A New Year

Wow.  The holiday's were hard on me.  I didn't even bake a single cookie...and I still managed to gain 5.6 pounds.  I'm happy to say that I lost 1.6 pounds this week!!

YAY ME!

So my weight in for this last day of 2010 is 205.

I'll be weighing in on Fridays and making goals on a monthly basis. 
Here is my plan for January 2011.

Work out at the gym Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday

Weights at home Wednesday and Friday

One cocktail a week...on Sunday

No Fast Food

No Soda (not even diet)

Water, water, water

Cut out sugar

Lose 5 pounds

What are your goals for the month?

Update...kind of.

I don't even know what to say. 

I hate December with it's candy, cookies and booze. 

I haven't been to the gym in a couple weeks because of illnesses in my house and children that can't sleep.

I need my own apartment.

I'm making a plan for 2011.  And I can't stop thinking about how a year ago I started the hCG diet and lost almost 30 pounds and now I"m almost right back where I started.

I'm so mad at myself. 

I'm pissed off at the clothes in my closet that no longer fit. 

I'm 40 and I can't do this anymore.

The good news is that I'm still drinking less coffee and wine and I'm not drinking soda at all. I'm maintaining my weight.  TOM gave me one pound instead of four.  That's something I guess.

Let's Make a Deal

It's been a tough week.  I managed to get to the gym one time last week and then illness struck my home.  First my daughter, then me....and then my son and husband.  We are all finally on the mend and I'm fulling expecting to get my butt back in gear tomorrow.

I was reading a blog the other day (can't remember which one...darn it) and it gave me a great idea!  If I want to use my computer....then I have to exercise.  If not at the gym...then a yoga routine or lifting weights.  Sounds like a good deal right?

I have to do something!

Caffeine/Wine Update:

I'm doing sooo well with this.  Last week...I cut back to 16 ounces of coffee and half a soda.  All last week I had one beer (when we went out to dinner) and a martini (while watching Grey's).

My coffee pot has been on about to break and I had been asking for a Keurig for Christmas.  Sunday, my husband bought me a Cuisinart Single Brew System so now I can cut back to 8 ounces of coffee a day!  I can't afford to drink more than that because those little K-Cups are expensive!

More Good News:

I lost 1.2 pounds last week!

YAY!

Coffee...I Can't Quit You.

I should know better.

I've tried many times before to quit drinking coffee and I can't do it. 

Yesterday was HELL!  I had a headache, I was cranky, I ate two pop tarts and I burned dinner.  I woke up this morning feeling like I had the flu and I waited until the last possible moment to get out of bed because I had nothing to live for look forward to. 

I just brewed a pot of coffee.

Several people (thanks Barb) have expressed concern that I was going cold Turkey and stopping everything at once.  That's probably not the best idea...especially during the holidays.

What i AM going to do....is:

COFFEE ~ Cut back on the amount of coffee I drink.  I normally drink 6 cups.  I'm going to cut back to 3 cups over the next month.

DIET COKE ~ Cut back on the amount of Diet Coke I drink.  I normally drink one-two a day.  I'm going to pour half a can in my glass and throw the rest away.  NO MORE $1 GIANT CUPS from Mc Donalds.

WINE~ Cut back on the amount of WINE I drink.  Ideally, I'd like to drink wine one day a week.  Perhaps on Friday or Saturday.  Right now, I have a couple glasses of red wine a couple times a week and sometimes a martini too.  This has increased significantly since moving back to Denver....and seeing my in laws frequently.  They are moving at the end of next month.

This Is Why I Have A Headache

I read Jackie Warner's book This Is Why You're Fat (and How to Get Thin Forever) over the weekend and because of it....I'm going to try out her program.  The first thing I need to do is....get rid of the coffee, diet coke and wine.

Kill me!

For the next 14 days...or until I lose my mind....I'm not going to drink coffee, wine or diet coke.  Instead...I will drink 3 liters of water and visit the bathroom 55 times. 

She also wants me to add into my diet 2 eggs, 1 cup of oatmeal and 3 cups of veggies per day. Awesome.

So far today....because of the lack of caffeine, I've added in 2 pop tarts.

I can't focus so I've been sitting here like a lump waiting for the hours to click by until I can go to bed.

And I have a raging headache. 

One of These Things is not Like the Other

The gym was kind of empty this morning. I'm not sure if it was the 20 degree weather or the impending holiday but I was also the only woman in the gym. I thought the reason that everyone was looking at me was because I was bringing sexy back but turns out that one of these things was not like the other.

I got home from the gym (20 minutes elliptical, 20 minutes bike) and everything went to shit! I hit the water handle with my elbow and burned half my body in the shower. It hurt so badly that I cried! And then I came out to see that I'd forgotten to put the caraffe into the coffee pot and it was brewing onto the counter.

I'm now afraid to leave the house.

I'd like to talk about how irritating TOM is. First of all...I'm not happy about how he snuck up on me this month. What is that all about? And every month, I have a 3 pound weight gain and it takes me more than a week to get back to were I started. This is so irritating to me!

I need to figure out a way around this water gain...if that's what it is.

I think Friday's are going to be my weigh/measure days.  What day usually works for you?

Food Log for Nov 23.

Breakfast:

Coffee with half and half
.5 cup greek yogurt with .25 cup of Bear Naked Granola
1 Bagel Thin with a light smear of cream cheese

How Does Dominos Know?

"The successful person makes a habit of doing what the failing person doesn't like to do.” ~Thomas Jefferson

I was on a roll!  Two days of working out...I was feeling good and I had more energy!

Then Wednesday happened.  TOM showed up 5 days early without warning!  I'm worried about what this means because I've been really hot and moody lately.

Anyway...I've been out of commission for three days.  The good thing is that because of the sneak attack by TOM...I didn't have any pop tarts (or wine) in the house so I didn't go crazy, but I did order a pizza.

How does Dominos know?  They always send me an email right before TOM arrives, telling me about the wonderful deal that they have.

Hello 5am

I got 7.5 full wonderful hours of sleep last night so when I woke up at 5am I decided to get up and head to the gym.

I had a much better workout this time!

I did 25 minutes on the elliptical and 15 on the bike.  I've decided not to start weight training yet....and ease into it like Fran suggested!

I think I really don't like the treadmill....plus I can get more bang for my buck on the elliptical.

I did great with my eating yesterday...I thought I'd be starving from working out but I wasn't.  And when I felt like mindlessly snacking, I talked myself out of it.

And I went to Starbucks this morning with my husband and I didn't even want a latte or a treat...I kept thinking about how hard I'm working at 5am!

I took my measurement this morning too.  Sometimes I see more difference in this than the scale and I'm going to need all the motivation I can get to keep this up.

How are you doing today?

Gym...Day One

Murphy's Law was in play again this morning.  You know, I have plans to workout....so something happens during the night that keeps me from sleeping.

This time it was my son.  He had a cold last week and he woke up at 3am with a cough....hubby took care of him last time so it was my turn.  I went back to bed for one more hour...I don't know if I slept or not but the alarm went off and I decided my new motto is:

No Excuses!

Dang it's cold at 5:30am.

I haven't belonged to a gym since 2002 and I always went with a friend. I have this little issue with walking into places alone but I'm working on it. Baby steps! Felt like everyone was looking at me but I'm sure they have better things to do.

I walked fast....a mile and then rode the bike for 5 miles. At least I think it was 5 miles....dang thing stopped tracking my time, miles and calories after 10 minutes.

I was pretty tired and I figured since I only got 4 hours of sleep that was good enough for the first day.

Now I need some breakfast and a nap!

A New Plan

Vega. 

Hurt me real bad.

I can't walk and it's been TWO days! 

I guess this is a good time to talk about my goals starting NEXT week.  I have to be in better shape by then right?



Gym:

Monday - Friday

Cardio (Treadmill, Bike, Elliptical) 40 minutes

Tuesday & Thursday

Weights (arms, back, shoulders)

Monday & Wednesday

Weights (gluteus, legs)


Diet:

Water 100 oz a day
Limit Sugar
No white carbs
No fast food
Cheat day meal  on Saturday
Wine on Friday Night

I Hate Jumping Jacks

This morning was my first visit to the gym.  They gave me one free appointment with a personal trainer that we'll call Vega.  We sat down and he asked me about my fitness history, my goals, my nutrition and my lifestyle.

I told him the truth.  That I've been overweight for 20 years (but I've lost weight a couple times), I'm an emotional eater, a stay at home mom to 2 small children, that I can do well during the week but eat and drink too much on the weekends, that I love wine and chocolate and I want to lose 51 pounds.

I explained what I did with the hCG Diet and he'd never heard of it but was concerned that I might have damaged my metabolism.  Great.

Then...he said that he was going to have me work out for 15 minutes to test my abilities.  I told him that I did NOT want a last chance workout and he assured me it wasn't going to be like that.

He lied.

First...he had me stand in front of a mirror and he talked to me like a drill sergeant while he paced the floor behind me. Then had me run in place, do some squats and then he had me to jumping jacks and I peed my pants. CRAP!  I hate when that happens!

Next were lunges with 10 pound dumb bells in each hand....these, kicked my ass.  I could no longer feel the tops of my legs.  Then we did arm exercises, push ups and sit-ups. 

And he was right...it only took 15 minutes.

He took me back to the office and told me for the low, low price of $1600 he would kick my ass twice a week for 3 months.  After I got done laughing....I declined his kind offer.  I'm guessing that sometimes people are so delirious that they agree to this torture.

I thanked him for his time and headed for the door and that's when I noticed the elevator. (Bally's is on the second floor in the Belmar Shopping Center) I thought to myself....why is there an ELEVATOR in a GYM? 

I started down the stairs and that's when I figured out why there is an elevator in the gym.  My legs where jello and I just about went tumbling down like a rag doll! I was almost half way down...gripping the railing for dear life when it occured to me to go back up and take the elevator.  But going up the stairs was worse than going down so I just sucked it up and continued on...one step at a time.

Also...do you know what happens when you go out into 28 degree temps with wet pants.  Yeah...thank goodness my truck has heated seats.

Now...my arms have turned to jello and I'm typing this with my nose.

Outside

God Bless my Husband.  I asked for a gym membership yesterday morning...just minutes after I woke him up to go to work and by 7:30p last night....I had one.  And then he bought me a Miraculous Push Up Bra from Victoria Secret. Something for me...something for him.  LOL! 

I signed up for inspirational quotes from Oprah a few weeks ago and most of them have been very nice but the one that showed up in my in box this morning didn't set well with me.

“I'm not going to remodel my outside to correspond with how I feel inside. Because, bottom line, I don't really want to pass for anything but what I am.”
—  Val Monroe

I know it's a quote about being beautiful on the inside but sometimes our outside is a reflection of something that isn't going right on the inside. I'm ready for my inside and outside to match up!

My outside says that I'm too busy taking care of other people to take care of myself.  

My outside says that I'm likely going to die early and of some horrible disease because I eat too much junk food.

My outside says that I need help.

What does your outside say about you?

Red Shoes or White?

We're going to tour the gym tonight!

They offer a 7 day free trial so I'll be going tomorrow even if my husband decides not to get a membership because I just found out today that I've got a party to attend on Saturday Night and it's going to require a dress and for me to act like a lady.

This dress fits....barely. I think I need spanxs!

Dress is black/grey/white

So....Red or White Shoes?

Carb Free

I gave up sugar last week.


And then I gained 2 pounds.   *connie throws a temper tandrum*

I'm using a new app for my iPad (can also be used on iPhone and iPod touch) that also tracks resting calorie burn and has the ability to put food in by bar code so that my calories are more accurate.  It's called Calorie Counter by FatSecret and I like it! If you get this app...let's be buddies! My name is connieaw.

I'm not getting very much exercise even though the temperatures have been pretty nice here. My sleep paterns have been all screwed up and now I suppose they're going to get worse with Day Light Savings Time.

Example: I was wide awake at 4:45am.

Since I was up....I turned on You Tube and did a pretty good yoga routine, but it ended abruptly and it left me stuck in a twisted pile on the floor. It was kind of funny because it took me a minute to realize that the show was over.  I guess I was in the zone!

Namaste.

My friend Annie joined a gym and I'm thinking I might need to do the same.  We both live in states that get pretty cold and snowy in the winter and it makes walking outside nearly impossible.  Especially since i need to get my workouts done early in the morning before my family wakes up.

I just need to convince my husband.  

So...since cutting back on sugar didn't help me last week....I'm going to pick on carbs this week!  Low, low carbs.  As in no bread, cereal, rice or tortillas.

I think as I get older...my body can't handle the truth carbs as well.  We'll see how my little experiment goes.

UPDATE:

I told iKeith that I want to join a gym and he said.....HE DOES TOO!

Sugar Free FAIL

Sugar Free

It's been 2 weeks since my last confession.

I've been avoiding you because when TOM showed up a little over a week ago...he brought 3 pounds with him and he left them here.

I thought they would leave after a few days...going on to the next person that TOM would tourment....but no.  They are still here. 

Last week, I even tried eating better...and drinking more water.  But they won't budge.

I stopped running.  It is just too cold here in the mornings now and because my lungs are permanently damaged from when I had Pneumonia  a few years ago....they hurt really bad.

I've still been doing yoga and I love it!  But I'm noticing that it's so relaxing...that I've become a little lazy.  My husband says it's not the yoga.....

Part of my plan was to do some kind of cardio a couple mornings a week and since I have access to You Tube on my TV I watched a couple little videos, did a bunch of squat type exercises and then I couldn't walk for two days. 

WOW!  Squats kick my ass!

Starting today....I'm going to give up sugar for the week.  Just for 5 days....as a little experiment.  I know I eat too much and I need to seriously cut back.  I probably picked a bad week for this...since Halloween was yesterday. 

I'm a glutton for punishment.

Goals for Week of October 18th

I had a pretty good week....but I didn't get all my miles in.  My husband is an Apple App Developer and he was on deadline last week....working very late nights and I can't sleep until that man is home.  I also had children waking up in the middle of the night because they peed the bed, needed the fan on, needed a blanket, needed a glass of water or needed to SEE me.

The one really good run I did get in was GREAT!  I ran the longest (and fastest according to my Nike+ App) and I felt great when I got home.

A revelation: When I get my run/walk in....I have more energy and get more stuff done.  This week...no matter what amount of sleep I get...I'm going for my walk.  We'll see if it works on little sleep as well.

I've never really done Yoga before....but i'm feeling some things...that I could really get used to.  Energy, calm and peace.  I need more of all these things in my life!

It's going to be cooler this week.....and rain tomorrow but it's not supposed to rain until 8am.  I should be able to get my walk in.

Goals for the week:

Walk/Run on Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Saturday
Yoga on Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday
No Fast Food (this is going to be tough)
Water....drink more water!
Use my Lose It App everyday

What are your goals for this week?

Inspiration

I want to be bendy!

My friend Amanda at Family of Shorts....wants to know what my inspiration for fitness is. I want to be strong and bendy. I want to run and hike and do yoga.

Running, Yoga and Chakras...Oh My

Another week....another 12 mile challenge! Heather is already kicking my butt because she ran 5 miles last night! And we have a new challenger this week....Danielle! She's also kicking my butt...with her 3 mile run a few days ago.  We're competing for a Starbucks Gift Card!




Have I told you how much I love my Nike+ App? Everything time you do better...be it faster, farther or whatever...a celebrity's voice comes on a the end of your workout and congratulates you! I love it!

I'm also still working on my Yoga Challenge with Joanna, Heather, Nicole and Lynda.  I wanted this to a mind-body experience so I bought an app for my iPhone to assist me.   The Chakra Deck and it helps you focus on your different Chakra's and bring them back into alignment.  There is also a *card* for meditation with each Chakra.  I haven't been using it as much as I'd hoped so I'm going to set an alarm on my phone to remind me to do it.

This week...The Root Chakra!

The Root Chakra deals with our basic survival skills.  Food, shelter, health and security.  This Chakra is at the base of the spine.

Signs of unbalanced 1st Chakra:

Emotional or mental issues: feelings of fear, anxiety, worry, depression, disconnection and low self esteem.

Physical Issues: lower back pain, constipation, obesity

Common Addictions: food and alcohol

A balanced 1st chakra brings feelings of safety, belonging and connection with others. A feeling of being at home in one's body.

Activities that support a balanced Root Chakra are yoga, running and gardening.

Walking Challenge & Just Say No

I have a friend named Heather and she has lost almost 50 pounds! Over the summer she'd walk in her rural neighborhood and she's been eating good things and the weight is coming off.

We are both freaking out about winter coming. She lives in Upstate New York and from what I've heard from her it is is already chilly there. The girl is wearing argyle socks to work!

Heather's friend Joanna challenged us both to a Yoga challenge for the month of October and I was so excited because I've been wanting to do yoga. More about this challenge in another post...I promise. Here's our challenge blog.

I also issued Heather a walking challenge. 12 miles by Sunday. Here's how I'm doing.




I woke up at 5am this morning....like I've been doing lately because there is a dog that keeps barking.  I was on a mission to find him....and I did.  Here is video of me finding the dog....it contains profanity...just letting you know.

I also struggled because I had a donut stuck in my gut.  That's right...I had a donut last night and it's the Food Nazi's fault.



I'm taking a stand! No more donuts!