Making Every Moment Count

So, this 12 days of Christmas Challenge that I joined at my gym is totally working. Last night I so would have blown off the gym, but I didn't because I had to go do 45 minutes of exercise to earn my sticker for the challenge. So, when my husband left to go curl, off I toodled at 8:00 at night to do my thing. There were 3 other people in the gym. It was lovely. I did a hill program on the treadmill. I upped my speed and incline from the last time I did it. It is weird. Now that I "run", I don't really feel like I've worked out if I walk. I checked my pulse all throughout my workout, and it was up where it was supposed to be, so I know I was working out, but....if you're wondering why I didn't run - it is because I'm tired. I feel worn out from Christmas. I will start running again on Jan 7.

I'm really looking forward to the fitness classes I have coming up in January. My week will look like this:

Monday: Weight training/Water jogging class (45 min of each)
Tuesday: Salsa lessons with husband
Wednesday: Fun with Fido classes with dog or belly dance (haven't decided yet)
Thursday: Personal trainer session and maybe belly dance, if not Wednesday
Friday: jogging and curling
Saturday: Yoga with husband

Plus, daughter really wants to go to the gym before school, so I will go with her Tues, Wed & Fri and do some easy peddling on the bike - which really helps my knees.

Of course, all of this moving around isn't going to matter a bit if I don't stay on plan. I'm feeling frustrated because 20 pts just seems to go so fast. I know if I add more 0 pt veggies to my diet that would help. Mmmmm, so much to ponder. So little time. 85 days till bathing suit.

Still time to join up in the SparkPeople challenge. We have a lovely group of ladies in the challenge.

OK, have a healthy day bloggers!!

After Christmas Wrap-Up

Well, the holidays have come and went. And just in time, cause my stomach needs a break!
I'm back tracking today. I was back at the gym yesterday. I don't know if I mentioned this, but my club is having a 12 days of Christmas challenge that I signed up for. I still have 3 stickers to collect before the 30th. Yesterday I did a hill program on the treadmill for 20 minutes and 20 minutes on the bike. I will likely do the same thing today.
I'm still taking people for the Spring Challenge on SparkPeople if any of you are interested. My SparkPeople name is fatinahdc. You can just send me a sparkmail.
I have 83 days till I have to put on a swimsuit. Holy crap. I'm freaking out. I have much work to do between now and then. I cannot afford to be starting over anymore. I think I'm going to focus on making my food choices from the core menu. I'm a points gal through and through, but I feel like I need to eat clean for a bit. Mostly because of all the junk over the past while. It is always so surprising to me how out of control my choices get if I take a break. It is like I have never learned anything about healthy eating. Hmpf!

Have a healthy day bloggers!!

This and That

Hmm, it has been a while since my last post.
I have been busy finishing up Christmas shopping. Now I have to wrap all that stuff!
I have been having trouble getting my running back up since I was sick. I haven't been able to get past 20 minutes. But yesterday I thought of a plan. I am going to lower my speed a bit, which I think will get me back up to 45 minutes, and then I will increase my speed again.
I had stopped writing down what I'm eating. Today I start again. It is the only way I stay on track.
I likely won't post again until the New Year. Stay safe, enjoy your time with your family, and be healthy!!

Noticing the Little Things

For the past 9 weeks I have been doing a Sparkpeople challenge. I have been averaging a loss of a smiggen over 0.5 per week. Yay me. So, it is slow going, and while I want it all off today, I'm happy with my progress. Having said that - I noticed today that I have been wearing a sports bra that I haven't worn in a long time. It kinda just hit me today. I had stopped wearing it because while I could get it on, it had become so small that getting it off was a task and a half. Plus, while I had it on, I actually had trouble breathing - it was that constricting!! Anyhow, I've been wearing it for a week and a half now. Not only can I get it on and off easily, I can breathe!! I must have lost some inches around my chest. Yay me again!!



Yesterday was personal trainer day. She kicked my ass good. I am just getting over a cold, and she worked me so hard that I threw up (I had time to get to the bathroom). This is a breakthrough in and of itself. I have never pushed myself like that before. And I came back and finished the workout. We have a challenge going on at the gym and I had to finish the workout to get my sticker to put it on the board. Nothing was stopping me from getting that sticker. I have to get in 12 45 minute exercise sessions by the end of December. Because of the cold, I only have 4!! YIKES!!! I'm on my way now to do a run on the treadmill. I am going to do 5:1's, because my lungs are still congested (or something in that general area is) and I don't have much stamina. I still think that will be a kickass workout.



After that I'm off to the mall for some last minute Christmas shopping. Should be a total zoo. Blech.

Have a healthy, exercise filled, on program day bloggers!

New Year Workout Plans

It is that time of year for signing up for the winter programs at my Club. Husband & I are all signed up for yoga again. We are adding Salsa lessons to the mix. I'm pretty excited - we have so much fun taking dance lessons.

What I'm SUPER excited about though is a class I found yesterday. The write up in the registration book says it is a good cross training class for runners. It is a combination class - 45 minutes of water jogging followed by 45 minutes of weight training. You realize of course that this means that I will finally be working with weights two times a week! Woo hoo!!

I have a busy day ahead of me. Nothing fun. Lots of running around. Bleh. Oh, well. That's why I don't get paid the big bucks to stay home. ;-)

Have a healthy day bloggers.

Husband's Christmas Party

I had my husband's Christmas party this weekend. What a great time. My knees were SORE, SORE, SORE on Sunday from all the dancing I did Saturday night. I had my new black dress that I wore and I felt really good in it. The only thing that would have made it better would have been if I hadn't been so sick. I feel like crap! I didn't workout today. In fact, I haven't done anything today except sleep. Tomorrow I get back to the land of the living - regardless of how I'm feeling. Sometimes when you're sick it is easy to get into a sitting around funk.

That's about all I have for today. Hope you're all having a healthy day.

The Santa Shuffle Race Results

Saturday I ran my race. What a GREAT day I had. It was -18, but with the wind chill it felt like -26. It was unusually damp also. So, we ran the race in our fastest time yet, because I was f*cking cold! At one point my running partner "J" said "Fatinah, what's gotten into you - you're running so fast" I told her I had just lost the feeling in my ass!

Anyhow, we finished at 36:50, which is fan-freakin-tastic because we were running 10:1's. Then, when we got back inside, they were giving out FREE subway subs! I love subway subs, and they had veggie on brown. I can't even tell you how fast we both inhaled our sandwiches - neither of us had really eaten breakfast. We then called our girlfriend to tell her we were done and we all met at Starbucks for a latte. Well, they each had two cap's, but one latte is my max. It was such a fun morning.

So, now we need to find a run to do in the new year to keep us out there....so far all I've found is a 1/2 marathon - but that's not for me.

Yesterday I had a GREAT run on the treadmill (it was -26 again) - I did 50 minutes of walking and running and logged almost 7k. I felt really great after.

Oh, I stopped drinking alcohol. Not in a 12 step way, but I think that not spending points on booze will really help me stay on plan. Plus, it is cheaper to go to dinner if you don't have 3 glasses of wine to pay for, which ends up costing more than I would spend on a bottle. Of course, I have a bunch of lunches and a Christmas party, but.....eh, just means I will wake up feeling good enough to go for a run the next day!

Have a healthy day bloggers!