Hey, Y'all!

Get In Shape, Girl

A few weeks ago, I wrote about taking control of my health, namely my weight.  It's now been almost a month since we started our daily workouts at the theatre over our lunch hour. I feel SO good.  I can tell I've dropped a little weight, but I haven't weighed myself.  I think constantly staring at a scale is counter-productive to me, as I'll put pressure on myself to achieve a certain number, losing sight of the goal of overall health.  I go to the doctor next week, so I'll see what I weigh then.  I did buy some new clothes last weekend, and the pants were a smaller size than what I've been wearing, so there's that.

 

We have been mixing up our workouts a little.  The 30-Day Shred, level 1, is our go-to, but this week, we started mixing in Richard Simmons' original Sweatin' To The Oldies.  I got this DVD because I have fond memories of doing the video with my mom over the summer when I was a 5th or 6th grader. I remembered it being more like a fun dance than a workout.  I figured it would give us a nice break from Jillian Michaels (and believe me, you need a break sometimes), but would still keep us active.  Y'all.  I sweat more doing Richard Simmons than I ever do with the Shred.  The beginning is pretty gentle, a nice three-song warm up, featuring some silly moves, including what we all call The Original Twerk.  Then comes "Great Balls of Fire," where you do the twist for 3 and a half minutes.  No wonder people were so skinny in the 60s.  "Wipeout" is next, and you get a killer cardio workout.  It's so much fun, but it also kicks your tail. And you can't get mad at Richard Simmons. Seriously. The man is so happy. And just when you start getting frustrated, he'll start singing or scream out "We're on Broadway!" or something to make you giggle.

Taking control of my fitness makes me feel good. My body is craving good food, so it's easier to eat right.  I'm drinking a ton of water, as usual, maybe even MORE than usual.  Most importantly, I know I'm doing SOMETHING to better myself.  I'll report back after my doctor's appointment.

Taking Control

At my last nephrologist appointment, the doctor doubled my dose of blood pressure medication.  I knew that was going to happen. I can always tell when it's running high by the little headache behind my eyebrow.  What surprised me a little was that it wasn't really related to my kidney function, which was perfect. (Woo hoo!)  Work has been stressful, so that could be part of it, but so could my weight.  While I do a good job of avoiding sodium in my diet, I've been doing a fairly bad job (for a while) of controlling my calories. So I've decided to take control.

A group of about 5 of us have been working out on our lunch break each day for the past week or so.  Usually, we do level 1 of the 30 Day Shred, which is NO JOKE.  Today we took a Pilates class.  It helps that we have each other. We keep each other accountable. When the ladies from the administrative office show up over here in production wearing sweats, I close my door, change my clothes, and go downstairs.  No excuses.  We're lucky that we have a dance studio and a small theatre space downstairs where we can work out each day.

I'd love to lose 20 pounds.  But more than that, I'd love to decrease my BP meds and just feel healthier overall.  I want to tone up and feel better about my appearance.

And I can do it. I AM doing it.

We shall be fit and gorgeous.

Things I Love Right This Very Minute

I feel like I've been neglecting ye olde blog.  I Twitter back and forth with some of you during the day, email others, even talk to some, and always read your blogs, so I don't necessarily feel out of the loop, but I do feel like there are a lot of things going on that keep me from writing on here as much as I'd like to.  The good news?  I'm enjoying indulging in some great stuff!  (This is where I'd post pictures of said stuff, were I not so lazy, but you know how it is...)

The Sookie Stackhouse Books     Oh, y'all. I am LOVING these books! I was very resistant at first, not really interested in reading them.  I usually really enjoy books that are really smart, full of twists and turns and kind of complex. I'm a big Harlan Coben fan and love thrillers in general.  These books have made me change my tune at bit.  Yes, they are vampire books. Yes,  they are kind of like soft-core romance novels sometimes. But they are so funny and clever!  And they're set in North Louisiana, where I went to college, so I know all the places they talk about well.  I'm tearing through them at lightning speed.  I'm about 1/3 of the way into book 3 right now. My friend Amy Louise, who is from California and considers me the epitome of southern women (ha ha) sent them to me.  My cousin Heather gets them next. If anyone is interested in reading them, let me know and we'll keep them going and send them your way!

Foodie Mama  You guys HAVE been reading Foodie Mama, right?  There are some fantastic articles and recipes on there.  My section, Feeding Toddlers, takes up a lot of my thinking time.  I don't want to write the same things we've heard over and over about feeding our little ones, so I read a ton of blogs, articles and the like before doing my feature each week.  If anyone has ideas or suggestions of something you'd like me to write about, please email me!

Cleaning my house.  I kind of skipped spring cleaning, since we got so busy at the end of the semester, so I'm making up for lost time.  It helps that Marcus is home to help me or watch Dean so I can clean at times other than when Dean is asleep.

Napping.  I've heard the "always sleep when baby sleeps" thing before, but I was guilty of doing everything BUT sleeping when Dean napped as a tiny infant.  Now that we seem to be starting the 18 month sleep regression (help me, God), Dean's getting up super-early and staying up a bit later.  The up-side is that his naps are pretty predictably clocking in at over 2 1/2 hours.  That gives me time to eat lunch, if I haven't already, and lie down for a while if I want or need to while he naps.  This has been good this week while I have recovered from a funky ear infection.  I do hate antibiotics...

Shredding.  Once Dean's down for the night, I put on my yoga pants keep on the yoga pants I've been wearing for most of the day, throw on my new cross-trainers, move the coffee table out of the way in our "formal" living room and get to Shredding.  I can already tell a huge difference in my endurance and I've lost 3 pounds.  I got into a pair of capri pants today that I haven't worn since last summer.  Someone asked me how I focus and get through the exercises.  The good thing about the Shred is that the exercises are short and you can yell and curse loudly at Jillian in the privacy of your own home.  Worst case scenario, you'll only be doing a move for a minute.  When it starts to hurt, I remember labor.  I remind myself that I went through 32 hours of pain to deliver the bambino (totally worth it, but OW!), including having a giant epidural needle inserted into my spine, having feet swollen like Fred Flinstone's and being cut open.  If I can live through that, I can handle 30 seconds of jumping jacks. (Over-dramatic?  Perhaps.  But it works!)

Self-pampering.  After Shredding, I smell bad.  It just does that to you. (Back me up here, Shredheads!) I recently got super-lucky and won a giveaway hosted by Elisa at Diary of an Unlikely Housewife.  My gift?  A whole box of Yes To Carrots products!!!  I had sampled their products before and even given some as gifts, but I'd never had any of my very own.  Now I can't wait to hop into the shower to use my Moisturizing Body Scrub, then get out and drench myself in the luxurious body lotion, smear on some lip butter and finish with my Yes To Tomatoes hand cream.  The verdict?  Mama like!

Dean.  He's just the greatest thing ever.  I think he has finally figured out that something's different and Mommy and Daddy are both going to be home with him each day.  We play all the time.  He's learning new things every minute, it seems.  The inner-monologues Marcus and I used to provide for him are now being replaced by his growing vocabulary.  He's a total Mama's boy and wants me with him as much as possible. And who could resist this face?

 

Not me!

Let's Shred

 

It is officially time to get serious about getting healthy.  The baby weight has to come off. NOW.  I had lost most of it in the 4 months following Dean's birth, then last summer happened and it all came back, minus cute baby bump, just chub.  I dropped about 15 pounds this fall when I was walking regularly, but then the holidays happened and most of that returned.  I haven't seemed to be able to get a handle on things, as I have recently renewed my love affair with the Oreo.

Today, I purchased 30 Day Shred.  Along with Frema and some other ladies around the net, I will embark on a 30 day journey of toning up, eating well and probably calling poor Jillian Michaels (the host) every mean name I can think of.  She's ferocious, that one.

I cannot believe I'm about to post this on the internet, but here goes nothing:

Weight: 145 lbs. (DEAR. LORD. Don't tell my grandmother.)

Waist: 34 1/2 inches

Hips: 41 inches (Baby got back!)

I'll check back in once I've done it. Yee haw!

ETA:  I just finished my first workout and I loved it!  The way the sections are broken up is pure genius. Just when you start to really feel it, you move on to something else.  The jogging and jumping killed me at first, but I think it will get better.  The abs section is awesome.  I am going to hurt like crazy tomorrow, though.  But MAN I'm gonna look good come July!!!