It’s all up to me

I started the Chalean Extreme program today and so far I love it!! It’s essentially a lot of weight lifting but at heavier weights and slower than you normally would. There are a few days each week that she adds some cardio and I plan to still hit the gym a few days a week to add to the cardio but I can see how following the program will produce great results. It’s a 90-day program but there’s an additional 30 days to follow after that and it just so happens that school will be starting around the time that I’ll be finishing the program. I would love to have fantastic results by the beginning of the school year. After the Burn DVD (40 minutes) I did the 20 minute TJ workout for a total of an hour.

Not much else to write, talk to you tomorrow.

Days on plan this month: 14

Progress toward workout goal: 230/250

SB Update: water = good

on-plan food days = 6 DONE (1 earned by an extra 45 minutes of exercise)

Minutes of exercise = 510/335 (done!!)

This morning I previewed the DVDs for the first 30 days of the Chalene Extreme program. I wanted to make sure that it would work to do some of the workouts before school and it does. I bought a heavier set of weights for the lower body activities and I’m ready to start tomorrow. I can tell it’s going to be tough but possible. I’m really excited to have some added structure to my workouts instead of trying to figure it out for myself.

Food has been good so far and I’m happy to say that both yesterday and today I had a small bit of chocolate (w/i my calorie guidelines) and I haven’t gone crazy. This is a huge step for me and although I’m not ready to say that I’m done w/the “all or nothing” thinking that has plagued me for years I can say I’m closer than I ever have been.

Did a 45 minutes Pilates DVD and TJ Cardio party for a total of 90 minutes today. I’m glad, too, that I was able to do one workout in the morning and one this afternoon to get the afterburn effect two times during the day.

I’m curious to see what the scale is going to say to say tomorrow. Last week I was 228.5, Friday it said 232. I knew I overindulged last weekend and a bit on Monday so I wasn’t heartbroken but this morning it was down to 230.5. My goal for the week was to remain in the 220’s so we’ll see what it says. I should be ok b/c I overcame tons of munchies at an event we were at last night (cookies and popcorn, 2 of my favorites!!).

I hope I have time this weekend to catch up w/a few of you. Talk to you soon.
Days on plan this month: 13

Progress toward workout goal: 229/250

SB Update: water = good

on-plan food days = 5 (1 earned by an extra 45 minutes of exercise)

Minutes of exercise = 510/335 (done!!)

This is going to be a short b/c I am tired and for some reason half of what I just wrote got deleted. Got in an hour workout, food has been good.

One quick story. I shared my travel photos w/the kids today and when we got to my photos of a trip to a concentration camp I had added some photos from the internet. There was one that showed the prisoners lined up for roll call and a kid asked “How did you get the picture?” I didn’t quite understand what he was asking so he said “I mean, did they let you get out of line to take the picture?” What??? Apparently he thought that I was a resident at a concentration camp during WWII. I said “How old do you think I am?” He didn’t answer and I don’t think he had any clue as to why I asked him that. I smiled about this the rest of the day…this is definitely a story that I will remember as long as I’m teaching.

Days on plan this month: 12

Progress toward workout goal: 228/250

SB Update: water = good

on-plan food days = 4 (1 earned by an extra 45 minutes of exercise)

Minutes of exercise = 420/335 (done!!)

I skipped the gym today. Me, the one who is worried she’ll eat everything in sight if she doesn’t follow the plan. Me, the one who actually loves going to the gym. I was “only” going to be able to workout for 45 minutes before I had a haircut so I decided to go shopping instead. The shopping was actually for a reason, I may have a job interview in the near future and I’ll need a new suit (more on that later).

Now just b/c I skipped the gym it doesn’t mean that I skipped my workout today. I got up at 4:00 again today and worked out for an hour before school. Kyle was up a bunch last night so I’m exhausted. If resetting the alarm for 5:00 wouldn’t have completely woken me up I would have gone back to bed but for me, once I’m up I’m up. I do think, though, that I might be burning myself out by working out so much before school. My plan for the weekend is to go through the Chalene Extreme DVDs to figure out how long they are and figure out a schedule so that I’m not getting up at 4:00 every morning. I love exercise too much to make it a chore.

OK, here’s the update on the job situation. Our district is going through some financial “issues” so cuts are being made again this year. I teach a course called World Language where middle school students take an introductory course in French, German and Spanish. The other courses in our dept. are Foods, Careers and various computer courses. Long story short, the plan was going to be to cut Foods. Understandably those teachers were upset and emailing the superintendent so he figured it would be best to have a meeting w/everyone and get everything out in the open. By the end of the meeting, the Foods teachers were explaining why their class was important and mine was virtually worthless. Nice.

So this morning I checked w/my principal to see if I should be worried and he really didn’t think so, but he said this could work out to my advantage. I mentioned yesterday that I could potentially get the job I want which is to be a HS guidance counselor. Five years ago I was a counselor in a different district and loved it, but I had a 45 minute commute every day so when a chance came up to get into my current district I took it even though it meant getting back into the classroom. I always liked teaching so it wasn’t a big deal. Well, now there is a guidance job open and my principal said that if they decide to eliminate my position he will essentially demand that I am given the guidance job.

My hubby also got interesting job news today. He had an interview March 19th for a teaching position and hadn’t heard anything. He was called today for a 2nd interview which is next Thursday. If he gets that job then we should definitely qualify for the bridge loan so we could build our house. We could potentially both be starting new jobs and building a house this year. Yikes!

Days on plan this month: 11

Progress toward workout goal: 227/250

SB Update: water = good

on-plan food days = 3 (1 earned by an extra 45 minutes of exercise)

Minutes of exercise = 360/335 (done!!)

I finally got a complete day of on-plan eating under my belt for this week.  I was just about ready to grab a nibble of ham from my son’s plate last night and then remembered the trouble that followed Monday night when that happened.  It sucked but I did it and it made today much easier to continue w/the plan.

This morning started at 4:00 w/day 3 of the 30 DS and cardio party w/TJ.  I have decided, though, to abandon the 30 DS.  First of all, I’m bored to death already.  And that much Jillian is starting to irritate me.  I have never really been bothered by her on the show but on the DVD she seems to think that she’s pretty cool.  But the final nail in the coffin was that my feet are starting to bother me again and it was such a setback last summer when I hurt my feet that I don’t want it to happen again.  So although I’m going to abandon that specific workout I’m going to continue getting up at least 30 minutes early every morning to get something extra in.

My Chalean Extreme came today so I can’t wait to check it out.

Major drama w/the job situation today but I don’t have time to get into it right now.  I could either get the complete position that I want, be out of a job or be somewhere in between.  No biggie (ha!)

Time to eat right now but I plan to check in w/you all later.

Days on plan this month:  10

Progress toward workout goal:  226/250

SB Update:  water = good

on-plan food days = 1

Minutes of exercise = 300/335

I was zooming along yesterday, back on track, and got a little cocky.  It all started w/the ham.  I was eating my planned supper and saw the pile of leftover ham that my hubby and son were eating.  Knowing that ham isn’t super awful for you I grabbed a hunk.  Then another and then another.  I’m guessing you can see where this is going.  Ham turned into Easter candy.  I won’t list the details for those of you who have been able to resist but let’s just say it wasn’t pretty.

I need to remember what got me this far, planning ahead.  It might be too boring for some people but I tend to eat the same few things over and over.  I plan ahead what I’m going to eat and rarely deviate from the plan.  When I do have a desire to change my planned meal I make sure that the calories are comparable and determine ahead of time how much of something I’m going to have.  It’s sad to say but a nibble or two of ham can completely throw me off track.  It’s definitely something I need to work on but I think I’ll hold off on tackle this issue until I’m closer to my goal.

Today, though, is a new day.  Kyle is feeling better but my older son stayed home from school b/c his tummy hurt.  My hubby was able to miss school so I didn’t have to call-in 2 days in a row.  I’m on track for food and have packed in 2 hours of exercise, day 2 of the 30 DS at 4:30 and then the remainder at the gym after school.  I’m really curious to see if the 30 DS delivers what it promises.  I figure I can do it every morning except for Mondays and Thursdays (I would have to workout in the main floor living room on those mornings and there is too much jumping to do that) but I will do a pilates DVD on those mornings.  I really would like to manage 1 1/2 - 2 hours of workouts during the week.  I know it’s ambitious but it will set me up for being able to start Chalean Extreme before summer starts.  Did I mention that I ordered that?  It should be coming soon, I’m excited to learn how the workouts are set up.  I think the workouts in the early weeks are only 30-40 minutes long so I could do them before school and then do cardio at the gym after school.  We’ll see if I die from exhaustion before then.

I must have a death wish b/c I joined the Slumpbusters challenge this week and this is after I had a day off-plan for food so I’ll have to add 45 minutes of exercise.  If all goes as planned it will be doable.

Days on plan this month:  9

Progress toward workout goal:  225/250

SB Update:  water = good

on-plan food days = 0

Minutes of exercise = 240/335

Things today definitely did not turn out as planned but it was still a good day.  I planned to get up at 4:00 to workout since Kyle had an appt. after school but he decided to wake up about 3:45.  I did get him back to sleep and then did my workout.  While I was getting ready for school my hubby let me know that Kyle had another bout w/diarrhea.  I don’t know if I wrote about it yesterday (for your sake I hope I didn’t) but he has had an “intestinal issue” for the last couple of days.  Adding that on top of a cough, fever, etc. I decided to stay home so I could take him to the doctor.  Turns out it was a sinus infection w/an intestinal bug.  Yuck.

Kyle went down for a 5 HOUR NAP!!!!  During that time I was able to sort through all of the clothes that have been in our storage room and decide what needed to go in the garbage, what would be sold at a garage sale and what would be kept for future use.  I honestly think I could clothe a small town w/all of the clothes we have.  Thankfully I am a total cheapskate and buy almost everything on clearance and at garage sales or I think I would have been sick thinking of all of the money that was spent.

I also had time to do the 30DS and play on the WiiFit for quite a bit of time.  I logged over 2 hours of workout time today, yay me!!!  I’m not sure if I’m going to do 30DS as it’s intended b/c I think I’d get bored doing the same routine every day but I know I will do it a lot.  I’m curious to see how much I can improve in a short period of time.

Got to go for now but I hope to log on later and see how you all are doing.

Days on plan this month:  9

Progress toward workout goal:  224/250

I’m thinking of adding something new to my workout routine.  If I’m being honest part of it is a way to earn more of those stinkin’ stars but it’s also a way to keep this forward momentum going.  I’m going to get up 30 minutes early every morning and do the 30 Day Shred in addition to my regular workouts after school.  I’m going to commit to doing it this week and then re-evaluate to see if it was helpful, too tiring, whatever.  Does anyone know how heavy the weights are supposed to be?  Since it’s an every day thing I know they can’t be my normal 12-15 pound range or there won’t be time to rebuild the tissue. 

Food was not healthy yesterday but that was to be expected.  Actually, it could have been fairly good b/c we didn’t end up going to my side for Easter b/c Kyle was sick but b/c of that we didn’t have anything prepared for supper.  There is a place around here that’s a favorite for some unhealthy food and we went there.  Today my hubby and older son are going to go to his side since they live in town and Kyle and I are going to stay home.  I plan to stay healthy w/food today to make-up for yesterday.

Workout-wise I kicked my own butt.  Delita asked a question about making progress w/exercise and I had already been planning to dust off the longest Slim in 6 DVD.  I could tell I was so much stronger than the last time I did it. Then I added Slim & Limber and played 15 minutes on the WiiFit for a total of 90 minutes.  I think I burned about a million calories laughing at my 6 year old swinging his hips to the hula-hoop game.  It was the 1st time that I played that one and I could definitely see that if you do it often that you will be in great shape!!

Speaking of my son he wants to go out and play and it’s finally nice enough to do it!!!!

Days on plan this month:  9

Progress toward workout goal:  223/250

I sat here for several minutes trying to come up w/a clever title and it’s just not coming.

This morning started out early w/Kyle getting up around 4:30.  He started sneezing and running a slight fever so I’m a bit worried that he’s getting sick but not enough to take him into the doctor.  He’s down for a nap right now so we’ll decide after he gets up if we’re going to my side for Easter tonight.  I hope so much that he’s just fighting a cold.

Weight was still in the 220’s (228.5) this morning so I’m going to believe that it’s for real.  My goal for next week is just to remain in the 220’s.  With it being Easter I know that I’ll indulge a bit so if I can simply maintain I’ll be thrilled.  I’m planning ahead for tonight’s meal b/c I’m in charge of bringing the dessert so I made something that I don’t particularly like.  I’m also going to bring materials to make what’s called a “Pretty Pink Pie”.  It involves a mini graham cracker crust, bananas, a small bit of chocolate syrup, yogurt and strawberries.  Super yummy and healthy.  I figure the kids will want to make those so if we go I’ll be sitting at the kids table, too

I also kicked up the workout this morning and did 2 pilates DVDs.  I don’t know if you can overdo pilates but by the end of the 2nd one my abs were screaming.  I’m finally making some progress and I don’t want anything to get in the way of my momentum b/c I know it won’t last forever.  Even if I make 100% healthy choices my body will slow down after a while.  But I’m so excited b/c I’m 5.5 pounds away from my lowest adult weight (223), within the next month I could be achieving this goal.

I hope to have time to check-in with all of you later today.  Hope you have a great weekend

Days on plan this month: 9
Progress toward workout goal: 222/250
SB update: water = good
OP food days this week: 5 (done!!)
No caffeine: so far, so good (done!!)
Minutes working out: 330/275 (done!!)

SlumpBusters challenge week 4:  achieved!!!  HOpefully I’ll be able to figure out how to put the picture on my blog this time.

I was super excited yesterday when I got on the scale and saw 231.  I became very hopeful that I would see the 220’s by Saturday morning when I weigh-in.  I have to weigh-in on Fridays for my contest and saw 227.5!!!!!  I weighed myself 3 times to make sure.  It had been TOM and I’m done now so I’m guessing some of the water weight has gone away.  After I worked out, ate breakfast and took a shower I weighed myself again, seeing if maybe the scale was acting funny.  Nope, 227.5.  I don’t think I stopped smiling all morning.

We were off school today so we got some of my hubby’s graduation portfolio requirements completed.  Then we went though a house, possibly considering buying instead of building.  It is a home that is already wheelchair accessible but when we got in there it wasn’t as nice as I remembered.  It’s only about $20K less than building and then we can have everything we want.  The only issue is getting the loan b/c we’ll have to qualify for the new house on top of our current house just in case we can’t sell our house before we move into the new one.  My hubby will be working (at least substitute teaching) but doesn’t officially have a job so we’ll probably have to qualify on my teacher’s salary.  Guess we’ll just have to wait and see.

Food has been good b/c I have had an upset stomach most of the day.  I do have to say that SlumpBusters continues to work its magic.  I was tempted to indulge a bit w/it being Easter weekend but then realized that I only have a few more hours and I’ll avoid the NKOTB torture

Did a FIRM weights DVD and then the 20 TJ.  I was hoping I’d have more time throughout the day to do more but between not feeling well and everything else I decided not to do anything else.

Days on plan this month: 8
Progress toward workout goal: 221/250
SB update: water = good
OP food days this week: 4
No caffeine: so far, so good
Minutes working out: 330/275 (done!!)