GQ

GQ not in the sense of the fashion world. GQ in the sense Glutes and Quads. I spent 2 hours yesterday weeding various gardens around the yard. Although I could of kneeled on the ground then got up then moved then kneeled again squatting and moving was easier…until I stood up. Yikes, my glutes and quads were feeling the activity yesterday and this morning I wanted to tell Jillian where to take her Sumo Squats and Lunges.  Cringe, smile and get through it, it’s only a 1/2 hour.

I stayed up last night till 11:45 p.m. going through a whole bunch of music DVD’s and CD’s for teaching Zumba.  That is almost 3 hours longer than I can normally stay awake with out a really good reason. Today when the alarm when off at 5:00 a.m. I was not getting up. 5 hours of sleep for me is not enough and I’m achy and slow but I did it and now, I”m back to achy and slow. I think there is a nap in my future or at least getting to bed earlier tonight.  

It’s a busy week here again. The hospital Zumba classses start back up today and I have a few friends I haven’t seen in a while coming to join the party. I get to head to Dekorra on Wedensday evening and party with those fabulous people and Friday I get to spend the day with my mom treasure hunting in Sun Prairie for there yearly City Wide Rummage Sales.  Besides that I’ll be at all the regularily scheduled classes I normally attend, continuing my day job watching children, and all other things that come with being a mom.

I hope you have a fabulous day.

A Day Behind…Simple Pleasures

Yep, I’m a day behind. Yesterday seemed to get away from me.  To recap the day I started with my morning workout with Jillian. Then on to Zumba then to Lodi in the sprinkle, drizzle coldness to do some garage saling. (not so productive) then home to shower and try to warm up. Took a snooze with K and then dinner and movie with Heather.  It was a busy day.  Heather and I saw a fabulous movie called The Lucky One. A short recap: A soldier, while on tour,  finds a picture and that pictures seems to keep him safe during his tour while the people around him parish. When he returns home he must find the person in the picture and it evolves from there. Zac Effron is the main character in the movie and I must say he is very nice eye candy.

L came home yesterday with a windshield wiper.  He was so excited that he had it and was about to burst telling me about it. It happens that my father (bumpa) had this wiper on his truck and every time he used it it squeeked. So they replaced it during there time together yesterday and now L wants to keep it to remember the sqeeky wiper.    For L it truly is the simple pleasures in life.

On to today. I slept in for the first time in…no idea I don’t usually sleep in. I woke up at 7:00 am that is unheard of at my house. It was nice and I feel refreshed. No workout this morning. Today is my “sorta” day of rest.  It never really is but I’ll go with that it is my day of rest from Jillian.  I did make it through the whole week last week without the instense pain and soreness I got the week before. I think this week I will up the weights a little bit more and see what I can achieve.  I’m saddened that I”m a week behind but my body needed that break.

I hope you have a fabulous day.

Positive About Myself?

We had a very intriguing topic at Weight Watchers last night.  It was saying something positive about yourself or something you like about yourself.  This is not easy for a lot fo people, myself included.  I am so much better at lifting someone else up with a compliment or a gesture than myself. 

A few of us were picked out to say on postive thing about themselves. Yep, I was picked and …I couldn’t think of one thing. Why is that? There are positive things about myself but I can’t think of them. Several people in that meeting threw out a whole bunch of things about me that  are true but I could not come up with one on my own.   I find a lot of my time, is spent helping others to achieve there goals and get through their day that sometimes the positivity for myself  is forgotten.

At the end of the class we where suppose to write 3 things that where positive about ourselves and yet still I came up with 1.  I think I’ll work on this during the upcoming week because it’s just as important to like myself and be positive about myself as it is for me to say and do it to others.

I hope you have a fabulous day.

Thursdays Wall

I’m beginning to think that we should just take Thursday out of the week.  I seem to hit a large wall come Thursday. I’m tired physically and mentally by Thursday.  It’s generally my “nap” day. There isn’t anywhere I have to be, well I Have To Be in my basement at 5:00 am and I Have to go to my WW meeting at 6:00 pm but between those hours there is nothing pressing that has to be done. I think that is part of the reason my body crashes .  All the other days of the week I have things to do that keep me busy and keep me moving and Thursday, well..I think we should toss it out fo the week.  Do you have a day of the week that you just need a rest?

I hope you all have a fabulous day and I leave you with this.

Life is 10% what happens to you and 90% how you respond to it!

I am not crazy!

I’m sure some of you think I am but that is besides the fact. 

 I had a conversation with someone yesterday that really burned me.  She proceeded to tell me I was ignorant and what I was doing with my child was not correct and all the foods that L needs to avoid for his ADHD and Sensory Integration Dysfunction are all heatlhy foods and there are no reasons to not feed them to my child. On top of that she tried to tell me that Corn Syrup in any form is natural and good for you.  Well, some of you know my issues with a lot food in this world and what I need to do daily to keep L  on track and when you see the effects of Corn Syrup in any form and what it does to my child you will never want to willingly eat it or feed it to another person.  Everyone has there opinions of food and what is good and what is bad and what works for XYZ. 

This works for L and that is what matters at my house.  I don’t burden anyone when we go out or to family occassions with changing a menu to meet his needs. I always have an alternative packed with us to family outtings, if we go to a restaruant they are more than willing to following the directions I have for making him something and are ok with me bringing in food they may not have.   Until someone  has walked in my footsteps even one day, dealing with L and what I need to do make his life as normal as possbile you cannot judge me or what I do.

I had another conversation later in that day with a lady giving me a presentation regarding a product. She proceded to tell me they use “pharmacutical grade petroleum” in thier product.  I’m sorry but petroleum is petroleum and should not be used in packaging, lotions, etc.  That is how I feel.

Now, done with that.  I think my biggest thing is Don’t judge someone till you have walked in there shoes!

Ok, my workouts today where brutal.  I did not get up at 5:00 am and do Jilliian although I was up at 5:00 am. We did lots of squats in Zumba last night and my legs where feeling it this morning. Followed by a fabulous Toning class with more squats. 🙂  Then we had a great class with a new teacher, her name is Jill, she had a lot fun upbeat songs and it was a great class.   Tonight I’ll head to Dekorra and check out another Zumba class. Yep, back to 3 class Wednesdays. 🙂

Have a fabulous day and thanks for reading my rant!

Portion Distortion-The Enabler

Whoo Hoo, I made it through day 2 of week 5 and I have no pain. I did drop the weights down significantly.  I think the key is strength not strain.

Portion distortion at my house use to be a huge deal.  The kids use to have a fit when I would portion out there food or tell them what a serving size was. K still has issues and complains but is getting better.  L has embraced reading labels and I”m so proud of him.  Not only is it good for his health, he needs to read the labels do combat his food triggers.  He now gets the measuring cup out in the morning for cereal, he gets the scale out to measure a portion of meat or cheese I’m so proud of how far he has come.  But then we have the enabler at our house.  The person that does not what what he eats, doesn’t not bother him to eat 3 scoops of ice cream on the couch in front of me at night or to eat 15 crackers gobbed with 3 inches of cheese spread on each one.  He has always eaten this way is he thin, nope.  As a matter of fact he was proud of himself that he received a whole bag of shirts from a friend at work that lost a whole bunch of weight and couldn’t fit into them…they are 2XL. 😦  I’ve tried to talk to him and make comments but he in no way wants to hear them.  He is not a communicator at all.  I can count on 1 hand how many times he has commented about my weight loss in almost 4 years.  

Below is a picture of his idea of a serving of ice cream and next to it is an actual serving.  His bowl including the ice cream bar comes to 740 calories and 34 g. of fat.  An actual serving of his ice cream 160 calories and 8 g. fat. and he eats all of that before going to bed and after eating a good supper.

 

     

So yes at my house I have an enabler and a lot of portion distortion.  I’ve talked to him about his health and why he is on meds for certain things but there is not listening he is stubborn and going to do what he wants until something drastic happens and then maybe, just maybe he will change his ways.

I hope you all have a fabulously sunny day.

Whoo Hoo!

I’l start with last night. We had a Completely Energizing Zumba class last night. So many new faces so many current faces all smiling, sweating and having a great time. The class flew by last night and was so much fun. I love Sunday night classes they end/start the week perfectly.

This morning, yep, I got up and did Jillian at 5:30 am.  Wood choppers I believe are part of my obliques crying last week. I used a much lighter weight today as some of the moves I can still feel really well in that area and I do not under any circumstances want pain again.  It was refreshing (yes exercise is refreshing for me) to get up and get going and know I had a purpose to do so this morning. Tomorrow will be the true test as Tuesday last week is when I really pushed too hard I will again use the lighter weights as to not re-injure myself.

Not much else is new here. I think I’m fighting a cold I can feel coming on and I will NOT be sick. I have a bunch of gardening to do today and the veggies I planted a month ago are really growing well.  I may have to make a trip to the greenhouse soon to see what else I think I may need.

I hope you all have a fabulous day.

10 more reason you should work out today!

1. Because if you can do this, you can do anything.
2. Because it prevents age-related muscle loss
3. Because a fit body is healthy body.
4. Because it beats sitting on the couch.
5. Because everyone has at least 10 minutes to spare.
6. Because you want to be stronger than your excuses.
7. Because not working out isn’t working for you.
8. Because the only workout you ever regret is the one you skip.
9. Because it energizes you.
10. Because it makes you smile!

Measuring Success

How do you measure your success? Is it as simple as getting up out of bed in the morning? Is it just getting through your day. Is it rewarding yourself for making good decisions? Is it rewarding your children/friends or a co-worker verbally on an accomplishment? There are many ways I measure success:

• Getting up and getting the children out the door to school without any meltdowns.
• The children making their own breakfast/lunch for school without being asked.
• Not having to remind them to brush their teeth/comb their hair.
• Getting an early morning workout in 6 days a week.
• Getting through the day without mindless eating.
• Accomplishing at least 1/2 of the list I have for the day.
• Smiling and having fun at least some part of the day.
• Giving someone a positive response or making at least one person smile each day.
• Fitting into the next size of clothing.
• Knowing I am able to get in front of a Zumba class and do my thing.
• L getting through the day with all that he can achieve. 🙂
• K getting through her day just as she is.
• L & K just being happy being kids.

Those are some of the many ways I measure my success and my childrens.  Along with meausring our success  I also must remember to reward the children and other people with verbal praise because it helps them succeed. A little bit of praise or a simple hello goes a long way and allows others to go about their day with a bit more happiness if even for just that moment.

I’m excited about today as we finally start our new Sunday session of Zumba. It feels like forever since we had a Sunday class.  Sundays are a bit more intimidating to teach as you are on a stage but I’m very grateful for Heather giving me the opportunity to do so. I believe I have 4 songs on my own tonight and 2 with Heather. I love the aspect of  co-teaching as you can feed off each others energy when up front together. 

I hope all of you have a fabulous day and getsome outside time to enjoy the fresh air.

 

 

Healing

Finally I have some relief in my obliques. I can breathe without cringing and I can bend to the side without wanting to cry.  I can still feel them (they are still there) but the intensity of the pain has gone down from an 11 to about a 4. That is a huge difference.  On Tuesday when I do day 2 of starting last week over with  Jillian I will make sure to NOT use my heaviest weights as I do not want a repeat of last week.

Not much else. Having a garage sale today. Although a sweet friend decided she was doing a “rain dance” so I came to Zumba instead. My garage has been set up for days and I really don’t want to take it all apart as is.  Hoping to do well as I need a new wardrobe that doesn’t consist of exercise clothing and some new shoes. Speaking of shoes why are they so darn expensive?

Here are 10 more reasons to workout. Have a fabulous day!

1. Because you need a reason to wear those new workout clothes.
2. Because you’re tired of being tired.
3. Because not working out is not going to get you very far.
4. Because it’s a great way to spend time outside.
5. Because you made a commitment to yourself.
6. Because you’re tired of starting over
7. Because there will always be another vacation or class reunion.
8. Because it improves your cholesterol.
9. Because it boosts your metabolism
10. BECAUSE YOU ARE NOT A QUITER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I Didn’t Give Up – Things I gave up

My mind is telling me “You quit, why did you quit?” ” Why are you not getting up in the morning and working out before Zumba!” ” There is nothing wrong with you get up and get moving.”   My body says “If you even think about going downstairs to workout I’ll put you out of commission longer.”  So who wins, my mind that is beating me up or my body, which has still not recovered.  My body won this morning. I did go to two Zumba classes and I did stand in the back and modified as much as I could and still breathe.  It’s really, really hard for me to not give my all in class even when injured but when the movement means pain or taking my breath away, I had to make a choice.

Things I gave up. I’m totally post stealing from another blog I read but it so makes sense to talk about.  When and while I’m loosing my weight these are the things I gave up:

• Dieting, I’m not on a diet! I made a life style change.
• Worrying about fitting in a booth at a restaurant.
• Worrying about buckling the seatbelt in someone else’s vehicle.
• Going to the waterpark with the kids and being over the weight limit for the family or double tube rides.
• Searching online for size 34 pants, they didn’t sell them in the store.
• Needing to sit more freuquently.
• Staying up late at night. This one baffles me. I use to be able to stay up late and you’d think I’d have more energy to do so but I don’t, I crash by 9:00.  I think it has something to do with getting up at 5:00 am.
• High blood pressure medication
• Insulin and daily monitoring of Type II diabetes.
• Frequent illness
• Frequent puffs off the inhaler cause I couldn’t catch my breath.
• My knee bothering me daily/hourly  from all the pressure and extra weight on it and worrying if I would make it to 50 to get that full replacement everyone said I would need.

I hope you all have a fabulous day. I leave you with this.

The things I gained were far more important than the things I lost.