Don't eat tacos before you plank

Remember when I mentioned my new trainer the other day?  Let me tell you about this trainer.  She is spunky and doesn't take "no" or "I'm too tired" or "I ate too many tacos" for an answer.  We committed to three 30 day challenges; squats, plank and wall sits.  My new trainer has told me that since I committed to doing these and got her involved in the process, I WILL see it through to the end.  She said her mother taught her that once she makes a commitment to a team or a class or a challenge whatever the thing is, she has to see it through to the end or else she will disappoint her team or her classmates or herself.  She was very serious, looked me straight in the eye and said, "We don't want to be a disappointment to ourselves, do we?"

Please excuse my messy bedroom.

That's right, my new trainer is the sassy girl I gave birth to about ten years ago.  She saw me doing my squats for day one of the challenge and was curious.  I suggested she do it with me and she happily agreed.  Who knew she was going to get so serious?!?  Tuesday night when we returned from her dance class, she reminded me that we needed to do day 2.  When I started with my excuses, she turned into a personal trainer and made sure that we both finished each task before she marked them off the list.  The silver lining here is this:

1)  She will likely make sure I finish something in January.

2)  The lessons I have been teaching her her whole life have sunk in and she has found a way to apply them to me.

3)  Maybe I'll lose a couple of those lbs I found in 2015.

Have you ever finished one of those squat challenges everyone posts on Facebook?

Living with Less

I've spent a lot of time in recent months thinking about all the STUFF in my life.  There are areas in my house that would make one think that I'm a hoarder.  All this stuff in my home is probably a visual reflection of the clutter in my own mind, so I'm ready to do something drastic.

Exhibit A

This week I found Project 333.  The gist:  33 wardrobe items to work with for 3 months.  Sleep clothes, workout clothes (as long as you only wear them to work out), underwear, and sentimental jewelry (like your wedding ring) don't count.  Everything else does. My strategy:  start with the pants, clean out the items that don't actually fit, pick very few shoes.

I'm about 15 lbs heavier than my usual weight so there are several items that don't really fit right now.  This will be a good excuse for me to box those items up while I get my weight under control.  I'm recently re-committed to getting into shape because my family is doing a Biggest Loser style competition with a cash prize at the end.  I'll need the cash to restock my 33 items when NOTHING fits!  I've been working out 5 mornings per week, eating breakfast, and packing sensible lunches for the last couple weeks.  I've lost 6 lbs, but that is just a tip of the iceberg.  By the time I switch into my second 3 months worth of clothes, I should to be able to donate the first 3 months worth because they should be to big, right?

I'll post pics of the items that make the final cut.  Wish me luck!

Sober May and Streaking

In an effort to shed the extra pounds that I found lately and to get my body in generally better health I'm going to give up booze for the whole month of May. Hubs and Curly Friend agreed to do this with me! Don't get me wrong, I'm not some raging alcoholic.  I do drink wine slightly more than occasionally, but hey, there are antioxidants in there, right?  Don't judge. I know I get a lot of extra calories this way, which is why I'm going to cut them out.

 Also, I want to work out at least 23 days in the month of May.  Who knows, maybe I'll try to make it a workout streak, we'll see.  The motivational stuff you read says to set measurable goals, 23/31 is measurable.  I don't usually work out on Friday and rarely work out on Saturday or Sunday.  Then there are the days when I have to go to the store after work and the days I need to do a little extra house cleaning and when my husband is home earlier than usual and when... well, you get the point.  I have a lot of excuses to not work out.  Those have to go out with the booze for at least one month.

Last 'rita in the house

Little Sister is forcing wants me to do a zombie run with her on Friday night.  Should be a fun start to my Friday workout routine.  I told her we should sign up for any theme runs and fun-type runs they do in our area to convince them to keep doing them.  She reminded me I said that so I'm signing us up tomorrow.  But hey, I don't mind running as much when someone makes it fun.  

Speaking of making running fun, did I show you my new running shoes?  Please excuse my unmade bed and my purse in the pic.

May Plan:  Punching the bag.  Running the races.  Avoiding the booze.  What do you have planned to ring in the warm weather?

Smacked in the Face

Today it hit me.  Like a ton o' bricks.  I was online looking up diet pills and their reviews.  Diet pills, really?!?  I preach to anyone who will listen (and more often than not, people who don't want to hear it) about putting whole, natural foods into our bodies.  I talk about the benefits of eating a mostly vegetarian diet and avoiding dairy as much as possible.  I shame people into giving up soda and energy drinks, yet today I'm looking at diet pills?!?  That probably ranks pretty high on the things you should NOT put into your body, yet I'm reading reviews to see which one I might purchase.  I felt like the worst hypocrite ever!

January 2012 I was about 17 lbs lighter than I am today because I worked for it then.  I was taking gym classes a few days a week, eating well, not sitting on the couch like a bum watching TV drinking wine.  You could see ab muscles and I didn't have to lay on my bed to button my khaki pants on Thursdays!  This week I think I've finally found a workout I enjoy enough to do at home, now I have to get back to eating well.  I'm going to prepare more meals at home and start making shakes for breakfast again.  I know those things work for me, I just stopped doing them.  Hubs says he'll help keep me accountable as we both have goals we'd like to see before summer.  I'll post my progress along the way and pictures of what I'm eating so you can keep me accountable, too.  I fully expect you, my hundreds of followers, to call me out when you don't see me posting progress.  I can do this.

How do you stay motivated?

Shoes

Super lame start to Pile on the Miles.  I only got out one day so far in November, did 2 track miles on Friday night.  I had intended on going today because it was GORGEOUS out, but ended up shopping with sil.  That was very productive, she got lots of stuff she needed and I got a fantastic pair of shoes I needed.

 

Needed, right?  As you can see, normal socks aren't really my thing...

I have successfully completed C25K week 1.  I felt pretty great about it, too.  I'm going to start week 2 tomorrow.  I look forward to the end of this 8 weeks because I should be able to run for 30 straight minutes, but also because I will have completed something I started.  I don't always do that.  I have a history.  I started the Brazil Butt Lift once and finished 29 out of the 30 days of the program.  I'm notorious.  My house looks like I'm a borderline hoarder often because I collect things for projects I'm going to do, then don't do them then purge everything to clean house.  I have to finish this C25K program this time, though, because I'm now accountable to you, my reader(s).  I almost skipped the track yesterday.  Hubs was home from being on the road all week, I had a long week at work, and I had a bottle of wine chilling.  I got my butt down to the track, sil and I both did 2 miles, then I had the wine after I showered.

Since starting this blog, I've lost 8lbs.  That really says something.  Thank you for keeping me accountable loyal reader(s).    Stay tuned, soon I intend to try my hand at posting recipes and food photography.

C25K, day 1

I started couch to 5k again today.  Check out the app I downloaded, it talks you through when to stop and start so you don't have to keep looking at your watch.  Pretty nifty.  This time I'm going to stick with the plan.  I've started it before, but always think 'ah, I can do more than this' then skip ahead a couple weeks, get burned out and stop.  Lesson learned, doing it right this time.

I felt pretty good today while doing the program today.  My calves started hurting, but I decided to stop focusing on the fact that they hurt and just thank God I had the ability and stamina to get out and do something today.  He is so good.  Seemed to work pretty good.  After I was finished with the program today I walked a couple extra laps for good measure.  I had the intention of doing some yoga this afternoon, but ended up taking a nap instead.  I needed it, we didn't get to bed until late last night.  After the game, hubs started a raging fire in the pit in the back yard and everyone stayed and hung out.  It was nice and something we don't do often.  Good company, good food, good weekend.  Now it's time to crack down and help sil get to her goal.  Hope everyone has a good Monday.  Stay out of the Halloween candy!

How many miles?

So I took the plunge today.  I signed up for the Pile on the Miles 2012 challenge.  How many miles can you put in in the month of November, right?  I set my goal at 25.  I know, 25 miles in a whole month?!?  That is the wimpiest goal ever!  Thing is, even that sounds daunting to me right now.

Recently Not-So-Heavy K (the hubs has lost about 65lbs in the last year) took a job out of town.  Gone.  Monday through Friday I'm a single mom.  This has been an adjustment to us all.  When we first moved in together he worked out of town, so he and I have done this before.  The Princess, my now seven-year-old daughter was just a baby then and didn't know the difference.  We got married, he found a local job, all was well in the world.  Then a couple months ago his cousin asked him to come back to work on the road and supervise a crew.  After much debating and much prayer, we decided this would get us to one of our life goals faster, so off he wen.  Princess is adjusting well enough, only mild separation issues but she is requiring more attention from me.  What does this have to do with the lame goal, you ask?  EVERYTHING!

I'm already at work all day so leaving her at Memaw's for an extra hours isn't going to happen.  I prefer to walk/jog the neighborhood, but have you ever tried to take a seven-year-old princess on such a task?  Let me tell you, it's not fun.  She isn't interested in walking without a destination and she complains about jogging more than I do.  We take her bicycle along so she is happy, only now I'm more worried about the traffic.  Then there is the track at the school.  The NASCAR of walking, SUPER BORING, but still effective.  Everyone can move at their own pace, nobody is getting hit by a car, and she can just stop and play with toys if she wants.  The track is going to take MUCH more motivation than street walking (for those of you with a dirty mind, I'm not talking about the oldest profession in the world).  Putting my name, goal and blog address on a list with others, including real bloggers I follow, should help keep me accountable and when all of my millions of followers (okay, all one of you) are watching me and expecting 25 miles out of me, I better do something, right?

Get this Party Started

Thanks to websites like Pinterest and Facebook it's easy to see what is motivating your friends, family, acquaintances and random people you follow like a stalker.  Problem for me:  I look at this stuff and I'm motivated to do something RIGHT NOW, but I can't do anything about it because I'm in the middle of something else.  Now I realize this is mostly an excuse, 'right in the middle of something' is code for goofing off on my computer.  Occasionally I'm goofing off at work and I have an actual excuse as it would be irresponsible of me to get up and try to work out while I'm at work (yes, I know I shouldn't be reading fitness blogs at work either...) and it would be silly of me to try to work out in four inch heels.  So what is a girl to do when she can't get motivated to get motivated?  After much Googling and reading many fitness blogs, the biggest thing I learned is that I spend to much time wasting time and I need to get my priorities in line.

Reasons to get off my ever expanding butt:

10.  Because my butt really needs to stop expanding.

9.  Because the scale is groaning louder every day.

8.  The stuff I'm watching on television is lame anyway.

7.  The bloggers I follow are blogging between workouts, not instead of working out.

6.  I have all the equipment I need to get in great workouts, i.e. lots of body weights...

5.   I know more about fitness and nutrition than any chunky girl should know. 

4.  My clothes are getting tight.

3.  I have a husband who loves me no matter what, doesn't he deserve the best me possible?

2.  I'm setting an example for my daughter no matter what I'm doing, I should be doing productive and healthy things.

And the #1 reason to get off my ever expanding butt:  Because I know how much better I feel about EVERYTHING when I'm treating my body well.

Right now you are asking  what more does this lazy girl need?!?  That is my question, too.  This is the journey of how I'm going to Lose 30 before I Turn 30.  I have set a realistic goal because that is what all the stuff I've been wasting time reading on the internet says to do.  I have at least thirty pounds to lose and I want to lose it before I turn thirty in nine months.  For those of you doing the math in your head, that is just over three pounds per month.  Yes, I said month.  I realize that is an extremely doable goal, but like I've said, I'm lazy. 

What's the plan, you ask?  I'm starting simple.  Slow and steady as they say.  I would LOVE to be a runner and running is cheap so I'm going to get out there for a jog/walk.  I don't really know how many days a week or how far, I'm going to get out there and see how it goes.  Maybe a 5K by spring.  I'll keep you updated...