Written by Jenn on July 17th, 2009

Photo by Sean Durham
I’ve been a bad bad girl, and a bad bad blogger.
I’ve only worked out 6 times in the last 16 days. *le sigh*
In my defense-My knees have hurt, my shoulder has hurt (dang it-the steriod shot wore off and that year old injury still isn’t better. MRI here I come to check for a tear). I’ve had migraines.
But isn’t that life? Doesn’t everything interfere? If I keep giving in to all the excuses will I ever be fit?
No.
I won’t.
Sometimes you just have to suck it up and make yourself do it.
Because if you don’t, it’s a downhill spiral. Sure, I had all sorts of excuses for why I couldn’t exercise. . . but where in those reasons are why I haven’t been watching what I eat, or drinking more water?
No where.
It’s just that when you give up on one thing, it is that much easier to give up on the next, and the next.
So today-my vow. I will exercise! Today I will at least take a walk, enjoy the nice weather, get away from the computer and do something good for my body.
There. Now to stick to it.
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Written by Jenn on July 1st, 2009
Well I did the final workout in the 30 day challenge yesterday! I’m so thrilled that I stuck with it and completed the program- it is so easy to get distracted and put exercise off for “just a day”.
I can’t wait to have Yankee Bill (aka the hubs) take some after shots of me tonight. I can FEEL the differences in my body (although I’ve only lost about a lb). I have more energy, my thighs are much stronger, and I can feel the muscle and definition in my biceps and triceps. No chicken arms here! I’m not sure if those things will show much in the photos, so I’m just as curious as you all are.
Don’t worry-this isn’t the end of the saga-I’m going to continue on with a second 30 day challenge.
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Written by Jenn on June 27th, 2009
I did my challenge yesterday at 5:30 pm. I just got it done in time to run upstairs & shower and change before the babysitter showed up.
Yankee Bill and I have season tickets to the local professional theatre, and I just realized a few days ago that the first show was done this weekend. It was sort of an emergency date 
This morning I have a headache. It’s gray out. I’ve already been online fluffing up some background stuff on Frugal Upstate, answered emails, fed the kiddos & myself cereal. I’m sitting here on the couch in my jammies thinking that I better get my workout in today before we really get rolling.
Ick. But I don’t want to. I want to crawl back into bed.
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Written by Jenn on June 25th, 2009
I’m still here, really!
Welcome to all of you who have popped over to subscribe from Frugal Upstate due to the EA Sports Active giveaway. If you want to see where I started, take a peek at my “starting point” post. . . It has embarassing pictures and everything!
I took a day off after that killer knee workout-I really am afraid of causing an actual injury. With the rest they were much better so I continued with working out yesterday and today.
Now, arthritis runs in my family, and I already have some in my neck, so I am a little paranoid about my joints. I’ve re-started taking glucosomine on the advice of my doctor, hoping it will help with my knees. Otherwise I just try not to overdo it and ice them after working out if they ache, take an occasional ibuprophen. . . .remember, I’m not a doctor or anything here. . .
I used to have a really hard time remembering to take my vitamins, but I bought one of those 7 day pill box things. Now once a week I put all my vitamins etc in there and then leave it out on the c0nter. The big bottles aren’t in the way and I still remember to take them.
Right now I’m taking Vitamin C, a digestive enzyme for gas, evening primrose oil, glucosomine, and women’s multi vitamin.
What vitamins/supplements do you take?
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Written by Jenn on June 23rd, 2009
Wow. My knees really not happy with me. Feel fine when I’m walking, sitting or standing, but when I “scooch” down and put them through the range of motion they go through in a squat-well, watch out!
I can’t tell if they are just sore from overuse, if it’s the arthritis I already have in my neck and expected to start any year elsewhere (thanks mom & dad) or if I’ve actually injured them.
I’m betting against the injured part though because they don’t ache at all-just are sore when I move them in a specific way.
I can tell you-I’ll be skipping any squats or lunges in my workout today!
Oh, and in other news? Weighed in at my TOPS meeting last night and had gained a pound. 159. Le Sigh.
I did stick to my goal of exercising, and drinking more water. Eating more veg was sort of a washout
Yeah, maybe that weight gain is muscle. Yeah, I ate chinese w/kiddos at the buffet-full of sodium which makes you retain water (but not too much fried stuff and tons of veggies-but maybe a bit of icecream at the end). Yeah, I forgot about my meeting and drank half of a diet pepsi right before. . .
But that is probably all excuses. I am seeing a difference. I have toned up. On the other hand I need to continue to work. I have not changed my eating habits, which I need to. One thing at a time however. They say it takes 30 days to make a habit, so right now I’m working on making exercise a life habit. I’m throwing in there eating more veggies & fruits and trying to drink more water. . . once the exercise habit is firmly established I’ll attack the actual food choices.
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Tags: Health, Physical exercise, Weight gain, Weight loss
Written by Jenn on June 22nd, 2009
Ok, I don’t know what sadistic soul created today’s workout in the EA Sport 30 day challenge. Squats q/toe raises, squat holds (yeah, 1 min doesn’t SOUND like a lot), sqaut jumps, side to side jumps (which start in a squat), Inline skating (where you squat then jump the ramps). A long run thrown in for variety.
Repeat.
Twice.
My thighs were burning and my legs were shaking half way through. . . .
Ok, so I know that in the long run this is a good thing. I know that it means I really worked those muscles well. . .
And it’s my dang fault for picking the high intensity workout. . .
I also know if for some insane reason I had decided to do squats on my own without the program I would have stopped WAY before I did following the program.. .
So I guess in the long run it was probably a good thing.
Well, I better head upstairs for a quick shower. Of course that involves getting up from this chair, and I’m still not sure if my thighs will work!
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Written by Jenn on June 19th, 2009
Ok, so despite my long tirade yesterday, it was almost THREE before I got to do my workout today. And yes, I was tired. I did knock the difficulty back from “hard” to “moderate” but was still using the stiffer green exercise band.
So I made it. Started kind of slow, but finished strong. A good moment? When I did the squat holds-they still were not fun, but I could FEEL that my thighs are stronger. They were unhappy, but they weren’t all pained and wobbly. Yay for improvement.
On another note, woke tired and stayed tired all day. I’m starting to think I’ve actually got a touch of a cold or something, rather than just being lazy
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Written by Jenn on June 19th, 2009
This morning I woke to a wet, gray day. Rain was pattering down against the skylight in my bedroom. I wanted nothing more than to curl back up and go to bed-but the kiddos are still in school and a mom has duties. So I was busy this morning getting the kids off to school, writing, putting laundry away. I figured I’d work out around 10 then shower and change in time to meet a friend for lunch.
Next thing I knew it was almost 11-just enough time to throw on something nicer than my brown velour tracksuit (courtesy of my MIL as a birthday gift last year) and head out for the bakery/sandwich shop.
When I got home I realized that the house looked a total wreck. I do like to have the house look as though something has been done while hubs is at work! So I set the table, unloaded the dishwasher, washed a sink full of dishes, and then trucked 4 baskets of laundry upstairs. . . .
By then it was 2 in the afternoon and I really didn’t want to workout. I was tired. My energy had bottomed out. I really, really didn’t want to exercise. I felt like I could just curl up on my sofa, pull a blanket over me, and sleep.
Sigh.
Yeah, not going to lose any weight that way.
So I went upstairs and got changed into my workout stuff.
And wouldn’t you know it-today was one heck of an exercise. Three, count ‘em three sets of inline skating jumps (basically squats where you have to jump when your little computer person hits the inline skating ramps and land back into a squat) followed by side to side jumps. And in the middle there was a long version of the fast kickups-basically a fast jog where you try to kick your butt with your heels.
My thighs were sooo tired. . .but I did it. I deserve SOMETHING for that herculean effort I tell you.
Oh yeah, right, what I deserve is to start fitting into my clothes again.
It was a tough workout today, but I did it. In the future I’ll be trying my damnedest to get it done in the morning though.
Posted in EA Sports Active, Exercise, Jenn | 3 Responses »
Written by Jenn on June 18th, 2009
My knees have started to ache-from all the lunges and squats-so I decided to actually take the scheduled “rest” day that shows up every 2 days in the EA Sports Active 30 Day Challenge.
That doesn’t mean I sat around like a vegetable all day. The kids had their field day at school today. (Yes, I know, my kids don’t get out of school until next Wed). I decided to up my activity level by walking the 1 1/4 mile to the school. Of course I had to do the same on the way back!
Then right around dinner my weight loss buddy Cherie called me-she had an hour while her teenage daughters were at piano lessons. Did I want to go for a walk?
So we had a nice brisk 1 1/2 mile walk, as well as a long overdue chat.
I call that a pretty sucessful day.
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Written by Jenn on June 16th, 2009
Well, I went to my weekly TOPS meeting tonight-for the first time in 3 weeks due to travel. The meeting always starts out with the pledge-it may sound a bit corny, but it is true.
I am an intelligent person
I will control my emotions, and not let my emotions control me
Every time I am tempted to use food to satisfy my frustrated desires, build up my injured ego or dull my senses
I will remember that even though I over-eat in private
My excess poundage is there, for all the world to see
How foolish I have been
I was weighed in as we all are each week. I maintained. For those of you not in the weight loss meeting terminology know, that means I did not lose or gain weight.
I was a little disappointed, since I’ve been doing the challenge now for 15 days. But then again, I really haven’t changed my eating habits much during that time. And muscle weighs more than the same volume of fat. . . and I ate a lot of potato chips and salty stuff at a backyard BBQ on Sunday night. . .
Maybe all that is just excuses. I’m not sure. I do know I’m going to keep on trucking and see what happens next week. But I have set myself some goals:
#1-Continue to work out with the EASport Active.
#2-Continue to drink my 62 oz of water minimum a day.
#3-Increase my fruit and veggie intake.
We will see how I do.
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