Man, and here I thought the time we got a raccoon in our garage was bad... That's crazy! I'm glad everyone got out unscathed (even the bear!)

As for exercise, I am headed to my university's gym tomorrow after work for a new workout schedule (still have boxing on Tuesday and Thursday but I want more cardio and weights). We'll see how it goes after working 8-4:30 and then hitting the gym! I can't wait for September (even though it means summer ending) because at least then I am out of work by 3:30 most days (teacher in the fall).

I know I just need to push it harder at the gym to see more results so hearing all the stories of success and will power, or even getting back up after a fall, from all you guys is really, really, inspirational!

Today I tried a new type of cardio class called PiYo. The name suggests it is a combo of pilates and yoga and I thought I'd do okay because I've been doing yoga for a few weeks. But in terms of active cardio, it was tougher than Zumba! It kicked my tail!

This class is only offered 1 day a week at 12:30 on Sundays. In the middle of this workout I decided they must have planned it that way so that you can go to church and make your peace with God before they kill you in this class. Incidentally, I didn't die but for a few minutes I wished I had. It was HARD! I am exhausted. And proud that I did it.

By the way, I am pretty sure the rest of the class thinks I'm totally nuts because at one particularly weak moment when I was laying on my mat and trying to muster the strength to push myself up and I just started laughing. There I was, sweating buckets, and trying to rise but just lying there like a beached whale and I was laughing like a lunatic because no matter how hard I tried, I couldn't get up. It was hilarious to me that I had lost all control of my muscles, arms, and legs. I think it was delirium setting in. And since I plan to do it again next Sunday, I must be crazy.

Time for me to check in! Gonna be a longer post since I didn't post what I did yesterday.

So Saturday and Sunday I didn't sleep much.. a whole 3 hours. Anyway, Saturday morning me and the dogs did our normal 2.69 mile walk.. came home and made the best chicken ever with a home-made marinade I made.. a sweet-and-tangy basil vinigarette that is seriously awesome and knowing I've got 3 more chicken breasts marinaded and ready to go, hoo boy I'm getting hungry already. as usual, I was up all night, so Sunday morning at like, 4 AM we went on our walk again. I'm noticing the dogs start getting super-hyper around midnight and I'm thinking they're getting the idea that we're going to go walking soon so they need that walk to blow off the steam. It took us approximately 1 hour and 4 minutes to walk the nearly 3 mile route! I'm getting a bit faster each time I walk it, which is awesome! I came home and finished putting down new tiles in my front hallway, I had a kitten being adopted later that day and the hallway needed to be done.

Sunday my mom agreed to go walking with me. So after I finished retiling I crashed, and my mom called and woke me back up around 9. Fell asleep on my black-lab/pitbull mix, Axl (he usually acts as my pillow so no problems) and woke back up at 10, got the pups out to bathroom and walked down to my mom's house which is about a half a mile. We then walked a mile route around her house I picked out, had breakfast at her house (eggs, and sausage) and then I went home. Kitten's new owners came and picked her up, and then I went to the mall with my sister to walk around with her (lotts of walking yesterday!) and buy birthday gifts for my mom and my BIL's brother, whom is having his b-day Wednesday. Just gotta get something for my aunt and I'll be set.

Then I was kinda bad, We live in upstate NY so we've never had a PopEye's up here, EVER, and our mall, Carousel, which just got changed into Destiny USA with a huge expansion, now has a PopEye's in the foodcourt. So we decided to try it out. I got a chicken wrap, not knowing at all that 1, chicken is breaded, and 2, the wrap is stuffed with rice and chilli! I also tried to get coleslaw (cause that's ok on low-carb) but they were out of it, so I opted for the next-best on a low-carb which was mashed potatos... Which IS bad.. very bad. In the long run my sister and I should have just gotten the 2-piece chicken meal and taken the breading off the chicken and we would have been fine... their biscuits are freaking amazing though, we were all impressed. Either way, I need to stay good for the entire week because Sunday we're having our celebration for my mom's and my aunt's birthdays and I obviously will be having some stuff then. Sunday's kinda a cheat-day for me though I've been trying to keep it contained to one item I normally can't have and not a whole day of eating all the no-nos like my sister does. (Though she's at her goal weight and been maintaining so she's fine.)

So yah. I bought a notebook at Wal-mart and been using it as my food log, so I can keep track.. noted everything. About to go eat my breakfast, take the dogs out, and then off to the pool for me! Then when I get home it'll be time to call the Y and see how I get set-up there and then I gotta call my bank and make my mortgage payment. :P You ladies have a good day!

girl253 - you are such an inspiration to me!! I never take those classes, to afraid!! You have such determination and confidence. Wow, lady!

Just a quick check in - got my run in on Saturday...ended up going a bit further to find a bathroom...ugh. The bushes just doesn't seem like a viable option to me. After that I did another mile with my daughter, then another 1.5 to a birthday party and back. I had a little over 11 miles on my middle aged momma legs by the end of the day - I went to bed at 9pm! Yesterday I did an 1800yd swim - did my first 2x500yd solid. I rested for 2 minutes in between sets and am really pleased!

Also, after a year of being in the 160's, I FINALLY weighed in at 159.8 this morning. I'm glad I decided to buck up again this summer and get it done. It's sometimes easy to say "Well, I've already lost a lot of weight, I can stop." I can 't stop til I'm done!

i did my usual workout this morning...tried for the 0.7 mile intervals which is up a bit from last week...it was hard, had to really push for it but i think it's a mental thing also...however it triggered my asthma badly which is really odd...the last little bit was more a fight through my breathing than fighting to keep my legs going...worked all morning , then spent almost 2 hours going through teenager's high school orientation with him...finally home to sit down for a bit

well mortonpixie, YOU are an inspiration to me because of your running! Awesome! I just started c-2-5k last week and I love it but it's hard. So HARD for me! But I have found that I am doing pretty well repeating week 1 on land and moving on to week 2 in the water. Jogging in the water is so much easier for me and lower impact, yet I'm still training those muscles. I think I will be ready to do week 2 on land next week and move up to week 3 in the water if I get in 3 sessions of each this week. But 11 miles? You amaze me! I am good at trying new classes. I'm really outgoing so it isn't a struggle to push myself to do it. I guess I look at exercise classes like I would view clothes when I was working retail. You aren't allowed to dislike it on the hanger. You have to at least try it on! Just like an outfit on a hanger can be deceiving, so can a class. Some are nothing like you thought. Some are much better than you hope! Since I checked out yoga first, my friend has started going too and it's her fave now. I don't mind being the guinea pig!

Had a pretty rough workout today. Sheesh they're all tough. But I did well. And I'm super duper proud because I went from not even being able to do the elliptical for 5 minutes, to doing it today for 35 mins! In addition to 2.5 hrs of other various cardio. Including 5 mins on the rowing machine, also new for me!

Diet is going swell but my BIL who worships a Hawaiian Meatball recipe I've been making for years (always a crowd-pleaser) finally realized his chances of me making them when I'm dieting is slim to none. So he bought all the ingredients and made them himself following my directions and now the house smells heavenly (I share a house with them). I tasted one and I'm glad he added some extra spice to it so I'm not tempted.

i bought something cute to wear out friday night...i'm WAY nervous about this LOL...we're going to watch the friday night fights in town, one of our buddies is fighting in it...sort of a mixed martial arts thing....the event has a sort of bar-type atmosphere

last month i bought a black stretchy miniskirt and havent had a reason to ever wear it anywhere....so i'm wearing that, and black nylons and black high heels...and i looked all over the store here and finally settled on a turquise top that has a shaped bra-cup area (for support, thank god) and straps and tied together in the back with a wooden circle thing....i'm sure my description is awful but its' CUTE!!!...and i could fit it, and it looks decent...so unless i chicken out, that's what i'm wearing to the fights...i wonder if i'm brave enuf

Hey ya'll, Thanks for sharing your exercise posts. I have a question if someone could help me please. I am nowhere near my goal but, I have been walking 6 days a week for about a year and have lost some weight but, my problem lies in my 'weight loss' areas: My legs and rear-end have gotten smaller but not my tummy. I try to hold it in tight while I walk. 3 c-sections and virtually no exercise for 7 years has taken it's toll on my body, especially my tummy. Any ideas of what I can do beyond the traditional sit-ups? I live in the middle of nowhere (town population: 67 give or take a few dogs and goats) and do not have access to a gym or YMCA or anything? Any suggestions ya'll have would be greatly appreciated. Thanks

@mortonpixie - Yay! Good for you! ^_^ I'm glad you finally got out of the 160s and into the 150s!! It's those mini-goals we reach that keep us going I think. I'm looking forward to my weigh-in tomorrow.. Hoping this will be the day I hit the 200s!

@CG253 - You inspire me too. I can't imagine alllll that working out you do every day. I hope to get that way someday, but right now I can't afford the gas or a gym... including the Y.

Went swimming around 4 PM and till pool close at 5:45. I took it easier today, and spent a lot of time under the water, trying to increase how long I'm able to hold my breath, but I did still to a few laps across the width of the pool and worked on .. I think the butterfly, I have no idea.. I found a way to secure myself at the deep end at the bottom by pushing up on the last step of the ladder (because any attempts I have to get to the bottom otherwise ... forget it, I probably could never drown, I am so buoyant that getting to the bottom is near-impossible!), which is such a surreal view to me, to look straight up and see the sun filtering in through the water is crazy cool looking. Had a run-in with... a rather exuberant kid that insisted on following me around the pool and then followed me home on his bike.... the kids are getting used to seeing me every day so they're trying to include me in on their fun, I think.. Since he asked if I was going to be at the pool tomorrow I think I'll be pestered by him again tomorrow.. We'll see.

Checked with my local Y, apparently all 3 of them have a year-round pool, and membership cost is based on income. I have to bring my cover letter for unemployment benefits with me when I sign up, but normal cost... egads, 50 bucks a month. I think if they can get it to next-to-nill based on the food stamps / unemployment combo I'll go, but otherwise... I can't afford 50 bucks a month. yeesh.

Anyway, will be taking my walk soon. ^_^ Talk to you all tomorrow!

wolfshadow- definitely take in your assistance/benefits paperwork. The regular cost in my area is $54 but because I am not working and get unemployment I got a 50% discount. It is well worth the $27 I pay so at least go back with your paperwork and see what they tell you.

@ hsmomof3: I wish we choose what areas to reduce from! I've always heard you can't spot reduce but if you're looking to tone up tummy muscles there are a few variations on sit ups that stop it from being so boring. Russian twists or planks help break up the monotony for me and make sure you keep your abs flexed through your others lifts as well, like in push-ups or even just squats. A lot of stability relies on ab work as well, like one-legged squats and such. I hope that helps a little

@Wolfshadow: So awesome how much you get to swim, I wish we had a public pool around here but alas, I'm without water! There's a YMCA but I don't belong and I can't afford both a "regular gym" and my boxing gym, and my University gym is sans pool, sadly. Blah! It's wicked cool that you're upping your breath capacity; that must help in other areas as well, like endurance.

Well, I stuck with my gym work-out yesterday and my legs are hurting today! But it's worth it, it's a good ache. However, running and then legs and then driving home was NOT a good idea. Every time I put the clutch in I saw stars. I don't think I've ever coasted so far in neutral as I did yesterday!

I'm a little behind, I know, but I just had to quote this because it totally cracked me up. Hilariously written and so relatable. I've been there too! You'll rock it out next Sunday.

Thousandsunny: Thanks for the name of some things I have never even heard of. I am going to look up how to do them and work on them for a while. I too wish we could choose our areas in which we lose weight. I used to have a nicer bottom....lol I'm sure that age and gravity have not helped me in that department.

I have done 2 of my 3 walks already today. Hoping the rain holds off for a few more hours so I can get my last one in. Every week I walk a little bit further before I turn around and I have been making sure to semi-powerwalk at least the first half.

Good news is that I can climb trails and such with my boys now and they don't have to wait on me. I used to just sit in the truck and wait for them or slow them waaaayy down waiting for their out of shape, out of breath Mom. They notice now that I can keep up and that keeps me going daily.

@hsmomof3: there are tons of excercises with names that make think "wait, seriously? That's the name?!" but I'm glad the few I can remember are helpful


I am off for a bike ride tonight! Going to try for 8 miles (4 mile path one way) so hopefully the weather holds out.

Well, thanks thistleberry, glad you enjoyed my PiYo post. If you think that was funny you shoulda seen it in person. I'm sure the people that witnessed it went home and had a good belly laugh. They probably sat around their Sunday supper table and told their families about the freak show that went on in class. The facial expressions from the lady on the mat beside me is haunting me even now, 2 days later. She managed to look disturbed, concerned, full of pity, and a little scared all at the same time. Pretty sure she won't place her mat beside me again. Oh, did I mention the big window in the classroom with treadmills facing us on the other side? Those people walking the treadmills must have had quite the view. I know, because the other 3 walls of the classroom are MIRRORED like a ballet studio. Like I needed to see that! Fortunately I lost the ability to hold my head up and the sweat was blurring my vision anyway.

Doing much better now though! We all gotta be able to laugh at ourselves.