Woohoo! New thread. The old one was getting satisfyingly long! It's really nice to see so many people posting and some new folks. But where are our vets???

I managed to wake up up slightly early this morning- the cat had deserted my feet and I was cold. Did a full elliptical session. I've totally committed to a goal of getting 7 pounds off by April. Then I can get back (and look good in) the same clothes I started this job in a year ago. I think December accounted for 4 of those pounds I still find it amazing that what used to seem like an insignificant amount of weight is so noticeable and uncomfortable now. 7 years Ago I would have laughed at moaning about 7-8 pounds. So beware, any of you who just rolled your eyes!

Food packed- off to work.

Mel

I'm right there with you with seven pounds off by April.

Back from the gym - - chest and elliptical today. Two years after surgery, I'm finally able to do incline presses with a BB! The gym is still ridiculously crowded, even at 5:30 am. Fortunately, it doesn't spill over into the weight room but it's tough to grab an elliptical.

Meals planned, food prepped, exercise done.

Oh, you know, in the usual place when you're just getting up: starting the soup course! Chicken. Also huge salad. And a big pot of tea.

I bought a new set of scales yesterday. Satisfyingly, I'm one or two pounds lower on them.

Thank you for the warm welcome.

Meg: I am in the North Hills. Go to a 24 hour gym there. Meet with my trainer about 1 to 2 times per week. He is very helpful. Try to get to the gym everyday and work for about 1 hour or so. Kind of limited in the cardio I can do. Have been using an arm ergonomiter??? since I can't really do a lot of weight bearing at the present time. Have been doctoring with a massive case of plantar fasciitis and tarsal tunnel syndrome for about 13 months now. Just starting to settle down now and I really am taking the weight bearing slowly. Don't want to aggravate my feet at all. That pain is unbearable. Anyway, thanks for the welcome and hopefully I will be able to change the shape of my body this year. Still in the honeymoon stage of strength training but hopefully it will keep going for me. I really can't believe that in just three weeks I can see and feel a difference. Who knew?? I have tried this before but probably not committed enough and didn't see a change. Thanks again for the kind words. I will look back through your old posts and site to see if I can get some great tips for a newbie. Any help that you can pass along would be greatly appreciated.

Bored with the same old workout, ladies? Aphil, one of our 3FC mods, discovered a new routine for us to try: The Goddess Workout.

Don't forget to take your boa to the gym tomorrow!

Meg, and high heels!

I'm still sore from my workout the other day. Yesterday I could barely walk but today is better

That link didn't work for me Meg but I think I will bring my boa to the gym. I've always thought that the problem with my workouts is that I didn't look fabulous enough. Perhaps I'll wear lipstick also.

I'm still doing Phase 1 of the NRLW and will be heading off to the gym in a few minutes. This first workout has us do squats one day and deadlifts on the other, rather than supersetting to two together (which is what I've been doing). Just doing one makes me feel a bit lazy so I'm thinking about doing them together again. Half the time I only manage to do weights twice a week, and only squatting and deadlifting once a week really doesn't feel like enough...Tricky.

ETA: Actually, it looks as though the link is fine but YouTube is down. I'll try again after the gym.

Mornin' ladies, although it is almost noon here. Well, I thought I was tough as nails and immune to everything lately, but a cold has taken hold. I should have known--my mom has had one the last two weeks and though my visits with her were quick, I'm sure that's where I was exposed to the nasty little thing.

I'm not too sick though. Just that little niggling feeling, you know the fuzzyheaded feeling where you feel pressure in your ears and a tickle in your throat and maybe a little runny nose on occasion. Where it's most noticeable is that I feel a little weak and tired.

But still, I went to the gym. IMO if I'm not hacking up a lung, why should I let a little cold stop me. My trainer, of course said I should have stayed home and rested, but I actually feel like a) it was good to sweat and b) it was a good workout. I'm constantly working on my ability to push through.

No weight change last week and a half. TOM and who knows. Low carbs and okay calories (though maybe too few). If it's because they're too few, well that kinda ticks me off, you know. Do I HAVE to eat more? I mean yesterday, egg whites (w/salsa and oz of cheddar), blueberries, apple, peanut butter, fish, salad, and soup for the day and the scale doesn't move? Come on, that's HEALTHY. Ack, makes me resent my body....

But not for long. Training today helped me see how strong I'm getting. Am pleased by that....

How are you all? HEALTHY?

I just watched that goddess video. How funny. Is that really supposed to count as a workout? I'm guessing you could burn, oh, 12 calories if you did that for 30 minutes.

But I am going to start working out in high heels. It just makes sense. Like running with weights.

baffled,

Running with weights while wearing heels

That is a short part of the video, the person who posted that also posted other parts which are similar to belly dancing moves (kind of)

JG, your trainer told you to stay home cuz he doesn't want your little friend the cold, either!

I have an interesting tale about how not planning to take care of YOURSELF first thing leads to a day of chaos. Yesterday, dd2 woke up with a tickly tummy and wanted to wait out the morning a bit before committing to school to see if it was a one time thing or more than that. So we put dd1 on the bus and took dd2 in about an hour later - luckily it was a passing distress. While I'm signing dd2 in, dd1 is around the corner in the nurse's office, and the nurse comes out to see me to let me know she has my other one in there! I get dd2 settled in her KG class, come back to the nurse and dd1 decides she better come home with me as she is dizzy and needs to lie down (which is what she was doing in the nurse's room). So I take her back. OK, finally get back to doing some WORK at home around 10:30'ish. PHone rings at 1:30. Yep, now dd2 isn't feeling well, slight fever, achey. Blah blah blah. BACK to school to get dd2. In between this, yes, I am actually having to be on conference calls, doing email and doing some big project work. I finally shut down the computer at 7 pm, exhausted. They were fed, but I didn't eat well - always something they needed in between my calls, just like one big giant firedrill. I'm not blaming them at all. It's the choice I made to not get the workout done before the day officially started that's to blame. You NEVER KNOW when you will have a day like this, and they are more common than one would think. Thus, the need to get yourself taken care of first, before the little ones wake up. You are just not in control of your day after that point b/w them and work demands.

End of the PSA! But hey, I am still well, even though they are not, so I'm ramping up the cardio (which I DID do this morning, I learned!) in hopes of driving out any little critters that think I'd play a nice host.

Huh? What! Did someone say something...? Actually I'm just waking up from a four day self induced coma from Vicodin. I had my bilateral knee arthroscopic surgery done last Wednesday. How many different ways can we say ouch. Actually, it wasn't too bad. The first day was the worst and DH made me take the pain meds. I hate taking anything and this stuff was really intense. I could feel the muscles in my face slide down to my ankles. It's all out of my system now and I'm finally walking around without crutches. Each day my range of motion in the knees is getting much better although it is still just a little too stiff to entertain the idea of cycling at the gym. Maybe nex week.

As a result of this surgery I learned that I also had arthritis under my kneecaps which they "removed". Actually, they found it in several places and graded it as level 2 to level 4 Bottom line, stop running sister if you don't want a total knee replacement in ten years or less. The reality is that my running was only a tenth of what I did to remain fit but boy it was a 90 percent blow to my ego. Squats I can still do as long as I don't go lower than 90 degrees. I really hope that this is true. It will be too much for me to have to work around if I cant do BB squats in addition to being barred from running. Right now I can barely squat to sit down on the couch but hopefully I'll get there.

Anyway, about those seven pounds in April. Yep, me too. I've gained exactly seven since last October when all of this kind of snowballed for me and my workouts became less frequent/intense. It's "only" seven pounds but psychologically it feels like forty. I keep looking in the mirror to see if it shows on my face or anywhere else. I still look like me but I know that I'm up a dress size and I don't like it. I've become too comfortable in my sweat pants during the last four days while sleeping off this surgery and the idea of putting on jeans freaks me out. This is how those pounds start, it's a slippery slope and now I must drag out those jeans put them on and stop feeling sorry for myself. Clean up the eating, drink the water, and go back to lifting upper body next week. Maybe light cardio by next weekend.

Fran: I hope your dds are feeling much better soon. Wow, try not to let their bugs get to you too. Although I think by this time parents are usually immune to anything that could follow our kids home.

JG: Are you feeling better with your cold too? I've heard that these workouts are suppose to reinforce our immune system against these things but I still find myself getting sick too. Sometimes I get a workout in sometimes I don't. If there is a fever involved obviously, my vote is for the bed and the shades drawn.

Hope you are all staying warm out there. It's sooo cold here I'm actually thinking of puttting on another layer of sweats....uh I mean jeans....right. Oh, and Silverbirch, I'm putting the kettle on for tea here too. Brrrrr.

I'm holding the cold at bay. You know, it's behind the door and I'm holding the door closed by leaning against it in a squat position ; )

Yeah, don't want to give it to my trainer, but he may have given it to me, LOL.

Interesting point he made that working out lowers your immunity during the time of exercise!

Can I just say though that I have chills (and they're multiplying--Grease reference). That's the most annoying part of the cold. I'm going off program and going to have a cup of hot cocoa because I want it!

Wow, sounds like a fever JG. You moved up in the triage levels. I've never heard that about working out lowering your immunity at any time. I thought the higher the body temp, all good all the time, so to speak. Like a fever without the pain!