Welcome to the new thread! Hope to see y'all around this week!

I'll get the ball rolling!
First, my apologies to Marvin for not checking in on Friday -- things got hectic, and I was out of the office before I knew it! Crazy day! Also, I'll write down the mango salsa recipe + post it tomorrow.

Update: didn't exercise this weekend , but did a lot of housework w/DH, which was productive. Back on track today: went to the gym for 30 mins on the bike this morning. I'm hoping to improve upon my bad record of last week, and hope that social obligations don't pop out from the underbrush to derail me this time! I drank on too many days last week, and saw my weight temporarily shoot up 5 POUNDS over the weekend as a result! Back to normal today, but if anything's a reminder that going out isn't good for my fitness plan, that was it!!
This week, I'm going to try to get to the gym in the morning 4x. For evening workouts, I'm not sure, but will stick to my "loose" schedule + pick out what I'm in the mood for -- aiming for 3 evening weight-training workouts.

A new week, bringing a fresh start on fitness! Happy Monday, all!

Whew! Am I glad that weekend is over! Talk about emotional eating! I just couldn't keep that food out of my mouth yesterday.... no particular reason, just grazing constantly...

Anyway, Copperblu, I am too trying to drag myself out of last week's slump. It seems like I'm not the only one around here that is losing momentum. It happens, I guess, and all we can do is re-commit over and over. (sigh) Sounds like marriage, doesn't it?

Anyway, my schedule isn't changing any either. Curves everyday, and maybe some morning swimming if my body feels up to getting up that early!

OUCH! About the five pounds, Copperblu! It really drives home the problem with all those yummy drinks, doesn't it? Thankfully, I don't have a lot of social obligations (read: no life ), so I don't have to worry about it too much!

Anyway, here's to both of us being back on track this week! And to welcoming back the missing bunch, as well as some new lurkers!

PS ~ I'll let you know what damage last week did tomorrow! Weigh in tonight!

MarvinTM: My problem this week wasn't how often I was eating...it was WHAT I was eating!! Boy did I put some junk in my mouth! I went along too easily w/DH's suggestions for eating, and resisted his efforts to get to the gym too much! I should have reversed my reactions!
Those 5 pounds -- woo! I know it was water retention, etc., but it lasted for more than 24 hours, and I felt puffy all weekend. That's what I get for going out with friends on Wed., going to a goodbye party on Thurs., and stopping by DH's work on Fri. (all a bunch of young guys, who go get a drink after work on Fri.). Too much! It's not that I'm such a social butterfly , it's just that I keep finding myself getting caught up in post-work get-togethers, which is one of the hazards of this darn job!


The fitness path IS just like marriage. Every day is a new day, and you can't take your health for granted. You have to start over every day, and "apologize" (get back on track) if you screw up and don't treat your body with respect + love.

Anyways, babbling! Hope you're having a good Monday, and good luck to everyone for a good start to the week!

I used to post on this board under another topic and then I "fell off the wagon". I am trying to get back on my WW program and most of all, get some exercize everyday. I was wondering if I could joint your topic?

Stamper:

We'd LOVE to have you! Lurkers + newcomers are always welcome! It's hard to stay "on the wagon" each and every day, and I find this thread very helpful. Here I find motivation, inspiration, fellowship + support that helps me stay on track, and get back up when I've fallen down. Welcome to the thread!

My update:
*Last night I tried the LivingArts Pilates Beginning Matwork tape, and really enjoyed it. Sometimes I felt like a wimp doing the easier version of an exercise, but I think it's better to build up to doing the full version with correct form. I'd heard that the editing was bad, and you couldn't see the exercises very well, but I didn't find that to be the case at all. The instructor was personable, and explained things in a very practical manner, so that I could understand how I should be holding my body. It's "easier" in the beginning, because you don't yet have the form down, so you're not doing Pilates to its full effect -- but I look forward to making it harder on myself! Anyway, definitely a great beginner Pilates tape, and I recommend it.
*Had a yummy Asian noodle/lobster salad (from the Golden Door cookbook) + steamed veggies for dinner, and felt very virtuous. Hopefully it makes up for the Chinese food (!) that I ate for lunch at our publicity mailing yesterday. I did ask for extra veggies + brown rice instead of white, so I made it a slightly lesser evil, which is what these choices are all about.

Today: got up early (groan!) and made it to the gym again! I've worked up to a full 30 minutes regularly instead of 25, which makes me happy. Tonight I'm going to try to fit in either Firm, Parts: Upper Body or Karen Voight's Your Personal Best, depending on how much time/energy I have at the end of the day. Hope everyone's doing well!

P.S. Marvin: of course, I forgot the mango salsa recipe at home! Duh!

Stamper! Welcome! We are so thrilled to have you here... (OK, I sound a little too eager, don't I! ) Anyway, like Copperblu, I find this thread to be really helpful with support, and ideas, and so much more!

Copperblu WTG on the lesser evil! I know that I have a big problem with doing that when I eat out. I try though, and that's what counts. Also, it sound like the Pilates thing is going to be a great workout, so, keep us posted on your progress with it.... And congrats on the upgrading to 30 minutes! Those small steps really add up over time! Think about it.... that's an extra 25 minutes over the week, right?

As for me, I did ok yesterday. Weighin stayed the same, so I'm about that. I did sort of expect a gain, so.... Eating was good, I had a great (albeit sweaty) workout at Curves, and then I had a good productive evening at home with dh. I'm well aware that with the farmers getting out in the fields more and more this month, my time with dh is going to be limited. (He's an ag mechanic, and works long hours during seeding (now), haying (June), and harvest (September) with the months between not too shabby on overtime either)

We are going on our annual camping trip to the mountains the third week in June, and I'm really looking forward to getting away..... I will miss this board though and Curves too!

Yak, yak, yak, can't I shut up? Gotta go work now!

Marvin and Copperblu: Thanks for the welcome note! I've had a pretty good week as far as food goes, but exercize has been so-so.

I like to do yoga (I used to go to a class at work but it isn't offered anymore) and I like to walk and swim. I belong to the YMCA and can swim there all year round (when I make myself go!) and we have a pool in our backyard. I was actually in it on Friday! It was about 90 here in Pennsylvania that day and the pool water was 76 degrees so I was in for an hour swimming and doing water aerobics. I used to enjoy doing step aerobics too, but I have a problem with knee that acts up now and then. I think if I get some of my weight off it won't be so hard on my knees though.

Well, this week besides the swimming last Friday, I just got out for walks twice. I didn't get in any exercize today.

The best time for me to exercize would be first thing in the morning. For those who get up and exercize in the a.m., how do you make yourself do it? I have such a hard time getting up when I know I don't need to get up that early to get to work.

Stamper: How I envy you your pool! That sounds soooo nice! And I think you're taking a good approach to your knee trouble -- swimming is a really good exercise for those w/knee problems (as Marvin can attest!), and it will be a little easier when your joints have less weight to bear. I'd also suggest careful strength training to strengthen the muscles that support the knee.

About getting up early -- I am NOT a morning person, believe me. To make myself get up, I reasoned that the 40 minutes I was getting between DH's alarm and mine were a)not really that helpful, since I'd already been woken up by the first alarm and b) not really 40 minutes, since DH has a bad habit of hitting snooze several times before getting up (grr!), and so it's not truly a blissful 40 minutes of extra sleep. I get up at 6:30 and am out of the house by 7. By the time I get to the gym, I'm pretty awake. The most helpful thing I've found is to set out my workout clothes the night before, pick out my work clothes to take w/me, get my lunch + everything else together -- that way I'm good to go as soon as I roll out of bed, and I don't have any excuses. Also, I don't think about it before I get out of bed -- I just roll out as soon as the alarm goes off. If I hesitate, all is lost! I'll start thinking about how tired I am, and how much I just want to stay in bed, and is it really so bad if I miss a workout? and so on and so on, and then I've talked myself out of it. Not really on the topic of waking up, but as for morning workouts, I've also found that it is imperative for me to have something small to eat before exercising, otherwise I get unnaturally tired + a little lightheaded. Also, it takes a while for your body to adjust. The first few weeks, you'll be SO TIRED during the day, especially at the end. Luckily, I had Marvin to tell me that this was normal + would pass, or I might have given up right then -- even DH was trying to convince me to quit, worried because I looked so deathly exhausted when he got home! But I've mostly adjusted now, and it's definitely worth it, because now I almost always get my workout in in the morning, and so can't be derailed by stuff coming up during the day -- I try to get in a night workout too, but if I miss it, I know at least I've had some exercise that day already. Also, I feel great right after working out, and it's a wonderful way to go into my day.

Now this post is SO LONG, I'm going to have to break my chatter up into 2 posts!

ITA with you, Copperblu! I have a terrible time getting up in the morning, and I just KNOW that if I could just roll out of bed without thinking about it first, it would be much easier! I have a confession though! I am one of those snoozers! It drives dh batty every morning, as he is the type that can turn the alarm off, and lay there for a few minutes, stretch and get up! He almost never falls asleep again, which drives ME batty! I'm going to try to go swimming tomorrow morning, so wish me luck!

Stamper, oh how I wish I had a pool at my house! The farm down the road went up for sale a couple months ago, and it has a small indoor salt pool, but alas, it's $415,000!!! We're going to be building a house on the land we're on now, and we could put in our own pool for less than that! Anyway, I like to think that I would use a pool daily if it was right there, but I know that there's a difference between what I think, and what I'd actually do!

For your knee, the best thing to do is listen to it. If it aches at all, back off! And Copperblu's suggestion to strengthen the supporting muscles is bang on! And the swimming is great for your knees (legs) too, since it's non-impact.

Had another good (sweaty!) workout at Curves yesterday and a delicious supper (lean ham steak, baked potato with ff sour cream, and corn on the cob! Yum!) I even had one of my MIL's yummy coconut cookies and stayed within my dietary goals!

Today should be as good, and I'm looking forward to it. This whole week has been really busy at work with all sorts of meetings, but the upside is that the week is flying by! I'm off on Friday, so it's nice that we're already into Wednesday!

Have a great day!

Second post!

Hi Marvin!
Sounds like you had a great day yesterday! Your dinner sounds so yummy!! My mouth is watering! And kudos for getting to Curves!! That's 2 in a row! I'm glad to hear about your good weigh-in -- it's always nice to find out that you stayed the same when you were expecting a setback! Every step that isn't backwards is a step forward!
Also, good luck on your morning swim tomorrow!

When I'm not getting up for the gym, I'm a Snoozer too -- it's just that normally DH's alarm goes off well before mine, and he'll snooze button all the way to my alarm! So I'm getting woken up every 7 minutes for 40 minutes! I HATE that! Luckily, I wake up before he does now, so it's not an issue anymore! And yeah, I've found that I can't even give myself a second before getting out of bed, or I won't do it! Roll right out before I even know what's going on!

My update: Did Firm Parts Upper Body last night, yay! Had chicken curry w/brown rice for dinner, added extra veggies + used a lowfat sauce. Very yummy. I also previewed Minna Lessig's "Strength + Grace", which I got from a video exchange for cheap -- looks really fun! Might try it later this week.

This morning I did 30 minutes on the bike at the gym again -- which makes it 3x this week! Huzzah! I'll be having leftover pizza for lunch though, so I better have done my workout!

Tonight I'm thinking I'll do Firm Parts Lower Body, since I feel like my butt's getting mushy! I like doing all the cardio, but I'm not doing as much weight-training as before, and I'm worried I'm getting flabby under that fat! Now that I've got the gym routine down, it's probably time to start working back up to my previous weight-training routine, so that I can build muscle, not lose it!

Hope everyone's having a good week thus far, and here's to the new day!

Today's post:

Did do Firm Lower Body last night, even though I did NOT want to do it. It was HARD, but I felt better afterwards. Had unhealthy leftovers, but not terrible.

Today: didn't go to the gym this morning. I just could NOT do it. DH got home superlate last night, woke me up, + kept me awake working. So I just wanted to die this morning, and had to sleep in before I burst into little exhausted tears. S'okay. Will hopefully go tomorrow. Tonight I'm not sure what workout I'm going to do, so am keeping my options open. Probably either a Pilates/yoga tape or a cardio tape.

Heading in towards the weekend! Yay!

Okay! So, I ALMOST made it to the pool this morning! But, I wasn't fast enough, and I managed to talk myself into "a little more" sleep! Oh well, I will go to Curves this afternoon, and no guilt... Will be doing a bunch of gardening this weekend (hopefully!) so I'm set.

I am off work tomorrow, so no check in for me... have a great weekend! I'll see ya on Monday!

Well - I just have time for a quick post so I can go watch ER. I feel really dumb - I was so ready to get up and exercize today and had my alarm (the radio) set for 5:45 - but I slept right through it! I ended up getting up by 6:30, which isn't enough time to exercize before work. However, it was warm enough to swim tonight so I swam and worked out in the pool for about 45 minutes. It should be nice enough tomorrow night too and I am going to go to a Yoga class on Saturday morning. If I don't get to post Friday, I hope you all have a good weekend!