First time i had two good workouts in a week since End of June 2012, no Kidding. But, hey, FINALLY Sore Again...(pics)

Been sore. That's great. A great feeling. Had a great workout Monday, and by Tuesday, the abs, shoulders, thighs, biceps and triceps, and pecs were very sore. Worked out today, while still sore, mind you; so I imagine I'll be extra sore tomorrow.

But it feels so good to just be moving again. I even danced a bit in the living room, cause it got dark fast on me and I nixed the walk. (Night-walking is an invitation to get mugged or something. Not a safe 'hood.)

So, here are pics of me after Monday and today's workouts. My curls held up. Thanks "Re:coil" on Monday. Thanks, "As I Am" and "Spiral Solutions" for today. Second day hair both times in the pics (curly-haired gals know what I mean, haha). Both taken in the coffee shop I visit after working out. I love their salads and the decaf is amazing (Sidamo, Ethiopian beans).

Today, in the restroom

Monday, window table, sunny day...

I wish MAC hadn't discontinued the CYNDI lipstick and lipglass. I'm wearing it in the Monday shot, and I love that color. When its gone, it's gone. I've got a dupe, but it's just not the same. If I wish hard enough, maybe MAC will give CYNDI another run.... (and I'll stock up like mad).

Moving's good for ya. Go move and build a bit of muscle. I need to get mine back. I can see the difference in legs and hips and abs and shoulders after 6 nearly totally sedentary months. Sucks. Ah, well, one good thing about muscle: You can ALWAYS REBUILD.

Happy Wednesday. Be well...

Still Maintaining...kinda blah, otherwise.

Ah, got nothing to blog about. Just not feeling it. But I wanted to update my weight tracker, and I'm still maintaining:

173.4

Last time I updated my weight tracker--sidebar left--it was 173.8.

So, pretty much the same, huh? :)

I hope you are all doing well. Keep on fighting on. It's tough, yes, and I'm having some good days and some bad days, and it's a little mood dip time for me (I get those). I'm turning to mush from not exercising (still haven't worked up that mojo), so the struggle continues.

It's a lifelong thing, after all--and we do know this, right?--so it's not like we can ever just forget about the needful things on this journey. They never stop being needful--the vigilance, the discipline, the time-making for the necessary shopping, food prep, movement. I'm shopping better, but I'm still not moving enough. This will turn around, too, because it's vital. I recall too well how great it felt to have those muscles and the fitness level higher. It felt GREAT.

I want to feel great again. For now, a little down, a little bleh. It will pass.

Be well, all...

The Ease with Which New Habits Fade and Old Habits Reimpose...it's Scary! AND Some Pics of Me Now at 170 lbs.

I'm still alive. :D  Stress is a daily thing and hubby is still hunting for work, but we took time yesterday to enjoy a beach worship service.

My legs, loose capris, and the gospel of Luke

The sand fleas and mosquitoes were fierce, and before we were done, lots of scratching going on--blame it on not enough wind, a flattish sea,  and the stagnantish water from the Intracoastal. The strip where the service went on was a narrow bit of beach between Intracoastal and the Atlantic.

The pastor said it was usually fine when the wind blew well. Pelicans and seagulls flew overhead and beachgoers laughed and bathed. Some swimming and paddleboarding. Some fishing off the pier. Nice to see some roped off areas where sea turtles were being protected prior to hatching. :D

I sat on a nylon bag on the sand and looked at how I've lost muscle off my legs. Seriously, I have not exercised in more than a month, and it shows. I feel less dense. I feel less strong. Bad old habit reimposed. And now I have to remotivate myself to move and recreate the nicer shape/density I had. It's tough. Nearly back to being the old slothful me. Not good.

Yes, it's THAT easy to get out of good habits. 

Hubby sat behind me, much less attacked by the wee bitey things. I guess I was his wall of protection. They were too busy munching on me.

Hubby with the Dania Beach pier behind him

After we closed the service with a worship song--"His love never fails"--I headed to the water to get some saltwater on my bites. I rolled up my loose capris and splashed water on arms and legs and then just played a bit.

beach joy

It was a lovely respite from studying, writing, job hunting, worrying. Yay for sun and water and seabirds and songs and kids laughing and encouraging words and an amazing moon rising over the ocean. (I didn't get a good pic, sigh).

Sunday I was 170.4, and then had a family thanksgiving dinner (a relative was healing well after a life-threatening event and ICU stay). I ate traditional Cuban fare--meaning not a whole lotta veggies, lots of starch, and flan. First time I have a really sugary regular dessert in ages. I forgot how good that crap is. ; )

I'm at 170.0 today. Appetite returned to normal (not binge normal, just normal for the last couple years), and I'm back to my two meals and roughly 1600 calories, not the 500-800 when the anxiety first hit.  My lowest was 168.6, and then I bounced up to 172 and back down, depending on the salt level of my foods.

So, my body is mushier sans nearly daily exercise, sans Pilates. My appetite is normalized. And I keep the faith that good things will come.

But I definitely need to set goals again for movement and not mess up after good progress.

Habits die hard if they're bad, and die easy if they're good sometimes. So, we must be on the alert. Always. Always....

God bless. Be well.

For Food Freak: The Princess & Pilates

Food Freak asked in the comments section of the previous post:

Sometime, when you're in the mood, could you dedicate part of a post to what Pilates is, how you discovered it, how long a session you do it, how often, et cetera, et cetera, et cetera. LOL.

I'm not in the mood. BUT, I'll do a quickie now before bed--well, as much as I can do anything "quickie" style--and refer folk to the PHAT PILATES page (see tab to click under blog header). It has pics of me doing it and you see what a session is sorta like.

I knew about Pilates for decades. Back in my younger days, magazines often featured celebrities and trainers who did or taught Pilates. It was a fashionable exercise in NY and LA with the models and actresses. I used to see pics of people in magazines in the TEASER pose. :)

I never did it, though. But as I came to feel more and more that since I could not seem to get a handle on dieting, I could try to stop being a couch potato. Try exercise FIRST, and see if that helped. I also wanted to build muscle. I was terrified of the hanging skin post big weight loss, and I wanted to build a better architecture under the fat to support loss with , maybe, I hoped, less shar-pei skin.

I began Pilates on June 30, 2008. I was in the 270s; highest weight doing Pilates was 278. It was very hard for me to get my courage up. Took months of thinking about it, driving by this particular studio a mere 5 minute drive from my house. Finally, I called and asked if they had anyone with experience with obese clients. I ended up seeing the co-owner of the studio, Liza.

I began 3x a week (Mon, Wed, Fri) for 55 minute sessions.

In the beginning, thought I was gonna die. When you're that big and that out of shape from a completely sedentary and reclusive lifestyle, going into a studio with bona-fide dancers and models around you is intimidating. When you're that big and out of shape and have emerged from self-hiding with bad joints and asthma, getting through nearly an hour of ANY exercise is hard as crap.

I persevered.

Money considerations meant I had to decrease my visits to 2x a week (which is where I remain) after 9 months or so of my starting date.

My development was slow, but sure. I felt a difference in a matter of weeks in terms of better flexibility and after months, the well-being and strength were increasing. I used to let my hubby carry in groceries. I got tired walking half a block. I now can walk and walk and I can carry ALL my groceries myself in ONE go (the clerks at Publix still marvel at how much I can carry and keep asking if I'm not SURE I want a cart). I don't use a cart. I take bags and just load them up and grunt my way to the cash register, loaded up. :D

Sex improved, too. Seriously. You get flexible, strong in the core, that helps in the bedroom. And as I got stronger and felt more able to DO stuff, I DID more stuff. Went out and did things I hadn't in years out of distrust of my own body's ability to move and endure  and shame of my girth.

Strength. Flexibility. Focus. Mindfulness. Balance.  Gentle movement. Breath control. A growing sense of mastery. Reconnecting with a body that one can become alienated and distrustful of. It feels good.

Anyone can google Pilates and read about its founder and principles. I encourage it. I chose it specifically because of my issues (bad knees, asthma--which at that time precluded aerobics, safety concerns). I was the biggest person who went there. It took guts. And I'm proud of myself.

The reason I posted the PHAT PILATES blogs/pics was so other big gals would not be afraid to TRY Pilates. Yes, you'll flop around like a wounded turtle on the machines when you're huge, but a good instructor and accepting environment make it worthwhile. And the machines are fun. I LOOOVE the Reformer and Cadillac. I love how they made my legs look and built up my core.  I love how she modified for my belly and thighs and neck fat. Any really well-trained and experienced instructor can modify for obese clients. If they can't modify, they aren't for big folks. And they work with body imbalances and weaknesses....so there's no fear other than one's own neuroses. ; )

Anyway, not so quickie, but there it is. It's a great form of exercise for introverts like me, as it's very inward focused, very mindful. And for folks with bad backs, knees, etc...very easy on the joints.

Food Freak, that okay? ; )