30 Days to Better

Does typing count as exercising?

Balance.

Exercise.

WHAT?!

I just can't get it all under control.  I'm feeling unbalanced and I'm certainly under-exercised.   We were hit once again by disgusting virus that rendered us all ill and whiney and generally pathetic.  I'm feeling extremely frustrated with myself right now for NOT being able to keep up with my exercise or even keep any balance in my life. 

It feels like Noah is taking more and more time and energy but perhaps that is just because he isn't sleeping through the night at all, ever, and hasn't since before LAST OCTOBER.   I'm really fucking tired, ya'll.  There are mornings, hell, days, when I truly fear that my eyeballs are going to fall over the ledge  into the sallow yellow-tinged wells of fatigue that threaten to swallow them whole.  It's always me who is awake with him and I never seem to get daytime naps and I never catch up on the sleep. 

On the positive side of things, I have managed to maintain my weight loss.  I am within two pounds of my lowest weight achieved, however, without maintaining the muscle tone, I have ... softened.  I have curves where I should be tight and rolls where I should have a nice gentle curve.  My skinny jeans still fit but not without a muffin top situation.  Honestly, I miss feeling strong.  That's all I want. 

I have to get it together and create some space and time for exercise. 

Walking. Fast. With added poundage.

I'm insanely addicted to The Biggest Loser and occasionally they have challenges where the contestants have to do something while carrying a pack loaded with the amount of weight they have lost and they all are shocked, SHOCKED to realize how much extra poundage they carried around on a daily basis.

Today, I went for another hour long walk with the dog on a leash and the baby in the stroller.  I added a ten pound dumbbell to the stroller, just for fun.  Heh.

I have heard of this trick before and a trainer at the gym where I hardly ever go mentioned this to me as way to kick up the intensity of a typical walk.   I didn't find it to be massively harder, except on hills, where I really felt that I was working harder.  I could feel more cardiovascular involvement and my legs got a bit more of a workout too. 

When I lifted the ten pound weight it felt really heavy.  It's kind of strange to think that I've lost ten pounds since last July, but more unsettling is that after giving birth to Noah in December 2007, I lost 50 pounds, and I was carrying THAT around on my body too. 

I think this is a good thing to do now and then for perspective. Pick up some weights, carry them around, walk up the stairs, sit down, stand up, and realize that you used to have to carry that around on your body. 

Perspective is good. So is a good, fast,  hour long walk.

The only thing that could have made it better would have been the baby napping when we got home!

What did you do today?

I did thirty minutes of exercise tonight, a combination of cardio, core and lower body workouts from the 10 Minute Fitness Solution-Fitness Ball Workout, DVD. 

I'm also running a contest to win a copy of that DVD, contest ends 2/13/09 at Noon, EST.  Click HERE to enter.

I did this workout with Marc (husband). He is trying to lose about 15 pounds, because, well ... his pants are not fitting too well these days.  He seems to have sprouted the classic 30-year old man-gut, and he needs to increase his exercise and add some veggies and leaner proteins into his diet.   He's doing  really well so far and I am very proud of him. 

Usually when we exercise together I feel super self-conscious and awkward, like I did back in ninth grade gym class when I was lumpy and out of shape and half of the JV baseball team was in my class. Behind me. Watching my ass move from one zip code to another with each squat thrust.  Anyway, I digress, ... tonight was somehow different.  He has been exercising more than me lately and he really likes this DVD.  Our basement was like a mini-gym tonight as we did crunches and squats with the ball totally in sync with each other. 

So that is what I did.  Some strength and toning work and a little cardio.  How about you? Did you take advantage of the good weather we're having this week? 

On tap for tomorrow: ONE hour walk with dog and baby!  And I'm going to put a 10 lb weight in the stroller too! 

Fitness Ball Workouts & GIVEAWAY

I've been doing some workouts a few times this week on the fitness ball.  I really like that it gives me a good stretch, some muscle toning and some quality time with my husband, because he does these too!!

Yes, this is not a workout JUST for the ladies.  We incorporate this, usually, into a workout that also involves some treadmill-type cardio or with another workout DVD that gets the heart beating a little faster.   I am always trying to cram some exercise into my busy mom-day. And again, you know, TEN MINUTES.  There are actually five workouts that are each 10 minutes long on this DVD.  You can focus on core, upper or lower body strength, cardio or flexibility.  I really like the core workout because it leaves my abs feeling tight and strong and I know that core strenght is vital to a healthy body and sucess with other levels of fitness. 

I reviewed The 10 Minute Fitness Solution- Fitness Ball Workouts on my review site. For a more detailed explanation of what this workout DVD includes, CLICK HERE TO READ.

Here's the part you really wanted:  THE GIVEAWAY

I'm offering you the chance to win a copy of this great workout that includes five different 10-minute segments to get you toned, stretched and strengthened.  I will be giving away one DVD of the 10 Minute Fitness Solution - Fitness Ball Workouts to one randomly chosen commenter.  You must leave a comment before Friday February 13th at NOON, Eastern Time.  Chances of winning depend on the number of entries.  You can double your chances of winning by Twittering a link to this giveaway, be sure to tell me that in the comments with your Twitter ID.

To enter to win this DVD, leave a comment telling me what your current fitness goals are.

The MOM'S DAY Workout

There are many days when I rattle around the house with Noah for hours on end, stopping only to check my email or shovel a handful of crackers down my throat.   I noticed one day recently that if I took it more seriously I could give myself a little mini-workout, or at least a few stretches and strength moves.  For example:

1. Reaching under the coffee table to retrieve a lost shape for the shape sorter toy:  do a squat before you reach for the toy. 

2. While wiping up the floor under the highchair, lean first into a downward dog Yoga position to help reach ALL of the crumbs.  As you push back up to a standing position, do that thing where you curl up your spine, and really feel the stretch.

3. While you sit on the floor playing with MegaBloks, do some crunches.

4. Bring your balance ball upstairs so that you can do a 10 Minute Fitness Solution workout while the baby eats lunch in his high chair.  Decide later it feels better to eat spoonfuls of icing out of the container along with your salad for lunch and abandon all hope of using the ball for exercise.  Later, The next day, when you chatting with your husband, use the ball for push-ups. 

5. Lay on the floor ticking the baby, decide to break it up by playing, Baby In The Air!, lift the baby up and down against your chest working those triceps and biceps.  Also, lay flat on the floor on your back, knees curled into your chest.  Rest the 25 lbs CHILD on your shins and do some butt lifts, working the lower abs.    For added breathlessness, do this while singing some dumb lullaby about Humpty or Jack or the Itsy Bitsy Spider.

What did you do today?

We had one of those all-too-rare 50-degree days in February today where the snow melts a little and the sun shines down so hard you can almost feel the warmth. 

I packed the kid into the stroller, hooked Dog to the leash and hit the sidewalk walking.  We walked for an hour all around my 'hood and a few nearby neighborhoods too.  It was refreshing to just get outside and move.  Walking for an hour burns about 300 calories. 

Afterward, I took Noah to the playground where I acted like a huge dork and ran around and went down the slide and did some dips from the jungle-gym.  And, while I chatted with my husband this morning, I did some push-ups on the balance ball.

Today's Grade: B+

EXERCISE

Continuing the 12-months of positive change, this month, February will focus on EXERCISE.

I originally started this website to chronicle my efforts with the 30-Day Shred and other exercises I was doing solely to lose some post-pregnancy weight.   After I lost the weight I lost some motivation, the HOLIDAYS came along and food was everywhere and suddenly vanilla extract and brown sugar seemed like good things to add to cool whip and my waist line rebounded cartoon-style with a near audible Whuu-Ooofph!  January brought us a plague of sinus and chest congestion that made leaving the house, let alone exercise nearly insurmountable. So....

Here we are!  Again. February.  It's time to spend thirty days mastering re-mastering the juggling act of fitting in some exercise every day.  It doesn't have to be monumental.  You don't have to get to a gym.  You can do five minutes of push-ups and sit-ups, a ten minute workout from 10-Minute Fitness Solutions, you can chase your kids around the block, do some pull-ups and jumping jacks while the kids play on the playground or some yoga moves while the baby sits on the floor next to you. 

Last month I was featured on Linda's website, Bodies in Motivation.  You can read my Q&A here.
This is my motivation to continue, to keep going, to move a little each day and eat well. 

Here is the goal for February:  Do some exercise each day.  Document it. Write it down.  Blog it. Share it. Leave a comment here.  I will.  

To catch up on past months, click here to read about January where we focused on BALANCE.