Personal Goals

Goal: Exercise Every Day – Day 3

Well, it’s day 3 (Friday) of my goal this week to exercise every day, at least 5 days of the 7 days between my Weekly Tuesday Updates, and well… I better do better for the next four days

This morning I started off with my morning stretches on the exercise ball, and some knee lifts and marching in place (about 30 seconds of each) just to loosen up. (Helps with the stiffness.)

My 12 yo enjoying a rare snow fall in Houston

But then I just went about my day.  We have no heat on one side of our house (where I spend most of my time) and today it was a rare cold day  – cold enough to snow (a very rare occurance). 

The kids had a great time playing out in the snow; it was the first time my 5 yo and 7 yo have ever experienced snow, so I did get out there and took a few pictures (a dodged a few snowballs ) But other than that I spent most of my day inside.

 Worked in a few 30 sec “at home walking” sessions (kick backs, knee lifts, marching, side steps, etc) through out the day, while I was waiting around for something. But for the most part it wasn’t a very active day.

My 5yo using the exercise ball

Realizing this, I spent our Friday night movie night (and at home date night) on the exercise ball. Kind of how my daughter is in this picture.  

I worked in several sessions of bouncing on the ball (you’d be amazed how much that works the leg muscles), and did my normal stretches and core exercises. 

Also got out the hand weights and did some bicep curls, tricep curls, and some deltoid work.  All while watching TV with my husband.

So in all I did salvage my day; ending it with 2 hours of exercise on the exercise ball.

Goal: Exercise Every Day – Day 2

Okay, It’s day 2 (Thursday) of my goal to exercise every day, or at least 5 days of the 7 between my Tuesday Weekly Updates.  And I have to say I did a little better today than yesterday. (whoohoo! – hey got to celebrate even the smallest victories sometimes )

Started out my morning with my morning stretches on the ball and then with a Y-Squat (a body weight exercise). Also did some knee lifts and a little marching in place (no more than 3 minutes) just getting ready for the day.

About mid-day while I was cooking pancakes for the kids, I kept my attention on staying in the kitchen and flipping pancakes (boring!) by doing some kickbacks, knee lifts, side steps, and marching in place (basically the steps that Leslie Sansone uses in her Walk Away the Pounds program). 

I’m sure it looks pretty funny to see me doing all this exercise while I’m cooking pancakes, but hey it keeps me engaged, prevents the pancakes from getting burned, and I’m working some exercise into the day.

Also, while I was waiting for my 5 yo to be done with her bath, I got in some more “at home walking” exercise – probably about 5 minutes worth. Nothing to raise my heart rate, but enough to be MOVING…

My real success today was around 5:30 pm. This is a time that I usually get tired, it’s a transition time. Chore time is at 6, and so I try not to get too involved in something otherwise I blow chore time and the kids just don’t do well if I’m not doing chores at the same time they are.  So… I took the opportunity to get on the treadmill and walk.

Now, I LOVE to walk, but not on the treadmill. I much prefer the outdoors. But I do have the treadmill (that and the exercise ball and a few hand weights are my only exercise equipment) and I do periodically use it. 

So I grabbed my iPod and put on an business seminar that I had been wanting to listen to and decided to walk until it was completely over - 40 minutes. 

I’m still having joint and muscle pain, so I decided to keep the walk intensity pretty low and consistent. So I only got in 1.3 miles in 40 minutes, slow by most standards, but I was happy and so were my muscles.

Finished off the day with my normal nightly stretches on the exercise ball and a couple core exercises.

So in all… a happy exercise day. I did my normal morning and nightly stretching and exercise, plus added in the extra mini-workout while cooking and got in a rejuvenating walk. Cool deal.

Goal: Exercise Every Day – Day 1

Okay, this week  my goal is to exercise every day, or rather at least 5 of the 7 days between my Tuesday Weekly Updates.  So each day this week, for accountability, I’ll post what I’ve done exercise wise.

Today (Wednesday) was a tough one.  My family has been sick and I’m very sluggish and tired.  Most of my energy was consumed in just doing the next thing. I spent the day drinking Echinachea Elder tea (a sweet gift from a friend who also brought us dinner on Tuesday night) and just trying to take care of everyone’s needs.

But after spending some time reading a chapter from the Fat Loss Quickie Motivation Report, I decided I better DO SOMETHING. 

So, at 9:30 at night as I went out to return a video and pick up something from the grocery store (which is in the same shopping center as the video store), I decided to get in a brisk walk. 

So I parked in the middle of the parking lot – half way between the video store and the grocery store and hoofed it over to the video store, and then back to the grocery store and back to the car.  The temperature has taken a dip around here, and I didn’t have my coat, so that gave me some extra motivation to keep the pace brisk. 

It wasn’t the longest walk in the world, but it improved my spirits and picked up my heart rate.

I did finish off the day with my nightly stretches and some core exercises on the exercise ball.

So while not the most stellar of  days exercise wise, I am pleased that I didn’t completely cave in and be lethargic all day. And tomorrow is another day (thank goodness!)

…Shannon

P.S. The Fat Loss Quickie Motivation Report is a FREE resource from Personal Trainer, Scott Tousignant. If you need a kick in the …. like I did, I recommended checking it out.

The Shrinking Mommy Journey Begins

Today, November 3, 2009, is a new day, as is everyday. But today is special because today I am officially beginning the next phase of my journey to get healthy again.  If you read my story, then you know I’ve been on this journey for four years. I’ve broken most of my bad habits and am ready to begin SHRINKING!!

With over 100 pounds to lose (actually more like 130), I’ve chosen to focus on another measurement than weight to set goals by.

Right now I have a size 28 pair of jeans that are a little snug, but fit. I’ve worn these for two years and really really like a new pair of jeans, in the next size down, of course.

So while I’ll be keeping track of weight loss and such, my goals are attached to clothing.  Besides one of the bonsuses of losing weight is the ability to get new clothes right?

If you are trying to lose weight too, please join me on this journey. If you are blogging your journey, please be sure to leave a comment below, so I can go check out your blog too.

 If you aren’t on this journey… well… your encouragement and support would be most appreciated