I think I'm getting my mojo back

 Did some more upper body work today on my arms and shoulders.   Shoulders are the one part of my body that I normally DO NOT work on.  Aside from the fact that they are my weakest body part, my shoulders are already broad enough.  I think that if I do any work on them as far as weightlifting goes, I'll be looking like a linebacker for the Patriots.  I worked them out a little today with light weights because that was all that I was able to do. I have to read up on it though because I don't need to be looking right everywhere else except for my shoulders.

I weighed myself this morning and the scale read 214.0  Yayyyyy!  I know I didn't lose 1.6lbs. in 3 days and most likely it was water weight but  who cares about  the reasoning behind it ... I'm just happy to see the scale moving in the right direction, DOWNWARD!!!  I do weigh myself every single day, or nearly everyday.  YES!!!  I AM A SCALE WHORE!  I know that I probably shouldn't and that it goes against the rules that I posted yesterday but  there is a method behind the madness, honestly.  I'm using a program that tracks your meals and it asks for your weight each day.  There is a work around to the daily weighing but I haven't figured out how to do it just yet so until I do, the scale will be calling me each and every morning that I arise.   

My eating is getting better but still not the greatest ( had oatmeal, kiwi fruit and a Lean cuisine meal so far today.) You're probably thinking "That's great, sounds okay to me" but I normally tend to do good during that time.  It's the dinner and after dinner hours that usually do me in.  I get crazy cravings and hunger pangs around 4-7 or 8 PM.  Most of the time they are sugar cravings and other times, I'm just itching to get my snack on.  I'm not really a sweets person in the  usual sense of the word.  Cakes, cookies, pies and the like do not do it for me,Will not do it for me!  I'm a food kind of gal, pasta is my real weakness, followed by candy( and not the chocolate kind.)  Jolly Ranchers, Now & Laters, ( yes I'm taking it wayyyyy back) BlowPops and the like.  I used to eat bags of candy a day but I have since switched to orbit gum, in  which I tend to go through unbelievable amounts .  I will, however,  focus more on the eating side of things in the next week or two.  Right now I'm concentrating on working out to make sure that I stick with it and that I don't allow my laziness(aka Lazy Ass) to talk me out of getting up and moving!  Wouldn't want to lose my mojo, now that I'm finally getting it back!

  The next two weeks will be a real challenge for me because I have to be at work a few hours earlier during that time and it will definitely interfere with my morning workouts.   If I don't work out in the mornings, I will not work out at all ( no matter how much I tell myself that I am going to.)  I am so not an evening person but I am "Determined to be fit" this year so I guess I have to do what I have to do...right?    I will also try to post daily during those next two weeks so if you notice that I haven't posted about working out or what have you,   Pleaseeeeee feel free to send me an E-smack( or you can leave me a clever little reminder in my c-box on the right) so I can get it back in gear because most likely, that would mean that  I haven't done nada.

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I recently visited one of two message boards that I had on MSN since 2002.  It has long since died but I was browsing through some of the info that I posted to keep members motivated and came across these.  (No, I didn't make this up and it's been so long, 5 yrs. ago that I couldn't even begin to remember where I got them)  I think this is a good place to start and so I am posting this just as much for myself as I am for those of you that may need a little help in devising a plan.  As you all may or may not know, I am a huge procrastinator so it may take me a little while to implement.  Enjoy!

SET GOALS

Here are a few 'real life' tools that will help get you started and keep you in the game when trying to reach your health goals.

• Pick a specific goal. You want to lose weight, but how much? For example, you would like to weigh what you weighed in high school (50 pounds lighter), but your doctor says it would be a good start if you would just take off 10 pounds. The goals you aim for don't have to be the be-all and end-all of your life, but they will help you get focused. The more specific, the better.

• Pick a reasonable time frame. Is your goal realistic for your time frame? You don't want to set yourself up for disaster and disappointment. For example, you have a wedding to go to in a month and want to lose 50 pounds. Sorry to say, but that ain't gonna happen; you're simply setting yourself up for failure. About two pounds a week is reasonable. Any more weight loss than that is unrealistic. If you're unsure what a reasonable time frame is, consult a fitness expert.

• Tell a friend. It can seem less embarrassing if you don't tell anybody what your goals are (just in case you don't accomplish them), but telling a friend helps hold you to your goals and can help provide some driving motivation. If your goal is to do 20 minutes of exercise daily and you're not feeling up to it, a friend can be the one to help you get your butt in gear. Enlist the help of a friend who's had some success in the fitness department. Or get a friend who could use a push herself to hit the gym or the road with you. It's often more fun when you're exercising with someone else.

• Make a Plan. Design your program by reading literature or consulting a health and fitness expert. Write out a day-by-day or week-by-week program that slowly but consistently increases exercise time and effort. For instance, try walking 10 minutes one day and then increasing the time by 1 or 2 minutes a day. You'll be up to 20 or 30 minutes in no time.

• Track your progress. How do you know if you are accomplishing what you set out to do? By keeping a training log so you can see where your improvements and weaknesses are. A simple calendar or weekly planner will do. It is rewarding to see that power-walking an extra tenth of a mile each day adds up to an extra half-mile at the end of the week.

• Be careful of injury. If you experience any signs of injury, revise your plan. Getting injured is one of the main reasons people fall short of their fitness goals. If you are trying to do too much too quickly, cut back.

The 10 Commandments Of Weight loss/Body Sculpting Perfection

Commandment #1: Belive in yourself!!    If not, you won't be able to achieve your desired
results!!!!

Commandment#2: Write down your goals. How can you get somewhere it you don't know where you are heading?

Commandment#3: Set New Goals Every Six Weeks. After 6 weeks, compare your results against what you had in your original goals.

Commandment#4: Place a calendar on your fridge. Mark a back slach on the days that you followed your diet without cheating. Make a forward slash on the days that your trained. If you trained and followed a good diet on a given day, you should have an "X" marked on that day.

Commandment#5: Place a picture of how you currently look somewhere that you will be able to see on a daily basis. This picture should provide you with additional motivation to follow the program.

Commandment #6: Take pictures of yourself every 4 weeks and place them on the refrigerator next to your "before" picture. That way, whenever you have a craving and go to the refrigerator you will remember the reason that you are doing this and also get motivated by seeing the progress that you are achieving.

Commandment #7: Write down the reasons why you are following this program and put them on your refrigerator. Same benefit as item 6.

Commandment #8: Keep your house free from any foods that are not good for your program. Only on FREE DAY can you bring these foods into the house. yayyyyy free day!!!!

Commandment#9: Remember to prepare all of your meals the day before,so that when you are at work, you already have all the food that you will need for the day with you. That way you limit the amount of times you will be tempted.

Commandment #10: Remember that only you can control what gows in your mouth. Food does not control you!!!!!!

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Feeling Good

Another day down.  I decided to do some upper body work yesterday.  Had to ease myself back into it so I only did one round out of the two that are required.  I'll definitely be working my way back up to that point. I even dragged out my old lunge bar  that I bought.

 

 I also did some stretching before working out, something that I never, ever, ever did in the past (I know, bad me) but honestly In an effort to save time and get the workout over quickly, I would skip the stretching before hand which can sometimes last a good while.  Not today, I did all of the stretching and I'll have to wait and see if there is a noticeable difference.

On another note, I'm still going back and forth on whether or not I want to keep up with my gym membership or let it go.  Truth be told, I can't even remember the last time I've set foot in Bally's.  On top of that, they keep raising my monthly fees to the point where I'm not even sure what it is now.  It was $8 a month and now who knows what it is.  I just hate to let it go and lose all of the money that I put into purchasing it but what's the point if I'm not going?  I just wish the gym was a little closer to me (it's not really that far but I'm spoiled like that)  The plan was to keep it for another year and see what happens and then make a decision.  I may still do that but I have to call them and see what's up with these increasing fees.  Bally's Sucks (just in case ya didn't know)

Eating was okay.  Had Tacos(yeah, yeah I know) but I promised the kiddo that I would make them today, especially since  their hearts were set on getting them yesterday.  Now what kind of mommy would I be had I let them down? lol  

Time: 22:30
Cal: 221
Max HR:155
Avg HR: 124

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Day 1 update!

So, Last Night I was thumbing through this issue of People MAgazine and I found it very inspiring.  While most of the people featured in this issue lost their weight using a diet plan (LA weight loss, Jenny Craig, Weight Watchers, Optifast) I still found  their success to be rather motivating.  While I don't plan to pay for a diet program, I do plan to change my eating habits (which by the way, yesterday was a bust). 

 I don't know what happened but at dinner time, as usual, I fell off.  I just didn't feel like cooking so I threw in a frozen pizza for the kiddies and it was a wrap.  I didn't over indulge but It wasn't the healthiest, most balanced meal I could've... no, I should've prepared.  Anyway,  I think I will be following a piece of  advice that I gleaned from the article.  Since I am just starting out AGAIN, I will focus on working out for the first one or two weeks and then after that, I will concentrate on overhauling my diet.  That doesn't mean  that all food will be ago, it just means that I'm going ot focus on one thing at a time.  MAybe one week, I'll do less sugar, the next, water, the next more veggies, and so on.  You get my point.  Anyway, that's the plan for now but as with everything, it is always subject to change.  Oh yeah,  If you need motivation or inspiration, pick up that issue of People!

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New Year, New Me!

So I am back on it again.  With all of the holiday festivities behind me I am once again getting myself back on track.  I got on the scale this morning and it said 215.6 lbs.  An all time high for me.  You would think  that with what the scale showed me this morning, working out would be no problem, but my mind was telling me a whole "nother story.  I really didn't feel like doing anything today.  When I woke up, I was all gung ho, but as the day drags on I get less and less enthused about working out.  I told myself that I would just start tomorrow instead of today( my mantra as of late) until I realized that tomorrow would be the same thing.  With that, I decided to get up off of my fat behind and do something.  I did my 20 minute turbo jam with every intention of starting off slow and not putting much effort into the workout. (Hey, it's my first day back working out, but after I got more and more into the music I found myself jumping, running, and sweating up a storm.)  I felt great afterwards and realized how much my body needed that.   The only bad thing is that I had about 4  chocolate chip cookies today, (they were a good size too). I'm not going to beat myself up about it but instead I will  do better tomorrow.  I plan to do a 7 day  partial fast with my church starting on the 14th until the 21st.  Haven't decided what I will be giving up yet.  

Week 1 Goals:

Drink at least 64 oz of water this week

Eat at least 2 servings of fruit and veggies

Work out at least 4 days this week.

I'm striving to get below 200 by march and hopefully lose considerably more by July 31st of this year. 

Time: 18.27

Calories: 269

Max Hr:178

Avg Hr:159

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