But, is there time?

I was just reading Willa's post with her goals and saw the part about the exercise cutting into her Geo Challenge and/or curriculum time...

Great point. So, how do you all fit in the exercise? The sneaky and the planned? Would love to hear.

This reminded me of a conversation I had with Stephen (18) and Bryan (15) today. It was annoucned that Stephen was going to try and survive on a hour less of sleep. He is a night owl but we determined he really only sleeps about 9 hours a night, even though sometimes he sleeps REAALLL late.

We were talking about how to find more time in the day. I told him I gave up blogs for a while... Had to when things got hectic. He could not think of anything he does that 'wastes' time.

Well, I happen to see how he eats. Slow. The boys both usually read or listen to CDs or audio books while eating. It can take Stephen 45 minutes to eat a sandwich.

So, I suggested, in a nice motherly tone, that maybe he spend less time eating.

He replied, "But that is my READING time!"

Touche'

So, this related to Willa becuase I took a long-overdue peek at more of her blog. (I miss reading it Willa). And I remembered, what a terrific writer she is. And thought, no, I don't want exercise to take away from her writing time. I can just see her in the mountains of the Sierras writing and thinking and sipping coffee (or water... lol)

Willa.. ok.. how about when you hike, can you take your lap top? Or dictate to a machine? Maybe this is about multi tasking!

Sorry, I am a bit nuts-- long dog sitting day. And the day started with this KILLER workout at the Y with two gym buddies, who, by the way, I hope will join our blog. I told them (Lisa and Lynette) about the January Challenge and they were psyched!

So... repeat question:
How to you fit in your exercise in your already busy and important life??

January Challenge- Cindy's plan

Ok.. here is my revised plan:

• Drink water. See how much I drink with my workout and make sure I get enough the rest of the day to make 64 oz.
• Sneaky exercise: Be more active. Walk the dogs, park far from the store, on days I feel fat and lazy (or on my cycle) move MORE, not less.
• Use my 1400 cal/day diet as a backdrop or default. Vary it, have a treat now and then, but have that as healthy options so I don't eat junk. Keep healthy food in the house and in sight. (and hide the chips!)
• Don't eat junk. When I am tired or stressed, have presense of mind.
• When I get down, use my affirmations and turn to prayer and thanksgiving- laugh daily.
• Push my workouts. Try new things. Cardio, weights and pilates. See how strong I can get!

January Challenge--Rachel May's PLAN

Thanks, Cindy for the kick that I needed to get going again!

This is my goal for January. PLAN to exercise and then execute the plan.

So, on Saturday when Bill and I plan our menu for the week, I will also plan 3 30-min exercise sessions, on the stationary bike, at the pool or outside for a ....ahem....jog.

I was going to use the Runner's World Race Finder to plan to run a 5K, but I think I'll save that for February's challenge.

I will also PLAN to get all my water in each day. My plan is to drink at least 24oz by lunchtime, and 2 more 24 oz cups by bedtime. When I do that, my little nursling is a very happy camper.

It doesn't sound like an ambitious plan, but it feels like one at the moment.

January Challenge!

Ok, ya'll.. let's go for January!

So far I hear the following girls are in:

Leonie
Willa
Niamh
Rachel May (when her stomach calms down!) :0 -- HOPE you feel better soon!!
Julie (when she gets back Jan 10)

Did I miss anyone? Anyone else want to join in?

Ok, let's start fresh for the new year!

Here are the rules:
Create a new post with your goals. They can be whatever you want them to be.... small, huge, in between. They always say to make specific goals, but if something like 'being mindful' works for you, the do it. Honestly I think this is all about habits. So if you just want to pick one habit and work on it, that is great, too.

I would love to have everyone make a seperate post with their own goals so it is easy to go back and find. That way we can READ it and HOLD YOU ACCOUNTABLE... lol, of course in a nice way. But what is better than your girlfriends cheering you on and helping you when you fall?

Should we make this for the month of January, then hope it sticks? So think of goals that you think you can do for a month.

My 42 day challenge is going great IF I add belgium chocolate and sugar cookies to my 'diet'. I am going to try and stick with that healthy eating but give myself allowances.. need to think of how much I want to hold myself to for the month.

Ok... hope you all will post! It can be about exercise, eating, affirmations, positive thinking, taking vitamins, drinking water, just being more active....
anything you want to work on and would like us to help you with. Even if helping just means knowing that we will look in and cheer you on!

Leonie posted here (feel free to edit, Leonie if you want) and I will post mine again I am scraping my 42 day challenge (I'm FREE!) and will start up with you all on Jan 1.

Looking forward to it..starting off the new year on a healthy note. :)

Joining that challenge...

Hey, Cindy, can I join your challenge?

But mine will be a January challenge.

The challenge?

1. To continue with my daily workouts. But with a mostly one hour mostly Taebo focus. I just want to feel and look fitter and Taebo always does that for me.

2. Work on what I am eating. Need to eat healthy. Stop this junk! Diets just plain don't work for me. But working on eating well, on good habits, on the whys of eating, on eating mindfully, well, this helps. Reading Skinny Bitch and Half-Assed for encouragement.

3. Use my slogans. My mottoes. My affirmations. Where I am today is where my mind put me. Where I'll be tomorrow is where my mind will put me. Get Fit Have Fun Be Strong. Every day above ground is a blessed day. Use your mind and spirit. Be what you wanna be.

Affirmations help me, remind me of who I am and who I want to be.

So, that is my three step January challenge. Cindy, how are you going with yours? Maybe we can post regular updates?

Anyone going to join me??

Do I have any takers on the 42 day challenge? It is down to 35 days now.. lol

How about after Christmas.. or start on Jan 1 and have it be a 25 day challenge! :)

I feel so lonely...... lol

Anyone going to join me??

Awesome workout!

Ok.. I had the most incredible workout yesterday! And it also opened me to new horizons. I think that may be the most important thing.

I work out at theY as you all know. I do classes and the women's weight center. Also do the cardio room which is a big room full of all ages and lots of cadio machines.

Well, they also have a big weight room which I avoid. I alaways thought of it as the big hulky guys.. and felt intimiated to go in there.

Well, Lisa, who is an awesome aerobics instractor, sweet as can be and a friend now, was hanging in there working out and clowing around with friends. I snuck in to do some abs, and tried to make myself invisable. Well, she was hving such fun, I went over to try some machines near her. Soon she introduced me to psople and asked if I watned to join them for a circuit train on Friday. She said it will be HARD, but that is good!

(She cracks me up, because when we are in class doing something REALLY hard, she will look up, grin, and say "Life is good!" She is right!

I agreed to come.

So, yesterday morning at 6:30 am we all met.
She had devised a circuit train. 3 stations per block. We all rotate each station for a full minute at max effort. Them move to the next station. After we all finish the block, we rest a bit then do another block.

It was HARD stuff! We worked out for 1 hour and 20 minutes! There were four of us, one guy this rock hard body cop- nicest guy in the world and the three of them would trade jabs and trash talk... but they were all sweet to me as I was new.

It was so much fun! Just comraderie and helping each other max out and achieve.. and laugh and work hard. It opened up a whole new world (why was I afraid of the weight room) and also that you can have FUN while you work out... and that you can form friendships around working out and being healthy.

And.. I am so sore today.. truly in mucslesI have never worked before. Can't wait till our next circut train!

And I encourage everyone.. open your horizons, do something new, make working out fun, find a friend.. laugh! Life IS good!

Eating plan

Hi Julie and all

Here is my eating plan, cut and pasted from Word. Not sure how it will come through but I can email the doc to you if you want.
Really it is just eating 5 times a day. About 1400 calories and spacing them out. You can eat whatever you prefer, but I just listed foods I like, that are healthy, satisfy me and easy to keep aournd. I just like having a structure, so when hunger hits I run to my list to see what to eat, versus grazing through my fridge and pantry! Usually what I have planned sounds really good and I stay on track.

Of course I still struggle, and at night especially. Candy... chips, still call my name and I an working on that. Let me know if you want any more info... sometimes I like structure sometimes not.. hope this helps!
Cindy


Breakfast: 300 cal
2 eggs and toast
or
6 oz yogurt, 1 t honey and
¾ C Blueberries
coffee w/ ½

Snack: 200 cal
Chicken 6 oz
or mini bagel 120 w/ 2t pb 80
Or 6 oz Yogurt w/ 1 t honey

Lunch 300 cal
Salmon patty 4 oz,
or
Chicken
or
tuna 6 oz 200
with salad 1 t Oil/vinegar or spianch
1/2 C corn or small potato

Snack: 200
Tea or banana and 1 t pb
or
Fruit and cheese: choose between
-1 C grapes
-1 orange
-1 C strawberries
Mozz or Feta cheese 1oz

Dinner: 300 cal
4 oz salmon, or chicken
green veg
½ c corn or small potato
small fruit

Dessert:
Sugar free pudding or max glut and tea 100


Vitamins
Omega Oil

Water 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 total 1400 cal

The 42 Day Challenge

"Over Christmas? Are you crazy?"
~ my 15 year old son

"Anytime is the right time for health!"
~ me, (with my MOM-answer)

Yup, I am starting the challenge now. Of course I will have a Christmas cookie and a treat here and there. But I realized I have lost that 'connection' of food to mouth and mind and body. So that is one of my goals.

I am really getting back to basics. A few months ago I got serious about getting in shape as I decided I was really about 40 pounds overweight. I had a picture taken of me and realized I didn't recognize myself. Ugh. I got on a scheduel with a buddy and we really worked hard. I lost about 25, then went into maintenance, mostly because the schedule was pretty rigourous. But then maintenance turned into major-lapse and my old habits came back. So I am back up several pounds. I am not going to weigh. I think that would not be productive at this point. But I want some measurable goals.

So, they are really a lot of what I did before. But this time I am going to also focus on the connections part. Really think about what I eat, how I feel, focus on health and energy. Let weight loss be a by-product.

But here are my goals:

Eat on a plan I made up. It is about 1400 cal a day. Structured, but has options. So I can keep good food in the house and have options I like.

Workout schedule- Aerobics 6X week, Pilates 2 X week, Weights 3X week.
I have my Y schedule and will put it on my planner daily. I want to burn 550 cal a day.

Vitamins, essential oils, water.

Prayer and meditation

Focus on how I feel, health, when I see myself straying and coming up with solutinos (this is the hard part for me)

Ok! Those are my goals! Wish me luck!

Join me if you like! (with your own goals or share some of mine:) )

Hey Fellow Leaners but not Meaners!!

I have been awol, just checking in, but wanted to say hi! I hope to read more regularly and catch up. From what I see, looks like Julie and Leonie have been mostly holding down the fort. Good going, girls!

I have had a rough fall, and unfortunaltely hit has transferred to poundage UP and strength DOWN.

But that is ok, that is life. And I am full of resolve and have myself on a 42 day campaign to bring back some discipline in my life. I am so excited!

More on that later.. but I wanted to share something I discovered today. This is the little stuff, that adds the pounds back. Little things like this...

Ok, I had a great workout this morning and brought back out my heartrate monitor and watch to track my calorie burn. At the end of my workout came on this song I LOVE: Born to Run by Bruce Springsteen. Who can't jam to that? So I counted how many cals I burn in that 4min `14 second song.

30 calories.

Then I realized that those 3 handfuls of Peanut M&Ms I ate last night (which took about 6 seconds to scarf) probably were somewhat more thatn that hard workout song.

I researched and found out that EACH peanut M&M is 10 cal! So for that hard working, jammin' Born to Run for over 4 minutes... it was wiped out by 3 of those M&Ms! (And I had WAY more than three!)

Where have a gone astray? Not thinking. Not wanted to care for my body. Forgetting that my body is made up of cells (love your fat cell graphics, Julie) and I feed them with whatever goes in my mouth.

The goals in not SKNNY. The goal is healthy and building my body from the inside out.

I miss the way I felt about 3 months ago, when I was stronger, and leaner.. had energy. And my clothes fit so well so life was simple.

But now I am motivated. I have my challenge. Will post it next. Anyone want to join me? Do a 42 day challenge with your own goals?

Missed you all and so glad to be back!

hugs,

Cindy

Updates

Well, I lost a kilogram ( 2 lbs) when in Tokyo. Lots of walking, lots of drinking but not much eating. And a little bit of working out each day in the hotel room.

Now I'm home, am trying to get back into my fitness routine. Done some hard Advanced Taebos, one hour long. And some shorter workouts for busy days - the tough but effective Jillian Michaels 30 day Shred.

I love my workouts! I wake up feeling horrible, have a cold and cough since Tokyo. I do some kickboxing and I feel better - it clears my head, gets rid of the achy thing that comes with a cold.

How are you? Working out or not, let us know what is going on!

The abover? One of the Japanese lunch bento boxes we hd in Tokyo. Definitely not a lot of food - especially when you can't eat half of it!

Lost a kilo!

Unbelievable!

But true!

I was feeling defeated when I wrote the last post....I didn't WANT to give up... but....I was sure close to it!

Then this morning...as the drum rolled in my head (for dramatic effect)...I approached the 'scale' to torture myself yet again.

I found, however, a loss of 1 kg!!!!

Yes!

The diet worked despite all the hiccups (uhmmm....chocolate cake and yummy stuff at a b'day party the second day into it and then noodles and brownies at the zoo during the second cycle....alas!)

Oh! It's like a dose of CPR!

There is hope!

I do know for sure that the workouts are essential!

The feeling of your body firming up is the best!

My goals this week is to take baby steps with the workouts: will aim for three this week and will continue the diet!

Here I go....

Gettin' Down with the Fanny Lifter!

A quote from Emily Walsh's FIRM workout, pictured left. AWT.

Aerobic Weight Training.

I've been working out with an AWT focus this week. Mostly FIRM workouts , new and old.

Sometimes, like yesterday, it has had to be a short workout. 30 minutes, as we were going to be out all day. Mass and Kumon Awards Ceremony at Darling Harbour.

Sometimes, a nice longer AWT session.

What is AWT?

Aerobics and weight training together.

Aerobics and toning fitness video workouts include both fat-burning cardio and body-sculpting in the same program. The balance of techniques creates a fitness video format that's both varied and effective.

They also involve interal training - as does kickboxing and Taebo. Interval training videos are also called circuit training videos. One type of interval training fitness video has alternating intervals of aerobics and toning. This keeps your heart rate up as it burns fat.

So, I'm having fun working out. Hope you are, too!

Well.....

Well...I've just proven to myself again this week that 'walking' and I just don't mix!

It sadly just does not give me any motivation...I struggle with it...don't know why but I do!

Consequently, most of this week I forfeited any significant workouts because one way or another the avoidance of the walk managed to take over!

As you can well imagine the result is just a feeling of stagnancy! Frustration! Despair!

I did manage to do the diet for the most part of the week yet over the last days I feel...bloated and having taken some pictures on an excursion yesterday I notice my face looks like its got cellulite! EEEEWWWW!

Sigh!

I can only try again this week.

Very disappointed that I failed myself with the unfulfilled promise of losing some weight and feeling fitter by the end of the year...(head dropped)...but I can't deny that the changes that I did start have made a significant difference in my day to day activities.

Feeling very run down this week and beginning to think it really has got a lot to do with not doing the intense workouts, however, the legacy of having done them those consecutive weeks has allowed me to have a lot more energy and endurance, without being 'out of breath' all the time!

It's just that I have sooooooo much weight to lose...It gets to me....

Heavy aaaaannnnnnd Heavy Laden!

Hi!

It's been a non-eventful two weeks in terms of exercise and I can FEEL it..(frustration...snarl...snarl...grump!)

Whereas I was beginning to see and definitely feel the benefits of a more exercised, firmer midriff...I can now feel the 'bulge' sensation that I so detest!

Why do I do this????
Why do I let myself lull into complacency so QUICKLY!

Well...the fight is not completely lost!
I still have tiny reserves of enthusiasm left, though I seem to fighting an enemy which I can at least now identify......The Sedentary Militia!
Looking back critically at my whole weight gain experience...I can see how it has managed to ambush me! It creeps in....

Ok....I've been extremely busy...emotionally more than anything else and the subliminal message was 'take a break...you need a rest'....which I could identify straight away, so I fell back into the old "comfort zone" of research and reading...which relaxes me....but forgot THE ALL ESSENTIAL BALANCE!
Before I realized it, I could feel the difference in my body again, not the good change, only the bad!

My initial reaction was.....give up!
My second thought was...No! Not this time!

I've really been feeling 'weighed down' with everything so as I stopped to reevaluate things, I made the decision to buy a Leg Master which I had been wanting for ages and which was on special...my new toy kind of....since last week I have been doing sporadic jumps onto it and that helped me feel better!

Similiarly, I decided to take the plunge and start the diet!
I've actually lost one kilo which proved another incentive! Yes!

And since for some reason, I am finding it sooooooooo hard to do a workout, I've set my goal this week in terms of walks! My daughter has been begging me to start taking her down to the beach of an evening to walk..... Thinking perhaps this is the counterstrike I need, in order to break that sedentary mindset that I've adopted...to actually get out there and get a change of scenery, take in the fresh air!

Been really trying to come face to face with the 'excuses' that have underminded me in past efforts to lose weight! But....oh boy...is it a labyrinth!!!!!

Workout log

Saturday I did Taebo Advanced Live 5 - killer glute work to the song My Sherona.

Sunday was Turbo Jam Cardio Party 1 - good kickboxing cardio, esp to some Brittney Spears songs and to Don't Blame it on the Boogy.

Today? Not great music but a different workout - no kickboxing, just cardio and some light weights. The FIRM TransFIRMation Cardio Overdrive.

Anyone want to update re workouts - or lack thereof? :-)

Feelin' Fat and Chubby

Been feeling fat and chubbby lately. You know, losing weight and being healthy is not only a physical thing. It is also mind thing. An ongoing mind thing for me.

Taebo helps. First, it is cardio, sometimes hard cardio.

Secondly, it is resistance training and toning. Those kicks. Those punches. That floorwork.

These make me feel like I am powerful. Fit. Losing weight. Slimmer.

It's all psychological with me.

Thirdly, doing Taebo helps me with endorphins. Working out hard with many pushups and squat thrusts on yesterday's Bootcamp 2 made me feel tough and happy and invincible. And a bit sore, but that's another story.

Worked out with Advanced Taebo Live 2 today. The killer floorwork with the song Simply Irresistible, made me sing. Out loud. Be happy.

Finally, Taebo helps me with that mind thing. Billy' s words of wisdom, his little motivational talks at the end, help me. His words act as affirmations or slogans. Remind me I can keep on keeping on.

Hopefully feeling fitter will stop that chubby feeling.

Affirmations

Affirmations?

The act of affirming or the state of being affirmed; assertion.
Something declared to be true; a positive statement or judgment.

Affirmations have helped me on my weight loss and fitness journey. They help me now, as I try to learn to eat normally, to maintain a reasonable weight.

What affirmations have helped you?

Some of mine -

W.I.W.M. ( what I want most)

Discipline is remembering what I want tomorrow not what I want today

Every day above ground is a blessed day

Where I am today is where my mind put me; where I'll be tomorrow is where my mind'll put me

If she can, I can!

I'll show him! ( lol!)

Never give up. Ever. Ever.

Just Do It!

I.N.O. ( it's not an option)

I don't do that anymore

...ON THE LOOSE....NEEDING TO LOOSEN UP!

What a relief to be on this side of the week!

Troubles abounded and workouts were zilch!

However....I did get to do some abdominal work, keeping that section on notice just before 'blacking out' most nights from mere emotional and mental exhaustion....

On the positive side: I've been really encouraged by the 'loose fitting' of some of my clothes!

YES!!!!!

It's happening...deep down there...something is going on! I do find it funny that although most of my workouts have been focused on my midsection, it's actually my legs and shoulder area that are showing the quickest results! No matter...I will continue until I get that middle bit right!



I must add that my nightmare week did end with many miracles! God is amazing...He really does turn our mourning to laughter and never misses a thing!

My husband ended up booking me into the Stamford at the Airport for a night...to take some time on my own...to take a breather...and OH BOY...it took my breath away!

My room had the most awesome view of Botany Bay and both the Domestic and International Airports...Now...the significance of this goes back a loooong way...my dad was in the Peruvian Air Force and since I lost him when I was only one, I have always had this love of being near planes! So here I was...graced with being spoiled and nestled in a place that gave me a sense of security and peace! I was like a kid at the candy store...sat there and just took it all in! It was such a great experience!

Now....4 weeks ago when I started the exercise commitment I had spent many years with a 'supposed' stress related anxiety and claustrophobia that I could not shake off...couldn't be in enclosed areas (like elevators..a no no) or even situations that put me in a place that I could not control...my throat would grow dry and I would get a desperation to swallow, which it seemed I just couldn't do! That brought on panic...feelings of faint...like I was dying!

Now....here I was...4 weeks on...having begun to confront an old enemy of mine that has played me for a FAILURE for soooo many years (that is, my inability to get myself in shape...to be a healthier me..to take control of my body!) Never thought or gave this area of my life so much significance but you know what, the damage WAS being done!...

Now, here I was on the 11th floor!

No panic!

No stress... DESPITE the nightmare week!

Just a sense of awe!

Thanking God for his healing and my awesome family and friends who have been helping me thru this!

And guess what! The hotel had a gym!!!!!

Although I really did not feel like exercising...I did get myself down there and did some walking on the treadmill and workouts on three other machines! Any other time this would have been an exercise dream! There was even a pool, a spa.. a sauna...could have done so much...but there were other things that God was dealing with in me that were just as important!

I found it really hard to relax completely...kept feeling guilty about not having the kids and hubby enjoying this experience with me! Go figure....that's a mother for you!

In the end, I walked away with many a revelation that I think was important for my continued success in Operation Fitness for my life....I even thank God for letting the things that did happen last week happen because they were trying to lead me to realizing that somewhere along the line with the guilt and personal failure regarding my self-esteem and perception, I had lost my joy! My zest for life! My joie de vie!

Where did it go?

I don't know!

When did I lose it?

I didn't THINK it was missing!

But it is now obvious....I have to loosen up!

I have to forgive myself for my failings and get back on the starting mark and run the race with renewed strength, outlook and vision!

It's the sense of failure and accompanying regrets, frustration and anger that have left me empty...thinking I could never be what I really wanted to be ....which at its most basic level...is happy and give my family a happy life!

I've been, in real fact, alienating myself on many levels because I was out of control and felt deep down that I could do nothing about it! I've been contradicting the very foundations of what I have wanted to achieve in my life! And I've been sending the wrong messages! Confusing those I love the most, without even realizing it....because of ...shame! Shame from my own failure in this...a failure which I could not hide or even cover up!

This failure and anger does not belong to me and it's time

to get rid of it too, just like the fat! I don't want it!

This weeks goals:

1. To continue the ab workouts and tae bo training

2. To initiate an ongoing workout for more laughter and joy in all areas of my life!

To loosen up just as my clothes are loosening up... as the fat gives way...now its time for the disappointments and failures to give way and let the new Julie emerge!

Have a great workout week....and don't forget to get rid of the 'failure' mentality wherever and if ever it rears it's ugly head!

God bless!