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 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 76

day 148 (day 1 / week 22)

Today I stayed home to exercise again. I did Slim in 6's Ramp It Up (48 minutes) again. My tummy is still trying to recover from those sugar free coconut chocolate things I had the other night. It was a party and everyone was eating pie and ice cream, and I chose to have 3 of those sugar free candy things for 200 calories--it hit the spot, but I probably wont have any ever again lol.

I really like Slim in 6. You guys know this though :). Between the cardio, yoga and strength training with the resistance bands, I feel like I get a good workout. There are squats, lunges, push ups and all sorts of slimming goodness in just 48 minutes.

For the last few weeks I have been tweaking with my calories. Sparkpeople has me eating 1200 calories everyday along with my exercise. I realized that when I eat 1200 calories a day, I stay at a stand still with my weight. This small delay tells me that I'm not eating enough. I added another 100-150 calories to that (still staying in my calorie range that sparkpeople gives me), and my body reacts to it better. I find this fascinating. Exercise/diet misconceptions say that the less you eat, the more you will gain weight. Very NOT true. I learned this in school and have read articles about this over the years (including recently on sparkpeople), so if paraphrasing isn't accurate enough, please don't bark at me. I am not a professional! This is what sparkpeople has to say about it:

The SparkPeople program will NOT allow any female to eat less than 1,200 calories daily or any male to eat less than 1,500 calories daily.

When calories drop too low (usually below 1,200 calories for women and 1,500 calories for men), your body’s protection mechanism switches on because the body thinks it is starving. In order to conserve energy, the body lowers your metabolism and you will not burn calories as quickly. This results in a slower weight loss rate, or sometimes prohibits any weight loss from occurring.

At SparkPeople we call this “Starvation Mode”. When your caloric intake falls below these levels, it is also extremely difficult to obtain all the nutrients that your body needs for health and survival. These very low calorie intakes can also lead to other health problems such as eating disorders, gout, gallstones, and heart complications.

Your body, our bodies go into starvation mode, when we don't eat enough, and it starts storing, instead of burning thanks to our ancestor, Captain Caveman. They never had a guaranteed meal so their bodies had to adapt to that. I guess we still have this gene. Anyway, make sure you are eating enough! Eating too little on your weight loss journey can hinder your results! Sparkpeople provides and actually incorporates the formula into your account so that you are getting the estimated correct amount of calories to your lifestyle. You can even go in and see the formula, and do it yourself (I did!). Maybe I'll post the formula here someday so you guys can do it too :).

I can't believe it's almost Friday. Time is flying by waay too fast, so I am glad that I am not sitting here, saying "I'll exercise tomorrow." Tomorrow is gone, and today will be soon. Make it count!

I can do this. I am a star.

day 143 (day 3 / week 21)

I'm so proud of myself. Today I went for a walk/jog, but I went on my 3.18 mile route (according to sparkpeople's fitness map tracker), that I usually power walk with the Monkey Boy. I was able to complete the entire thing in under 50 minutes (48 to be exact) taking 12 minutes off of my normal time...but I didn't have a monkey boy or a stroller this time and I jogged some of it (although very slowly).

I am definitely able to jog for longer periods now. Today I didn't focus on running for a given amount of time, but I would make visual goals--run to the bus stop, run to the tree around the bend, etc. I am taking it really slow, being careful not to go fast, but to mind my form, and make sure that my feet are landing properly, that I'm not slouching, my pelvis is slightly tilted forward, that my stomach is tight and I am engaging my muscles. This all sounds a lot easier than it is, coming from the girl that trips over air when chewing gum. Man! mental coordination mixed with physical, is hard for me! lol.

I don't have a picture from my bowl from last night, but I think I will have it in a few weeks--it needs to be fired and all of that good stuff.

Hope you all have a relaxed weekend!

Oh! One more thing that I have been meaning to share. When I started trying to jog about a week ago, I became aware of something that I am constantly reminded of, and it gives me HUGE strength, confidence and faith that I can do this. I took a picture of it:


His word is a lamp to my feet, and a light to my path (Psalm 119:105). God is the strength under my feet, He guides my way and supports every step I take. I just thought that was so awesome, and IS so awesome that I am continually reminded of that, because of the cross on the sole of each of my shoes. :) :) :).

On a different note, (not taking anything away from what I just said), but aren't my new running shoes cute? lol

Make today count! It's so worth it!

I can do this. I am a star.

UPDATE: I just got finished mowing a REALLY long lawn (unfortunately ours) with a push mower! 45 minutes burning roughly 385 calories (according to sparkpeople). :) :)

day 135 (day 2 / week 20)

Today I started off my workout (Ramp It up from Slim in 6) with the word of the day, from yesterday, resonating in my mind....boredom. If I think I'm going to be bored with my workout, then I'm going to be bored with my workout. Why am I letting myself be self defeating? I am a star! I can do this and have been doing this! I know I can do this!

With that attitude in mind, I didn't focus on the workout anymore, but on my body. My muscles. My movement. My breathing. The task at hand. I just closed my eyes and focused. You'll be surprised with what you can accomplish when you approach every task with this kind of focus. Before I knew it, I had done every single second of Ramp It Up, as if I had been doing it for a month straight...including those tedious leg lifts! I did EVERY SINGLE ONE OF THEM--IN A ROW! I definitely felt the burn, but that burn just made me focus even more!

The moment I decided to let go of the workout and focus on my body, my entire focus of the workout changed. I am no longer thinking about the mundane and monotonous workout--the time that it takes to complete it, but that the more I do this, the stronger I am going to get.

A friend of mine that lives next door to my in-laws here in Vegas, runs every Saturday morning with her "running group." When we first moved here and she saw that I had been losing weight, she asked me if I wanted to go running with her. First I thought, "wow that would be a great way to lose this weight faster" but then reality set in and I kind of chuckled in the back of my head thinking, "that's a good one, a fat girl 'running.'" But instead of saying "no," I said, "when I have a pair of running shoes that fit me w/out causing pain, I will go running with you," knowing fully well that that wasn't going to happen. I think it was the next weekend that my MIL bought me these shoes (I love them so much!).

I saw my friend the week after I got these shoes and I was still on the high from being able to fit in these shoes, that I mentioned to her that I had them now. Well she invited me then. The idea of going to run, is more exhilarating to me at this point, than doing it. I am scared! She said she would email me some information and we left it at that.

Two days ago I got that information and it's been gnawing at the nape of my neck ever since. When it was just the thought of her and I running, I was ok with it. Now she has a runner friend coming too! They want to run 5 miles for 2 hours. How on earth am I supposed to do this??? I have not ran a single step in a VERY long time--at least 5 years. I used to run all the time when I was fit, but I had some problems with my foot, that I am afraid will come back to haunt me.

All of this went through my mind as I found my focus in my workout today. How will I ever become a "runner" and get into the best shape of my life, if I don't just do it? My friend knows that I am overweight (duh it's obvious lol) and she knows that I will probably not be able to run like her and her friend. She knows she will probably have to stop for me a million times, and she still wants me to come (I think, lol). What's the worst that will happen? I go and all of this happens--I'll stop, my foot will hurt, I will have to walk, I'll slow them down, annoy her friend, yadda-yadda-yadda. No the worst thing that would happen, is that I think about it, and that's all that I do. "What if I went running with her?" "Would I have been able to do it?"

I think I'm going to do it. I woke up this morning planning my email to her, telling her why I couldn't do it. I will tell her exactly how I feel, and if she still wants me to go, I will. If she doesn't, then I will go running in my own neighborhood, by myself, just to see how I do. What's the worst that could happen? I find out that it's just not the right time for me yet, and I know, not assume, but actually know :).

It amazes me that when God sees us grabbing for the strength to do something, He gives it to us. We can do all things in Christ, who gives us the strength to do it! ALL THINGS. (Philippians 4:13).

I can do this. I am a star!

day 134 (day 1 / week 20)

Today I did Ramp It Up again (Slim in 6). It took me almost 2 hours to finish 48 minutes of exercise due to numerous interruptions. I guess I'll be doing this workout for 2-3 weeks, until I move onto Burn It up. I need to figure out how to trick my brain so that I don't get bored doing Slim in 6 for the next 6 weeks. (on a side note, my son is standing next to me watching me type this, and he laughs hysterically as soon as I type something *shrugs* 2 year olds will laugh at anything lol) Today is only day 2 of doing Slim in 6 again, and I can easily see myself getting bored. I'm sure I'll figure out someway to trick my brain into happily doing it--after all that's what I did to get myself to exercise for 20 weeks straight so far!

Yesterday I was never able to do Slim & Limber like I wanted to (when I am done here, I am going to fix my labels so that it's not accounted for). The monkey boy just never went down for a nap, making him a tiny terror for most of the day, so I wasn't able to get anymore alone time than to type my post. We did, however, go for a walk to the park down the street. It was nice because it was windy yesterday, but it was still close to 90F and the sun was so bright I ended up with a headache (I need to find a cute sun hat or something).

Today I want to do Slim & Limber and Slim & 6pack when he goes down for his nap, but I'm not going to hold my breath. If it happens, it happens, if not, oh well. We will probalby go for another walk as well.

I hope everyone has a great day. I can't believe tomorrow is Friday?!?! These days are going by a little too fast for me. Make it count!

I can do this. I am a star.

day 116 (day 4 / week 17)

This morning I went and took the initial class (again) to get my CPR certification (I let it expire...oopse!). I woke up early, so that I could exercise before the class, but my workout today was almost an hour long, and I futzed around too much before before starting.

The class only took 3 hours long, and the compressions were a HUGE workout (with the dummies)! I know I will feel it in my lats tomorrow. I got home and immediately exercised, which I am so proud that I did!

I did Punch, Kick and Jam (Turbo Jam--48 minutes) and feel great! I also added a supplement to my diet--Omega 3-6-9 which my MIL swears by although I have the less expensive version AND I am only taking the softgels (not the oil). She says the oils (Udo Oil, more specifically) give you better health benefits all around, including weight loss (she was introduced to it when she was doing the Prism diet--which she also swears by). I'm a little skeptical, but I love her and trust her (not necessarily this diet) so I will try it, for her :). I am still doing my research on it as well (cause that's just what I do) :).

I hope you all have a great Sunday!

I can do this. I am a star.

day 82 (day 5 / week 12)

My hubby doesn't get off of work until after 4pm, so I wasn't able to post this earlier. I wasn't able to get online to post it either (the connection seems to only like my hubby lol).

Today (around 1:30pm) I did Punch, Kick & Jam (with the sculpting gloves). I'm definitely not as sore as I was yesterday, or even the day before.

95% of the apartment is packed. Yaay!

Hope you guys have a good day and a great workout! Make today count! You'll be happy you did :).

I can do this. I am a star.

day 81 (day 4 / week 12)

Today I did Kick, Punch & Jam. Man I am sore (good sore) from doing it the past few days. I also did the same workout yesterday, instead of the 20 minute workout (I need to change it on my blog from yesterday)

Doing the labels from my hubby's phone is hard. It doesn't list my preexisting labels for me, so I have to type them in from memory (no big deal cause it doesn't affect you guys, but I'm anal lol).

Surprisingly my hubby's computer is picking up a wireless connection (mine didn't find any), so I am able to type this on the computer, and not his phone. He doesn't have a keypad that is easy to type with either--he has Palm Centro (i'm not that impressed with it anymore lol) so blogging on it takes more effort than I want to put out. My phone has a keypad, but has very limited internet access. I can only go to sprint pages (i can't even use OR search for google!). Thank you for understanding if I can't blog for a day and for having faith that I am exercising. I am not stopping now especially after 81 days in! If being sick wont stop me, lack of internet deffinitely wont lol.

Anyway, this connection is not reliable at all and is extremely weak, so I need to post this now before I push my luck! Besides I want to watch the snow fall one last time before we leave (I'm happy that it's snowing right now. The snow is the only thing I will miss about this area!).

Make today count!

I can do this. I am a star.

Day 79 (day 2 / week 12)

O.M.G. that was hard (Turbo Jam's Punch, Kick & Jam)! I was able to keep up better today without the distraction (God bless his little heart). I am extremely sweaty and so happy to do that workout! I know that I am going to have great results with it, and I love how energetic it is and Chalene is. She totally helps you through it (mentally).

Punch, Kick & Jam is a lot more challenging than the other Turbo Jam workouts I have done so far, and I'm glad. I'm not saying the other ones are easy-peasy, but I don't sweat like this with them.

Anyway, a few days ago I mentioned something that I discussed with my MIL, that I wasn't ready to mention here. Well I guess there isn't going to be a better time, and maybe a lot of you can relate. Maybe coming out will encourage some and make you feel like you aren't alone in this battle.

Hi. My name is Melissa Henning and I am addicted to refined sugar (I said yes to most of these things).

This isn't to say that I eat brownies all day. Or candy. Or ice cream (it's not allowed in the house or I would! lol). Or even table spoons of sugar lol. It's not to say that I will eat an entire box or batch of cookies. I just always have it in my life. Always.

I know it's not a big deal, but I never realized how much I really enjoy my sweets, and baking a lot. I realized this looking at my diet as a whole and trying to cut it out of my diet. Looking for nutrient dense foods, and foods that are lower in calories or low in fat and higher in protein (just depends). Sugar really packs in a lot of unnecessary calories in my diet, and since I cut it out of my diet (it's only been a few days) I have lost 3 lbs. It could be water weight (probably), but I haven't seen a jump like that, on my scale (my current scale) ever! (I need to throw that thing away btw).

For the past few months, since it was mentioned to me in a comment, I have been using sparkpeople.com, but not obsessively inputting my food (just my exercise), until lately. I was packing in almost 600-800 calories--sugar calories here and there and not even realizing it, or I would put aside healthier foods because I knew I wanted to have a brownie or something later! I NEVER enter it into sparkpeople, and when I look back on my days, the days I have only eaten 330 or 500 calories, it's because the rest was something I was ashamed to admit, unconsciously (lol). I feel like I am lying now that I am aware of it, and not inputting it. Now when I want something sweet, I take a tsp of honey. It's sweet enough to knock out my sweet tooth, and leaves me satisfied. If I'm not, then I take 2. A serving size of honey is 1 TBS and is 60 calories. There are 3 tsp in 1 TB. My MIL went through this years ago when she was on the .brain.fart. Prism Diet, and honey helped her. She was a lot worse when it comes to sweets though, she was a hardcore addict, so much so that she still can't touch sweets, because she says she cant just eat a bite, but will eat it all.

I'm not saying that the reason why I'm not losing weight, is because I eat sugar, but maybe part of it is. I know that muscle is heavier than fat and that I am using weights daily (my sculpting gloves) and doing squats and lunges, so I am getting slimmer, but staying the same weight. I know that is fine, but it really bothers me that I am *so close* to 200 lbs, and I can't quite get there. Now that exercise has become apart of who I am, on a daily basis, I need to start thinking about what I put into my body more. I need to appreciate the body that God gave me more, and feed it correctly (again, not that I eat junk all day--I don't). I know some of you will be concerned, some of you wont care either way, and some of you may be right there with me. This isn't to say that I am going to go wacko about it and not eat foods with it in there--I am just not going to cook/bake with it anymore, or at least for a while, until I know I don't need it (I have never wanted to need anything) and I am not going to buy things to specifically satisfy my sweet tooth (even if they are those 100kcal packs).

Sugar isn't the only thing I have changed either. I am forcing myself to drink no less than 8 glasses of water a day (no more soda--but I have been doing that for almost a month now) and I eat 2 cups of salad (no dressing--my preference because I'm not a big fan) with every meal. Yes, even including breakfast.

I feel much better making these changes, just in the last few days...even being sick (my cold is almost gone btw...). I am proud that I am finally jumping on this bandwagon, and now that I have honey, I don't feel like I am depriving myself (when i tried to cut it out cold turkey, w/out honey, I honestly couldn't and didn't want to do it).

Sorry for the long blog entry! I hope you all have a great Friday. This weekend I am going to experiment with my hubby's phone (since his web access isn't limited), and post a blog entry that way, because I will be without the internet for, quite possibly, a while (until we have jobs which we still don't have!).

Make today count! It feels great, I promise!

I can do this. I am a star.

Day 22 (day 1 / week 4)

I can't believe it's almost been a full month since I started exercising. Almost 11 months left and judging by this month, I have a feeling that it's going to fly by.

Today I tried something a little different. I still did "Ramp It Up!" (tomorrow is my last day) but I exercised while my 2 year old son was fully awake and in play mode. I usually exercise when he is first waking up, so he is just wants to lay there or during his nap, so I was a little nervous. Since tomorrow is my last day doing Phase 2 (48 mins), I figure that Phase 3 "Burn It Up!" is going to be longer, and I'm probably going to have to do it while he is awake, so that's why I tried it today.

He tried exercising with me and thought it was fun. He laughed a lot, but he always does I guess. He is so cute and my eyes welled up, watching him trying to exercise with me. He threw his arms in the air, when we were doing the "up and over" and kicked when we kicked. He ran circles around me when I was doing squats and climbed through my legs when I was doing lunges and yoga. He cried when I was doing the resistance portion, because he wanted my resistance bands, so I pulled out another set for him, and he tried to do it with me (I want to try to get a video of this so I can show his girlfriends when he gets older). He got down on his stomach to do push ups with me (lifting his head up and down lol), and during the leg lifts that I hate so much, he gave me kisses, tried to climb up on my back and draped his blanket over my leg (silly kid). I had fun and so did he :). This is how he used to be before he started his "terrible 2's" phase, so I really enjoyed exercising with him.

I also felt a lot stronger today. I sweated a lot more and was able to complete the entire workout without having to stop. When my muscle burns, it feels different now, like it's tolerable, and not painful, and I can push through it. I remember when I used to have rest days (actual rest days, not (non)rest days like I have now) I would feel stronger when I came back to the gym. Its a great feeling to see and feel yourself getting stronger!

Thank you again to everyone that inspires and motivates me to exercise. You guys really help me do this!

Happy exercising and see you tomorrow!

I can do this. I am a star.

Day 21 (day 7 / week 3)

Yesterday Logan's Ped told me that I needed to put him on a "preschool" schedule (whatever that means) so that when he starts school, it wont be such a struggle to do it then. She didn't tell me when to get him up, but I'm assuming it's earlier (I just don't know how much earlier). She said I need to start getting him to bed by 8-8:30pm at the latest. I usually try to put him down at 9, but he really doesn't fall asleep until 10-10:30pm. This being said, I got early to exercise again today. I spent too much time doing other times and let the time go by. Seeing that I had to get him up early today, to start this new sleep routine, I knew I wasn't going to have enough time to do "Ramp It Up!"

I decided to do a (non)rest day today (phase 1, "Start It Up!"), because of this, and I wish I didn't. I'm not tired or sore, I was just short on time, and wanted to get a quick(er) workout in. I think this contradicts what I said yesterday about "making it count." Making it count, means more to me now, now that I understand why things are done the way they are on Slim in 6. I think this afternoon I'll do "Ramp It Up!" during Logan's nap, because of this. I really hope I'm not cold and tired again. I don't want another power struggle with my willpower lol.

Yesterday I was logging my exercise into SparkPeople, and asked myself, "I know this is aerobics, but it's also sort of like circuit training, so what kind of exercise is Slim in 6, exactly?" It turns out it's called, "Slim training." I knew this from years ago (from the infomercial) but just forgot. This is what I found yesterday to jog my memory:

Slim Training^®
If you've ever seen a marathon, you've probably noticed one thing all the elite runners have in common—they're very thin. Too thin, perhaps, for some tastes, but, regardless, the process of running marathons all the time tends to make people very thin. The reason is that they do so much repetition that it limits the muscle's capacity for growth as well as using the body's stored fat for energy.

Utilizing a similar concept, we expanded on Sectional Progression by adding a repetitive element. By working the same body parts with less rest in between similar workouts, the body is forced into a different type of adaptation. Like a marathoner's body shows, repetition limits the amount of muscle growth that can occur. Wanting our clients to achieve a more well-rounded appearance than that of a marathoner, we reduced their massive number of repetitions and used a full-body circuit. This is done daily to limit the amount of resistance (weight) that can be used while working the entire body for a lean, slim look.

While very effective, this style of training can't be done all of the time. For this reason we made Slim in 6^® a six-week program and recommend a recovery cycle in between rounds. A recovery cycle is a period of time when you reduce the intensity of your workouts—generally the weight and speed—to allow your body to recover, get strong, and become ready for another round of high-intensity training.
http://www.focused-on-fitness.com/weight/proven-workout-techniques.php

Reading this made a light bulb pop over my head. Now I know why we are doing exactly what we are doing. Somehow this will make it easier for me--there's a method to this madness!

Now, I'm really excited to move onto the next phase on Sat!

Sorry for the long post again.

Hope everyone has a good day and a good workout!

I can do this. I am a star.

Day 20 (day 6 / week 3)

I really didn't want to exercise today.

I wanted to earlier this morning, which is why I woke up early for it, but realized that I couldn't finish my entire workout if I did. I have to hear Debbie say, "See you tomorrow!" or I wont come back (lol) and I didn't want to punk out on my workout. I know would come up with excuses not to come back and finish the workout and end up saying something like, "well at least I did something today." I didn't want that. I want to make every bit of my exercise count.

My son had his 2 year wellness check this morning at 9 am, and I needed to make sure I got him up, got his snuggle time in (or he's a little punk for the rest of the day), feed him breakfast and get us both ready which means I needed to get him up around 7-715 at the latest. I woke up at 6am, would have started exercising at roughly 6:30, which puts me at finishing the workout at around 7:15. I would then need to take a shower and get ready, and wouldn't be able to wake him up until probably close to 7:45-8am. There is no way we could have made the dr's appointment on time if I did that--so I just didn't exercise at all this morning, but it really messed with my energy/willpower.

Logan got shots today, so it was also a very draining day. He cried from the moment we walked into the exam room until we left. very. draining. day. After we got home at 10:30am, I took him for a long walk (an hour) which could be considered exercise, but I don't, just cause I felt rather relaxed and exercise doesn't make me feel that way. Then put him down for a nap and thought about exercise. I watched the parade laying down on the couch (thinking about exercise), covered in a blanket (thinking about exercise) and FREEZING (thinking I really didn't want to exercise lol)! That made me drowsy (being on the couch does that to me anyway) and then I REALLY didn't want to exercise.

I got up to check some of our ebay auctions (to fund our move), then my email, and I saw some comments on my blog, which really motivated me to exercise!

THANK YOU SO MUCH!

I did "Ramp It Up!" again, and had so much energy doing it! It warmed me up, and now I feel great :). I increased the tension on the resistance band part of the workout, and my arms feel like jello. I have 3 more days on this phase, so I have to make it count!

I really wanted to thank you guys for motivating me to get my butt up and exercise! I really needed it today :).

Thank you again, and I hope you guys have a great workout yourselves!

Smiles and blessings!

I can do this. I am a star (thanks to you guys!)

Day 19 (day 5 / week 3)

Today was another early exercise day. I had another workout invite on WOWY from DaleBramall again (same person from yesterday's invite), but this time it was for 6am (PST)! I really tried to be ready and push play at 6, but it was really hard. I ended up starting at 6:30am instead (better than nothing). I did "Ramp It Up!" again, and calculated that I have 4 more days on Phase 2 before switching to phase 3 "Burn It Up!" That means that Friday is my last day doing this phase. *biting fingernails*

I really hope I'm strong enough to move on. I feel like I have really improved. I am excited to see what kind of results I will see :).

Now that I have been exercising for 19 days straight, its definitely getting easier to get up and do it each day. I don't feel like it's taking as much effort or willpower to do this anymore. It's becoming a part of my routine, and even my 2 year old is recognizing this. He woke up early today, and watched patiently from the couch as his mama finished her exercises. Now he sits patiently waiting for his cuddle time before breakfast.

This being said, see you tomorrow! Have a great workout and glad to see that so many of you joining me! It feels great, doesn't it? You guys are stars!

I can do this. I too, am a star. :)

Day 18 (day 4 / week 3)

Thank you for Logan's birthday wishes yesterday. He says "thay coo!"

Today I did, "Ramp It Up!" again and I had an appointment to workout at 7am (PST). Some guy I don't know has been sending me (and a LOT of other people) workout invites through milliondollarbody.com (beachbody), and today I was on time :). This is what the invitation looks like after I have RSVPed:

RSVP FOR WOWY WORKOUT

RSVP Confirmed: Yes, I will attend

You have responded that you will attend the workout on Sunday, Jan. 18 at 7:00 AM PT with DaleBramall.

173 other people are planning to work out with you (WOWY) on Sunday, Jan. 18 at 7:00 AM PT.

DaleBramall will be doing Other for that workout. Log in and choose your workout now in your WOWY calendar.

It's gonna be a workout party! Invite someone else to WOWY on Sunday, Jan. 18 at 7:00 AM PT.

Be sure to log into WOWY a few minutes before your scheduled workout. We'll see you there!


It was early, but I felt great. I think it was because I knew 173 other people were there all over the US doing it with me.

If any of you would like an invite to workout, let me know your email address and I'll gladly send you an invite! It might prompt you to create an account, but you can do it for free (there is also an option to pay for extra perks--I would but we are saving money for the move). I really like working out with Team Beachbody because I use a lot of Beachbody products, and it personalizes my logged workout to my exact workout, instead of being pretty generic like SparkPeople (I'm still learning about that site, so I might be wrong!).

Last night for dinner I had Salsa Chicken wrapped in a tortilla (yum!), from A Year of Crockpotting, that I made the night before last. I also made 14 cups of chicken broth, which I was super excited to make again, because I have a new emmersion hand blender. It took 1/2 time time to make after it had been cooking all day in the crockpot, than the first time I made it, because I used a blender. SO EXCITING! I mention this, because I am consciously eating healthier and really enjoying it! Thanks Stephanie for posting in 1 lump all of the great healthy recipes (and super yummy not-so healthy recipes ;)).

Hope everyone has a blessed Sunday and a great workout! You can do it! Have fun!

I am doing this! I am a star!

Day 17 (day 3 / week 3)

Today is going to be a quick post because I have a ton of stuff to do. Today is my son's 2nd birthday. We're not having a party or anything, but I need to wrap a present...that he has already seen--how will we know he will like it if he doesn't play with it first? lol. He's a bit of a toy snob lol. I also need to bake him cupcakes so we can sing happy birthday to him.

Yesterday afternoon I did a 2nd part exercise, "Ramp It Up!" but I was very distracted and didn't do it wholeheartedly and I skipped the stuff that I had done earlier that morning (the resistance stuff).

Today I didn't want to exercise, and started to exercise with that state of mine. I decided 10 mins in, what is the point in exercising if I'm not going to try my hardest? I am the only person that can do this for me and it's a total waste of time to mess around (I will never see results that way), and so I perked up a little. I did, "Ramp It Up!" again and could tell that I am getting a lot stronger than when I started it. Great feeling!

Before I go, I have to tell you guys! I got the most wonderful compliment from my hubby yesterday. He is the kind of person that you have to pull compliments out of and lead him to, so it amazed me that he said something without my coaching. It's a little rough around the edges, but it was a compliment nonetheless! I was putting my belt on, and my pants still kept drooping and he said, "You lost your butt. It's flatter now. It's almost as flat as your back and that's why your pants wont stay up." Then he squeezed my butt and said, "it's getting firmer too." (sorry for the graphics). What a great compliment (in his own way lol :)). I kept thinking about that today when I was doing the squats, lunges and leg kicks that I hate so much. Yaay! :)

Have a good workout everyone!

I can do this. I am a star.

Day 16 (day 2 / week 3)

I woke up really early today. My hubby leaves for work at 5:30am and lately I have been asking him to set my alarm clock (aka my cell phone) and bring it to me. Today, he couldn't find it. He tried calling it, and didn't hear it ring, so we assumed that I left it in my car. I did. Knowing that it was in my car, I couldn't fall back asleep. I put my husbands robe on, a pair of pants and my slip on shoes (without socks) and ran out to my car to get the phone. It didn't feel like it was below 20F, but it was--it's 22 now as I type this and it's 8am! I came back inside and tried to go back to sleep, but that wasn't going to happen. I went online and poked around SparkPeople again.

Every 30 minutes I would try to pump myself into doing, "Ramp It Up!" I did this for 2 hours and finally decided (at 7:30) to get up and move. I put the video on and then punked out. I just don't want to do Ramp It Up this early...can you blame me? Right now, I just don't enjoy this kind of intensity first thing in the morning. I will work up to that because I have read somewhere (in school and I think Oprah's Bob Greene said it too), that you benefit more when you exercise early--although if you can't, it doesn't mean that you shouldn't exercise at all. Some exercise is better than no exercise at all :).

Punking out on RIP didn't mean I was punking out all together today. I decided I really wanted to do some resistance training, and did...with my resistance band. I guess it was about 20-30 minutes--I don't know exactly how long as I was watching the news about the plane crash in the Hudson River yesterday (can you believe that???). I focused mainly on upper body...well arms and shoulders. I worked on my shoulders (overhead shoulder press), biceps (standing bicep curl) and triceps (overhead tricep extension<--I step on the band instead of holding it behind my back like this example). I did 3 sets of 15, for each muscle group. This afternoon after I put Logan down for a nap, I plan to do "Ramp It Up!" I know that I will benefit most from the cardiovascular exercises that I do, so that is why I am going to do it. Also, it would be lame of me to do a 6 week program, and not do it! lol. I have had this series for a long time, and never fully completed it (same with The Biggest Loser workout). My goal for this year (inside of my resolution), is to complete them...in full--all at 1 time, not start and come back to it like I always do. I will post about my additional exercise that I do this afternoon on tomorrow's blog, unless any of you would prefer that I post it today, in a 2nd parter. I am happy to do either...whatever helps to motivate and encourage just 1 of you to exercise, since you guys are doing an incredible job of motivating and encouraging me :). Thank you again and happy exercising! We can do this because we are stars!

Day 15 (day 1 / week 3)

Thank you for all of your support! I appreciate every single comment you guys have left for me. You all are so wonderful and it's such a blessing to see how many amazing people are out there that are so supportive! I am only just starting the 3rd week of this and have learned so much through you guys, and have total faith that with your help (and God's), I will not fail!

My intention was to get up early again and exercise like I have for the past 2 days. My son decided he didn't want to stay under his blanket last night (his room is one of the coldest rooms in our apartment) so he cried to get tucked back in although he has warm footie pj's. After the 4th time of doing this (at about 3 am) I stopped going in there to put him back under the blanket. Could be a growth spurt for why he keeps waking, maybe he was cold, but after I ignored him once, he went to sleep by himself and didn't wake until I woke him up. He usually sleeps through the night so it's not normally a problem.

This being said, I wasn't able to get myself up by 6am to exercise. I was invited to a "workout" by someone on WOWY, and there would have been (I think) close to 150 or so other people working out at the same time (6am PST) invited by this same person. I punked out.

I think I might feel better working out in the afternoon anyway.

After Costco, and after putting Logan down for a nap I did Ramp It Up (again). I feel better and stronger in the afternoon. *shrugs*. When I used to exercise a lot, back in the day, I lived for morning workouts. The earlier the better. not anymore!

It's funny, I wanted to exercise, not to exercise, but to count the number of squats, lunges, etc that I am doing, to enter into Sparkpeople (yes I joined!). I know I said "don't be obsessed over numbers," but these are different. lol. For a long time, I though that the "numbers" were screwy in "Ramp It Up!" I count EVERYTHING not necessarily like calories, but like steps, or jumping jacks or lunges... clicks or something repetitious that I hear or see (I guess I'm OCD like that). I like things symetrical and even. If you're gonna do 19 kicks with the left leg, do 19 with the right! Not 19 and 9--that's very lopsided to me and makes me want to fall over. I feel like there is just unfinished business left. It just makes sense, right? Ok I may be a little odd...eer even, no pun intended--yes it was! lol

With exercise, counting makes it easier for me. It's totally psychological. If I don't count how many lunges I am doing or know when I am going to stop, I feel like it hurts more, than when I count them lol. Maybe it's becuase I know how many I have left of whatever I'm counting and I can focus the pain better. *shrugs* Anyway, Debbie counts all funny. 20 lunges on the right leg, 17 on the left. I guess I don't blame her. She is trying to run a workout! The leg kicks that kill me at the end is all messed up and that really messes with my head. With each leg we do a "Kick and extend", a "Straight leg" (up and down) and a "bended knee" (I think of Boyz II Men everytime I hear those words lol). She does them very unevenly and it's extremely hard to describe how. This is how it looks on my paper. Hopefully you can understand what I mean:

Extend Straight Bend
R
14+8
L
19+8

Straight Leg
R
14+8
L
9+8

Bended knee
R
17+8
L
16+8

No wonder my left leg hurts more than the right!

See, that is TOTALLY psychological, cause right now I just added up the numbers combined for the right leg and then the left, and it's 1 number off. lol. oye! She's screwing with me! :)

Sorry, this is rambling. I'm gonna jump onto sparkspeople and poke around some more now.

I wish I could pass out hugs because you all really don't know how much you guys are helping me! Thank you for exercising with me and sharing your suggestions and feelings. I am right there with you guys! If I can do it, you can too!

((hugs))

Happy exercising and see you tomorrow!

We can do this because WE are stars!

Day 13 (day 6 / week 2)

Today I decided to wake up early and get the exercising out of the way. I knew yesterday that today was going to be a busy day and didn't know where to fit exercise in. I have to go find a job working at night so that we have some money to pay for our move. The only place I saw to fit exercise in was when I was sleeping lol. I told my hubby that when he left for work, I was going to wake up and exercise. He laughed. We both laughed (mine was a little more of a cry). Everyday I have a LONG luxurious sleep (except for when I'm sore) because I am a SAHM. I can do that. Logan lets me. He doesn't usually wake up until after 8 am anyway (and that's because I wake him up!). I'm a lucky gal, so I can afford to wake up a little early. I count my blessings that he sleeps in everyday, because I have friends who have to get up at 5am because that's when their kids do. ((hugs))

So I didn't get up at 5:30am, when my hubby left for work. I woke up at 7. lol. Logan was still sleeping and I was able to get my exercise in, so it's all good. I have the rest of the year to work on waking up earlier to exercise. In fact, I would prefer to exercise earlier than later.

Can you guess what I did today? That's right! "Ramp It UP!" the second phase of the Slim in 6 Series with Debbie Siebers (from beachbody). I didn't have fun today. I was tired and lazy. I think it's because I didn't take my vitamins yet and exercised first thing. I need to eat too. I read somewhere (I think in school) that it takes like 2 hours to digest, and you shouldn't eat before you exercise, because your body isn't able to give its full attention (energy) because it's distracted. I read if you do eat before you exercise, to do it 2 hours before. *shrugs* I'm not a professional so I don't know. I can't remember where I read it, but it sounds good and kind of makes sense so I didn't eat either. I think that took away from my energy too.

I hope everyone has a great day exercising today! If I can do it, so can you! Just get out there and do it! You'll be glad you did! I am :). *high fives*

Smiles and blessings, and see you guys tomorrow!

I can do this. I am a star (so are you!).