Day 23

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

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

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

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



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

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

Once Upon A Time (with tiny muscles)

Man, I'm sore. Have I mentioned lately how much I have missed Gym and heart him? I'm sore, and my hubby is probably tired of hearing about it, but I love it! I also started bringing my notebook with me too, so that I could track everything again. Gym kicked my butt and I can't wait for it to happen again! I look forward to it :).



A long time ago I had learned that when you strength train, you should work antagonistic muscles, if you are training often, so that you don't cause too much drama too your muscles. So because I do everything people tell me to (j/k), that means I work chest/tricep one day, back/bicep one day, then legs, then shoulders, and then abs (I'm sure I don't need to do all of those separate days, but I used to go to the gym literally everyday, so that's how I did it back then). I try to give 72 hours in between each muscle group worked, so that I don't hurt myself. It all makes sense in my brain (doesn't say much lol) so I started doing it again, now, just as I did it once upon a time when I used to practically live with Gym. It worked for me then, so here's to hoping it will work again.

once upon a time, I used to be thin with tiny muscles :)

This last Saturday, was Chest/Tricep day. My favorite. I worked so hard, my arms are still sore. I made the mistake of training triceps first, so I wasn't able to get a great chest workout. My triceps were just way too fatigued. I learned my lesson, and switched things up on Sunday, during Back/Bicep day.

Saturday: 1hr 40 mins @ the gym

Start-Precor Elliptical 16 mins, resistance 1, cross ramp 10

- Machine Inclined Chest Press, 3 sets/15 reps, 30lbs (rpe 4-5)
- Chest Press (machine), 3 sets/15 reps, 35lbs (rpe 4-5)
- Tricep Overhead Extension (machine), 3/15, 20lbs (rpe 4-5)
- Seated Peck Deck (machine), 3/10, 20lbs, (rpe 6-7)
- Tricep Pull Down (Free Motion Machine) Supine grip, 3/15, 10lbs (rpe 4)
- Tricep Pull Down (Free Motion Machine) Prone grip, 3/15, 10lbs (rpe 4-5)
- Tricep Pull Down--with bar (machine), 3/10, 20lbs (rpe 4-5/5-6 in the end)

End- 16 mins, Stair Mill, level 5.

calories burned according to HRM: 457
------------------------------------

Sunday: Back/Bicep day, 1 hour

Start- Precor Elliptical 5 mins (ear phones kept falling out--got annoyed and stopped)

- Lat Pull Down (narrow grip), 3/15, 60lbs (RPE 5)
- Lat Pull Down (wide grip), 3/15, 60lbs (RPE 4-5)
- Deltoid Row (lower grip focusing on back), 3/12, 40lbs (rpe 4)
- Bicep Curl (machine), 3/10, 20lbs (rpe 5)
- Erector Spinae machine 3/15-12 (kind of pyramid training w/ weights) 50-80lbs (rpe 3, 3-4, 4-5)
- Arm Curl (overhead/machine) 3/10, 25lbs (rpe 5)
- Seated Bicep Curl (free weights) 10lbs (wrists really hurt doing these):

• hammer curls, 10reps, rpe 4-5
• alt supine, 20 reps, rpe 5
• hammer curls 10 reps, rpe 5 (b/c of wrist)
  

- Bicep Curl, 25lb bar, 3/10, (rpe 4-5)

Calories burned according to HRM: 214

I didn't do a lot of cardio on Sunday, but whatever. I don't care. At least I'm getting to the gym. I figure if I put too many rules on it, that might be a bad thing, at least this early into my new fitness goals/journey. It is all probably more info than anyone would ever want to know, but that's what I did, and how my brain sees the gym, and maybe it will benefit someone one day. These numbers help me to determine what to do each time, and I guess it keeps the gym interesting when there is such great potential for it to not be interesting.

I would love to fit into the pants that I wore once upon a time (yes, I still have them), so I don't care how crazy I look/sound. lol.

Have I mentioned that the Monkey Boy loves gym too? When I don't feel like going, he urges me and says (in his little 3 year old voice), "You exercise at gym today? Let's go to my gym now." How awesome is my 3 year old support system? He doesn't even know how awesome he is for his mama ((heart swell)) (is that a God thing, or what?).

I work the next few days, but plan to hit the gym after work. We will see how that goes though. lol.

Hope y'all had a good weekend and have a great week!

If I can do this (being a fat girl) anyone can do this!

I can do this. I am a star!

Day 365 (day 1 / week 52)

Well I did it. Today was a workday and I forgot my pedometer at home again (doh!). It was much busier than last week so a safe estimation of 13000 steps wouldn't be pushing it. My arms are also still a little sore from Wii Baseball yesterday...which I love.

So there you have it.

365 days of exercise.

I did it!






















It wasn't a great feat because it was a bunch of small "make it counts" in a row. That's all you gotta do with anything big. Break it down into smalls. Think of it like a huge hunk of meat. You don't just inhale the entire thing. You break it down and work on it piece by piece.

You can totally do it if you are wondering.

I have a toddler, a job (a very physical one at that!), I work 12 hour shifts, I used to be a stay at home mom, and have a busy life. I even moved across state and sprained an ankle. I got a dog, had to give her up and was adopted by a strange pizza eating cat. I suck at replying to emails, comments and everything else that is bloggy related, I have issues managing my personal time, and I procrastinate BIG TIME, so this totally proves that I am just like everyone else (although you might be waay better at these things, than I am! sorry again!), with a normal life. I also heart sugar. yummy yummy sugar. *drool*

I have learned a lot and I had a vision of writing down a ton of things/goals that I had achieved throughout the year, but I'm tired.

I will tell you however that I am going to continue and focus on the things that I brushed aside or didn't try too hard with this year, because I didn't want to get overwhelmed and quit. I can totally do more than 10 mins a day now, so that will change. I also want to focus on strength training a lot more and my eating. I did HORRIBLY the past 2 weeks w/ my diet, but the rest of the year wasn't as bad as it could have been. This proves to me that focusing on what I eat is a must, if I want to lose weight. MORE weight. I probably gained 10 lbs in the last 2 weeks just eating whatever I wanted. I don't feel like I was owed it, but I spent a good portion of this year being "good" so I just let lose. Tomorrow that will change. Back to focusing and back to the basics. I also want to lose more weight in 2010 than I did in 2009.

That being said, I (really want to cry) decided to commit to something for 2010 that I have been dreading, but it is inevitable. I have issues w/ it and it needs to stop. I am in total denial and think "why the heck would I do this," but I need to. It's an addiction talking. I'm talking about sugar...again.

In 2010 no more sugar. Anything I see as a threat to this, I won't eat--including diet soda *cry*. I keep reading that there is a relationship between sugar cravings and diet soda, so I am just going to cut them both out. I know I am not strong enough, but I realize that God has given me HUGE amounts of strength and determination to do something hard for 365 days in a row (I'm not stopping people!) that I know that with His strength, I can do this. No sugar for 2010. I ate a good-bye brownie at work. It's going to be hard, but I know I can do all things in Him who gives me the strength to do it (Phil 4:13)! So can you!

My work schedule is crazy for the next few days. I work on the 1st, 3rd, 4th and 6th, until I get back to my usual Sunday, Monday, Tuesday schedule. I do have a 1 day off in there, twice, but it's not enough for me to rest up, do measurements and all of that and get stuff done to be ready for work the next day, so I probably wont be posting any results until the 8th. I will post results for the entire year and all of that good stuff :). I don't think I did my first measurements in January until the 10th or 11th anyway, so it's all good.

Have a good night and a safe new year.

Thank you all for your support and patience with me. You all have blessed me in so many ways. I wish I could hug you all--including all of you lurkers! You bless my socks off!

((HUGS))

In 2009 I exercised 365 days in a row.

I CAN do this. I am a star!

Day 349 (day 6 / week 49)

Wednesday, December 16, 2009

It was my day off and I walked for 30 minutes and did the Wii Fit for 20, focusing on the strength training they have on there. My feet were so sore when I woke up in the morning.

In the evening we went and got The Monkey Boys picture taken with Santa (waited in line for like an hour).

He looks so cute, although it's a total fake smile--the camera lady didn't seem like she understood children and lost like every child's "moment" that was in line before us (very slow).


I don't ever remember Santa ever looking this real (he always had a fake beard when I was little). We've been lucky to get real Santa pictures with our son since we started taking him :).

I can do this. I am a star.

Day 338 (day 2 / week 48)

I see a lot of green today. Not in my environment, but in my measurements. My first reaction is to always be bummed, but I figure that I have still come a long way from this time last year, and I am human. Things change and things will--especially these numbers, so I'm not so worried.

One of the things that I wanted to prove with this blog was that I am just like you. I am your average everyday person. I am a Christian mom, wifey, sister, daughter, friend, employee and big-fat-hairy-nerd. If I can do this, so can you. I am not any better than anyone else out there, I am not perfect, and I wanted to document my journey to prove to anyone out there struggling like I am, that this is doable, with all of the potholes that come along the way. One of the things that comes along with being just like everyone else is that I stumble too.

This month I gained pounds and inches, but that doesn't matter! I can definitely say that earlier this year, I would have been upset, more than I would have let show, but now it's just a number that I will look back on. It means nothing ultimately because I don't plan on keeping these numbers. I plan on trading them in for even better ones next month, and the months to come. I wont stop just because I had a bad month (or 2 or 3). I hope you don't either.

The other thing I realized doing my measurements is that accountability is HUGE. I bet my numbers wouldn't be so green if I had posted my measurements/picture from November. I did my measurements, but lost them! Can you believe that? lol. I can't for the life of me remember where I wrote them down, what I wrote them down on or where I stashed it. Oh well. Such is life.

The other thing that I am slapping myself around with is something I have been having problems with for a while. Sugar. For some reason I have it in my head that it's all or nothing. I can't find a good compromise in my head, and that, I think, is the addiction talking.

I am TOTALLY making excuses and finding loop holes so that I can justify having it. This is a big problem for me. I don't see it so much, but my hubby calls me on it ALL THE TIME, so every once in a while, like this morning with my measurements and my hubby saying, "it's because of all of the sugar you eat," I get that light bulb that brings me to this place of reckoning.

I think it was last month (the last time that I had talked about it here) I had decided that because my fiber bars had sugar, and my shakes and all of the things that I eat/drink to promote my healthy lifestyle, had a small amount of sugar in it, that I couldn't eat/drink these things, in order to do my "sugar free 100 days." I decided that it wasn't fair to myself or healthy to cut those things out, so I allowed sugar again, just so I could eat those things, and only those things (my fiber bars, meal replacement shakes, etc). That is fine and all but I totally blew it. I baked cookies for Logan yesterday. Chocolate chip cookies. With real butter (I NEVER use real butter!). They are chalk full of calories. The worst part? They aren't that great but I ate them anyway. It wasn't even a minute of bliss worth. It was like, "it's there, so I am going to eat it."

Speaking of bliss, we were at Target a month or so ago and I saw for the first time Hershey's Bliss, Raspberry Meltaways. OMG those are yummy, but so evil! I didn't eat the entire bag. I never over indulge. I always eat the recommended serving size and always count my calories, and I never go over my calories, but it is still a huge problem for me. Can sugar be a bad thing, when you eat it in moderation (liks everyone always says to do) and are accountable for it? YES. For me DEFINITELY YES. Oye. I know I need to give it up, but it's hard. It's my addiction. I will lose that just like I did with all of the inches I have lost throughout this year. I guess next year it will be focusing on these types of things, now that I am hugely aware of them.

My measurements:

Measurements: (day 338 / day 275 / day 10) (- "/# lost in current month)

Wt: 193.0 / 187.8 / 215 (+5.2) (total lost 22 lbs)
Chest: 35.5" / 36" / 43.75"(-0.50") (total lost -8.25")
Waist: 32" / 31.5" / 41.5" (+0.50") (total lost -9.5")
Hips: 41.5" / 41" / 47.75" (+0.50") (total lost -6.25")
Neck: 12" / 12" / 14.25" (-0") (total lost -2.25")
Under bust: 30.5" / 30.5" / 36.75" (-0") (total lost -6.25")
1" below belly button: 37.5" / 37" / 47.5" (+0.50") (total lost -10")
Above my thigh: 38.5" / 36.75" / 44" (+1.75") (total lost -5.5")
R Thigh: 18.5" / 19" / 27" (-0.50") (total lost -8.50")
L Thigh: 18.5" / 18.5" / 27.5" (-0") (total lost -8")
R Calf: 13" / 13.75" / 14.5" (-0.75") (total lost -1.50")
L Calf: 13.75" / 14" / 14" (-0.25") (total lost -0.75")
R upper Arm: 10.5" / 10" / 14" (+0.50") (total lost -3.50")
L upper Arm: 10.5" / 10.25" / 13.5" (+0.25") (total lost -3")
R wrist: 5.50" / 5.50" / 6.25" (-0") (total lost -0.75")
L wrist: 5.75" / 5.75" / 6.25" (-0") (total lost -0.5")

Jan 2009

Feb 2009

March 2009

April 1, 2009

May 1, 2009

June 1, 2009

July 1, 2009August 1, 2009

September 1, 2009
October 3, 2009
December 5, 2009

I don't really have much to say. I am surprised about the calves. I measured them three times because I thought it was some sort of fluke. I am also more disappointed for not being accountable to November with my measurements then, cause now I can't find them. I don't care about this months numbers. They are just numbers. They won't always be these numbers so I don't care. This is what 338 consecutive days of exercise does to your mentality :). Nothing changes, nothing stops. It's doubtful that I will make a loss of 10lbs by Christmas though lol. I'm gonna keep trying nonetheless! lol.

I will post an update later for what exercises I did today. I am feeling a tad under the weather but that won't change anything.

UPDATE: Being sick is no excuse, but in a way it is. I just walked with my hubby and the monkey boy. In doors and around a store a few times for 2 miles. It took us about 50 minutes. Off to bed early. I have to work in the morning. Good night!

I can do this. I am a star.

Day 325 (day 3 / week 46)

Last night was the first night that the Monkey Boy spent the night somewhere else (with his Nana). It was different. I was able to exercise this morning and focus 100% on that. That was nice :).

Today I did Day 4 of the 30DS and I did level 2, because I am bored with level 1 (yes only after 3 days lol). I modified the cardio again, doing shadow boxing instead of the jumping (high knees). I also followed Anita with the other jumpy ones that they were able to make low impact through her.

I also did 36 Wii Minutes focusing on balance and core stuff .

This is Mii (Meli). Isn't she cute?

Today I played this one game, that I hate. It's a balance game that I don't even know the name of. I hate it, because I absolutely suck at it. I can usually never get passed level 2 or 3 (I've been to level 3 like maybe 2 times in the last month) so I never play the game. I decided to today, though, just to see if I could do it.

I beat it! I finished ALL of the levels in the time allotted! TWICE!! Wow. I really amazed myself today. Just goes to show that all of the balance work I have been doing lately is paying off, and proves anything you put time into does pay off in some way or another (*cough* exercise).

This is level 1. You have to shift your balance to get the tiny Mii marble into the glowing pinkish hole.


(level 1)

Then it drops to level 2, it becomes more challenging with more marbles, so on and so forth. The very last level has like 10 (i'm guessing) Mii marbles and you have to get them all into the hole. It's shaped like a W with ridges and the sides are flat so that they roll of the edges (the entire board spins and knocks them all off when one of them falls off the sides). It was surprisingly easy. Some of the previous levels are much harder.


(level 2)

At the very end, all of the Mii Marbles form a circle, change into little Wii people at the end, and jump around excitidly. It's a small but fun reward.



On top of that fun reward, my Wii Fit age was 20 today! TWENTY!



Even the balance board was pretty impressed with that--it never says my body is in "great condition" (that means absolutely nothing except to a 31 year old fat chick lol).



Off to take a shower and go Christmas shopping for the boy and other family members. That is why we had him spend the night at his Nana's house. I hope he didn't drive her crazy. He probably didn't. He only does that to us. lol.

Make it count! The holidays are coming up!

I can do this. I am a star.

UPDATE: I also walked 2.12 miles.

Day 324 (day 2 / week 46)

Today I did a 2 parter. I woke up early, did day 3 of the 30 Day Shred (level 1) and then later in the day I spent 62 minutes exercising with Mii on the Wii Fit.

Today I modified a lot of the cardio on the 30DS. My ankle is really starting to bug me with all of the jumping, so I just limited the jumping. Jumping jacks are OK, I don't know why, but jumping up and down, straight up and down, hurts. During the butt kicks and jump roping I did the shadow boxing and jumping jacks. I just rotated those throughout the entire video. Whatever, I don't care. At least I'm doing it, ya know? lol. I hate to say it, but it's only day 3 and I'm already getting bored. Maybe I should move onto a different level for the sake of my sanity.

On the Wii Fit, my Wii Fit age was 29 (so glad I have been staying in the 20's although it means absolutely nothing) and I did a combo of balance, posture, relaxation, warm up, mind/body, arms and some other things. It mixed in yoga, strength training and the games that help w/ coordination and such. I love this thing. Here is my calendar. When I check in each day, I stamp the day with my star, cause ya know I'm a big-fat-hairy-star (it's appropriate) and you can see my Mii, with her new hair and color (light blue instead of black). Her hair is a little shorter than mine, but it's the same idea I guess (a bob).


(I guess she was kind of checking out her butt when I took this picture lol)

The Wii Fit also gives me tips, which I though I would share with you today:




I also walked 1.57 miles w/ the monkey boy and pebbles, trying to practice what we learned in puppy class.

Hope you all had a great night. Can you believe the month is almost over???? Gees. Make it count, the day's are flying by!

I can do this. I am a star.

Day 318 (day 3 / week 45)

Today I did 63 Wii Minutes. I focused on flying...b/c if it ever becomes possible, I want to be a seasoned pro at it lol (they are arm exercises lol), the snowball throw, which is core exercises/posture and balance in one, golf (again) and tilt city, which is balance with hand/eye/body coordination. Lots of fun.

I tried to do the Locust or the Lotus (I forget what it's called), where you sit as still as you can w/out moving (supposed to help you focus), but I can't make it passed like 60 seconds when I am doing good. On average I can't make it passed 20 seconds lol. Oh well, just gotta keep trying. I did that 4 or 5 times. I just can't sit still very well lol (I move all around on the stillness test too.

I took pics for yesterday and forgot to post, so I will do it now. This is what it looks like when I golf. You can see the little yellow area with the red line in it, that shows my shift of weight and my balance.










No matter what I do or how many times I move her, this is where she ends up when I am exercising. She loves her cow hoof (that's what she is chewing on) and will gnaw at it the entire time I am exercising. More often than not, she has her paw right up there on my balance board. lol.







Have a great day! Make it count! If you start now, you will be on track for any new years resolutions--it takes a while to create habits! It's very doable though, you just have to be committed! You can to anything you tell yourself you can! If you say you can't, you wont.

I can do this. I am a star.

Day 309 (day 1 / week 44)

Thursday 11/5/09

I don't know how I forget to do something that has been apart of my life for over 300 days. I can remember to do the part 1 of it (exercising) but I often forget to do part 2. Last night we were up until 11 pm pulling everything out of the cupboards/cabinets for the bug man today. He is going to spray inside and out for us. I am VERY happy about this. I thought about blogging all day, and for some reason it just slipped my mind when I would have normally done it, mostly because I was busy doing something else.

Anyway, I woke up yesterday and my ankle was feeling great! I babied it the day before (Wed) with class and all because I knew that I wouldn't be able to stay off of it, so I did my best to use the tools I had available (rolling chairs, crutches) to stay off of it. Doing that made a world of a difference for me yesterday. I didn't walk with a limp or anything!

Because I was feeling so great, I decided to pull out the Wii Fit. I did 92 minutes worth (split up 55 minutes in the am, 37 in the pm when the monkey boy took his nap) and stayed away from the ones that I had to balance on one foot (like the yoga pose, "Tree").

I felt pretty good on the Wii and even got in a picture.

This is apart of the arm segment of the categories. It is a tricep extension. I do them with the Wii remote and a water bottle for a little added resistence.

You stabilize your elbow, and there is 2 whistles that you hear. The first whistle you pull your hand down your back, the 2nd whistle you extend, inside of the red bar that rolls along the top of your screen. The red bar turns yellow, if you do it when you are supposed to (the Wii remote/eye thingy on the top of the tv pick up the movement). If you go before the whistle or after, the segment won't turn yellow and you don't get as many points (100 points total, 50 for each arm). Sorry the pictures are a little fuzzy (I kept getting it on an extend, and not before that, but I wanted to share with you guys what it says to us during the exercise)...










See you guys in a few hours. Off to do some wii fit for today (Friday). Make it count! The sooner you get it over with, the better you'll feel all around!

I can do this. I am a star.

Day 304 (day 3 / week 43)

Today I played the Wii Fit for 82 minutes. I took some pictures, so that you all can see what I see everyday.

One of the first thing that I see is Mii and my Wii Family. My hubby is handsome even in Wii form lol.




After that, I do my body test (today's Wii Fit age was 28) and then head over to the locker room.



I select "Wii Fit Plus Routines," (because I'm too lazy to make my own) and it brings me here:



I select "Combine," all the way at the bottom, because, well, I'm just lazy and it's the easiest route to tell it to do the most, with the least amount of work in getting there. Then I see all of the Wii Fit Plus routines all together:


I select them all (back/shoulders, relax, warm up, tummy, over indulge, leaner Mii, posture, legs, hips/legs, arms, figure, body/mind and hips all not in that order) and then tell it to do three at a time, so for each one of those squares, I get 3 routines (I think). It includes strength training, balance games, body/mind games, yoga and cardio.

Today's picture I selected to show was... um... total brain fart. I can't remember what it's called! It's yoga. I think it's called Sun Salutation (I see the name in the upper left corner of the screen now lol). I tried to break it down into the 3-4 pictures for each move in the total yoga... thingy. Ignore the wording of the first few pictures. I got the beginning moves in the middle of the cycle of this yoga thingy (it's not a position, or move, so what is it called then? segment? lol). It cycles 3 or 4 times I think.




and so forth... see how it repeats?

The yellow thing with the red dot in it is me and my balance. When you are doing any strength or yoga, and even a lot of the games, you have to have proper balance/posture. The yoga poses rate you on your balance and how well you can keep that. I did it, and then took pictures, so I didn't cheat out of this one ;).

So after everything is said and done, and I have completed all of my routine, I see my bank and calories burned:


and then I go back here:



My piggy bank grows as I add Fit minutes (Wii Fit points?) to the bank. I have done a total of 9 hours and 13 minutes worth of Fit Points. My piggy bank has grown into this. it didn't always look that way, although I can't quite remember how it looked to start off with. I just remember it saying that it grows as you feed it. Anyway, that's it!

I have to work tomorrow but I will try to get some pictures of the body test and my Wii Fit age. It fluctuates a lot. I've been lucky to stay in the 20's this week so far lol. Usually I'm in the 40's.

Hope you all have a great Halloween! Yesterday at the counter the check out lady asked the Monkey Boy if he was going to get lots of candy, and his response was, "poo poo, pee pee," lol. It has TOTAL relevance because until now, he has only gotten candy when he uses his little potty chair lol. He is going to be so surprised when we let him have a few pieces tonight, without having to use it (I hope we don't screw up our little system).This is the first Halloween that the Monkey Boy actually understands stuff going on around him so he will have fun AND he picked out his own costume! He is going to be a fireman. I couldn't get him to change his mind either (I certainly did try--we have a perfectly fine monkey costume at home). I'll post pictures when I have them.

Have a good night and stay out of trouble, both physically and mentally (everything in moderation!).

I can do this. I am a star.