Well, vacation is over with, and I have had my last day at the beach for SUMMER 2013.  While I was gone, I did walk a good bit, and I did some push ups and leg work, but it was not what it needed to be.  I will also freely admit that the food log ( if it existed) would not get a passing grade.  Fried shrimp one night and smores over the fire pit were both a part of our wonderful vacation.  That is OK!!!!!  It is called life.  It is just fine to enjoy a little something that you really like.  They key is not making it an everyday or week habit, and you have get right back on track.  Health and fitness is  a life-long journey, and there will be times when you take a DETOUR.  A year ago vacation would have been an excuse to throw in the towel on my latest fad diet and just give up..AGAIN......but now I have better tools to help me get right back on track.  That is what I am working hard at now.  Monday was a travel day, but bright and early Tuesday morning it was 8am training and kickboxing.  Today, there was a 30 minute step class that kicked my fanny.  Lots of water, healthy food choices, and even food logs have also been on the agenda.  I do believe that there are several keys to being successful at weight loss, health , and fitness.  For me, forgiving myself when I fall off track has been key.  It allows me to pick right up and move on instead of getting mired down in the "I can'ts".  I am also so thankful for such a group a wonderful group of women that I get to work out with.  They help to keep me motivated and accountable.  Tomorrow is measurement day.........excited to see.....

Last night I set my alarm for 7:30.  I was planning to be up and ready for kickboxing this morning.  I knew I had to get an early start in order to get in everything I have to do today.  The alarm went off....ugh.....and I immediately began to tell myself that I need to get a little more sleep, and then get started on my to do list.  That whole battle went on in my head for about 10 minutes.  Finally, I got up, got dressed, cooked my egg whites, and headed out the door...............  I AM SO GLAD I DID....It was a great class.......great workout....great encouragement........feeling accomplished......I am so glad that I get to workout with the most awesome group of women....Let's face it.  Women are not always encouraging to other women......Means girls grow up to be mean women, and we all know them.  The ladies I work out with are accepting, encouraging, and great motivators....I am thankful for that....We even had a visitor in the class who is visiting family in Macon.  She work out in California.....Her comment was that everyone was just so nice and welcoming!!! As I looked around the gym today, I noticed that we are a very mixed group.  There are women much older than me, several women my age, and there were even two of my much younger former students all there working out together....PROOF that women at any age can and should make their health a priority.....SO GLAD I DIDN'T HIT THE SNOOZE THIS MORNING!!!

My progress.....dropped a few pounds and inches....feeling stronger....moving in the right direction.....

Heading on vacation in the morning.....gonna miss my PP ladies, but I am excited about being away with my family and walking on the BEACH...

Feeling pretty strong today!!!!!  Somehow I missed Kickboxing this morning.  I must have gotten the time wrong, but my plan was to really sweat it out in class today............When I got to the gym, the class was ending.....what to do?  what to do?.......I could have gotten back in my car and gone home, but I didn't....Instead, I had a great workout ALL ON MY OWN......Really a good feeling to put into use all that I have been learning about exercising and working out on my own.....30 minutes on the elliptical, and I was drenched.....topped it off with some abs,  tush work, and PUSH UPS......feeling a little ouch already.......I love working out with my group of Pink Physique ladies in the classes, but it was a good feeling to know that I can do workout on my own some too...NO EXCUSES...FEELING STRONG....and isn't that what it is really all about?   I have said this before, but for me it has really not been so much about looking better....it has been about feeling better and being healthier.  God made us in all different shapes and sizes.  I am never going to be a size 2, and heaven knows I NEVER need to put on a bikini AGAIN!  I do, however, want to be in the best possible shape and health as I can be as I approach the big 5 0.  I was visiting with family last weekend around a neighborhood pool, and two older ladies ( much older) came to take a evening swim.  They even brought some pool workout equipment.  It was good to see them exercising at their age.  It just proves that it is never too late.  The thing that bothered me was that exercise had obviously not been always been a part of these ladies' lives.  They were both fairly overweight, and had a difficult time getting around.  They were moving very slowly and gingerly.  I could not help but wonder, how could things be different for them now if they had made simple exercise and a healthy diet a way of life years earlier.......I could not help but think how THANKFUL I am that I stopped putting my health and wellness on the back burner and didn't wait until I was older to get my act together.....Working at it each day :)

I have been away for a whole week.  I took a group of TSA students on a local mission trip.  It as a great week of service.We worker hard and played hard.  Food this week......so so........Exercise this week..........a little better than so so.....There was a great deal of physical labor and sweating on these projects.  My goal for the week was to at least hold steady.....ACCOMPLISHED that  :)

This morning I was up and at it at the Pink Physique...Because I am on summer break, I was able to check out a morning class.....I did some upper body weights followed by a cardio setp class.......WOW...I forgot how much I get out of step.  It was great.....Looking forward to going back on Wednesday....JOIN ME!!!

Remember this journey is one day at a time.....
  
   Things I have done right today  - weights - cardio - logged my food........

Keep at it....................looking for some workout buddies???

The day that you do not feel like doing it or do not want to do it is the day YOU MUST DO IT!!!...I have heard this before...I think I have said this before......BUT today, I proved that it is TRUE ...Neither Hannah Leigh nor I wanted to go workout today....but we did.....GREAT WORKOUTS...we kicked butt.....She even did an extra 10 minutes of cardio :)  I feel like I defeated a big ole giant today .....Happy Friday everyone............DO SOMETHING!!

I started on this journey to better health about a year and a half ago.  That is just what it has been,  For me, it has never been about fitting in a certain size or heaven forbid trying to get into a bikini....IT HAS BEEN ABOUT BEING HEALTHY!!!  Two years ago I WAS NOT...I remember sitting at home one night and being seriously concerned about my health.  I did not feel well EVER!!!  I was tired, short of breath, and weak......SO I took the first step.........It was a decision I had to make that day, and it is one that I have to make every single day over and over again....This journey has been wonderful, exhilarating, freeing, and hard as crap all at the same time.  Most days it has been a combination of all of the above.  The results have been just what I asked for...I am healthier than I have ever been. I am not tired all of the time, and I do not worry about not being able to be there to watch my girls grow up.  At 44, it is difficult to change your habits, but I was to the point that I HAD to.....Fortunately, I have not had to o this alone.  My family is so supportive, and my PINK PHYSIQUE crew is amazing....It is so wonderful to work out with women who face the same challenges that I do every single day.................

One thing I have come to realize is that there is no final stop on this journey....It is a constant battle, and around Christmas I hit a roadblock....I can give you my lists of reasons or excuses.....I got busy, I injured my knee, my daughter's soccer schedule got in my way, and I felt swamped at work.  All of these are legitimate things that happened, and my exercise time and routine greatly suffered.....My eating didn't totally fall back into my old habits, but I MUST EXERCISE REGULARLY, and I was not.....The biggest problem is that I did not have a plan, and I let these things take over.

So many of us women let everything else get in the way......I had done that for years, and I started to do it again, but I am not going to do that anymore....Things will happen.....Life will get in the way, but you have to start out each day with a plan....Your plan may hit a bump in the road, but that simply means you have to work harder and plan better for the next day...Living healthier is a conscious decision you have to make over and over again each day...sometimes even hour by hour :)  This blog is part of my attempt to do that....I need accountability.  We all do, and I have always heard that writing things down helps you to accomplish them.  Well, here it is.  This summer is my opportunity to try and get things back on track, and daily make an effort to eat clean and exercise.  I want to do this for myself and to be an example for my girls. Here goes......

     Day 1 - weights - stairmaster ( 20 mins) - Cardio Blast - Butts & Guts - SUCCESS