May was not a success.

...But I have no one to blame but myself.

I gave up on the Cardio-Abs Challenge for May around the 16th. Halfway. Yuck.

I have no one to blame but myself. I keep saying that, and it sounds so real, but I don't feel the same as if someone else said it to me.

I just didn't make the time.... the three minutes a day.... to do this. The time it takes to get dressed; the time it takes to brush my teeth; the time it takes to put on my shoes and get my car keys. Wow.

I'm a lazy chub-a-lub. Wow. Well, here's to a new month coming up. Starting June 1st, I'm going to do my own challenge. Something I feel will be better in my range. I have no fancy name for it, and no real structure, just guidelines.

• Get in 30 minutes a day of some form of exercise
• This can be: cardio (walking/running), weights (Biggest Loser Workouts), yoga, or a combo of any of these.
• Eat 4 servings of veggies every day
• Eat AT LEAST 2 servings of fruits every day
• (This is because I'm not crazy about fruits, so I will do a minimum of 2 but try for 4)
• I will not beat myself up over a missed workout, but I will make up for it. If I miss a day and can't make up the full half hour, then I put an extra 15 minutes for two days, and so on.

I have a goal of 20 pounds, that's 5 pounds a week. Do-able. If I cut out all the extras I've been unwilling to give up... like soda, sugary juices, snacks, etc.

I don't want to rely on my gym buddies to get motivation to go to the gym. Zumba on Sundays is a given, but during the week I tend not to go to a class unless one of the girlfriends is there. Why? Because I'll feel dumb not really knowing what the class is about. NO MORE! I am going to try one new class every week. Something I haven't done before, like a cardio kick class, or a 20-20-20 class, something that will not only get me moving, but give my body a chance to mix it up!

There it is. I'm also going to give up the Saturday Night Wrap-Up and go for a once weekly round-up but not on a specific day. With my school schedule being as crazy as it is at the moment, scheduled things are harder and harder to maintain. I'm still planning on holding myself accountable, just not on Saturday nights. :)

I feel better. Thanks for listening. :)

S-A-TUR-DAY- NIGHT! [Wrap up] - 2 Weeks

Fitness for the week (5/5-5/11):

Sunday - Couch to 5k, Week 5 Day 1 (repeat week)

(29min, Max HR 182, Avg HR 147, 162 Cal Burned, 6.2g Fat Burned)

Monday - Nada

Tuesday - Dance Fusion

(50min, Max HR 181, Avg HR 140, 253 Cal Burned, 10.2g Fat Burned)

Wednesday - Couch to 5k, Week 5 Day 2 (repeat week)

(35min, Max HR 190, Avg HR 151, 203 Cal Burned, 7.1g Fat Burned)

Thursday - 45 min walk with my cousin

(45 min, Max HR 155, Avg HR 106, 115 Cal Burned, 7g Fat Burned)

Friday - Yoga @ the Gym, without HR monitor

Saturday - Nada

Weekly Non-Scale Victory:

I don't have a non-scale victory for these last two weeks. If anything I feel as if I've failed to maintain what I thought was a pretty decent run of fitness each week. Any last week I didn't even do my wrap up.... UGH! I partly blame school, but that has really been my only reasoning why I've fallen behind. :-\

Fitness for the week (5/12-5/18):

Sunday - Zumba!
(55 min, Max HR 194, Avg HR 163, 437 Cal Burned, 13.3g Fat Burned)

Monday - Nada

Tuesday - I don't remember! But there is two
entries on my HR monitor for this day..
(22 min, Max HR 172, Avg HR 139, 111 Cal Burned, 5.1g Fat Burned)
&
(15 min, Max HR 164, Avg HR 134, 58 Cal Burned, 3.1g Fat Burned)

Wednesday - Nada

Thursday - Zumba with Lili
(55 min, Max HR 170, Avg HR 141, 292 Cal Burned, 13.6g Fat Burned)

Friday - Nada

Saturday - Nada

I feel like such a slacker! This new Anatomy & Physiology class is extremely demanding (we've only had 4 classes so far and we've had to read 7 chapters!) but I still feel like a couch potato!

This week I have a root canal coming up tomorrow (Monday) so I know there won't be exercise on my schedule for that day or Tuesday I bet (as on Tuesday I have a big test for A&P!)

But here is what I'm seeing....

Fitness Plans for the Week (5/19-5/25):

Sunday - Zumba with Johnny!

Monday - Nada (Root Canal...) :-\

Tuesday - Maybe yoga? Or spend a few hours at my mother-in-law's pool..

Wednesday - Dance Fusion with Missy

Thursday - Zumba with Lili

Friday - Weight Training

Saturday - Free Running (meaning no Couch to 5K Program)

/SIGH.

We'll see.

I think my biggest obstacle is I'm trying to do all these different

programs, the Couch to 5K, the Biggest Loser Weight Circuit,

the 30-day Cardio Abs Challenge (which, BTW, I gave up

on, like, last Monday...). And so I feel stressed whenever I

miss a day. So, I think until this Anatomy & Physiology class

is over (which will be on June 19), I'm just going to try and

make it to classes at the gym, and do some "free running"

and "free weight training" where there is no real "Day 1,

Day 2, Day 3...." program I'm following. That will make my

life just a tad bit easier to follow! :)

Happy Fitness Everyone!

Cardio-Abs Challenge Check-In, Week 1

Hey fitness fanatics!

Remember Debbie Reichert??

Remember my 31 Day Cardio-Abs Challenge I joined?

Well, it's time to check in with week 1 completed!

I have been keeping track on my wallpaper, it's way easier and greener than having a printout!

Let's take a look-see:

So, I have some opportunities to improve on. I missed Saturday but did Saturday's routine on Sunday. I have no excuse for missing yesterday, but I may try to make up the circuit sometime later in the month. I am proud that I am not BS-ing you, and ashamed that I have not been able to complete each day 100%, but I'm not letting that hold me back. I will give it my all for the rest of the month. It's super easy to look at my failure and just give up, but it's taking some serious guts [and muscle!] to keep going.

Some issues I am having are that I cannot do a full plank, so I have been doing a plank on my knees. I have hopes that by the end of the month I can do a full-length plank successfully!

I also have been having sore shoulders from the mountain climbers and plank jacks, but I am RICE-ing them and feel the soreness less and less each day. I do stretch BEFORE and AFTER the circuits, so I know I'm not doing these on cold muscles.

Some awesome news?!? Last week on Day 1 I did take measurements, because I wanted to see how much one month could make a difference!

Day 1 (5/1):

Arms [biceps]: 13.75"

Waist [natural waist]: 38.5"

Tummy [right below my bellybutton, where my pants usually sit]: 46"

Thighs: 25"

Day 7 (5/8):

Arms: 13.5"

Waist: 38"

Tummy: 45"

Thighs: 24.5"

WOW! I have lost a total of 2.25"!!! In one week!!

YAY ME!

Thanks Debbie! Can't wait to keep going!

S-A-TUR-DAY - NIGHT! [Wrap up]

Fitness for the week:

Sunday - Zumba!

(1HR, Max HR 183, Avg HR 147, 361 Cal Burned, 14.8g Fat Burned)

Monday - Nothing :(

Tuesday - Nothing :(

Wednesday - Day 1 Cardio-Abs Challenge

Thursday - Day 2 Cardio-Abs Challenge
Biggest Loser Intermediate Workout #3

Friday - Day 3 Cardio-Abs Challenge

Saturday - Nada :(
I skipped Day 4 of the Cardio-Abs Challenge & will do it tomorrow instead of the rest day

It was a tough week for me. I think this is the first week in a month or maybe month and a half that I have not run AT ALL. I am disappointed in myself, because I had no true motivation to get out there. I just felt..... blah. Ever get those weeks?

I also had a disappointing day yesterday (Friday). One of my bosses/buddies at work was going to give me her old treadmill. Free of charge. I was totally appreciative, and super excited because I knew maybe I could get the hubby to start his own personal journey....

She called me up as John headed towards her house.... her boyfriend and her father dropped in as they were unloading it from his truck so John could take it. Yup. FAIL. I was disappointed and frustrated, but I couldn't get mad at her or her boyfriend... it's not like it happened on purpose. So, I'm going to just keep trying, maybe one day I'll strike it good with a treadmill so the hubby can work out at home.

Weekly Non-Scale Victory:

Last Sunday I bought size 16 pants! Not just any 16 though... OLD NAVY size 16's! (so it's like they are 14's because Old Navy sizes always run small to me lol)
It's true! I am now smaller than I was in high school ten years ago!
YAY!

Fitness Plan for the Week:

This week I have big plans for myself! I'm going to start running again!

NO EXCUSES!

BUCK UP LITTLE MISSY!

POOP OR GET OFF THE POT!

YOU CAN'T RUN YOUR FIRST 5K WITHOUT TRAINING FOR IT!

STOP BEING A COUCH POTATO!

Sorry... just getting myself pumped up!

Sunday - Resetting the clocks a little bit.... Couch to 5k Week 5 Day 1
Day 5 Cardio-Abs Challenge (Today shoulda been a rest day but I skipped yesterday)

Monday - Biggest Loser Intermediate #1
Day 6 Cardio-Abs Challenge

Tuesday - Couch to 5k Week 5 Day 2
Day 7 Cardio-Abs Challenge

Wednesday - [Rest]
Day 8 Cardio-Abs Challenge

Thursday - Couch to 5k Week 5 Day 3
Day 9 Cardio-Abs Challenge

Friday - Biggest Loser Intermediate #2
Day 10 Cardio-Abs Challenge

Saturday - [Rest]
Day 11 Cardio-Abs Challenge




I am taking two rest days so not to overload myself. I do count them as rest even though I'm still doing the challenge because the challenge takes all of 5 minutes out of my day to do it, and I like the burning feeling in my gut the next day because I feel the burn!!

May Flowers

Hello! It is now May, can you believe how time is flying?? I have been a busy bee even without working full time. I have gone back to believing that my thumbs are indeed, NOT black, and that I can provide a simple plant with food, water, and sunlight in order to keep it alive. I have decided that in order to do this, I need plants. LOTS of plants!

So, you may remember the three original members of my green family, you can refresh your memory here.

Well, I've since added a few!

Let's get the ball rolling!

This is one of the originals, but in a bigger pot. I noticed the browning

of the leaves and no wonder! His little roots were stretched to the max in there!

Now he's got room to grow!

Same thing with this little guy, he needed a bigger pot. For now this pot is bigger but

only slightly, I'm working on finding him a good one to grow with.

I'm crazy about this teacup pot for my orchid!

She's gonna love to stretch her roots out! :)

And now, the new guys!

Cat grass! In this cute little pot that my Aunt had given

me for Christmas! She will sit in the kitchen window

and hopefully grow a yummy treat for the cat!

In here are seed starters that have herb seeds in them.

Rosemary, parsley, thyme,

oregano, sage, & ....oh my, I don't remember the 6th one!

Well, as they grow, I have a strawberry pot I plan to move them into!

In this little guy I've got some carrot seeds starting. I really hope

that I can start growing my own veggies once the ground dries up a bit!

Up front there are 2 little seed starters that have

romaine lettuce in them! Once they sprout I'll transplant them

into a larger rectangular box to grow!

And that was just yesterday!!!

Let me show you what

I got this morning!!

A little Begonia plant. He needs some TLC and eventually

a bigger pot, but he was only $1.00!

This is a Sun Impatiens (?)

He will get big and pretty and

hopefully attract me some butterflies!

And this little guy!?!? He is dinner!

Bell Peppers!

I put him in a big pot cuz I know he'll grow fast!

I'm looking forward to plucking a pepper off and putting him in a salad!

So, that's my new little green family!

Family photo time!