It's Friday!

I've meant to blog all week, but didn't really know what to say.

Don't get me wrong, things are all going well, I guess I was just not in the mood or something.

Also yesterday my iPhone made a suicide attempt in my toilet and is currently stashed in a bag of rice while we attempt to make a recovery (fingers crossed)!

I've been pretty on-point with me eating all week.  Its Friday and I have only used 12 weekly points so far. 

Yesterday I met my cousin at Starbucks for a coffee date after my Group Power class and decided I would have a little treat.  I tried to pick out something yummy but not outrageous on the points.  I (for previously mentioned reasons) did not have my phone with me to look up nutritional info, so I tried to make an educated guess.  I had 3 left for the day so I thought I could spend an additional 5-6 or my weekly points to indulge.  I chose to have a slice of their lemon poppyseed loaf.  Sounds innocent enough right?  Well I found out when I got home and logged it, that the darn thing was 13 POINTS!!  Ouch!!

Overall I've been feeling pretty good about my choices and how satisfied I have been at the end of the day.  Exercise wise I feel pretty good. I haven't been going balls to the walls yet but I have done 2 Group Power classes, one 3k run + elliptical session and one walk at lunch so far.

Feeling STRONG! (Weigh-in)

Since my Tabata Class went so well on Saturday, I decided to check out another class.  This one was Group Power. Group power is a strength training barbell based class.  

Now, I had everything planned.  I dropped off the kids at the daycare in the gym, brought a protein shake for after the workout, arrived early to grab my spot, and even wore my new shirt (below).  

About 2 minutes into the warm-up, one of the staff came to grab be because my darling spirited demon child, decided to throw the mother of all temper tantrums. This has been something that has been increasing in frequency and severity (and oh so much FUN... not).  I had to go calm her down before I could return to class, and THANKFULLY she decided it was ok for me to leave and I got to go enjoy my class.

The class itself was a great workout!  I have been looking to add some more strength training into my routine and this was a fun way to get it in. 

Here I am after class in my new shirt that I had made.  I love it!

Oh right, I almost forgot... Today was a weigh-in day.  

So on the weekend, apparently I decided it was a good time to eat.... well... a bunch of CRAP. I ended up just BARELY keeping my week on point, but I did use all of my activity points to do so. I also did that Tabata class which made me sore all over (possibly retaining fluid).  Needless to say, I did not have high hopes for big losses this week.  

I stepped on the scale this morning and it said 221.8 which meant I was down .2lbs for the week.   Considering my weekend and the potential I had for water retention I was almost expecting a gain, so I was happy to see any loss at all, even if it was only .2.  

Go ME!

So, if you met me one year ago, at the beginning if my fitness journey, you probably wouldn't have known that I was concerned at all with fitness.  I was so concerned with hiding my efforts, and what other people might have to say about them, to do anything other than walking in public.

Today I took my second ever fitness CLASS to celebrate how far I have come.  Yep, I exercised in public, with other people, in front of a bunch of mirrors.

I was very nervous, because I had heard intimidating things about Tabata classes. For those who don't know what Tabata is, it's a form of high intensity interval training where you do one exercise as hard as you can for 20 seconds followed by 10 seconds of rest. Then you repeat it 7 more times.  You do the same thing with the following exercises until you are finished and lying panting on the floor.

When I arrived, I got set up and had a look in the mirror.  At first I was picking out things that I was feeling self-concious about and imagining the other ladies thinking mean things about me.

Then I told my subconscious to STFU and let it GO.  I didn't alter my exercises to minimize the jiggle, I didn't avoid unflattering moves, I just decided to go for it!

The class was great, I had a great instructor.  She was the type that makes you comfortable and relaxed, you know she doesn't take things too seriously.  Also, none of the other ladies glared at me or made mean comments. In fact, they were actually quite nice!

There was a few times where I was feeling really winded, but I looked at my tattoo and remembered that I CAN do this... so I did.

By the end I was a sweaty, red-faced mess, and I loved it!

Take THAT self doubt!

A new beginning! (Or at least it feels like one)

Last night I announced to my MFP (MyFitnessPal) pals that I was going to take a break from logging.

I feel like ever since then (a whopping 16 hours) I have been set free.

I went and did a killer workout this morning with my friend Jen.  I felt so good, I decided to try running for the first time in 8 weeks!!  It felt pretty good, just a little tightness/discomfort afterwards, but nothing painful.

I went to the health food store today.  I love going to the health food store.  When you buy stuff there, its like you're automatically getting healthier.

Today's adventure item was Chia seeds.  All the cool health bloggers out there have raved about them, so obviously I had to try.

Here are some of the benefits of Chia seeds:

They help you say full longer because they expand to 9 times their size
They are a great source of Omega 3's
They have no taste so they mix easily in to many different foods
They help give you energy
They cleanse your digestive system
They help balance your blood sugar so you experience less cravings

Today I sprinkled a tablespoon on my salad for lunch.  I didn't taste them at all, and I'm looking forward to including them as a regular part of my diet.

Also, I had mentioned wanting to try juicing ever since I watched "Hungry for Change" a month or so ago.  Today I finally dug out my juicer and bought the veggies to do it.  I ended up juicing this whole plates worth!

Its no Ice Cap (I had one after), but it certainly wasn't bad.  

Today I feel so pumped and balanced.  

Tonight after my daycare kids leave, I'm taking my kids BACK to the gym for my first ever ZUMBA class!  Wish me luck!

Everyday I'm Gym'n it!

Ok, not really everyday, but every weekday I am home, I plan to gym it.  I know its only day two but spending an hour each morning to myself, possibly getting my Netflix affair back ON feels like a win/win to me!

This morning I was a little tired when I got up, but still just as excited.  I even made it there 5 whole minutes earlier than yesterday.  I thought about joining the spin class, but it still seems pretty intimidating.  I feel weird because I don't know the typical group class etiquette.  Like what if I unknowingly take someone's favorite spot and then they turn into an angry honey-badger and curse me out in their heads the whole class. Am I supposed to just grab whichever bike I want? Do I introduce myself to the teacher as a newbie, or is that tacky and overboard? Achem, because cool people like me worry about that stuff.

On a more positive note I did try something new today: The Row Machine.  I had stared at this one before. I *may* have rolled my eyes at it and thought "Who would want to row at the gym? That seems like a cop-out workout."  (Yes, I too can be judgemental, but I am SO MUCH BETTER about it than I used to be).  Since I am still (WTF) injured, and needing low-impact cardio, and the step machine didn't help the situation I decided it was time.  Time to try the row machine.  I really only felt awkward for the first 5 minutes.  The last 5 minutes were good until my arms and back were spent.

Verdict on the gym so far... I LOVE IT!

On the nutrition side of things is a whole new story.

*WARNING*  -- Lack of perfection ahead

So I'm pretty much in full blown "I feel like a failure mode".  In the last 8 weeks... (taking a breath, holy shit its been 8 weeks) since my hip injury, I have had two good weeks, two botched comebacks, lots of bad days and some good days.  I tracked EVERYTHING up until a week ago.  I feel like in the last two months tracking has not been helping me, its been hurting me.  All these guilty feelings and stress have been causing me to spiral a little bit out of  way out of control.  On May 31st I was 217.6 so I had only gained 2.8lbs from my lowest in April so even though I have spiralled, its not AS bad as it could have been.  I'm probably sitting around 221/222 right now with water retention and increased food intake.

My current plan is:

1. focus on getting my GYM on  
2. relax a little bit
3. work on the root problems to why I gained weight in the first place

I feel like number 3 is the most important going forward because I felt the change in my confidence and mojo as soon as I hit the 220's.   Like a ton of bricks hitting me, something inside just said STOP.  I need to get to the bottom of this so I can move forward and so when I get to my goal I can stay there.

So there you have it, the good, bad, funny, and the painfully awkward.