I Am Not A Leper - I DO NOT Have Malware!

Hello peeps!
I am having an issue (that actually has nothing to do with weight loss believe it or not).
I am not sure what is going on with my blog and I'm a little concerned. I received a troubling comment from Thursday's Child that there is a message when you try to view my blog that says I have Malware and it could be preventing folks from reading it. I am pretty sure I don't have any type of Malware attached to my blog or computer and checked through Google diagnostic which confirmed that my site was A-OK. When I tried to access my blog from my husband's computer, I did not get any message pop up indicating I had it so I have no clue what is going on. I have a Mac that is relatively safe from this type of thing.....yet I can't help but wonder if others receive this message when trying to get to my blog? I know that I got the message when I tried to get to view Katie J's Weight Loss Journey and Watch My Butt Shrink - but I never opened their blogs pages for fear there was something bad lurking out there. 
I am sooooo not a techie so I really am frustrated about this. If anyone knows of how to properly check to see if this is really happening to my blog, I'm all ears. You can send me an e-mail at dirtymartini34@yahoo.com
Thanks!


Now on to other news (for those of you that can still read me here without fear of my blog imploding your computer): I was awarded a my very first blog award yesterday by Becca at Size 24 No More. I was very flattered to receive this, as I haven't exactly been setting the world on fire with my weight loss. But I am tickled that she nominated me and gave a shout out to the fact that I am kicking ass in the 30 Day Shred....(will get to that later). 
Anyway - Becca has given me the Liebster Blog Award!

"Liebster" means "favorite" or "beloved" in German. 

This award is for bloggers who have under 200 followers (that's me, for sure).

So now I get to spread the love and award this to 4 of my favorite bloggers! Go check out their blogs and read their story. They promise to inspire you, make you laugh, make you think and get you motivated!

Here goes:

First I award Rachellabelle at My Hips Don't Lie because she is out there making WW her b*tch! She has dropped over 40 pounds in about 21 weeks and is looking gorgeous! She just hit a plateau so for any of you with experience with how to kick start weight loss when the pounds won't budge, no matter how hard you're working, go visit her blog and give her a pep talk and some good advice!

My second award goes to Shala at Follow Me Down. She and I are riding similar weight rollercoasters at the moment - we are both hovering around the same weight and like to cheer each other on with "Let's Just Do This Thing Already." I love her blog because I relate to her down to earth sensibilities and approach to weight loss. 

My third award goes to Liz at The Feel Better Project who has vowed to workout everyday for at least 30 minutes over the course of one year. You know how easy it is for life to get in the way of working out sometimes so this commitment is no joke. This girl may not have have the type of junk in her trunk that you or I are trying to lose but she does have dedication and determination and I like her approach to working out. JUST DO IT! And she has a great writing style and is funny, so - win/win!

My last (but not least) award goes to MB at Why The Weight. This woman has truly been instrumental in allowing me to adjust my thinking in terms of how I approach weight loss. She has lost almost 100 pounds through a very sensible "slow and stead wins the race" approach and is still striving to hit that goal of 101 pounds lost. She is inspiring, enlightening and gives me hope that I can beat this fat demon too...I just love her.

That's it....those are the peeps I bow to this week. You all deserve props - so I'm giving them.

In other news - just a quick update on the weigh-in (it is Friday, after all) and 30 Day Shred Challenge.

Today I completed Day 8 of the Shred!! Yey, me! I have to tell you that yesterday was a struggle to get through it and I totally said "F*#@ it" when it came to the last round of ab exercises (those bicycle crunch suckers are the devil - and my herniated disc REALLY doesn't like them). Today's workout, although better than yesterday by a mile, still kicked my ass sideways. I think having "The Curse" right now has a lot to do with it. Working out while there's an exorcism going on in your uterus and your body feels about as inflated as a Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade balloon isn't the most ideal of situations for Jillian to pound you into submission - but I am proud of myself for plugging on through....(seriously, did I just say plug?)

However, even with The Curse, I am happy to say that i am still showing a loss for the week. Happy Days are here again, as the scale makes its way in the right direction this week. Granted it's only 1.75 pounds, but beggars can't be choosers - so I'm good with it. Hell, I am better than good with it. I'm thrilled. It could have been worse.

Anyhoo - hope the rest of you 30 Day Shredders are feeling the burn! I have to go study for my Praxis Exam that I am taking tomorrow morning....I haven't really stuck to my study schedule as I had planned. Wish me luck I pass this thing (it is crucial)!!!

Until tomorrow......

5 Steps Forward, Two Steps Back

I have just one thing to say about Jillian Michaels.
She does not take kindly to people who take days off from her Shred workout. And dissing it 2 days in a row? Hmmm... that may be punishable by death in her book.
I think I may be dead meat.

So, let me give you the scoop on what's been going on with me and the 30 Day Shred Challenge....I was busting ass like a rock star with it for 5 full days BEFORE the official challenge even started. I was feeling awesome and the workout was becoming less of a dread and more of, well, just a challenge. I felt my mindset changing - I wanted to push myself - I wanted to prove once and for all that I was capable of doing something that in the past would have scared the bejesus out of me. I listened to Jillian encouraging me through the TV and I did what she told me to do. Don't give up. Keep pushing. In the words of the Biggest Loser theme song, I was starting to really feel that there was something I had done today to make me feel proud.

Then, on the day I was SUPPOSED to officially begin (Sept 12), I fumbled - big time (enter loud BOOO-HISSSSS here). I like to do this workout in the AM because it gets me moving and I feel good knowing I have that bit of exercise, at the very least, under my belt for the day. But on Monday morning I knew my in-laws would be coming by to drop their rather rambunctious 4 year old golden retriever mix off at our house so they could head to Rochester, NY for a funeral. I spent the morning trying to frantically clean the house up, do dishes, vacuum, clean the bathroom - all things that could have been put on the back burner for the morning until after my workout - but I wanted to make sure I had time to get it all done before they arrived. I didn't want my MIL to think I don't know how to properly "keep house" (It's such a 50's mentality but I can't help it). Suffice it to say, the place looks pretty good right now!

By the time they arrived, I had already done a full "housewife workout" and was literally sweating my ass off. My MIL even asked me if I had been exercising! "Ugh, no, not exactly. Just trying to prevent you from seeing that I may not be the world's biggest neat nick. P.S. - Neither is your son, by the way. I think you know this about us already, but at times, we do like to keep up the illusion for you."
By the time Henry (their dog) and our three furry babies got reacquainted it was quite the dog-fest, a literal canine carnival if you will, right in our living room (aka my workout space) until they finally got settled. Since they arrived right about the time I would normally be getting ready to pop in my DVD, I could tell my opportunity to do my workout was going to hell in a hand basket in a wicked hurry And it did. In the back of my mind, I knew I had other (not necessarily bigger) fish to fry. I had a ton of school work these past two days so that unfortunately took precedence over everything else. Even yesterday, while there was no major doggie diversion to get in my way, I woke up at 5:30 and immediately began working on school stuff and didn't stop until about 3:00 when it was time to get ready for class. Another day of working out, down the drain.

Well, I am here to say - No More! I know that this challenge is important and I need to treat it, and my weight loss goals, with the respect that they deserve. Because to me, this is not just a fun little challenge that I am doing simply for the hell of it. I realized that today as I got back into the work out (technically Day 6 for me with a 2 day break in between Days 5 and 6). I am doing this because I NEED to. This is no joke.

I am curious how many of you have taken full body shots of yourselves lately? I know many of you do, but some might not. And some might take them but not post online. It's a personal choice - I totally understand. For me, taking these pictures are real eye openers (that admittedly make me want to quickly shut my eyes tightly closed again). I took some again today (and measurements too, because I was feeling particularly self-depreciating this morning) that I uploaded, post-workout and my God, they just never fail to horrify me. These pictures remind me that I have some serious - no I mean F*%#@!G SERIOUS -  work to do. They remind me that this 30 day Shred Challenge is just the tiniest, teeniest tip of my big, fat iceberg. They remind me that I still need to do so much MORE than this DVD, and I'm working on that, too. My goal for this challenge is to get an additional 60 or more minutes of exercise in - whether it is at my college gym (I found out they have showers - YEY!!!), a walk in town, working out on my elliptical here at home, another workout DVD (I may actually be starting to really enjoy these things) or a combination of those. It just needs to be done. End of story.

It's going to mean getting up early. And it's going to mean finding an eating solution that makes sense and works for me. I think I need to get back to calorie counting as much as I hate to admit it. I am not eating horribly, but I still need to work on those portions. This is all still such a work in progress.
Anyway, that's my update. I'm back in the saddle and did Day 6 of Level One. It was admittedly harder today. I'm serious when I say it doesn't pay to take time off from this thing. I swear Jillian has a way of knowing.

Hope everyone else is kicking some ass today. I'm off to the grocery store to load up on some good eats for the week. See you all looking slimmer and feeling better at the end of this 30 days!

Noticing A Difference - Day 5 of The Shred

I don't have a tremendous amount of time to blog today because even as I sit here for these few delicious moments, savoring my coffee, I have a to-be-done list a mile long swirling through my brain. Mounds of laundry aside, I know I should be working on school work first and foremost. I have a lesson plan I need to finish today plus some wonderfully boring textbook reading for tomorrow's class. AND I have to hit up Barnes and Noble for a Praxis Exam study guide so can pass my test on Saturday. I'm waaaaaaaaaay behind on studying for this exam and absolutely, positively HAVE to pass for my teaching certification, so just a warning -  if you don't hear much from me in the next week, this is why. I will have my head buried in a book from now until about 2PM next Saturday.

But - I will promise you that I will continue to keep doing the Shred - even if it means more 5:45 AM bird chirping wake up calls. I'm Ok with it. I feel much better knowing I get that part of my workout in early in the day. Miss April @ 30 Before 30 had asked me if I am supplementing the Shred workout with any other means of exercise and the answer is, until now, no - not really. I had taken a walk around town the second day of doing the Shred but haven't done much else since and I know that I have to....the first few days left me so sore that it was difficult to even THINK about doing anything else, but after today my body is telling me I am ready to keep progressing, and I need to start doing more than just shredding it.

Anyhoo - here's a brief recap of Day 5:

I am beginning to notice a difference in both increased endurance and strength and far less soreness (yey!). I even did some REAL jumping jacks, butt kicks (which is similar to jogging in place) and jumping in place for the jump rope assimilation. I also took barely any breaks (breathers) in my arm/shoulder exercises - I really felt myself pushing past the feeling of shoulder discomfort and fatigue and just doing the reps that Jillian expected of me. Basically I probably skipped all told only 3 reps through the entire workout - and for me that is good.  I have also noticed there is far less cursing going on! Ha!

I will say that the last portion of abs work, which is a solid minute of bicycle crunches, is very difficult for me, though. I have a herniated disc in my back so there is something in that move that puts some strain on me that doesn't always feel so great. I have to be careful with it - so I will admit that it takes me about 2 minutes to get through Jillian's one minute of abs because I do take some breaks during that last part (however - again, I notice a significant change today versus Day 1 - so I am getting there). I kind of end up doing my stretching about a minute after she does hers - but that's OK...

So, that's pretty much it, except I STILL haven't taken my measurements! Can you tell I'm not that thrilled about knowing what the actual numbers are? I have enough issues with the scale number let alone the actual dimensions of my ample body parts. Ugh. However, I do want to do it before I go any further with "The Shred" because most people that have done the workout before say the noticeable changes are in inches versus pounds - and I can definitely understand that. Perhaps tonight I'll dig out the tape measure. I know that seeing results is motivating - so what am I waiting for? I'm already 5 days in! 

That's about it...hope you are all enjoying the weekend and sticking with your plans of action, whatever they may entail! Tomorrow marks the OFFICIAL starting day of the 30 Day Shred Challenge - so good luck to all who are involved! This challenge is going to be a real ass-kicker!

Day 4 of the Shred - Got 'er Done!

This morning when my alarm went off at 5:35 AM, I had a good mind to throw my iPhone out the window.  It seems I was wrong in naively thinking that by setting the alarm wake sound to the soothing coo of "chirping birds", I might be more inclined to getting up at the ass crack of dawn to do Day 4 of the Shred. Guess what? Not so. If anything, the damn alarm just made me hate birds.

The problem du jour was that I knew I had limited time to work out this morning, so there was no option to hit snooze or dawdle around in my usual manner. I had a baby shower to go to that was starting at 10 AM of all times (tell me, who does that???) AND it was in New York City, so, according to my dear husband, we would have to leave here at 8 AM because even though he was acting simply as my chauffeur, he is never one to be late. As a matter of fact, his mojo is usually to give himself such a huge window of time to get where he's going that usually he arrives an hour early to most appointments/events - (or at least he did until he met me, the woman who practically invented the term "fashionably late"). Factoring in working out, showering, getting ready, ironing my pants, and having coffee, I knew those birds meant business. I turned the alarm off and got my ample arse out of bed.

So - what can I tell you about Day 4 of the Shred? I am still sore, but happily, the feeling that my body was used as Mike Tyson's personal punching bag is subsiding. I can walk down the stairs normally and am not walking around like I have just given birth to octuplets. Meaning, my thighs are feeling better....oh, but those ARMS and SHOULDERS!!! They are another story.
I think the toughest part about Level one is definitely the arm/shoulder work. I'm only using 3 pound weights but damn - those repetitive arm exercises are killer. I am waiting for the day when I don't need the to take a break during those exercises - then I will know I am making major headway. I'm still modifying movements and think that I will have to continue to do so for a little while yet, but that's OK. For now, I am feeling good about the simple fact that I am sticking with it. Trust me - today would have been VERY easy just to say screw it - and in the past, I probably would have. But the important thing is that I didn't. And that, my friends, is progress.

Day 3 of Shreddin' - In The Bag

Happy Friday everybody!

Well, I'm happy to report that I have survived Day 3 of the Shred. But I will admit - today was HARD.
I found myself having less breather-breaks today, but I did end up modifying my moves quite a bit - especially those movements that require demands on the knee, such as the jumping jacks, jump rope, and butt kicks. My knees are not ready for any kind of pounding just yet and they are letting me know it.
C-R-E-A-K....C-R-A-C-K!! (ouch!)


So, to avoid injury and ensure I will be able to continue with the workouts, I do the regular arm motions for the jumping jacks while doing a deep march (knees up high) as opposed to the scissor jump. And for the jump rope, I sort of do a side to side step while doing the correct arm motions. For the butt kicks, to ease the impact, I just side-step and pull my leg back to my butt as quickly as I can - it is sort of less like running, but more like a lunge with one leg, and then kick my opposite foot back to my butt. It works - I am definitely feeling it! While it may not be the exact prescribed moves by Jillian, I don't think I am "phoning it in" either, to use her phraseology. If the sweat pouring off of my face at the end of each workout means anything at all - my heart rate is up and I am not slacking off. According to Jillian, I should notice a big change in my endurance on Day 5, 6 and 7. We shall see!

Today is also weigh day - and while there is no great change on the poundage front, I am not fretting. I'm only down a quarter of a pound, but I think there are a few factors that could be affecting the weigh in today. First of all, I weighed myself before, well, you know, I hadn't had a chance to, well, uh - you know (TMI?? sorry!). And I did drink a TON of water yesterday (starting to get back on the hydration bandwagon) and I am two seconds from "The Curse" arriving for the week. Not to mention my dinner last night involved noodles. It was pretty carb-rich and not in a good way - plus I had a glass of wine to boot. In other words, could I sabotage my weigh in a little more? Hardly! SO - I know what I need to do - and I will get there. I am confident next Friday I am going to have a much better report.

I will say that this working out thing has me seeing things a little clearer - even in three days time. I am aware I have but only one life to live (insert soap opera music here) and I'm not going to spend the rest of it feeling like a prisoner in my own body. And that is how I feel sometimes - almost like my brain belongs to someone else and this body somehow mistakenly was given to me and now I have to figure out how to live with it - but I don't really want to. It has made me bitter at times, but I know that getting angry really isn't the answer either. Sweating is. Getting back to whole, unprocessed foods is. Reminding myself that I CAN and WILL do this is.

It literally is one step, one choice at a time. I'm happy to be making the choice to exercise, and I do think it will be easier now to follow suit with the eating. Once I start seeing the results, I know I will be hooked.

Even My Armpits Hurt...

Every fiber of my body feels like Jillian Michael's tiny little sneakered feet have stomped all over it. And in her own special way, she kind of did.
I have just completed Day 2 of the 30 Day Shred. And let me tell you, I am feelin' it.
In a word, if my muscles could talk, I think they might say something like this - "Ooofa..."


As I laid in bed last night, feeling the onset of effects from yesterday's workout, I turned to my husband and said in all seriousness, "Jeez, I hope I can do my workout tomorrow. I'm really sore." He simply laughed at me, no doubt waiting for the list of excuses he figured he'd soon hear as to why I couldn't/wouldn't/shouldn't continue with this working-out thing upon which I had literally just embarked. You see, he's heard it/seen it all before - my initial over-the-top enthusiasm for working out and committing to a diet - yadda yadda yadda -  only to witness me drop it all like hot potato - slathered with butter and sour cream, of course. While I was very committed to losing weight last year prior to my wedding, this year has been  one massive struggle to get back on track, so in my husband's defense, his reaction was understandable. But it did get my wheels turning in regard to my behaviors of yore....

This morning, my husband took our car in for service and called me at 7:30 to let me know he'd be a little longer than expected, because our oil filter was leaking and they had to change some gasket thingy. When I  picked up the phone, I guess it was more than a little obvious I was still in bed (hey, blame it on the rain) so before he hung up, he gently reminded me not to forget that I needed to let Jillian "shred me" today, preferably before he got home. He uses our living room as a home office so I knew that if there was snowball's chance in hell for me to do my workout today, I best bust a move and do it quickly.

I won't lie - I didn't exactly hop right to it (old habits die hard). I putzed around first, telling myself I couldn't work out without a dose of caffeine, so I drank half a cup of coffee first and then watched the weather (we are under flood warnings right now, so I felt this particular stalling tactic was perfectly justified). I also sat and contemplated how the hell my body was going to actually do jumping jacks, given that my whole body was still reeling from yesterday's jump-fest. But I was committed to finding out.

I've made a choice -  I have no desire to let myself down any longer. And I certainly don't want my husband to be right with his thinking that I probably won't stick with this (even though he hasn't said it aloud). I have done that so many times this past year that frankly it's become laughable. Or maybe pathetic is a better word choice. Whatever the case may be, I'm changing my course of action for the good.

What's more is, I really surprised myself by how good it felt doing the workout today. Yes, I cursed through it quite a bit, but I stuck with it. I'm not saying my form was perfect or that I didn't stop for a 5 second breather here and there, but I did get through it. And funny as it sounds, when I heard Jillian's voice booming from the TV, telling me I can do it and that those last reps, when I feel like I can't keep going, are the ones that count the most - I felt myself pushing harder. I can't wait to take my measurements tomorrow and see the changes at the end of the challenge.

My only complaint with this exercise regime thus far is that my 3 dogs like to hang out in the room with me while I am working out....do you know how difficult it is to do bicycle crunches with an 85 pound chocolate lab licking your face?

They only look innocent...

Hello Sweat, It's Been A While...

Sweet Mary and Joseph.....Jillian Michaels really IS the devil.
I now know this to be true, first hand.

As you may be aware from yesterday's post, I had decided I wanted to participate in the 30 Day Shred Challenge starting Sept 12, along with a few fellow weight loss bloggers. There really aren't any major rules to the challenge, other than the date we start and the dates we are meant to progress from one level to the next. I decided that before I begin, I want to take measurements and post a start weight and I will more than likely do a weekly bitch session update about it to share how I am doing/feeling while being tortured by the likes of Ms. Michaels herself, even if it is only by way of my DVD player.

Because it has been so long since I have done any major work out in a gym or participated in a cardio session other than sporadic dates with my elliptical machine or walks with my hubs and the dogs, I was feeling a little worried about what might be in store for me next week. I've watched the Biggest Loser so I am fully aware that Jillian is a "take no shit/no excuses" kind of gal. I was in no way, shape or form, under any impression that this workout was going to be easy. So yesterday, making good on my promise to my fellow challengers and myself,  I stopped at Target before my class to purchase a copy of the 30 Day Shred DVD. Admittedly, I was looking for the disclaimer that would tell me that 230+ pound women might be better suited for a lower intensity workout, but alas, it was nowhere to be found. So I did what I set out to do and I bought the thing, wondering all the while if I'd still be alive after the 30 days of this challenge was over.

Since I'm not the type of person who really cares for surprises, this afternoon I thought I'd maybe take a sneak peek at the DVD to see exactly what I was going to be up against. I put the DVD in the player and watched as Jillian introduced me to her two buddies and explained that in no uncertain terms she was here to kick my ass and I may not like it at first, but I would most certainly be thanking her later. I sat ON MY COUCH as I watched her do her warm up arm swings, hip circles and knee circles. Then I watched her and her cronies get into the jumping jacks, jump rope and squat lifts with weights. Then I think she went on to do some butt kicks and maybe some ab stuff.....And then I thought to myself, "What the fuck are you doing sitting here on your ass? Do you think you are burning freaking calories through osmosis?????" 
And then I got the hell up, restarted the DVD and DID THE DAMN WORKOUT.

I know I am 5 or 6 days early on the challenge, and I apologize for that, but something inside me realized that today is the day I need to start, and I cannot look back. I have spent far too long making excuses as to why I can't work out that I certainly don't want to deny myself the chance to when the spirit actually moves me. I'm still a part of the challenge - but I wanted to come clean. Lord knows I need the head start anyway; my body needs to get used to moving again. If today was any indication, progressing from level 1 to level 2 won't be a picnic - but I will try to keep on schedule with the rest of the girls going forward.

Anyway, that is about it....I feel a sense of renewal today. This was just what I needed. Now I'm off to go take a hot shower (I feel my muscles starting to get sore already) and start prepping dinner....
Here is what we are having tonight....Lemon Garlic and Basil Slow Roasted Chicken. I cannot wait to try it! I'm also making steamed carrots and pan roasted broccoli on the side. Back to healthy eating.
Hope everyone else is having a good day.
Has anyone else done something today that they didn't expect to do?

Making Friends With My Inner Athlete...Maybe I Should Send Her A Facebook Request?

Oh sweet baby Jesus!
Is it really August already????? How the frig did that happen?
I have exactly 4 weeks from today until school starts back up - a fact that gives me an acute attack of agita every time I think about it.  My brain is simply not ready to wrap itself around having to read textbooks and write papers and develop lesson plans and complete observations and all that academic mumbo jumbo that comes with each semester. I know, I know...suck it up....If I think it's bad now, just wait until I am an actual teacher. Hells bells.

It's not completely accurate to say that July flew by, but it didn't go quite as slowly as I would have liked either. I guess we've just had a lot going on this summer and time that I normally would have to simply kick back and relax has been filled with other things - 2 summer classes, helping find a nursing home for my Gram and traveling to visit her, various home improvements (that are still under way), and my mom's surgery, just to name a few. I feel like there has been a lot of driving back and forth to school, nursing homes and the hospital. We live in a town that is close to absolutely NOTHING so any commute is a long commute. Hell - we even drive 17 miles to the grocery store (it's Wegmans so it's well worth it, though).

I'm not really complaining, mind you - I would do anything for my mom and Gram so commuting the hour to see them isn't an issue for me at all - but it does take a chunk out of the day that I might otherwise being doing stuff here, of which there is PLENTY for me to do. Making matters worse is the fact that I am an unbelievably seasoned procrastinator. For example, here I am blogging when I have a pile of laundry in the basement calling my name, and a kitchen floor that is begging for Mr. Clean to have his way with it. Hey, I never claimed I'd win any awards for having good discipline.

I am happy to report however that my mom is doing AWESOMELY since her double knee replacement surgery on July 25. I have been able to sit in a few of her therapy sessions and seeing her push through her exercises has really inspired me. She does throw out that old cliche from time to time as she is pushing through her therapy - you know the one - NO Pain, NO Gain. And while it is quite possibly the most annoying thing to hear someone say to you when you, yourself are exercising, I must admit, it has some validity to it. And it has caused me to look at my own views of exercise and why I seem so resistant to pushing myself and really, truly, going the distance.

My husband has his own theories as to why I don't ever try to go above and beyond my comfort zone in terms of exercise. He thinks it's because I never played competitive sports when I was in middle and high school and college. I never developed that "go for the gold" attitude that many athletes have. I never had a coach screaming in my face to run faster, jump higher or do another lap. Hmmmm....ok, well, maybe that's it. But I have my own ideas.

I know from reading lots of weight loss blogs that many self-proclaimed former coach potatoes are now supreme athletes....runners, swimmers, spinners, aerobic queens, zumba masters - you name it.  And from this I know that the exercise-loving gene is not always an inborn thing - you CAN develop it through out your lifetime, at any point.  I have been told that in order to develop this "gene" you have to find something that you love to do. I like to walk and have been doing this with my husband on days that my plantars fasciitis isn't stabbing knives in the side of my foot (this of course is self-diagnosed - I should probably just go get this nagging foot pain checked out). Waking is good exercise - but I am acutely aware I need to do more. I have been talking about wanting to master the food thing before diving head first into exercise but you know what? After seeing my mom go through what she is going through, AND after reading all of my blogger friends accounts of kicking ass in their own exercise goals (a special shout out to Fat Girl In A Skinny World in particular!) I realize that I am just being a big freaking baby. I need to start really pushing harder - I need to move my ass faster, longer and more habitually and those, my dear friends, are the simple facts, whether I like it or not.

And if I happen to need a reminder as to why my ample ass needs to bust a move, I can always look at this fun little display:

My Post-It Pounds Pull-Off Wall of Motivation

That's right - 100 Post-Its for each pound I need to shed from this big 'ole bod of mine.  I actually have a few pulled off the wall already (6 to be exact) and think I will start to post a picture of the "Post-It Pounds Pull-Off" each week when I do weigh-in so that people can see how many more pounds I have lost and how many I have left to go. It's also a good visual for me to see how far I have come - but also to push me by seeing just how far I still need to go.

And so, I give you my new exercise challenge promise. No more excuses. I WILL exercise every day for AT LEAST 30 minutes, 6 days a week. Today I completed 20 minutes on the elliptical (2.1 miles, 251 calories burned) and also completed this arm workout with 5lb dumbells.  After Josh is done with work today, I am sure I can coax him outside for a bike ride around town, too (he will be ecstatic that I am willing to go out in 95 degree temps and sweat) ....that ought to do it for today.

So there you have it....I'm turning a new leaf in this weight loss process. In the words of Emeril Legassi, I'm kicking it up a notch! I have had a month of getting the eating thing under control and have been doing well with that....I haven't had a Tostito in a month! Miracles do happen!

Today I leave you with the following food porn and recipe:

RED CURRY SHRIMP

RECIPE:
1 can Lite Coconut Milk
2 Tbsp (or less) brown sugar (you can use Splenda brand if you like)
2 Tbsp Fish Sauce (I use Thai Kitchen brand)
1 red pepper, sliced into thin strips
1 cup frozen peas
2 Tbsp Red Curry Paste (I use Thai Kitchen brand)
1/3 cup water
1 pound large shrimp (peeled, cleaned and deveined) - OR you can use frozen pre-cooked shrimp, which is what I do - it makes this recipe easy and fast!!!
 Basmai, Jasmine or Brown rice (cooked based on package directions)

Optional ingredients: Red curry powder, Sirracha sauce, Thai Sweet/Hot Red chili sauce (to kick up the heat depending how big of a sadist you are - you can add these to taste - a little goes a LONG way).

In large sauce pan, heat coconut milk and Red Curry paste until simmering. (You can also add the optional ingredients at this time if you are using them).

Cook for about 3 - 5 minutes on medium heat.
Add fish sauce and brown sugar - stir and cook for about 3 minutes.
Add frozen peas, water and red pepper, cook until peppers are tender - about 4 or  5 minutes.
Add shrimp and cook until pink - about 5 minutes or so. (If using frozen shrimp, they should be thawed before cooking and tails should be removed. Cook in mixture until just heated through - but do not over-cook).

I taste the sauce to make sure the heat is as I want it and add more curry accordingly.

You can serve this over rice or eat without rice, as more of a soup.

ENJOY!!!!!!
P.S. The lite coconut milk cuts significantly off the fat grams/cals for this recipe! Also - you can add more veggies to bulk it up!

Choosing Not To Follow In Mom's Footsteps (for Good Reason)

Is it really Monday already?

The weekend seemed to fly by, despite my feeling sluggish most of the weekend due to the horrendous heat wave. With multiple days in a row in the 100's, walks outside were non-existent and even indoor workouts weren't that plentiful - I only got in two 20 minute workouts on the elliptical machine. Add the nasty heat, to my lovely corneal ulcer that I am dealing with, and suffering pain from Aunt Flo - and it's fair to say I wasn't quite feeling myself. And when I am not feeling myself, things just plain old suck.

Friday night Josh and I thought we'd escape the heat by having dinner with friends at a Thai restaurant we've been wanting to try in Bethehem - only to get there and realize that the air-conditioning at the restaurant was barely working. We sweat bullets through dinner (and it wasn't because of the spicy-factor of the food) and came home to a hotter than hell bedroom, which required an hour wait until the window unit air-conditioner had a chance to work it's magic and get the room to a balmy 82 degrees. Ugh.

Right now I am writing from my mom's hospital room. She is currently in surgery for a double knee replacement, and I am hanging out, watching a riveting episode of Family Feud and trying to keep busy until we hear from the doctor. My mom's knees have been deteriorating for years now, and have come to the point of really affecting her walking capability and being the source of excruciating pain. While my mom is not severely overweight, she was a bit heavier years ago and spent a lot of her time on ladders remodeling her home (scraping paint and refinishing woodwork) or on the floor (washing up hardwood or kitchen linoleum). While she was "active" in the sense that she was always busy doing something, my mom never really did any aerobic activity to speak of. She wasn't exactly sedentary, but she didn't walk for the purpose of exercise so she didn't have much muscle tone in her legs (especially her thighs).

Her poor knees suffered for it for years and now she needs new ones. And she's getting them today.

It's going to be very difficult to see my mom in so much pain. She chose to get both knees done at the same time because she has heard horror stories of how painful the recovery is and thought she may never go back and get the second one done - and she desperately needs them both. It is a lesson to me to get this weight off before I, too, have to face such a decision.

At age 39 (and fast approaching 40) I am very much aware that I am no longer a "spring chicken." But that doesn't mean I am willing to accept that my body cannot be strong and healthy. I know that it can - but it needs work. Lots and lots of work. When I think about the alternatives to not exercising and getting stronger and healthier, I see a future with more issues than I care to deal with, and that isn't how I want to live the rest of my life. And I won't.

So, because I am not sure how long I will be here today, starting tomorrow, I am back in the exercise saddle. Morning walks and afternoon work outs with either the elliptical, treadmill or recumbent bike. Weights for my upper body work out. 

In other words, making an investment in my future.

Walk This Way...

We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence then, is not an act, but a habit. ~ Aristotle

This particular quote inspired me to get my butt out of bed this morning, despite the nagging pain in my heel (I fear planters fasciitis or a heel spur) and go for a 2.85 mile walk with Josh and the dogs. I have been known to make any excuse under the sun as to why I can't exercise in the morning - using anything from back pain to period cramps to a broken nail to the bubonic plague - you name it - I came up with it - as long as it would allow me to stay in bed and be a lazy ass.

But over the course of the past few weeks, I have been walking rather faithfully with my husband in the morning ( I think I literally ran out of excuses and was starting to feel pathetic and frankly more than a little bit of an ass when my husband kept asking so nicely if I wanted to come along with him), and while it took me some getting used to, it is now pretty much routine. Yesterday my foot was really bothering me so I begged a reprieve for the day, which Josh conceded to. However, all day long I felt so damn guilty for not going so last night when he asked if I'd like to go for a bike ride - how could I say no? I'm not saying we did the Tour de France, but we got in over 4 miles so I felt pretty good about that.

In the past when I gave my half-assed attempts at weight loss, I would work out sporadically and get irritated when the scale didn't cooperate, when really, I shouldnlt have been surprised at all by it's lack of movement. I mean, why should the scale move when I wasn't willing to? Who could blame it? Now I realize that exercise isn't negotiable in this process - it is a must  - and it is something that I will need to continue doing the rest of my life, not just until I reach my goal.

I found this great blog post about making exercise a habit that gives some good common-sense advice on what to do if exercise isn't exactly second nature to you yet. This has always been a struggle for me, as I'd sort of do it here and there but not consistently enough to make it feel like it was natural part of my everyday schedule. I am happy to say that is changing and I am embracing exercise more and more. There have been times in my life when I have been a member at a gym and really enjoyed it. Last night I took the first steps to becoming that person again by calling the local gym and signing up for a seven day free membership. I am pretty sure I will end up joining - it is something I have wanted to do for a while now.

In the meantime, I just continue to keep on, keeping on.... I have to remind myself, this is not a race. This is for life.