Hi Sassy, you're posting late tonight...

So we had a pledge, huh? Well... :o I think I did the "un-pledge" myself. I have been in a funk since returning from vacation last week. College starts next Monday and just like a 7 year old - I donnwanna go!!!! :cry: I'm only taking one class but one night of class and 2 nights of homework (at least) will take a big chunk out of my week. I'm looking around the house and thinking of all the things I need to do and I just don't feel like doing anything. So I kind of didn't... I puttered around the house on the weekend, did some cleaning, and flitted between some things I wanted to do like go through my cabinets and toss out the little travel bottles of toiletries I bring home from hotels and never use and go through the 4 foot pile of magazines and catalogs that I'll look at "some day". And a squeezed in a nap or two. I don't know why I'm so tired lately, I think it's psychological rebellion because I don't want to do my chores. I didn't eat terribly but wasn't back on my diet either. Pizza on Saturday and a decent dinner on Sunday. I finked out on my personal training session on Thursday and figured Sunday night I'd better do something so I didn't pass out on Monday's training session. Told DH I was going on the treadmill and he suggested a walk outside. He agreed to slow his pace down a bit so I wasn't clutching my chest, gasping for air and wheezing and we set out on a nice evening walk. It was a great evening, a few white clouds in the sky with patches of clear sky. All of a sudden I felt wet on my head. Thought it might have been a wet tree from sprinkling but all of a sudden it starting raining like crazy. We're both looking up at the sky and it's clear overhead, just the stars shining. We couldn't figure out where this rain was coming from??? It rained on us all the way back and stopped about 10 feet from our door. Since I am such a sweetie made of sugar:s: , I didn't want to risk melting so I was done for the night - hubby went trotting for another 1/2 mile. I figure we got in about a mile or so.

Monday I was feeling tired and crabby but I was not going to wimp out on my training session again. I was 15 minutes late because I got stuck with a problem at work which didn't help my mood. But I did get there and we started out on the bike. It was really, really hot in the room with the cardio equipment and I was complaining while steam rose from my head - I could actually feel the heat from my head on my shoulders. It really got unbearable and I stopped short of my time because I thought my head was going to explode. Mr Trainer who is compasionate but pushes because that's his job made me finish out the 3 minutes to finish half of my session. I was biting his head off and snapping at him instead of just my usual whining. I did finish, wobbled off the bike and teetered over. I think I scared him. We went to just walk in the gym to cool down and I started hyperventilating. This has happened to me before and I know how to bring myself out of it, but it is kind of scary to whomever is around you watching it happen. Many times after we've done a strenuous workout, I've threatened to faint or scream or cry or just pass out and I'm wondered if he thought this time I was going to make good on my word. :lol: I did get my breathing back to normal, we went to a cooler room and finished with weights and the machines. I was in a much better mood when I was done tho he did take it easy on me the rest of the session.

While I was eating a quick lunch I turned on the TV. There was a woman guest who was born without arms. All she wanted in life was to live her life like everyone else - she just did with her feet what we do with our hands - she even drives a car. I watched a clip in fascination as she diapered her infant son with her feet. Unsnapped his one-sie, pulled up his outfit, pulled off the diaper, cleaned him up and rediapered him and resnapped the one-sie all with her feet! It was amazing. That sort of snapped me out of my funk. I thought, geez... here I am whining and look at this woman. I have nothing to complain about. I did have leftover pizza for lunch and tossed the rest away so I'd be done with it and had a cheeseburger and fries for dinner tonight. My reward for scrubbing the grout in the ceramic floor with a toothbrush to get the dirt out. But... I am back on the wagon and ready to continue like I should.

This time I am committed to my pledge:
- at least 3 times between now and next Tuesday on the Lifecycle for at least 15 minutes, hopefully 20.
- I have to walk at least 8 miles on the treadmill by Sunday to maintain my exercise pledge on another thread
- I won't be able to go swimming this week as I have to go into the office everyday for the rest of the week but maybe I can sneak in one session on Sunday.
- I will take my lunch and snacks to work so I'm not tempted to get takeout stuff.
- I will drink 2-1/2 to 3 quarts of water a day (was nice to sleep through the night a few times and not have the midnight potty run :sp: - I will miss that...)

As for the pop - well Sassy, up until I started my diet I was a dedicated Coca Cola junkie. On a good day I'd only have 3 cans, on a bad day sometimes I'd have 5 or 6. I thought I'd never be able to give it up. I missed it the first 3 days but after that I got away from it surprisingly. I'll have maybe a can or two a week and I often don't finish it. Doesn't taste as good as it used to and sometimes I noticed if I have one can with pizza, I'll want another right away. I think it's a sugar thing with me...

Anyway, enough for this chapter in my life. Good luck to both of us this week! We'll be Amazon women yet - Sarong measurements will be taken at 2pm on Sept 20. Have a good one!

I have also seen some of your other posts. You go girl on that Pilates!!!:cb: :cb: :cb:

Hey Happy -

Sorry it's been so long since I've posted - this has been a very busy week! Oldest dd started school on Mon and youngest started today. I'm going back to work in a week so I wanted to "test" the evenings and see how things would run. So far, so good. The real test will come when I'm actually back to work for a few weeks and I start to crash - which I know I will do cause I'm a total type A :lol: . So, I've been on and I have posted, I just haven't made it over here - I'm sorry to have stood you up :( . I need to work out a system where I can make it to all my posts and just not be on so long with each one - I have a tendency to ramble (eh hem - clearing my throat) :p .

So anyway, hope you're feeling more motivated now than you were last week - sorry to hear about your hyperventilating episode - I can imagine that it would freak people out - that could be used to your benefit sometimes, you know? :s: I have done well so far this week with my pledge. I've had maybe a few too many oreos but otherwise, not too bad. Here's my pledge for this week (almost over) and it will be the same for next week too:

1) complete at least 40 minutes of exercise daily
2) Drink at least 3L of water daily
3) Drink a maximum of 1 coke/pop per day (Lord help me!)
4) Eat 3 meals daily with only healthy snacks if I have any
5) Be honest when reporting my food intake and don't withold anything - even though I will probably really really want to fudge the numbers to make myself look better - on my honor!

I gotta go get dinner ready so I'm gonna take off. I hope you're doing well and I'll try to get back before it gets too long. Take care!

hi guys, I just finished reading all your posts, laughed my way thru most of them (including the part about you guys being smelly!!) & decided I would stick my nose in & join you!!!!
of course, now that you're both busy going back to work & school & all, I'm gonna assume it'll be pretty quiet on here & that'll get me off the hook!!!
I hope I can find this spot again to come back, but if not, please forgive me...tho I will try!!!!!!!
I post mostly on diettalk.com & have a daily journal going over there but I really enjoyed you guys so much & was thinking about starting pilates myself so here I am!!! I've gotten a few pilates tapes from the library but haven't actually done any....I'm also not as limber as I would like to be & find that my huge stomach gets in my way alot of the time...atz why I don't do too many crunches...but you guys have gotten me pretty motivated & maybe I'll give it another try!!
right now I do a workout video (mostly leslie sansone) every day & I have since june 19, to be exact....I might have missed 1 day the whole time & I really am very proud of myself for that!! I vary them between the step aerobic tape she has (I think it's the only 1 made that I can do the whole thing!!) and her 2 & 3 mile walks...I try to get out on my bike too as often as I can but riding alone is no fun so I have been slipping on that !!
I'm 45 & I think I am going thru some kind of menopause thing only cause my TOM is skipping some months & then hitting me twice a month for well over 5 days or so...no hot flashes so far & I'm not on any medication so we'll see what happens next!
anyway, I also lift weights, between the 5 & 10 pounders, every other day & also do leg lifts with 5 lb ankle weights....there are so many more things I feel I should be doing & I hope the more I learn the more I can vary the routine a bit! I had also started on weight watchers, but since I'm not a real great organized person, trying to figure out the points has been hard for me, so I just try eating lots of fruits & veggies, drinking water & trying to get in as much protein as I can (I recently gave up meat again, so occasionally it's chicken & tuna & salmon & lots of beans!!).
I've been out of work since december but I'm looking & once I find something I doubt I'll be online too much to write, but hey, with me ya never know!!!
we live in upstate NY (me & my sweetie & a dog & cat) & sometimes my son, who basically pops in to pick up some clothes for the week (he's been doing some freelance landscaping) so it's pretty quiet around here most of the time!!!
geez, I have been babbling alot, eh???!!!
but anyhow, I'll keep checking this out cause you guys are just full of good stuff!! I'm pretty motivated & I hope to stay that way!!!
take care!!!

Well Hello MeAnBuji and welcome over to our little piece of grass here - hope you find your way back here again. I can give you some tips on finding this place again if you want.... Sassy and I are happy to have another person to talk to. Just be aware that we don't post daily so don't think we're ignoring you.

That is really awesome that you haven't missed a day of your walking tapes. Pass along to us some of that dedication, will you? Sounds like you've got a very great routine going for you. As for suspecting early menopause - that was the way it began with me. TOM got very erratic tho it still seemed to always time itself as a nuisance around holidays and vacations! After I skipped a few months and had it for 22 days straight :fr: I went to the doctor, got tested and they gave me the good news. Early menopause at 39. The hot flashes were never very bad but they set in eventually - hormones helped. I'm over it now finally but it's a process that takes years to peter out completely. My only suggestion to you is to start consider taking calcium supplements if you aren't already - you really start to lose bone mass at a fast rate at menopause. Keep up with the weights too as that is excellent for maintaining the bones!

Talked it over with DH and we decided to buy a new treadmill. He said he intends to use it himself. Costs an arm and a leg but I think it's a worthwhile investment. Of all the stuff in our basement, it's the one piece I use regularly. I'm excited as our old one is 15 years old and this one has a lot of neat features. I'll get a much better cardio workout - this is if this stupid blister on my foot ever heals. I've been limping along all week and I'm getting very aggrivated with it. We delayed delivery until the end of next month so we can do some cleanup/fix up in the basement. Speaking of which, I'd better get my keester in gear and go do some work. I was also cleaning out the cabinet and found that I have a Pilates tape from Living Arts that I never even opened. I have one of their beginning yoga tapes that I really like - it's good about showing beginning, intermediate and advanced movements depending on your level and I hope the Pilates will be just as good. I can't really do any walking right now so it's on my list after laundry and cleaning to try this out tonight.

Have a good week ladies. Will check back later!

hi happy, thanks for the tips on the dreaded menopause!!! if this is the worst that it gets for me, I shall do no complaining, but it has managed to rear it's ugly head off & on for the past couple of years, so maybe I'm at the end of the cycle!! as for bad moods, I'm crabby all the time anyway so nobody would ever be able to tell!!! LOL!!!!
I hit the library yesterday looking for different exercise videos & found everything BUT pilates...so I'll keep a lookout, but I did find a book that I think I'll study & see what it alls about...I know that form is the key so I was hoping a video would be a little clearer regarding that, but the book is pretty detailed so I'll give it a shot!! I hope that video you found gives you a good workout, if so, pass on the name!!
I get so excited when I order new stuff!!! a new treadmill sounds awesome, especially since you actually use it & don't just keep it to hang stuff on like I did!! but mine was real old & really required you to dig in to get the rubber moving...not a user friendly item at all...yours sounds nice & I hope it brings you years & years of fun!! I love to go out walking but hate to go alone & my sweetie has really bad emphysema so he has to walk really slow & keep stopping. I don't mind when we're just out together for a stroll, but as a workout it just doesn't do it. that's why I like the videos so much I guess...at least till I get up the nerve to venture out alone!!!
well, so far it's beautiful out so I think I'll try getting out on my bike for a bit.... hope to talk to you soon!!!!!

Hi Gals!! (notice the "s" ;) )

Meanbuji - welcome and nice to see that you did make your way back after all! Happy's right - please don't feel blown off if we don't respond right away - things are getting crazier around here by the minute and I can't be held responsible for the timliness or cohesiveness of my posts! :dizzy:

I think that it's great that you've been doing the walking videos consistantly - it can be so tough to keep it up sometimes - what's keeping you interested and motivated? I have been trying to keep myself interested, but sometimes it's just really inconvenient and it's simply the last thing that I have time to do. As a matter of fact, I said I was testing my "schedule" and by Friday, I was completely exhausted! I am going to need to re-tweak it so that I have a little bit more room to play with. Right now, every night is chocked full of fun things to do, like dishes, laundry, vacuuming, homework, baths, blah, blah, blah... I am trying to not have to do a lot on weekends, as this is the only time that we really have for "family time"; and therefore, every night is full of "stuff". Any suggestions ladies?

Happy - hope that pilates video is good and what an awesome find! It's kinda like going though an old purse and finding money in a pocket somewhere - love it, love it, love it! I can't believe you still have that blister on your foot - you poor thing! Have you tried using that New Skin stuff? I've never used it myself but they say it works like a band-aid but stays on like it's real skin. It's in the bandage section. Maybe this might get you up and going again?

As for my goals this week - I'd say I did excellent on the exercise, above average with the water (still need to drink more though), average with the pop - I'm almost out so this shouldn't be a problem next week unless I get sneeky :s: , and average with the eating - good with the regular food and need to do better with the desserts. I was honest all week and didn't withold anything - even though I wanted to sometimes - butI feel good knowing that I owned up to everything that went into my mouth.

Well, I should go. I don't normally post on weekends but I needed a BIG break from the family - things have been very tense here the last few days - I'll elaborate another time on this. I just needed the time to myself and now I feel a bit better.

Take care ladies and I'll check in later in the week.:)

hey there sassy!!!

as for my my motivation & what keeps me going...me...plain & simple...I felt so much better when I was at my healthier weight, was happier, funnier, more assertive, less afraid...& when I gained the weight I got to the point where I didn't even want to leave the house!!! so I wanna be that person again & not be afraid anymore. I know it sounds stupid that I would let my whole life center around my weight, but I did & I do. I've lost about 20 so far, would really like to lose 30 more but even 20 more would put me back to a great weight, and I feel so much better & so much more in control again...what a great feeling!!!!
for me it's easy to find the time because there's really nobody here cept for me & my sweetie...no small kids going off to school & not alot of mouths to feed...but if I were in your situation what with school & dishes & laundry & all that, I guess I would make time to be with my family for dinner & homework but leave the dishes & laundry & do my exercise. I guess it's just a choice of making it a priority for your own good health & well being. just try to do as much as you can or even do some at lunchtime at work, like taking the stairs more or walking at lunchtime...it's hard, I know, but aren't you worth it?? to be better for your family you have to feel better & healthier first.
oh my god, did I just lecture you??!!!! I didn't mean to, honest!!! I got started & couldn't stop!!!! somebody slap me!!!! LOL!!!!
but seriously, reading what you wrote about the week you just had, I'd say you did pretty darn good!!!!
now try to relax & get some much needed rest!!! take care!!!

Nyah, nyah. Sassy got a lecture! ROFL. MeAnBuji - you fit right in here just fine, so glad you stopped by. Actually you're right. I don't have kids either and it's alot easier to let things skip and make yourself a priority. I think Sassy should get extra points for having to deal with extra complications. :apple: and I should get an extra spanking when I don't put forth the effort because I have no excuses!

Well my foot is STILL a problem. Arghh. It's a blister that's deep in the foot under a thick callous and those take FOREVER to heal and it is.... Very frustrating, I miss my more intensive cardio routines. But! Even tho it is after 10pm, I did finish my homework for my college class tonight so I am going down to put in some quality time on that exercise bike. I may even pop in that new Pilates tape or do a short Limp Away, I mean Walk Away the Pounds. Maybe I'll just be a dancin' machine and wake up the hubby with my pounding.

Tomorrow is work with the trainer day and I am not up to speed yet for a demanding workout. But I will put on a brave face :hyper: :faint:

Catch up with you later...

Ooof duh! What a workout. I can't really do walking right now and even the bike bothers my foot - it was healing and I went and got ambitious too soon and just set myself back. But creative Mr. Trainer said - No problem!

We did leg lifts. For 4 minutes. 4 different kinds of leg lifts. For 3 to 4 minutes each side. When it came time to switch sides my other leg didn't want to do it because it knew what was coming. Then we did crunches, different ones for timed sets rather than counts of reps. Couldn't neglect the arms either could we?:s: He even had me do a posture exercise. One whole hour of using nothing but my tubby body parts for resistance. By the time I was done I was drenched and sore before I even changed into street shoes. But... you know, it felt really really good. I had such a sense of accomplishment all afternoon and into the evening. I'm still happy :D My last couple of workouts have been not so good as I was not up to speed but I feel like I'm over the hump now. Just have to keep pushing...

Now, off to bed for me after a water and a couple of aspirins! Catch you later ladies.

ouch!!! that blister really has to hurt!!!! thank god I don't have 1 of those...I am a picker, you see. I woulda had the callus chopped off by now, & woulda been diggin into that blister with needles already!!!! I know, pretty gross. my sweetie runs from me alot!!! I can't begin to tell you the damage I've done to his back already!!!!!

I just got a nice goodie in the mail!!! I ordered the leslie sansone 4 mile power walk!!!!!!! I have the 2 mile w/florine, who is the ceo of weight watchers or something & now I got the 4 mile!!!! should be a good workout for me!!!!

happy, I'm in awe of all that great stuff you're doing!!! I've been doing leg lifts w/5lb ankle weights & a 10 lb sitting on my thigh before I lift...can't do too many of those but boy, do I feel it!!! then I lift my inner thigh too!! what are some of the other ones that I'm missing??? I've been taking out books galore to find all kinda exercises, but my favorites are lower body cause that's where the big muscles live & you know what THEY can do!!! still not a big crunch girl, but I'm workin on it!!!
you musta been exhausted when you finished!!!!!

sassy, I hope I didn't scare you away!!! like happy said, it sure is easier for us to get these things done, without a house full of kids, so I know how hard it is for you....and I really do think what you've been able to do so far is terrific!!!!

well, gotta go eat my breakfast so I can do my new video!!!!!

have a great day, girls!!!!

Hi gals -

Meanbuji - Noooooooooo!!!! You didn't scare me away, I've just been too busy to get over here! And your "lecture" didn't bother me at all. As a matter of fact, I need those from time to time so keep em up!

Happy - I didn't realize you didn't have kids. I guess I just imagined you as a SUPER SuperWoman! :lol: Sorry that blister of yours is giving you so much trouble but glad to hear that you have a good trainer :s: . You see, he and I have been chatting, and I told him not to go easy on you no matter what you said! Even if you started your little hyperventilating trick! "No problem", he said. "Leave it to me :devil: ".

Well, I start back to work on Tues. 8am -2pm. This gives me time to get the girls from school, run errands and get home at a decent time. Once I start, I will try to get here as often as I can; but my workouts will have to be done in the evenings in order to accomplish everything else on my plate. By the time I get done, I can't guarantee that I'll want to get on the pc :dizzy: . So keep chattin away - I'll catch up and interject when I really feel the 2 o' ya are gangin up on me! Until then.....stay strong and focused!!

OH, btw - dh and I are going to see The Dave Matthews Band this weekend - we are SOOOOO excited! We will actually have a whole day and a half to ourselves - which we desperately need! I'll letcha know how it was! Take care :)

sassy, gang up on you?? NEVER!!! just watching out for your well being...it's fun to nag, ya know!!!???? LOL!!!!
Oh, you'll have a great time seeing dave!!!! isn't he awesome!!!!
well, this is just a quickie for me cause I gotta go make my chocolate sorbet...it's my sweet stuff that I add to my yogurt before I freeze it...a late nite goodie treat!!!!!
happy, how are ya???!!! keeping busy I see!! hope all is well with you...

have a great night buddies!!!!

hi girls (WOMEN!! ;) )

I'm gonna start a new thread so that this one doesn't get sooooo long. I'll call it "Calling all Pilates Users!". Then every time we get to 3 or 4 pages, I'll start another one- k? Hope to see you there!

sounds good to me!!!

I'll be on the lookout for it!!!!!