Day 11 (don't those two 1's look tall and skinny?)

I did it! I went to Aqua Aerobics. It was a great workout. 

There was no need to fear jumping in the pool with all the 80-year-old women!  The class has changed since I attended years ago. There's a new instructor who seriously tries to beat the heck out of you and the majority of the class are women my age! So we worked hard and I could feel it! 

I plan on attending that class every chance I get! Plus, the 10 minutes in the steam room when I finished was heaven!

Day 10!! Yahoo!!

After yesterday's failure, I felt myself slipping and was so discouraged! I worked in the morning and when I got home the internal struggle was HUGE. I kept thinking "forget it", "it's too hard", "I'm too tired", and every other excuse I've come up with over the years. But the thought of coming to this blog and admitting defeat was overwhelming!!

I had texted Megan to see if we could work out together, but she had already made plans with her friend. I was on my own. And "my own" was not looking too promising! Then, as I sat on the couch struggling over how I was going to accomplish a workout, I got a call from that angel, Megan. Her plans with her friend had fallen through and she needed a workout buddy.....ME! It was all I needed to push me into that gym. Thanks so much, Megan!

I was pretty psyched after I finished, I realized that it was NOT a big deal to just get in my car and drive to the gym to make something fabulous happen. I'll admit that the first 5 minutes were a killer, but I pushed through and felt totally energized by the time I was done.

A mind game I play....when I reach the 11 minute mark in a 45 minute workout, I think to myself: "I just need to do that 11 minutes three more times". When I reach 15 minutes, I say "I just need to do that 15 minutes two more times". I know it sounds silly, but it seems to break up the time into manageable chunks!

Day 9

Day 9 was FAILURE! I had it all worked out and Wes called at the last minute and needed me to help him at home. I was SO mad! After that I had meetings that lasted until 10:30 pm.

I need to get a jump start! I knew the second week would be hard....it always is. But I had no idea how hard!   

The most difficult thing seems to be that I eat more because I'm exercising more!  I know I keep saying that I'm not dealing with food intake in my 100 Day Challenge, but my increased appetite makes me crazy! In reality, it's not an increase of appetite… It's just an increased desire for food. I don't get it!

Day 8

I forgot how difficult the second week of starting a new program is. I couldn't go to Aqua Aerobics because Wes needed my help in doing some business this morning. So I went for a 45 minute walk up Oak Grove. 

 I'm glad I have this 100 Day Challenge in front of me because it's going to help me push through the lack of momentum I feel today. I'll just keep pushing every day and I know that some days will be better than others.

Day 6

 Though I didn't work out today, I still counted it as part of the 100 Day Challenge. I rested my body and tried to be healthy.

But that wasn't totally successful. I had a lot of family time sitting right next to a buffet table. I ate way too much!

Even though this challenge isn't about food intake, it is about being healthy! I ate lot and I feel awful tonight! That is something I need to watch if I want to do well with this challenge.

Tomorrow morning I will start doing Aqua Aerobics at the gym and see if that controls my knee pain and still offers a decent workout. I'm a little intimidated by jumping into the pool with a bunch of 80-year-old women… But if it works, I don't care!

Day 5

Did I mention that Zumba was going to kill me? It practically did! 

I met Karen Brown at Life Center and we had a great time but it was exhausting. After the first 10 minutes I looked up at the clock and was amazed that only that short amount of time had  passed. 

They added a new thing to the workout (as if Zumba by itself wasn't enough!) After each song or dance, you had to do 10 push-ups. I did them against the wall, but it was tiring after the 6th series!

 

My knees are killing me, but I know if I go home and ice  them I'll be just fine. I will admit I've never been more excited to have the Sabbath day tomorrow where I get a rest!

 

I read Taylor's blog and noted that he is putting in weight gains and losses, etc. I made a conscious decision this time around not to weigh myself. I think that would just be more discouraging than anything for me. I'd rather just focus on being healthy and active. For 100 days I think I can do that!

The great thing is that I believe I can do this! Megan asked me today how I felt and I told her in reality, I feel AWFUL! Mostly because of my knees. But I DON'T feel discouraged. I'll just keep going and this will work itself out!

LESSONS LEARNED THIS WEEK:

• make sure the workouts have a good variety, 
• try to do your workouts at the first of the day and not make up excuses to postpone it, 
• get other people to exercise with you because it makes the time go faster, 
•  blog every day. It's a nice way to think through the experience and create new and fresh goals for yourself.

GOALS FOR NEXT WEEK

• Find a way to do upper body workout every other day to rest my knee
• Ice my knee every night
• Make plans in the evening for the following days activities
• Get excited about how good you feel!

I'm on my way......100 days is the perfect challenge.

Day 4

I learned a great lesson today. When you say you're going to work out first thing in the morning… Do it!

 I keep letting things get in the way and  then the day slips away. So at 9:00 after Wes and I went to a movie, I knew I could not let the day end in failure. 

My knee was really bothering me today and so I iced it for a while. I knew I needed to give my knee a rest so I looked for an upper body workout on TV. They weren't that exciting, but it was better than nothing. I need to get some sort of workout to give my knee a break a couple times a week. 

It's frustrating. My knee is bad because I put on the weight, but when I try to get my weight under control...my knees hurts worse! 

Tomorrow morning is Zumba,  so that ought to kill me! But what a way to go!!!

And on the third day…

With a lot of heavy breathing I'm walking to my car after a great workout in the gym. I haven't been here in a while, and it felt good to spend 45 minutes on the bike.

I was a little concerned how I was going to do my workout today because it was my day to watch Zac and Blake. But out of the blue, Megan and Taylor texted me to meet them at the gym tonight at 5:00 to work out. Perfect!

I kind of think that is how the Lord is going to help me make this happen every day. As long as I am willing, he will find a way to make it happen. So on this third day I feel great! I'm on my way!

Day 2

Lesson learned! Don't get up in the morning with every intention of working out....and then put on your warm robe instead of your workout clothes!! Suddenly I was reading the paper, doing some computer work, reading a book, dropping off to sleep in a chair---and finally at 11:00 am realizing I still needed to go walking!

By the time I got outside it had begun to lightly snow. I thought, "oh, I'll wait til this passes". But NO! If I did that, the workout would never happen. So I put up my hood and kept walking. I decided that variety in my walking course would be helpful, so I went down High Mountain to the  north and west and then came back up (puffing mightily) and went around the block. I listened to a book on CD which makes the difficult parts pass more quickly! It felt good at the end and I even went 10 minutes over! (All that puffing takes more time!) 

I was glad I kept going. So no more warm robe in the morning!
 
I think that not having a set schedule in my walking routine (ie. "walk everyday at 8:00 am") will be the hardest part of this challenge. With work and other responsibilities, I need to schedule a time every night and then push myself the next day to make it happen. Then again, that's just another part of personal control that needs to be exercised....don't let life dictate what you can accomplish! It's YOUR choice!

PS. My new shoes feel awesome! My feet don't bug me a bit!

100-Day Challenge

It's February 18th....my birthday. Today I start the 100-Day Challenge. I have committed for 100 days to exercise for 45 minutes, 6 days a week. I am to write on this blog everyday to create a record of my journey. So I have a beginning, middle, and end. Let's see where this goes.....

I've been very aware of the need for change in my health. I've felt a very spiritual prompting that I will be given the power and strength to make this happen. Even as I woke up to my first day, I noted on Instagram the scripture that showed up was:

"But if ye will turn to the Lord will full purpose of heart, and put your trust in Him, and serve Him with all diligence of mind, if ye do this, He will, according to His own will and pleasure, deliver you out of bondage." Mosiah 7:33

Perfect.

So today began my first 45-minute walk. With my newly purchased Asics and the overly-expensive inserts...I began. I did the easy walk up Oak Grove while listening to a book on my iphone. Though I was continuously interrupted with Facebook wishes of Happy Birthday and a Happy Birthday call from Mallory....I kept going. I was amazed at how strenuous this familiar walk was. Dang it! My knees are a little sensitive, so I'll be careful.

I really struggled today at making myself arrange a time to go. I found the best solution was to start the night before and work out a schedule of when to get up, eat breakfast, walk, leave for work, etc. It felt better that I wasn't making the schedule this morning. That is always when it is the hardest. The night before is a perfect time because I feel like I can do anything!

So the 100 Days begins.

Thanks, Mug! Great birthday gift. Megan is the one who introduced me to this concept. Taylor has been doing it and it sounded perfect for me. She encouraged me NOT to add anymore to the goal, like eating patterns, etc. or else the overwhelming details would sink me before I got started. Very true.

That's what daughters are for.....