Day 2 of 84 in the StSC: I ate how many calories? Ah, but I did how much exercise? Beginning on those push-ups, and other updates and spontaneous bemoanings....plus a bit of blathering on anime music for Susan the ScooterButt Sister... And where do the forks and socks go? Can someone tell me? Plus: Visualizing it----the Warrior Doodle!

Here we are, day two. I hope day one went well for you all.

Caloric Weapon misfire: Dang. My rifle drooped some. I went over calories. This is rare for me and it irks me. But, there it is. I wonder if I had a weird psychological thing going on like, "Oh, a challenge ended, lemme be lazy one last time before I throw myself into the next one."

I'm not used to using starches much, and when I input the rice, and tallied the EVOO, well, there we go: 1435.

That makes it more necessary for me to be at 1200 today. An occasional "feast" day  of 1400 calories is fine--and how relative is THAT feast, huh, for the gal who used to eat 2500 in one sitting easy! This I know. Warriors can't slack. I don't want that to be habitual while on challenge, though there will be celebratory times when I will want more on certain days. For optimal loss, 1200 will do it. I've seen the proof of that.

Anyway, this morning, I feel LESS great. So, maybe my starch experiment is gonna be mighty short-lived. I like feeling super-duper. I don't wanna screw that up. My self-discovery continues, I guess.

On the exercise battlefront: 1 hour of Pilates and 25 minutes of walking. Well, thank God this weapon is primed, as it should make up for the overages in the caloric dept for yesterday.

On the push-ups stealth maneuvers: I dropped a couple times for some modified attempts last night after my walk. If you're working on that, too, and need to do it modified, like me, here's a short video primer and here's a really short one that might help.

Note: If you are one who can't afford to invest in a lot of exercise DVDs, don't have On Demand free exercise videos with your cable, and don't have access toAmazon or  Netflix videos (on demand or otherwise), remember: The internet is your buddy. Youtube, Sparkpeople,  and other sites have free exercise demonstrations from Yoga to Pilates to Bootcamp style to Zumba to Jazzercise to various spot exercises and etc. Lots of personal trainers put good stuff out there foryou.

Just seek and you will find.

Canteen check: Got my water/fluids in.

Vitamins inventory: Consumed, general, sir, yes, sir.

Prayer deployment: Yep, you all got prayed for. I even asked hubby to join in with that, and I posted on FB to my pals to consider praying for us.

Encouragement: Well, I sure posted on a lot of blogs! I didn't get everyone since Sunday, but nearly!  And my thanks to all who stopped by and filled me up with good wishes.

Note to Susan re comment yesterday: While hubby and I didn't continue with CLAYMORE (I might recheck that one in future, as the ladies there do kick beastly hiney), is the opening theme you like the one by the group Nightmare~~"Raison d'etre"?  (romaji and translation are HERE, though not video.)~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Loooove the J-rock boys!!!  I have a cd of theirs, the one that includes the songs used in DEATH NOTE (terrific anime! really good tunes!) I like that band. Not as much as Buck-Tick (my fave)  or L'arc-en-Ciel or Vamps (kinda tied) or Abingdon Boys School or Sid or Uverworld...but they have some fun tunes. Lead singer just goes a little flat or pitchy sometimes. But when he's on it...he's ON! ; )

I think the closing theme is beautiful with its Celtic bits/meets symphonia/meets J-Rock: "Danzai no Hana~~Guilty Sky"

And I love singing along with anime themes, so when they add the Romaji lyrics, I just love dat. Lately, I get a nutty kick out of the silly ending theme from DENPA ONNA TO SEISHUN OTOKO, the one that goes, "Kaze hiku no, kaze hiku no" in that little-girly ootsy-cutesy voice. Such fun....

Sleep: Working on making it longer and better. Really, I am!

Silly personal side note which will assure you I'm odd and rather dorky: I'm running low on my discontinued Les Bains du Marais "musc blanc" huile de soin, and that's like my "time to go to sleep" aromatherapy. Oh, man, I love that stuff. I shower, rub it on my inner forearms and chest and shoulders, so I smell it as I doze off. So relaxing. The bestest musk scent ever. Why do they discontinue stuff I love?  Like FIREFLY (the TV show), or FELL (the comic), or like the TRIBECA flatware from Oneida.

Here me, world: If anyone wants to send their Musc Blanc huile to me, I will love you forever and ever. And if you have Tribeca dinner forks, them, too. I just ordered 6 from eBay out of desperation. Got the knives, salad forks, spoons. Forks: no. They're gone. Huh?  I have no idea whey we keep losing forks. And athletic socks. We're disorganized idiots, I guess. Socks and forks. Do demons pilfer forks in the night?  Are Fork Gnomes visiting my apartment while I shop for produce, then take my forks for subterranean feastings? Maybe aliens abduct them while I'm in a Les Bains du Marais White Musk dream haze?

Well, I guess I rambled enough. My apologies. It's a flaw.

I will endeavor to make this a stunningly good challenge day. I will pray it goes stunningly well for the 552--oh, wait, just 52? Whew!--of you fellow challengers.

Okay. New day. Time to deploy the weapons and be a warrior for health!

Here's a doodle by Rettakat on the warrior theme:

I really like it. Thanks, Retta! And I want to LIVE that mentality.

Happy and healthful Tuesday to all challengers and supporters!

Day 1 of 84 in the Slimmer This Summer Challenge henceforth StSC): Pilates, Barbacoa Salad, Beginning Push-Up Training, and Probably a Walk with Hubby...And a word to challengers: THINK OF YOURSELF AS A WARRIOR!

I verified starting weight this AM after 5 hours sleep (yawn). Still 195.0.

This is good. It means that had I slept fully, and weighed in at normal afternoon time, I'd have been UNDER 195.

I had Pilates today, and other trainers were there for a meeting and class, and I got some seriously great props on my physical and just general changes. The co-owner of the studio said I looked like a totally new woman. I feel like it (except for those crap knees and the itchy skin, hah).

I dropped a couple times during the day and just started doing it as Yum Yucky illustrated on her blog yesterday. I'm gonna get to those 4 push-ups, dang it. I could NOT, even with modification, do a full on. I got nearly half of the way down and back up several times. But that was all. Halfway. Not all the way. The training continues...

After Pilates, I hit Chipotle for their Primal-friendly fare. Had the Barbacoa Beef Salad (romaine, fajita veggies, small fluffball of cheese, guacamole side). Took my vitamins. Drank water and iced decaf.

My calories so far: 515

I have roast tenderloin for supper. I just have to decide on which veggie. Maybe asparagus. Maybe mixed. Not sure. Will consider whether to have rice as my starch. I'm back to adding 1 starch a day. I got all skeered about some of the reports of screwed metabolisms with VLC (okay, so I wan't doing VERY low carb, but I'd rather just spare any chances). This will likely slow my loss or at least up my water retention, but a not-screwed up metabolism is worth the starchy investment.

As per some medical recommendations --and taking into consideration my auto-immune state and how gluten is a big no-no for us--no gluten, so no wheat/rye/barley, etc. I also limit legumes. Once in a while, I'll cave to some beans...I'm Cuban, it cannot be helped. But it's not the many times a week indulgence anymore. I miss them. Could eat them every day, I swear.

So, my remaining caloric range is roughly 700 to 900 cals. I plan to keep it closer to 700 for 1200 for the day. I still have 8 more glasses of water/fluids, too. And one dose of Vit D3 and Vit C, and a dose of glucosamine (shellfish free) for my crap joints.

It was a bit startling to see that we had more people trickle into the challenge. Debbi and I had agreed that today would be the LAST DAY (okay, I had wanted yesterday to be the last day, but Debbi is a softie and I was swayed). No one will be allowed to join the challenge AFTER TODAY. I guess that means today by Debbie or my midnight (I'm EST, not sure which is her zone). If you want in on the challenge, you have a mere handful of hours, then the door is SHUT.

I think of myself as a warrior against fat--well, I try to most days, and even make my trainer laugh when I have to do something and fail, then regroup and say, "Hang on, I gotta find my inner Amazon!" Or ninja. Whatever. You get my drift.

What's a warrior? According to Richard "Mack" Machowicz, author of UNLEASH THE WARRIOR WITHIN (see my left sidebar for a quote), a warrior is this:

"An individual who is so prepared to face the challenge before him and believes so strongly in the cause he is fighting for that he refuses to quit."

Warriors have targets. Whether it was Osama or whether it was Luke Skywalker's eye on that Death Star's wee hole, we have targets. Our targets as fatfighters are our goals. How many pounds to lose. Our ultimate target down the line is our end-goal weight. Some will make that on this challenge. I won't. But I'll get way closer. :D

In this challenge you have a goal weight you've selected (ie, how many pounds you want to lose). I chose 18 pounds to lose. That would put me at 177 by August 28th.

My target: shoot down 18 pounds, which gets me to 177 on the scale. Mission: KILL 18 POUNDS!

To get the target, you gotta use weapons. What's a weapon? Mack says they are:

"Any skill, instrument, or device designed to knock down targets."

My weapons for killing each of those 18 pounds: Pilates, walking, a 1200 calorie low-starch/moderate-to-lower carb diet, 16 glasses of water, good sleep, prayer, group challenge support. I plan to add more weapons...as I think of them. :)

Some of you have interesting weapons: BodyBuggs. Personal trainers. Dietitians. Special doctors. Special exercise equipment at home.

I know we have other targets. I want to do push-ups, which is not STRICTLY pounds-destroying related, but it is related to getting a fitter body, a side-mission. :)

You're a warrior. Think of yourself that way. It's a long fight, a life-long fight. Cause once you get to end-goal, you have to fight to STAY THERE.

Keep your eyes focused on the target for the next 12 weeks of this mission. You have fat to destroy. You better have good weapons. I better have focus and good weapons. Failure...not an option, right? :)

Happy Monday. Go use your weapons....

My Official Goals Post for SLIMMER THIS SUMMER Challenge

The challenge begins tomorrow, June 6th. Today, I have my measurements and goals post from which I will track my progress. I have a swollen eye (nearly shut, allergies and irritation from a combo of things, so hope the post doesn't look lopsided, heh).

My goals:

Lose 18 pounds minimum. I'll take any lagniappe.

Exercise 5 days a week, two with strength training. Try at least two new ways to exercise this summer other than Pilates and walking (my mainstays).

I want to be able to do 4 regular push-ups by challenge-end. I've never, ever, ever, even when young and slim and active, been able to do regular push-ups. It's one of the banes of my exercise life. :O It's partly a combo of very weak and fragile wrists (sheesh), week upper body strength,  and holding a lot of my weight in the upper body (just look at my swimsuit pics for proof). So, I'm gonna work on that all summer. One day, I'd like to be a push-ups GODDESS like Yum Yucky

Drink 14 glasses of fluid minimum. More on high exercise days.

Stay within 1200 to 1400 calorie. Know I'm calorically correct by tracking my food on Sparkpeople or a notebook or an email or whatever. But track everything ingested and tally calories.

Get my waist at or under 35 inches. I have no idea if this is doable with just 18 pounds, as I'm an appley girl and my waist/belly fat is the most stubborn; but I have my eye on it. Might as well set it down as a goal.

Pray daily for the success of the Slimmer this Summer Challengers.

Encourage some challengers daily. ( I can't encourage you all daily, sorry, too many of you!)

Here are the things the StS Challenge requires of all of us involved. That means me:

**Track food and water. 
**Keep calories around 1200-1400 a day/10K or less per week. 
**Stay hydrated.
**Weigh in weekly.
**Stick to your exercise goals. 
**DO NOT QUIT.
**Keep blogging.
**Encourage others.

If you can't do these things, this challenge isn't for you.

If you can, go here to read about it and, if you wish, join up. This begins tomorrow, so you have time. You'll need to make your official goals post TODAY.

If you're in the challenge and haven't done your goal post. TODAY IS THE DAY, People! Do it! Make your list of goals, then yabber on about anything else you want, get going. Post it!

Okay, so my starting measurements:

Waist: 37 in

Weight: 195.0 lbs

Yeah, that's higher than yesterday pre-restaurant. I always bloat from rest food and its saltiness. Small bloat, though. :)

Since we were supposed to take a pic anyway for end of Phase 5, here it is as my START photo for StS:

I got on twice and got the same number, so there it is. Starting weight.

I wonder how much a Canon digital camera weighs? ; )

A new challenge begins. And though I'm bug-bite and heat-rash itchy, swollen-eyed, and restaurant wee-bloated, I'm ready to tackle the last 35 pounds to goal weight.

Die, fat, die!!!

And for those who feel daunted by the prospect of having to lose a whole lotta poundage, you aren't alone. We're all struggling and fighting the fight. We can make it. And we can make it with joy!

Well, I certainly want to do it with joy. And I have help-- you supporters/fellow challengers, my kind bloggy readers/commenters, hubby, family...and Him. Definitely not alone in the journey.

Here is one of my fave Twila Paris tunes, bluegrassy and fun and, yes, joyful. I'm gonna go sing it now to get myself going. EnJOY: Joy of the Lord by Twila Paris~~

The joy of the Lord

will be my strength.

I will not falter;

I will not faint...

Be well...and full of joy..

This makes 2 lbs off for the week so far, and off I go to get moisturized!..and back with pics plus a "Why We're Fat" Chart...And answering some questions from comments!

Tanita-san: 194.6

That makes 2 lbs off so far this week.

Tomorrow is the official last weigh-in for P5, although I'm not sure if we need to actually officially send it off. We'll see. Hubby and I will be eating lunch out, as we have an appt in an hour at the Aveda Truu Salon in Hollywood. Groupon score. :)

I've already had my hair cut and dyed by my trusted neighborhood stylist, so I'm just gonna use the Groupon for a conditioning treatment and maybe a blow-out. Not sure. My curls are lovely after the protein treatment I did on Saturday (to protect strands from imminent dyes), but we'll see...I'll make a decision at the salon.

I got bitten up like mad by skeeters walking Thursday, and I'm still itching like mad despite lots of Neosporin and steroid cream. Big pink bumps that itch! I guess it's long pants for the salon. No shorts today, while I look like St. Lazarus of parable fame.

So, nothing much from me today....sorry...but I did want to wish you a great Saturday, heat nowithstanding.

Updating after return home:

We just got home a bit ago. Had fun. After the salon, we walked around downtown Hollywood, FLORIDA (someone asked which Hollywood), ate at an Argentinian steakhouse. Hubby had skirt steak and fries, I had chicken and green beans. Neither of us touched the bread basket. No dessert. Two small salads as starters. Nummy.

Here's pics of us after salon-ing it:

Obviously, given the beef cut charts behind us, we're at the steakhouse.

Ooh, blow out and cleavage!

Beef and My Tasty Cut of Cutiepie!

Outside on a pretty, warm, late-late spring day in Hollywood, Fl....

If you are ever in South Florida and need to get hair pampered, I do highly recommend the Aveda Truu Salon on Harrison Street across from the Ramada. Relaxing. Clean, Very friendly staff. Good listeners. Massages. And aromatherapy. Nice. Ask for Leslie, Rachel or Ryan. All nice...

Susan, the Cheese Course is a shop-meets-cafe where they sell all sorts of, um, cheese. I'm very fond of their cheddar and manchego. :D We go have salads there at times. Hubby likes the roast beef and I like the American Field Greens salad (greens, avocado, cheddar, bacon with a balsamic dressing). Very nice olive tapenade, too. It has a very small eating space inside and outside, but if anyone goes there, choose the outside. The courtyard at the Gulfstream Racetrack & Casino is so pleasant. People always look happy there. :)

Joy, thanks for the award, but I got it already. Scroll down my sidebar to see. :) I want to thank you for offering it to me, cause it's always wonderful when people enjoy hanging with the bloggy self. Please pass it on to a virgin awardee. :D

I got some new Zoya nail polish and off I go to prettify my toes...after some email reading and blog catching-up. :D

I'll leave ya with this:




Learn more about Healthy Meals