I'm baaaack! and only 7 workouts left!

Sorry I haven't been posting. I have not been well.

I can't believe I actually blew off my cardio workout Sunday morning. We went to the Elton John and Bill Joel concert (thanks Jen!) Saturday night and of course I didn't want to be running to the bathroom every 5 minutes so I only had 1 600 ml bottle of water in almost 4 hours. Not good. When I woke up Sunday morning, man, did I feel rough. Almost felt hung over, without the fun.

Then I got up Monday to go to work, did an upper body workout (or at least what vaguely resembled a workout), showered, contacts and then it hit me like a ton of bricks! There's a nasty little stomach bug going around. I spent the rest of the day in bed.

Got up Tuesday, sort of did cardio, and spent the rest of the day trying not to throw up.

Wednesday ... blew off another workout - lower body (YIKES!), got some extra sleep instead. Spent the rest of the day trying not to throw up.

Thursday ... got up, did cardio (not great, but better than nothing) and the nausea finally subsided late morning. I feel good again ... FINALLY! I HATE, HATE, HATE feeling nauseous. I detest being sick so I won't force it which probably kept me not feeling well for too long.

Anyway, tomorrow's Friday and I will either do a more vigorous cardio or I will do another upper body, which is what I'm scheduled to do.

Plus my eating has been all over the map. Tomorrow's my third lunch out for the week. I can't wait to see my friend Steve. Known him for 20 years. One of my favourite people in the world (of course nobody comes close to my hunny bunny LOL). Looking forward to it.

Gotta run ... SYTYCD top 20 results are on in 25 and I still have a few things to do. But I'm back at it with the workouts and nutrition. Gotta get the tummy back down. I look like I'm going to have kittens ... or puppies ... or something .... LOL

13 days and counting!

I can't believe I've only got 2 weeks left!

Thanks for your encouragement guys. I really appreciate it. You know, it's weird (yeah, so am I). Sometimes I feel like I'm making great progress; other times ... not so much. Today's one of those "not so much" days. Probably because I broke down and had a marshmellow brownie at lunch. I'm not even sure I enjoyed it all that much. I felt like crap this afternoon. That'll teach me.

I was reading Bill Phillips' new website (www.billphillips.com). His new venture is called Transformation and delves into more than just mind-body connection and brings the mental and spiritual aspects into play as well. I think I'm going to read up more. One of his comments is that while Body for Life is excellent, there are lots of other workout routines that work great. I'm not sure whether I'm going to do another round of BFL or do circuit training 3 days a week with a few cardio and yoga sessions or one of the Bowflex routines. I'll have to give that some thought and maybe talk to my Naturopath.

But tomorrow's a new day so I'll just stick with the plan, work out hard in the morning (lower body workout), eat healthy, drinks lots of water, and get lots of sleep. Yeah, right. At least I get to sleep in an extra 2 1/2 hours. But that's only 7 am. I'm hoping to get working in the gardens by 10 am. You ready for a good workout this weekend Barry? Might even get some outside work done. LOL

Later ....

14 to go!

I can't believe I'm almost there!f My naturopath is coming to do a BIA (I think that's body index assessment) ... measures bodyfat and BMI as well as the health of cells, and a bunch of other stuff. can't wait for the results. I hope they're appreciable. Anyway, today was a better day. Stuck to the plan. It helped that one of my co-workers brought in a nice big fruit salad from Longo's ... I'm not a melon fan, but the honeydew was amazing! Anyway, came straight home after work, made a healthy dinner and now I'm taking care of paperwork and computerwork. My upper body workout was great this morning. Had problems with the Bowflex on one of the exercises but it all worked out ok.

Anyway, got lots of stuff left to do tonight so until tomorrow!!!!!!

15 more ....

So I had a revelation tonight. Even though I've been really faithful with my workouts (my "trainer" keeps me in line), I've been slacking on the nutrition aspect at night. Eating stuff I shouldn't. I'm back at work and the coffee intake has increased again. Habit. And sitting all day is a challenge. I'm going to have to start doing laps around the office soon. I notice a big difference in my body. Major stiffness when I get up after sitting. But anyway .... back to the nutrition thing. It occurred to me tonight that the reason I'm slacking is because I'm almost done and things have been kinda crazy lately so I'm just going through the motions waiting for my second challenge to start.

That attitude changes as of tomorrow morning (it's 10 PM and I'm on my way to sleep). I will treat every day as the most important day. I remember Bill Phillips writing that what you eat today affects yesterday's workout. It's not all in vain ... it's keeping me on a relatively even keel.. And being on vacation didn't help. And we've been running at night for the past 3 weeks. But those are just excuses. And the excuses stop now.

So tomorrow, I will drink green tea instead of more than 1 coffee (plus the espresso ... can't give that up), and I will eat according to my nutritional plan instead of whatever is quickest/easiest/ whatever.

And I need to start getting to bed earlier. I need to be asleep by 10 at the LATEST. I've been starting to think about getting ready around 10-10:15. Not acceptable.

Wish me luck everybody ... I'm going to need all your positivity and support. Thanks bunches!

T minus 16 workouts and counting .....

Great workout this morning. Felt great. Went back to work. Blew the "only 1 coffee a day" goal. Even though it was my first day back, I just couldn't get it together. I attributed it to "vacation brain". Nutrition was pretty good. I went for about a half hour walk today at lunch. Spent some time in the garden tonight. And now it's 9 p.m. and only an hour left (maximum) before I have to go to bed and I still have laundry to attend to. But at least we did the dishes and planted the new plants. So I'm happy. And excited. And looking forward to finishing the "outside projects" for the Spring, and just enjoy the Summer! Look out world!

17 more workouts!

Today was great. Cardio workout was great. Ate healthy, drank TONS of water. Busy day. Awesome day. Weather was amazing. Got lots of work done outside. It's amazing how different I feel these days. I used to feel so tired and dragged out. Now I have so much energy. I've just spent 8 days working outside in the gardens, getting everything ready for the summer. I'm determined to not have projects going on this summer. I promised Barry that if he gave me the Spring, I've give him the Summer. Kickin' back, chillin' on the deck, entertaining friends, going to visit others, trip to the Zoo, Centre Island, whatever. Of course I'll keep my workouts going. After a week's rest at the end of this Challenge, I'll be back at it, more focussed then ever. For anyone who just doesn't seem to have the energy or the inclinication or whatever, I highly recommend eating healthy, drinking lots of water, and some form of regular exercise. Weights, walking, cycling, swimming, whatever. It's amazing the difference it makes. I'm off to get my solid 6 hours. Gotta get back to work tomorrow. This past week was the best vacation I could have taken. Regular workouts, healthy food (for the most part) and hours and hours in the sunshine. Make sure you enjoy your life and participate in it ... not just let it pass you by. Until tomorrow!

18 to go!

3 weeks to go! today didn't go great. not too bad. great workout this morning. eating was off and then went all to hell. Smartfood is definitely not supposed to be in the house. Especially on a non-Saturday. Tomorrow's free day. think I'm going to take it easy tomorrow.

19 to go!

I woke up this morning at 5:30, feeling like a truck ran over me. But I got up, and got moving. Great cardio this morning ... spent the day planting. Not terribly strenous but it was very hot today. and windy. and dirty. shower felt great! Feeling great about the program. I'm looking forward to the next challenge. I expect to make a lot better progress next time round. But I'll focus on the next few weeks and work my fanny off. LOL

20 and counting....

What a day! Had a great lower body workout. Ate healthy Splurged on a coke in a frosty mug. But I spent all day in the garden again. Of course I worked my legs a lot in the garden. On top of a lower body workout. I'm finally sitting down and am I sore! But so worth it. I'm trying hard not to go to bed early but I don't think I'm going to last much longer. I've got another big day outside tomorrow. WOO HOO! Talk tomorrow!

21 workouts to go!

WOW WHAT A DAY! First my cardio workout. Then 3 1/2 hours knocking soil off the thyme and weeds. 90 minute walk to massage. 75 minute walk back. And man I am sore and tired and feel absolutely exhilerated! I'm finally starting to believe the changes in my body, that I'm making progress. Of course it usually takes me a month or so to really start seeing results. I can't wait to see the end results of this challenge. Then we do it all over again. I'm gonna take a week off and do yoga, walking, and generally staying active. I just want, and need, to shake things up a little. But I'm really enjoying the process. So I encourage everyone to just get out and move. What a fabulous time of year to get active! Until tomorrow....

22 to go!

did my first workout on a new routine. As usual, I start slow but I've made notes of what exercises to up to what weights. but OMG... hammer curls. Yikes! I've done them for years, usually at the end of biceps curls so I usually use lower weights (it's the program, what can I tell ya). This time ... 5 sets of hammer curls. OMG were my arms ever screaming at me this morning ... which is great ... means I'm doing something right. Of course that was after 5 sets of tricep kickbacks. My favourite. They're such a great exercise for triceps but man I find that the lower weights are so much more effective 'cause I can really squeeze the muscle. It's great! So after my workout, we had brekkie, latte, quick walk around the block and then back in the garden from 11-6 with a quick lunch break. mowed the lawn, removed the dandelions from the lawn, trimmed. Did a bunch of other stuff in the garden. It looks so good out front. and out back. I absolutely LOVE this time of year! The "Lesson for LIFE" today was about building momentum ... with less than 4 weeks to go, I'm trying to be as active as possible without overdoing it. I know, I know, me ... not overdue it. I'm trying to turn over a new leaf LOL
nutrition was good today. Dinner just arrived ... gotta run for now. Have a fabulous day!

23 workouts to go.

It was a good day. Cardio workout was good, then I did yoga for about a half hour. Had a healthy breakfast, latte, read for a bit and then got to work outside. Basically worked from 11-6 with an hour break for lunch with J&D. Probably didn't drink quite as much water as I needed but I made up for it when I was in the house.

Got a call from my brother today. He's in the hospital with an infected gall bladder. Most of our family has had problems with their gall bladders. Before I run into trouble, I'm changing things in my life. Healthier diet, regular exercise, positive attitude. Life's way too short to abuse my body anymore. Or should I say neglect? Probably more accurate.

Tomorrow is upper body workout. THAT'LL be fun. I'm going to change the exercises up for the last 4 week. Need some variety. Speaking of which, it's about time I update my journal and hit the hay. Couldn't get to sleep last night until really late. So it's 10 pm and I'm falling asleep. Go figure.

Chat tomorrow ....

Free Day!

I can't believe it ... we slept in until until 10 a.m. Unheard of for a Saturday for us. But it was raining and we didn't really have anything we had to do. So we had a chill morning, ran a few errands, watching TV, snacking on Coke and Miss Vickie's chips. Pizza and salad for dinner in a while. Of course tomorrow is another day ...

24 more workouts to go! Today did me a world of good though.

Barry ... thank you so much for your love and support. I appreciate it so much. I know I drive you nuts sometimes asking if you see any changes, but I appreciate your patience. Once I'm done this challenge, I'll take a week "off" from workouts and do yoga instead, lots of walking, eating healthy, and then I'll get back to the structured challenge again.

Gonna look pretty hot for the summer LOL!

Until tomorrow ....

25 workouts ...

only 1 more for this week. it was a tough day. nutrition went all to hell. Cardio was good though. I'm just so freeking tired. I'll check in tomorrow....it'll be a better day.

26 workouts and counting

I'm really enjoying the process, I'm looking better, feeling better, eating better, but man, I'm drained. I think a week off work will do me wonders. Sit outside on the deck, read, chill, do some gardening, go for walks.

This morning's workout was killer! It wasn't bad during but by about 10 a.m. I was one hurtin' unit! I upped all my weights today on my upper body workout. Very happy with that. I'm not sure about my nutrition these days. It doesn't really feel like I'm getting what I need. What I really need is to slow down a bit, get organized so my dinners are what I plan them to be rather than what I throw on the table. Or worse... Quiznos. Love it. Bad for me. Hence why I'm not making as much progress as I was planning on making.

One of these days I'll get back in touch with my naturopath. He keeps teasing me. He responds to my email, says we gotta get together and then I don't hear from him for a while. I know he's busy, but .....

At least I'm doing everything else right. Working out, drinking lots of water, tracking my progress, practicing the "Universary Law of Reciprocation". My next challenge will be better. I will make more progress. But I still have 4 weeks left and I'll get my act together next week, knuckle under and stick with the program.

Have a great night ... until tomorrow!

32 days and counting. I think.

I really must figure out how many days are left of this first challenge. And start my countdown. 'Cause man, I am getting tired. It's mentally draining too. But it's worth it. If I can accomplish my goals by doing this, then it'll be worth the effort.

I gotta cut this short though. I still have my tracking for today to do and my planning for tomorrow, it's 9:35 and it's my bedtime. I don't know where it goes .....

See you tomorrow!

I'm back!

I know it's been a week. Things were rather hectic last week. I was fighting something and just didn't have the energy to do this.

My first challenge is in the second half. Only 33 days left. I can do this! S.C. - don't ever give up. If it's something you really want, keep at it. It's tough. It's a struggle every day. Sometimes I blow it. Sometimes I let my portion size get away from me. Sometimes I eat WAY too much ... or of the wrong thing. But I just pick it up from where I left off and I get back at it.
So don't be too hard on yourself.

As far as Mother's Day is concerned ... I wasn't ready to deal with it yet. Still too recent. I can only deal a little bit at a time. So instead I had my in-laws over for brunch and then worked in the gardens for a while. Best therapy around.

Until tomorrow folks!

Choices ....

Today has been a challenge. I almost got a buttered bagel with my coffee this morning. I chose not to. I almost bought a rocky road brownie. I chose not to. When I’m bored or frustrated, traditionally, I eat. And I don’t mean fruit and veggies. You know the usual drill … chocolate … chocolate … chocolate. Sometimes it’s crunchy, munchy stuff. Chips, Smartfood (my absolute weakness and man, I cannot eat very much of that any more without feeling like crap the next day … you’d think I would have learned by now). I have a picture in my gym of a woman who completed the Body for Life challenge. 3 of them actually. She has a very similar bodytype to me. Was in a little worse shape than me. And was dealing with a husband who had a brain tumour removed and was in a coma. He lost basically all of his muscle. His bicep was smaller than my wrist. She (Pam) dealt with stress the same way I do. Eat. In her success story she says that she did this challenge not one day at a time, but one moment at a time. One decision at a time. I recently read somewhere (I think it was Bill Phillips but I could be wrong) that every time you have a choice to make, you can choose the path that leads you where you want to go or choose the path that’s easiest to follow. So I keep trying to make the right choice. Sometimes I succeed (so far, today’s been a good day), sometimes I don’t succeed. I like how he calls it a “setback” rather than a “failure”.

So I guess my message is … when you have a choice to make, regardless of what it is, really think about the consequences. A buttered bagel instead of a Myoplex shake might not seem like it will make a big difference, but it establishes a pattern. And that’s what we need to change if we want to make real change in our lives. Our patterns of behaviour.

So have a great day … choose well … and if you don’t, move on. It’s not the end of the world.

Stay healthy!

Ramping up ...

So after my disappointing results, I decided to dig my heels in and work out that much harder. So I upped my weights today on my upper body workout. WOW! So that's the way I USED to work out. I got a little complacent. I wanted to ease into this (6 weeks ago) instead of going full tilt and getting sick and then not being able to work out at all. Well. I kinda forgot to keep challenging myself. Something Bill Phillips said in one of his Lessons for Life really hit me. And I realized I was slacking. No more. Nutrition was better today. Staying away from tv more. I don't seem to have much time these days for that. With the better weather en route, even less. I can see me working out on the deck, updating my blogs and my journal. Well, it's almost bedtime so I best run. Until tomorrow!

Sunday

First day of week 7. Active day. Great cardio workout. Had brekkie, went for a brisk walk with hubby, then worked in the garden all day, digging, digging, digging. Ate healthy, didn't drink enough water during the day but made up for it in the evening.

It was a good day. Running a little behind in my updating of both blogs and workout journal but I'm current now. So away we go.

Just remember to stay active, regardless of what you're doing.

Saturday...

So I got up early on Saturday, all excited to take photos and measurements only to discover that my measurements hadn't really changed. I haven't checked the pictures yet but I'm not sure there's much of a difference. My first reaction was to be very disappointed and kinda feeling like what's the point? But then I realized I needed to dig in the my heels and work harder.

So tomorrow is another day....

Friday

Bad day today. Went out for lunch ... had "Pad Thai". I use quotations 'cause I think it was made with tomato sauce. YUCK! Then we had Chinese food for dinner. My nutrition was in the toilet but at least I worked out in the morning. Better than nothing I guess. Finished 6 weeks of the program. YAY!