I Lunge You Very Much

This is a good week! I went to the gym on Sunday and Monday.  Day off Tuesday and then back at it Wednesday and Thursday.  More on that in a bit.  First, I want to share a few pictures from my beach outing Wednesday.  The weather forecast was for HOT, darned HOT, and I love going to the beach on those super hot days.  When we first arrived at the beach the fog was still holding on tight but it wasn't cold.  Besides, the kids probably wouldn't have cared if there was snow on the ground!  They dug in and started having fun immediately.  Myra ate a bunch of sand and Marek loved playing in the waves so much that I had to carry him out screaming and crying when it was time to go.

How cute are they?!  We had so much fun. It was a little hectic trying to contain the two of them myself but thank goodness my mom friends were there to help keep an eye too (Thanks Sara and Monique!!).  Notice the sand around Myra's mouth?  She had some beachy poops at daycare yesterday.  :/

After the beach we grabbed some food, despite my already having eaten a PB&J for lunch on the beach.  I ate a BLT and fries.  I wish it was a bit more peaceful so I could have enjoyed it more, but it was still good.  To balance that out I had a bowl of Special K for dinner.  Speaking of Special K, I only lasted a few nights on my plan to eat it for dinner for a week.  I made some bean soup and I had to have that for a couple nights.  On Tuesday we went out and I had a hamburger (side salad, no fries!) for dinner.  Even with all that, I was still hoping for a loss this week.  I felt I was doing a decent job balancing high calories meals with lighter ones.  Speaking of that, I went to lunch yesterday and made unnamed horrible choices (hot dog with chili and cheese, onion rings).  I planned to have Special K for dinner but a friend came over and I couldn't feed her cereal so we had black beans, zucchini (fresh from her garden, thanks Catherine!) and brown rice. Aside from a dollop of cream on the beans it was a very healthy meal.

Let's talk about an area where I'm having more success - the gym!  Wednesday I did c25k Week 6/Day 3, a 25 minute run.  I did the run outside in the evening and boy was it nice.  I even crossed paths with a deer who very slowly moved out of my way and then stood stone still as I passed, "If I don't move, she won't see me".  I tried to run up The Hill but only made it about halfway before I turned around.  If I didn't have legs/shoulders due up for strength training I might have pushed it.  The run felt really good and, bam!, Week 6 is done, which means no more walk breaks.  Weeks 7, 8 and 9 are 25, 28 and 30 minute runs respectively.  And with these "longer" runs I burn more calories, which is good too.

Back at the gym it was time for legs - I skipped the butt blaster and went straight for the lunges and damn if I wasn't good!  My balance could use some work but I felt plenty strong to do the lunges.  I did 3 sets of 8 walking lunges.  I gave them up for a time because they were too darned hard.  It felt really good to accomplish them again. On Thursday I only had about 40 minutes at the gym.  I did my full 25 minutes on the bike but I could only do 2 sets of my back/biceps workout and skipped one exercise altogether.  Got my core work in though, and a lightening quick stretch before I left.

Regarding my back, I have been purposefully tightening my abs whenever I do something that I think will stress my lower back, mostly when I pick up kids, but also if I bend over or anything.  I figure it's probably helping on some level.  My back has been doing alright, not all good but no serious pain either.  I still need to call my doctor to see what's involved in maybe seeing a chiropractor.  Also on the health front I have been taking Vitamin B complex and iron now and then when I feel my energy lagging.  I can't say I've noticed a big difference but it seems like I'm not having as many of those tired days I was having.

And, finally, the really good news!!  I have finally LOST 10 POUNDS!!!!  I had a feeling I would be down in spite of all the food, I just felt lighter.  189.0 and 41% body fat.  Weeks like this make me not mind so much about the one step forward, two steps back plan I seem to be on.  This week I have a possible champagne tasting, a definite date night and a couple potential park picnics so I'll have to be somewhat disciplined with myself if I want to hang on to the 180's - and I do.

A big thank you to my supporters.  I really do appreciate each and every comment of support, encouragement, tips, etc.