Everybody dance now!

Today is another new low!!!!! 180.8 on the digital scale, 179 on the challenge scale. Figured I would get an updated photo as well. In medium leggings. Woohoo! Still a couple of bubbles in the belly, but that ultimate abs ball is definitely working on those!!!

A great email from Denise Austin
Simple Steps
Walk the Pounds Off!
Do you walk the recommended 10,000 steps a day? If not, it's a great health goal to strive for! Japanese researchers were the first to set that number of steps to take a day; it is also about equal to the U.S. government's recommended 30 minutes of daily physical activity. Taking 10,000 steps burns approximately 300 calories and, over time, has been shown to reduce the risk of heart disease and help with the maintenance of a healthy weight.

Does 10,000 steps sound like a lot? Don't worry! You don't have to walk all 10,000 at once — and they don't even have to come from what you normally think of as exercise. If you go grocery shopping and walk through the aisles for 45 minutes, you've walked 2,000 steps or so right there! It's easy and exciting to find new ways to rack up more steps!

Tracking your steps is easy with a simple device called a pedometer. Simple attach the pager-like piece to your waistband and let it count your steps for you. While there are expensive pedometers with lots of extra features — like a heart rate monitor and radio — you really only need an accurate one, which you can buy for about $10 to $15 at a sports or discount retail store.

Research has proven that people who wear pedometers walk more. The best way to start out is just to wear your pedometer for a few days as you go about your normal activities. This will give you a starting point — the number of steps you take in a typical day. If you're pretty far from 10,000 a day — say you take about 4,000 steps a day — set your first goal lower so it's more realistic to achieve. For example, aim for 5,000 steps a day for the coming week. As you hit your goals, keep setting them a bit higher until you're getting in the recommended 10,000 a day. You'll be surprised at how many steps you can accumulate just doing your daily activities. Don't be surprised to get more and more motivated to move once you see your number of steps rise! Now, who's ready to go for a walk with me?

Rough week

Glad Mother's Day is over. It's been hard, seeing all the displays in stores and hearing the radio and TV adverts.

We went out to eat twice on Saturday to celebrate our daughter's last weekend at home with us. She gets the keys to her new apartment on Tuesday! For lunch, I had a California Fritatta at Rosie's Diner. We had a late dinner at Chili's. I ordered the half-size chicken quesadillas with a side salad. Rather bland meal, I must say. Just ate half of the quesadillas. Also drank a frozen strawberry margarita.

Had mini-meals today. Didn't want to go out anywhere, so we stayed at home. Hubby and the kids got me a beautiful cross necklace. They seemed to understand my need to lay low today.

I've done the ultimate abs workout every day this weekend, but no cardio.

Weigh in for Sizzling Hot 4 Summer Challenge

Maintaining the 181 weight from Monday. So down 6 pounds for the challenge. I'll take it! :-)

My abs are killing me from that ultimate abs ball workout! We did an hour of intermediate waltz last night and I was feeling every one of those muscles!

Here's a message from Denise Austin:
Put Your Thirst First!
Who doesn't love sugary drinks? I definitely do! Soft drinks, sweetened coffee drinks, and some fruit juices might not seem like much when you're drinking them, but they can add hundreds of calories to your diet — and your waistline! The diet versions are a little better, but only a little. They're still crammed with sodium and chemicals. Their sweet taste can even trigger cravings for other sweets!

Remember that you can have a can of soda or your favorite latte! Just be sure to consider these drinks as treats and not an everyday part of your eating plan. To quench your thirst, try herbal tea, seltzer flavored with lemon or lime, or the most sensible drink of all — refreshing water!

NEW LOW!!!! WOOT! - 182.2

Today's weight, 182.2 on digital, 181 on challenge scale. Woohoo. (Oh, by the way, this is with my period starting today!!!!)

Did all 3 Ultimate abs workouts this morning. Wow! I sure can feel it.

For photos of our ballroom dancing and of family, check out my family blog.

Updated photo

Here's a photo my aunt took of me. Like my size 12 capris??? :-)

Looking ahead

I liked this list on Mrs. Sheila's blog, so figured I would make my own plan for May.

What are your goals for the month of May?
I would love to lose 10 more pounds by the end of the challenge. Will do cardio six days a week and strength training 3x a week. Must have one day of rest.

How do you plan to accomplish these goals?
Getting it done first thing when I get up. Sometimes my walk will be with hubby after he gets off work, though.

If you had problems in April, what will you do differently this month to ensure that nothing gets in your way and that your goals are met?
Well, a death in the family is an unexpected and unavoidable stress-maker with traveling and lots of comfort food available. I did pretty well even during that period, but will keep active to let the exercise decrease the stress.

What did you learn about yourself in April that will help you reach your goals this month?
I am able to keep up my healthy habits even under great stress, but am realistic enough to know that it's OK to have an occasional treat or a meal that is not completely on track with my 400 calories per meal.

What a week!

It's been an INSANE week. Had to scramble to get the gauze overlay skirts made for our waltz by Thursday evening. Not my best sewing projects, but they looked OK when we performed last night. Then my hubby's 50th bday party was Friday night and since Safeway had no fun designs for cakes, I made a yummy trifle with my Dove Chocolate mousse and Truffle Fudge brownies. SOOOOO good. I took a pic, I'll post it later. It was a fun party, his friends got him all kinds of gag gifts for "old-timers!"

Then I had to get my skirt done on Saturday and decided to find an elastic belt to sew the gauze to instead of making a waistband, which was a total pain on one of the others I made. I was also supposed to shorten my dress by 7 inches, but there was so much material, and just not conducive to making a hem. Total nightmare. Decided my dress would just be longer than the others! Couldn't find a good applique, so I got a black and silver boa to put around the neckline of my dress. I sewed that on while in the car on the way to the dance! Went to put it on and I hadn't stretched the neckline enough, so the thread snapped. Sigh. Such a stressful day. My daughter helped me pin the boa at the shoulder and I looked fabulous! ;-)

After my weight being up all week, it's back to 183 this morning. Whew, that's much better. I figured it would sort out after the traveling, stress, etc. I'd like to lose at least another pound by check in days this week, so I'll get busy with my workouts again. I had to give myself a break this past week. Oh, and Thursday night my hubby and I went to Carrabba's for dinner. I had a salad with grilled chicken, but splurged on the drink, getting a pomegranate martini. Oh, my! It was quite yummy. Had a mini tiramisu for dessert, too.

I'm pretty sure all of our dancing last night burned off the calories of a few days! :-) We had such a good time and really enjoyed our waltz routine with the 3 other couples. We video taped it and if I can ever figure out how to upload our videos, I'll post it on YouTube. Haven't viewed it yet, so don't know how well it turned out. OH, and our 21yo daughter did a tango and she and her partner were FABULOUS! We are quite proud!