About Me

My photo
I am Christian, a wifey and a mommy...but mostly I am just a big fat hairy nerd!

Sparkpeople

Join me at: SparkPeople.com

Get a free online calorie counter, diet and exercise plan

Join/find me on Sparkpeople.com!

http://www.sparkpeople.com/myspark/register.asp?from=friend&ReferredBy=4463440

My username is HeyNowBNice

my sparkpage/more info about me:
http://www.sparkpeople.com/mypage.asp

Counter

Labels

walking (116) elliptical (110) PM exercise (81) AM exercise (75) work (69) Turbo Jam Maximum Results (63) late post (61) sore muscles (55) 30 minutes (50) 20 minutes (46) 60 minutes (43) Quickfire Challenge (QFC) (42) beyond exhausted (39) twice a day (35) blessings (34) exercising with Logan (33) tired (33) 20 minute workout (32) sick (28) 25 minutes (24) 48 minutes (24) squats (24) 28 minutes (23) Wii Fit (23) 15 minutes (22) 43 minutes (22) 45 minutes (22) Burn It Up (22) Chalene Johnson (21) EA Sports Active (21) jillian michaels (20) 30 day shred Level 1 (19) 40 minutes (19) measurements (19) sparkpeople.com (19) 10 minutes (18) Cardio Party (18) Ramp It Up (18) early (18) pictures (18) strength training (18) HOT (17) 10K+ steps (15) biceps (15) HRM (13) WOWY (13) lunges (13) 19 minutes (12) 30 day shred Level 3 (12) Phil 4:13 (12) Slim in 6 (12) Slim and 6pack (11) procrastinating (11) 30 day shred Level 2 (10) 35 minutes (10) Slim and Limber (10) The Firm 3-in-1 Cardio Sculpt (10) shoulders (10) EA Sports Active 2 (9) injury (9) start it up (9) 50 minutes (8) 80 minutes (8) 85 minutes (8) 90 minutes (8) Punch Kick and Jam (8) Turbo Sculpt (8) achy (8) beachbody (8) exhausted (8) lazy (8) running (8) Be Anxious For Nothing (7) Dance Dance Revolution (7) push ups (7) 14 minutes (6) 39 minutes (6) 5# weights (6) 56 minutes (6) 70 minutes (6) birthday (6) frustrated (6) gaining weight (6) school (6) sick kids (6) yoga (6) 120 minutes (5) 150 minutes (5) 53 minutes (5) 65 minutes (5) free weights (5) stairs (5) stress (5) 11 minutes (4) 16 minutes (4) 18 minutes (4) 26 minutes (4) 32 minutes (4) 3x a day (4) 75 minutes (4) God is faithful (4) Netflix (4) The Biggest Loser Workout (4) Wii (4) back/bicep (4) chest/tricep (4) dumbbell (4) late night (4) mommy brain (4) recipe (4) static holds (4) tricep day (4) 12 minutes (3) 17 minutes (3) 22 minutes (3) 23 minutes (3) 24 minutes (3) 27 minutes (3) 33 minutes (3) 36 minutes (3) 5 minutes (3) 54 minutes (3) 55 minutes (3) 62 minutes (3) Learn and Burn (3) back (3) gym (3) phil 4:4-7 (3) turbo jam 20 minute workout (3) 105 minutes (2) 108 minutes (2) 29 minutes (2) 2lb weights (2) 31 minutes (2) 44 minutes (2) 46 minutes (2) 63 minutes (2) 66 minutes (2) 8 minutes (2) 92 minutes (2) 94 minutes (2) TBLW Low Intensity (2) The Biggest Loser Wii (2) The Firm 3-in-1 Ab Sculpt (2) The Firm 3-in-1 Body Sculpt (2) exercising with Matthew (2) fear (2) 1 Chronicles 28:10 (1) 100 minutes (1) 104 minutes (1) 110 minutes (1) 116 minutes (1) 132 minutes (1) 188 minutes (1) 21 minutes (1) 34 minutes (1) 41 minutes (1) 42 minutes (1) 52 minutes (1) 5813 steps (1) 71 minutes (1) 72 minutes (1) 73 minutes (1) 76 minutes (1) 84 minutes (1) 86 minutes (1) 98 minutes (1) Adele (1) James 2:17 (1) Luke 6:45 (1) Psalm 119:105 (1) TBL work contest (1) Turbo Jam (1) excuses (1) exercising with Jana (1) failed miserably (1) faith (1) family in the hospital (1) fell asleep during w/o (1) introduction (1) swimming (1) yard work (1)

Saturday, February 27, 2016

Day 58

Today was a really crappy day. I am being audited by the state of NV state Board of nursing for my CNA certification (random audit), and I can't find proof of all of my CEUs. I'm super anal and always have my stuff together and completed. I have never been audited before so I just figured if/when I was,  I can just print my certificates from work. I started to do that,  but I can't find 21 minutes worth. They revamped the program we use and it's gone! I need 24 hours and I can inly find 23.65 hours worth. I have to call education on Monday, and if they can't help me,  then I might possibly have my certification taken away. This is awful :( the waiting till Monday to possibly get this resolved is killing me.

I am so not in the mood to exercise. I'm anxious and worried and I have a huge knot in my stomach. I did 3 sets of 10 squats and lunges. I hate today and am gonna go to bed.

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

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

Philippians 4:6–7

6 Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.7 And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

Friday, February 26, 2016

Day 57

The end of the month is quickly approaching and I'm anxious about my measurements and numbers. I know I shouldn't be but I am.

So I don't know what the deal is with my alarm clock at this morning I didn't get up AGAIN. My husband woke me up as he was leaving for work and I mention that my alarm didn't go off and he said that it did because it woke him up. So I looked at my phone and it gave me some weird message about 1 minute delay auto shut off. I don't know what that was so I set my alarm three different times so that I'm not late for work tomorrow.

Tonight I worked on core and triceps. I did overhead dumbbell tricep extensions, 3 sets of 12 with 5 pounds, and I did dumbbell side bends also three sets of 12.

We'll see how tomorrow goes...

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

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

Thursday, February 25, 2016

Day 56

I woke up so late today that I need to reevaluate my late night exercise sessions. We were so late that my son was over 30 minutes late for school (we usually get there 30 mins early).

I have to start getting up early to exercise again. I feel better now so that can't be an excuse. Better choices.

Tonight I only did 10 mins so I don't stay up too late. Gotta get up early.

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

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

Wednesday, February 24, 2016

Day 55

Starting to feel back to normal.

Gonna be a short post as it's waaay passed my bedtime.

Twenty-five mins on the elliptical.

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

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

Tuesday, February 23, 2016

Day 54

I still don't feel well. I have no appetite and my stomach hurts. We sent the kids to bed early for fighting (best decision ever!) So I get to go to bed early too.

I forced myself on the elliptical tonight and was only able to do 10 mins. Better than nothing. I really hope I wake up better!

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

I can do all things in Christ who gives me strength

Monday, February 22, 2016

Day 53

I have been feeling less than normal all day. I have a sour stomach, body aches, a headache and I feel exhausted and nauseous. Ugh. I drank a lot of water and didn't each much. I feel yucky.

I just worked on biceps and shoulders today,  3 sets of 10 with 5# bicep curls and shoulder shrugs with static holds. My arms wobbled and shook the whole time. I need to sleep this off. Hubby said he could hear my stomach from across the room. I need to sleep this off. I pray I wake up better. I have a busy day tomorrow!

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

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

Day 52

I really don't know what my deal is. I keep forgetting to blog my exercise.

Last night after work I got onto the elliptical for 43 minutes. I started watching a new series called Grimm.

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

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

Saturday, February 20, 2016

Day 51

Tonight I did squats and lunges. I started taking Joint Juice a couple weeks ago and an eager to see how fast it works. Definitely less discomfort with squats. I was a little nervous with the lunges.

Off to bed and back to work again.

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

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

Friday, February 19, 2016

Day 50

I can't believe that is been 50 days. It went by so fast!

Well, I thought the stomach bug left this house, but I was wrong. Little brother started throwing up again tonight on the way to Target. Gees. I hope it passes sooner than later. The doctor said it could last for 2-3 weeks. Oye!!

Tonight I wanted to get on the elliptical but I spent the time that I had cleaning up vomit.

I did 3 sets of 12 lying dumbell overhead extensions and dumbbell chest press/fly combos. Off to work in the morning.

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

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

Thursday, February 18, 2016

Day 49

Last night was awful. Little Brother was up every 2 hours throwing up until 7am. I'm so tired but got on the elliptical for 43 mins and watched another episode of Pretty Little Liars.

I dug my trusty heart rate monitor up and wore it tonight for kicks n giggles. Totally different info than what my elliptical AND Fitbit gives me. Really disappointing. Totally figures. Recording data for now until I know what to do with the numbers (gotta dig out my old books with the equations).

Good night.

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

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

Wednesday, February 17, 2016

Day 48

Oh my gosh,  babies throwing up left and right today. I am only able to sneak away long enough to do bicep curls and dumbbell lateral raises.

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

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

Day 47

Wow. I totally forgot to blog yesterday's exercise. I got on to the elliptical trainer last night for 43 minutes and watch another episode of Pretty Little Liars.

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

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

Monday, February 15, 2016

Day 46

Hahaha I totally forgot to write this. I completely forgot that I had a blog abs just sat there lying in bed trying to sleep,  but couldn't bc I felt like I was forgetting to do something.

I watched the new episode of The Walking Dead and did 45 minutes on the elliptical this afternoon. So tired. Good night!

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

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

Sunday, February 14, 2016

Day 45

I just got off of the elliptical for 43 minutes (a full episode on netflix).I'm so tired but proud of myself for doing this on a work day. My motivation was knowing tomorrow is a holiday so I don't have to take the kids to school and can sleep in if my body let's me.

Off to bed.

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

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

Saturday, February 13, 2016

Day 44

Such a long day at work. I got home almost 2 hours late. I ran to the store to pick up some stuff to make blueberry buckle for my co-workers tomorrow. It's taking forever to bake and I just want to go to sleep. I've been doing squats waiting for it to bake. Ugh.

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

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

Friday, February 12, 2016

Day 43

Today i worked with my free weights. I worked on chest and triceps. I did a combination chest fly and chest press with 5 pound dumbbells 3 sets of 15. And I did tricep overhead extension and lying tricep extensions both 3 sets of 15 as well.

Have to work tomorrow. Yaay (boo). Wow... this week went by really fast. Btw, going to sleep early did not help me wake up any earlier this morning. In fact I was late again! Lol. Oye.

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

I can do all things in Christ who gives me 

Thursday, February 11, 2016

Day 42

This morning I got onto the elliptical trainer for 42 minutes. I also made my 10000 step goal. I'm going to try to hit the sack early tonight and see if it helps me to wake up early tomorrow morning.

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

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

Wednesday, February 10, 2016

Day 41

I just saw that day 39 was a draft and never posted... Oh well.

I just finished 30 mins on the elliptical. I'm having a really hard time waking up in the morning and I'm exhausted through the day. Idk why (there are some reasons but they have never hindered me before). I know these late night exercise sessions probably don't help.  Anyway,  I wish I would just wake up early and get exercise over with. I guess one day at a time? And maybe a more obnoxious alarm tone? lol.

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

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

Tuesday, February 9, 2016

Day 40

Today I touched up my hair so I was on the elliptical lot today. I was on for a total of 42 minutes this morning while I was waiting for my hair to process and I got back on for additional 20 minutes before bed just to round off the hour. I'm tired 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.

Monday, February 8, 2016

Day 39

I woke up really late this morning so I didn't get on the elliptical. I got on to the elliptical this evening for 30 minutes. Super boring but that's it. I started taking Joint Juice today in the hopes that I can start to do more active and high impact exercises. I'm sure it'll be a while before I see anything come of it though.

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

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

Sunday, February 7, 2016

Day 38

Today was a work day and I fit home an hour later than I normally do,  but I was still able to find the motivation to get on the elliptical for 30 mins.  I found it in the strangest thing! A plug that I never noticed before and the cord to my phone charger lol.

When I got upstairs to get ready for bed my phone was almost dead. I use my phone on the elliptical bc I watch Netflix on it and track with runkeeper. I can't do this if my phone is dead, which usually results in me finding something else to do,  not as active. Anyway that's where the plug/cord comes into play and the rest is history.  Charged my phone, watched netflix, tracked my stuff. Yaay. Gonna get up early to do this again in the morning.

Good night!

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

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

Saturday, February 6, 2016

Day 37

Today was a pretty stressful day at work. I'm glad to be home. But I'm exhausted. I only did some free weights. I did shoulder shrugs, bicep curls, dumbbell front raises and upright rows. My arms are shaking!

I'm exhausted! Off to bed.

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

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

Friday, February 5, 2016

Day 36

This morning for 30 minutes I got onto the elliptical trainer and watched Netflix. I think it's starting to become a habit now so it's becoming much easier to exercise everyday(thank goodness). I still struggle with the weekend so because of work. I want to wake up earlier than I normally do to exercise but it's just so hard, plus I don't want to wake my husband up as well. He shouldn't have to suffer lol. I'm going to ask him if he would mind waking up early tomorrow so that I can get it in.

Ooh, I got my 10K steps in for the day too :).

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.

Thursday, February 4, 2016

Day 35

Super late night so gonna make it quick...

This morning I did 20 minutes on the elliptical. I did an additional 30 minutes on the elliptical this evening.

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

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

Wednesday, February 3, 2016

Day 34

Today I got onto the elliptical trainer for a total of 55 minutes. I did 30 this morning and additional 25 this evening. I also made my 10K step goal for the day and I was on point with my diet. Too bad everyday can't be like today. Much easier said than done. :)

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

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

Tuesday, February 2, 2016

Day 33

Today is almost over and I'm glad. It's been an interesting day. I woke up an hour after my alarm went off and that pretty much set the pace for my day.

No elliptical tonight. Trying to switch it up a little. I worked with my weights. Biceps and back. A combination of rows and curls basically until fatigue instead of focusing on numbers.

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

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

Monday, February 1, 2016

Day 32

I'm about to post day 33 and I'm just now noticing that i never published this last night grrrr...

Oh my gosh last night was awful I didn't get to sleep until probably after midnight which means that I got less than my normal 7 to 8 hours in which I was a little baby today. My 4 year old woke up and it was so hard to get him back down to sleep I was cranky all day.

I did my measurements and weigh in but I forgot to save them so I lost all my data.

I did 30 minutes on the elliptical trainer tonight and I'll try the measurements again tomorrow morning. I do remember that I lost 5.5 pounds though. Yaay!

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

Sunday, January 31, 2016

Day 31

One month down. Eleven to go!

I had to work today and I got home almost an hour later than I normally do but I still manage to get onto the elliptical for 30 minutes tonight even though it was well past my bedtime.

I guess I'm going to do my measurements tomorrow but I'm not really looking forward to it. I know that I haven't lost much weight that I haven't been as strict as I should be with my diet so it makes sense.

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

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

Saturday, January 30, 2016

Day 30

Well, I had to work today. Fortunately my husband woke up pretty early and woke me up as well so I was able to get onto the elliptical trainer for 30 minutes this morning before I left for work. I was a little bit bummed out though because I forgot my Fitbit at home. Boo. I hate that!

We'll see how tomorrow goes!

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

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

Friday, January 29, 2016

Day 29

Today I got on the elliptical this morning for 30 minutes this afternoon I did my Turbo Jam 20 minute workout and this evening I hopped back on to the elliptical again. Both yesterday and today I knew that I didn't need to exercise 3 times each day, but I was so close to my 10,000 step goal by the evening time that I just decided to get on for additional time, tonight for 25 minutes, just to get it up to 10,000 steps.

Tomorrow and Sunday I'll be at work for over 12 hours, so I won't be able to get onto the elliptical or exercise 3 times a day like I have for the past couple of days. I just hope to have enough in my be able to get on when I get home from work. *fingers crossed*

It's been awhile since I've used MyFitnessPal so I've had a lot of fun playing with it the past few days again. I like that it tracks food better than it did last time I used it and I like it its easier to just plug in a recipe and go. I got this cute little message after I tracked my food for the day and it made me smile. Definitely motivational!

That's almost 20 lbs in 5 weeks. That's insane...and seems totally false. We'll see :)


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

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

Thursday, January 28, 2016

Day 28

When I woke up this morning I got on to my elliptical for 30 minutes.

Last night I promised myself that I would pull out some of my exercise DVDs and I did.  I did the 20 minute Turbo Jam workout, in my dress and all lol.  It wasn't as bad as I thought it would be so I can't use that as an excuse anymore.

I also did an additional 20 mins on the elliptical before bed to boost my step count to 10K.

I have several apps on my phone to help keep myself accountable. I use my Fitbit MyFitnessPal, RunKeeper and of course SparkPeople. I decided to play around with my RunKeeper and I created a training program and I set myself up to exercise everyday at 6:05 a.m. RunKeeper is primarily for running/walking and has a built in GPS mode so you can see a map of where you have gone, but you can use the stopwatch mode which is for like indoor or treadmill. I use the stopwatch mode to track my elliptical training and I can add anything else to it. It's linked to my SparkPeople so all of my exercise that I log into RunKeeper also gets tracked there as well. The same goes with my Fitbit. RunKeeper also crosses over to Fitbit so I just have to be careful not to double track everything or it'll give me false data. At this point I don't do much with my data, but I like knowing that it's there lol.

Of course the best part about all of apps are that they are free :-).

This is my Fitbit activity for the past week


This is what activity tracked on RunKeeper looks like.


My MyFitnessPal logo page today. My food goals are different from SparkPeople bc SP uses ranges.


Part of my log page on SparkPeople showing my macronutrients and activity that was linked over from Fitbit. They both change throughout the day and I don't follow the macronutrient goals (too many carbs)

If anyone that wants to add me as a friend on any of these accounts, please feel free!  My username is HEYNOWBNICE. I think I have a direct link to SparkPeople on the upper right hand side of this blog.

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

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

My Fitbit dashboard at the end of today

Wednesday, January 27, 2016

Day 27

Well the end of the month is quickly approaching and that means that I'll be doing my measurements and weight check again. I got on the scale tonight just to peek, and it said I've lost 1 lb. I've been 27 days consistent with doing some kind of exercise,  but I don't think it's enough. I know I need to get myself in gear. I know I could move more during the day and I definitely know that I'm not eating the way I had planned 27 days ago. I don't know what is gonna take to wake up and snap out of this funk.

Kind of a funny,  but relevant side note. Sometime at the end of the school year last year (may/June 2015) I had decided that I was tired of feeling frumpy (l ALWAYS wore jeans and a tshirt and flip flops or tennis shoes) and do I decided to do a social experiment and completely changed my style. Now all I wear is dresses. I dress like a 1950's housewife and I love it. People in my circle were a little confused and took bets to see how long it would be before I wore pants again,  but now I bet they would be confused if I did wear pants again. I was very unnoticed before...a big frumpy 30 something and literally the first day I put on a dress, total strangers made eye contact with me and smiling. Maybe it was a new sense of confidence? IDK. Regardless, now I find myself using my dresses as a crutch. When I wore pants, it was SO easy to just get up abs exercise,  whenever I wanted. Now it feels totally funky to get on the elliptical with my dress on. It really is a pain in the butt to get dressed just to exercise after I've gotten ready for the day. ..anyway, excuses. I have so many and need to stop.

The dresses are so small and such a pain.maybe I'll just have to exercise in them just to get over it. What's the big deal? Lol i hope i don't get tangled up haha. Tomorrow. I'll try it tomorrow afternoon. Turbo jam or something. Lol

Sorry for that rant.

Tonight I got on the elliptical and did 30 mins b4 bed.

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

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

Tuesday, January 26, 2016

Day 26

Tonight I felt like I had to drag myself upstairs to get on the elliptical. I sucked it up and did it, although I had to put netflix on and cover the minutes up so that I couldn't see how long I had been going for. I did 30 mins.

IDK why, but sometimes seeing how long I've been exercising for is self defeating bc I somehow will justify doing less time. I guess that's just one of those choices...

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

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

Monday, January 25, 2016

Day 25

Today I broke my cardio into 2 sessions.This morning I got on the elliptical for 10 minutes and tonight I got on for an additional 20. My goal is to do 30 mins on the days I do the elliptical,  and increase that number as time goes on. I want to start breaking out my exercise videos again,  so I hope to do those again in the future. One day at a time. (One choice at a time).

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

Sunday, January 24, 2016

Day 24

Today after work I developed the worst ice pick headache that I have ever felt. It was awful. I took some advil but my head still hurts. I didn't get on the elliptical bc sudden movement hurts so I took it easy and played with static holds again. This time with triceps. I woke up with some soreness in my shoulders from yesterday's static holds, and I love it! I did 1 basic move, overhead tricep extensions and just did a few variations of that with the holds.

I need to go to sleep. The light from my phone is killing my eyes.

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

Saturday, January 23, 2016

Day 23

Busy day! Did some strength training with shoulders deltoid dumbell presses...3 sets started@ 15 ended with 10 and static holds for 20 seconds. Have to work tomorrow :-/ Good night.

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

Friday, January 22, 2016

Day 22

So tired... fell asleep in the little brother's room putting him to bed. I did 25 mins on the elliptical. Good night!

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

Thursday, January 21, 2016

Day 21

This morning I didn't get on the elliptical bc I had an unexpected meeting @work, so I got on tonight before bed. I did 20 minutes off to bed!

I took measurements at the beginning of the month and the end quickly approaches. I feel like since I've gone rogue with my diet so often,  I might not see the kinds of changes I hope for.  I didn't take a before picture either mainly due to embarrassment. Maybe if I go out of my comfort zone a little more,  that might be the motivation I need. We'll see.

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

Wednesday, January 20, 2016

Day 20

This morning I got on to the elliptical trainer for 30 minutes. I still feel like I'm struggling with my diet but I guess I have time to fix that.

One day at a time. One choice at a time. 
(I really need to remember this)

Tuesday, January 19, 2016

Day 19

Today has been...interesting.  my oldest son almost burned down the house using the microwave. He was making easy mac and didn't put any water in it and it caught on fire. The entire livingroom/kitchen filled with smoke before the fire alarms went off, and thank goodness I was able to notice even before it even got to that point. I'm just wondering what on earth happened with our fire detectors?? If we had been sleeping, it would have been too late by the time they had gone off. My whole house stinks like smoke still even after having the doors and fan on. Anyway, sorry to vent.

I just worked on my shoulders tonight. Front deltoid raises. Three sets of 10 and military overhead dumbbell presses,  also 3 sets of 10 (8# both).

Good night. Tomorrow will definitely be a better day.

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

Monday, January 18, 2016

Day 18

Today I got up "early" (actually 2 hours after my alarm went off...ha!), turned on Netflix and did 45 minutes on the elliptical trainer while I watched Pretty Little Liars. I think sleeping longer than normal helped me to feel better, and I've been feeling great all day. I haven't been on point with my diet, like I want to be, but I guess I just need to take it one day at a time.

Have a good night :)

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

Sunday, January 17, 2016

Day 17

I feel like I'm starting to get sick again. I'm feeling worse today than I have in a couple days and I'm wondering if I'm trying to do to much, like it'd stress related. Maybe it's allergies again. IDK

Anyway I worked on biceps.  Three sets of 10. I'm tired so headed to bed.  I need to start trying harder.Maybe I don't have God in this as much as I should. Definitely can't di this by myself. New day tomorrow.

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

Saturday, January 16, 2016

Day 16

Today was a very busy day, & I am exhausted! I spent most of the day preparing for Monkey's birthday party and baking his cake(picture below). I was a little disappointed with how it turned out but everybody else thought it was success.

Anyway, I didn't get on the elliptical today as my feet are killing me from standing all day, so I just did some tricep overhead extensions. I did three sets of 10 and my RPE was like a 7 to 8 with my 8 pounders. I could barely make it to 10.

Off to bed.

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

Friday, January 15, 2016

Day 15

Today was just another day, nothing special. I spent most the day preparing for my older son's birthday party tomorrow. I got on to the elliptical for 20 minutes. See ya tomorrow.

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

Thursday, January 14, 2016

Day 14

This morning and got onto the elliptical trainer for 20 minutes before school. We were running late so I wasn't able to stay as long as I wanted but at least I got on.

In the past couple of years I've gotten into decorating cakes and this weekend I get to decorate a cake for my first son's birthday party. I'm nervous because I've never let anybody outside of the family try my cakes (my family is very forgiving) but I'm also excited at the same time and will post a pic when it's done.

Have a good night!

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

Wednesday, January 13, 2016

Day 13

Today I was able to get on my elliptical early this morning and got in 30 minutes. Definitely feeling much better today.  Off to bed to try to get on longer tomorrow morning.

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

Tuesday, January 12, 2016

Day 12

Today was the first day where I felt like my energy washroom completely drained. I didn't do my elliptical again as my cough is still pretty bad, but I'm going to make it my goal to get on tomorrow. I'm definitely feeling better,  just not 100%.

For the past few days I have been working on strength training.  As I lay here typing this out, my legs, arms and shoulders are quivering. It's not pain,  just that tightness you get when you know you're working your muscles (sore but not painful like a pulled muscle). It's a great feeling. One of my favs!

Tonight I did legs and shoulders. I did static lunges and reverse lunges, both which I hate. My knees creaked the entire time despite special attention to my knee:toe placement (I should probably start taking glucosamine again). I did 10 reps of only 2 sets each, but I'm sure I'll feel it tomorrow.

I did shoulder shrugs with 8 lbs, 3 sets of 10, RPE at about 6-7 by the second set. Love it!

I also did some bent arm dumbell deltoid abductions. Three sets of 10 also with 8 lbs, RPE was at about a 6.

I'm tired so I'm gonna go to bed.

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

Monday, January 11, 2016

Day 11

Today I'm FINALLY starting to feel better. IDK if it's bc I finally found the right med combo,  or if I'm actually getting better.  Regardless, I decided to continue with the weights.  Once upon a time I used to be a gym rat, although you'd never know looking at me know. I love Love LOVE strength training (funny side note: my phone just tried to autocorrect "strength training" with "eyebrows" lol). I used to journal extensively what I did and would come up with different plans based off of a combo of my "data" and results.

Anyway, tonight was deja vu I guess.

I worked my chest and triceps (alternating) for 10 mins.

3 sets of 10 lying dumbell triceps extensions with 8 lbs (RPE 6-7)

3 sets of lying dumbell chest fly/press (combo move) with 8 lbs (RPE 5-6)

Whew! My arms are kickin'!

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

Sunday, January 10, 2016

Day 10

Today I still don't feel well. It was a work day and I just felt achy all day long.

I got home and decided to use my free weights again. I worked on my back and my biceps. I did 3 sets of 10 dumbbell curls, alternating arms, with 8 pounds. My RPE was about a 5-6.

For my back I decided to work my lats with one arm dumbbell rows also using my 8 pounders, doing also three sets of 10 reps. My RPE was probably a 4-5.

Off to bed. I need to get better soon bc it's my older sons birthday party this weekend! I still need to figure out what cake to make him. Oye.

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

Saturday, January 9, 2016

Day 9

I think I feel worse today than I did yesterday. Needless to say, I did not get on my beloved elliptical trainer tonight after work. I did some squats instead. Three sets of 10 to be exact. It's not much, but I'm sure I'll feel it tomorrow lol.

Off to bed to do it all over again tomorrow.

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

Friday, January 8, 2016

Day 8

Still feeling under the weather.  I spent most of the day snuggled under a blanket with my 4 year old (blame l so not feeling well) watching Paw Patrol.

I woke up early enough this morning to exercise but I had to make my other sons birthday invitations to get out by today (his birthday party is next Sat). That took me longer than I expected so I wasn't able to exercise.

I did muster up enough strength right before bed to get on the elliptical. Wasn't long, only 10 minutes, but not bad for how weak and yucky I feel. Hope this goes away soon!

I can do all things in Christ who strengthens me.  Phil 4:13

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

Thursday, January 7, 2016

Day 7

Well it's been 1 full week and I only have 51 more to go.

This morning I did 15 mins on the elliptical with intention to get back on tonight. Ya, didn't happen. Between then and now, something had time to incubate and now I feel icky, cold, achy and my throat hurts. Took some allegra and singulair and I'm off to bed.

Wednesday, January 6, 2016

Day 6

This morning I got on the elliptical for 20 minutes. I'm ok with that. It's getting a tad easier to get myself out of bed earlier each day to exercise. I also let myself have a glass of wine 🍷.

One of the struggles that I have with goals, is that I'm impatient.  I want to see progress now. While it is possible to reap rewards with some goals in a short amount of time,  weight loss is not really one of them and that can be very discouraging.

Finding contentment in each choice, in each day is important, and before we know it, time has passed and we can see change. My scripture for is very fitting of this and is so therapeutic.

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

Hello

Just a fun post to say "hello."

Dedicated to all those peepz out there that can relate!

Hello!

https://youtu.be/vg3CkeskV7c

Tuesday, January 5, 2016

Day 5

Today I was able to get up early enough to get on the elliptical,  but not for as long as I wanted.  All good, I have many days to get there. I did 15 minutes this morning and just did an additional 35 minutes on the elliptical.

I discovered sometime over the summer that if I watch something I can get sucked into, I kind of "forget" that I'm exercising (???). Sounds strange,  but I guess I trick myself into doing it. I'm not in that place yet where I get all pumped up and do mental chest bumps and get all psyched up the way I envision high school football players do before a game. In fact, one of the main reasons I push to exercise first thing in the morning is because I am not fully awake yet and can't talk myself out of it. I know things won't always be this way,  but I'm just blessed to know and be aware that I'm like this, and am able to get behind some of the mental obstacles holding me back from being successful. I guess morning brain fod with a lack of caffeine and netflix do that for me :). If you can find loop holes in some of the things holding you back from being successful, don't be afraid to put them under your belt. Every little thing helps and adds up.

I wanted my daily scripture to be an encouraging word something to help me with these goals, but I guess God has other plans...err maybe He sees encouragement in a different light than I do.  "Love" was everywhere, all up in my way looking for encouragement. I have other goals that seem so far out of reach, I dont even know how to give them words let alone approach them (years of bad habits and walls). Looking for today's scripture gave me a small glance at how to do this. It's with love.


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

Monday, January 4, 2016

Day 4

I had a really hard time trying to wake up early this morning bc I went to bed much later than I normally do, so today is gonna  be short and sweet.

30 mins on the elliptical again and I did alright with my food.  Stuck with my protein and plan for the most part. I went over my caloric intake goal though (i don't think I drank enough water so I felt a little hungry at the end of the day.  My 4 year old fed me a few chips also. He doesn't understand. All good. There are worse things in this game to worry about. Could have made some better choices but there is always tomorrow.

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

Sunday, January 3, 2016

Day 3 Commit

Today was a typical workday for me.  I am a telemetry tech so I'm locked away in a centralized telemetry room for 12 hours in a hospital monitoring between 32-60 cardiac patients. In a nutshell, I sit all day watching up to 4 monitors with 16 patient on each and don't get to get away much (pretty much just bathroom breaks and my 30 minute lunch). I pack my food usually and put it in an igloo backpack (like a cooler) and eat all day long, but sometimes I allow myself to get something from the cafeteria. I mentioned yesterday that I made my food for today and that was very helpful to keeping me out of the cafeteria. 

I decided with this 2016 challenge, it would not be safe to allow myself to eat from work,  as I cannot "count" what I get from the cafeteria and I feel like doing that just sets me up for failure anyway.  I don't plan to eat anything I cannot "count" and I feel pretty confident with this goal as I've done this a lot in the past years with success. 

I feel like I am mentally preparing myself for this long haul and I see myself combining small goals with previous small successes, to get a good start. 

That being said,  I really didn't want to get on the elliptical tonight. It was a long and mentally draining day and I just didn't want to do it. Everything seemed to set me up for failure--my fitbit broke, couldn't find my slippers for the elliptical (the footing has this strange speedbump tread that hurts my feet without wearing shoes) and it just kept getting later and later discouraging me even more. I eventually found my slippers and hopped on. Only twenty minutes tonight, but it's definitely better than 0 minutes.
Small steps...

When thinking about my goals for this coming year, God always comes to mind. I know I cannot be successful without His strength and involvement and I felt this scripture was perfect.

Commit to the Lord whatever you do, and He will establish your plans. Proverbs 16:3

No other words can be more perfect for the place that I am in right now. 

Off to bed so I can get up early to exercise before the chaos begins. 

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

Saturday, January 2, 2016

Day 2

Another day has been and gone and I stuck with my resolution to make good choices and exercise (and read/memorize a scripture*).  I got on the elliptical again for 30 minutes while I was doing my roots. Side note--I left the purple shampoo on for waaay too long and my lighter blonde pieces turned silver! Ha! That's what I get for doing my hair at home and not professionally.

Anyway, instead of setting myself up for failure, like I often do, I went to the store and bought healthy, high protein food that I can prepare pretty easily (with a little help from Pinterest) throughout the week. I even prepared all my food for work for tomorrow so I don't have the opportunity to set myself up for failure and not do it in the morning. I even premade my protein shake and logged all my food into Sparkpeople so there is no excuse.

Christmas break is over and so Monday I'll be back to Monkey's school schedule and the hectic days filed with bad habits. That will be the real test! I think I did well with planning meals though (thanks again to Pinterest!) and although I know I can exercise a lot longer daily, I don't want to push myself too hard at the beginning and lose steam before any real progress had been made.  I'm in this for the long haul! Just gotta stick to it! One day at a time, one choice at a time.

I think I got this! :)

*Not my will, but Yours be done. Luke 22:49

Friday, January 1, 2016

Day 1 Don't think, just do.


I did this once before (2009) and was successful. I hope I'm prepared mentally to stand up against all of the excuses I know I will throw at myself. One day at a time. One moment at a time. One decision at a time. Good choices. Don't think, just do. I know I can do this. I did this once before and I was successful.

Day 1 done. Thirty minutes on the elliptical. Tracked all food. No soda just water and coffee (1 cup). No sweets or carby snacks. And it was,a work day. That was an excuse in my way. The food isn't a problem but I work 12 hour shifts and am exhausted when I get home. I don't want to exercise on work days, but I need to. I need the momentum and I know the excuses are just that, and they will get in my way.

I can do this. One day at a time, one choice at a time.
Day 1 done.

Tuesday, June 11, 2013

Don't seek to follow in someone else's footsteps...

It's been a really long time since I have posted, but I wanted to let you all know what I have been up to!
I had another baby, bought a house and have had many blessings. Along with the blessings, we have had trials.

My best friend died on May 3rd. She was my mother in law, only 57 and it was sudden and very unexpected. They found cancer, and it spread a lot faster then they thought it would. All of her doctors were blown away at the progression. They thought it was colon cancer but it ended up being liver cancer that killed her. She died while waiting to see what their plan was. Thought they were dealing with colon cancer (which is slow growing) so they thought she had more time. She went into complete liver failure in a matter of weeks and that's when they found that it was liver cancer.

She was the healthiest one out of all of us. She didn't drink, do drugs and she even stayed away from refined sugars. She watched everything she put into her mouth. She exercised everyday, worked full time, went to school full time and even found time to be very active in her church and with her family.  She was a total inspiration to others. She loved God and was a devout Christian. I used to say that I wanted to be like her and follow in her footsteps, but I read somewhere recently, (and I'm paraphrasing), "don't seek to follow in someone else's footsteps, seek what they sought after." Brilliant. I think that is what she would say.

Anyway, I guess when your genes are bad, none of the other stuff matters in the long run. I cry almost every day because I miss her so much, but she is with Jesus PTL (praise the Lord)! I think about her everyday and although she knew me well, I wish she could have known me as I see myself (skinny). I know she never cared about how I looked, it was always my issue. She was supportive either way. I know that sounds superficial, but she surrounded a lot of my weight goals, because she was so beautiful and skinny, I wanted to be like her. She always made me feel better about how I saw myself, she was my advocate in so many ways.

About 3 weeks ago, I got back in touch with sparkpeople and created a new goal. I didn't realize how simple it seemed. I just need to stay on track. I am watching what I eat a lot more (lots of salads and chicken), and this time around it's been much easier, maybe because the goal seems tangible. Sparkpeople says that I can lose 107 lbs by June 1, 2014, as long as I lose 2 lbs every week. That is AMAZING!! So far I have lost 6 lbs, so I have been able to stay on track. Jana is giving me motivation and strength beyond the grave. I love her and miss her.

Hope all of you are well out there in bloggy land! Btw are any of you on Pinterest? I recently found it and LOVE IT! I am finding all sorts of recipes and craft stuff that I can do and modify to fit my family's eating style and such. Never thought I'd love it, but I do (I was anti there for a while lol!).

Smiles and blessings,
Melissa


Friday, January 6, 2012

Day 5

Today was/is not a good day. Baby M was admitted to the hospital. He has RSV which caused bronchiolitis and now a new heart  (he's only 27 days old). Needless to say exercise is far from my mind. He is a heavy little thing and with his car seat, carrying him around all day in it has been exhausting.

I'll post again when we are out of the hospital. God is awesome and He has this under control. Amen!

I'll be back soon.

All things in Christ who gives me strength.

Wednesday, January 4, 2012

Day 4

Turbo Jam 20 minute workout with baby M strapped to my chest!

Today, despite my excessive lack of sleep, I had a stroke of genius! Oh my gosh, why didn't I think of this before?!? I strapped Mr. Baby to my chest and did turbo jam!

My first son is almost 5 so we didn't have much saved when we had this baby. We kept our baby monitor, wipe warmer (although we ended up
buying another), my breast pump (which recently just broke! *cry*) and...wait for it...my baby chest carrier thingy. It's like a baby bjorn but generic and more strappy. I can have baby toward me (has better neck support), or turn him around to see the world when he gets older/stronger. Awesome!!!

I did his breathing treatment, fed him and then strapped him in for a test drive.


At first he didn't like it, just walking around. He turns into a crack baby on this breathing treatment--super fussy and shaky (it's a little scary as his mama but I guess a normal side effect of this drug) so he really wasn't diggin' being strapped in. As soon as I started bouncing around and dancing (TJ is very dancy!) he went super quiet. I turned the music up loud and just had fun with it. I think he loved it. I loved it (that's all that matters, right? lol).

Anyway, fussy crack baby M fell asleep! bouncing all over the place to TJ! I can't believe it. Maybe this is what I need to do at 2 am when he won't sleep (lol I'm SO just kidding, but it might be worth a try someday lol). In fact, he's still strapped in as I type this, sleeping great--in a deep sleep, not the little flitty eye dreamer sleep he does sometimes where he is 1/2 asleep but kinda not (you mom's know what I'm talking about!).

Anyway I'm proud of myself. I did it, sleep deprived and all--of course with His strength.

Gotta love His strength, especially when it's needed the most.

All things in Christ who gives me strength!

Day 3

Quickfire abs/leg lifts

a few more squats

today was extremely hard. we spent a few hours @ the dr office and Baby M has just been freaking out all day/night gagging/coughing/choking. his dr thinks it's RSV. they gave him a steroid shot and i have been giving him (trying) breathing treatments every 4 hrs and have another appt tomorrow.

I've been holding him pretty much the entire time so needless to say typing this one handed with a screaming baby is tough, but with God's strength, i can get through this tough night. man, do i need his strength right now.

c u tomorrow.

all things in Christ who strengthens me,

Monday, January 2, 2012

Day 2

2 sets 10 reps squats

10 lunges on each leg

It's only day 2 and I already almost blew it. lol. It's 10 pm and I'm trying to get a fussy baby to bed, and I realize out loud to Hubby, "Awe man! I didn't exercise." He just laughed.

I thought I would do something a little less ambitious for day 2 and do squats and lunges, but as you can see, I didn't do a whole lot of either. I am really hoping that it won't be painful to walk tomorrow though. *whew* I'm out of shape and 20lbs heavier than I was the last time I blogged here (if I remember correctly). Surprisingly, I have already lost 20lbs since the baby was born though (yaay!).

I changed the name of my blog because during my first 365 day spurt of exercise, my favorite verse got me through almost everyday (Philippians 4:13). I know that not everyone that reads this blog shares my faith, but I think that we all share the bigger message that my favorite verse holds true to--that there is something greater out there than all of us (chi, karma, God, Christ, spirituality, faith, flying spaghetti monster... whatever you believe and want to call it), and we can find power in it, to find the power in ourselves to do anything we set our minds to. My faith does this for me, and it's a big part of who I am.

Off to bed. I hope I can walk in the morning. My quads are already sore! *yikes!*

All things in Christ who gives me strength!

Sunday, January 1, 2012

Day 1

20 minutes -- Turbo Jam's 20 minute workout

Happy New Year!!

It's been quite a while since I have posted and a long journey in 2011. Some was a struggle but things happen for a reason--good and bad--and all that matters is what we take from it to grow and learn.

In 2011 I attempted this goal again (365 days of exercise) but got pregnant. I stayed positive and continued to exercise, and then it looks like I fel
l off the face of the earth. Not quite, only the blogosphere. I successfully exercised up until my 6th month of pregnancy (26 wks to be exact) and went into preterm labor and then my doctor pulled the plug on exercise. It was a total STRUGGLE. I guess it was one of those I'm-not-allowed-to-do-it-so-now-I-really-want-to things. The doc had me on meds to stop the contractions from coming on, which dropped my blood pressure (which is already pretty low), and I just didn't feel that great for the end of my pregnancy.

Baby M, 3 days old

Baby M was born 1 week early at 8lbs 1oz on Dec. 9, which puts me now, at about the 3 week mark since I have given birth (naturally and successfully w/out any complications to myself or the baby). The doctor told me to not exercise until 6 weeks after birth (or do anything else for that matter) but I feel great, and so I am choosing to exercise at my own discretion, at a low intensity until given full approval (all things in Christ), then I will kick it up a notch and attempt to exercise 5+days a week. I would say 365 but I am still working full time 12 hour shifts so we will see what I can do, God willing. Of course I will stop if I can't do it (immediate health first!).

I missed Turbo Jam. A LOT. I don't know if it's sleep deprivation or if I am just a whack-a-do for TJ, but I super missed it. I missed the music, and making a fool out of myself in the privacy of my own living room, with distant giggles from my soon to be 5 year old, while the baby (now 3 weeks old) quietly sleeps in the sleeper in the living room close by.

It's good to be back.

I have gotten a lot of emails from you guys and I am sorry that I am poor at following up with them. I appreciate the well wishes and I promise to keep more on top of it this time around. I have also gotten a lot of questions regarding the HCG diet, which I will do again after I finish breastfeeding--however long He allows my body to do it for (all things in Christ) or until the baby bites me a few times. ouch!

As far as the HCG diet, for now, here is a link from an episode from Dr. Oz (it's a 5 part web episode) , talking about it, to answer any questions you may have for now. I'm not ready to go all out and talk about it now, as it's not really apart of my life now, but it will be, soon, one day again. I will say that I was successful with it and had no health problems/complications from it and my general practitioner is on board w/ it also--it's not a long term thing. Ten days into my 3rd round I got pregnant, so I stopped the diet when I found out.

Anyway that's all for now. I'm tired and the baby is going to wake soon. I am hoping that these blogs won't be so long, so that I can be successful with them also.

Here's to a successful new year!

All things in Christ who gives me strength!

Wednesday, August 10, 2011

*pat on the back*


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

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

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



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

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

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

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



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

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



Have an awesome day!

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

Monday, August 8, 2011

Remember Me?

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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



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

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

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

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

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

See you in a few days!

I can do this. I am a star!

Sunday, March 13, 2011

Day 56-74 (technical difficulties)

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Thursday, February 24, 2011

Day 55 (I heart DDR)

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

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

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

Day 54 (Wed 2/23/11)

Another Dance Dance Revolution day. I love this game.

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

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

Day 53 (tuesday 2/22/11)

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

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

Monday, February 21, 2011

Day 52 *shaking fist*

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

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



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

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

DDR is an awesome and fun workout.

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

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

Sunday, February 20, 2011

Day 51 (I think I'm addicted)

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

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

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

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


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

Saturday, February 19, 2011

Day 50 (Yaay for DDR!)

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

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

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

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

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

Day 49 (2/18/11)

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

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

Workout #1

Workout #2
HR Zone key:

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

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

Day 48 (2/17/11)

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

Oh well. What's done is done.

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

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

Wednesday, February 16, 2011

Day 47 (Wordless Wednesday)


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

Day 46 (2/15/11)

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

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

Day 45 (2/14/11)

Monday 2/14/11

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

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

Sunday, February 13, 2011

Day 44

Today I walked 5495 steps.

Off to bed. I work in the morning.

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

Day 43 (saturday)

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


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

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

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

Friday, February 11, 2011

Day 42

5136 steps in 46 minutes.

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

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

Thursday, February 10, 2011

Day 41

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

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

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

Day 40 (2/9/11)

Wed Feb. 10, 2011

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

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

Day 39 (2/8/11)

Tuesday Feb. 8, 2011

6875 steps in 53 minutes (roughly 3.25 miles).

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

Monday, February 7, 2011

Day 38 (do something intentional)

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

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

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

g'n!

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

Sunday, February 6, 2011

Day 37


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

*shrugs*

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

I get to work in the morning. yaay me.

Have a good one.

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

Saturday, February 5, 2011

Day 36 (Silent Saturday)

Friday, February 4, 2011

Day 35

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

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

Off to bed. *yawn*

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

Day 34

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Wednesday, February 2, 2011

Day 33 (Wordless Wednesday)



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

Tuesday, February 1, 2011

Day 32

Today is gonna be a quickie.

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

The end!

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