Ready for Summer: Update #2, Easter Sunday Park Workout Edition! With Pics! :D

Tanita-San: 177.8

Waist: 34.75

Last Week:
178.6
34.75

Start of Challenge:
182.4
waist: 35

I made my week's goal of being under 178, as well as my initial challenge ongoing-goal of at least 1/2 pound loss per week. I had actually touched 177.4 one day this past week, but then it bobbled back up. Still....Me so happy!!!

I was able to use AGAIN my Vera Bradley "reward purses"--a shoulder bag and a tote in a matching floral-- that I gave myself back when I first went under 180. I had to put them  back to "off limits" after my regain. They're both back in purse rotation now. ...heh heh....I took the tote to the park. :D

And I met the other challenge goal for the week:

Mini-challenge for the week: try a different workout

I guess the activities for Sunday qualify: I played, consecutively, catch/pitch, frisbee, volleyball (netless), and some badminton (netless). It wasn't a DVD or planned workout--I just figured I'd do active things other than what I normally do (stretch, Pilates, dancing, walking).

A couple pics hubby took during the pitch/catch portion follow --and my right arm muscles are sore today, I may add, so I really did try to make it "work", and I feel a slight soreness in my hamstrings, too. Which activity that's from, who knows? I jumped and did a bit of running and bent down a lot to retrieve uncaught balls/frisbees/shuttlecocks/etc~~~~

Look at the glove:
I caught the ball!

I'm actually not a bad pitcher for
a middle-aged dame who was never
athletic, ever. My nephew, who plays
baseball in school, complimented my pitches
and the strength in my throws. :D

It was interesting to watch the activity--or rather INactivity--behavior at the park.

While the adults mostly sat in the shade and ate and chatted, the kids/teens and a few of the fathers were lightly active (helping kids with kites/strings mostly, and later, a few,  after some digesting, kicking a soccer ball around).

The women did squat. Seriously. I saw no women in the neighboring groups doing a thing that involved sporty movement. And many were carrying loads of belly fat. I can see more diabetes in our national future....

Anyway, Principally, it was the kids playing, adults eating while sedentary. And yes, lots of obese and overweight folks around (including me, I'm overweight!).

It was kind of nice to notice hubby and I--both in our fifties--were outliers: Old peops moving around and sweating. I want us to keep at that.

Conclusion: We need to move more in the US. Outings to parks should include not just barbecuing and drinking of caloric beverages, but some sports activity to burn that off.

Other challenge stuff:

Fluids were fine. Calories were on target 5/7 days. I had 1800 calories on Easter, including ham, cheese, gluten-free pasta and veggie salad, and lots of fruit.

Today, I got my blood drawn for my next appointment with my endocrinologist. Hoping my thyroid numbers are very good--and I do feel improved in all the areas that were bothering me when my TSH went bonkers. :D So...we'll see...

The next mini-challenge isn't announced until Wednesday. Hope I remember to go check on it. :-/

NSV: Not really aware of one, unless looking at my reflection in a store window and thinking, "Dang,  you look hot today, baby!" counts. I get bummed sometimes about the loose skin and stuff, but that day, I felt beautiful and got lots of compliments. I think attitude really helps, too.We need to cultivate a bit more self-appreciation on the journey, even when we're not "there" yet..even when we're older..even when we're crinklier...even when we've still got body issues.

Goals I hope to have achieved by  next RfS check-in:

2 strengthening, 4 cardio workouts
1500 calories a day
10 glasses of fluids daily
And be at least 1/2 pound less than this weigh-in (ie, 177.2 or less).

Happy new week to all. Be well...

Still metabolically snailing it...says the thermometer...and dancing with laughter with the B52s and hubby...Plus the BEST walking/dancing bra EVER for the busty gals who wanna LOOK nice......and feeling very grateful...

When I was feeling purely crappy before, I took my oral morning temps to see what was going on. I believe I posted on it. I was measuring 97.0 to 97.3, with one rare  jump to 97.5

I am measuring now between 97.3 and 97.5. So, um, well, some improvement, but not great. Once I move around, have breakfast etc, I jump to 97.8.

That's still pretty "chilly".

I was hoping after a month now on my higher T4 dosage (cause my doc is really stubborn and won't give me more T3, which tells me I need to look for a new doc, frankly), I expected better. I've added micronutrients beneficial for the thyroid--zinc, copper, selenium, iodine--to my diet. Make a point to have kelp or seaweed now and then. Upped my carbs some (cause this helps with T4 to T3 conversion). I suspect I really need MORE T3 and less T4 to feel optimal.

Why are endos so fricken close-minded about this? I had to walk into the exam room with print-outs of studies to convince my previous doc in 2010 to add Cytomel to my regimen. And she was still reluctant.

I know I'm improving in other ways. I am able to walk without feeling like I weigh 300 pounds again. I can dance without feeling like I'm gonna fall down. I sometimes feel warm (which was not happening in the previous two months, when I had bad chills, and was sleeping with higher number on the a/c and extra blankets). Hair is not falling out as quickly. Joints don't feel like I have a massive acute attack of arthritis. Face doesn't feel like a blank mask. Eyes don't feel heavy and saggy (except for the normal aging sagginess). Not needing to sleep 14 hours...Down to 10. :D

But I really, really, firmly believe what I need is more T3, and dang, I'm gonna have pray that God budges my endo on this.

In the meantime, I've been researching for endos who are more Armour and T3 friendly (ie, not stuck in the T4 only box). It's not easy. Some sound like quacks. Others are too far to drive in Florida. Locally, I just gotta search some more.

I was really happy when that slightly reluctant endo in June of 2010 --not my original one, but another in her practice, as that's seen to me since 1998, after a chillingly bad experience with another endo!--let me try Cytomel. A WORLD OF DIFFERENCE! No lie. It's what allowed me to see better mood and perhaps was key in allowing me to have enough energy and positivity (ie, lifting of depression) to begin a serious diet.

Mood cannot be discounted in overeating. Y'all know that?

Since it did me a crazy butt world of good, I don't see why they are so reluctant to change the ratio.  Lots of ladies out there are feeling better on more T3. Maybe I'd be one of them, dunno, but maybe.

Anyhow, making progress (from the physical and temp markers), but still in slower metabolic land. But hey, I used to have temp readings in the 96. The doc once had me at 95 point something (forget the decimal) in her office, which was the tip-off to check my thyroid. (At that point, the whole, dry as desert skin, chills even in summer, gaining weight steadily and alarmingly, suicidal ideations, and sleeping 20 hours a day should have been a bigger tip-off, don't ya think?)

This is one of my "deal with it for life" issues, and dang, how I wish I was normal. Must be nice. ; ) But I believe in counting blessings. So, I will:

I am grateful for improvements. Thank God for good medicine and supplements and good food and exercise and rest and love and hope. :D It all works together. I was just feeling amazing happy and grateful over my breakfast of Canadian bacon, eggs, and Concorde pear yumminess--hubby found some for me, hooray, hooray!!--just grateful for having food in abundance, and grateful I don't abuse it anymore. Just overflowing in my heart with thanks.

Which is good. It's really good to remember that abundance of food can be a blight of temptation, but it's a huge blessing in a "mostly hungry" world. Remember that. For the sake of those who have not and dream of having, choose well.

Hope everyone is having a lovely week. Full of gratitude. Full of good choices.

We had some nice cooler weather in the last couple days--refreshing!--and I have been feeling pretty giddy-happy again. Smiley me is in full force! Well...

Except for the wee crying jag when I looked at a pic of my mom and just missed her and dad so much I lost it. Just a few minutes, then gratitude for having been loved so much by my parents. Poor, hardworking folks who did it all for family. God, it hurts to lose loved ones! But I'm smiling, too, cause my mom is still one of my heroes. :D

Watched the B52s on PBS last night and danced the whole time we watched.  Giddy-happy (like I said.) I saw them live in a long gone, once-hip, local venue in 1979 and they were AMAZINGLY FUN. And they may be old, but they're STILL FUN. I love me some Kate and Cindy and Fred and Keith! (I went and preordered the DVD.) Such nostalgia.

Hubby got one of his guitars and jammed along while I danced like a crazy middle-aged gal who once loved dancing the night away in better-joint-health days. I can't shimmy like I used to. I can't go "down, down" to the ground in ROCK LOBSTER with my crap knees. But I can move the way I can move, and I do! With energy, hard breathing,  sweat and blood pumping wildly as my reward. (I ended up dancing in my bra--my wonderful underwire Wacoal sports bra that I love for walking and is worth EVERY EXPENSIVE BIT OF PRICE cause it keeps me in place without crushing the tatas into mush--cause I got so overheated!) 

Here's my darling man last night, before he stood up to play the last couple songs:

(holding spot for when I stop being lazy and upload the pic from iPhone)

So, go dance and believe in healing and a better weight for yourself. As long as you breathe, have hope and go for it!

Be well...

Day 34 of 84 in the StSC: SwimSuit Sunday, dry and wet! And what you can wear if you have crinkly or saggy thigh skin/butt flesh and/or big tatas that need support...or are just modest... :)

Well, technically, it's Tankini Top and Swim Shorts Sunday.

Panache "Mae" underwire tankini top in 38E with
Coolibar swim shorts in XL at 189.4 lbs, July 9, 2011

I wanted to show what I wore to enjoy a day with the family, including cooling off in the kiddie pool. It's a Panache "Mae" tankini top in 38E (US equivalent of 38DDDD, methinks). It's very supportive of the gals, but I think I could have gone to 38F.  If you have big tatas and want to support some of the loose side/back skin, this is a very nice choice. I want to get another in bright colorful print. I liked the "room enough, held up enough" feel of the underwire bra built in. Very nice. Expensive. (Well, the price I pay to keep my "girls" happy and secure.)

The bottoms are Coolibar swim shorts. They were a bit loose in XL, so I could have gone to just L. For you laidies concerned about the crinkly inner thighs or looser skin in the butt post big loss of poundage, this is a nice, comfy option.

Wet, the top was still very secure and comfy, but the sorts actually were so loose in the leg I could fold then up easily for "short shorts" if I wanted. But it worked. modest and supportive and covering most of the "iffy" skin bits.

Here I am after getting WET with the kids and SIL:

Underwire tankini stayed nicely put and it's all good
even kicking balls, Marco-Pologing, bouncing, rough-housing, etc.

And that's all for now.

Happy Sunday, folks!

Day 31 of 84 in the StSC: Restaking Lost Ground, Grooving Again, Went Swimming in a REAL (not kiddie) Pool, My New Bathing Suit... Go eat a PLUMCOT, and Finding my Cheer Again!

Tanita-san: 189.8

So back in the 180s after some weight weirdnesses and a wacky week of moods and non-bingey overeating. I'm sure all the exercise yesterday helped. I had my Pilates session, which was slightly restrained due to some breathing issues. (Allergy-related, as I'm fine indoors, but get some small attacks when I go outside. Minor, but annoying.)

Then after Pilates, I checked the pool hours, saw they had night swimming back. So, hubby and I spent an hour padding and jumping about and otherwise having wet fun. It was really pretty to be there as the sun went down with big looming fluffy clouds and palm trees. Nice. Reminded me a bit of our honeymoon way back when.

I may try to do the pool thing once a week. I hated how my hair felt afterwards and did a protein and deep condish to get my silky status back. :)  Hubby had fun, too, so once a week should be doable.

No pics, as they don't allow cameras there. But I wore a new--very cheap--bathing suit, once piece. Not a swimdress. Just a regular once-piece.  See the pic at right. The fit at the bottom was perfect. I could have used a lot more room for "the girls", but adjusted the best I could. I let my crinkly thighs and saggy butt be out there, and whoever didn't like it, tough. I put on waterproof lip stain (RED) and wore my Chacos sandals (so I didn't have to be barefooted in the shower room and risk fungus). To and from the pool, I wore my FILA tennis skirt, and quite frankly, I looked cute. Hubby complimented me.

It's nice to feel like a cute girl sometimes, right?

Oh, while I remember: GO EAT SOME PLUMCOTS. Lord, they're so good this year. I want to eat 12 of them at one go, but I limit myself to two per meal or snack. So delicious. I want to weep with joy when I bite into one. Mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm. The peaches/nectarines/apricots/plums have been very nice, but the plumcots are INSANE!!!! ::spits out a pit as happy tears trail down the Princess' cheeks::::

And on a personal "positive" note: I noticed I was cheerful again, not just at the convention, hyped by the atmosphere, but in general. The way people respond, including the kids at the pool, made me realize my big grin was back in force and I had pushed my anxieties and concerns to the back of my mind enough to just be happy again. Sometimes, compartmentalizing ain't bad.

I feel like such a doofus that I did the Monday update for the challenge and forgot to add my linky to Debbi's list. Duh, me. Sorry to my fellow challengers about that.

I hope that we can all re-invigorate (well, those of us who had bobbled a bit) and see the full 12 weeks through. Some weeks won't be ideal, but progress is progress. Let's hang in there and make it a summer of transformation.

Well, I'm off to glug my fluids and figure out what to do exercise-wise as the cloudscape is mighty scary.

I wish you a happy and healthy Wednesday.

Day 29 of 84 in the StSC: Where I report an uptick following a really fun Supercon weekend! Where Misfits feel at Home and Fat Princesses Who Aren't AS FAT AS LAST YEAR Dance with Teens....LOTSA PICS...and, sure, Challenge Updates...

Okay, still not feeling like blogging, but I need to do an update. I was seriously sleep deprived and slept until 4 today. Had a great time. My mood lifted. I danced a lot, hollered a lot, bought a lot of stuff (manga, art, music cds, etc). Got to enjoy the youthful cosplayers. Some terrific bands (the music was very good this year compared to last two years).

I did not stay within challenge calories this weekend. I hit just under 1800 calories Saturday and made it to 1600 yesterday. I'm still hitting the salty stuff (and eating out didn't help as every place we went had salted up food). Saturday, we ate at the convention hall snack bar (chicken caesar and fruit was the only things on the menu doable), and then hit Au Bon Pain in the hotel . Again, tough to pick something, as limited options for me. I will say, they make a nice egg salad.

It was difficult getting decent stuff to eat yesterday, so we took water and each of us had a protein bar and waited until nearly 2 in the morning to actually make up for not having lunch or dinner prior to that. Both Sat and Sun, we had breakfast before leaving, packed nuts and fruit for Saturday, and those protein bars for yesterday.

I completed another "new exercise"--2 actually--so that makes 2 already, and meets my requirements. We did some Dance Party in the game room. And I went to a mini-rave (before the BIG raves), and used the Apple App for the glowstick and rave-danced for about 40 minutes. Added to regular dancing which totaled about 3 hours for both days. Yesterday, especially, I was just into it. Great performances and I stood and danced through them all, right up at the stage. Why not act 18 again? I figured.

I have been sore, so clearly, I was active. And most of the time I was on my feet, even when not grooving to the moving.

I only worked on push-ups one day. Yeesh. I blogged much less than usual, but I did blog this week. I did some encouragement. I prayed for the challenge, but not as much. I haven't quit, though I am somewhat off track. Not feeling as guilty as I ought to, as I was on a convention high. ; )

This week, I got two Pilates sessions, 3 walking sessions, the convention dancing/game-dancing. That was exercise. Food was over-caloric 4 of the days, so a fail there. I stuck with proteins and vegetables and fruit and fats (ie, still avoided most starches/sugar), but had too much.

I only missed my water goals one day (yesterday, when I miscalculated and realized by bedtime I was 2 cups of water short of goal).

Tanita-san says: 190.8

Thats UP from last week by ONE POUND.

And here we go. Another week. And I need to be firmly back on the track and not distracted by too much fun or too little sleep (no one gets enough sleep on convention weekends.) Goal this week right through Sunday: To be on plan, on goals, in the game and not derail at all.

I am wishing all Challengers the best. :)

Hubby's Blackberry didn't send me the couple pics from Saturday (was running around from event to event, so forgot to take pics of stuff again, and I so wanted a pic with Death the Kid and the amazing stilted version of resureccion Ulquiorra. That guy was so Gothy~! There were some really amazing costumes, too.)  One nice thing was, Sunday night, being told by some of the kids we semi-befriended that we were one of the funnest couples (and when teens and 20-somethings tell you that, it feels good to a 51 year old). It was also very good I carried a spare bra, as it came in handy in THE QUEST. Kinda like a scavenger hunt in the karaoke space. As did my limited edition MAC "Red" She Said lipstick, which was used by me and one of the young guys on my team. Hubby ended up with lots of lipstick on his bald spot, as it became the focus of one of the challnges. And yeah, that was weird. At one point, the hunt required we bring a fruit to the host. Hubby had eaten two apples and a banana, so we were out of fruit. But one of the team gay guys volunteered to be the "fruit". So, it worked out. ; ) (Creativity was encouraged, so, say, spontaneously markered tatoos were acceptable, etc.)

One of the nice things about these events is that for all misfits and outsiders, for the fat and homely, the slim and sexy, the spacey and odd, everyone fits in. You can be 60 or 16, but if you love the genres or the raving or the cosplay or the onigiri making or Japanese culture or gaming or karaoke or all of it, you fit in. The guy in blue spandex, the girl in the wolf-god costume, the crossdresser, the pimply Pokemon collector, the 10 year old boy in the wheelchair dressed as a game character for the cosplay contest, the genre tv starlet plugging her latest, the K-pop enthusiast mimicing the dance moves from the latest M'Blaq video, the geek film enthusiast learning how to edit, the Steampunk afficionado in leather and metal with a gas mask and cape showing others how to fashion brass accoutrements for their costumes---everyone is accepted. No nastiness. It's all good.

I felt like a misfit for most of my youth, and I'm glad misfit kids can feel at home, even if it's for a weekend, wearing green wigs and talking Trek or Tron or Gundam or World of Warcraft or singing badly at Karaoke or acting out a song in expressive dance, or just waving glowsticks at the rave sans booze or drugs. (My kind of rave.)

If you get a chance to go to one, and you have remembered feeling like you didn't "fit in", go to an anime/comicon. Have fun. No matter your size or age.

Wish I had a lot of pics, but really, we were too busy to take em, though we took some Sunday on the "winding down" hours as we cooled off from sweaty eventing.

But Toots did email me some just now. For a bit of comparison, this is us last year with Gilligan's Island's Mary Anne:

Supercon June 2010 with "Mary Anne" and me in my cover-up cause i was 260+ lbs

Two of us that same week.

Now this year:

Prince and Princess and Doctor Who blue kiosk

Leaving on Saturday after 1AM and the mall stores
closed...but purdy display, hence the pic...This outfit was perfect
for the con. Cool, comfy, stretchy, with a huge purse
for assorted necessities and sneakers were godsend.

Late Sunday, Dance Party-ing with a Total Stranger Teen...fun!
This was a comfy outfit, but too dark and hot for late-night raving, I can tell you!

The energy level is a whole different thing from last year with +70 pounds.

I hope I can say that next year, I'll be even more energized at goal weight with more muscle and I'll need better undies, cause with the hanging skin--panni and back flaps-- I need work and my butt needs some liftage:

Ah, well. I guess I'll have comparison pics NEXT year. :D

And that's it for this update. Not a stellar challenge week, but a week where my mood began to dip and then took a rise and I'm all for a happy "ending".

Blessings on you all for a new week of fatfighting!

Day 21 of 84 in the StSC: Borrowed Swimsuit Sunday For the Mini Pool

Suit size 14 at 189.8 lbs

I'm pooped, so I'll do my updates later. Had lotsa fun. Ate too much (no cake, no crap, just more than challenge calories.) And here's my own contribution to Swimsuit Sunday...a borrowed swimsuit and my first pool in two decades. A kiddie pool. But hey, was in there 2 hours, kicked, did assorted things, played with the kids (let them ride me as a friendly whale, hah), Marco Polo. No birthday cake for hubby. Lotsa fruit, salad, and grilled protein. Not the sunniest day, but the sunshine was in our hearts and laughter.

Who knew even a kiddie pool was such fun at age 51? Now, I know...
(And yeah, you can see the inner thigh crinkle and hip droopies..for those obsessed
about the loose skin/crinkles/hangs after lotsa weight loss. Ah, well...)

Hope you guys had a great one. Catch up later...must...shower and sleep.

Saturday Playwalking Pics....and dat's all...weigh-in tomorrow...

I figure it will be a 3 lbs off weigh-in barring some funky body stuff....(hear that body, behave).

I spent several days without my cardio to not-sweat and let rash heal; so I was at my cabin fever limit today. I said to hubby, "Grab the mini soccer ball and let's go do it!"

Had a great time. Did some sprint intervals. Did some bouncing, tossing, backwards walking, much laughter and giggling and smiling and ....heavy breathing. Ah, I feel back to normal. How I missed thee, my playwalks!
Couple pics:

Victory over Sloth!

Happy, Windblown, Sweaty Playwalkers!

Very happy with progress in the last two weeks. This wasn't a fasting workout (we ate 90 mins before walking). But still, it was beneficial and energizing and heart-pumping. It's all good.

Be well and make your weekend restful, recreative, and transformational!

Salt/Low-sleep uptick, which will be gone, soon, no worries. And some pics of pre-and-post Easter feast and a quickie fix for the too big t-shirt so you can use it a bit more, fasting workouts continue......on Day 77 of Phase 5

What a lovely Easter. The day was sunny, warm, and pretty. I wore a dress for the first time in...I honestly can't remember.

Today, Tanita-san shows a 1 lb uptick to 207.2. I know what this is. This is sodium and this is lack of sleep.

1 Sodium: I cook with no added salt EXCEPT on meats and chicken (I hate animal flesh sans salt. Ugh. Some, not a lot.) But Easter's brunch, we had ham and roast Cuban-style fresh ham (pernil, we call it). Both have salt. I also had an ounce of Manchego cheese. My contribution to the feast was a large organic vegetable tray and a large organic fruit tray. The veggies were numerous and I had plenty. The fruit was delicious, and it served as my dessert.

I had no fried stuff (alcapurrias).
I had no bread or crackers.
I had no corn pudding.
I had no sugary crap--candy or flan. (And I adore flan.)

I had 1 tablespoon of a no-sugar, low-carb custard my sister made for me. Very light and subtle. No sugar rush. I have the leftovers home to enjoy after supper for a couple days.

And two days of not-enough sleep. That always does things to scale/progress. But, I am back on undistracted track. I have an MD appt tomorrow, which does mess with my sleep schedule, but I'll try to get as much as possible. I also had my Pilates session today, and it was great. New stuff. Progress. Trainer happy with the less fat in ONE WEEK noticeable in my abdominals.

But...back to Easter Sunday:

After I ate and chatted and digested a bit, I changed into workout wear and played ball and Frisbee. :D  Not calling it exercise. Calling it PLAYING. And it was fun. Sweaty fun that made my heat rash worse. I slathered cream on it and kept going.

Here are pics of me before the feast and after the outfit change:

Colorful for Easter

Sporty for Easter

Activity is now my normal mindset. I try to add it to every day in some way. Even holidays. Plus, let's face it. If you have kids in your family, kids like to play/run/throw/jump/climb. If you bring out a ball/frisbee/net/shuttlecock/puck/stick/bat, they're gonna wanna do something with it WITH YOU. So, have lots of gear handy and have fun with them.


Okay, time to walk. Sun is low and my poor rashy arms get a break from strong direct sunlight. If like me you are getting smaller and not able to wear a lot of your stuff (another big bag of clothes got donated yesterday and I have oodles to go), here is a quickie solution for t-shirts:

1 knot, 1 too-big tee wearable

Yep. Just a knot to the side and it's kinda fun wearing it this way. Makes your butt look pretty decent, cause it's longer in the back, hugs it a bit, and makes it not a slouchy, frumpy mess.

And to close, this week continues the fasting workout experiment. I went in to Pilates on a coffee-n-water only tummy. No loss of energy. Last week, I took a pic of me drinking some iced black tea (made fresh, made dark for caffeine) before my fasting-walk:

Drinking tea pre fasting-workout

I have leftovers in the fridge for supper (shredded BBQ chicken with salad fixings and fruit) and a bunch of new workout clothes (DANSKIN NOW and Just My Size stuff from Walmart. Cheap and useful for when size changes rapidly. :) AND I got COLORS. Woooo.)

Yes, colors. I wore radical pink to Pilates with light grey shorts (not black on black).

Enjoy your evening, have a sound meal, if you didn't move today, take a nice walk or do something in front of the TV. Rest well....be well...

Feeling great, dropped nearly a pound since yesterday, gonna start thinking of exercise more and more as PLAYING, and it's Day 71 of Phase 5 as I get ready for Pilates...ETA: Working out in a fasting state; I'm Stronger! I can hinge like nobody's business...And I need a smaller sports bra. :D

Tanita-san has fallen in love with me again: 209.4

That's 4/5ths of a pound down from yesterday. Hooray.  I'm getting ready for Pilates session, so I may just leave the subject there and do a partial post and finish later. :)

I'm starting to really enjoy working out, but I want to make it more like play. Pilates is kinda like that. It's my trainer and me, we do different stuff every time, we do something NEW every time, and she has many of my fave music playlists and cds to use for me, often some Japanese-rock or anime-theme comps. So, it IS like a really hard session of playing. Hard, but fun. Satisfying.

And I will say this: I FEEL GREAT. I wake up and feel GREAT. I go to bed feeling GREAT.

I love my walks. I like smelling flowers, seeing new doggies, noting other people, enjoying the architecture (MiMo), singing or humming when I'm in the warm up or cool down phases, and telling myself I'm a warrior when I'm in the brisker phases.

I want to continue to incorporate PLAY as exercise. I don't want it to be stressful mentally. It has to be fun or I won't want to do it forever.

Yesterday, while putting together supper, I was dancing around the kitchen, then running up to smooch hubby, then back to the kitchen and jumping around to some BUCK-TICK.

I kept doing this all day. Just spontaneously dancing in place, cause I felt so much energy. This is not me 20 years, 10 years, 1  year ago. I was bursting with this desire to just...RUN. Just up and go outside and run..like wind. Maybe if I ditch 50 pounds, my knees will let me. I wanna....for 20 or 30 seconds. Just run.


This is an amazing thing for a woman who felt like crap getting up for 20+ years. Who had to set the snooze button like 20 times. Now, I can spring up and feel like I have energy and goals. I LOVE THIS!

It's not worth any binge, not any fricken binge in the world, to stop feeling this good.


So, how do you make exercise exhilirating and fun? :)

(Came back on at 7:15 pm to add that REFUSE TO REGAIN is also addressing the exercise/joy issue. Hah. It's in the bloggy air. Here: READ IT.  One of her transformative principles.)

And I"ll carry on when I get back....

BACK:  The session was astounding. I could literally FEEL that I was stronger. My trainer looked at me in one position and said, 'You know, we don't need to modify this like that anymore. You have even less belly and can do it normally." She readjusted the Reformer and bam, I was hinging farther back than EVER EVER EVER! I astonished myself. I was so happy.  Everything was easier with the couple pounds less of belly. (I must be in belly fat burning cause that's where it seems to be coming off this past week.) My trainer was VERY happy. :) We like progress that's so evident.

I did start experimenting with working out on an empty stomach. I did this in the start of my Pilates journey in 2008 at 278 lbs. It didn't work. I was exhausted in minutes and wanted to die 20 minutes in. I started experimenting with protein/carb/vitamin mixtuers and hit on one that worked (Green Magma, Whey Protein, Berry Splash). But I think I can work on an empty stomach NOW with lotsa energy cause I'm more effective at burning fuel in my body. I've lost weight, the insulin resistance is improved with the new diet plan my R.D. put me on, and I'm fitter. All that combined makes me able to work out without eating for 14-17 hours, and feel no drop in vigor.

I don't have sugar spikes and crashes anymore, cause I eat to control insulin. This helps immensely with steady energy. I don't get the afternoon sleepies/slump anymore.

The reason I'm doing fasting-workouts again now is after reading about how working out on a "fast" status makes the body burn MORE FAT within the hours AFTER THE WORKOUT. So, worth a shot, yes? I"m all about burning the fat. :D And this apparently also has a beneficial effect on telomeres. Look it up. :D

So, walkies later, and hopefully a trip to the mall to get me a couple new bras and something for Easter. My dress clothes are just too big again and my sports bra is getting loose...and it's vexing when stuff doesn't fit. You look frumpy and feel out of sorts. I like my clothes more snug now. :)

Move happily and well today. Eat happily and well. Make progress to getting healthier, okay?

OK, later dudes and dudettes....

(Note: I got tired of "maybe it's this day of the challenge", so I went back and counted from February 7. It's Day 71. Yay. So, 49 days to go...7 weeks...I could lose at least 14 pounds at a 2 lb a week rate. Well into Wonderland. Yes. Yessssss.)