Pushing yourself

I hate to run. I mean, really, really HATE to run. Jog, trot, whatever. I hate it.

I hate the feeling of breathlessness and gasping for air.

I hate the feeling that my feet look dweeby after leaving the concrete (have you ever seen some people who seem to have floppy feet? That would be me probably but I have NO evidence).

I hate the jiggly look of my thighs when running.

And I am not light on my feet, so I sound like a horse running.

But last night, because I couldn't get my lazy butt up and moving, I did a walk/jog/run.

24 blocks total.

Brisk walked the first 12 blocks in like 14 minutes. Then turned and jogged. Finished the last 12 blocks in 10 minutes.

Uggg. I had to push myself.

Come on, run til you get to the next street. You can do it! Go!

I may have been mumbling to myself the whole time. Couldn't tell you what songs were playing on the Ipod as I was way to engrossed on getting to the next street, the next sign, the next car, damn it, just count to ten!  No, I did NOT run the whole 12 blocks (are you kidding??). But I bet I ran 6 blocks total which is pretty impressive if you KNOW me! 

And I wore my new shoes ... they are definately made for running. No foot cramps. No bruising. And cushy. Sweet.

Spur of the moment

Ever wonder why they call it a "Reflex" bag?

Ummm, because it comes back at you! Fast!

Princess and friends were over. Me & the one kid who does a boxing class with friends were playing around with the reflex bag. I'd punch, he'd punch and back and forth.

Then we started screwing around and giving it an elbox and roundhouse kicks. Ummm. It wasn't exactly in the most optimal setting for such an impromptu round.

He's sporting a fat lip right now. I swear, I didn't mean to kick it that hart ... sorry kid! (mind you, he's 21 and bad @ss. So don't feel too sorry for him...do I hear cheers for the 46 out of shape lady in the house??!!)

Insanity

Sonny Boy's band member, Mr. Bass player, is having "issues" at home so he's here this evening. Didn't ask as I've been the mom on the other side of that fence, and hey, you need a place to stay for the night til things cool down, that's fine with me, just tell your mom where you are.

Anyways. He comes empty handed EXCEPT for what I think is a school text book. Only it's not a text book, it's INSANITY. Yeah, the workout. Holy crap!

I knew that him & his sister started it 2 weeks ago. I also know that he threw up during the first session ... he blamed it on a poptart, I blame it on a freakin riduculous workout. Whatever.

So he says that he has to work out because he hasn't yet today. Sure ... hop to it. "Uh. Can I do it in here since Princess & friends are watching a movie in the Man Cave?". Sure ... he means my living room. And then we have to dig a pair of gym shorts up (no small feat when you have a rock star status teen boy in the hosue), along with a wife beater tank (no problem finding that!) AND a pair of sneakers in a size 10 1/2 to 11. Oh. Ok. Well, Hubby wears that size but dude, I'm not so sure you are going to like these. Slip ons or velcro close? Your choice kiddo. Slip on please.

So he starts his work out. I peek in on him. Holy crap kid. Great job! You can do it. Awesome! Then he's got the cardio ab workout to do. Oh this I have to see. How long? 15 minutes? Sweet, that's like Ab Ripper.

OMG. It's cardio alright. And it reminds me somewhat of the s*it we did in the boxing class. Poor kid, he was having a heck of a time doing it. So I started in on him. Count to 10, FAST and that's your break. Back to it kid. Come on, you can do it. Push yourself.

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 ... hop back to it. I think that's what he needed. Really. Someone to encourage him and push him to do it. Told him it's fine to take a break but you gotta jump back in right away.

Then when he was done, and all wrung out and all his troubles seemed to be minor, I realized that I may be a great coach to others. It's high time I'm a coach to myself.  Yes. I CAN do it, damnit. And I WILL.

Update

So the family is gone as of Thursday. I've been busy at work. Making a concentrated effort to watch what the heck I put in my mouth ... not always easy.

I'm off the maximum 20 grams of carbs a day plan for the time being. I may start it for 2 weeks again in August just to give myself an extra boost ...

I'm thankful that I can eat fruit again. That is probably the worse thing to me...sure, I love my bread and stuff but the fruit thing KILLS me.  So now I have watermelon, berries, grapes, etc. which makes me very very happy.

I've not really worked out since the Monday night power walk. WTF. I ask myself the same thing!  I've decided I really need to get the arm flab under control. I was reading a survey somewhere and everyone agrees that once you are over 40, it's hard to get the arms back. BUT when I was doing the boxing, hell, I had BEAUTIFUL arms with no jiggle flapping in the breeze stuff. Oh, yeah, I did meet the triceps and deltoids. They are NOT friendly when first introduced, trust me!  Need to really start back with some of them exercises. You know, the 2 lb weight for 3 minutes shadow boxing (2 lbs? wimpy? No. It's hard folks, try it) and the other stuff we did. I've got the medicine ball. I bet I can get hubby hooked back up IF I hounded him!

I've also got to get the dvd's back in place.  They are here. Within feet of me. I just need to get the attitude that SWEAT is good first thing in the morning. I still get up at 5:30am even with Sonny Boy being out of school ... just my old habit. But now just park my butt and read the internet! Not good!

So, who's in? Arm challenge? Butt challange? Oh wait. It's suppose to be a LIFE challenge :)

Catching Up

We've had family in town since last Thursday.

Which means, we've eaten quite a bit.

And NOT been working out all that much.

I did however, take a 43 minute walk which equated to about 3 to 3 1/2 miles last Wednesday.

Then we went on the boat on Saturday. Which is always good for your muscles as we go F.A.S.T. in the ocean :)

And then Monday night, forgot to go to the drugstore so said heck with it, I'm walking and I had to walk fast as it was 8:30pm and the pharmacist closes at 9pm. Hop to! That was actually a nice invigorating walk (and I wore my new favorite sneakers). I seriously almost felt like I could start doing a light run in them they are so comfortable.

I've put myself back on a fairly low carb, decent eating plan starting on Monday since the past 3 days were totally out of line. Let's see how it works out for the next 3 weeks ....

My BIL, who is visiting, is a director of personal fitness education at a high school and pretty healthy and athletic. He was saying he's gained 20 lbs in 2 years, which I don't see but anyways, his doctor had told him that his 1 hour workout daily burns enough calories to cover a saltine cracker. Huh??? That's B.S.!!! In order to lose 1 pound a week, you need to eliminate 125 calories a day.

Really? Really?

That's easy. 1 can of beer. 1 can of soda. A slice of bread. 1/2 of a brownie.

I don't believe that. The doctor even told him that the one hour of GRUELING workout is not even necessary. B.S.!!!!

I told him he needs to re-evaluate his choice in doctors! ;)

How about you, working out? Eating healthier??

Weight Loss/Gain

I started the low carb June 1st. Stuck with it about 75 to 80% of the time. The other 20 to 25% was never full blown binging, but still, I did enjoy a few nights out, a few margaritas, a few donuts, a few (or more) beers and a few bowls of ice cream than was really allowable.

I weighed myself on June 1st, found the number to be totally unacceptable (for those of you out there who say it's "just a number" I say boo to you!) and vowed to lose weight.

I meant to weigh myself on the 30th of June, which was Wednesday. Unfortunately, life got in the way and finally, this morning, July 4th, I weighed myself at the Publix.

6 lbs.

Lost.

I lost 6 freakin pounds!! Can I say YES BABY!!??

Now here's the real kicker. IF and this is a BIG freakin IF, I had been working out as consistently as I was watching the carbs, I bet $100 I would have lost easily, 10 lbs if not more. AND, imagine if I had stuck to the plan even 85 t0 90% of the time?? I would really have done well.

So there you have it. I'm thrilled. Actually, I bet I lost more but this is the weekend where I'm OFF and eating, drinking, etc. but that's ok, it's only a temporary thing AND I am very conscientious about it.

So lets see what July brings. Anyone else seeing some fairly favorable results?