Don't Worry. Be Happy.

I had this whole depressing blog planned b/c I feel bad for myself b/c I can't run. But I decided not to post it. You know why? B/c I should be happy. You know why? B/c I have lost 59.8 pounds! That is something to be happy about.

I am also super happy for my good friend Tonya. She has started losing weight and blogging about it too! Check her out here. She is already well on her way. I am so proud of you Tonya!

I weigh in on Friday instead of Saturday this week b/c I have a 5k w/ my Dad on Saturday. I am so excited for it. It is a St. Patrick's day race sponsored by a local Irish bar called "Harrigan's Tavern". I really wanted to run in it b/c I'll bet the T-Shirts will be cool-Irish-tavern-St. Patrick's-like T-Shirts.

This blog is about happy things!

Snowed In

This is what I found when I looked outside this morning. We had a small blizzard or something. I got up at 6:30 and put Lisa in front of cartoons w/ a bowl of Cheerios. Then I went outside to shovel. I had a 9:10 Jenny Craig appointment. I had to go. I had no food to eat in the house. Anyway, I realized while I was shoveling that, I have never.... ever in my entire life.... shoveled snow! How weird. Here is a picture of me after I had the driveway cleared. Please excuse the lack of makeup. I bundled the kids up and headed out to Jenny Craig. The weather got much worse while I was at the JC Center as another storm was moving in. So I weighed in, got my food, and got out of there w/o the usual consultation. I drove straight to my parent's house which is a lot closer than mine. I am snowed in here now. Lisa has been playing in the snow and is having a blast. We will stay here until the roads are better. (BTW- I was down 1.6 pounds!)

My Friend Billy

I have recently realized that even though I am a size 7- I don't look the same as I did the last time I wore a size 7. It is a phenomenon called pregnancy. Things just aren't the same. I guess I figured when I was this size again I would look the same as I did in college or (gasp) high school. Well, I don't. But, I honestly do think that it will be possible. It is just going to take a little bit more work.

Enter Billy Blanks.
I've found that when things get rough in life you can always call on Billy. He has some kind of martial art, bootcamp, super-crunch, exercise band, near-death experience way of fixing most problems. Pictured here is his "Ab BootCamp". I have owned his BootCamp trilogy for some time but never used this workout. I am going to start doing it tomorrow. (The only reason I am not doing it tonight is b/c I just located it and it is 10:20.) My only concern is that it is 35 minutes long. But that may include warm up, cool down, etc. I think this DVD may hold the secret to the reversal of the effects of pregnancy. I am really counting on you Billy. No pressure. I am excited to try it out. I will let you know how it goes.

Tastes of the good life!

Today I was smiling while I opened a fresh container of fat free cottage cheese. I was so happy about that first scoop. When a person is dieting they deny themselves so much of the old food they really loved (read=the food that made them big). I realized, while smiling at my fresh container of fat free cottage cheese, my mind has created new foods that I really love.

Former Favorite Foods:

pretzels

Chipotle

saltine crackers

Goldfish/Cheezits

french fries

New Favorite Foods:

fat free cottage cheese

salad

salsa in salad

Granny Smith Apples

Oatmeal

turkey burgers

These are the foods I crave now. Okay, I still have the occasional desire for Chipotle or pretzels (I've had neither since August). Now that I want these healthy foods I just have one of them if I get a craving for anything. They aren't the same but they do the trick!

Spinning Again

A new session started at the YMCA this week. I really wanted to continue w/ my Boot Camp class but for several reasons I couldn't. So I have decided to head back to spinning. I was spinning last September and October, when I started blogging but kept my blog private. (Check it out here.)

Anyway- I really enjoyed my spinning class today. My instructor is really good and he was super nice and helpful. Boy- was he tough! The class had 7 people in it and the rest of them had all been spinning for years. I think I did okay keeping up. I also had a non-scale victory. The receptionist I used to talk to, when I was spinning last fall, did not recognize me! Someone else had to tell her who I was! Yay! It is so fun looking good!

Upgrade?

I switched from 8 pound weights to 10 pound weights today. It was time. I really felt pushed tonight when lifting and enjoyed the challenge. My only complaint is the look of my new weights. I mean... please. While at the store this afternoon to purchase new weights I didn't notice the 10 pounders at first. I saw 2's, 3's, 5's, and 8's. They were all purple, blue, pink, aqua, etc. And in the above nice bubble shape and coated in that rubber-plastic. So nice.
I called over an associate.

Me: Excuse me Mam. Do you have any 10 pound hand weights?
Mam: Ummmm yes. Over here. See. Here they are. (She is pointing to a pile of metal that I did not notice before. There are 10, 15, 20 pound weights and more. All metal.)
Me: Oh. I see. Ummmm. Do you have any pretty 10 pound hand weights?
Mam: What? No. I guess we don't.

Well, I obviously bought them but I am not happy about having them hanging around looking all ugly. So- is this what happens now? Are the manufacturers assuming that people lifting 10 pound hand weights want mannish, metal weights?! The injustice.

Weighing In Today

I was down another 2.4 pounds! Yay me! Yay Jenny Craig! We were made for each other. I am actually surprised w/ my results this week. I didn't expect to be losing big numbers at this point in the game. Also, I have not been exercising as much w/ the children being sick and my IT band issues. But I am NOT complaining! Just pleasantly surprised. Very surprised and very happy! I am going to try my hardest to maintain that loss and lose a little more next week. I have 11.8 pounds left to go! So close!