Today starts a new day.  Unfortunately, I cannot make it to the YMCA today due to other obligations.  But, I will be back to my normal eating routine today and back at the gym tomorrow.  I am missing the spin class, so will hit up tomorrow evening’s class at Roper.  I was also planning on joining their internal GFC.  But, I am not sure I can commit to the full season, as I will be traveling a lot over the next couple of months.  (Traveling didn’t work out so well for me last season.)

The good news is I am still down, 8 pounds now.  So, at least I know I’m doing something right.  If I could a) remember to take my medicine, and b) get in a workout 4 or more days per week I’d be a little further along.

Time to go get back on the wagon with a long walk for the dog.

If you watched the last episode, you know that I was the biggest NON-loser!  I lost a whopping total of 4 pounds over the 4 months.  That was pretty humiliating, especially when looking at everyone else’s greater losses.    But, there is a reason I only lost 4 pounds, and it is NOT for lack of trying.

10 years ago I was diagnosed with Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome “PCOS”).  Along with the PCOS came Insulin Resistance.  What does this mean?  Well, it means my body works against me in any attempt to take off weight, unless my insulin is in check.  Unfortunately, I was not able to get my medications worked out until three weeks before the final weigh in.  (I lost all 4 of those pounds in the last two weeks.)

So what if I only lost 4 pounds?!  What is more important is that I dropped a full pant size and shirt size.  So, that means some of my hard work paid off, as I lost inches.  (You can’t drop sizes if you don’t lose inches!)  Also, my cholesterol went from 220 to 180.  (Borderline High to Good.)  Thanks to changes in my diet, my Blood Sugar went from pre-diabetic to within normal range.

If I didn’t have a full time job and two small children at home, it might have been a little bit easier to get to the gym 6-7 days per week.  But, that is not real life, at least not for me.  There can be a balance.  But, with that balance comes the reality that the weight is not going to pour off.  I don’t really care how fast it comes off.  It took 10 years and 2 babies to put it all on.  It is unrealistic to think it will all come off in 4 months (unless I go to some fat camp like “The Biggest Loser” where I am forced to exercise for 8 hours a day and consume a 500 calorie diet!)

I am happier.  I am healthier.  And, I am persevering!  I have joined the YMCA and have been working out at least three times per week.  I have tried a spinning class, and I liked it.  I will be doing that more often (today even).  I will also be joining the internal Get Fit Club (probably at the Dr. P YMCA).  My plan is to lose enough weight and build up enough stamina that I will be able to participate in some foot races with some of my GFC teammates.  I will keep this blog going as long as I can to keep you updated on my status.  If you follow along, I am sure you will see a different looking me by the end of 2010.  I hope to post a picture of me crossing the finish line!  Like I said, this is only the beginning…

I miss my GFC team . I am hoping to see some of them soon. Working out in a group setting and having that accountibility makes all the difference, at least for me.

I may try a beginners spinning class this weekend, looks like fun.

I will definitely be signing up for the internal GFC, just have to decide whether I will do Roper or Dr. Phillips. Dr. P is closer to work, where I spend most of my waking hours, so I will likely make that my home Y. Looking forward to spending more time there!

I started surfing the channels and came across a Free On Demand channel on Brighthouse, called Exercise TV.  On my Brighthouse, it is channel 306.  They have quite a variety of workouts on this channel – everything from Carmen Electra Striptease to Jillian Michaels to Cardioke (Cardio Kareoke) to Yoga and Pilates.  So, I started with the Pilates.  Wow!  This is the first time I’ve ever tried it, and my hips are still feeling it!  This was a 23 minute workout from start to finish.  I then moved on to Cardioke.  This was fun!  It was hip hop dancing and singing to pop music – Black Eyed Peas, Pussycat Dolls, etc.  This was a fun, high impact, aerobics workout.  I will definitely do this one again!

Christmas night, I put on the kids nighttime yoga.  My kids, especially my son, really enjoyed this.  It was a nice way to get them relaxed and ready for bed.  (They both fell asleep before 9pm and slept until 9am the next morning!)

While these little workouts don’t substitute for the regular three-times a week workouts, they certainly count on the “active rest” days.  Though, you may have to do 2 or 3 videos to get in a full 60-90 minutes.  But, even if you just do one, it’s better than none!

One of my Christmas gifts was the EA Sports Active Workout, which is put together by Dr. Bob Greene of Oprah fame.  This is similar to Wii Fit, but no balance board required.  I also enjoyed the different activities that this particular “game” has to offer.  (There is also a new EA Sports Active MORE Workouts, which I don’t yet have.)  The program includes a 3-=day challenge.  The workout changes as you progress – gets longer and more intense.  The program starts with a 20 minute workout.  This workout included inline skating – squats to jumps; side lunges; punching bag; tennis; jogging and walking; bicep curls; bent over back rows.  The “game” comes with a resistance band to enhance your workout.  I must admit, I had my doubts, but I worked up a serious sweat (and it wasn’t because the heat was on!)  I’m looking forward to doing this everyday.

I started the week with a test to receive my Community Manager certification. I’m pretty sure I passed. So, I can check that off as another thing accomplished in 2009. Then I headed over to the Orange County Animal Shelter. We had been discussing getting a new dog since we had to find a new home for our last one. (My kids are not good with small dogs.) I had been checking the website and there were a couple of dogs that I wanted to meet. Walking through that animal shelter, I was overcome with emotions. I never in a million years thought that it would affect me the way it did. I walked out of that shelter sobbing. It was so sad to see all of these potentially great animals locked up and to know that many of them would not be adopted and would probably be put down. I drove home and picked up my husband and kids and we headed back to the shelter to meet a few of the dogs. I was determined to save one of them!

We wound up falling for a lab/shepard mix. We were able to bring her home on Wednesday, December 23rd. We have named her Dixie. So far, she has proven to be a great, sweet dog! She’s good with both the kids AND the cats! She is very cute. She weighs 55 pounds, but thinks she is a lap dog!

Then of course we had Christmas! My kids are 4.5 and 6, and this was truly the first year that they both got into the whole Santa thing! It made for a very exciting Christmas Eve and Day. Despite their somewhat poor behavior this past week, Santa was very good to both of them. (So good, in fact, that Santa even forgot a couple of bags of presents in her closet!) The big family gift is our Disney Cruise, which we will embark on in a few weeks.

It’s been easy to stick to my diet this week. Most of the family was out of town for Christmas, so we were pretty much on our own. My mom came over Christmas morning and I made a breakfast casserole, containing eggs, bread, sausage and cheese. Not terrible. We then headed to the Magic game. It was a late lunch, and if you haven’t been to a sporting event recently, the healthy food fad hasn’t made its way to the arenas just yet! The kids and hubby ate pizza and nachos. I was able to find a place that had carved filet mignon sandwiches. I asked for, and surprisingly received, a few extra slices of meet. This was nice, since I had no intention of eating the bread. The filet was very good.

When we got home from the game, we were sad that the Magic had lost. We were even more sad when we turned on the news just in time to see Todd Romero’s report on the death of the young man who received my blood donation last month. Terrell Wilson was 21 years old and suffered from Leukemia. He passed away on Christmas morning. My thoughts are with Terrell’s family during this difficult time.

Terrell was African-American. I point this out, because there is a tremendous shortage of African-American bone marrow donors. I, myself, am on the registry. While my blood was acceptable to help Terrell. My bone marrow was not. The best matches run along ethnic lines. (This now explains why they asked so much about my own ethnicity during the registration process.) If you’re nervous about registering to be a bone marrow donor, because you’re unsure of the process, let me assure you, it is painless. It involves four swabs of the inside of your cheeks. That’s it. And, Floridas Blood Centers, does not charge a fee for signing up. And, just because you’re a match doesn’t necessarily mean that you’ll need to have a hole drilled into your bone. For more information, check out the Floridas Blood Centers website at www.floridasbloodcenters.org.

Before I go, I will let you know that I will be working out at the Roper Y every day this week, probably around 11:00 AM. This Get Fit Club is up on January 23rd, and I have to prove that I can do this on my own (even though I’ve not done so well on my own thus far.) If you happen to see me there, please give me the encouragement that I need. I am determined to see that number on the scale go down on the 23rd!

There were three choices for getting down:

1.  Repel back down the rock wall.

2.  Climb down a long ladder in a dark cave.

3.  Slide down a zip line.

I’ve always wanted to try a zip line, so I chose option 3.  IT WAS AWESOME!!!!  The hardest part was sitting myself on the tiny little platform (made for 10 year olds) without falling off.  The second hardest part was taking that leap of faith.  I knew if I thought about it too long, I would chicken out.  So, 1-2-3 and down I went.  Best roller coaster ride ever!  I wanted to do it again, but only if I didn’t have to climb Goliath again.  (Goliath is the name of the rock wall.)

The ascent

The next challenge was archery.  Let’s just say, not my sport.  But, it was fun nonetheless.

After the challenges, we had a nice dinner and then sang songs around a campfire.  It was a very nice evening (until I got lost on the way home with no gas!)

On Friday, I headed out to Healing Laser Clinics in Lake Mary for the Infrared Weight Loss Body Wrap.  So, basically, they wrap you in heating pads that get REALLY hot, and sweat all the water out of you.  They say it burns 1200 calories in one hour.  They took my measurements before and after.  I lost a total of  7 inches in that hour, 4 from the hips alone!  (Not sure how long it lasts…)  This is certainly not an exercise replacement.  But, if you need help that Spanx can’t provide to you, this might be a good option for fitting into that special dress!  I’m not a fan of sweating, so I’m not sure how often I would do this.  But, I would likely do it again.  And, the staff at Healing Laser Clinics was very friendly.  Thanks to Aimee and Melissa.

The Body Wrap was pretty relaxing.  Then I wound up sitting in traffic for over an hour to get back to Clermont.  And, of course, to top it all off, my teenager (actually my 6 year old) decided last night would be her winning dramatic performance.  Let’s say the evening didn’t end as pleasantly as it began!  Those of you with girls know what I’m saying!

Today was another challenge.  This time they had the two teams ringing the Salvation Army bell at two different Publix stores.  I sat out of this challenge for personal reasons.  I was able to finish up the Christmas shopping today and get the kids’ pics with Santa (and I put money in the kettle, to make up for the fact that I wasn’t there to ring the bell.)

I am off work for the next two and half weeks.  There is a workout on the schedule every day, where it will take place is yet to be determined.

Tuesday – had every intention of going to the gym, even made myself late for work because I forgot my gym bag (and I got stuck in traffic due to the Turnpike being closed.)  Because I got to work late, I left late, and once again got stuck in that Turnpike closure traffic.  At 7:00, I decided I was not heading to the gym

Wednesday – Still had the gym bag in the car.  Had my hubby meet me at the gym, even had Grandma bring the kids to us at the Y.  Checked in.  Got my lock.  Got to the locker room.  Took off my shoes.  Opened my gym bag, only to discover that I had two different shoes, both right feet!  (Had it been a left and a right, I would have just made the fashion statement.)  So, no gym, on to the house.  I did wind up walking around Target for a while, only to get all the way through the checkout and realize my wallet was still in the gym bag in the car.

NOT A GOOD WEEK FOR ME!

Tomorrow is a challenge at the YMCA Camp Wewa in Apopka.  I am not feeling physically prepared for it this time.  I hope I don’t injure myself.  (I’m too stubborn to not attempt to do most everything!)

I’m having a difficult time making it to the Avalon Y for group workouts.  For some reason, money has been EXTREMELY tight over the past few weeks, and I have had to conserve every ounce of gas in my car!  To make it doubly painful, things have been getting crazy at work, and I’m finding myself working later.  I am off work the next two and half weeks, and I hope to make it out to Avalon once or twice.  If I don’t, there is comfort in knowing that the trainers at Roper have my back!

I was a tad bit broke over the past couple of weeks.  (A money tree or large cash gift would be great right about now!)  Additionally, our team workout schedule has been a little screwed up.  So, I’ve been working out closer to home, at the Roper YMCA.  The trainers there have been keeping an eye on me, and correcting my stance every once in a while.  (I think they’re hoping to get one of the TV teams next season!)

I’ve also started taking a B-12 supplement in hopes that I would have a little bit more energy.  It seems to be working.

Being broke has also helped with the diet.  There has been not a single chance to cheat!  Though I must admit, I have really wanted to.  A nice plate piled high with nachos or buffalo wings, or nachos AND buffalo wings would really hit the spot!  But, I would hate myself after.  My stomach would probably hate me too.  Coach Kelly would punish me.  Todd Romero would publicly humiliate me.  The list goes on…

I’m looking forward to the next few weeks.  I have one more week of work and then I’m off until January 6th!!!!!!!!!!!!!  I will be hitting the gym a lot during those weeks.  The best part is that I’ll be able to go earlier in the day.  And, the kids will get to participate in the Kids Fitness classes.  They really like those.

I must admit.  I will not make it to the gym today.  The weather sucks and I’m not comfortable driving in it.  But, I’ll be back tomorrow for another full workout.

My legs are still incredibly sore from Saturday’s workout! Good news is that my knee feels better! Because of the soreness, I stuck to the bike today. I didn’t want to injure myself. The bike actually made my legs feel better for a while! Had I not needed to go get the kids, I may have gone for another 30 mins.

I was looking forward to a team workout with Coach Kelly tomorrow. But, I’ve since learned that the schedule has been changed and I will have to workout on my own. So, I will spend another evening at Roper or Dr P. Any of my teammates want to join me?

One more thing worth mentioning before I sign off: GO SAINTS!!! 11-0 BABY!!!!