Day 7: In the Garden

Today I wanted to get some exercise in and be productive at the same time. So I consulted my trusty iPhone and browsed through the list of exercises on the LoseIt application. What do you know! Gardening is a legitimate form of exercise! And it burns 170 calories an hour! Perfect! So I headed outside and started weeding my backyard. An hour later, I dragged myself back inside. I'm gonna argue that more than 170 calories were burned. My legs burned more in that hour than they do in 30 minutes on an elliptical! On the bright side, I have a much less weedy garden!

Day 6: Defeated

Well, I've blown it. I didn't exercise the full 30 minutes today. I tried. I really did. I got in about 15 minutes or so of intense pushups, tricep pushups, crunches, etc. But about halfway through my ab routine, I had a toddler decide that the Mommy Attraction needed a rider. Do you have any idea how hard it is to do sit-ups with a bouncing 17-month-old on your chest? So, after about 10 good tries, I gave up. The rest of the day was crazy-busy, and by the time the kids were in bed, all I wanted was a steaming hot bath and my bed. So, not a full 30 minutes today, but not a total loss, either.

Day 5: Inclement Weather

Maybe this doesn't really count as official "exercise," but it should. I spent most of my day chasing a hurricane named Hayden. That's right. My daughter. She's a catastrophe! She began the day by pulling all the clothes off the hangers in her closet. After I'd cleaned that up, I turned around, and she'd emptied out all the kitchen cabinets, strewing pots, pans, and bowls all over the floor. Once that was restored to normal, I saw that she'd moved on to the family room, which had now become a Wii disaster area. She'd even gone so far as to remove her diaper and pee on the floor! My whole day continued like this! I'm pretty sure that lots of calories, as well as blood, sweat, and tears went into the cleanup of Hurricane Hayden. But if not, the family and I once again cruised the neighborhood after dinner, picking up the pace halfway through in a sudden hurry to get home when it started to rain on us!

Day 4: Think Thin!

I read a magazine article yesterday that talked about ways to get in the mindset for losing weight. One of the things they said was to visualize yourself slender. The article recommended that you find a picture of yourself at a weight that you were content with and to put it up in a place where you would see it often. The idea is that this will motivate you to continue your efforts. So, I'm giving it a shot. Here's my picture of a thinner me. (I'm the brunette.)

The article also said to write down 15 reasons you want to lose weight. Here's my list:

1. To be able to wear a button-down shirt without busting out of it.

2. Feel strong and healthy.

3. Not feel like a whale when I stand next to my sisters.

4. Be able to keep up with my kids.

5. Buy a fabulous little black dress.

6. Be able to fit into something at Victoria's Secret.

7. Not have that little muffin-top hanging over my jeans.

8. To be able to wear clothes without worrying how many bumps there are in my silhouette.

9. Not feel guilty to give in every once in a while and have that slice of chocolate cake.

10. Feel confident in my own skin.

11. Not be afraid to be on camera.

12. To be a good example of healthy living to my kids.

13. Inspire my parents to live healthier.

14. Be able to go dancing with my husband, and not get winded.

15. Be fabulous!

As for my exercise today, the family and I went for a walk around our neighborhood after dinner. It took about 30 minutes. I also spent most of my day deep-cleaning my kitchen, and according to my iPhone, that burned 283 calories. I'm counting it.

Day 3: Hit the Gym

I usually try to post my progress at the end of each day, but for some unknown reason, my internet connection was out last night, so here's Day 3:

It rained yesterday, so that cancelled my plans to take the kids to the lake, so instead I gave in to the old cliché and went to the gym. I forgot to take a book or my earphones, so I was stuck on the elliptical with nothing to occupy my mind but a subtitled episode of NCIS. That's what I hate about the gym. It's BORING! I did get a good workout in, however. I broke up my 30 minutes on the elliptical with intervals of weight training and ab exercises, and it worked out pretty well. Afterwards, I relaxed in the sauna for awhile before heading home to a quiet house. I could hardly believe everyone, including my husband, were already asleep! Okay, so it was about 10:30 when I walked in the door, but still. The cherry on top, though, is that I was good about eating today! I'm keeping track of what I eat on my iPhone, which is pretty handy, and I came in about 40 calories under my daily budget. Yay Me! Still too afraid to get on the scale, though. I think I'll give that a few more days.

Day 2: Frenzied Feet

Today I walked around Lake Elizabeth with two of my girlfriends, Amy and Sharman, both of whom have legs much longer than mine thus forcing me to endure a very brisk pace which I struggled to keep up with. I guess I'm just out of practice at this 2-mile walk that I used to do without batting an eyelash. So that's going to need some work. Also, I'm concerned that I won't stick to this walking schedule. The only reason I went today was because Sharman called to make sure I was coming. She's moving at the end of the month! Whatever will I do without my intrepid walking buddy? Will I have to be the one making the phone calls come March? Scary thought. The good news is that I met my goal. It took us about 40 minutes to walk around the lake. The bad news is that I gorged myself on probably a full 3/4 cup of almonds when I got home, so that most likely cancelled out any calories burned. I'll have to better watch what I eat tomorrow.

I ended my evening to night with a visit to another girlfriend's house. Holly's sister, Stephanie was in town, and apparently she's a certified zonologist (if that's even the right word). Anyway, as far as I can tell, what she does is similar to reflexology. It's where they manipulate your feet, and it's supposed to detox your system, reduce stress, and rejuvenate your body. So, I got zoned, and it was lovely. Who knows? Maybe it'll "cleanse" all the fat grams from those almonds right out of my system. Hey, I can dream, can't I?

Week 1-Day 1: Baby Weight

Probably at the top of most of our New Year's Resolutions Lists, is the goal of losing weight. After having my daughter, I'd really like to get back to within 5-10 pounds of what I weighed in high school. Am I dreaming? Probably. But it's really not too far-fetched. If I lose 10 pounds, I'll be within my goal range. So, how to accomplish this goal? I'm going to start this week by doing some kind of cardio exercise for at least 30 minutes a day. My plan is to go walking with my girlfriends this week, as well as finding other things to do. I'll keep you posted on how I do!

Introduction

This month, as a whole new year began, I have been contemplating the many things in my life which I have yet to accomplish. My problem is that I never know where to begin. So, I have decided to publish this blog in order to organize as well as record my progress towards perfection. Each week, I will focus on one specific area (i.e. spiritual, physical, financial, etc.) or a particular task (creating a piece of art, building up an emergency kit, learning how to operate my camera, etc.) and document my daily efforts. By doing, this, I hope to be able not only to improve myself, but perhaps to inspire others to do the same.