So I did the unthinkable...I weighed myself today even though I swore that I wouldn't.  I mean...how could I resist...it was there, I was there, I stepped on it.  And, despite the hiccups I had last week with scheduling snafu's...I lost three pounds!  And to celebrate today, I stuck to my schedule and finished my workout early so that I wouldn't keep putting it off until it was too late. Lesson learned - I need to apply the same principles that I use at work to those at home (in other words, get the task I want to do least out of the way first).

We've all heard the phrase, "you are what you eat."  As a kid, we used to make jokes about it.  Nutrition didn't mean anything to us.  That was something my mother took care of insuring that I ate a well balanced meal.  Entering high school and college I fended for myself a lot.  I still attempted to eat well.  I think working at Wendy's helped me the most in staying well balanced.  Wait...what?  A fast food restaurant kept you eating well?  Yes.  Because I primarily ate chicken (which wasn't processed garbage like most fast food places), salads, and baked potatoes.  Of course I had my share of burgers but since I was a closer, we often took home the left over salads that were otherwise going to be thrown away at night.  This kept me fed throughout my summer employment. As a married adult, I enjoyed the art of cooking and make quite a lot of recipes that I thought were healthy but also witnessed the weight gain on my husban...

As I'm nearing the end of week two of this fitness journey, I am tempted to step on the scale and see where I am at.  This, I know, will be a mistake.  I've been on similar fitness excursions and know that weight fluctuates too much to worry about a weekly weigh in.  Too many factors are involved in what that number actually means.  Yes, I will ultimately weigh in, but only after I've hit 30 days.  For now, I am happy to share that my clothes are a bit looser and (even though I've missed a workout or two due to scheduling mishaps) I haven't had the back pain that I have been plagued with lately.  Yes, there is still a twinge or two that I will live with forever, but I can stand straighter, and shipment days at work are not quite as painful.  These small steps are much more beneficial to keeping me on track than a number on a scale. Two more workouts for this week and then it is on to week number three.  I got this...

All week I have been waiting patiently/impatiently for my P90 routine to arrive in the mail.  Today's the day it finally came!  Of course I am uber excited and want to start it immediately, BUT, I also want to do this thing right!  So I am abstaining...barely. I have already watched the first dvd, read all the materials, and am staring at the equipment that came with it wanting to begin NOW.  Instead, I have updated my Beach Body account and my, oh, my...it's amazing what 3 yrs has done.  Instead of looking at it from a negative standpoint, I am opting to look at it in a positive.  Three years have gone by and my numbers could have been a LOT worse.  Instead, they have fallen into the zone of what I expected.  I mean, come on...I've lived with this body for three years and I live with the changes on a daily basis.  Looking at a number on a screen should not deter me in the slightest.  Who cares what it says on paper.  Settin...

On my last blog post I touched a bit on motivation.  Day 1 is always the easiest for me because I set a plan, schedule a date, and voila!  I make it happen.  Tackling day 2, 3, and beyond is a new animal entirely.  I have become the queen of excuses and believe me when I say it, if I convince myself to NOT do something, there isn't a shred of guilt remaining to make me regret.  Tuesday was my second day of my fitness challenge and also the day I was scheduled to work on shipment.  Shipment was postponed a day and I was subsequently called off work.  Perfect day to work out, right? Not so much. I spent the majority of the day working on tasks I have put off for ventures that I am trying to earn money for.  I wrote a number of blogs (always hoping that someone, someday, may feel compelled to click on an ad I have posted and I can earn a few pennies off of it), compiled a number of pictures that may look easy, but is very time consuming, wrote...

I have always found that day 1 of any goal is never the hardest.  Motivation is at the forefront of our psyche and eating right and exercising are a breeze.  Yesterday wasn't that bad.  For once, I didn't forget to eat (this is a side effect of being a writer and an artist...when I get "in the zone" of creating, I lose track of time), and I actually scheduled time to work out.  I'm still waiting for my P90 workout to arrive in the mail, but I have plenty of workouts videos and I decided to pull out my Karen Voight's Yogasculpt as an easy transition into working out.  And I'm happy I chose that one.  There is something to be said for yoga realigning your spine and this morning, I actually work up without the usual back pain I have grown accustomed to. Of course, working out with pets can be challenging.  It is amazing how they can ignore me for hours on end but the minute I put on a movie, or pull out my yoga mat, they want to play.  When I lo...

Today is day 1.  The first day of my self-proclaimed day to start my fitness challenge.  I created this blog to help keep me motivated, and possibly help others as they watch me succeed or fail in this endeavor.  I am not a doctor, nor am I a nutritionist.  I'm not trying to give anyone reading this medical advice, or even promote that what I am doing is right, or wrong.  It is just what it is.  My challenge.  And I'm bringing you along for the ride.  :-) That out of the way...I have mentioned this challenge to many of my friends.  Most of which have told me that I don't need to go on a diet.  Whereas this made me feel good in the "thanks for thinking I'm not fat" category, it also made me think of society's perception of dieting.  Somehow, we equate dieting as a means to lose weight.  Losing weight is only for "fat" people.  If you are perceived as "skinny," automatically you are lumped into this category of "hea...

For most people, the start of the new year brings a multitude of resolutions - the main one being that of eating better and getting fit.  This may have to do with the gluttonous behaviors over the holidays and the resulting shame we inflict upon us.  Either way, gym memberships increase as does the foot traffic into the gym.  But as the month draws to a close, fewer people frequent the gym and begin to fall back on bad habits until their visits become once a week or stop all together.  For me, I gave up resolutions a long time ago.  I just never saw the point.  But I certainly understand the drive to eat better and get fit.  And I certainly understand the ease to making excuses and not wanting to follow through on them.  My main excuse: not having enough time. A little bit about me:  I am an artist, an author, and I work part time (currently while I continue to search for a full time job).  Because my part time job doesn't pay my bil...