Hi Anita.

Your concern is valid. I have to be careful to hold the dumbbells properly and not swing them. Elbows bent, arms at 90 degrees, not gripping they dumbbells too tight so they can work my biceps.... lol I've seen women holding them by their tops and just kind of swinging them. I always think, "Her back is going to hurt later. If not already.".

Yeah, it was definitely a good day. Although I appreciate working out at home, I enjoy the outdoors too.

Amanda - sounds like you are kicking butt this week!

My week has been, unfortunately, slack. After Monday's walk and Pilates class, I have done no real work out. I'm coaching hockey, and we have 2 a day practices right now. I've been super busy in between the practices, extra meetings, and other life obligations. It has me pretty exhausted this week, although I know that's not a good excuse.

On a positive note, I know I am burning calories just being out at hockey for so many hours - I run around to move cones, I do push ups with the girls, etc. And eating has been ok.

But I MUST do a dvd or bike ride today and next week... gotta do better!

Happy Friday, Ladies!

Good job Amanda! You are on it!

Well, I did exercise yesterday, just didn't post it - Ab workout, short yoga video, 45 minutes on the elliptical... Today, not so good... I really didn't sleep well last night - was still tossing and turning, wide awake at 1:45, woke up several times after that, finally fell asleep around 3, alarm went off at 6:45 and there was no way I was getting up and exercising...

On the plus side, I did weigh myself and am down 1.8 pounds from last official weigh in two weeks ago... Yay! 130.4!

We have my stepson (3 years old and all boy) this weekend, so I figure that I'll get a decent amount of activity in chasing him around, plus it is always easier to get up and exercise when he wakes us up at 5:00 am - he doesn't have a snooze button!

Have a good weekend everyone!

I just purchased a used stepper and plan to start tonight; I also use DVD's my favorites so far have been "the firm" as I have a small step and weights I use.
But I have to say for me it has been a struggle to get back into a routine; how do you all stay motivated?

Hi nancylmrn -

My exercise room is at the top of the stairs that go downstairs, so I have to look at it every time I go up and downstairs... That helps me a little with the motivation because when I see the equipment sitting there I think about how much money I've spent on it and how I need to get something back!

Visual cues are good for me - my exercise clothes are hanging on the rocking chair in my bedroom rather than in the closet, so I see them when I wake up, the exercise room door wide open at the top of the stairs, that kind of thing.. I also need structure, so I make an effort to work out at about the same time everyday, following the same patterns, even on weekends.

More than anything else I'm motivated by the way the exercise makes me feel. I didn't do anything this morning because I was tired and I've felt worn out and out of sorts all day, more so than I have in the past with just a sleepless night.

Talking about it here and reporting what I'm doing has also helped with the accountability!

Good luck!

Thanks so much for the kind words and encouragement.

Walking, I'd imagine you're burning tons of calories coaching hockey. lol Besides, you've been staying on the ball with the eating, so that's good.

Shannon, Congrats on the loss. I hate nights like those. When it happens to me, I don't exercise the next morning either. You'll get tons of it with a three year old around though.

Hi Nancy Lately I've been motivating myself by setting mini goals. Currently I weigh 216. My goal is 160, so I have 56 pounds to lose. Here are my mini goals:

Eight pounds - I'll be the weight I was when I met my husband.

Thirteen more pounds - Ill be the weight I was when I still felt reasonably attractive.

Fifteen more pounds - I'll be the weight I was when I really liked the way I looked.

Twenty more pounds - I'll be close to my ideal weight.

That's how I've been staying on the ball lately. Eight pounds seems at more doable than fifty-six!

At first, I was motivated just because I wanted to feel better about myself. I wasn't sleeping well, I didn't feel pretty and I was scared to death of ending up with diabetes. Diabetes runs rampant in my family.

Another thing that helps me is, during the week, I eat Lean Cuisine, Smart Ones (by WW) or something like that for lunch and dinner. I have it with a baked potato, salad, piece of fruit or a vegetable. For breakfast I might have scrambled eggs and toast. Or fruit and almonds. Eating that way just makes it easier for me and I get some variety. On the weekends, I'll make a huge salad with some type of meat in it and tons of different veggies. I'll eat that all weekend. Or some type of stir fry. Ironically, eating that way has made me less obsessed with food. I just don't care about it the way I used to. There's probably some sort of psychology that goes along with that, but someone else will have to come along and make an analysis. All I know is that it's working for me.

Amanda- Love the mini goals you've set for yourself! It's amazing how sitting down and putting the goals in writing provides GREAT motivation! I need to update my sig with correct weight and new goals... will do that this weekend.

I just this week decided to stop counting calories for a while and focus on whole foods and moderation. I have been SUPER busy and rather stressed the last couple weeks, and I have been failing to log my calories in dailyplate. I will log half a day, then by evening, I'm so exhausted I often am too tired/lazy/forgetful to log dinner and evening snack. Then I was beating myself up a bit for not being better with this.

My mom gave me this heavy duty awesome juicer last week - an Acme Juicenator - that belonged to my great aunt who is 101. She went into a nursing home in early July (she's quite the inspiration). Anyway, I have always been curious about Dr. Oz's "green drink" - you may have seen him share the recipe with Oprah - so DH and I decided to give the juicer a whirl. I am in LOVE with the green drink. It's a bit of maintenance and $$ to get the ingredients together, but SO WORTH IT! To think that I already had more than 5 serving of high octane, antioxidant, vitamin rich, colorful veggies and fruit by breakfast was so cool. And I actually really, really liked the taste, which was a huge surprise to me (I was expecting it to taste like swamp water). Very citrusy and a tad sweet (from the apple).

So, I am shifting my focus a bit - focus on getting the nutrient rich foods my body needs, staying far away from processed carbs and junk, and getting my exercise in - these are my goals. I think a difference is bound to follow on the scale.

Anyway, all I managed yesterday was a 20 min workout, but it was tough - level 2 of 30 day shred. DH agreed to walk or bike with me today, and we are getting ready to make the green drink again.

I also need to add that another top goal for next week MUST be more sleep... I can't run on empty!

Have a healthy day, girls!

Hello everyone - sorry I haven't been posting - I've been on early shifts (7 - 3) for which I have to get up at 4.30 am and I am very, very tired. I put my darling baby (age 21) back on the train to London this morning for the next academic year and am feeling sad. I think I'll have an early night then head down to the beach early tomorrow for some fresh air and gentle jogging. I know it makes me feel better in so many ways! Weight loss is still good - 2.6 pounds this week so I'm pleased with that.

Claire - I am curious as to what you put in your juice drink? I too would be scared of "swamp" flavour - I'm glad you enjoyed it!

Amanda - I like your mini goals - I'm going to have a think of some while I'm sitting here resting.

Shannon - I agree with you about exercise being invigorating. I'm looking forward to jogging tomorrow - I hope it's cool and bright with a good breeze - lovely!

Nancy - How did you get on with the stepping? It's my favourite indoor exercise.

Be good everyone!
Look I now have a ticker!!!

Mini goals:

163.9 - I will be overweight instead of obese!!!!!
144.0 - The lowest I have been in the last 20 years
142.0 - The weight I was when I married my husband
135.9 - I will be officially "normal"!!!

Hmmm - need to think of something between the first two...

Oh wow! I'm happy and humbled that I could inspire others by something I'm doing. I'm glad you all like the mini goal idea. I hope it helps you guys too. I think I'll add mine to my signature as well.

Walking - I hate counting calories. I know what you mean about just wanting to focus on eating well. I do try to be mindful of fat and calories though. That's about the extent of it.
Keep us updated on the "green drink" and get some rest!

Puff - I'm sorry the baby is gone. Will she come home for Thanksgiving? It must make you proud to have a daughter in college though.
I so jealous of you! I want to run too. What's stopping me? Just me, I guess... I really need to just commit to doing it. I'll have to start off with walking / jogging increments. I used to run in high school for the heck of it. I was like Forest Gump. lol Sometimes I'd feel like running, so I'd just do it. It was the best feeling in the world, and I miss it.

Today I completed my Cardio Callanetics video. Oh boy, did the abs part kill me! I like it though. My back always feels good afterwards. I may need to get in a bit more cardio today though. Maybe a short power walk.

Well, have a great weekend everyone. I'll check in later.

Amanda - When I say jogging methinks I exaggerate somewhat! You mention walk/jog increments - that's exactly what I do. I built up to 10 minute jog sections the last time I did it but eventually my knees gave up. This time I'm sticking to jogging on sand (mostly) to see if that helps. I have lost a lot of fitness in the 12 months while I have been mostly doing nothing but I am starting to build up my activity again so that's good.

No -my baby won't be home now till Christmas but I'll go down and visit her once or twice in between - can't wait!

Sending good vibes to all!

Puffin and Amanda - that's exactly what I do! I call it "wogging" (walk/jog)

DH and I just went to the local park and did and hour of very brisk walking for the first 30 minutes and then 30 minutes of wogging. Great workout -- the hills really got me sweating!

I'm going to give some more thought to the goals - I am liking the idea!

Also, Shannon - I love visual cues too - when I have my favorite work out shorts clean and folded on top of my dresser, I do think I'm more likely to put them on and get going!

I'll post the link to the green drink.

Hello All! i made it up this morning, did 36 minutes on the exercise bike and my trusty ad & back video... Since then I feel like I've been up and down the stairs fifty times! The joy of the two story house and the three year old!

I like mini-goals too... I'm close to my goal weight but nowhere near my goal for body fat or protein in my diet... I'm going to work on some mini-goals around those... Thanks Amanda!

Puffin & Amanda - I've not even made it up to the "wogging"... I have this vision of going to the pretty new park near my house and drive by it every day without stopping... I have this fear of people looking at me that goes back to childhood when a teacher told me I looked stupid when I ran because my arms flapped around crazy... I'm jealous of the beach to run on Puffin, hope it is pretty for you!

Walkin - the walk at the park sounds great! My DH is currently in a "food is my enemy and I don't have time to exercise" place - trying to cajole him out of it...

Have a good rest of the weekend everyone!

Puff - Ten minute increments is pretty darn impressive. A few months ago, I loosely followed the Couch to 5K program. I think I got up to about 3 minutes. I hope your knees are better to you this time.

Walking - Oh wogging....
I guess I'll start wogging next week then.

Aww Shannon... I'm sorry. Some people should never be allowed to work with children.

I tweaked my mini goals. 155 is the heavy end of my ideal weight. Once I get there, I'm sure I'll be motivated to lose a little more, but that's my goal for right now.

Had a happy beach wog (thanks Claire!) today! This week I'm doing 10 reps of jog 1/walk 1 minute. Found it quite easy today so that's good! I'm going to stick to that for this week and then maybe add a few seconds to the jogs next week. Hope you enjoy your wogging this week Amanda and Claire!
Well done on the bike AND video Shannon - sounds like a LOT to me!
Claire - I am very glad the beach has no hills - but I did notice that it appears to be slightly uphill in both direction - very odd....