Audible at the Line, v. Tuesday

So last night, I did not make it to the Step'N Sculpt class. My dance instructor called and said he had a last minute cancellation for 8:45pm, so I jumped on it. I haven't had a lesson in WEEKS, and it's been killing me. Not only that, but hopefully I will also have one on Friday!

I need more stamina though. I run out of energy way before I should, and I start thinking about just stepping and not everything that goes into the step. My muscles also aren't strong enough to give me good control when I'm running out of energy, and between the lack of strength and not thinking about my technique, everything gets really sloppy.

I have a Mini-Match coming up, and I'd like to be able to give it my best. Unfortunately, that means I need more practice, somehow, so I can try to remember the smaller details that make the dances look good. And my posture. Practice would definitely help me with my posture, so I wouldn't look like a turtle humped over all the time. Good posture would also make the turns and crossovers much easier to do and handle. Right now, I'm constantly leaning forward which offsets my center of gravity and makes it nearly impossible to do a decent turn, much less a solo turn when I don't have a partner to depend on.

That being said, I am going to try to hit the spin class tonight, and get in some extra cardio, even though I've already been to the "Walk to Run" Class, and the weightlifting class.

The Walk to Run class was nice this morning. Even though I'm not a runner, it was great to get outside. It was lightly drizzling, and the air was fresh and cool. Just perfect for going outside and getting active and hot. That light sprinkle and cool breeze keep you from getting over-heated, and with it being overcast, it wasn't too bright that I was worried about getting too much sun. When you usually blend in with the drywall, that tends to be a real problem.

The run intervals were perfect though -- 45 seconds of running for every three minutes of walking. But they're going to change, unfortunately. The class is to help people get geared up for running without over-doing it. I don't know if I want to run, per say, but it's definitely good for me to have variety in my workouts, and running definitely counts as cardio. So we'll see how that goes.

I also did the weightlifting class this morning. It's a little depressing to think that at one point I could do a pull-up, no problem, and now it's an effort just to lift my shoulders off the floor when I'm laying down under a bar. But the good news is, for some of the sets, I'm ready to go up in weight. They weren't easy, but I had some more to give. Not all of the sets were that way, of course. Some were insanely hard to get through; some sets my muscles even quit on me -- which exactly what I need. I need to find that upper limit and push it. It's the only way I'm going to increase my stamina and my physical abilities.

Calorie posting will happen later in the week. I've got a little notebook I'm toting around everywhere writing down what I'm eating, so fear not. I'm not going to cheat you. Speaking of calories, I NEED LUNCH!

Let the Calorie-Counting Begin.

The pimento cheese is finally gone, along with two boxes of Kashi Honey Sesame Crackers and 75% of a box of Sun-Dried Tomato Wheathins. (Iknow, I know, I have a carb addiction, but that's for another article, another time!) So, despite having my husband's birthday this coming weekend, the calorie counting will begin, as promised.

I did make it to the cardio combo class again today, and I hope to get in something else by the end of the day... however I'm not sure how good that's looking, because my daughter is currently asleep on top of me, after wailing her lungs out for a good hour. Poor kid is teething, so I gave her some ibuprofen, but she seems pretty miserable still. She even whimpered in her sleep.

But that doesn't mean it's out of the question. I do have a plan for dinner, so there's a point in my favor... although Sleeping Beauty's current location isn't going to help me out. But we'll see.

The weekend went fairly okay, food-wise. We went to the waterpark, and I said no to the Oreo Ice Cream Sandwich, the funnel cake, the fries, the hotdogs, and the rest of it... so I think I did pretty good... okay, okay, there were Outback Cheese Fries on Friday, but that wasn't my fault!!! The manager gave them to us because we waited FOREVER! How am I supposed to say no to FREE cheese fries??? I did manage to not order the Alice Springs Chicken though...

But overall, I'm back down five pounds. I never thought I'd say it, but thank God for water weight. I have six to go before I'm back to where I was a few weeks ago, but if I can hit the spin classes a few more times, I think that's possible.

Tomorrow's goal: 9am Walk to Run Class and the 5pm Cycle Class.

To Yoga or Not To Yoga

Apparently, it's "not" for today. I showed up about 2 minutes too late, so I had to "audible at the line" as my husband would say. You can really tell my brain wasn't working yet, because when I walked by the Cardio Kick Class at 9:05am, I thought, "Oh hey, CARDIO. Sure, why not?" However, I did fail to notice the instructor was wearing her army-drill-sergeant-green shirt.

I might be able to walk tomorrow.

Actually, I'm doing okay right now, but that's exactly what I was thinking during the class. Er, okay, maybe not exactly... there might have been a few choice words inserted here and there, but it's close.

Ultimately it's a good thing, though. While I do love the yoga class and the instructor -- she has this mellow dream-like voice that practically coaxes you into a coma -- what I need is weight-lifting and cardio, more than core strength if I want to lose weight. And if I'm sweating and having to push myself? That's exactly what's going to happen. (Or so I keep telling myself. The blog will tell.)

So today, it was 45 minutes of cardio kick (300 calories), 15 minutes of stretching, and another 40 minutes on the elliptical (375 calories). So that's 675 calories burned today, and it's just barely noon. BOO-YAH, people!

Back in the Saddle

So Thursday, I finally got to my first spin class. Okay, that's not true. I went one other time, about six months ago. I think my poor brain is trying to blot out the experience. Not that this one was much better. I am stronger from the weight lifting classes I've been taking, which made it less difficult, but it's really hard to get that "feel good" feeling when your butt is flapping behind you like a jello mold in a sack whenever you take a downstroke... or an upstroke... or stand up on the bike... or -- nevermind; you get what I'm saying. You'd think, though, with all that flab, that seat would be a little more comfortable.

While definitely not the best feeling in the world, it's just like all the other classes I've taken: go back and it will get better. If it gets better, then I'm getting what I need, right? I feel a little lousy that the whole time my resistance was barely cranked over, and the instructor -- an insanely cute, adorably sweet, tiny little blond who started out class by saying "Wow, it's such a shame to be inside today; it's perfect outside for a nice 20 miles" -- kept screaming things like, "Now give that knob just one more half turn!" Of course this is 20 minutes into the class, after I realized if I even looked mine too much, I couldn't get the wheels to turn.

But again, every class will get better.

So after 45 minutes of spin (350 calories), another 10 minutes of ab work, I decided to go home, have some dinner with my hubby, and then go dancing. I got my heartbeat up pretty good there, too. Cha-cha, salsa, swing... even the tango is a good workout (150 calories). All in all, I think I did some good work for myself yesterday.

In other news, I had an ultrasound yesterday, too. (Yeah, I was a busy girl.) I have a cyst on one of my ovaries. It's about 3cm, and my ovary is swollen to three times its normal size. It's supposed to go away on its own -- in about a month. It's no big deal, really. It's just uncomfortable from time to time. But I'm also hoping this mad hormonalness has contributed to my excessive weight gain lately.

Today is yoga, though, so I need to throw in some aerobics or weightlifting on top of it. I'm dressed, my kid is dressed, and even somewhat packed up, so as long as I don't fall asleep, I should be able to make it to the gym.

Introduction

Last Friday was my daughter's first birthday. I stay at home with her, and we hang out and have some fun most of the time... but I have not lost all of my pregnancy weight. I weigh more today than my normal averages before I got pregnant, and honestly, I'm severely depressed about it.

I have made some progress since last August. I gained 60 pounds, and I'm down 35, and I should be pleased with that... but for a short while I was on a better track -- down 45 -- and after a wonderful visit with my in-laws, way too much good food, and my daughter's birthday, I'm back up 10 pounds. Not cool.

However, I hit the 35 pound mark way back in November. It took me six months to get to the 45 mark, and now that I'm back at the 35 pound mark, I've honestly lost my motivation and momentum.

So this week, I decided to blog about it, to record what I've been doing and encourage myself to keep going back to the gym, and to do more than what I've been doing. I can do more. I can find the time. This weight will come off. At the very least I will be getting back into my favorite jeans. In addition I will be recording my calories, both intake and burned, in a Google spreadsheet. Unfortunately I'll just be going to the gym this week, because since it was my daughter's birthday, my fridge is PACKED with things like pimento cheese and barbecue.

Not just any pimento cheese. This is my family's pimento cheese. My grandfather used to make it at his pharmacy in Batesburg, SC. It's fantastic. Definitely not the average crap you buy at the grocery store. I love this stuff. So until it's gone, I'll just be working my butt off at the gym, instead of reminding myself how bad this delicious stuff is for me.

But I've done okay this week, so far. I went to an aerobics and weight-lifting class on Monday, Tuesday I walked 2.5 miles, and yesterday I was on the elliptical for 40 minutes, and swam 14 laps in the pool. At least I think it was fourteen. I lose my count here and there , so I miss a few on occasion... But it was definitely a minimum of twelve!

So here we go people. Wish me luck.