Mirror Mirror...

So - I made it to the gym - Go Me! I jog/walked on the treadmill for a half hour then headed off to Zumba.

I have a love hate relationship with Zumba. I've noticed my pants fitting better, and I attribute that to Zumba because it's something new I've been doing consistently. But I usually want to quit after a few songs. I don't... but I just don't want to do it. Fortunately, I keep going and it's better to do that than to be at home and quit because no one will know.

I also had a realization. I was at the front of the room. Usually this space is taken, but not today. Normally I don't mind... but I found myself mambo-ing to the end of the mirror behind the weight rack. Am I really that fat?

Now granted, I was in some loose pants and my comfy shirt. No form. but WoW - I just looked like a typical fat girl.

I hope that's not offensive to anyone - but I guess my mental image of myself is much more pleasing to the eye! As much as I've been exercising this past year - I'm still a flabby fat mess - and it's shocking to me! I feel like I need to loose a little weight - that over all I have a normal figure that I just need to widdle down.

Apparently I need more than that.

I'm not giving up home though. I am determined to lose weight - to widdle down my figure. I really need to take my diet seriously. If I don't I'll never make a real difference in my weight and shape. I think I'll go do a TurboJam sculpt video before I shower. TJ really seemed to tone me pretty well.

Weekend 1

Well - it wasn't the greatest weekend. My goal was to stay on plan, and that didn't happen. On a positive note - I did make some healthy choices on Saturday- which I wouldn't normally have done. And for the most part I'm sticking to my eggs for breakfast.

But the Superbowl party did me in. I actually started eating poorly at lunch time. And I think I'm going to be struggling today as we still have a significant amount of snacks left. I need to get to the gym. And I plan on it... but should I go now - or wait for Zumba?

It's clear to me as well that sleep plays a major roll in all of my diet world. It gives me the energy I need to workout - to make healthy decisions and to not crave the unhealthy foods. I think if I just committed to an earlier bedtime - it could really help give me that slight edge to stay on track.

Well - WI is on Friday - I need to get back into shape!

February Challenge

So - February I have a unique challenge. It's not something I thought of or organized, I decided to commit to this challenge after reading this post.

Basically you just need to stay on plan for the weekends. I know I am totally guilty of throwing the plan out the window Friday night - so I'm hoping this will help start a healthy habit for myself.

Unfortunately, this first weekend is the SuperBowl ~ and we're throwing a party with our friends. Although - I have alot of control over the food that will be there, and despite all this, I still planned unhealthy foods! But there will be a few options I can have and my goal is to not focus on the food. We're not having a party to eat - but to hang out and watch the game.

I've been doing pretty well today though. I didn't feel like making my eggs and spinach breakfast - but my husband did it for me!!! For lunch I had a bowl of homemade minestrone soup and later a banana for a snack. I keep wanting junk but then I find that healthy alternative. I keep choosing healthy - if only to splurge a little on Sunday without it hurting too much!

I'll let you how how it goes!

Weigh In day

I haven't had a regular WI day for a while- mostly because I would forget! I believe Friday would be the best WI day for me. With WW, when I saw good result on the scale (or just the motivation from the meetings) I always had a great week! But I WI on Mondays. By the weekend I didn't have the motivation anymore - and there are so many temptations over a weekend. So I'm hoping a Friday WI will help keep me focused over the weekend when routines are lost.

So WI day!! I really haven't been doing well this week - but I did yesterday... and I think it helped! I'm at 205.7. I'm down 1.3lbs!!! I'll take that!

My challenge today is I have a friend coming over - and will be here over lunch. I didn't really have a plan for lunch - but normally we just have sandwiches and chips or something. I don't want that. But I'm not sure she would want anything I would cook for myself... So I'll be thinking about it as I get ready for the day.

This is the perfect time...

I'm excited for this time of year! It's such a great time of year - not for the weather - but for all those new resolutions we all made.

I've noticed a trend in those I speak with ~ I think we're all just getting into our new routines of diet and exercise. We've all bounced back after the New Year and are putting time into our new lifestyles.

And I'm the same - which is why I'm so excited for this time of year!

New Years is tough - because I'm usually not done celebrating Christmas with all the family. There's still plenty of leftovers and my birthday is a week later. It just takes a while before all these over-indulgent situations are behind us. I feel we're at that point and now there's no more roadblocks until Easter(which is in April, by the way.) So there is this huge block of time to really focus on healthy eating and exercising without society throwing the obligatory temptations our way.

Well, except for the Superbowl - and we're throwing a party. We really just want an excuse to spend time with our friends. I haven't planned the healthiest menu - but there's still time to put in some healthy alternatives.

So - yesterday was a poor eating day, but today is a million times better! I'm reconsidering my diet - and I'll talk more about that later when I make some decisions... but here's my day so far:

Breakfast: 1 egg + 3 egg whites with spinach and a half oz of Swiss cheese.
Lunch: Caesar salad w/ grilled chicken at McD's w/ balsamic dressing.(NO snacking on the kids food!)
Afternoon Snack: Turkey wrapped in spinach.

Apparently 585 calories according to SparkPeople! Whoo HOo!!! Not sure what dinner entails - but if I keep my portions reasonable - I think today is going to be a great day!!!

1 step forward, 2 steps back

Story of my life! I had a great workout day - and a crappy eating day. I didn't know I was eating poorly till I was showering this afternoon and counting up the calories in my head. Somewhere around 1200 - and dinner was just around the corner. I kept remembering the little things I had. Like juice with my mid morning snack(or early lunch... whatever.) Oh - and a cookie as soon as I was home from the grocery store. The trail mix with my half a slice of pizza(late lunch...)It just kept adding up. And to add insult to injury - we went to Pizza Hut buffet for dinner!

I knew our dinner plans - and I wasn't planning on curbing myself too much. I had been extremely stressed out the past day or two - most likely from spiking hormones ~ or something of the sort. So I figured Pizza Hut would be a good end to the stress eating and I'd get back on track. But I thought I was making healthy choices today. They just added up and up!

Well, lets get to the workouts. I did a walking video at home in the morning. I also went to the gym around noon and I did half of a Zumba class then cut our early and ran a mile on the track before I had to get the kids.

I did great on the mile!!! I'm really quite proud of myself! I decided to run for time, and not distance. Before I would run a quarter of a mile, then walk a few laps then repeat until I had my mile in. This time I just ran for 5 minutes. I lost count of the laps the first time around - it was making it harder... counting the time away. But I wanted to know how much I did, so I counted the second 5 minutes and I had run 11 laps(20 laps = 1 mile). I couldn't believe I had run 11 laps at one time! This 5K training is a real possibility! I thought I could barely run a quarter of a mile - but really - I was limiting myself to a number. I can't wait to do this again - maybe when I'm not half exhausted from Zumba.

I also found another neat trick for counting my laps while I ran. For each lap I was on - I would think of an encouraging number to go with it. For example - 4. I'm loosing weight 4 Disney. 5 of is will be headed to Disney!! 6 days to play around at Disney! Okay... obviously I'm a little focused on Disney. But that's good - I have a focus. Now I just need to track my food better and keep my calories in check. I'm on it.

Oh - and for the record - I did have a nice big salad at Pizza Hut - with no dressing(because I hate their dressing....)

School Cancellation

So my daughter has no school today. It started as a 2 hour delay - which I was worried would disrupt and become an excuse for not accomplishing anything. I'm proud to say it didn't. In fact - before the cancellation - I went down into the basement for a walking video.


Normally - I wouldn't do something as easy as a walking video - but it's what works for my home and my sanity. I love Turbo Jam, but with all the moving around - my kids get in the way and if I'm interrupted, I miss crucial parts of the workout. Needless to say - I'm easily frustrated and irritated at this point and it makes me grumpy for the whole day. I know this about myself. I've stopped fighting the forces of nature and have adapted. I go to the gym, or I do a walking dvd. I don't care if I miss a few steps and no children are injured physically or emotionally.

So my plan for today is to get out of the house - despite the ice and snow warnings, we must get out. So I figure I'll hit the noon Zumba again and go to the grocery store. The kids love the grocery store. They'll have some play time out of this house - and I'll get some sanity and another workout. And - the cookies are gone to boot. So the day has to get better - right? Think I might go cut up that pineapple I bought a few days ago.