sabathamk... I'm with you on the crabbies!  I was crying a good portion of the morning this morning!  Don't worry, things will get more positive... for us both!

The thing that cheered me up today... HORSEBACK RIDING LESSONS!  Woot!  I bought a Groupon for stables near me and had my first lesson today.  I took lessons YEARS ago, when I was a Girl Scout, but this was my first time riding English!  I did really well with posting... which is good, because that, honestly, scared me a bit.  I'm honestly thinking about adopting a horse, which is why I wanted to do lessons.  Does anyone on here own a horse?  If so, I'd love to bend your ear a bit with some questions :-)
At the very least, I sponsored a horse today with a donation :-)

Tonight I'm subbing Yoga for a friend of mine.  This is my recovery week, so my workouts are a bit easier.  I plan on getting to the gym early, though, and doing the treadmill for a bit... just because I feel like it

Happy Tuesday!

I did my first rock wall climbing class last night.  I'm remember how weak my grip and forearm strength is.  Oy!  I'm looking forward to that not being a challenge for me... especially since I'm over the "fear" part of it (mostly) now.  I taught yoga this morning, ahhhhhh, and I teach Turbo Kick tonight!  Guess what!?  Tomorrow I have a horseback riding lesson!  Woot! :-)  Granted, that's not really exercise (though it does work thigh and core muscles), but I'm just excited to do it.

Post Merge: February 07, 2012, 08:53:28 PM

Egads!  No one else has posted since this morning!?????

I taught yoga this morning... t'was great!  Then, tonight, I taught TURBO KICK and it was AWESOME!  I found crazy energy from somewhere!  It felt good

A good Team Beachbody newsletter to check out, especially if you struggle with sugar addiction (let's face it, I think we all do) -> www.teambeachbody.com/about/newsletters/-/nli/253?referringRepId=20528

Post Merge: February 03, 2012, 06:22:46 PM

In other news... been in a bought of depression today.  I got diagnosed with autoimmune thyroiditis.  Of course, I'm thinking, "Awesome, I get to be a fitness professional who will eventually have a failing thyroid gland."  I spent some time crying and being upset... but, then I realized that while I have this disease, my thyroid is still working normally. So, I need to get my head out of my *** and start living in the present again, and not the future... because right now, here, I have a regularly functioning thyroid, and while I experience some of the other symptoms, mildly, I need to overcome them!  If anything, I want to use this to give me an opportunity to be a voice of inspiration to others who may suffer from it.

I actually DID do a workout.  Did the 20 min Turbo Jam video I have, plus 40 minutes of jogging in place (putting me at 1 hour... yes) and I hit over 7000 steps in the process.

I LOVE Turbo Jam!  I actually got certified to teach Turbo Kick because I enjoyed Turbo Jam so much!  Now, I'm a full fledged Turbohead!

I like having a tomato base.  Any suggestions?

Have you ever considered pureeing your own tomato soup from scratch?  I love making soups from scratch!  Really lowers sodium content that way

Eviecorn - feeling better?  I hope so!

xSexyWafflesx - don't look at it as a re-start... rather a stumble and a regaining a footing.  When working with people I try to get them out of the all or nothing mindset... because that seems to be standard with fitness and nutrition.  People think that if they mess up that it means starting over.  What it really means is learning and moving on and striving to do better.  When creating new habits that will be life long, there really is no constant starting over... just moving on and improving

NO MT DEWW!!!!!!!! 

YAY!  That stuff is just poison grossness!

I feel so proud of myself! I haven;t felt this good about anything I have done in a long while

WOOT!

sabathamk - are you experiencing side stitches... is that the pain of which you speak?  How soon before exercising are you eating?  How much water are you drinking?


Remember, when you say you SKIPPED your workout, you are admitting to it being a choice.  Doing workouts or not doing them is 99% of the time a choice.  So, work on turning those choices in your favor!  Overcome the feeling of laziness and get on those feet and move

Sorry I didn't get to respond to everyone, but I am super proud of everyone taking these steps towards health!

That being said... it's time for my yoga... cheers!

I like the idea of buying a pony for yourself instead of sweets ;-)

Colorscapesart - if you want to hop in and will fill out the form before tomorrow night... go for it!

Post Merge: January 30, 2012, 04:42:59 PM

Just finished my P90X2 workout... Power + Balance.  While I can no where near perform the people in the video, I pushed myself hard and challenged myself to do more than last time.  I feel pretty bad*** after that.  Also quite tired.  My eating today has been not too shabby.
To give y'all an idea of my usual eating, I'll post below... you needn't do this, but feel free to if you want input at all from peeps!
Breakfast:  Chicken sausage wrap + venti non-fat chai latte from Starbucks
Snack: Chocolate Shakeology made w/water, ice and 8 ounces of hemp milk
Lunch: Big bowl of veggie soup (homemade from the P90X nutrition guide)
Snack: One all natural cherry gel + one Oikos yogurt w/chocolate on the bottom
Dinner: 2 slices Turkey bacon + 1 chicken sausage + brussels sprouts + spinach

Post Merge: January 30, 2012, 04:46:16 PM

It's approx. 1800 calories (which is my usual daily goal) and the other goal I try to hit is protein, since I usually struggle eating enough.  This puts me at about 112 grams of protein.  I try to make sure I eat a minimum of 100 grams.

Alright, I updated the first post to include the names of all who completed the JOIN form and posted your info!

TODAY IS DAY ONE!

If you laid out your workout schedule, as requested, then you should be able to look at it, see what your plan is for Mondays, and then totally go and rock it out!

AWARDING YOURSELF POINTS:
Give yourself 1 points for every day that you hit your goal (with your workout)
Give yourself an additional point for the day if you hit your nutrition goals (meaning, you stick to your plan!)
That means you can earn up to 2 points per day.
YOU are in charge of tracking your points!  At the end of the challenge, the person with the MOST POINTS will get FIRST CHOICE at prizes, and then we'll go down the list so that everyone who finishes gets a prize.  I have some rockin' prizes, though (posting soon), so get those points! :-)

On a related note, I need to top up the air in my exercise ball but I can't get the plug out!  Any ideas?  That thing is wedged in there good!

I'm not sure!  Eep!  I hope you got it out! :O

sorry about the weird formatting above ^^^- this new Arena does not like me.....

When I use Firefox on my Mac the formatting is whacky too... but when I use Safari it works just fine.  Weird.

This sounds great! One question- my exercise plan couldn't be as ambitious as some. I have lower back problems- I lost some weight a year ago, and have gained a lot back since my back got bad (again). I'm trying to get it fixed, but I'd have to stick to fairly low-impact stuff. And build up cardio slowly... I have a heartbeat irregularity that's not considered dangerous, but I do have to be careful about triggering it. I'm not asking for medical advice or anything, just making sure I can participate even if I'm not doing as much. Thanks! -EB

EmberBright... the idea of this is to set your own goals and work within your own level of intensity... so, everyone is going to be a bit different.  The key is to get moving and work on improving as we continue through.  So, definitely... do what you can do and strive to improve every day! :-)

Now I have that flabby belly that I have heard is impossible to get rid of.  Is that true?

Gypsy_Nights... not at all!  I know some moms who have had twins and now have a six pack... they worked hard to get there, but it's TOTALLY possible!

(not so much a "diet" as changing of eating and excercise habits)

That's EXACTLY how it should be, xkelpiex!  "DIET" is something people consider extremely restrictive and only a short term fix.  The BEST way to take care of ourselves is to adopt life long habits, and not quick fixes.  A big part of it is educating ourselves about proper nutrition, how our body responds to food, and what bad foods actually are doing to us!  This is a lifestyle change, not a quick fix, by any means.

ANGELPONIES!  Stick with Power 90!  That's the first exercise program I ever did, and it helped me lost 35 pounds AND it completely changed my life with health and fitness forever!  That was my building block for getting into the fitness industry!!!  Stick with it!  You can do it!  Take the word "might" out of there and say "I WILL"!

EVERYONE... if you have NOT yet broken your week down into daily activity (like Teagan_Louise's below), please do that!  That way you have your PLAN!  When a day of the week hits you KNOW what you are doing!  Plan out what time of day you are going to do it... and DO IT!
EXAMPLE (thanks Teagan_Louise... and everyone else who did this as well):
Monday: 10 min yoga/stretching, 30 min Zumba
Tuesday: 10 min yoga/stretching, 20 min aerobics, 10 min cardio
Wedneday: Repeat Monday
Thursday: Repeat Tuesday
Friday: Rest and be lazy
Saturday: Repeat Tues, every second week repeat Mon
Sunday: Rest and be lazy

Arg....need advice. I broke my goal improvement and we havent even started. Went to store to pick up milk....and i took home candy...sigh. so addicted to junk food...i even got a blind bag to curb but i couldnt. What is something that keeps fits in your purse and healthy...so disappointed. In my self

The solutions you have are these:  A.) THROW THE CANDY YOU BOUGHT AWAY... or, give it away, or B.) Tell yourself NOT NEXT TIME!  Mistakes happen, embrace the fact that a mistake was made, forgive yourself, and promise not to make that mistake again... use it as a lesson for yourself... but don't let it drag you down.

I've been allowing myself a small dessert after dinner with tea. Last night I had apple pie, and tonight I had a small piece of cake! Just from cutting out most of the daytime junk, it's been 6 days and I've lost 2 lbs. I got suuuuper cravings today about two hours before dinner, so I had a tiny glass of chocolate milk. Still has vitamins and calcium, and isn't as bad as pop or candy! So, I say, giving yourself a little leeway isn't going to kill you. You just have got to know your limits.

That's one step... for the next step, make it every other day, not every day.
The key is to get out of our sugar addictions (and trust me, I have 'em)... so, start to break this down to every other day so that you don't feel entitled to sugary sweets every day, but you can learn to break your body of craving it and gain control over your cravings   It's a great start, though!



ALRIGHT, DAY ONE IS ON!!!!!!!!  COME ON, PONIES!