I've formulated a plan and that, my dears....is what you call a start!

I think it's about time that I formulate a visible plan instead of wingin' it. I think that I do my best when I have a plan, as simple as it may sound. Over the summer, when I managed to lose 20 lbs. I was doing cardio and a weight training video. I didn't change my diet any but because it was summer, I'm sure that I ate a bit healthier and drank a lot more water.

Now I'm basically doing cardio. On the rare occasion that I do weights, I find myself meandering around the gym haphazardly trying out machines with no set reps, weight, or body part in mind. I figured it was about time to put something together to give me some sense of order so without further adieu......

The Plan

keep In mind that I am "baby steppin'" ( as Scale Junkie says)

►             Nutrition

First, I need to get in the habit of tracking my food intake. Since I am taking baby steps this go-round, I will try to track my meals for at least 2 days per week. I'll start off tracking what I normally eat for 2 days just to get an idea of how many calories I'm actually eating and from there, I'll try to keep the calories at 1549 or below. No, I didn't just pull that number out of my azz, I'm sure that I remember that as my allotted daily caloric intake from one of the programs that I was using.

I am also going to incorporate more fruits and veggies into my diet. Currently, I tend to stick with broccoli, spinach and sometimes Kale for my vegetables and aside from an occasional pear, blackberries have been my "fruit" of choice. I tend to go through phases with my fruit, for a while it was grapefruit, then oranges now blackberries. Of course seasonal changes facilitate some of my fruit swings but it's mostly my finickiness. Once I have this mastered, I will re-evaluate and update.

►             Water Intake

As far as my water intake goes, I drink "non-water" items so rarely that I really don't feel the need to cut them out. I may have tea, Powerade, Gatorade, or Vitamin Water but I don't drink them nearly enough for them to be a hindrance to my weight loss endeavors. I do need to "up" my water intake though so I will make sure that I am drinking a minimum of 64 OZ. of water a day and possibly more. I find that I don't drink nearly enough of anything during the winter. I just don't find myself as thirsty...anyway, I plan to drink so much water that I may have to take up residency in the bathroom or at the very least, invest in some Depends.

►            Cardio

I think that it is safe to say that I hate cardio. I'll do it because it needs to be done but I won't like it..with the exception of Zumba.

I have had the DVDs forever before I used them for the first time and I actually found myself smiling throughout the entire workout. Now, that I'm attending actual classes, I love it even more. I'm just a fan of Dancing in general. Hip Hop Abs, Rockin Body...I love it all.

My gym offers Zumba classes Mon, Tues, Wed, and Saturday so I have plenty of chances to attend. I think I will shoot for 3 days a week with the Zumba and on the 'off' cardio days, I will do some form of light activity like stretching( which I also don't do as often as I should) or maybe even yoga. I am so not flexible so I don't know how successful I'll be with Yoga but if the yoga in P90X is any indicator, I'm going to need lots of work.

• Mon,Wed, Sat -Zumba
• Tues- stretching
• Thursday-Yoga/pilates vids

►            Strength Training

I absolutely love strength training which is why I'm having a hard time understanding why I haven't picked up a weight in lawd knows when. I have told myself, too many times to count, that I need to get back to weight lifting. I have just about every Beachbody workout there is, Cathe Friedrich, Billy Blanks, Jillian Michaels..you name it, all just sitting around collecting dust! There is absolutely no reason for me not to get back to lifting other than sheer laziness. When I go to the gym, if I'm not doing Zumba, I'm on the treadmill or elliptical or Precor machine or something, which makes no sense considering the fact that I HATE cardio.

My lack of a plan is what is holding me back. I need to know what I am doing. When I tried BFL(Body FOR LIFE) Every Tuesday and Thursday were weight days. Upper body one day, lower the other day. 4 sets of 12, 10, 8 and 6 reps. I enjoyed that plan so I think I'll stick with the twice a week strength training. I'll probably go with Cathe STS or Skogg Kettlebells this time.

►            Progress

I guess, I should take my weight and measurements...UUUGH...so I'll have something to gauge my progress by. I may even take a "before" photo and update it monthly although the chances of it making it on the blog are slim to none.

When I lost 20 lbs, I had a pair of jeans that I used to track my progress and that worked pretty well. I managed to get into them comfortably but now, I probably can't get a thigh in them. lol As for the scale, we have a love/hate relationship. When it shows a loss...it's all love but when it doesn't move...it's on and poppin'! I can't cut the scale out as much as I want to because Diet Power (the food tracking program that I will be using) requires a daily weigh-in. Anyway, that is the plan. feel free to add any suggestions.

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FMM: Make-Up Favorites

1.  Do you wear makeup everyday? I only wear make-up when I'm going out or on vacation.

2.  Does your routine change if you’re going out with friends/on a date/to a party? If so, how?  Not really, I only wear mascara, eyeliner, and lipstick/gloss when I do wear make-up.   The only change that I may make is going  from  my staple of clear mascara to black.  Lol  exciting huh?

3.  Are you loyal to one brand, or do you use different brands for different things? Nope, No loyalty here.  I use whatever is available and lately that has translated into whatever is the cheapest.  I would love to say I'm a "Mac girl" and post YouTube videos of my "Mac hauls" but truth is.  I'm just not that savvy when it comes to make-up.

4. Do you wear primer/concealer? If so, what’s your favorite kind? No.. I've never used either. I'm not even sure what primer is...  lol

5.  What’s your favorite brand of foundation?  I don't use foundation...I tried it once but thought it made me look fake.  I don't think I used the  right color to match my skin tone.

6.  Do you use blush and/or bronzer?  I don't use bronzer but I used to wear blush religiously  as a teen, Now I can't remember the last time I wore blush.

7.  Do you wear eye shadow/eye liner? If so, what’s your favorite kind?  I wear eyeliner only when I'm going out.  Not picky  about the brand at all.  Don't wear eyeshadow but I would love to get into wearing it.  I recently bought a cheap palette from Elf just to experiment. My first look, a "Smokey Eye" looked a hot mess.  Needless to say I haven't tried it since.  It may have been that I'm just not used to seeing myself with eyeshadow.  I need help on how to start from all of you make-up gurus out there!

8.  What’s your favorite kind of mascara? Maybelline clear and then Elf second...it doesn't last long but I love the fact that it has a brow brush on one end and a lash brush on the other and at only $1.00, it can't be beat!

9.  Lipstick? Lip gloss? Both? Favorite? I used to be a pink lipstick girl. Now I've gravitated to more neutral colors.  I love a gold colored lipstick especially in the summer.   I also love glosses, again, not picky about the type although I do love LANCÔME Juicy Tubes.

10.  Do you wear nail polish regularly?   I used to wear polish regularly until I made the mistake of getting fake nails.  Up until then, I had long beautiful nails. Listening to my aunt who said the fake nails would protect my real nail and prevent breaking I decided to get a set.  Needless to say, my nails are ruined. They will not grow past a certain length and they are weak and brittle and it has been 10+ years ago that I got my first and last set. (my nails used to grow so long that I would save them when they broke)..Anyway now, when I do wear polish, it is usually a clear or neutral color that won't be noticed when it chips after a  day or two.  Lol  I don't bother with  colored polish (due to chipping)unless it's a special occasion although I have been fascinated with OPI's Shattered line.

11.  How do you remove your makeup at the end of the day?  I stick with  whatever it is I'm using to cleanse my face at the moment be it Noxema( my old stand-by that I've been using since I was a teen) or  an oil cleanser  to  good old soap and water.

12.  Do you feel prettier when you’re wearing makeup? Of course,  but aside from my usual "routine" I'm not sure about the best way to apply certain things...too much trouble  lol

13. Do you have any beauty tips that you could pass along?  Not really, other than the fact that I do think that everyone should have their brows threaded at least once!  I find that  having my brows threaded makes everything in my world seem right!   Also, when it comes to nail polish..either wear it or don't wear it but No chipped polish please!

Your turn!   Head on over to Kenlie's and don't forget to link your blog!


Getting it right and tight,

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Sushi....Its What's For Lunch

Never been a fan of Sushi(after having only tried the grocery store variety)and after having restaurant quality, I think its safe to say that I'm still not a fan but I did manage to pick at the insides of at least, some of my meal. 

This is as Adventurous as I was willing to get

Getting it right,

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Calories in Vs. Calories out....

This  posts stems from an email conversation that I had with "T"  Anyway, I mentioned that I needed help with my eating and when she asked me what I was having trouble with...portion size, control..etc.   I told her my theory on nutrion as it relates to weight loss.

Now I know that eating is 90-95% of the weight loss journey. However, as I have mentioned too many times to count, I am not a fan of cutting any particular food group out of my diet.  (I "wants" what I want lol ;)  All of the low carb, no carb, low-fat, high protein diets are not for me (although I probably would fare the best on a high protein diet because I am not about to cut meat out ..no way, no how, NOT EVA).  I mentioned that from everything that I've read concerning weight loss,  it all boils down to two things....Calories In Vs. Calories out.  If that is the case, then I should be able to eat whatever it is that I want to eat as  long as I'm burning more calories than I'm taking in.  Sounds good right?

"T"  mentioned that she too, thought this way for years and then gave me a swift dose of reality when I told her that I usually ( 95 % of the time) eat a somewhat "healthy" breakfast and lunch, but I usually eat whatever for dinner.  I don't do 100% of the cooking and if we're having fried chicken and mac and cheese, I'm having fried chicken and mac and cheese.  Now keep in mind I do not go overboard, meaning I'm not loading up my plate with heaping helpings of food  or 3 or 4 pieces or meat, nor am I running back for seconds, thirds, and fourths but I am eating what is cooked.



This is where my reality check came in. "T" mentioned that and I quote

"By exercising, making good choices for breakfast and lunch but then eating fast food, fried food, etc you could be cancelling out all your hard work. And if you cook with a lot of oil, that could be adding 100's of calories that you may not even realize. The amount of calories you burn during your work out could just be making up for the food you ate for dinner therefore not burning any excess calories which would cause you to lose weight."

Don't you just love the voice of reason? *sarcastic smirk*  Deep down I already knew this but my mind would not let me accept it as truth!  you mean to tell me I can burn 700 calories in my Zumba class in addition to the calories I burned while walking 15-30 minutes on the treadmill, have an egg white omelette, blackberries, WeightWatcher or LeanCuisine meal and just because I had a burger and fries for dinner..my calorie burn could be null and void? 

Truth is, it's extremely hard to know exactly how many calories we are consuming without tracking every bite, morsel, crumb, and drop that hits our lips.  Personally I find it to be extrememly tedious and time consuming.  I have some of the best food tracking devices there are from Diet Power (which is awesome) to  Fit Day to just about every app there is and I still cannot manage to track my food for longer than a day or two.  I have a digital food scale as well as numerous measuring cups and spoons and the like but unless you are able  to run to the food scale and weigh every little thing before you eat it, then how feasible is it...really?

I guess that is where planning comes into play. I hear about people batch cooking meals, measuring them out  in perfectly sized portions and storing them and that is great in theory but I am so not a planner.  I know what some of you are probably thinking and it couldn't be further from the truth!  I do want this but there has got to be an easier way!

Getting it right,

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Ebay debacle..Was I Wrong? What Say You?

Around Christmas, the kid wanted a The North Face Denali jacket. After looking in Sports Authority, which did not have the size or was sold out at all stores in the area,( I posted about my tendency to procrastinate so ummm yeah) I turned to eBay. I've been using eBay for years and years and have never had a problem. My experiences have always been positive( even the time that I won an auction that requested payment be made in money orders only) so I had no qualms about finding a jacket there.

After browsing several listings, the majority of which used stock photos of the jacket, I was thrilled to come across an auction for the jacket in the size that I was looking for although not the color. The listing used an actual photo of the jacket and the seller had 100% positive feedback as well which was a plus in my book. I swooped in at the last minute and won the auction for about $80 including shipping. In the store, the jacket costs anywhere from $99 to $169 so I was thrilled...I mean who doesn't love a bargain?

Image used in  eBay auction  that I won

I was notified that I won the auction and that the jacket was already boxed and ready to go. I received it in about a week and was happy that it arrived so quickly. I don't remember what I was looking for concerning the jacket but whatever it was, led me to a post on eBay that claimed this particular jacket was the most counterfeited on eBay.  It also included a link to a site that prides itself on informing the public on the counterfeiting problem specifically with The North Face brand, so I joined the site and came across a variety of things to look for to help determine whether or not the jacket that I received was real. Chalk it up to my naivete, but I had no idea that one could even counterfeit this jacket.  I even visited the store and compared the jacket I received with the jackets there and needless to say I was far from pleased. Deep down, I knew my jacket was most likely  counterfeit so I paid to ship the jacket to The North Face Company to have it authenticated and about 10 days later, I received a letter from them saying that the jacket was counterfeit and not one of their own.

I  initially thought that it could've been possible that the seller may not have known the jacket was fake or that they may have purchased it from eBay and then resold it which in any event, they are still liable. I emailed the seller and asked where the jacket was purchased and was told, Saks Fifth Avenue Outlet. If that was the case, if the jacket didn't fit, she would have known that when she tried it on or at the very least, could have returned it to the store for a refund couldn't she? In any event, I phoned PayPal and filed a dispute. I was informed  after the fact that PayPal reps have no way of filing a dispute so by choosing to file my dispute by phone, it was automatically escalated to a claim totally bypassing the dispute stage  as well as the opportunity to work it out with the seller.   I would have been willing to send it back (if asked) but when I was told it would be at my expense that was out of the question.

Once I was told the jacket was purchased at Saks Outlet (which does not sell counterfeit jackets) ...I ceased all communication with the seller as suggested by the website.

Image used in additional Auction won by someone else

I had to fax in documents, affidavits, and the like and in the end PayPal decided in my favor and I received a refund. I also did some digging and saw that the seller sold another jacket with the auction ending the same day. My listing stated it was being sold because it didn't fit and was too small, the other auction stated that she ordered a large and was sent a medium and customer service took too long to answer the phone so she decided to sell it on eBay instead *insert eye roll here*

Anyway, as suggested on the site, I left negative feedback and received this email last night. ( a week after leaving the feedback.)

That's pretty darn bad of you to post negative feedback about the north face jacket. You never once contacted me about the problem. you just went on to file a claim. I did not know the jacket was fake. (if it really is) I bought the jacket from an outlet store. I assumed it was real. For all I know, the jacket is real. no one told me how you proved anything. I think you know I didn't know it was fake and for you to post negative feedback was wrong!!!!

to which I responded:

Not only was my leaving negative feedback NOT wrong but it was warranted. You sold a counterfeit jacket and told PayPal that it was real. You sold another "Denali" as well using a similar image and that one is probably fake as well. I asked u where u bought the jacket and u said Saks Fifth avenue outlet. I contacted them and they DO NOT sell counterfeit jackets which led me to believe that u knowingly sold at least one and more likely than not, 2 fakes. If these jackets didn't fit or were the wrong size for u and your husband (as u stated in the auctions) why not return them to the store for money back or a different size, why sell them on ebay and possibly take a loss on your purchase price? The fact that customer service took too long to answer the phone so you sold them on ebay doesn't wash. I spent a lot of money proving the jacket was counterfeit( even though there were numerous and obvious signs of fraud) and in addition to that, ended up purchasing an authentic North Face Denali from an authorized retailer ( which cost even more money) so YES, Negative feedback was deserved and rightfully so. (I also noticed that the excessive duck tape on the box was used to cover up the fact that at one time you were the recipient of said box.) Once the jacket was proven to be counterfeit, I was under no obligation to communicate with you at all as at that point, the selling of the jacket became a criminal offense. The North Face company asked for any and all information pertaining to this sale including your name and address and any pertinent information that I may have because they are concerned with protecting the integrity of their brand so there is no "IF" about it, the Jacket was DEFINITELY fake. Considering the fact that I was encouraged to file a complaint with IC3 and the police, as well as provide North Face with the requested info concerning the sale, you got off relatively easy with my choosing to only leave Negative feedback!

I think I had every right to handle  the situation in the manner that I did..what say you...was I wrong?

Getting it right,

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I knew there was a reason....

Why I prefer to work out alone.  Today I went to the gym with 2 people who shall remain nameless.  Anyway, I headed for Zumba class while they looked at me through the window for  a little while.  After class I joined them on the stationary bike where they were engaged in a conversation about Red Lobster.  One even suggested we go after we left the gym.  Anyway, they piddled about for a few minutes and then we left.

On the way home, one is hungry so we end up at all places ....Wendy's.  I tell them to drop  me off first but no, it's out-of-the way so I go to Wendy's with them and they just had to sit down and eat. Yes, I could have stayed in the car but its 17 degrees out there today.  Needless to say, those fries and burgers were calling me and I caved.   I have got to work on my willpower.

The good thing about it is that I haven't been hungry since I had the Wendy's and that was about noon.  Since then, I've had blackberries and gum and that's it.   I think I'll be heading to the gym solo from now on or at the very least driving myself.


Getting it right,

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Review: Garmin ForeRunner 60

My Old Polar HRM

I was in need of a new heart rate monitor after my Polar stopped working. Well it didn't actually stop working but it picks up my heart rate sporadically.  This, after I sent in off to Polar to have a new battery put in.

I honestly think that it is the actual chest strap that is causing me problems.  I changed the battery but my heart rate(according to the monitor) still goes in and out way to often for my liking.  Even when I'm pouring down with sweat it doesn't pick up my heart rate for minutes at a time so I figured it was time to invest in a new one.

This time I was considering a Garmin.  I've seen them on sale at Sam's club but decided that I didn't want to pay that much money..I think it was $209  or something like that.
I looked at some Polar heart rate monitors and decided I would go with the Ft60.  I like Polar because it is compatible with the equipment at the gym. I even asked for it as a Christmas gift but then decided against it because of the price.  I wasn't able to find the FT60 in the store and would have to purchase online from Polar or an authorized retailer.

I ended up doing some more research on Garmin and since it was compatible with my  Body Media Fit( in the sense that now, I would be able to log my heart rate in the BMF  website) I thought a Garmin would give me the most bang for my buck)  I also found out that Garmin is now becoming compatible with some gym equipment although not yet at my gym.

Anyway, I looked at several models and decided that I really didn't need a GPS monitor because I am not a runner and I do the majority (okay, as of late,  all) of my working out indoors..  GPS doesn't really work well indoors as evidenced by my recent bout with Runkeeper and the treadmill.  My GPS on my phone said I had a fair connection so I hop on the treadmill and do my walk/jog.  While it managed to keep track of  the time I was on the treadmill, it didn't track any calories or mileage at all.  Granted, I'm not familiar with runkeeper so I don't know if it was  because of the GPS or the fact that I was on a treadmill and not actually running on the street.  It could even have been that I was walking and not running very much...who knows?

My Garmin FR60 w/chest strap, foot pod & ant stick

Anyway, I decided on the Garmin FR 60.  I chose this model because the only thing that I need in a heart rate monitor is the ability to accurately track my heart rate and calories burned.  This monitor was fine for my purposes and it also came with the Garmin ant Stick, chest strap and foot pod to boot.
It's a fairly older model..I think there is one newer model of this monitor out.. the FR 70 but I chose the 60 because of the extras...ant stick and foot pod which  normally need to  be purchased separately.

I ordered it from Amazon for $99 (  Mind you it was cheaper than the newer model that does not come with the extras) and it arrived on Jan 2nd...right in time for my challenge.  It was a breeze to set-up.  People were complaining (via reviews) that it doesn't tell you how much time you spend in a particular zone( which from my understanding is standard with even the most basic heart rate monitors) but the BMF website allows me to view that information so I'm good.

The one thing that I do not like is the fact that I am unable to view a constant tally of my calories burned.  When I search the history from my watch, calories burned are there and of course when the data is uploaded to the Garmin website( which by the way, this Garmin does automatically when it is near the ant stick) I can see calories burned, so again...I'm good.

With the added foot pod, the Fr60 is also able to tell your mileage and distance. which is a plus for me since I wasn't really concerned with that.  Something to keep in mind is the fact that when wearing  both the chest strap and the foot pod.... the Garmin uses the foot pod to determine your calories burned, whereas when wearing just the chest strap, the strap is used to determine your Heart rate so when I am in a Zumba class, I do not use the foot pod at all.

This monitor was able to pick up my heart rate as soon as I put it on.  I didn't even have to wet it first which I found myself constantly doing with my Polar and the strap is uber comfortable. (I did, however, have one instance where it wasn't picking up a heart rate at all or my heart rate was rather low for the activity that I was doing which was Zumba.  On that day.... when it was picking up a heart rate...it ranged  anywhere from 46bpm to 84bpm which is extremely low for Zumba where I am jumping, booty popping, winding , grinding, merengue-ing and well---you get the point. Normally my heart rate (in that class) is anywhere from 148 to 170 so yes, something was not right.  I did notice when I returned home that I did have the chest strap on upside down. Not sure if this makes a difference or not as I've read that some even wear the monitor on their backs instead of on their chests where it is supposed to be worn.  Anyway, I have Zumba again tomorrow so I will make sure that I'm wearing the chest strap correctly and see If I have any problems.

One last thing to note, that helped push me in the direction of the Garmin (as opposed to Polar) is lack of support for Macs. I did not want to have to use 3rd party software or get up to use my PC whenever I wanted to upload my data so Garmin's native compatibility with Mac ..made this HR monitor the one for me.

 Getting it right,
,

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Weekly Wrap Up

 

This is where the Zumba "Magic" happens

 Last week was pretty lackluster as I really didn't do much.  After Wednesday's Zumba fiasco, I  decided I would work weights back into my "routine" but needless to say, I didn't pick up any weights at all.  I did however, attend Zumba on Saturday and it was a workout.   It more than made up for Wednesday and I left out of there feeling like I had been in a war.   The class was packed and when I say Packed...I mean PACKED!  People could barely fit in the room and when I looked back, I saw people literally pressed up against the door and the walls.   I'm always early so as long as I get a spot, I'm good.

 A girl in the class told me it was jam packed  last Monday as well,  Not just the class but the entire gym. She said she couldn't even get in the door  for the class and all the machines were taken.  I thought about going  last Monday too and am so glad I didn't  because I can't do the "waiting for machines to work out" thing.

Anyway, I absolutely love this instructor.  She has a mixture of music from  Merengue to Hiphop,  and she is extremely energetic and personable.  When the class was over,  some one, who had taken the class with her for several months now,  asked  us to stick around while she presented the instructor with a trophy for being so good.  It was thoughtful and the instructor was very appreciative.  Unfortunately she only teaches one day and week but I think they should really think about adding her into the rotation more often.  She is that good and the best thing about the class is that you leave feeling like you really had a workout.  One full hour of Zumba with no offical breaks.  Hmmph..just thinking about it  gets me winded.  lol


Next up is the eating....I still haven't tidied up my diet YET. My mom had a birthday and I cooked dinner.....Steak, Lobster( which, by the way, was phenomenal) baked potato,  garlic bread and asparagus spears (in lieu of a salad out of pure laziness.) It was so much food that I could not finish my steak or my potato(which I trashed)... but I will be finishing that steak later.....TRUST!

Had I been thinking, I would have taken a photo of the finished meal..after all, it was my first time ever cooking lobster myself and man..that lobster still has my mouth watering.  Anyway, I'm still working on my eating but I will get it right  sooner, rather than later.....Oh,  I also stocked up on my favorite...BLACKBERRIES!!!  I  bought 24 packs at 50 cents each. You can't beat that!  Can you say WINNING!!!!!

                                              Blackberry Score!!  Notice 2 packs are missing..yummy

Getting it right,

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Confessional:My Confessions

I didn't do shyt today. The end! 'Tis all!

Getting it right,

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I feel bad for saying this but what the heck?

So I was kind of pumped the other day because I had it in my mind that I would attend Zumba class. When I arrived at the gym, there was a sign stating that the Zumba class would be starting one hour later.  I was borderline mad but I walked on the treadmill to pass the time and headed to class about 5 minutes before the class was supposed to start.  Time came and went...there was about 40 people waiting.  By the time it was fifteen minutes past the time the class was supposed to start people started leaving... She( the Zumba instructor) arrived about  25 to 30 minutes late with apologies.  She said she was called to fill in at the last minute.  By this time people started coming back and we got on with the warm-up.  I would say there were about 30-35 people in the class at this time.

When we got into our first song, I knew it wasn't going to be good.  I feel bad for saying this but the Zumba instructor was so off beat that it was really hard to keep up with her. I looked behind me and saw virtually the entire class fumbling trying to keep up with her and for any of you who know how to dance...it's really hard to get off beat... She was not in time with the music at all.  Can you imagine the music pumping and all the dance steps no where near in time with the music.  One by one people started to leave and I knew something was up when both of the two "regular"  male members left.  One is a die hard Zumba fan who never misses a class  so when I saw him leave I just shook my head.

I felt really bad and just did my own thing so to speak because I didn't want her to feel bad.  I know that she noticed people leaving and I hung in there for as long as I could.  One of the girls next to me said that she( speaking of herself) already had no rhythm and now she has to  try to get off beat too?  After that she picked up her belongings and walked out . When I left, which was about 25 or 30 minutes into the class, there were 7 people left.

I left feeling that I wasted my time and  that I did not get the good Zumba work out that I've come to love.  Usually, I'm pouring down with sweat and I have to fill up my water bottle 2 or 3 times.  During that class, no sweat and I didn't even need to take a sip of my water.  What's really bad is that I was counting on the activity points to help me to meet my points (60 daily) for the challenge that I entered.

I know that she was doing the best that she could but I was left wondering how she even got certified as a Zumba instructor.  Another girl in the class told me that she subbed for a "Latin Heat" class that the gym also offers and was off-beat when she taught that class as well.  I ended up  popping in my Zumba DVD's to make up for the lost time.


Getting it right,

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Weekly Wrap Up

I had a pretty good week workout wise.  I'm sure that I've mentioned this before but I am a pretty competitive person and I entered a challenge that began on Jan 3.  You can either use your Garmin heart rate monitor, Body Media Fit, Fit Bit,  Run  Keeper or whatever activity tracker you have  to track  your activity.

The challenge consists of a maximum of 420 points total for the 7 days of the challenge. The winners will be chosen from  two groups of people, those who earned 360 points and above and  those who earned at least 100 points.

Let me tell you I worked my butt off for those points..  I would either go to the gym and come home then upload and see how many points I had.  If I  hadn't reach my allotted daily points of 60, I would have to get up and get moving again  until I reached 60, which usually took me a little over 2 hours  or 17,000 steps to reach.  The day that I didn't get to the gym was the most difficult.  I was trying to fit in activity anywhere I could but I was literally up at 10.00 pm moving about trying to get my points up.
 Sunday was also difficult as that is usually my rest day...I didn't  reach my max points for that day but  in the end I did reach 364 points out of a maximim of 420 which is pretty dayum good for me.

I entered another challenge again for this week that  starts Tuesday but decided not to participate as I want to get back to weight training.  For these last few months( as sporadic as it may have been) I've been focusing all of my attention on cardio.  With the BMF( Body Media Fit or in my case, Go Wear Fit)..it doesn't really calculate activity from weight lifting so I had to focus on cardio for the challenge in order to meet my goals and I didn't want to do that again this week.

I found that I really pushed myself to get those points and my workout was the better for it.  I don't think I'm that disciplined to push myself outside of a competitive environment but I'm working on it.

I haven't been watching what I eat in the sense that I am not denying myself anything.   I know that in order for my weight to move in the direction that I want it to move, I have to change my eating habits.  I just have to ease myself int it...I find that I'm good until dinner.

Normally, throughout the day, I will have an egg white omelet with mushrooms, spinach, tomatoes, cheese and  occasionally onions. I'll snack on blackberries when I get a craving.  For lunch, I'll  have a Lean Cuisine or sometimes if I'm not really hungry ( I'll just have the berries)  pretty healthy meals but dinner is when I will have whatever, fried chicken, pasta with sauce, yessss.....even fast food.  I guess I have to work on my dinner time habits and focus on cooking more.

I also need to work on tracking what I eat.  With the availability of apps, keeping track of virtually anything is so easy to do and I have a million apps( for my phone and computer both) that I use  but I need to be consistent.  I just find it too time consuming to track my food intake accurately.  To get the food, weigh it on the food scale then write it down so I can enter it into an app just takes too much time.  I have done it but never for an entire day as I usually forget to weigh something or I don't really pay attention to the portion size of something  that I ate and then my tracking is off for that day.

I have to find some type of way to to track my calories in an easy, accurate way and then I'm sure I'll start to see the pounds drop.



Getting it right,

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Getting rid of the toxicity in your life.

 

I decided to begin  the New Year with a "Dear John"  or in this case a "Dear  Fat" letter getting rid of the toxicity and negativity in my life.



"Dear Fat,

I'm breaking up with you, I've been seeing someone else who has offered a healthy relationship. I know I have kicked you out before but this time it's for good, I want you GONE! By the way, I'm going on vacation this summer and you are not coming. I know that you will miss me but believe me, it is not you, it's me.  Besides Gym makes me happy. Please don't try to worm your way back into my life because it will not work. This is our last goodbye..Forever!

Getting it right,

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