Still Chugging

It's been a tough week for exercise - even the short sessions that PACE requires are tough to get in when the baby is teething, and the big boy caught the cold, and you spend several days traveling. But the cool thing is that it's still working. I'm down another pound and a half. When I get rid of that pesky half pound I will have lost everything I gained on our trip to North Carolina. Not too shabby: it's been about two weeks since we got back. I'm noticing other stuff too: I can breathe better. Lots better. Enough to make a difference when I sing. I'm getting stronger. Moving is more fun. I like the way I feel. I sleep better. That could also be related to the baby suddenly sleeping longer in his own bed before he wakes up for his night-time snack. Night-weaning is a bear, and it's not going to be fun. I'm waiting for those teeth to settle down before we tackle that. The Hubs is also noticing some nice improvements. So far, this new PACE style workout is a smashing success.

Small Change, Big Help

So I finally got tired of eating the nasty school foods!! So Mom and I decided to buy some lunch meat and have me bring cold lunches to school. I started bringing my own lunches on Monday, and so far, I've already lost 3.5 pounds!! Yay!!! All because I'm no longer eating the nasty, greasy school "food." I'm so excited. Now I have to find a good workout to add to it, and then stick with it, and I'll be all set. I'm so excited!!! ^.^ I've also been snaking less after school, and the lunches I bring stay with me longer so I'm not as hungry at the end of the day. I eat less at dinner, but it doesn't feel like it because I'm eating healthier foods. :)

I Get It!!

I finally understand why people run! Why it is that runners get so strange about missing a run, why they spend so much money on that expensive gear, why they go out in the rain and snow and whatever. Why they run.

It feels good!

Whoa. It was super cool this evening. I ran more than I have ever before. I discovered a stride - one that uses my whole foot, kind of a rolling motion - that just works. It was completely amazing. I got totally nasty sweaty, but instead of feeling nasty it felt like an accomplishment, in a strange sort of way. And I could breathe. Most of the time. Except that since I was doing so well I pushed it, so then I couldn't breathe. But as soon as that passed, I'd run until it happened again. And I was running more than before too; instead of running 1 walking 2 and not even that, I was running 1 walking 1 a good bit of the time. It was so cool!

Also, I weighed myself and got out the old measuring tape this morning. Good news there too: I'm down 3 pounds. One more and I get a new badge. I'm hopeful that I'll have it before the week is out. Most of my measurements are also improved over last week.

Oh, and I need a shower. Man, am I stinky. Andy says the sweat smells worse at first, and once your body cleans itself out with the heavy sweating it gets better. I sure hope so!

Getting Out There

I'm starting to run again. It's nice to be back out there. I've basically lost all the ground I gained, as far as ability to run, in the year since I've last run. But I'm going to get it back. Today was the second run, actually. I went earlier in the week with Maulbeere. Next week I'm planning to go out 3 times, plus to a walk or yoga on the off days. I went about 1.5 miles; Runner's World has this awesome tool that will tell you how far you went. Runner's World also reminded me that the last time I tried running I managed to move 28 miles, all total. Which is a pretty good accomplishment. I'm looking to make that "total miles I've run" number get a lot bigger!

Oh Happy Day!

I've got a 2 pound loss this week! Plus, 2 of my 3 measurements are slightly down. I am a happy girl. The biggest thing I did this week: more water. More water more water more water. Makes a huge difference, because between the heat & both my guys being sick, I didn't really do so hot on the exercise this time around. I'm feeling very encouraged about my lifestyle changes. They seem to be working! It still takes vigilance, but the changes are doing the job and I'm getting closer to that baby!

Grunt and Sweat

Oh yeah. Working out is a funny thing; one hour of hating life so that you can more fully enjoy the other 23.

Yesterday I hit the elliptical machine, the one with the arm thingys. I used to not like it, but I've decided that it's a very effective way to get a full body work out. My hour in the gym went something like this:

First there was a little bit of this:

(from http://sojourness.blogspot.com/2007_04_01_archive.html)

Then a little bit of this - only less serene and with more red-faced grunting:

(from http://pilates.about.com/od/pilatesmat/ss/RollOver.htm)

And then some of this:

(from http://www.fitnesscure.com/2007/07/30/weekly-workout-schedule-july-29-aug-4/)

I'd say it was an hour well spent!

New motivation

Well, I AM still alive. So there's a Freshman Formal dance coming up at school, on the 28th of February I think. I convinced mom to buy me a dress, but I need to do sit ups ir something so I can get my belly to not bulge as much in the time I have. mom said that if I do between 10 and 25 sit ups every day, maybe twice a day, that I could get my stomach to noy bugle so much. :) YAY!! I'm trying that to see how well it going to work, so I'm going to go in my room and see how many sit ups I can do. A while ago, I went to my dear oldest sister's house, and she and her husband were trying to help get me a routine for excersising, and he said that I'm not really breathing when I excersise. I suppose that's not very good. He told me that I should count" 1,2" for every breath in, and every breath out. So far it's been working wonderfully. You should tell your husband thanks for me, dear oldest sister. :) I was also thinking that in addition to my sit ups, I would walk on that treadmill that's downstairs once a day, for about 20 - 30 minutes, and see how much I can do, and try to take less time getting that far so I can go farther in the same amount of time. :) WHEE! I haven't been doing very well with my dieting and whatnot, but someone at church today commented that I was looking skinnier! That made me feel SO good! That meant that the little things that I was doing were working! YES! I love all of you sisters and mother of mine!

Young Sister in Wisconsin :)

Chuggin' Along

Did my pushups and my run this morning. I finished day 1 of the running program. Feeling pretty good. On the way to doing well with my water too: almost finished with the first water bottle of the day!

Interestingly, I'm not nearly as hungry when I work out a lot. Andy says that it's completely normal, and happens because the blood moves to the extremities and away from the stomach. So I get to be less hungry. It's a great arrangement: I'm less hungry so I eat less, then I get to weigh less after a while!

Week 1 Day 3: 25 pushups.
Day 1: Run 1 Walk 2, x10.

One More Reason to Work from Home

So, I occasionally feel slightly envious of my friends and family who have jobs that allow them the ability to work from home. Generally these feelings are felt most keenly on those days when I'm very tired and don't feel like getting up and the idea of just working in my PJ's seems very tantalizing.

However, I found an article today that offered another good reason to work from home: Walkstations. (http://www.nytimes.com/2008/09/18/health/nutrition/18fitness.html?ei=5124&en=dae8e7618825bcd8&ex=1379476800&adxnnl=1&partner=facebook&exprod=facebook&adxnnlx=1222201193-5NCHuzYsHjxV+VlPFOPixg) Sorry kids, my work computer isn't allowing me to make this into a link.. boo to it.
But it's an interesting article about some new health innovations that seem to be most easily implemented by those who work from home, but is gathering momentum and even seems to have begun to trickle into corporate America.

Intriguing.