Thanks for asking.
I'm sure my cheeriness had everything to do with the fact that Charlie was home playing with the children in the backyard and nothing to do with the fact that I found my car keys in a box of cereal.
Since I didn't post a favorite thing Friday last week, skipped over a weigh-in Wednesday this week, and have been silent on the bust-a-move playlist that I promised three weeks ago, I'm taking things to a whole new level, today.
First. I'm going to confess that I haven't done ANYTHING in the past week to prepare for the triathlon that we are scheduled to participate in next Sunday. Nothing except pack my bathing suit and think about going for a swim in the hotel pool. And nothing except look at my running shoes once and think wow, I should really get out and go for a jog. Thank goodness this triathlon is "only" a sprint distance. I suspect it will take me at least three hours and I'll be one of the last people to finish.
But, so what?!
If I cross the finish line without being strapped to a stretcher, I will consider my participation to be an overwhelming success. Although, if I am unable to walk for a week, I might not consider my success to be quite so overwhelming...
Second. A few weeks ago, Charlie and I sat down with a bottle of wine and went through our iTunes library and created a workout playlist that we thought was most awesome. Well, I thought the whole thing was awesome, but Charlie rolled his eyes when I insisted on having "It's Raining Men" on my playlist.
He wasn't nuts over Copacabana, either. But I have a long history with that song, that dates back to a puppet named Lola that I made when I was five years old. She had yellow feathers in her hair and a dress cut down to ... there.
We had planned to go back and whittle the list down because once we finished our preliminary selection, we had 70-plus songs that constituted 350 mb of space and we never thought that we could fit those on a CD.
But then!
We were looking at our CD's and were tickled to see that they hold 700 mb worth of data and we could have actually had TWICE as many songs as what we had selected. Including, if Charlie had not successfully talked me out of it, the entire Grease soundtrack. It was cause for great celebration and I declared that I was going to make a CD for everyone that left me a comment and I was going to send them out with the hope that people would sweat, sweat, sweat on the road to fitness.
But then!
I was thinking about copyright infringement and how music cannot be copied and distributed en masse. And since I'm working on having a clean conscience, this would really muddy things up.
So instead!
I'm going to list here, all the songs and artists that were on my bust-a-move playlist. It's rather lengthy, and eclectic, so consider yourself forewarned.
- Dancing Queen / ABBA
- Forever Young / Alphaville
- Love Shack / The B-52's
- Takin' Care of Business / Bachman Turner Overdrive
- Copacabana / Barry Manilow
- Stayin' Alive / Bee Gees
- Uptown Girl / Billy Joel
- Hard to Handle / Black Crowes
- No Rain / Blind Melon
- Call Me / Blondie
- Don't Fear the Reaper / Blue Oyster Cult
- Run Around / Blues Traveler
- Hook / Blues Traveler
- Travelin' Man / Bob Seger and the Silver Bullet Band
- More Than A Feeling / Boston
- Just What I Needed / The Cars
- I Want You To Want Me / Cheap Trick
- Viva La Vida / Coldplay
- Deee Lite Theme / Deee Lite
- Groove Is In The Heart / Deee Lite
- Last Dance / Donna Summer
- Mr. Blue Sky / Electric Light Orchestra
- Ranking Full Stop / The English Beat
- Don't Stop / Fleetwood Mac
- Juke Box Hero / Foreigner
- Grease / Frankie Valli
- Illegal Alien / Genesis
- My Sweet Lord / George Harrison
- Sweet Escape / Gwen Steffani
- Crazy on You / Heart
- Only Wanna Be With You / Hootie and the Blowfish
- Closer to Fine / Indigo Girls
- Here Comes the Hotstepper / Ini Kamoze
- Flashdance / Irene Cara
- Been Caught Stealing / Jane's Addiction
- I Got A Name / Jim Croce
- Volcano / Jimmy Buffett
- Don't Stop Believin' / Journey
- I'm Gonna Catch You / Laurie Berkner
- Fool in the Rain / Led Zeppelin
- Bat out of Hell / Meatloaf
- Backwater / Meat Puppets
- Everywhere / Michelle Branch
- Sweet Caroline / Neil Diamond
- Growing Old / Origin
- Set Sails Free / Origin
- Me & Julio / Paul Simon
- Kodachrome / Paul Simon
- Shaking the Tree / Peter Gabriel
- I'm Gonna Be / The Proclaimers
- We Will Rock You / Queen
- We Are the Champions / Queen
- It's The End of The World / R.E.M.
- Time for Me to Fly / REO Speedwagon
- 3 Strange Days / School of Fish
- Soak up the Sun / Sheryl Crow
- Two Princes / Spin Doctors
- Tempted / Squeeze
- What I Got / Sublime
- Fly / Sugar Ray
- One / U2
- In God's Country / U2
- Bittersweet Symphony / The Verve
- Macho Man / The Village People
- Blister in The Sun / Violent Femmes
- It's Raining Men / The Weather Girls
- Pinball Wizard / The Who
- What's Up / 4-Non Blondes
- These Are Days / 10,000 Maniacs
- Calypso / John Denver (cool down)
- Watching the Wheels / John Lennon & Yoko Ono (cool down)
Third. Because of this conscience of mine and the inability to send out a CD to everyone who left me a comment, instead, I'm going to offer up a new contest. The winner will receive a new Product Red iPod shuffle, which happens to be the object of my affection, this Favorite Thing Friday.
On all Product Red purchases, a portion of the proceeds goes to the Global Fund to fight AIDS in Africa, so I feel doubly good about giving one of these away.
Charlie bought me an iPod shuffle for our anniversary last week and in the whole five minutes that I've been able to pry it away from him and wear it, I absolutely LOVE this little thing. It's very light weight and clips to your clothing. You can wear it during workouts, or - when you are tip toeing around the house during nap time. It holds 1 GB of music, or approximately 240 songs.
Here are the rules.
You have until next Saturday at midnight to leave me a comment on THIS post telling me how you are doing towards the physical health goal that you have established for yourself. I will select a winner on Sunday (8/24) after I finish my very first triathlon. My mom will be here by then, so I'll ask for her to select the winner which I'll then post on Sunday night.
Provided of course, I survive the race.
Hmm lets see. Late last year I made the decision to lose a ton of weight this year. Now I'm suffering from pregnancy SPD and the M&Ms next to me are not good either...but I do plan on losing a good few pounds almost instantly in the next few weeks! My last baby was 10 pounds, and then there was the fluid etc, does that count?
ReplyDeleteNo, I guess not. Ah well, there's always next year right?
I love my ipod too! We have three in this house, my HUGE old one, DH's tiny nano and (technically) DH's shuffle. Love the ProductRED one, didn't think we could get that here in Aus, but just checked the website, and we can! I sense a Christmas present...
Well on top of staying up until 3am with an almost 5-month-old and a 3-year-old, I have been on a journey to lose the baby weight.
ReplyDeleteI began on vacation (stupid move) in July, since we were there on the date that I had planned on since the baby was born. Since July 1st, I have lost 10 lbs. (1/4 of the weight that I want to lose) with little exercise other than chasing after a toddler while holding my infant son.
I have done some pilates in the last two weeks to kind of speed up my weight loss, recommended by my hubby, and I also hit the track with my sister (who is doing Weight Watchers) last week.
I hope to do more of that, and a new ipod would definetly motivate me to get out in the hot summer heat!
My goal was not so much weight associated as it was for my general health and well being. See I am sad & embarrassed to even admit that I have been a smoker for the last 12 years. Completely & utterly addicted.
ReplyDeleteI spoke to my Doctor recently and managed to get a prescription for Chantix (a new stop smoking aid) and started it about 2 weeks ago. On August 12th at 5pm I had my very last cigarette. Now as of this post it's been 79 Hours, 54 Minutes, and 33 Seconds that I have been smoke FREE!!!
I am very proud of this accomplishment and that I have made it through the first 72 Hour period that it takes for the nicotine to clear from the system. Now it's just getting through the mental addiction and not the physical. I am feeling very positive about my continued success and looking forward to a happy & healthy future as a NON SMOKER :o)
What a nice little prize!
ReplyDeleteI have been getting on the treadmill every other day (or it averages out to 15 days or more of the month). I wait until the kids go down for their quiet time/nap.
It helps that I can prop my laptop on the treadmill and walk away while I watch a DVD or listen to some music.
I know we are not voting for the best answers, but I think that Mystik should get the iPod. Not only is she helping her self lead a better and more healthy life, but also the people around her.
ReplyDeleteGood on Mystik for kicking the habit. I wish you every success possible in your quest at being a continued non- smoker.
Well, I've managed to lose close to 20 lbs since Buster was born which brings me about 10-ish lbs from my goal (well, 20 lbs from the REAL goal but I'll never hit that goal). I'm still nursing my 17 month old which has helped but I haven't been able to squeeze in workouts since hubby and I work different shifts so little guy is always around when I can work out. We go on walks but its blistering hot where I live so you have to get out by 7am and that just isn't something I'm good at...
ReplyDeleteMy shift at work is changing soon so I'll have more time at home with hubby around. I think I'll be able to fit in some workout time now so I can stop counting on the nursing to burn some calories. I have an intense fear that when we quit nursing I'll gain a ton of weight back if I'm not exercising... not that my son is EVER going to want to quit nursing:)
(Good luck mystik)
I turned 50 this year and well, I haven't been very successful trying to achieve my goals. I have been making excuse after excuse -- it's good to be honest about your faults. But, next Tuesday, my son leaves for College and my husband will continue on his current deployment and I am going to get down to business. I want them both to be proud of me when they come home for Christmas, but more importantly, I want to be proud of me for getting this horrid weight off so I can enjoy our life.
ReplyDeleteI love your blog and I appreciate that you are willing to keep it open for us!
I, too, was not so much concerned with the weight as I was about the state of my heart and lungs. Getting winded going up a flight of stairs, or having my heart POUNDING after running with my kids at the park was very disconcerting.
ReplyDeleteSo far I've started walking three mornings a week with a friend who's keeping me honest. Once school starts (9 DAYS!!!!!!), I'll be hitting the gym as much as possible to do cardio. Eventually I'll work in some weights, but right now I just want to FEEL healthier.
I can't believe that your triathalon is THIS weekend! You'll do great...and I hope that someone is going to be there to take pictures of that amazing accomplishment!
ReplyDeleteI am pleased to report that I actually have done a bit of exercise this last week -- yay me! But now that I know your triathalon is this weekend, I am really going to have to get moving.
Grad school isn't an excuse for no exercise, is it?
Yeah, I didn't think so.
Your music selcetion was amazing... Songs that you can't help but start singing as you read the titles.
ReplyDelete::thumbs up!::
I am sure you will survive!!!
ReplyDeleteI am signed up, as a leader no less, for the 90 fitness challenge our local YMCA is doing. My goal is to lose at minimum 5% body fat, 12 pounds, 2 inches and be able to work out without being as incredibly sore as I am right now after doing ONE class.
All while, leading others in that same general direction, provided I can breathe long enough to encourage them along too! :)
I have high expectations...I suppose my making chocolate cake balls last night was not a good start!
I've started the South Beach diet (something that I can do for myself, and not buy prepackaged food, 'cause yuck.) and have been doing the couch to 5k pretty religiously for two weeks now.
ReplyDeleteDoes my heart feel like it is going to blow a hole out of my chest and roll back to the house screaming? Yes.
Do my lungs feel as though they are being squeezed and sat upon by some unknowing giant? Yes.
Do my legs feel like they are wrapped in acid fire with a side of cayenne? Um yeah.
But I keep going. Why? Because I like to run around with my kids and I am finding that I am a lot less short-tempered in the late afternoons when I've "worked out" in the mornings. Why is that?
You have inspired me and I am planning on running in a 5K race next Sept. This is HUGE for me because even though I weighed a mere 95 lbs in high school, I was dead last every time we ran a track mile and I mean dead last -- the fat kids (no offensive to fat kids) even were ahead of me. So a 5K should take me approximately 2 days or so. I also discovered we can afford a Y membership and that there's good hours for babysitting so while the triplets are off to preschool, the baby and I can go to the Y! I never owned an IPOD but maybe that would make running tolerable or maybe not! Wish me luck!
ReplyDeleteGirl, you are awesome. I'm not sure who loves my iPod more, Chase or myself. My mom bought him a shuffle, but he claims that my Nano is still his too. Gotta love three year olds who are up on technical stuff.
ReplyDeleteI'm not entering the contest since I already have one and I think it should go to someone who doesn't, but since losing the twins and deciding not to move on to IVF #5 until after the first of the year Jeff and I have decided to use the next four months to work on getting healthier. We're not setting specific poundage goals, but we are going to try and get more exercise in and get out more.
Good luck next weekend, I know you'll do great!
okay so I totally suck at excersie and would never qualify for this but what fun!!! Rock on sister.
ReplyDeleteHeather CA
This past year I found a buddy to start running with. We get up at 5:30am to run for an hour then I race home and get kid off to school. We managed to also train and run our first marathon together last november. I have toned up a bunch, but it seems when winter comes and it get darker in the mornings I loose my motivation and gain back all that I have lost during the rest of the year. So this fall/winter I have joined a local branch of jazzercise for free, by watching the daycare for one class, once a week. I hope this attempt will keep me going during the cold months and help me loose those extra baby pounds.
ReplyDeleteGood luck during your triathlon, I hope to complete one next year.
When you first issued your fitness challenge, my 39th birthday was looming, and I was feeling fat and old and tired. Keeping up with my full time job and my two kids was wearing me out. I was exhausted by 5pm every day. So, I finally started the couch to 5K program that I had been thinking about doing for months.
ReplyDeleteThe couch to 5K program has you start very slowly: warm up by walking 5 minutes, run for 1 minute and then walk for 2 for a total of 20 minutes. At first, doing this made me feel like I was going to have a heart attack! I was so incredibly out of shape! But now, a short 2 months later, I have joined a local USAfit group, and I am training to run a half marathon in January. I run 4 times a week, and I cannot believe I am saying this, but LAST SATURDAY I RAN 6 MILES!!!! I have never exercised before, and 2 months ago if you googled "couch potato" my picture would have come up! But I feel so much more energetic, and I am thrilled at my ability to do this. I never thought I could. Granted, I am only running at a 14 minute a mile pace, but I am sure I will be able to speed up with time.
So to those of you who are wavering, I promise you, if I can do this at almost 40, 30 lbs overweight, and never having excercised, so can you!
I am so impressed... I set the goal this year to get in shape. 2 years ago, I took a new job and found myself suddenly 20# heavier than my usually round self. I have joined a gym and lost 14 pounds in the last 4 months. Progress has been slow but steady. However, sometimes I have an irresistable need to eat ice cream!
ReplyDeleteIn May I decided to ask my sister (who's already run a marathon) to join me in a 5K in September. When she said yes, I all of a sudden paniced because I HATE running. But I decided I would make it my goal to last through the 5K, even if I have to work. Plus that will give me a motivation to work out. So, since then my goal has been to work out 3 days a week. Most weeks I have accomplished that. this week I actually RAN for 2.1 miles so I'm definately getting better. I would love to have this ProductRED I-pod because it'd be great to have something to listen to while I work out.
ReplyDeleteI love your blog. Thanks for being so honest and sharing so much through this! You are an inspiration!
I have been lurking on your blog since I found out I was pregnant with triplets (my babies are 11 months old - so probably 16 or 17 months now). Usually you find a good triplet blog and it's fun to read through the archives, but there aren't a lot of new posts - seeing as they have triplets and all. I have a hard time finding the time to comment much less blog, but I am really so grateful that you make the time.
ReplyDeleteWhen my babies were 7 months old I decided I needed to get back in shape. I had actually lost my baby weight pretty easily (being anemic and too busy to pee much less eat helped), but I felt physically pretty spent and worn out. 6 months of eating as much I possibly could and moving as little as I possibly could and then putting a c-section on top of that took it's toll. I had a lot of back and rib pain after the babies were born and not very much stamina.
I work from home and with the babies I barely have enough time to get my work done and care for them, but I knew that I needed to make working out a priority if I was going to start feeling better. So, I bought Jilian Michaels' book Making the Cut. I'm a fan of the show Biggest Loser and I needed some sort of plan to get me motivated.
Her food plan was a nice motivator, but since I don't actually need to lose weight, I used it more as inspiration for eating more healthy food. Her exercise plan was a good fit for me. She wants you to work out four days a week for an hour. She also has you do a lot of different circuits and combines weight training with quick cardio bursts. It's intense but varied and I enjoy it.
Four months later, I feel great. I just turned 39 and I feel almost as good as I ever have (I still deal with back pain - but it's better - and I am still trying to figure out the best way to work my abdominals and see better results there and I would like to have better stamina for running, but I'm getting there).
My goal is to work out four days a week, but I usually do it six times because I just feel so much better mentally and physically. I handle the pressures of five kids much better when I've had a workout.
As far as the ipod, we just bought my 14 year old a shuffle and she loves it! Now I want one. For some reason, I just haven't felt the need to get on board with the new technology. I love the little Product Red one - it's cute and helpful.
My first comment and I probably wrote way too much! Thanks again for sharing your life. You've helped someone you didn't know existed more than you know!
You are way too sweet to do such a cool contest on your blog!!
ReplyDeleteI love this post. The honesty with the triathalon. My goal is always just to finish. Yes - I might have aspirations to do it under x number of hours, and preferably not dead last, but finishing is a good thing!! I hope you do a great job and don't get carried off in a stretcher. That would be tragic.
My goals. Let's see. I wanted to lose all the weight since I got married (16 lb) and get back into shape. I was running (I think I wrote how you inspired me many posts ago), but that was quickly stopped by the hot, humid temps (running at lunchtime) here for Boston summer. Now I've switched to slim fast and walking. I'm doing sit ups and weights while watching tv. I'm doing much better at that consistently. And I just hit the 10 lb more to go mark... so getting closer, but not yet. Oh - the goal is to lose it all by Nov (or now it should be Oct), so hoping to be on top of it by then!
Good luck with your race!!
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteMy husband just did his first triathlon last month. It was really inspiring for me and our four children.
ReplyDeleteThat,combined with the inspiration from you on your blog, I have started exercising again. Our oldest just took the babysitting course and we can leave in the late evenings and feel free for the first time in almost 12 years.
My husband is so sweet...he's been walking a half hour with me every other night and each day I add as much running as I can into the walk. It's been fun to see the improvement.
I always feel a bit bad that he has to "endure" my lack of fitness. He doesn't complain and encourages me...I hope to be able to run 5 K by October--I'm at about 1.5 right now, plus the walking. I've never been a runner, more of a basketball player, but I really want to be able to do this.
Thanks for the inspiration!
I love your blog. Not sure how I found it, but I do enjoy reading it. I bought a Tony Little Giselle last winter with the intent on becoming skinny, but now it just sits. That is my effort. I think winning the ipod would help!
ReplyDeleteThis contest is perfect for me! I have really been focusing on getting healthier in the past nine months. I've always had a weight problem, but I really packed on the pounds while going through infertility treatments about four years ago. I was blessed with a baby boy (Henry) who is now almost 3 years old, and when I saw the pictures of myself at his second birthday party in October, I cried. Somehow I hadn't noticed how big I'd gotten. So, last November I joined Weight Watchers, and have since lost 51.8 pounds! Yeah, me! But, I still need to lose another 45-50. When I noticed my weight loss start to plateau recently, I realized that I needed to start exercising. I've since started walking and doing some exercise videos during Henry's naptime. I decided to try the Couch to 5K program (even though I've never run in my life) and I want an ipod shuffle so that I can download the Couch to 5K podcasts. So, you see, your contest couldn't have come at a better time! I am determined to finally get down to a healthy weight even if I have to RUN to get there! Jocelyn
ReplyDeleteMY goal is still to do the 10k in decent time on Aug 30th,but my preperation is not very different then yours :( WHy oh WHy! Physically if I complete this 10K it will be a huge accomplishment! I would also like to NOT eat anything in the month of September that I can not visual see or figure out the calorie count on:) It is time to get serious and get all this weight off of me:) Nothing taste as good as thin feels? Well except JoJo's, and Culvers blueberry cheesecake custard:)
ReplyDeleteI can honestly say that I have been excersizing. It's been a long time. The fibromyalgia diagnosis didn't help. So, I'm weening myself off the fibro meds because they're not helping anymore and I don't want the extra drugs in my system. I got rid of the estrogen patch that wasn't doing any thing for the hot flashes and night sweats. Now I'm doing vitamins and herbs and eating much better. And the kicker (no pun intended), I've started taking Irish Dance classes at the kid's dance school. Luckily, I have the most patient teacher. He's our 16 year old Champion. Oh my goodness do I hurt when I get home. And I'm so sweaty that I go directly into the pool which cools me off and works my upper body. It's really fun dancing if I can get past the humiliation.
ReplyDeleteOkay, so this year I'm going pretty far to try to be healthier... I had a badly needed breast reduction in April. Exercising is so much easier now!
ReplyDeleteI am doing the Couch to 5K running program in preparation for the Race for the Cure in September. I hope to be able to run the entire way for the first time in my life.
Running has always been something I wanted to do with but with a bra cup size of J (yes, J) it wasn't really possible.
I've lost two family members to breast cancer, so I wanted Race for the Cure to be my first 5k... I hope to raise enough money to donate so several underprivledged women can get free mammograms.
Yay for health, exercise and new opportunities.
Thanks for entering me in your contest.
Well, I was well into week three of my Couch-to-5K gig, and loving every second of it, when I broke a rib from coughing. I'm not joking, either! I coughed so hard I broke a rib. So now I'm not allowed to exercise until it has healed (6 weeks). But with my school schedule this year, as soon as I'm able, I've got an hour and a half every Tuesday and Thursday that is designated as "work out" time on my school schedule. I'm looking forward to it, because the running was actually getting fun!
ReplyDeleteI've been walking twice a week with a friend. Her husband has cancer and it helps her to get out of the house and exercise so I try to make it work. We walk in her neighborhood one night and on the high school track in my town the other night. And, my favorite color is red...good luck on Sunday!
ReplyDeleteTrue confession time..
ReplyDeleteI have been reading your blog for over a year now. I cannot get over many things about it, your adorable children, your amazing ability to be completely honest and the way it is so well written and so human, and the
fact that I often laugh out loud when I read it.
I am 25, and completely overweight and out of shape. I lost my mom at 15 to heart problems that I am sure can be contributed directly to her lifestyle, diet, the fact that she smoked, and her endlessly running around after the my four siblings and me.
I forsee myself going on her path, and that is not what I want to happen. I have many things that I want to do in life, and I know that becoming healthier will lead to those things happening. I cannot climb a flight of stairs without losing my ability to breathe normally.
I have started eating better, and I have committed myself to either walking or working out with The Firm equipment that I bought myself. I have already lost some of the weight, but I think that having a bust-a-move playlist would help.
If I don't win the contest, at least now I have come out of lurker mode and I have been completely honest with myself. Good luck with your triathlon and thank you for sharing yourself and your family with us everyday!
I am getting on the blessed eliptical machine at least 4 days a week - I may try and do it the other 3 days BUT I work those days and after 10 hours and coming home to my second job, I'm just too tired. 4 days is good - working from 1 mile up to 2 per day and hopefully adding more.
ReplyDeleteI've been walking at least 6 times a week, for just over 40 minutes each time. I've lost 11 pounds since the beginning of spring. My goal is to walk off another 12 pounds by gradually increasing my distance. I've also been watching my portions and not eating fast food.
ReplyDeleteI hope to be done to the weight I was when I got married, 6 years ago before twins and a singleton.
Good luck on your run!
My goal was to be healthier all round and for myself and my kiddos! I for some time now have had high colesterol and high blood pressure. I am now 176/70somthing. MUCH BETTER! Loosing weight is a huge challenge, so I am more focused on being a bit more healthy!
ReplyDeletelilkatie52@aol.com
Despite the fact that all three of my children have Ipods I have been able to finally get some weight off.
ReplyDeleteMy husband died a little over five years ago and I gained 40 pounds since then. The last straw was when I took my oldest daughter shopping for jeans and I had to peak in the 3 way mirror to see how she looked and, unfortunately, was able to see how I look!!!
I joined a gym, started working with a trainer two days a week and have managed to get the first 20 pounds off. Now I need to get the next 20 off plus the 30 pounds extra I was carrying when John died. I manage to get up at 5:10 every morning and drag myself to the gym but the only music I can listen to is the stuff piped in over the speakers so the Ipod would be a real bonus!
Even if I don't win, reading about your life brings me such laughter that I'm still motivated to make myself better and smaller! Kari
LOVE your selection in music and LOVE that I saw ABBA there too. :)
ReplyDeleteIn the past month, I have been getting on my elliptical 5 mornings a week for 20 minutes each time. I am also making sure I go to the gym at least ONCE a week in the afternoons, although I would much prefer 2 or 3.
I really, REALLY need to work on my food intake and get all the crackers out of this house. ( I am SUCH a carb addict, it's not even funny). Although I am trying to make sure I have a protein with each carb I have.
I have also gone back to wearing my pedometer everyday in my goal of 10,000 steps each day. Most of the days I reach my goal.
WOW! Next weekend?? Good Luck! I hope you have a really good time! Try to beat that infamous little girl or 100+ yr old who always seem to make it in these type of races!! ;-)
ReplyDeleteBest of luck w/your desicion Auntie - I'm sure it'll be a tough one. Hope you enjoy your time! Marg.
PS Thanks for the list of songs...hopefully James will know how to download them for me!
WOW! Next weekend?? Good Luck! I hope you have a really good time! Try to beat that infamous little girl or 100+ yr old who always seem to make it in these type of races!! ;-)
ReplyDeleteBest of luck w/your desicion Auntie - I'm sure it'll be a tough one. Hope you enjoy your time! Marg.
PS Thanks for the list of songs...hopefully James will know how to download them for me!
Hi Jen,
ReplyDeleteThanks so much for posting your playlist! It's a great selection and I see some songs I'll have to add to my rotation. And it totally cracks me up you have Laurie Berkner on there.
As for my health goals... I hit my Weight Watchers goal of losing 20lbs on 6/30 and have lost a few more pounds since then. My fitness goal was to run 5K by the end of August, and I did it for the first time on August 1st, a few days before my 35th birthday. I wasn't the slightest bit depressed about turning a year older this year because I haven't looked or felt this good since high school. It hasn't been easy fitting in workouts (I have a full-time outside the home job and 2-year-old triplets) but it's been totally worth it. Even the small amount of running I do 3 times a week has made a huge difference in my energy level.
Best of luck at the triathalon. I have no doubt you'll cross that finish line. You're an inspiration!
-Christine
WTG Jen!! Thinking of you for the Tri next week.
ReplyDeleteI hae to join in on the contest, havent read all the stories yet and mine is pretty small.. But after a friend recently lost her DH to pancreatic cancer I decided it was time for DH and I to prevent the things we COULD prevent.
I finally made an appt to push my dr to change my meds for depression, something that was scary for me (but has worked well!), I also gave up (other than an occasional drink) pop and began chugging water. Next we started taking vitamins galore to try and give our bodies some much needed assistance. We've slowly been cutting out HFCS and Hydro. oil and are working on getting us all to a mostly non processed diet (thank you TJ's)
Last but certainly not least, I tried to find ways to exercise that were fun and could incorporate my kiddos, so instead of going to the gym, we've been bike riding, going on long nature walks, just chasing in the yard and playing ball. I hope to step it up, but I figured getting the kids involved in it all was the best plan.
Oh AND we planted a garden together, getting us ALL to eat more veggies.
Like I said, not a big heartwarming journey, but one that hopefully will help us improve on the quality of time we have together.
I have been on the get healthy bandwagon since April. After having the gallbladder removed and the resulting sickness, because I can't eat anything, I decided to change everything. Since April I have lost 30 lbs. I can now run a mile without dying a slow painful death. I bike with the triplets now, and on the whole feel so much better.
ReplyDeleteI need to lose 20 more (or my super secret goal of 30 plus a tummy tuck and a boob job). LOL!
Kimberly and the GA Guinn Triplets
www.guinnfamilyhome.com
Let's see...
ReplyDeleteI have joined Weight Watchers and am down 12 pounds (Yeah! my BMI is officially in the "not overweight" range) and I plan to lose 7 more. I have started the Couch to 5K running program. I just finished week 2. And I have to tell you - I tried lacing my shoe the way you had suggested in an earlier post - and yeah my feet do not fall asleep when I am running! Thank you so much. So I plan to run a 5K on October 5th. If I continue the couch to 5K program as scheduled - I'll be ready just in time! Thanks for the motivation!
My fitness goals are to become healthier and feel better about myself. I walk 3 days a week during lunch at work and I walk in the evenings with my dog and my husband. My next goal is to be able to begin running again and add in more toning exercises as I don't like how I look anymore. I want to look like the picture I have in my head of myself, not the fat blob I feel like most days.
ReplyDeleteBest of luck in your triathalon!
Oh man, that's awesome. Can I tell you about what my husband is doing? I hope that's OK. I need to get into a better fitness routine. That's my goal for this week.
ReplyDeleteMy husband had been faithfully working out 5 days a week at the local YMCA. He's getting more fit each day and adding lots of muscle tone.
Ok, then I said you're giving away an iPod shuffle. You see, my husband is going to Africa in October for two weeks for a missions trip with some others from our church. This is a construction trip. He's been wanting to get an iPod to have something from home to take with him. He listens to music all the time, and he knew that would be the biggest luxury he'd miss the most. Winning this for him would be awesome!
My goal was two fold: first, get healthy and active, second, benefit from goal 1 w/ weight loss. My husband and I recently took up bike riding w/ 2 bikes we bought at goodwill. So far, so good. We really enjoy it, it's a healthy activity, and I'm down 3 pounds. Go us!
ReplyDeleteOh my, I love your list - it's awesome! I'm not doing exactly as well as I'd planned last January, or last May or last week.....but today (er, tomorrow) is a new day. We've been ttc for about 2 yrs now, and I finally decided that I would put the baby in God's hands, and take my health into mine. He works on the baby - I work on the extra 50 pounds. Sound like a plan? :)
ReplyDeleteJanuary 1st I decided to change my ways. Previously, I typically set goals which I might or might not keep. I always said I SHOULD change this or that about my health, but usually didn't.
ReplyDeleteSo this year, I committed, on my blog, to changing that and I have kept TWELVE NEW YEARS RESOLUTIONS EVERY DAY OF THE YEAR SINCE THEN. TWELVE. EVERY STINKIN' DAY.
I'll stop shouting now. LOL
The health goals were these:
Drink eight glasses of water a day or MORE.
Weigh myself and post my weight every day on my blog (my camp weights are in a little notebook in our garage with the camp stuff ... I DO need to add those to my auto posts ... but I weighed every day outside of my tent and wrote the weights down faithfully. Never missed.
Walk for ten minutes or more every day.
LOSE ONE POUND A WEEK. So far I have lost 30 pounds! Once in a while I hit a plateau for a week or so, but then I lose two or three pounds the next week ... so it averages a pound a week.
In case you are curious, the other goals are: journal, plan, exercise neck, shower & shave legs, read 4 pages a day, put my left shoe on first and say: I am awesome and I am learning every day. Right shoe: I am a genius and I apply my wisdom. ... , blog every day (actually missed a couple of days when internet was down and we had no money to fix it... but only a couple), and clean one room a day.
Thanks for holding a drawing. I hope I win! I'd love to listen to music while I walk.
Wow! Just read most of the comments and am impressed with so many of them.
ReplyDeleteWhat a great idea you had to encourage us all with a giveaway.
And cheers to all of you commenters. My hat is off to you. Way to make a difference in your life. I wish you all the best of luck.
*(I also wish me the best of luck.)* LOL!
And thank you for the enjoyable stories and your honesty ... I often think of you as I raise my four year old.
Good luck with your triathlon!
Wendy
p.s. I didn't count the blogging "miss" as a point deduction because it was beyond my power. It's the only thing I have missed this year. But I never forgot. Asked for support, searched for solutions, best I could do was get internet turned back on as quick as I could. So I acknowledge those couple of days, but don't count them against my perfect score because I didn't slack.
ReplyDeleteDoes that make sense?
Where to begin? First I want to thank you. You are an inspiration to me. I have been reading your blog for quite a while and am amazed at all you accomplish. So...I think most of all I need to say thank you for inspiring me and obviously many others. When you first posted your challenge I was ready to start getting my life in order. You see I just turned 50 and I have let myself go for the last 25 years. I have set many goals for myself in the past but have had difficulty sticking with them, always something gets in my way; willpower, kidney stones, oral cancer, knee surgery to name a few. My goal is to lose 50 pounds and see how I feel. I may need to lose more but am taking it one pound at a time. I have started exercising, I walk for 35-45 minutes a day and also ride a stationary bike for at least 30 minutes a day. It can be very boring but I am SO very proud that I have kept up with it. I have lost 13 pounds so far. My daughter was home for the summer and I had been using her shuffle (her music not mine)but we took her back to college Sat. We were in a motel for two nights while taking her to school and I went to the workout room two times! Yay me!!! I also went swimming one day. I used to be pretty good at swimming but couldn't believe how little I could swim without being out of breath, but I would think about my goal and push myself on.
ReplyDeleteI have a new grandson (5 months old) and that is a huge reason this is so important right now. I want to be able to get in the floor and play with him and be healthy enough to get out and run with him.
In closing I am a lot further than I have ever been and think my willpower is much stronger than ever before. I did a bike ride (17 miles) on my birthday that I could not have done for the last 20 years so I am on my way to a much healthier me.
Kathy
Lose weight. Get in shape. Lose weight. Get in shape. It's a constant refrain. So in the spring I decided that I would start drinking green smoothies for breakfast and eating lots of fruits and vegetables with my other meals. I don't know if I've lost weight but sometimes I think that my clothes are looser on me (especially around the stomach area). And my aching knee is much better. Baby steps, baby steps.
ReplyDeleteThe next baby step is to start walking. The iPod would be great for that!
I've got 4 years before I turn 60 and I'd love to be healthy for that momentous occasion.
I am new to your blog(HDYDI). I have 18mon g/b twins and i have decided I need to get in better shape to be able to keep up with them. I am 37 and my weight before twins was around 200. After the twins, I lost the pregnancy weight fast, but now I have gained it back. The twins love my big blue ball and they think it is fun to p/u my hand weights(2lbs). My DH is a big help in motivating me and watching the twins when i want to w/o.
ReplyDeleteNow that the twins are eating "real" food, I am eating better and find myself eating more nonprocessed foods.
Thank you.
Nancy