 30 squats. Hoping to wake up early to get on the elliptical.

One day at a time. One choice at a time.

I can do all things in Christ who gives me strength.

Day 170

Tonight I take it back a little old school and I did some Pilates. I don't know what any of the moves are called but they are kind of different variations of ab work. One of the moves I did was kind of like reverse crunches... but not really and I didn't do the weird arm pumping action that usually see with Pilates. I did 3 sets of 10 of those. I did another variation of side crunches and I did 4 sets of 20 of each of those on each side.

Ugh, have to work tomorrow. I really wish i didn't have to work there.

One day at a time. One choice at a time.

I can do all things in Christ who gives me strength.

Day 169

This morning i got onto the elliptical while i let my hair process. I was on for 30 mins.

One day at a time. One choice at a time.

I can do all things in Christ who gives me strength.

Day 167 + 168

Yesterday i  did 4 sets of 10 leg kickbacks.

Tonight i did 4 sets of 10 side lying leg raises. Tonight was a lot tougher than yesterday's,  let me tell you. Whew! My legs are still shaking!

Anyway, yesterday when I woke up I was still pretty mad about all the crap people give to my son about his hair. I told him that if he was really that upset that we would just go cut it off and be done with it.

We talked for a long time about it. I really just wanted to remind him of what was in his heart and how he first felt when he made the decision to grow his hair out. Miriam, you are totally right,  guys grow their hair or all the time so I don't know why people be trippin'. I reminded him of this too :).

I reminded him that one of the contributing factors to his decision to do this was because he was caring and sensitive to others, and THAT was the exact reason why it hurt his feelings so much... because he's so sensitive. I reminded him that these things would make him stronger and what matters is on the inside, and he is pretty darn amazing.

He was still pretty concerned about his friends at school teasing him and I told him that true friends wouldn't make him purposefully feel bad. I think him realizing these 2 things were the things that helped him the most. He said his friends Aiden and Daniel don't tease him and they are his 2 best friends. When they first met they asked about his hair, and when he told them why he was growing it out, they accepted it and moved on, not mentioning it again. I told him thats what true friends were and you could see his face change, and all his confidence grow back. Now he feels strong again, and I am so glad for this. My sweet boy :).

The place we chose to donate to, requires only a minimum of 8 inches, so he is 3/4 of the way there. He should be finished by the end of the next school year or the beginning of 5th grade and he said he wanted to wait it out. I'm so proud of him, and I can't wait for him to experience the beautiful blessing waiting for him at the end of the rainbow. The whole journey is a blessing, but the final reward will be so exciting for him! It'll be his first blessing from giving (outside from what he can see), and I hope it inspires him in so many more ways to seek to serve instead of being served. Love it!

One day at a time. One choice at a time.

I can do all things in Christ who gives me strength.

Day 166

This morning I got onto the elliptical for 30 minutes.

I have to say I am quite upset. I don't really say much outside of my daily exercise, but I am so mad, I just need to get this off my chest. I am so completely irritated with almost everyone that my son comes into contact with, including but not limited to my father in law, some teachers/instructors, his little friends in AND out of school, their parents, random strangers and random kids that I just want to scream!!

My son is 9 years old. He has such a beautiful and loving soul, and I am so proud of him in all things, but he chose to do something selfless that all these people previously mentioned just don't get, and they are making him regret his decision, which infuriates me. When he decided to do this, we tried to prepare him for the things people would potentially say, but he held strong and said he wouldn't let it bother him, but now 1/2 way into his journey, it's starting to wear on him. He was just in tears because of the things people say to him on a daily basis now. Everyone has an opinion and he is tired and doesn't feel like he should have to defend or explain himself daily, ESPECIALLY to people that already know and have been told multiple times what he's doing and why (*ahem* FIL). Up until now, the encouragement we've given him, had been enough, but he's struggling now and mentally exhausted, ready to throw in the towel.

Last year, we read an article about an 8 year old boy that was so inspired by a St. Jude commercial, that grew out his hair to donate, to make wigs for kids. My sweet boy was so moved by this powerful act of love (his Nana died 3 years ago from cancer and it still stings him) that he said he wanted to do it too. We told him it would be hard and he'd get teased but he said he didn't care and he would be able to handle it. For months we talked about it and he stuck to it.

It's been about a year and now the daily taunts are getting to him. It breaks my heart! I
He's losing sight of why he started this journey and is ready to stop :(.

I told him it was his decision and to sleep on it. I need to sleep on it as well bc I am so mad at all these people right now. Grrrrr....

One day at a time. One choice at a time.

I can do all things in Christ who gives me strength. (I wish he could feel this in his heart the way that I do).

Day 165

This morning I got onto the elliptical for 40 minutes. My goal is to get onto the elliptical every morning this week. I hope I can stick to it!

One day at a time. One choice at a time.

I can do all things in Christ who gives me strength.

Day 164

Tonight after work I did 10 sets 10 pulsing bicep curls.

Gonna try to go to sleep now so that I can wake up early and get on the elliptical.

one day at a time. One choice at a time.

I can do all things in Christ who gives me strength.

Day 163

Tonight I just did 4 sets of 15 reverse lunges. Gotta grr up early for work early again. Good night!

One day at a time. One choice at a time.

I can do all things in Christ who gives me strength.

Day 162

This morning I got onto the elliptical for 25 minutes. I had good intentions to get back on but we all know that I'm lazy and I didn't... I guess it's a daily struggle for me, until I do it, then it actually gets much easier LOL. First time that kills me. And I think you gotta find something good to watch on Netflix too LOL.

One day at a time. One choice at a time.

I can do all things in Christ who gives me strength.

Day 161

This morning I got up early and got on to the elliptical trainer for 30 minutes. It really does make life easier for me when I get up early, but I hate it so much sometimes LOL. Sleeping in is awesome and sucks all at the same time (cause I know if i don't exercise early, I put it off all day).

One day at a time. One choice at a time.

I can do all things in Christ who gives me strength.

Day 160

Today was a weird day as far as exercise goes. I love my son pick the workout we were going to do and he wanted to dance. Boy did we dance. And jump. And jump. And jump. And spin and jump and jump. He had a ball and he wiped my butt out (isn't it supposed to be the other way around?) LOL. IDK how long we danced for! We listened to Robert Miles' song Children a few times till he called for a break. Then we did it again when Big Brother got home from Camp Invention. Fun stuff.

I know I said I was going to work on my diet first instead of lifestyle change, but I've been thinking about it and one of the things that I want to do is for every hour that I'm awake I want to "be active" for at least 10 minutes out of the hour, and I kind of did that today. It wasn't intentional but it was on the back of my mind so I guess I tried to do it. And for the most part of a successful but I definitely want to be more active. My house and floors are clean LOL.

I think I did pretty good with my diet too. I had a moment of weakness but instead of going full out cookie mode like I wanted, I just had a bowl of cereal that totally helped with my carb craving. There are definitely worse carbs lurking in the darkness of my pantry, so all in all it was a good day with my food choices.

One day at a time. One choice at a time.

I can do all things in Christ who gives me strength.

Day 159

This morning I got onto the elliptical for 30 minutes.  I've been thinking a lot about my diet and lifestyle changes and hope to start making changes. I need to be a lot more strict with my diet and it sounds silly,  but to me that seem easier than the lifestyle changes I plan to make... so I'm gonna focus on the diet portion first. Just being more strict with choices and food diary.

One day at a time. One choice at a time.

I can do all things in Christ who gives me strength.

Day 158

Tonight I did some overhead tricep extensions and some wall pushes. Just been a blah day.

One day at a time. One choice at a time.

I can do all things in Christ who gives me strength.

Day 157

I wasn't able to get on the elliptical this morning, but I did squats and walking lunges.  I lost count after 25 squats up the stairs and did about 30 walking lunges. Up early to take the big kid to inventors camp and the little one to swim lessons.

One day at a time. One choice at a time.

I can do all things in Christ who gives me strength.

Day 156

This morning before work I got on the elliptical for 20 minutes. I'm on my way to my car right now, coming home from work so I might get on again before bed but I thought I would get this out of the way since I tend to blog so late.

I hope to get up early again in the morning so that I can get on to the elliptical again, but we'll see...

One day at a time. One choice at a time.

I can do all things in Christ who gives me strength.

Day 155

I got onto the elliptical first thing this morning, but only for 10 minutes. I had big dreams to get on again after the grocery store, but didn't get a chance. Summer break kinda stinks. Both boys are driving me bonkers. I bought them water balloons and filled up like 30 for them. That just turned into a bad idea (learning experience lol) and they just played in the back yard with me there to keep them out of trouble.

It was 106F today and it's supposed to be a lot hotter this weekend (like 110+F).Thank goodness I'll be in a freezing cold "sterile" environment...although have I mentioned how much I hate that place??? Don't want to go but I guess mental abuse is better than heat stroke????

Oye.

One day at a time. One choice at a time.

I can do all things in Christ who gives me strength.

Day 154

This morning I woke up early and got on the elliptical for 40 mins. I'm so glad I did, bc I'm exhausted and am gonna go crash.

One day at a time. One choice at a time.

I can do all things in Christ who gives me strength.

Day 153

Today I did some floor exercises. I was trying to focus on core so I did things like reverse crunches, regular crunches, planks and a couple other things that I don't know the names for. I guess they would be like laying trunk twists? Anyway I need to get more comfortable on the floor. I definitely need to be doing more floor exercises than I am now.

One day at a time. One choice at a time.

I can do all things in Christ who gives me strength.

Day 152

Today I was a good girl and I got up early and got onto the elliptical. I got on for 20 minutes and then took the boy to school. Hoping for the same tomorrow. I can't believe it's the last day of school!

One day at a time. One choice at a time.

I can do all things in Christ who gives me strength.

Day 151

Today I did 5 sets of 15 squats abs 3 sets of 10 standing trunk rotations.

Gotta get up early. Oye. Only 2 more days though. Yaay!

One day at a time. One choice at a time.

I can do all things in Christ who gives me strength.

Day 150

Today was an awful, awful day. I was anxious coming into work today because I feel like they were setting me up for failure and boy did they. I would have quit and walked out but I guess that would be considered patient abandonment and I'd probably have a pretty hard time trying to find another job in this industry if I left that way.it was a really stressful and anxiety filed day and knowing that I'm going to be forced to do this again soon makes me really anxious. It's not safe or a healthy work environment.

I woke up early this morning (anxiety) and just got on the elliptical. I did 15 minutes and then got ready for work. Praise God that I'm off tomorrow.  I wish it was possible to find a weekend only, part time 12 hour position before next weekend bc I REALLY don't want to go back. Ever.

One day at a time. One choice at a time.

I can do all things in Christ who gives me strength.

Day 149

This morning I got on to the elliptical trainer for 15 minutes before work and I'm glad that I did. I honestly didn't think I was going to wake up earlier and I definitely wasn't trying to. It just happened that way LOL

I have a big day tomorrow at work and it's causing me a lot of anxiety. I'm hoping that I can fall asleep and sleep throughout the night without  waking up multiple times. If I wake up early like today,and I feel energized, I'll get onto the elliptical, but we'll see. I already feel like I'm being set up for failure for tomorrow at work so I don't want to set myself up for failure with this.

Hopefully it works out for the best.

One day at a time. One choice at a time.

I can do all things in Christ who gives me strength.

Day 147 & 148

I'm posting 2 days together bc I forgot to post yesterday and I'm lazy. Lol

Yesterday I did 3 sets of 15 bicep curls with my 8lb weights.

Today I did 5 sets of 10 tricep kickbacks with my 8lb weights.

Did I procrastinate both days? Yes. Did Little Brother come in the room again? Yes, but I has an award ceremony to be at yesterday morning and wasn't going to make it on time bc I woke up late. I barely made it.

This morning I got to sleep in,  but instead of waking up at 7 like I wanted (yes, this is sleeping in for me) , I woke up at 8 and struggled to get out the door to the store before the zoo of people arrived.

Excuses, excuses...

So do I plan to wake up earlier tomorrow b4 work to correct past wrongs? Yes, but I doubt the hand that presses the snooze button will get the memo. (Did I just set myself up for failure? Yep. I sure did lol).

One day at a time. One choice at a time.

I can do all things in Christ who gives me strength.

Day 146

I am having a hard time getting a handle on my procrastination. This morning Little Brother crawled into our bed around 4 or 5, and when my alarm went off to exercise, I was just too tired. I ended up waking up like 20 mins later anyway bc he was pressed right up against my back. That would have still been early enough to exercise but i chose to just lay there and watch him sleep. He's so tiny still and I hope it doesn't pass me by. I realize that's what I end up doing in the mornings when he comes into our room at night. The other mornings I have no excuse lol.

I asked him to stay in his room tonight and he said, "oh tay." We'll see.

Anyway I got onto the elliptical tonight while hubby put him to sleep. I was able to get 15 mins in. Not bad, but definitely not my best. It's a constant struggle and with the weight loss slowing down, there is definitely a lack of motivation. Summer is coming up and I can't wait to not have to leave the house early. Yaay! Let the countdown begin! Eight days until there's no school!

One day at a time. One choice at a time.

I can do all things in Christ who gives me strength.

Day 145

Well, I got up early this morning and I was able to get onto the elliptical for 30 minutes. I'm glad that I did because I wasn't able to find any time throughout the day to do it. After about 3 p.m. it becomes a lost cause. To be honest, I just don't want to do it anymore.

I can't wait until summer because then the kids can sleep in and I can get on the elliptical for as long as I want and not have to worry about being anywhere at any specific time. AND I won't have to take anybody to school. Yaay! One week left!

One day at a time. One choice at a time.

I can do all things in Christ who gives me strength.

Day 144

Today just confirmed my theory that if I don't get on the elliptical early,  it probable won't happen. I didn't get in this morning and then things stayed busy until about 8 when we start our wind down time to put the kiss to sleep.

I just did 3 sets of 10 overhead deltoid presses.

Off to bed.

One day at a time. One choice at a time.

I can do all things in Christ who gives me strength.

Day 143

Awe it's, "I love you day" today (143, like as in pager codes... oh brother! Lol).

So today I did some more reverse lunges. I did 6sets of 10 this time,  and I think i felt it a lot more at the end of the sets than I did doing 15 reps. *shrugs* Idk what that means,  just a strange observation.

I did not wake up early like planned, but I plan on it tomorrow. Busy, busy day!

One day at a time. One choice at a time.

I can do all things in Christ who gives me strength.

Day 142

So I know it looks like I'm skipping a day, but earlier this morning I went through the calendar and physically counted out the days, and we are actually on day 142 today. I skipped my blog post on May 17th and that's where I threw all my numbers off. I'll fix the numbers on my blog posts probably sometime on Monday or tomorrow after work if I have time. And that was driving me crazy! I'm glad it was somewhat easy to find. I can only imagine how finding a mistake later on in the year is going to be. Oye.

Anyway today I did 3 sets of 12 of reverse lunges. I forgot how much I enjoyed them. Well... compared to regular lunges LOL.

Off to bed.

One day at a time. One choice at a time.

I can do all things in Christ who gives me strength.

???

I'm totally screwed up with my days. I'm gonna have to go through and count again.  I just noticed that I didn't post for 5/17 which was this passed Tuesday. My fitness tracker (MyFitnessPal) says I did 20 mins on the elliptical but I don't see a post.

I googled hour many days into the year we are and it says 139 and I'm assuming that's not counting the first, so now I'm really confused  (missing a day but my numbered days are right???).

Oye.

I'm continuing to exercise daily but my numbers are just off somewhere. I'll figure this out in the next week I hope.

Day 140

I got onto the elliptical for 20 mins this morning before school. I'm glad that I did bc I didn't have time throughout the day to get on again.  I'm hoping I'll wake up early to get in sins time before work (Starting to sound like a broken record).

One day at a time. One choice at a time.

I can do all things in Christ who gives me strength.

Day 139

This morning I woke up late but I got on the elliptical for 35 minutes anyway. I'm really glad that I did because I didn't have much time to do it throughout the day. This is where my problems arise when I procrastinate in the morning. I guess as long as I can keep this in mind in the morning, I should be ok...but because I just mentioned it, I'm doomed for failure lol.

One day at a time. One choice at a time.

I can do all things in Christ who gives me strength.

Day 138

This morning and got onto the elliptical trainer for 43 minutes and watched the season finale of Blindspot.

While I was logging my exercise on MyFitnessPal, I saw exercise video for some
kind of aerobic dance thing,  thought it looked fun so I decide to try that out. I only did 15 minutes though cause it was pretty lame lol.

Off to bed to do it all over again in the morning.

One day at a time. One choice at a time.

I can do all things in Christ who gives me strength.

Day 137

Tonight I got onto the elliptical for 20 minutes. I'm going to try to get up early tomorrow morning to get on after I wake up.

One day at a time. One choice this time.

I can do all things in Christ who gives me strength.

Day 136

Today I got on the elliptical for 20 before going to work. I hope to get back on tonight to watch Once Upon a Time,  but we'll see how that goes. At least I'm ahead of the game. Setting the bar high for good choices today...

One day at a time. One choice at a time.

I can do all things in Christ who gives me strength.

Day 135

Today I came home from work with a huge headache. I did a few wall sits for 30-40 seconds each. Off to bed to do it all over again.

One day at a time. One choice at a time.

I can do all things in Christ who gives me strength.

Day 134

I did not sleep well last night. Little brother crawled into our bed at some point and it was a constant game of pinball after that.

I woke up late,  didn't get on the elliptical,  procrastinated and then got busy ultimately forgetting until really late.

I did bicep curls 3/10 with alternating pronated and supinated hand grips.  I'm so bored with my dumbbells. Gotta figure out a way to make it more appealing.

One day at a time. One choice at a time.

I can do all things in Christ who gives me strength.

Day 133

This morning I got on to my elliptical trainer for 30 minutes before taking the boy to school.

I think I realized today that when I have a bad bad day with my diet it takes me about 2 weeks to recover from that day. I hope I think about and/or remember this the next time I decide it might be cookie time lol.

Totally NOT worth it.

One day at a time. One choice at a time.

I can do all things in Christ who gives me strength.

Day 132

This morning after I dropped the boy off at school, I came back home, got onto the elliptical for 60 minutes and watched some Fringe.

It feels better being back on a regular schedule again,  although I feel like by mentioning it, I'm somehow sabotaging it. Oye.

One day at a time. One choice at a time.

I can do all things in Christ who gives me strength.

Day 131

I woke up this morning feeling much better.  I got onto the elliptical for 30 mins and then for an additional 30 mins after dropping the big kid off to school.

I wish al days could be this easy.

One day at a time. One choice at a time.

I can do so things in Christ who gives me strength.

Day 130

Oye I dint feel well at all.  I'm starting to spike a fever. Before I started to feel this way I did some floor exercises. I did (tried to do) planks and push ups. Definitely something to improve upon. I also did my measurement this morning. There isn't much change from last month and I gained some weight. Could have been much worse considering the dreaded and regrettable cookie day and the stress I've been under with work.

I still haven't figured out a good format for my measurements so I'm just going to post the way that I did last month until I figure something better out.

246.6

2/5/16
241.1
Hips 53
Waist 44 r index finger length above bb
R/L thigh 27 (9 above crease in leg)
Under breast 38
R arm 13.5 (1/2 way)
15.5 under armpit
L arm 14
16 under armpit

3/1
238.8

Hips 52
Waist 44
Over bb 52
R/L th 26
Under br 36.75
R arm 13
Und armpit 14.5
L arm 14
Und ap 15.5

4/1

237.8 56.6%

Hips 50.5
Waist 43
Over bb 48
Under br 36.5
R/L th 26.5 / 27
R arm 13
15 Und ap
L arm 14
15.25 Und ap

5/9/16

239.8 57.7%

Hips 50
Waist 43
Over bb 50
Under br36.5
R/L th 26.5 / 26
R arm 12.5
Und ap 14.5
L arm 14
Und ap 15

One day at a time. One choice at a time.

I can do all things in Christ who gives me strength.

Day 129

Man I am so tired, I fell asleep downstairs on the couch like an hour ago. I woke up came upstairs and got dressed for bed and I did 3 sets of 15 squat touches. I call them squat touches because I get into a sumo squat position and then I squat down and touch the floor with my hand and then I get back up completely and then I squat back down and touch the floor again. Squat touches.

Wel, I am gonna do my measurements tomorrow like I said last week. I will be very surprised if there's any positive change this month. I didn't do very well with my diet and I definitely need to get back on track with that. I definitely need to get back on track with exercising in the morning as well. That seems to set me up for a better day and tends to keep me motivated throughout the day as I continue to exercise. I don't know why I can't stick to that. It seems like a foolproof plan!

One day at a time. One choice at a time.

I can do all things in Christ who gives me strength.

Day 128

This morning before work I got onto the elliptical for 14 mins. I woke up late and had to do my hair still, but in hindsight Idk why I couldn't hold out for 1 more minute to make it 15 mins. Lol!

One day at a time. One choice at a time.

I can do all things in Christ who gives me strength.

Day 127

Friday I got onto the elliptical for 20 minutes while processing my hair.

One day at a time. One choice at a time.

I can do all things in Christ who gives me strength.

Day 126

Today I didn't get on the elliptical this morning,  like a dunder-head, anticipating Big Brother staying home from school not feeling well again.  Well, he went despite not feeling 100%, I didn't get on the elliptical and it threw me off my game. Everything is affected when I don't exercise early. My mood, my energy and my food choices are always terrible. It's like exercise keeps me in check (I don't want to undo the 40+minutes of exercise that I did that morning).

Anyway I put it off way too long so I punished myself with walking lunges. I really hate lunges. I lost count but I did them for about 5 minutes. They are getting much easier to do which is great, but also stinks bc now I have to make them harder. Boo.

Gotta get up early to exercise. Gotta gotta gotta.

One day at a time. One choice at a time.

I can do all things in Christ who gives me strength.

Day 125

(Wed)

Well I guesses I'm not surprised,  but Big Brother caught whatever Hubby and Little Brother had earlier this week. He vomited all day and into the evening. Luckily,  for me, I got onto the elliptical early in the morning,  so it didn't become an excuse. I got on for 45 minutes and watched the most recent episode of Once Upon a Time. Not a fan of the actor playing Hades (Greg Germann). I'm still waiting for Ally McBeal to pop out, which ironically I see weekly also, on Supergirl. Now SHE (Kalista Flockhart) is a much better actress!
**On a side note, I have no idea how I underlined the word "better." Totally unintentional and I don't know how to fix it!  Ha! (Gotta love posting from a phone).

One day at a time. One choice at a time.

I can do all things in Christ who gives me strength.

Day 124

This morning I got onto the elliptical for 43 mins.  I thought about posting right after but thought I might do more, but didn't.

This weekend Little Brother was sick.  Now, Hubby is sick, going on 2 days.  Oye, I hope Big Brother doesn't catch it.  I've been washing my hands like crazy, so I'm pretty certain I won't. I hope!

One day at a time.  One choice at a time.

I can do all things in Christ who gives me strength.

Day 123

This morning I got up early and did 54 minutes on the elliptical. I watched the last episode of Fear the Walking Dead, which I have to say was not as exciting as Blindspot. I can tell bc I only did 1.85 miles in 54 mins today compared to 3.07 miles in 43 mins on Friday. *shrugs*

Have a good night.

One day at a time. One choice at a time.

I can do all things in Christ who gives me strength.

Day 122

Today was a work day.  I did 5 sets of 15 overhead tricep extensions with 5lb dumbbells. I also did 3 sets of 12 tricep kickbacks with the 5lb dumbbells.

This past week was extremely stressful. I'm in the process of looking for a new job and I'm just super anxious thinking about it. That being said everything I had accomplished with my food choices weber out the door on Wednesday. I feel like I've gained 10 lbs but it's only been 5-7 (cookies are my kriptonite?). Because I blew it for a week, I'm not going to do my measurements for a week just so I don't discourage myself too much. I just want to get back on track and forget that it ever happened. I'll post measurements next Monday. I still never figured out why my phone won't let me upload pics. Someday I'll figure it out. I've got 200+days to figure it out!

Off to bed to get on the elliptical in the morning. It's gonna be a good day because I'm gonna make it one.

One day at a time. One choice at a time.

I can do all things in Christ who gives me strength.

Say 121

Man it's been a rough night. I went to work today and when I got home my youngest son has been sick. He's been throwing up all day long and all night since I've been home.  He has been able to go to the bathroom so at least he's not dehydrated. It seems like it might be food poisoning because there is no fever accompanied but I don't know what he could have eaten. He didn't eat anything at all today before he started feeling sick. I am exhausted so I'm going to bed. Before this so I did 3 sets of 10 squats. I have to get up in the morning for work again. Ugh.

One day at a time. One choice at a time.

I can do all things in Christ who gives me strength.

Day 120

I got some really good sleep last night. I was able to get up early this morning and get on the elliptical for 43 minutes. It's so much easier to continue with great habits when you start with great habits first thing in the morning. And it's also a huge sigh of relief when the day starts to wind down and I've already completed a chunk of exercise. It just makes it that much easier.

Off to work in the morning. I pray this weekend silk be ok. Looking forward to Monday when it'll be over!

One day at a time. One choice at a time.

I can do all things in Christ who gives me strength.

Day 119

I'm posting this a day late because I did not feel well at all yesterday. I've been really stressed and I've had a lot of anxiety due to some changes that I've had at work. I'm really surprised at how it affecting me physically. I'm also really surprised  to see that I AM a stress eater. I don't think I ever realized that about myself or maybe my stress levels have just never been this high. I'm trying to find another job and just put this passed me.

I forced myself to do 3 sets of 10 lunges and then I fell asleep. I was out cold for the rest of the night. It's probably the best sleep that I had gotten in a long time. Oye.

One day at a time. One choice at a time.

I can do all things in Christ who gives me strength.

Day 118

Today I take it easy with the exercise because I woke up pretty sore from all the gardening I did yesterday.

I just did 3 sets of 15 preacher curls with my 8-pound weights and forearm rolls 3 sets of 15 as well.

I've been playing with my diet recently I read somewhere that to spacing your food out all throughout the day is not a good idea if your trying to lose weight and burn your own body fat. He explained it in a way that made total sense. He said eating small meals all day long is like somebody delivering good food too you all throughout the day. Would you ever make an effort to get your own food if it was being delivered constantly? That's how this guy explained eating all throughout the day was. So, instead of having lots of multiple meals or snacks I have just been eating just 3 meals a day and we will see how that works at the end of this month.

I don't think this would be good for someone that has blood sugar issues, as you are trying to control your levels,  and this would cause 3 spikes a day.

Anyway, so far so good! It's only been a week so we will see :).

One day at a time. One choice at a time. I can do all things in Christ who gives me strength.

Day 117

I almost forgot to post.

This morning I did 30 mins on the elliptical and another 2 hours of general gardening (moving/removing rock, digging holes, planting flowers and herbs). I'm exhausted.

One day at a time. One choice at a time.

I can do all things in Christ who gives me strength.

Day 116

Today I got onto the elliptical 3 different times throughout the day. This morning I got on for 30 minutes before school. Then I got on this afternoon for 20 minutes before picking the kid up from school and I just did an additional 30 minutes, just to boost my steps up to over 10,000 steps.

Off to bed.

One day at a time. One choice at a time.

I can do all things in Christ who gives me strength.

Day 115

Today I worked and it was a much better day than yesterday even though I didn't get enough sleep. I had so much anxiety that I was up between 3am and 5am, and when I finally fell asleep my alarm went off to go to work.

So tired. ..

Anyway, I did a ton of shoulder shrugs,  like 10 sets of 10 (need to increase resistance) and 4 sets of 10 front deltoid extensions.

Offto bed.

One day at a time. One choice at a time.

I can do all things in Christ who gives me strength.

Day 114

It was a long, long day and I'm just ready for it to be over with. I did 4 sets of 10 lunges (each leg). Off to do it all over again tomorrow. Oye.

One day at a time. One choice at a time.

I can do all things in Christ who gives me strength.

Day 113

So you'd think (well probably more me than you) that after 100+ days of exercise in a row, I'd be less likely to procrastinate. Nope, I still struggle. I know that if I don't do it first thin in the morning, then I won't do it. It's a reoccurring issue with me. Bad choices. I know better.

Anyway, today I procrastinated and ended up just doing strength training.  Four sets of 10 squats and 3 sets of combo bicep/tricep extensions. Gonna try to get up early before work like last weekend, I just hope little brother doesn't wander in here in the middle of the night again. It's always the worst kind of sleep when you're half awake/ half asleep anticipating a kick in the gut or head. Oye.

One day at a time. One choice at a time.

I can do all things in Christ who gives me strength.

Day 112

This morning I got onto the elliptical for 30 mins (surprise, surprise lol). I have been increasing my resistance and elevation lately when on,  just to switch it up a bit.

One day at a time. One choice at a time.

I can do all things in Christ who gives me strength.

Day 111

This morning I got onto the elliptical for 30 mins before starting the day. I need to go to bed earlier to wake up earlier. Gonna try this tonight.

One day at a time. One choice at a time.

I can do all things in Christ who gives me strength.

Day 110

I really don't know what my problem is with posting these. I feel like I've posted, then I go to post the next day and see that I haven't. My days are mending together.

I got onto the elliptical for 45 mins.

One day at a time. One choice at a time.

I can do all things in Christ who gives me strength.

Day 109

Totally forgot to post today.  I got on the elliptical twice today for a total of 70 minutes. First thing after waking up for 20 minutes, and then for a second time, later in the morning, for and additional 50 minutes.

I've been on track with my food as well. Not sure where the sudden motivation came from lol.

One day at a time. One choice at a time.

I can do all things in Christ who gives me strength.

Day 108

Today was a work day, but I made a conscious decision to exercise, while at work. I snacked all day long and instead of eating lunch, I walked the entire time, around the perimeter of the hospital. I think I gave myself blisters, cause these boots sure weren't made for walking LOL. It was nice to get outside especially since the weather isn't scorching yet. I got in over 10k steps at lunch, and periodically walking in place.

All in all, it was a good day for a work day :).

One day at a time. One choice at a time.

I can do all things in Christ who gives me strength.

Day 107

I woke up early this morning and got on the elliptical for 20 minutes before work.

I got in almost 10k steps, which is great for a work day.

I'm exhausted so I'm going to bed.

One day at a time. One choice at a time.

I can do all things in Christ who gives me strength.

Day 106

Today I did the same thing as yesterday. I got onto the elliptical first thing this morning for 30 minutes before dropping the kid off at school. I just got off the elliptical for the second time today for an additional 40 minutes. I also completed my 10000 step goal which is something that I want to be more diligent about doing.

One day at a time. When you have time. I can do all things in Christ who gives me strength.

Day 105

I'm just now seeing that my post from yesterday didn't publish and is still a draft, so I'm going to publish that at the same time as this post.

I just got off of the elliptical trainer for the second time today. I just did 35 minutes and this morning I woke up and did 30 minutes.

One day at a time. One choice at a time.

I can do all things in Christ who gives me strength.

Day 104

I got onto the elliptical for 30 minutes this morning, first thing after waking up, and I just got off again for an additional 40 minutes. I feel much better about how things went today. It really is all about the choices that we make in every moment (at least for me). I keep seeing videos of this woman jumping around and doing all these plyometrics and calisthenics and stuff and it looks like so much fun. I hope I can do those things again. I know it'll take time but with good choices I'll get there again.

One day at a time. Once we set a time. I can do all things in Christ who gives me strength.

Day 103

One of my biggest problems with this challenge is finding motivation on the days when I don't exercise first thing in the morning. It becomes a game of wills and I almost always lose.

I thought forcing myself to blog before noon would help, which for the most part does, except for on days like today when I had to be at work for a meeting at 7am. I didn't get home until almost 1pm with all the errands we ran afterwards, and that killed the day for blogging and exercising (this is my problem on the weekends also with work). My motivation goes out the door. I guess this is where the "one choice at a time," part comes in, but I guess i struggle with that also,  which is why I have to tell myself this everyday.

Anyway today could have been better, and would have been if I didn't have that last minute meeting.

Tonight I did static holds in a bicep curl 1-2 mins each while pulsing inward to feel my deltoids working. I was watching those little cooking tutorials from Tasty and Tip Hero that float all over FB, hence the varied times (I watched 6 videos).

So tired. Off to bed. I HAVE to get out of this rutt and start exercising in the morning again.

One day at a time. One choice at a time.

I can do all things in Christ who gives me strength.

Day 102

Yesterday (Monday) I got onto the elliptical and started to watch Fear The Walking Dead but kept getting interrupted by phone calls  (I don't get phone service in my bedroom where my elliptical trainer is). Nonetheless, I got in 45 minutes of consecutive time before the interruptions started so I will just count that.  Not bad.

One day at a time. One choice at a time.

I can do all things in Christ who gives me strength.

Day 101

I can't believe that I forgot to blog for 2 days! On this day Sunday, was a work day, so I got onto the elliptical trainer after work for 15 minutes.

One day at a time. One choice at a time. I can do all things in Christ who gives me strength.

Day 100

Today was a crazy day at work.

I'm exhausted but I did a bunch of walking lunges before getting ready for bed I did 60 walking lunges and total so I guess that would be 30 on each side.

I'm hoping to get cancelled tomorrow if I could do I plan to start my week off better than last week one choice at a time right?

One day at a time. one choice at a time.

I can do all things in Christ who gives me strength.

Day 99

Today was not a great day. Little brother brought me to my breaking point again.  I hope this phase ends soon.

I did 3/12 tricep overhead extensions with 8# and 3/10 tricep kickbacks with 5#.

One day at a time. One choice at a time.

I can do all things in Christ who gives me strength.

Day 98

Today I procrastinated waaaay too much with exercise. I had all these plans and all of them just fell through. My youngest son was just not having any of it today so I kept putting it off for later and later and later and I ended up just working with weights tonight instead of getting on the elliptical.

I did 3 sets of 10 bent over rows with my 8-pound dumbbells and I did 3 sets of 10 deadlifts also with my both of my 8-pound dumbbells.

I hope to go to bed early and not procrastinate sleep lol, so that I can wake up early and exercise on the elliptical. It's supposed to rain so that makes for a nice indoor day.

One day at a time. One choice at a time.

I can do all things in Christ who gives me strength.

Day 97

Hey I already got into bed and just remembered that I needed to post this. I didn't post for yesterday either! I don't know where my brain has been.

Anyway today I watched iZombie and I got in an hour on the elliptical trainer. I'm exhausted so I'm going to bed.

One day at a time. one choice at a time.

I can do all things in Christ who gives me strength.

Day 96

I forgot to post for this day! I did 45 minutes on the elliptical watching something that I had saved on DVR (Blindspot).

One day at a time. One choice to the time.

I can do all things in Christ who gives me strength.

Day 95

This morning when I woke up I was hoping that my  butt would be sore from all of the pulsing squats but it wasn't. So I got onto the elliptical for 93 minutes and watch The Walking Dead season finale. Now it's sore LOL.

I also redid my measurements and I save them somewhere else so that if blogger acts up again at least I don't lose my data. I'm also going to try to attach pictures again but I'm not sure if it will work.

I was embarrassed to post my way to end my inches butt I guess now that I know that they're temporary I shouldn't be afraid to post them. Also it's the truth, so I shouldn't be ashamed. Maybe posting my numbers will make someone out there feel less self-conscious about themselves. I'll also include the previous two measurements that I had for the previous months. Here we go:

Start weight: 246.6

2/5/16

241.1#

Hips 53"
Waist 44"
R/L thigh 27" / 27"
Chest 38"
R arm 13.5" (1/2 way)
15.5" under armpit
L arm 14"
16" under armpit

3/1

238.8#

Hips 52"
Waist 44"
Across belly button 52"
R/L th 26" / 26"
Chest 36.75"
R arm 13"
Und armpit 14.5"
L arm 14"
Und a.p. 15.5"

4/1

237.8#

Hips 50.5" (-2.5")
Waist 43"  (-1")
Over bb 48" (-4"!!!)
Chest 36.5" (1.5)
R/L th 26.5" / 27" (-.5" / -0")
R arm 13" (-.5")
15" Und ap (-.5")
L arm 14" (-0")
15.25" Und ap (-.25")

I started measuring over my belly button because I could see after the first month that there was visual change and so I wanted to be able to see if numbers as well for added motivation.

I could not add pictures so I'll have to upload them to a computer and add them that way.

One day at a time. When do I set a time.

I can do all things in Christ who gives me strength.

Day 94

Today at work, my butt was so sore! Sounds silly but those pulsing squats I did yesterday did the job! I love the feeling of sore muscles after you've worked them. It means you did a good job!

That being said, I did more tonight.  This time I did 5 sets of 30 pulsing squats. Can't wait to see what tomorrow brings!

One day at a time. One choice at a time.

I can do all things in Christ who gives me strength.

Day 93

Today after work I did 3 sets of 30 pulsing squats. It doesn't seem like a lot but squats always kick your butt when you least expect it. :)

One day at a time. One choice at a time.

I can do all things in Christ who gives me strength. 

Day 92

Today I got onto the elliptical (with my lipstick on ;-)) for an hour and watched the last episode of the season of PLL.

I also did my weigh-in and measurements AND took a picture!

Back in 2009 when I completed this challenge the first time,  I didn't lose much weight,  but saw a lot of inches come off. I am seeing a repeat this year lol.

This month I lost 1lb, for a total of 8.8 lbs lost, but lost a bunch of inches.

I'm a little mad bc I did my measurements this morning but after going to retrieve them just now, my old phone deleted them,  along with the other previous months. I have to find a better system then relying on blogger mobile, bc frankly it sucks.

I remember losing 2? inches off my hips, 2 off my waist one off my arms, I think... and one off of my bust. I'll just have to do them again. So mad!

Here is an April 1 pic. I chose this dress bc I think it gives an honest representation of my curves, and if I start shrinking, I think it will show that.

I'll post measurements later, by Monday at the latest.

One day at a time. One choice at a time.

I can do all things in Christ who gives me strength.

Update: blogger won't let me attach any pics without crashing, so I'll have to figure out how to attach them later #bloggersucks