Not A Snow Day

My son was a bit disappointed this morning when there was just a dusting of new snow and school was in.  Admittedly, I was a little disappointed too.  I was looking forward to just hanging out with my two boys today. We'll have another snow day, I'm sure.  

I did keep my promise to myself. I worked out today.  I have a number of workouts pinned on Pinterest so I began my morning by picking one that I thought I could get through without too much trouble.  I found a great one.  It took about 40 minutes to complete and BOY am I sweating up a storm!  I did end up making a few modifications....

        High knees weren't pretty...more like a march but with high knees. :)

        Plie Squat - I added a light kettle bell. It's what I would do in the gym and I figured the extra calories burned certainly wouldn't hurt - especially where I had to drop one of the exercises. 

        Split Squats - I tried but just am not quite ready to do these yet. I didn't want to risk an injury so it's out. 

        Butt Kickers - more like fast kickbacks.  I can't be running or jumping around with my plantar fasciitis.  I have to work with what I have and change the movement to work for me. 

I'll be honest though, there was a lot of self-talk going on.  I wanted to stop after the first round but looked at the time and told myself to press on and to two rounds.  When the third came up, I told myself I wanted to see my inner athlete so I pushed on.  

My legs are a little jellylike but it's all for the greater good. 

Tomorrow's workout will focus more on the upper body and a bit on the core. 

A girl can dream

Day 2 went well.
I'm at about 1900 or so calories. Before you panic, remember that I tend to do better in the 1800-2000 calorie range.  I try to stick to somewhere between 1500 and 1800 on most days so if I do have a day that I do go over a little, it's not the end of the world.

My regret for the day is not exercising.  I have a workout all planned, just poor planning on my part didn't get it done.  I'm not working tomorrow, and it is most likely going to be a snow day anyway so I will have plenty of time to get it done.  If I don't, you can yell at me.

My jeans felt a little looser today.  The jeans I'm wearing were fresh from the dryer so there is no chance they were stretched out from yesterday.  I hopped on the scale to make sure I wasn't imagining things, and sure enough, I am down!  I had the jeans on though so I don't know by how much.
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Last night, while trolling Facebook, I noticed a post from Chris Powell  (the trainer from Extreme Makeover -Weight loss Edition).  He posted a video announcing the show is casting again. I thought for a moment that I might apply.  Now, please don't get all negative on me.  I understand that I don't need a TV show to help me.  I get all the negative things about it being a TV show....let's think about the positive for a moment.  For me, having someone there (here) to show me the ropes, to help me really live the way I know I should be living, to prove to me that I can do it (I know I can, but...you know what I mean)...there are just so many positive things that could happen to have a personal trainer at your service for long stretches of time.

I know reality TV isn't in my immediate (or ever) future, but to dream about it is kind of fun.  In fact, I am almost giddy just thinking about it.  The thought of making a video stops me right in my tracks.  That was a horrible experience (I submitted a video for BL Season 10).  I don't know what to do in front of the camera and instead of showing off my personality, I make myself look like a fool.  Oh well. It was fun to think of the possibilities for just a moment. :)

And getting back to reality...on to Day 3. Like I said, it's looking like it will be a snow day.  I have dinner all planned and WILL get a workout in.  And then I will be in my jammies hanging out with the kids.

Hope you are safe and warm, wherever you are.

Season Ended

Things are still spotty as far as posting goes. 

I have a lot on my plate right now.  

It's nothing big, just a lot of little things which add up quickly to "a lot on my plate".  

I'm still here though and I haven't given up. 

The scale is still the same.  I haven't been at the gym because there was a miscommunication between my trainer and I about when I needed to pay for my sessions. Long story short, my gym budget is gone, temporarily. I'm scheduled to go back next week but honestly, I don't think that is even going to work. 

I've been trying to find alternatives to going to the gym.  I gave the Xbox ONE a try.  Yeah, the fitness channel on there isn't made for people of size.  Now, I can do a lot and I have a lot of stamina, it's just....well, jumping around isn't something I can do.  My feet, for starters, would be back to plantar faciitis hell before I even took my first jump.  I've taken to Pinterest to find workouts and have found a few that are very similar to that of what I do in the gym. Starting tomorrow morning, I plan on giving that a go. 

My eating has been pretty good.  Well, with the exception of yesterday when I hosted a play-off party. My NE Patriots lost (to be truthful, it was amazing they even made it the the playoffs in the first place with all their injuries) which bummed me out but it's all OK.  Anyway, there has been a lot of football food around my house over the last few weekends.  I've hosted a few parties and now we are partied out and are ready to get on with it. 

I'm not feeling good about myself right now.  I am feeling that "woe is me" sort of feeling you get when you pack on pounds. My pants are still a little tight and I feel horrible.  I am trying to pull myself out and remind myself that I haven't gained it ALL back (although, it feels that way), it won't take that long to get back to where I was.  If I just focus now, I could fit better in these jeans by the end of the month and then be down another pants size by my birthday (April).  

The good news is that I have seemed to pull my head out from where ever it was today.  I made better choices and I even stopped myself from making a sandwich when I got home from work (7:30PM).  I thought I was hungry but realized that I'm probably just thirsty.   These are the moments that add up to a big moment of waking up to better fitting jeans. 

Today's calories: 1600 (there about: my lunch is estimated on the high end and I'm feeling like I'm forgetting something)

14 in 2014

Happy Friday!

I'm not big on New Year's resolutions.  I feel like it's just a set-up for failure.  Everyone likes to start off with a clean slate, but why can't we just do that on a daily basis (or Monday- haha).   I have decided though that there are a few things that I would like to work on or accomplish in the coming year. My list was getting longer and longer so I decided I would shoot for 14 things I would like to accomplish or do this year.

1. Go on vacation.  Or at least book a serious vacation for 2015.  We have had to cancel 2 Disney trips in the last 2 years due to outstanding circumstances.  We've taken day-trips here and there so it's time for an actual good old-fashioned family vacation.

          1a.  One of my girlfriends and I turn 40 (a long, long, long time from now), at the same time. We thought we should plan a big trip. We're talking someplace warm with beaches and no kids.  Right now the thought is the Dominican Republic.  We'll see.  No matter, it's getting booked this year for that date which is a long, long. long time from now. ;-)

2. By the end of the year I would like to see myself in a size 20. 18 would be better but I won't stress myself out about getting there. If it happens, it happens.

3. Go gluten free (again).  I felt so much better way back when I was gluten free. I have an auto-immune disease (a few of them, really) so I really should be gluten free to help with those symptoms. Starting Monday ;-).

4. Let go of things that have happened in the past.  I always say that I don't hold grudges and I think to some degree that is true.  I do, however, find myself bringing stuff up that happened eons ago.  I need to let it all go and live for today.

5. Scrapbook more.  Seriously, I probably completed a dozen layouts last year.  I need to get back into the swing of things and start posting my scrapbook pages on the weekends like I did way-back-when.

6. Learn Photoshop.  I've been working on this one already.  It's been a long-time wish of mine and now I am going to make it happen.

7. Go to the beach this summer.  It's been too long since the last time we've been to the beach. I would like to go at least once this year even if it's just to walk around and play in the sand.

8. Have a girls weekend.

OK, now it's getting difficult to think of something...  I thought I could do it. Maybe I just need more time to think about it. For now though, I think I have a decent start.

Well, hello there!

I hope you all had a wonderful holiday season!

Mine was busy and went by a bit too fast.

We hosted Thanksgiving.  It was probably one of the better Thanksgivings we've had in a number of years.  I have a long-time online friend who moved here from across the "pond" over the summer. I offered to host her and her family;  we throughly enjoyed sharing our American traditions with our Scottish friends.

I did some Black Friday shopping. A new(er) tradition I've formed with a friend.  We had a blast and am already looking forward to doing it again next year.   It's fun to people watch.  We haven't encountered the craziness that you see on the news.  In fact, this year things were really, really tame. We were quite shocked with how slow the stores were.

The rest of the holiday season was quite busy.  I chair a table at my son's school during their holiday shop.  I have to make sure there is enough gifts to choose from for the kids to purchase for their father, uncle, grandfather, etc.   It's a stressful project but it's also very rewarding.  I still have a tote of stuff I need to get back into storage in my living room.

Christmas was a lot of fun.  I love that my kids still believe.  Although, I suspect that my eldest is questioning some things so this may have been the last year for that. I hate that they are getting older. Trying to enjoy every last moment that I can!   The rumor is that the silly Elf on the Shelf has kept the spirit alive for kids.  A psychiatrist friend told me that she is seeing kids get another year or two out of the Santa thing. Love it.

Speaking of Christmas, what did the big man bring you?
If you remember my last post, I said I really wanted a MacBook. Apparently the big man reads my blog, who knew?  I am currently writing from my new MacBook Pro.  I LOVE it!  

I am trying to return the other gift the big guy left for me...it's right on my thighs and butt...I hate to admit it but I'm up nearly 20 pounds!  My goal was to maintain through the holiday season.  I guess 20 does not equal 0?  Although, with this new common core crap, maybe 20 = 0?  I will have to ask my son to draw me a diagram.  Sorry, off topic.

I've gone through the self-loathing and the beating myself up phase and now I am back on track.  Last week I worked on portion control.  I didn't calorie count or eat perfectly, I just did my thing and kept it within reason.  I'm happy to report that I was able to return 4 of those pounds!

This may sound strange but gaining weight was probably a good thing for me.  I was in a maintenance mode for so long that I was getting a bit to comfortable there. Gaining a bit of weight reminded me of how uncomfortable I am in my skin.  I haven't felt this low in a very long time.  I'm hoping it was the best thing to happen.

It's time to see what 2014 has in store.