Back Pain :(

My back has been killing me for the last week and a half and I find myself barely able to move- but I remember from the last time my back was so bad what I did to overcome and to muscle through it, and that is walking. Walking helps to loosen the stiffness and it is one of the only low impact workouts that I can do at home or with the kids.

So I have decided until my back is stronger I am going to do what I did last time my back was out and I was trying to lose weight. Leslie Sansone's Walk Away the Pounds.

It's easy to follow- she starts with just a mile a day, gives you breaks on days you need it, and slowly over the six week program adds a little more each week.

Last time I did this six week program I lost 17 pounds. It was about 4 years ago. I have some of her DVDs and at first she really annoyed me- HOW could any one be that cheerful? But after a few times of doing the work out with her, I found myself actually smiling, and suddenly that annoying enthusiasm became encouraging support.

The best part is that you don't have to be terribly coordinated. It's just walking, sidesteps, knee lifts and kicks... that's all. (I could wax poetic about the time I tried Jazzercise and wore my street shoes- they were dusty- and I literally wiped out in the first five minutes- flat on my back. The worst part? the entire front wall is a mirror so EVERYONE saw it. I could never keep up with the routines, I was always at least a half a beat off... )This way I just walk in place in my living room, or down the street.

So in addition to the program- I am going to try to post how many steps I do each day and aim to take at least 1 more each day. (I know this will get increasingly difficult- so I won't beat myself up if I don't do it. But until my back starts healing a bit more, this is as challenging as it's going to get, folks. my goal is to get 10,000 a day eventually.)

So yesterday. 4/12/2011  - 5,330 steps

Biggest Loser recap

I am constantly inspired by this show- one of my favorites this season got sent home tonight- For those who haven't seen it yet and are perhaps waiting for it to air on HULU--- beware of spoiler alert!!----

I totally didn't see it coming, but Courtney got sent home and before she went- she looked straight into the camera and said "for you guys at home- you don't need to be on the ranch to lose weight- you just need to believe in yourself, and trust the process"

Trust the process- that struck me. I have defined my goal- set out things to do to be better... (Ok so the Oreo's were a bad idea this week, but I bought Skim Delight milk to drink with them, that has to count for something right?) but do I really BELIEVE that I can do it?

It has made me ponder... and made me make a decision. I will work out once a week at the rec center.... I will buy a punch card- and I will let the day care at the rec center watch my children for an hour or so while I exercise... I will not feel guilty about it.

So- there it is... The rest of the week I will work out at home- but I can give myself one day a week to get healthier right? (and to get away from my kiddos for a brief time...)

April Fool.... and a new day.

I lost 10 pounds this week!!!

April Fools... :(

I don't know why this happens to me- one day I will be all excited about losing weight and doing all I can, and the next I throw out my back and I find myself eating Nutella out of the jar with a spoon. :( Hello? Can you say 160 calories per tablespoon? sigh...

In any case- my sore back has been an excuse long enough, and now I say "NO MORE EXCUSES!"

Today- I recommit myself to losing the weight- I am writing up a new GAME PLAN- I am going to start doing all those things that I know work for me-

1.Walking

2.writing down what I eat

3. drink more water

4. Chew gum instead of mindless snacking

5. Don't bring home the "trigger foods" (you know the ones that you can't just eat one of? Lately, my weakness has been Tapioca pudding- don't ask me why, I used to hate the stuff as a kid and now I can eat a 6 pack of jello brand cups in a sitting... Blah. :(....)

And I am going to have to come up with a SOLID routine- no more of this waffling around everyday, doing things as I feel in the mood for it. From now on- when I get up at 8- the first thing I will do is some light cardio (walking or dancing or wii fit or something)- and I think everyday at 2 we'll head outside and Hudson can play while I walk around the playground with Lincoln in the stroller....

Thank goodness I have this blog- and you my dear, non-judgmental readers to keep me honest or this might have been one of those quietly slip back into my starting weight moments. :)

The good news? I still haven't had soda and the cravings have all but gone away! So there is at least one thing that I can count as an accomplishment! I can DO This!! :) ....yay me.

Discouraged

My wii scale wouldn't work last friday- I think the battery was low or something, so I didn't weigh in again. :(

But this last week I broke not only one but TWO chairs just by sitting on them. :( In my defense they are OLD rickety chairs... but landing on my butt with a chair literally in pieces beneath me is pretty discouraging... And not in the cute Goldie Locks way either.

Chalk it up to a sign- I need to get OFF MY CABOOSE and lose more weight.

Also there is a stain on my NO SODA goal- which makes me mad. I ordered Orange Hi-C (which is super sugary and not a great choice to begin with, but it's not soda) from the Burger King drive-thru the other day and as I was driving home discovered that they gave me Tropicana Twister orange soda instead- I threw it away, but the bubbles burned on my tongue like I had committed a crime.

(Hangs her head in shame)

sigh- The comfortable bubble of time that I have allowed myself grows ever smaller- but I don't.

Walking

SPRING is just around the corner- and man am I feeling it. Now that it isn't so freezing cold outside (even though it may go back at any moment, and I must be prepared) I can get outside more with the kids- Getting outside opens a new door into fitness for me.

Tomorrow is my weigh in- and I will not allow myself to skip it- come what may- but I have a friend whose wii fit was off on her weight, and since that's what I have been using I wonder if I weigh more than I thought. :( Which is a discouraging thought. No- tomorrow I will stand on that scale, square my shoulders, and take it like a grown-up.

In the mean time, I am lacing up my sneakers and hitting the sidewalk. (I will be toting the kids in the little red wagon, should offer some weight resistance, and I won't have to worry about the 5 year old keeping up with me.)

I need to find my pedometer and start counting the miles. :)

Get out of Jail Free Card

I have had a rough week with the back- and I didn't weigh in the morning.

It's not that I think I've gained weight and I don't want to know how much- it's more that I am just not feeling it today. I know that if I weigh in today one of two things will happen...

1. If I GAIN weight- I feel feel super discouraged- I will berate myself for a general lack of effort and because of my back I feel want to give up. (of course I WON'T-)

2. If I LOSE weight I will feel like "Hey! I'm all good" and I won't put in the appropriate level of effort this week.

I know where I need to do better this week, (although I am proud to say that I have NOT had a soda since 12Feb2011- and I have only eaten out once this week again.)

I still believe I consume too many calories in my liquids- and I consume too much sugar.

CURSE YOU GIRL SCOUTS!

I did cook a new recipe this week (it's a new goal of mine to try a new healthier (this is relative of course to what I NORMALLY eat- so don't judge too harshly if it's higher in calories- it still may have more vegetables or less sodium or something...)) Wow do I use too many parentheses? (probably) I need to be a better cook- I think if I enjoyed it more, I would cook more- eat out less and be healthier.

ANYHOW- I will leave you all in suspense this week- and we'll see how I have done come next friday. (Maybe the cookies will be gone by then..... sigh.)

Fat Tuesday

I have never celebrated it before- but I think it may be a good excuse to explain away a box of girl scout cookies and 4 things of tapioca pudding that I ate today. . . and a large piece of Chocolate cake for the Relief Society birthday dinner. (Happy Birthday- and I am glad to be a member of the largest women's organization in the world!)

My back is on the fritz again- and I am left hobbiling away- pushing through the pain to do even the most basic of things- like changing a diaper, doing the laundry, or standing fully erect. . . As it is- I am slumping through the house like Igor.

I don't do so good with pain. Add to it the broken blood vessels in my eyes from trying to get my 10 month old to sleep in his own crib instead of on the futon mattress on the floor because I'd LIKE to have a place to sit in the living room. (Moving is the pits- and I have decided I like packing a HECK of alot more than unpacking... suddenly all that stuff that I said, "eh, just throw it in a box" is coming back to haunt me- and my back. The worst is the stuff I don't know what to do with because it belongs to the husband. )

Anyway- is it possible to still loose weight when one cannot move and yet consumes more that one's fair share of pudding? I wouldn't bank on it. But- there is always tomorrow- so I forgive myself for today- and will vow to make better food choices tomorrow! :)