Extreme weightloss

I'm watching extreme makeover weighloss that was on the other night.  It's an interesting show, they take a year to lose weight. They have big goals and get big rewards for them.  They do exercise and eat "right" of course.  I'm watching this episode and she quit her job to focus on her weightloss.  I guess she felt it was worth it. I'd love to be able to not work and focus just on me.  Even on mat leave I wanted to do more but of course had a baby to look after.  I know that I need to be able to focus a bit on me.  But I also need to focus on my son so all my time is not my own.

I do want to focus on his health as well, which means I want to focus on both of us eating better, going primal as they say.  I have a plan to plan lol. I know that I will have to make a meal plan, and do biweekly cooking. I don't think once a month cooking will work for me only because it's a whole day commitment and I just can't do that with a toddler.  So I'll split it in two and use his nap times to get some of the cooking done.  I get flyers now, which is nice, so if I can start my meal plan and be able to shop Saturday morning, no more than two stores, then cook Sunday afternoon, I'll be set. 

As for exercise, I need to do that.  I have been very unmotivated to do anything, I think I have a touch of depression.  It's not nearly as bad as I've experienced in the past, Jackson is a natural antidepressant for me, so he helps a lot.  I know that exercise will help, it's fitting it in that is the issue for me now.  Do I get up early to do it?  Do I go to bed earlier so I can do that?  Or do I do the workout after Jackson goes to bed at 8?  That's close to bedtime, if I workout too hard at that time I may not be able to sleep.  I need to pick something and stick to it.  Make a decision.

As strange as it may sound, decluttering my houst might help my overall motivation.  Tomorrow is a travel day, so Jackson goes to daycare for the morning and then I pick him up after lunch to go visit my parents for the weekend.  I plan to use the morning to clean.  I want to get the living room and dining room liveable again, tidied and cleaned up.  I have Tuesday off as well and will use it to do some more work.  It's supposed to be vacation but I want to get my room, and the guest room, cleaned up as well. There is a lot of garbage and junk sitting around that needs to go! Even if it only makes it to the garage, at least it's out of the house. 

I know I need a plan, and starting with cleaning may seem odd but it will hopefully help me feel in control and like I can do something.  It needs to be done, and I will do it in 15 minute blocks.  I do have a few other things to get done tomorrow, like laundry and packing, but I'll work that in with cleaning, alternating tasks until I get something done and feel better.  And then I will need to make a plan, next Tuesday I need to make a meal plan and a shopping list, and get that eating and exercise thing going.  I can do it.  Without quitting my job.

To begin again... or not?

Tomorrow I need to do something.  I am over my food poisoning (the reason I stopped all workouts for awhile) and can actually eat and not feel ill.  I still feel a bit off, I think my internal parts are still recovering from the effects of not keeping anything down for 3 days.  So I plan on restarting HCG tomorrow. Again.  I am going with drops only, no patches as I don't think they work for me.  I will need to do some shopping for vegetables tomorrow, and make sure I have the meat ready to go. But I have a day or two of loading any way so it should be good. 

I plan on keeping Leslie in the mix, and some toning/yoga/pilates as well.  Being active is the end goal of all this effort so I might as well keep it in the mix while I'm losing.  Leslie is nice and easy, not that you can't make it more effort, but that the steps are simple, I don't get confused and I can actually move my feet like that.

I have a bike, it was free, and is a bit old, and wow I have not ridden a bike in years!  I took it down the street today and it was more effort than I care to admit.  I have to get back on the horse as they say, so that'll be interesting.  My son enjoyed the brief trip and was upset it wasn't longer. So we'll attempt to get to the park this week, when it's not raining or 40 with the humidex :-)

Back on track, up a few pounds from my lowest, helped to keep it closer to end weight by the food poisoning (losing 6 pounds in 2 days is rough).  Goal is 35 pounds away, or more lol, but 20 for this round of losing.  Now to do it! 

Cardio Abs

I did Jessica Smith Cardio Abs and it was great.  I have two left feet so didn't get all the moves by a long shot, but I will keep at it and hopefully get it within a few tries.  I did work up a great sweat any way, and it was nice.  I will do the second workout tomorrow, it's toning I believe.  I plan to rotate through the 3 workouts over the week, doing each twice.  I'd like to do some extra cardio in the morning, Leslie is the most likely option.  And if my yoga/pilates dvd's arrive I'd like to add in one of those after work with Jackson to "help".  It's pretty ambitious, but I think I can do it.

Eating wise I have done pretty well today, below my calories, but I was hungry.  And my supplements haven't arrived yet so hopefully they come tomorrow and I can get everything on track.  I'm supposed to try and do the HCG but again I'm having trouble with it, so I'm not sure what to do about that.  Knowing it works if I can stick to it, but finding it hard to stick to for some reason.  It's odd really, I mean I know it works.  Yet I can't stick to it.  I need to fix that somehow, whether I go back to the drops or what I don't know.  But I need to decide soon.  My time is ticking and I won't have 30 days in a row to do this soon, which means I'll end up cycling and that may be harder. 

The Cardio Abs workout was very good, it starts out quickly, and has some kickboxing moves in it.  Nothing is too complicated, my feet just don't seem to move like that, yet.  And wow am I out of shape!  I didn't think I was that bad, but apparently I am.  It's good that it's only 28 minutes or so.  Any longer and I don't think I would have made it. 

Tomorrow is another day, back on track?  I hope so!

A couple workouts

And a diet restarted.  I am attempting the patches again, with a plan.  Adding in some workouts too. I got up and did 1 mile of Leslie.  Then after work I did 10 minutes of pilates type work, with my son "helping".  I plan to make that longer but we're starting with 10 minutes a day so he can adjust to mommy doing something that doesn't involve him. I ordered him a purple yoga mat so he can workout too if he wants to.  But we'll see how that goes.  Then when he went to bed I did KCM 30-minute Circuit Burn, the first workout.  I didn't realize the warm up wasn't included so I was a bit behind in the beginning.  But it was a good workout and I sweat quite a bit.  I hope to do the same tomorrow, well a different 10 minute workout (there are 5 on the disc so one per day) and a different 1 mile with Leslie (again, 5 on the disc so a different one each day).  I may try the second Circuit Burn workout.  We'll see.

Tomorrow I start the low cal part of the diet too, using shakes for breakfast, lunch and a sensible dinner. I am going to be working out so will add in the extra calories of the second shake, hoping also to stave off hunger.  I will add in some salad at lunch too.  Just some veggies so I have something to chew and add in some vitamins.  All in all, it's a good plan I hope I can stick to.

Goal is to lose 30 pounds, and keep it off of course.  I'm still at the -20lbs or so, it varies a bit, but is not too bad, I have gained back a couple pounds I think but nothing I couldn't get off with some clean eating and less blah-ness.  I've been feeling very off, like I can't commit to any workout or diet or anything.  Planning and eating right is hard.  I've been rebelling against what I think is "unfair".  All the stuff I've read about grains and wheat and gluten and all of it.  It makes me angry and I've just been stuffing my face with whatever because I want to and it's not fair that I can't do what I want, that cutting wheat is so hard and it's so addictive. 

I guess I need to get over that.  To realize that I can't blame the world and everyone else for my food problems, for my grain and wheat addiction, to blame them for causing me to gain weight.  Something to work on while I work through this month of losing.

Stir Crazy

I've been home with a sick kid for the week.  It started Sunday when I was sick, I even called my sister to come get my kid because I was so bad.  Then he got it.  So we've been home, and I've been eating crap.  Haven't gained anything but certainly have not been following the plan I'm supposed to follow.  Or exercising.  I know I need to clean my act up, to start actually following the primal eating, to do what I say I'm going to do, but it's quite hard.  I'm not sure why it's so hard.  Even HCG, why is doing a second round so hard when I know that the results are so amazing?  And I have so much left still to lose. 

So.  I have a plan, but need to put a meal plan for the week down on paper.  That is part of the plan, planning my meals Friday night with the flyers, then shopping Saturday and cooking/prepping on the weekend.  So we're ready for the week.  I'd like to do one extra meal a week so when I have weeks like this, where we are home and things are shot, we can still eat healthy things.  And I hope that it will prepare me for days when I don't feel like cooking or something, I'll have a backup. 

I also plan on doing Leslie 3 times a week, I'd prefer in the morning to get it over with, but it'll be hard.  If I do one on the weekend, it can be a longer one, and the other two shorter ones during the week.  Walking the dog and baby are also in the plans, and in a few more weeks, weekend bike rides with the kid.  Toning will fit in as well, just not totally sure which ones I'll do, probably some Jari.  Or possibly KCM.  Maybe even the Firm, so you see my dilemma?  :-)  Too many workouts to choose from!

I will do another round of HCG, I am determined to make it work, 20 pounds at least, then the last 10 or so I can do a more conventional way if I need to.  I'm sure if I had done something more conventional I'd be down some of that already, but I have a hard time with regular diets.  So crazy me, I'll jump back on the HCG wagon and go for a round 2. 

Off to plan... and make a grocery list. 

Reading, Research and Sugar

My son and I are visiting my parent's for Easter.  My dad is doing Atkins so is carb free, but my mom, the diabetic, still eats carbs because her blood sugar drops too low (I'd suggest she lower her does of insulin but what do I know).  For Easter my dad got me some e-books, including Primal Blueprint and Paleo Solution.  Both are similar and interesting, and flow into the reading I've done already by Taubes and Wheatbelly.  Grains are bad.  Now sayign that and living it are very different things.  Our society is very much geared to including grains as part of life, and really it's hard to drop them.  Not impossible of course, but certainly hard.  I have been indulging in my last fling with these things as when I get back to home it will be back on HCG for a round (contrary to both primal and paleo ways of eating I'm sure) and then on to the rest of my life at a different way of eating.

For Easter my son got a lot of chocolate.  And we are experiencing the effects of that now, he had more than a few little eggs this morning and is refusing to nap.  Perhaps at just over 2 he doesn't really need a nap, but he certainly needs the rest and quiet time, so I'm leaving him to it, and will go get him in another half hour if he isn't asleep yet.  An hour for mommy to clear her head lol, even with my parent's to help watch him he is still exhausting because of course only mommy will do in many cases. 

My parent's are also a bit frustrating to me when it comes to how he eats.  I did baby led weaning with him, so he ate what I ate, in stick shape and fashion, in as much quantity as he desired.  He still eats what I eat in moderation, when I am doing HCG I will make him different veggies and offer him carbs with them (though I guess I don't really need to do that part).  My parent's keep saying things like "finish your dinner or you can't go outside to play" and "eat all your chicken or you have to go to bed".  It's more than a little annoying to me, because I simply don't buy into that.  I have tried very hard to let my kids natural instincts with food lead his way, I do not force him to eat but he is offered what I am having, if he chooses not to eat, so be it!  He makes up for it later, and if you average out his days, weeks, months, he is a very healthy little guy.  I am not really sure what to do about my parent's, they mean well but they are so old fashioned in this that it's hard to deal with.  I'm a single mom so its not like there is another person to back me up.  We'll manage, I keep my mouth shut and when he's done eating, he's done and we carry on. 

I have started taking him for walks with the dog, as in he walks with me instead of being pushed in the stroller.  He will still get rides as I plan to restart jogging, and he won't keep up with that, and biking, which he's not big enough for yet.  But we can go for a nice walk around the block all together and enjoy the sites and fresh air and all of it.  I plan to continue that when we get home, and I am sure it will benefit us both. 

I read Primal Blueprint and found it interesting, his ideas about exercise are good, I believe I can integrate some of that into my life, using videos because, well, I like videos.  I have a wide variety and will use them as I like, without following a set schedule, attempting to do 2 toning workouts and 3 "cardio" workouts, plus one more intense workout every week, but if I don't get them all in that's ok too.  Add in the leisurely walks and bike rides in summer, that should be a good start.  The cardio I do is mostly Leslie Sansone, walking, and bits of jogging, it is as intense as you make it.  I do sweat a bit but am not  usually drenched unless I really push myself.  Toning I have much more variety, and a couple on the way, so will enjoy them as well.  I think mixing those up will be the best way to go, and then I can do whichever ones I feel like doing.  Some are 20 minutes, and some are 30, a few are longer but they can be split up. 

Considering I am a biologist by training, and my main interest lies in ecology, the interaction of nature, I find all of the talk of the way things were as hunter gatherers quite interesting.  Once upon a time I wanted to go live in a cave and grow my own food, cut off from society.  I have mostly given up on that dream but still hold onto the dream of a self sufficient life, growing food, using solar and wind power, collecting water in cisterns, having a well.  Living surrounded by nature.  The problem with all of that now of course is I am no longer alone, I have my son to worry about, and am hopeful of having another child some point sooner than later, so it becomes about them more than me.  Maybe when I retire...

In any case.  Reading and learning this weekend, eating too much of what I shouldn't, no scale to tell me how badly I've done.  But back to work and losing as of Tuesday.  I believe I will be able to hit "healthy" with one more round of HCG, and then on into it with primal/paleo/grain free eating.  Life is looking up, and looking good. 

Exercise and experiments

So far I've done 6 days of workouts, and am feeling good about that.  I do about 20 minutes after the baby goes to bed.  It's just enough to keep me feeling like I'm doing something, but easy to fit in.  When the weather is nicer we will add in walks/jogging almost daily, and I look forward to that.  I did do an extra 45 minutes Leslie walk yesterday which was kind of nice as well.  I hope to do 30 minutes tonight, so we'll see how that goes!

I have a low carb coffee cake in the oven and wow does it smell good!  I can't believe it... I hope it tastes as good as it smells!  It's an experiment using almond flour, which is not cheap!  But it should be good, I hope.  I can't wait for it to finish baking lol.  I tried to make some peanut butter cookies yesterday using my old recipe but using no salt/sugar peanut butter, and they are not very good, very crumbly which makes them hard to eat, and dry, so you need lots of water with them. I'll still eat them I'm sure, but not with as much joy as I used to with my cookies. 

My weight is still stable.  I was up a little yesterday but I expected that after eating something I shouldn't have, and back down this morning so it worked out.  Last night for supper I made "pasta" using zucchini for the "noodles" and a lovely sauce with tomatoes, beef and mushrooms.  It was really good, and I had leftovers for lunch today which was wonderful. 

I've got some lunches made up for the week, and am ready to go!  I am determined to do better and stop the big cheats.  I know I can't really lose any more weight right now, but I wouldn't mind getting a little lower in my safe range.  I look forward to P4 when I can lose, maybe, and to getting back to P2 after Easter so I can get to healthy.  That is my goal for round 2.  I am at this point thinking I will have to do 3 rounds, but the third will wait until fall I think.  I intend to keep up with the exercise while in P2 this time, and will stick with walking, and my 20 minute easy workouts. 

I think my parent's are considering this diet as well.  My mom is diabetic so it would be hard for her, but I think it's doable, and I wish she would try it because I worry about her health, I want my son to have his Nanny around for along time!  But we'll see if we can talk  about it when I go down at Easter, right before I do my second round, and  when I plan to really enjoy pre-loading lol.

Work in progress

My decision to eat 3 meals, instead of 2, seems to be working.  I'm not cheating and this morning woke to a 1 pound loss, so I am exactly 22lbs less than when I started, and in the 160's.  Crazy.  I am happy with the decision, and look forward to these last two weeks of VLCD before moving into P3 & 4.  I had thought to not exercise until P4 but am changing my mind and will be starting my 20 minute PowerFit workouts in P3, along with couch to 5k for cardio.  I am getting a jogging/cycling stroller next week or so, and will be taking my son along with me for that.  I'll add in bike rides once the weather improves, and I get a bike lol.  I hope that taking kiddo along with me will show him how to be active and energized.  I also hope it will help to tighten my up. 

It's crazy that I have lost 1/3 of the weight I want to lose, and am well on my way to my goal.  But what surprises me sometimes is that when I was younger, say high school and university, I was about 125lbs, a little less or more.  And thought I was huge.  Like terrible.  How bad is that?  I mean I was at a healthy weight, and was able to wear things I can't even imagine wearing now. But still, I thought I was big and ugly.  Then about 8 years ago I lost some weight, and was about 165lbs, and thought I was fabulous.  But I was still bigger, about where I am now actually... how crazy is it that my imagine is so messed up I can't really see myself for how I really look.  It makes me sad.  I know that I have a ways to go, for sure, but I have come pretty far too. 

I can do this, and improve my body imagine.  I can look how I want, and feel pretty and fabulous.  I can be healthy and fit, and a good example for my son.  We shall see what tomorrow morning brings on the scale.  But for tonight, it's time for bed, and hopefully a good loss over night.  Or at least a loss of some sort.

Frustration

I've been getting frustrated, I seem to be gaining weight instead of losing, which is making me very unhappy, and making me want to stop.  I have actually taken a few days off to reevaluate my diet and plan.  And when I weighed myself this morning I was back down 5 pounds... so who knows what it all means.  I have 8 days of nutrisystem dinners, and 15 days of breakfasts and lunches left from my 2 month attempt last fall, so I am doing 8 days straight of nutrisystem, then a week of just the breakfasts and lunches.  I need to get the workouts going again as well.  I have a plan for that, and should be able to stick to it.  I am looking forward to September and getting the Firm Express set, which I also have a plan for :-)

I got the last of the DVD's I've ordered, so I have quite a selection.  Part of me is a little annoyed with them though.  When you say "30 minute workout" on the DVD then it should be 30 minutes, not 30 minutes plus a warm up and cool down to make it 50 minutes... that is simply annoying.  I don't have 50 minutes at a time! It's part of why I haven't done 30 day Shred again, it says 20 minutes but is closer to 30 minutes... at least Firm Express is 20 minutes exactly, maybe plus a few seconds, but that's it!  I like that. 

My workout DVD library has increased greatly, and I hope they all work.  I know I need to do them to see results, and I will.  I think I just needed a couple days to refocus on why I'm doing it, and what I expect to get as results.  I know I need to lose weight, many pounds, but I also know I want to be able to carry my son, and play with him, and have fun doing it all.  It's not just about losing weight, though that is the real goal of course.

Tuesday July 19

Well I haven't posted in awhile but I have been working out.  I have received quite a few of the DVD's I was waiting for, including from the lady in the US.  She sent me 5 DVD's not the two I was expecting! I've only tried one so far but I liked it.  A couple of the others are a bit longer so I won't be able to do them often. 

Today I did PowerFit Plus, the two disc set, both discs.  They are good, not nearly as intense as the Firm Express set but good.  I can see using them.  I tried a Jackie Warner workout yesterday and it was good, but intense, and shoulder heavy.  My shoulders are not that great so I can see I need it, but I won't enjoy it as much as I could. 

Still waiting on a few more DVD's to arrive, 5 I think, with 6 workouts or something like that.  Maybe more workouts than that I can't remember lol.  I am also excited that I'll be able to get Firm Express in September.  I have about 6 weeks before it's available where I can buy it, so that's 6 weeks to get in better shape.   Then it'll take a bit to get here of course. 

I also got This is Why You're Fat, by Jackie Warner, and it's a good book.  I am sort of starting the two weeks, but doing other workouts, and probably not getting as much water, fruit and veggies as she says.  But I have added oatmeal and the eggs, and protein shake, to my day.  So that is a good start.

Thursday July 7

I did Firm Ignite, the first one, and once again sweat buckets!  But I got it better, the steps that is, I guess I really do have two left feet lol.  I've only really been doing simple walking workouts, Leslie Sansone walk away the pounds stuff with nice simple steps that don't require much thought.  This stuff I'm doing now is harder, but also a little more fun.  Not that I don't like my Leslie's, they are my go to for blah days I don't want to even take the dog for a walk.  But I have all these new ones to try!

I almost bought one at Indigo today but it was $3 more than through Amazon, so I am waiting, and will likely place an order Friday or Saturday, for the DVD I want and a book that looks good. 

Any way, I took the dog for a walk, and did the workout.  I picked up some protein powder which isn't too bad, and ate fairly well, except for lunch :-)  tomorrow is another day!  And the fridge has lots of veggies in it now. 

Wednesday July 6

Another good workout day, we went for a walk after dinner, it was hot but good.  Then I did the third Firm workout on the DVD I have, it was 35 minutes but pretty complete so it felt good.  Beginners aren't supposed to use weights, so I didn't, but think I will for at least some exercises next time.  I want to feel the burn!!  :-)

Eating wise, not so good!  But could have been worse I suppose.  I really need to get something for after my workout, pigging out on junk is not a great idea! Defeats the purpose of the workout, right?  I've been drinking lots of water at least, so that's a good thing!

All in all, I'm anxious to get the rest of the dvd's I ordered, I want to get a complete rotation going, and I am hopeful the 20 minute workouts will be a little better (easier) for morning workouts.  Come on mail delivery!!!

Tuesday July 5

Well today wasn't too bad.  I managed to get out for a walk after dinner, it was really hot but we did it!  The dog was tired and hot when we got home, he's upstairs on my bed in front of the air conditioner right now :-)

After the baby went to bed, I did Sculptilates by Firm, it was pretty good.  I think they are an intermediate workout, the 4 express Firm workouts I got on one DVD.  I do like it, it's pretty good, and it was a good ab workout, which I really need.  I found it weird that my hip flexors were the painful part, not that my abs didn't burn too lol.  I like that it was 31 minutes, and well timed, the instructor was really good at cueing, though I don't know what some of the moves were, I will know for next time :-)  And it wasn't high impact, or really cardio at all, so I didn't feel bad for having two left feet! 

All in all, my diet was good enough.  I know I need to clean things up, I guess right now I'm trying to incorporate more healthy food, like fruits and veggies, less stuff like chips and chocolate.  Rather than focusing on making too many changes at once.  The hard part is that I have a kid to feed, and yes I want him to eat healthy, but I also need to be able to cook quick meals, easy and something he'll eat.  He eats quite a variety for the most part so that's good, but sometimes he gets a little weird about food.

Any way.  Another day done! woo hoo!

Monday July 4

Haven't posted in awhile but I have been working out.  Just finished Firm Total Body Time Crunch Express, and it was good!  I quite liked it actually and will do it again for sure.  It was 25 minutes but covered the whole body.  Not as intense as the Firm Express workouts, or Jillian for that matter, but it was nice any way.  

I have a couple DVD's on the way now, I ordered from a great sale, 3 DVD's which is 4 workouts, plus the ones from the lady from videofitness.com, she let me know she shipped them Friday.  So that will all be great, I'll need to figure out some rotation to use everything I've got. There are a couple more I'd like to get, by another instructor, to add some variety. That should do me for awhile! 

I ran 3 days last week, hopefully I'll do that again this week.  I'm debating using Jillian's 30 day Shred for 30 straight days, but she just talks to much!  Wondering if I can mix it all up and still have it work as well. My goal is 20 pounds, first goal any way.  I know diet will play a big role, I'm hoping to get that started off right this week. I will get some protein powder this week, it should all be good .  Salad, veggies, fruit and some lean protein.  I think I need more rice, but not much else really.  Milk for baby boy of course lol.

Any way, back to it!  Working out is going relatively well, and I'm finding some things I enjoy.

Tuesday week 2

Well I believe I've been at this for a whole week now.  And I've gained two pounds.  But I'm going to assume that's water or something at this point.  Right?  I did a great job today!  I had a pretty good breakfast, did break and get a muffin at coffee, but had a good lunch with salad, rice and salmon.  A pretty decent dinner too.  Sitting here starving right now but not sure what I can eat.  I need to look up some good after workout/before bed snacks I guess. 

I took the dog for a run after work as rain was forecast and I knew we wouldn't get out after dinner.  It was another 20 minute run, bookended with 5 minute walks.  I feel pretty good about that, it's enough to make me sweat, him pant, and I think we both get a good workout.  It was freaking hot out there, but that's ok. 

The power went out twice, right around baby's bedtime, so he didn't get a bath tonight and it kind of stinky, not much to do for it I guess.  When it came back on I quickly popped in the Firm tape and did the first workout again.  I am better at the choreography, but it's still hard and quick.  I felt pretty good about it though.  I used 3lb dumbbells, which is pretty light, but whatever.  I then did Slim and Limber to cool down and get a good stretch.  That made the whole thing take a bit longer than I would have liked, but I guess that's ok.

Any way.  I'm feeling good and powerful.  Just wish the scale was moving in the other direction.  I know diet is a bit deal, so it'll be the thing to really focus on when I get back from my parents place after the long weekend.  Off to google snacks, and watch 19 Kids and Counting, then get to bed!!

Monday June 26

Today has been an interesting day.  I did not get up early enough to workout and felt bad about that.  I also didn't get up in time to finish making my lunch, so took only my salad and a handful of nuts & raisins for an afternoon snack.  I ended up buying more at work than I had intended to, and therfore eating poorly.  I did better for dinner, having a nice sensible dinner.  And am now enjoying (I use that term loosly) a protein shake.  Well protein in water any way. 

I did great with workouts considering I didn't get up in time.  I took the dog for a 20 minutes jog after work, which was difficult but I made it.  I sweat a lot.  Then after I put the baby to bed I did level 1 of 30 day Shred.  And it was hard, and higher impact than I would like.  But I did it, and I will feel it tomorrow.  HOopefully I will get up early enough tomorrow to do something then, and get in another workout.  It's supposed to rain, so no after work run, but I might be able to do something else. 

I need to get some more protein powder, mine is kind of old, and vanilla.  I like vanilla in things, like a nice smoothie, but on it's own, bleh.  I need to figure out what to do about after workout/before bed snacks.  I know I need to have some protein and think some carbs would be a good idea too.  I'll have to check and see what I can do.  I am always hungry after, so if I don't have something in mind that's healthy, I'll graze and end up eating cheese & crackers, or ice cream lol. 

Any way.  Today was a mixed bag but I feel good, and think I'm on the right track.  Tomorrow is another day, and will be even better!

Sunday

Well today was a good day.  At least I ate well, lots of veggies :-)  And the weather cleared up so we were able to go for a walk this afternoon.  It was HOT!  But good.  I also picked up Jillian Michael's 30 day Shred, and a Firm compilation dvd at Indigo.  I'm looking forward to trying Jillian tomorrow morning, 20 minutes is doable!  Well it should be any way. 

Thankfully the postal strike is almost over too so I will be able to get something new if I want to, and the lovely lady in the US will be able to send me the DVD's she was going to give me.  I should be able to put together a nice little rotation with all these.  I could do 30 straight days of Jillian but am thinking I'd get bored with the same person for 30 straight days.  So I'm thinking of alternating that with the Firm's I got yesterday, and throwing in the new ones I got today on the weekends.  I can do my short yoga workouts in the evening, and will still walk after dinner of course.  I think it will be a nice little balance, and as I get more into it, and happier doing the workouts, I will want to do more and longer. 

Lunch is mostly prepped for tomorrow, I need to put together my snacks and cut up an apple or something.  Hopefully I can stick to things and do well this week.  The weekend will be hard since I go to my parents for 4 days, so workouts won't really happen.  I should be able to get some walks in, weather permitting, and do a workout Friday morning, and Monday before bed.  Once I'm back from that there are not more vacations until early August.  So I can devote some time and energy, and plan things a little better.

Good luck to me for the coming week, early mornings, and 20 minute workouts.  I feel a bit relieved that it's only 20 minutes, even having done one of them already, and it was not easy by any means.  I don't think Jillian will be any easier.  But I can do anything for 20 minutes!  Right?  :-)

Day Five

I think it's day 5 any way.  I didn't do a workout yesterday, and ate rather poorly, but it wasn't as bad as it could have been.  Today has been good.  The weather wasn't so great, so we went to Walmart to kill some time, I managed to find Firm Ignite Calorie Burn and just finished the first of the two workouts.  It was pretty tough, but good.  I think after I do it a few times I'll get the moves a little better, I was two left feet lol. 

I got some great suggestions for workouts, and a very lovely lady is going to send me two when the stupid postal strike is over.  I can't wait to get them :-)  And there are a few on amazon.ca that are good prices I might look at getting as well, though I might wait until I get the ones from the lady is the US and see how they are.  They are all short, up to 30 minutes, and either circuits or cardio plus weights in other variations.  I am hopeful that I can get up to do 20 minutes in the morning, and maybe 30 after work or after baby goes to bed. 

I ate fairly well today, well started out badly I guess but ended up good.  I'm having a hard time with that, I just love food, especially junk food and bad for me food lol.  I'm better than I have been, but still not great.  And I'm noticing that when I workout hard, I seem to want to eat more. 

The weather cleared up enough this afternoon to get out for a short walk, 30 minutes, it started raining on the way back but we made it home without getting too wet.  The weather has cooled off a bit any way.  Hopefully tomorrow is good.

Day Three

Today was an interesting day.  I had a hard time getting up to workout as I had a very bad headache.  I blame the rainy weather.  I finally did get up but it was too late to workout.  I had a good breakfast, and took some pain killers which helped a lot.  I packed my lunch, very healthy stuff, and got ready for the day. 

I was not so good at work, I ended up getting a BLT, even though I shouldn't have!  I was so hungry.  Does working out (even if I missed this morning's workout)  make you want to eat more?  I hope that's temporary because it'll kind of defeat the purpose!  I also ended up getting an extra coffee (with sugar and cream!)  So I ended up trashing the day.  To cap it off I stopped at Burger King to get supper on my way home.  And then got sick after eating it... So maybe that doesn't count? 

I did just finish a workout though.  And went for a walk after dinner.  It was very hot and humid so the walk wasn't as far as I would have liked, but it was decent and the dog enjoyed it.  He is now hiding in his crate because there was some thunder an hour ago... Any way.  I did Kathy Smith Timesaver Lift Weights to Lose Weight Lower Body workout.  20 minutes, very efficient and it felt good.  I'm still a bit sore from the other day, and am hoping that gets better over time. 

I am wishing I had the time to do Slim in 6.  That is a workout I know works, but it's an hour long and I don't have an hour straight.  I'm wondering if I can split the workouts, do half in the morning and the rest after baby goes to bed.  I might look at them closer and see if it would work.  I don't think they'll be as effective that way but at least I'd be doing the ones I like, you know what I mean?  Right now I am just trying basically all of my videos trying to find something I really like... and it's not going that well!  I know there are a lot more workouts out there but I am also trying to save some money.

One funny thing I noticed after today's workout, I like beachbody workouts because they have the countdown timer that shows how much time is left in the section, and in the workout... very handy! 

Tomorrow is another day, hopefully I do well.  Though it is Friday, and that's usually breakfast day at work... which means bacon day... mmm bacon. 

Day Two

The second day went a lot better.  I was able to get my butt out of bed and do the upper body/abs workout (from Project You) and it was pretty good.  I'm still finding it strange that I'm not enjoying weight workouts when I used to love them.  Perhaps it's the speed or something, I don't know.  I'd still like to do a couple weeks of this before doing CLX.  I used 3lb dumbbells for everything, except one back move that I had to drop the weights for.  I'll up the weight on a few things next time but this was a good intro. 

I'm sore today, my abs and butt lol.  I guess that's good right?  I did a cardio workout after the baby went to bed.  Not sure I really liked it but it made me sweaty.  It was Burn it Off from CLX because it was 27 minutes, which fit in the time frame I wanted.  I guess it's a good workout, just seemed odd to me, I'm used to a more steady movement, and this seemed quite stop and go.  But like I said, I was sweaty, so that's gotta be a good thing!

I also ate fairly well today, I did cheat a little bit, which I hate saying, because it's not really cheating to me.  But I had a few things I hadn't planned on.  And the fiber is getting to me lol, so much fruits, veggies and fibre!  My poor tummy is bloated and feels huge... but I guess that's good too!  I wasn't that hungry for dinner, which was nice.  Hopefully that continues!  I really wanted to stop for a burger but I didn't, because my tummy felt too full. 

Now for tomorrow, back to lower body, though I don't know how I'll manage it lol, my legs are so sore already!  I'll try though, hopefully my abs are getting stronger, because they sure feel tight and worked.  They have always been a weak point for me, and after having a baby they are in pretty sad shape. 

Oh, and no walk today, it's raining and while the baby and I could probably do it, he's in a rough mood, and I do hate getting wet.  The dog refuses to leave the house when it rains, and will hold it all day long!  He is right now hiding upstairs in case I try to make him go out.