Wednesday weigh in

Well, after getting up to 195.0 at one point this week, today I'm back down to 192.8. Yay! Even better, I've lost a total of 3 inches. Woot! I've been consistent with walking on the treadmill every day but Sunday and lifting weights 3 days a week. Speaking of, I've got to get to it. I have a chiro app't later and my son has an orthodontist app't. So I'll check in with everyone later.

We've been busy, busy with the kittens. They are just so much fun to watch. Last night we let them upstairs for the first time and they had a great time exploring. The meeting with FroFro, the chinchilla, was quite funny. Ming was very interested and at times just sat looking at him. Nico's spastic nature freaked him out and I got to hear chinchilla barking for the first time! LOL

Root canal recovery

I must say, I'm very impressed with the endodontist I go to. This is the 2nd time I've been at that office. The first time they did a root canal on one of my front upper teeth. It was a drastically different color than the others so they did the root canal and bleached it from the inside. This time, they redid the first root canal I had in a back tooth. That area has ALWAYS been sensitive and I can't tell you how many dentists have told me I shouldn't feel anything there, but that didn't change the fact that I DID! A change finally showed up in an x-ray, so they figured the root canal should be redone. There was another small canal that they found yesterday. Not a surprise to me AT ALL. Having a little soreness, but if I regularly take ibuprofen, it's manageable.

They have TV screens in the ceiling so you can watch TV or choose a movie to watch. Yesterday, I had time to see a whole movie. I chose Finding Neverland. Not sure what I was thinking. I cry like a baby every time I see that movie!

I was able to do the treadmill and lift weights this morning before I went to my "once-weekly job" at 9am. So yay! I'll be able to sleep in a bit tomorrow. I'm ready for that. Two mornings in a row of getting up early is too much for me! ;-)

Wednesday Weigh In

I'm up a pound. But I'm not going to freak out about it. I had a couple of good meals this weekend and they were enjoyable. Back into healthy habits. :-)

Plus, I had to get up early this morning to do the treadmill before I went to get a root canal done, so I usually weigh a little more when I don't get as much sleep.

Wednesday weigh in - 192.8

Today's weight - 192.8. Down 1.6 and considering my period started Sunday, I'm pretty happy about that! Been doing some kind of exercise every day. Sometimes it's just a non-intense walk, but keeping moving helps me a lot. I've had a cold this week, so not feeling great. And when I went to the chiropractor on Monday, three of my ribs were out of place, sitting higher than the rest of my ribs. Getting them put back into place was a rather interesting sensation! :-O Took measurements today, too and those haven't changed much but since I had all of December off exercise by doctor's orders, that's not surprising.

Go see our kitties at my family blog. They are sooooo CUUUUUTE!

Denise Austin's email for today:
Six Workout Wreckers

To get the most out of your workout — and avoid an injury — make sure to avoid these six common mistakes, say experts from the American Council on Exercise:

1. Jerking to lift weights: Make sure your lifts are slow and controlled. Use your muscle to hoist the weight, not momentum.
2. Leaning on the handrails of the stair climber, elliptical trainer, or treadmill: This makes the workout less challenging and can injure your wrists and back. Stand up tall and instead barely brush the handrails for balance.
3. Not getting enough rest: Working out when you're fatigued can lead to sloppy technique and an injury. Make sure to get your rest before working out.
4. Locking your knees: Always keep your knees slightly bent to prevent an injury.
5. Not warming up: Don't try to shave time off your workout by skipping the warm- up or you could end up on the bench.
6. Getting stuck in a rut: If you're just going through the motions during your workout, shake things up by trying something new! Change will challenge your mind and your body!

Photo from behind

Normally I'd cringe at photos of me from the back, but I must admit, I don't look too bad in this photo. We were at the range as part of our NRA Certified Instructor training. This was our FUN activity. We were practicing shooting a small animal running at us. (A cop was attacked by a rabid fox. So this is a good skill to know.) The "animal" was a gallon jug of water. And yes, I did hit it! Woot!

New jeans in a smaller size, too. Hooray! They are 14s. 10-12 is my goal size. Since I'm almost 6 feet tall, that's a reasonable size for me.
(Weight today 193.2)

Kittenses

We have two new members of the family. Go to my family blog to check out photos of the adorable critters. :-)

Today's busy day

I had been feeling better, but today - the cough is back! Argh! I am NOT stopping my workouts again. I just refuse! Anyway, we had a really, really good day today. You can read about it on my family blog.

Today's weight

Going back down. Today was 193.8. I think it helped that I was able to sleep in a bit.

5 Flat Belly Foods

From an article in Prevention - read it, it's fascinating! Foods high in monounsaturated fat (MUFA) actually help you lose belly fat.

1. Nuts and seeds - macadamia nuts contain the highest level.
2. Oils - Olive and canola are good, safflower has the most MUFA
3. Avocado - denser Hass variety packs twice as much as the bright green-skinned FL varieties
4. Chocolate - dark and semisweet are MUFA rich and high in antioxidants
5. Olives - green ones offer more belly-fat-fighting fat than black ones

Wednesday weigh in

I'm so glad the challenge isn't ending today. I'm the same as I was last week. Pooh. At least at the end of Feb I shouldn't be PMSing or on my period. So hopefully I'll have better results by then.

From Denise Austin today:
Get Excited About Getting Fit
Has your regular workout routine become a bit too . . . routine? Don't get frustrated — change it up! Even exercises you enjoy can start to feel dull and repetitive after a while. Here are some fun ways to get creative with your workouts this winter (and all year round)!

* Find a friend to work out with — it'll help you stay motivated when the going gets tough.
* Incorporate a yoga, spin, or kickboxing class into your workout every week — a little variety goes a long way.
* Try listening to music during your workouts — singing along to your favorite tunes will make the time fly by.
* Take your indoor workouts outside when the weather permits — a change of scenery can make an old workout feel new again.

ARGH

After my downward trend, I started an upward one. I'm journaling more thoroughly to track my calorie intake. I've still kept up my exercise trend. Trying to lift weights, but still having back and neck problems. But maybe I've been adding a little muscle. Measurements are all the same. We'll see what tomorrow's weigh in brings. It tends to fluctuate this time of month. As irritable as I've been, it's got to be getting close to my period. :-P

Progress

To those who wondered, yes, I am tall. I'm 5'11" and come from full-blooded Norwegian stock on my mom's side. Most of the women in the family are amazons! :-D My daughter is a striking exemption. At 5'6" or so, she's the petite one (and very thin!)

Weight's been going down a bit every day. 193.8 Friday, 193.6 yesterday and 193.4 today. I'd love to keep that trend going. I have exercised every day in 2008 so far except today, but it's still early. :-) The new Prevention magazine says the key to losing belly fat is eating a monounsaturated fat with every meal or snack. Nuts are one of the five recommended and they said macadamia nuts are the highest in MUFs. Sounds good to me!

My neck and upper back are still not back to normal after my fall on the ice, so I'm going to try for twice weekly chiropractic visits for a bit. It definitely feels better after I go.

Today is my daughter's TWENTIETH birthday! It goes too fast. My son turned 18 in Nov, so we're a houseful of adults and my identity as a homeschooling mom is almost at an end.

Oh, and I agree with kickboxingmomma, the key to not gaining more during the holidays is living far away from family! ;-)

Weigh in - 194.4

Well, I'm down a pound from last week, but up 2 from 2 weeks ago! 194.4 today. I've started walking on the treadmill and am striving for an Exercise Streak. Went to the chiropractor again today. My neck was getting pretty sore again.

And let's not let our resolutions morph in this way!

The New Year

I want to hit my goal weight this year. I started using the treadmill again today and lifted weights, too. I'm going to try to do some kind of activity EVERY DAY. I was inspired by The Amazing Shrinking Mom and her Exercise Streak.