If You're Shredding And You Know It, Clap Your Hands!

Hello friends!

It's a lovely sunny Sunday afternoon here in NJ and I've got some Coconut Curry Butternut Squash Soup from  Skinnytaste.com simmering on the stove and have sent my hubby off to the grocery store for a whole chicken I plan to roast to compliment the soup and roasted balsamic cauliflower already planned for dinner. Rachellabelle at My Hips Don't Lie had posted the yummy sounding soup recipe a short while ago on her blog, and I immediately snagged it and printed it so I could make it once some cooler temps kicked in here. Well, the temperatures sort of cooperated, although it's not quite as brisk a day as originally planned for eating this kind of (healthy) comfort food - but, no matter, I'm making that soup anyway!

For those of you that have never visited skinnytaste.com, you really need to. Sooner rather than later! I'm not trying to go all 'high school peer pressure' on you or anything, but trust me, when you are having your first foodgasm over one of her recipes, you'll know what I am talking about. This website is awesome, especially if you are following Weight Watchers because Gina (the culinary goddess behind the recipes) has done all the hard work for you. Everything has been calculated out in both the old points system, as well as the new points plus system. Hey, I bet Jennifer Hudson is a fan! I personally am not doing WW, but sometimes I think I should, just because this website makes it so damn easy - no guesswork! :-) I like that.

So - you know I am not doing WW, but can I tell you about what I am doing? For starters, I'm still kicking ass and taking names with the 30 Day Shred Challenge. It's Day 10 for me!!!
Yeah - get up off the floor - I'm just as surprised as you are that I have stuck with this.

And not only have a I stuck with it - but I am beginning to (gulp)... even like it....a little. My biggest *holy shit* moment was yesterday when my commitment to this thing became glaringly apparent.  I opted for getting up early and getting in my workout before I had to leave to take my Praxis Exam, over sleeping in.  I chose to set my alarm for 6:00 on a Saturday and sweat via exercise before I had to sweat through taking my exam...(BTW - I think I did OK on the test, but I won't get my score back for 4 weeks - so stay tuned). Since most of you guys only know me through the blogosphere, you may not grasp the importance of this NSV - but sadly - this is not something I would have ever imagined I would have done in the past - and we are talking the relatively recent past. In the untimely words of the United States Vice President Joe Biden, "This is a big f*cking deal." (I posted the link of our VP's verbal faux pas here if you have never seen it). Better yet, I kept the promise to myself that I would get some additional exercise in, beyond the Shred, to kick up the calorie burn. Granted, the other exercise (an hour walk with my hubs and the dogs) was done in the early evening, long after the Shred was completed, but I got it done nonetheless.

This morning when I got up, it was my husband's turn to surprise me when he said he wanted to join me in doing the Shred. He had just returned from a mile run (he's easing back into running after going through a year long issue with an broken ankle that didn't heal properly) so I was impressed that he even entertaining the idea. Usually I am not a "share my workout with others" type of person. I like to work out alone. When I used to go to the gym in NY, I never wanted to talk to anybody while I was there. My thinking was this: I had one purpose for me being there and that was to grunt, sweat like a wild boar in heat, and look about as unattractive as possible while making my body do things it was uncomfortable doing - I was not there to make friends. But since my husband has already seen me at my best and worst, I made a concession and allowed him to join me, Jillian and her 2 workout cronies for our daily shred. I figured at the very least he'd get a real kick out of watching my boobs hit my eyebrows as I did the jumping jack segment. Isn't that every guy's biggest fantasy? Uh, Not.

Well, today the crazy workout junkie in me emerged. I really kicked it into high gear. Maybe it was the show off in me, maybe it was because I really feel like I want to up my game - but either way, I really made my body work today under Jillian's command. I started to incorporate some real push ups into the work out instead of just the girly ones (5 total today!!) and I only took ONE 3 second break. I did *real* jumping jacks the whole time but am still modifying the jump rope move slightly ( I sort of jog in place now). All in all, I feel some good progress being made which is encouraging. It also felt good to know the workout kicked my husband's ass too, so I think he may have gained a whole new appreciation for me taking on this challenge. After finishing the Shred, we went on another hour and 10 minute walk. It feels so great not breaking that promise to myself to get in the extra exercise. I have done that kind of promise-breaking self-sabotage crap so often that I am trained to think it's the norm. It's what I have come to expect of myself. But these past 2 weeks have taught me that I CAN stick with something - and the expectations I set for myself should be so much higher.

That's about it for today. Goals met! Happy with my progress! Content with this new way of thinking! I'm trying to get the eating thing under control too (and I definitely need to start drinking more water)....maybe I shouldn't be so cavalier with dismissing the WW idea....I know so many people that are rocking it right now. Could I? Should I?

Tomorrow I will post about my goals for the Christmas Dress Challenge being hosted by Thursday's Child. I have to dig out my dress, take a pic, see how badly it doesn't fit, and think a little bit more about the goals I want to set for this challenge.
I'm feeling unstoppable today....Damn, I hope it lasts!

Clearing out the crap

Holy Heat Wave, people!
This disgusting weather is really doing a number on my motivation to get outside and exercise. It's 10 AM and 87 degrees already. I just got back from a quick walk to the corner deli for some milk and the air was just so....uh, thick. This kind of weather makes me have only one thought: My butt should be at the beach. End of story.

Since that's not my reality at the moment, I need to suck it up and put plan B into action. Today I am going to *finally* clean up the rest of the red room (not to be confused with "redrum" from The Shining), so dubbed because the walls are painted bright red - see below). It used to be a spare bedroom but we decided to take down the bed and convert it into a mini home gym of sorts. At least that was the plan.  I had promised myself (and Josh) that once summer classes were over and we got back from vacation, I'd haul ass in there and get everything organized so that the gym equipment could be arranged in a way that made it actually user friendly. Well, let's just say classes were over June 30th and here is the state of the room as of this very moment:

Oh, what a friggin' mess!

I think I see an elliptical machine in there somewhere...

A treadmill and recumbent bike are under there somewhere...

I have a shelf full of stuff from the wedding (which was back in October, incidentally) and some various fabrics I have a hard time departing with (I still have dreams of making something with them), and bins full of supplies and materials and books I will need for school and when I finally have a classroom of my own. The question is where to go with all of it??? I have tried to sort through some stuff and believe it or not, this room actually shows progress from the state it was in a few months ago. However, I still need to find a home for the plastic bins of shit important things because right now they are the biggest hindrances to getting this room in shape -  so that I can get in shape!

There is a part of me that fears I may have some mild hoarder mentality at times (have you seen that show?? SCARY!) because I seem to have a hard time parting with things - even things I know really won't effect me or my life if I get rid of them. I desperately need to break that habit because this room alone is a clear indication of what happens when you don't chuck crap that you don't need, or at the very least organize it in some manner that makes sense. There are times, however, (and I am reaching that point now) that I want to just scrap everything and start anew. Part of it is this "new" journey I have embarked on. I think of the process as not only de-cluttering the space in which I live, but also de-cluttering the mind, and allowing me to focus on the things that are most important - like getting healthy and exercising.  By not cleaning this room up, I am single-handedly sabotaging my own workouts. And that's so not cool, and I know it.

I've never been a neat-nick by any stretch of the imagination - but it seems the older I get the more I crave order and want to live to a more simple existence with less "stuff" around me that has no value. Oh, and do we have stuff! My husband and I combined each of our 36 years of separate living into one back in 2008 and the house just sort of exploded. We are beyond ready for a good weeding out of stuff - and I think that once we do, we will feel all the better for it.

I often wonder if the self-diagnosed hoarder in me is a part of my past issues with food. Not being able to throw anything away - not being able to let a plate exist with food still on it. Feeling like I had to stuff myself with bad-for-me "stuff", ironically enough to make me feel better - if only for a nano-second. With each day that passes, I learn a thing a two about myself. I'm finally dedicating time to THINK about my issues, instead of just complain about them and blame my weight on lack of will power. I know that isn't the real issue. It never is....

Anyway, I hope to achieve some progress here today so that by tomorrow this will be a fully functioning space to work out! Tomorrow is also weigh in day and I am both excited and nervous about what the scale will reveal. Hope everyone is having a good day and staying cool!

I also just want to say how happy I am to have made some new connections with fellow bloggers. Thank you for your comments and support! It is wonderful to be able to share this ride with people you know are working toward similar weight loss goals! Good luck to all of you!