*Gasp* I Exercised On A Sunday!

I'm back on the ball, literally. Last week I was at Barnes and Nobles and I just could not resist their bargain aisles. You know the ones that happen to just be strategically placed by the checkout? Well, I've been intrigued by their workout kits. A few months ago I bought the Jump Into Fitness dvd kit that included a booklet, dvd, and jump rope. Well, I liked the concept behind the idea. I was a kid once + I had a jump rope = "this should be a whole lot of fun and easy." Well, it was and it wasn't. I still use the jump rope from time to time. But the idea of putting a dvd in the kit was stupid in my opinion. I'm not going to jump rope in my living room while trying to follow a dvd. So basically I only had the book. Let me tell you now and save you some trouble. Jump roping and reading a book is not a good idea. Unfortunately, I could never fit busting my ass while jump roping into my schedule. Just never seemed to work out. So I always ending up reading the book late at night and then jump roping days later after I had forgotten what I read. In the end, I just got lazy and said "whatever". The dvd is now lost, the book is under my bed, and the jump rope is in my bedroom laying on the floor.

Okay, so back to the original story. So I was in Barnes and Nobles waiting to checkout and I saw their Ball and Band kit. I've always wanted to try the ball classes at the gym, but no, that just wasn't going to happen any time soon. The times I took just the step classes at my gym, it was horrible. They went left, I went right. They stepped up, I stepped off. So in the end I've decided for my sake and their safety, I'm only doing step aerobics at home. Back to Barnes and Nobles, I bought the kit. It included a dvd, booklet, resistance band, and exercise ball. The moment I got home, I blew up the ball, stretched out the band a little, and read through the book. Now in my mind, I was getting my exercise on. But in reality, I was sitting on the sofa eating some mini chocolate cakes. No, no... I will not feel guilty about eating the cakes. They were the little mini ho ho cakes from Hostess. They now have them in the 100 calorie packs. I like them a lot and for less than a 100 calories they are a winner in my book.

So today, I finally got off my sofa and did the workout. In my defense though from doing no exercise last week, even though I said I would, I had a lot of things going on medically so I was unable to exercise. But now I'm okay so I'm good to go. Well, the workout was crazy. In a good way. Their are two instructors, a male and a female, Mark and Dina. Mark was a nice piece of man candy to look at. Very inspiring. I did the level 1 workout for beginners. It wasn't too fast paced or too slow for me. I liked it a lot and was surprised when I started to break a sweat. The cardio section was a lot of fun. I liked bouncing on the ball while incorporating other moves like squats and stuff. The only thing I didn't like was I felt they could of done a better job explaining the core muscles to their viewers. I know what my core muscles are, however some people people don't. So if you're going to claim that it's very basic and great for beginners, then you need to start explaining things a beginner may not know. But all in all, it was fun.

I don't know how often this will be in my workout routing, but I'm definitely not ruling it out.

Alright Now...Let's Make It Happen

Okay, so I know I said I'm starting this week off right. And, I am....but, I'm not so sure I'll be able to just jump right back into the gym tomorrow. I've had a lot going on last week. I've been really sick and in pain. So I'm off to the doctors on Tuesday. Hopefully, I'm not dying. I don't know what's going on with my body, but it hurts and I need to get that squared away before I do anything strenuous. So tomorrow, I am going to the gym, but I'm keeping it light. Once I know death isn't knocking on my door, I'm on my way to the gym.

This Time I Mean It

Yeah, this just isn't working. I'm still trying though. I haven't done anything this week, except go walking. It's that wonderful time of the month when every woman just feels so extra special in her life. *rolls eyes* I don't do anything at this time of month. I'm really pushing it with just the walking. At least now I know why I felt so down and hard on myself last week. I should of figured it out though. So this week I feel crappy, but I'm not beating myself up anymore.

Next week it's back to the gym and to my regular workout routine. Plus, my best friend is giving me her elliptical trainer. The only problem is I live in Richmond, Va and she lives in New Orleans, La. I have no idea how I'm going to get it here, but I want it. She has no idea how to get it out of her house and to the shipping place, but she wants to give it to me. I'm thinking if she can take it apart and put it in a box, we can have UPS or Fed Ex pick it up and then deliver it to me. I swear if I get it I will use it every single day.

I really need to get my butt into gear because the hubster's high school reunion is getting closer and closer. I basically have about a month now to whip it into shape. I keep saying every day I'm going to do it, yet, I haven't. So this time I mean it. No more Mc Fatty Fat Fat. I'm going to do it. I have to before I drop dead or get diabetes or something. I can't afford to have a heart attack. If I'm gone who else is going to spread my bubbly goodness? See, so many people need me. So I'm going to do it. I will.

*Sigh*

I just can't seem to get it together. I really want to lose weight, but I'm so not motivated to do it. I'm both annoyed and disgusted with myself. I hate looking at myself in a mirror and if I do, it's only from the neck up. I just feel fat. I can't blame anyone but myself. I haven't been to the gym since week 1 and part of that has been because my husband is technically out of town and with the boys being out of school for summer, I can't find the time. However, that's no real excuse. Especially, since I have so many workout programs here at home--Taebo, Sweating with the Spirit, Step Aerobics, Jump for Fitness, FitTV, and so many other things. There's no reason for me to be like this, but I can't help it. Most days I just want to sleep. I'm always so tired. And, I know it's because of the anemia, but I'm on iron pills now so that should be getting better soon.

But, still. I have no will power whatsoever. I might as well rename myself Fatty McFat Fat. I didn't need that extra hot dog or chicken nuggets, or McDonald's, or any of the crap I've been eating. I wanted it and I told myself I didn't care. But I did, I've always cared. I eat now and cry later. That's been my philosophy for so long. I know how to eat healthy and make smarter choices, but I don't. I give into the fat person who lives inside me that will soon break out if I don't control her. I just don't have the motivation to do so. I just want to take pity on myself. But what good does that do? Nothing, it just makes me fatter because I'm being a slump on the sofa or in bed.

I don't know. I know I need to get off my ass and move it. I know my kids and husband should be my motivation. In fact, I should be my motivation. I know I want to be around to celebrate my 50th wedding anniversary, to see my boys graduate college, to help my future daughter find a wedding dress. Why can't I get off my ass? Why am I not motivated? I keep asking myself that when I know what my motivation is, but don't know how to accomplish my goal.

*sigh*

I'm Skipping Week 2

It's my body and I can skip if I want to. So there!

I just can't seem to get started this week. I am soooo tired and with the husband out of town, I'm not finding the time. I have continued to eat healthy. I backslid a little on Monday and had a hamburger and fries from McDonalds. A friend and I took a pole dancing class for exercise and we worked up quite a hunger. So we swung through the drive thru on the way home. The class was a lot of fun. I've decided to add it to my regular workout program as something fun to so I don't get bored. Plus, you can burn up to 400 calories per session. So Monday, I exercised a little at home and then did the pole dancing class. But then I ruined my work for the day with the burger and fries.

Yesterday, I was way to exhausted to do anything. I ended up going back to sleep for several hours after I dropped my youngest off for preschool. I was such a wreck. All I could do was sleep. Exercise was the last thing on my mind. Plus, the iron pills prescribed to me made my stomach hurt so badly. I ended up not eating anything yesterday except a glass of juice to take it with and a yogurt. My stomach just couldn't take any thing else. So I'm guessing I probably burned off like a million calories from sleep (hey, that was some super sleeping I did) combined with not being able to eat made up for not exercising.

Today, I'm even more exhausted. Plus, the boys are home and the hubster is out of town so I'm not sure if I'll be able to make it to the gym. But, I definitely going to try and do some step or at least yoga tonight. The iron pills are reeking havoc on my stomach again so I haven't eaten yet. I plan to just eat some fruit and something very light. A good recipe I got from Women's Prevention magazine for a delicious apple snack was

1 apple (cored and sliced)
2 tbsp of peanut butter
1 dash of cinnamon

mix the cinnamon and peanut and then spread on the apple slices. 276 calories, 8g of protein, 30g of carbohydrates, 17g of fat, 3g of saturated fat, 8g of fiber, 1mg of sodium.

I really love this snack along with their Chocoberry Smoothie

1/2 cup low-fat chocolate ice cream
1/2 cup of frozen raspberries
1/2 cup of low-fat chocolate milk
1 tbsp of chocolate whey protein powder
1/2 banana
3 ice cubes

blend well. 340 calories, 17g of protein, 56g of carbohydrates, 7g of fat, 4g of saturated fat, 6g of fiber, 145mg of sodium. If you drink it before a workout, instead of after, it'll help increase strength.

See? I like to share. I'm not stingy. So if you have a great recipe to share, please do.

So hopefully, this week will shape up better. I've still got 3 more days.