The First Five Pounds...

are gone! I weighed in today at 194 pounds even. That's five pounds down. That was my weight the first, and last, time I got on the scale this morning. I won't tell you about all the times in between when it was threatening me with 194.5 pounds. I would not accept that neurotic scale messing with my head. It's what I deserve for getting back on the second time. In the end, 194 popped back up again so I'm going with it. I needed a boost. So I've been back to the gym for almost 5 weeks. This "fresh start" started a week or so before that so I've lost roughly a pound a week, give or take (and I'll take, thank you very much). I think I averaged about a pound a week when I was on WW so I'm happy with that. If this keeps up, in a year I'd be down 52 pounds - that would be faaaaabulous!

So I made it to the gym today, always a nice way to finish up the work week. It was a c25k day, Week 2/Day 6, which means I'm done with Week 2. I felt pretty good today. MTv's True Life I am a Suger Baby was on the TV in front of my treadmill, which might have helped. I am a sucker for bad television. Anyway, should I look ahead at what Week 3 has in store? Ah heck, why not?

Five minute warmup walk followed by two cycles of...
jog 90 seconds, walk 90 seconds, jog 3 minutes, walk 3 minutes.

Eek! I'm jumping from 90 seconds jogging to 3 minutes. This should be interesting. Overall I think I can do it. It might not be pretty but this isn't a beauty contest.

Ok, back to today's workout. After c25k I did back and biceps and all went pretty well. I was nagged by a bit of shoulder pain but otherwise things were good. On my way out I talked to Ken Ian, the trainer, about setting up another session to tweak my workout. The possibility that the plank could be contributing to my shoulder pain came up. He's going to show me some new core/ab exercises so I'm thinking I'll incorporate those and only do the plank on alternating days instead of almost every day like I am now. My back and arms have gotten so much stronger though, I can tell when I pick up my (32 pound) son that it's not as much of a strain, which is nice. So I'm seeing Ian week after next for a strength training tune up. I'm looking forward to getting some new, fun, exercises.

I see from the comments to my last post that lunges have no love lost here. They are a pain. I asked Ian to show me some alternatives that work the glutes until I lose some weight and get stronger when (hopefully) the lunges will be easier. I'm still a believer but for now I want to enjoy my workout and I was not enjoying those lunges much at all.

Changing the subject - I think I need to do 2 things to take things up a notch. Eat better and get more sleep. I am blogging about getting more sleep at 11:25pm when I should be sleeping. Something wrong there. So, without further ado - goodnight. Ah, who am I kidding, I'm off to watch the rest of True Life, I'm a Sugar Baby. After all, it is Friday night - gotta live it up!

Ouch!

I got to they gym this past Tuesday and all of a sudden it was *really* difficult. I rode the bike for 25 minutes and, as usual, it was a challenge. But I was feeling ok and started into my strength training routine. Chest and triceps were due up, along with core work. For some reason everything seemed more challenging than usual. I suppose it could be related to not having worked out since Friday morning (3 days off, could that be?) but that seemed like a stretch. Some of the discomfort, shall we call it, was of the sharp pain variety and just didn't seem normal. Anyway, I only did 2 sets of everything and made a plan to get a massage.

On Wednesday Miguel had a half-day off and he agreed to hold down the fort while I got some mommy-care. I had a gift card for a massage (given to me when I was pregnant with Marek) and putting it to use was long overdue. Boy did I need it this week!! My body just felt sore and tired. The neat thing was the massage was at The Sanctuary Spa at Bay Club Marin.


You get the idea...basically your fancy, schmancy gym (that I would probably want to join if I didn't have kids). I arrived early enough for my massage that I was able to hop on the treadmill and do c25k Week 2 Day 5. I was running out of time though and in the last interval I only took a one-minute walk before running again instead of two minutes. And guess what? I felt great. I didn't have time to strength train, which was probably good given how my body was feeling. I went down for my massage and it was GREAT! She really did my body some good. I wish I could do that every week, or just even every month. Heck, I'd settle for 6 times a year! Anyway, after the massage I sipped lemon water and read magazines in peace and quiet for a 1/2 hour. Then I used the ladies lounge - hit the sauna, then the steam room and finally a long hot shower. Ahhhhhh. I left feeling soooo good and didn't want that feeling to end.

I had a $50 visa card to use up so I went to the Lucy store in the same shopping center and found some workout pants and a couple headbands on sale. Total: $49.65 - perfect! I have previously resisted the $$ headbands in favor of my cheap-o target ones but these were on sale and so cool. They even have a little gripper (rubber) band inside to keep them from slipping. I got one in blue and one in pink. Yay!


I don't look quite as "happy" as this woman does (what's she taking because I want some!) when I wear mine but I feel that way inside :) The pants were basic workout pants in a color I don't have (navy blue).


Size was extra large but I was just glad to find something I liked that fit my butt and my budget. This time the model and I do look an awful lot alike. Those could be my calves. Not! At least not right now ;) I found a workout shirt on clearance at REI and finally headed home.

I walked in the door in a happy mood to a happy family. Marek was in a particularly good mood. Miguel was a dream, not only was I gone for 1/2 the day but I had book club that night. What a guy!

Today is Thursday and I hit the gym happily hoping that my massage and general taking it easy yesterday would make everything right in the world. I did a 5 minute warm-up on the treadmill. I was feeling a little tired of the bike (and I had legs and shoulders for strength training) so I chose to do the elliptical. My legs started to complain early on but I stuck out 15 minutes. Then I did my last 10 minutes on the bike and started strength training. Squats went well and then lunges. Argh - f'ing lunges are going to be the death of me. After ONE set I said, "forget it!, this is not supposed to be torture" and didn't do another set. Next time I meet with the trainer I might ask for an alternative until I'm carrying less weight. My new theory is that lunges are so hard because it's as if I'm doing them with two 20 pound weights in my hands. The good news is hardly any sharp pains today, though my left foot has been sore. Crap, I just want to exercise!

As far as food - it's been strictly ok. I'm eating too much crap and today even feeling more hungry and munchie - I wonder if I'm PMSing? Well, all I can do is hang in there, right? I can't complain about this week, I've accomplished a lot and even got in some much needed self care. No, I won't complain, it's been a good week - no matter what that damn scale says tomorrow morning.

Camping @ Lake Mendocino and a Weight Watchers Decision

You might not believe this but I got up at 5:30am on Friday morning to go to the gym. That's how it is when you're motivated, things just come easier. I did a 5 minute warm-up on the treadmill and then 25 minutes on the bike. The bike was MEAN! There were plenty of level 6 bars to go around but I stuck it out and liked it. Well, maybe I didn't like it exactly, but I did it and felt good afterward. It was a shoulder and leg day for weight training. I did 3 sets of squats and moved on to lunges. Remember how I said lunges were finally becoming doable? I lied. They were hard as hell again. I could only sort of do 2 sets. I say sort of because I both couldn't dip all the way down and I had to help myself by pushing off my thigh for the last few. That's ok though, at least I did them. I will look forward to when they really are doable. I worked my shoulders too and mixed in my core work and came home feeling energized and ready for the weekend. Camping!

We packed the car (and by "we" I mainly mean Miguel) and got the kids in and left only 1 hour behind schedule. Not bad. It was a successful drive up to the Kyen campgrounds at Lake Mendocino other than Marek having a meltdown at lunch. We arrived around 1:30 and it was almost 100 degrees! As soon as "we" set up the tent and unloaded the car we headed for the lake. How fun! We got to the lake every day we were there and the kids just went nuts for the water. Fortunately Saturday and Sunday were cooler, closer to the 80's I think. Two other kids (and parents) were able to come too - triple the fun! The kids were buzzing with excitement every moment, even at 2am when Marek couldn't sleep. That was a rough four hours for me but I survived. I SO enjoy seeing the little ones having fun, being outdoors and non-stop with activity. We're planning one more camping trip in August to the coast - with no lake. I'll have to do some research to see if there's some kid-friendly water around that area. And I'm hoping some friends can join us on that trip too, makes it even more fun for all of us!

Food and exercise were not great. There were cookies and mayonnaise, pesto cream sauce and beer, wine and potato salad - I sort of just gave up on avoiding anything "bad". And I didn't feel like exercising at all. We were uphill from the bathroom and the lake so any walk from the campsite meant a walk back up this hill. But it wasn't really a hill, hill so I wouldn't call it exercise. Of course I still noted it in an attempt to make myself feel like I was getting some exercise.

We came home freshly exhausted from our successful camping trip. I tried to get to the gym but Miguel was tired and wouldn't hear of me leaving him with both kids. I told myself it was ok and that my body could use two days off from the gym to recover from all the weight training and c25k/bike, etc. The good news is I feel great today (Monday) and can't wait to get to the gym. Any time I have a break in my routine I worry about my motivation going away but I still feel fired up so that's good.

So I made a decision about Weight Watchers. If I don't lose for three weeks in a row I will re-join Weight Watchers. Maybe three weeks is not enough, maybe I should make it an even four? No loss for one month and WW it is. My thinking is this - if I'm exercising and not losing weight it must be the food. The best thing I know to get the food in check is WW. I want to wait until what I'm doing isn't working though before I add more to my plate (er, less?). I'm very curious about the new plan and how fruits/veggies are zero points. I could use the help getting more veggies into the diet.

Oh, pictures from this weekend! I only have a handful, I was too busy chasing little ones and pulling tree bits out of my Myra's mouth to take very many.




Well, there you have it, my weekend all wrapped up. Feel free to send some "Oh my!" and "Atta girl!" and "Way to go!!" my way in response to getting up at 5:30am to hit the gym on Friday. I am duly impressed with myself but it's always so nice when you are too :)