No progress, no change

I'm doing poorly on this challenge.  I can't seem to shake this cough and the fatigue that goes with it.  This means that I haven't done any sit-ups. I have been working in the garden (my first garden!) so I think that is why my weight is still holding steady.

Since I've missed most of the month, I am aiming for 250 sit-ups by the 31st. This blog won't be going away after that date, though. I want to set a different goal for myself every month just to keep myself moving. With me, a goal gets me moving even if I don't reach it. So hang in there with me, guys!

Can't get out of it that easy

Running sit-up total: 40

C2, one of my 11-year-old twins, has made it her mission to make sure that I meet my sit-up goal. Perhaps she is worried that I will embarrass her when I wear a bikini on the cruise in September .  Anyway, she made me do 15 sit-ups yesterday.  What a task-master!

I still have the crud and not much of an appetite, but I think I might be able to do my 25 sit-ups today.  We'll see.

Still Sick

I'm still feeling unwell, so no exercise for me today.  Hopefully tomorrow I'll feel stronger.

My body is acting up already

Day 3 of Sit-Up Challenge

Sit-ups done today = 0

Total sit-ups for March = 25

Yes, my little one bugged me yesterday until I did my sit-ups right before bed. I knew that letting my kids in on the challenge was a good idea.  They will definitely keep me honest

My plans to knock out my sit-ups early today flew out the window when I woke up with a scratchy throat and zero energy.  As soon as I try to put my body to work, it finds some way to rebel.  I am going to try to push through it this time. Just not today

I'm already off to a poor start

Sit-ups done so far today = 0

Sit-up total for March 2008 = 0

Yesterday (01 Mar 2008) was supposed to be the first day of my sit-up challenge. Unfortunately, I didn't get off to a good start.  I didn't measure myself or post my weight or pictures.  Worse, I didn't do my sit-ups!  That means I am already behind 20 sit-ups.

I told the kids about my challenge today so that they can bug me about getting the sit-ups done.  I'm also hoping they will do sit-ups with me.  I don't want to be a bad mom and give any of them a complex, but my girls aren't as fit as they could be.  Even my thin kid, who most people would think is the picture of health, can't do a single sit-up or push-up.  Her twin sister, who is more curvy, has much more stamina and can outlast me in a wall squat.  Still, a bit more exercise wouldn't hurt either of them.

To make up for yesterday, I got my weight and measurements posted today.  I also took a "before" picture, but I am having second thoughts about posting it.  Perhaps if I see some results, I'll feel more comfortable showing everyone where I started from.  Right now, you'll all have to just use your imaginations!

New fitness challenge for March 2008

Yes, I'm back again.  This has become a vicious cycle, but I've decided to accept that this is the way I am. I go through periods where I am gung-ho about fitness, followed by long periods of fitness apathy.  When I'm enthusiastic, I come back here to share my thoughts.  I've gone back and forth so many times that I am probably only writing this for myself, but so be it.  At least I will have a record for the next time I jump off the wagon and back on again

The other day I had the bright idea that I should challenge myself to complete 500 situps in March.  One of the reasons that I fail in my fitness attempts is that I ramp up the difficulty of my routine too quickly.  In my last few outings, I haven't even managed a full month of regular exercise before giving up.  I've read that it takes 28 days to create a habit. I figure that if I force myself to focus on nothing but situps for a month, then I can make it over that hump.

In the next day or two, I will post  the "before" picture of my belly.  I will also post my "before" waist measurement.  Besides trying to stick with exercising for a month, I am curious to see if my body shape will change during this.  Conventional wisdom says that spot reducing doesn't work; you have to do all-over exercise for anything to change.  However, I am SO out-of-shape that I think even a little exercise will shock my system and make me lose a little weight.

BTW, I changed my blog to the Mexico template because our family is planning a cruise to Cozumel in September. Yet another reason to work toward a flat belly!

Accidental dieting

OK.  I said I wasn't going to diet, but that seems to be what I did today. 

Breakfast:  2 cups of coffee w/cream and sugar
Lunch:  2 bowls of chicken and rice soup (200 cals)
Dinner:  3 cups Asian salad (lettuce, carrots, pea pods, turkey, wonton crispies, sesame orange dressing, cherries)

The Asian salad was a lucky find.  While I was out with my sister on Sunday, the husband bought lettuce for the kids' burgers.  I guess when he got home, he realized that it was actually a salad kit with all the fixings.  I went in today to pull out the lettuce for Mexican food and voila!  I'm having a healthy salad instead of a fattening tostada. 

Sister Challenge: Day 1

Well, here I am at the beginning of the challenge with my sister.  She is a rather self-sufficient gal, so she doesn't want as much support as I thought.  We are just exchanging our weights via email every Wednesday. I guess that means I get to blather on here about all the rest of it

My weight this morning was 279.8 pounds.  That is 11.8 pounds heavier than when I signed up for Extra Pounds in April 2006.  That doesn't sound too bad.  However, it is 54.8 pounds heavier than I was in 2002, which was the first and only time I stuck to a diet for an extended period.

As I said before, I won't be concentrating that much on my diet because there aren't many more changes I am willing to make in that area.  For me, it will be all about moving my body.  That means I need to get out of this chair NOW!

Friendly Family Challenge

My sister presented me with a weight loss challenge this weekend.  She wants me to join her in her effort to lose 25 pounds by the end of the year, starting tomorrow (01 Aug).  At first, I said no.  However, what's one more challenge?  I suck at completing them, but I sense that she needs the support. 

My sister is much smaller than I am; in my opinion, she can't stand to lose more than 15 pounds.  However, I have been wrong before.  I watch weight loss shows with my husband, and the people who have lost 25 pounds barely look like they've lost 10 to me. 

Anyway, if I lose even 10 pounds during this challenge and keep it off, I'll be happy.  I've been watching the same 5 pounds jump on and off my body for months now. 

Yoga Booty Ballet

I rented the first disc of the Yoga Booty Ballet exercise series after my daughter and I saw the infomercial.  The name made us giggle and the workout looked funky (in a good way), so I thought I'd try it.  Luckily, NetFlix had it.

I lasted 30 minutes, which is pretty good for me.  I usually give up after 10 minutes of an aerobic workout.  It wasn't a bad routine, but I'll be sending it back to Netflix tomorrow.  It was heavier on the Yoga than on the Booty and the Ballet   To keep me exercising, I need something that is closer to a dance class than a workout.  There are a few tap dance exercise routines in my NetFlix queue that I am going to move up.

It occurred to me today that the best thing for me right now is to just try a bunch of different routines.  I get bored very easily when it comes to exercise.   Rather than try to master any of them, I'll just keep rotating them.  Surely the effort of trying them out will burn calories even if I am not any good at them!