Day 59

It's a day of rest....and a day of reflection. I have been less than consistent and need to get back into a regular schedule! Mallory is almost here and I want to be on a regular schedule. We're committing to do some healthy things together this summer, so I don't want to be "starting over" with exercise when she gets here!

This upcoming week is busy, so I need to figure out right now how to put in a workout everyday.

MONDAY: I work until 2:30. So I will come home and rest for 30 minutes, get changed and go for a walk up to Wasatch Blvd to the old Stake Center. (3 miles)

TUESDAY: I work in the morning and have YW at night. So I should be home by noon. Get changed and convince Diane to walk to Bell Canyon Park with me.

WEDNESDAY: I have workmen here until late afternoon. I'l either talk to Megan about meeting me at the gym, or just go myself and do 45 minutes of biking (BORING!)

THURSDAY: It's Blake Day until 5:30 and then a meeting with the landscaper. I think an evening walk up to the Turkey Farm would be the best.

FRIDAY: Another full day with workmen. On their lunch break, I'll walk over to Draper through Mtn Oaks Ward.

SATURDAY: Zumba at 8:00 am!!

I'll check in everyday with my success stories!!

Who knows?

Who knows what day it is! I did go to Zumba today and I felt the lack of exercise that I had done this week. 

You would think after 50+ days it would be impossible to quit working out everyday… But it is really quite easy. So I am really committing myself to get back into good health habits. Even when life is difficult, the best way to feel better is  physical labor

Day 55

Had a fun workout today at the gym. 

 I worked up a sweat and felt like I really put in some good effort. Feels good to do something productive today

Day 48

Just when I start thinking that 100 days is kind of overkill for a challenge, I have a day like today. A friend told me to try attending Silver Sneakers, a class taught by Lindsi at Life Center. She said it was a great workout even though was for old people.

I arrived at the class a few minutes after it started and people were so kind to get my chair set up and all the weights and everything that I would need. I looked around and saw the class was FILLED with really old people! That was okay and I kept working out. It was a nice class.

But as the class continued and I kept glancing at all the old people....it made me start to think of my mom. Lindsi would've done so much for her to be in a class like this. She is so sweet with all of these people.

Throughout the class, Lindsi kept telling us to look in the mirror and see if our posture and position was correct. I did so, and I was shocked at how I looked. That's when it all came together as I started thinking about how my mom would feel about how I look now.

How did I get here? How did I let it get so bad? It makes me sick to see the way that I look. I'm sitting here in the car with tears rolling down my face because I'm so amazed at how awful it look. Will I ever have enough stamina to look good? I don't know if I have it in me. Do I even have enough time in this life to keep myself healthy again? It's not like I think I'm going to die tomorrow, but to think that I would only have a few more years left after I get myself healthy is pretty rotten. I wasted a lot of time enjoying food and junk rather than enjoying good health. Is it too late? I know logically that it's not, but it seems like such an incredibly long journey

Day 47

I made it! I'm completely exhausted, but I made it! I got up and went to Aqua Aerobics and then went straight to Zumba. I thought I would die before Zumba was over! But, you know, I didn't!
I may have pushed it too far, but it was fun trying. 

I'm not sure I'll do it again but at least I proved I could do something hard. I'm going to have to see how this affects my knees by the end of today, and then I'll make plans for the future. It's fun to see how far I can push myself… Without killing myself!

Day 46

Though it is my Day Of Rest, I've been thinking through the week and making plans for my exercise program. 

I talked to a woman last week at Aqua Aerobics. She said that she uses the swim class to loosen up her knees so she can go directly to the next class which is Zumba. That sounds like a perfect idea to preserve my knees. So tomorrow I'm going to try that and see if it works little bit better for me 

Day 45

I have finally returned from sickness! I went to Zumba today and it felt great. My knees have been killing me all day, but it's worth the pain. I'll ice them today and see if I can get them back on track. 

It feels good to be moving forward again… And not just moving forward to the toilet!

Sick Day

Didn't work out. Don't care. I feel like crap! Can't get a doctors appointment until tomorrow. 

But it's been a great way to lose weight! I've lost the 2 pounds that I gained on the cruise and now I lost another two. Not a fun way to lose it though.

Day 39

It was so nice to get back into a schedule again. My knees are KILLING ME so I went to Aqua Aerobics to get them loosened up. I'm starting to think the problem with my knees came from sitting on an airplane for 8 hours. I'm not sure, but hopefully if I ice them and am careful....I'll feel better again.

A lady in class today told me that she does Aqua Aerobics as a warm-up to Zumba every week. Great idea! Zumba class is right after Aqua Aerobics, so that would be a great DOUBLE workout!

Day 38

I'm thrilled to report that I weighed in this morning to check my pre- and post-weight from the cruise.......I only gained 2 pounds! I am THRILLED by that!

Now I'll put the scale away and continue working hard on exercise.....

Day 37

I finally made it to the Fitness Center!

We had a day at sea, so I knew we would not be doing anything terribly active. I spent 45minutes on the bike, watching the Atlantic Ocean out the huge windows in front of me. I really pushed hard and felt GREAT when I finished! It was hard to push for 45 minutes when I hadn't done it for a week, so I'm very glad I did!

I found that working my sore knees on the bike actually made them feel better!!

Day 36

My knees are so sore! I  assuming it's the humidity here, but both my knees hurt.

Today was not a very successful day, as far as a lot of activity. We took a taxi ride for 2 hours and he took us to cool places in Barbados. From small shacks to the $5000 a night place that Tiger Woods uses when he golfs.....really interesting. We even took a look at the neighborhood that Rihanna grew up in! Yippee. 

I'll do less mental activity and more physical activity tomorrow. 

Day 35

Today our workout was an awesome hike to Emerald Falls in Dominica. The hike in was kind of rough on my knees, but it was BEAUTIFUL!

To start off, you hike through a rain forest with a well worn path and occasional wooden steps to make the path workable. It's all downhill.  After you hike for awhile, you turn and see a gorgeous waterfall and pool. Wow! I kept thinking how much Megan would have loved to run this trail! It's Bonneville Trail times 100!!

After I played around in the pool, it was time to return. Wes had already started on his way back. I looked up at that trail I had hiked down and realized I would need to hike UP to get out. I was somewhat intimidated because I was the last one in our group to leave the pool, so I had the tour guide right behind me as I hiked up and up and UP! I didn't want to be the weakling that hiked a few steps and then was wiped out and had to rest.

So, once again,  I thought of Megan and her love of doing hills. I decided if she could love these...so could I. I hiked straight up and tried to enjoy the experience. I didn't stop once! I was so dang proud! I finally was able to see the results of my increased exercising over this last month!

Day 34

Once again, by the end of our shore excursion....I ended up being exhausted! I honestly thought that with the 25+ days of workouts I would be more able to get around. 

We went snorkeling and I actually worked at doing the exercises I had done in aqua aerobics--right in the middle of the ocean! It must have looked pretty strange with my fins and snorkel gear on! 

Day 33

I haven't been to the fitness center, but we've certainly walked A LOT and I'm tired! When Wes puts his mind to it...he can go hours on his feet longer than me! 

As I planned, I haven't been super strict with food, but I've just been careful. Luckily these foods are so "gourmet" and fancy that the desserts are usually too strange to be tempted by. My favorite Royal Caribbean chocolate chip cookies are nowhere to be found! They do have the sugar free ones and they're quite good. Lucky!

Day 32

Wes wanted to see San Juan, so we took off and walked along the beach and through town. I made sure we walked along the beach for a long time, as that is more difficult. Ultimately, it didn't produce much sweat (other than the humidity) and increased heart rate on me, but I felt great that we were doing something together. It felt good to be active.

Day 31

 Sitting on a plane handing to Puerto Rico. Finally!! I didn't get an official workout in, but I did crank up the music and clean the house with a vengence! Does that count for something? I hope so.

Wes has agreed to workout with me on the cruise. I know that doesn't mean go to the fitness center, but he's willing to walk around the decks and that will be a great thing to do together. I'd still like to get in some heavy sweat time, but working out with him will be awesome!

Day 30

I've skipped a few days in writing, as I am preparing for this vacation that is insane! With handyman here fixing the bathrooms and trying to pack my bags… It's got a little crazy!

I weighed myself this morning for the first time in a few weeks and I've actually lost 4 pounds! I wanted to weigh myself this morning before we leave for this cruise so that I can see the difference once we return. 

I want to be careful on this cruise to be sure I work out every day and am aware of what Im eating. I'm not going to go crazy with not having food or not participating in the deliciousness of the meals, but I am going to be conscious of not eating a lot of super fat foods, a lot of sugar, etc. Hope this works!

I'll add to this blog as my Wi-Fi connection permits, but otherwise I'm keeping the journal on a piece of paper and I will put ut online when I return.

Day 28

I had a wonderful evening at Zumba. Thank heavens for the Democratic Caucus. They made us cancel YW and so I could actually go to Tuesday night Zumba. It was luxurious! For some reason I love this class so much more than the Saturday early-morning one. It was a good workout.

I reread what I wrote on yesterday's blog where I was concerned because I was at Day 26 and it was still not a habit. But yet when I realized that we would not have young women's, my first instinct was to go to my Zumba class! So maybe it's becoming more of a habit then I first realized. That was a great feeling!

By the way, the date says this was written on Wednesday, but it's still Tuesday and I waited until after midnight to post this!

Day 27

It struck me today on my Day of Rest....it has been "scientifically proven" that it takes 21 days to change a habit. So why the heck isn't this daily workout a HABIT?!! Maybe at Day 42 (double the 21) I'll be able to say that is true.
 
I'm getting ready to go my cruise this Thursday. I'm really working things through in my head of when I'll work out and how I'll make this happen.....no matter what. There will be no support, no blog (though I plan on writing on my phone and transferring it over when I get back) and Wes will be my Sabotager Extraordinaire. I'm hoping to get him to join me in the gym so I can make it all work.