January Challenge

So....I've decided I need a challenge and as I was whiling away my time waiting  for dinner to cook, I came across this pose.

The Peacock Pose

Once upon a time, I was a fairly decent tumbler and had great arm strength as well as wrist flexibility. Now? Argh....no. 

I'm always one up for a challenge especially when someone doubts me. After posting the picture on my Facebook page, I had a couple of friends who seemed to doubt that I would do it and requested a picture by February 1st. 

So....I guess by February 1st you will see an outstanding beautiful pose being performed by yours truly. I may even post some pictures of my fails as my friend, Jen, said, "It would be called the broken beak pose for me."

Fortunately, I found a good yoga site which offers some instruction on how to perform the Peacock Pose. I'm off to practice. Wish me luck. 

Ohhh...and WHO IS JOINING ME? 

The next challenge

As I sat here quietly enjoying my computer veg out time, I received this text from Awesome Cheryl: 

I found our next challenge after iron man!  Patagonia expedition race!  373 miles of hiking, biking and kayaking.  10 days. 

My response: 

Oh my, you like to push me all the time. Give me a year to say no no no & then we'll register.  

That's how it happened before we signed up for Ironman Louisville.  I said No No No and then (sucker) registered. 


And you all wonder why I do this shit.   

Round 1 goes to......

Well, it's been a tough week. Stepping on the scale, I was REALLY nervous. I mean I went to Chicago for the weekend. I ate out for all of my meals. I drank alcohol which is not normally in my day at all. And while I didn't get the best exercise, I did still get up Friday & Saturday morning to exercise in the Les Mills sampler classes which were really fun. BUT come Sunday, I buckled down. I watched my calories. I worked out....kind of. Sunday was still a rest day. Monday I ran 4 miles, swam 800 yards and played volleyball that night. With my lower calorie allowance, I felt my energy completely leave me about 8:40 Monday night. Tuesday was a rest day...my whole body was aching with the sudden surge of exercise yesterday and Wednesday I only managed to get 2.08 miles done on the treadmill. But I got it done.

(Drumroll please)......I lost 1.5 pounds this week for a 3.2% weight loss. Jeff lost 0.5 pounds this week for a 0.2778% weight loss. I WIN! I WIN! I WIN!

Did I mention I'm a bit competitive?
Week 1 is done. How did you do in achieving your weight loss goals this week? What's your plan for next week? Let me hear you!

Land of the Lost

I know you all think I dropped off the face of the Earth....and sometimes it feels like I have. BUT...I do not EVER give my pursuit of living a healthy, happy life. My workouts have been a little sketchy over the last week or two due to the overwhelming feeling that I am going to drown in this game called life. Workload - which is increasing at this time of year - coaching volleyball for 5th & 6th grade - two trips out of town back to back (one for my personal sanity and the other for work - but both good & very useful!). However, that is life. And I keep hearing the mantra of CMO (Chief Motivational Officer) Scott Smith "Stand Up. Take a Step. Repeat." And that is what I'm trying to do.

Before I left for the park district conference this last weekend, my dear husband said to me, "I want to lose 10 pounds before Spring Break." Now we are talking. Now it's a competition, but we had to find the right motivation. Jeff's motivation, which shall remain nameless, wasn't giving me quite the incentive. What works for me? Money. Because I have guilt when I spend money, honestly winning money in a face to face competition takes away the guilt. So here's the plan.

We will weigh in every Thursday morning. Why Thursday? Because that's the day Jeff finally decided to face the scale. Every Thursday whoever has the highest percentage of weigh loss wins $10. We'll weigh in every week until March 25th, which is the last Thursday before we leave for Daytona Beach....and who doesn't want to look good in a bathing suit on the beach in FL? On the 25th, the overall winner will receive $150. Of course, it all comes out of the same pocket, but it's a $150 to spend without GUILT!

So, who's in?????
Anyone want to join us in a little friendly weight loss competition????

This week's challenge

This week’s health & wellness challenge is on the track….

Or better yet, TRACK, TRACK, TRACK all of the food you put into your mouth.

Weight Watchers Magazine (Jan/Feb 2010 issue) has a great article about tracking your caloric intake:

1.    Go Ahead & Guess!   (Are they talking to me?) “By making a guess….you’ll stay in the habit of tracking honestly – and that’s the goal.”

2.   Track Backward. If you have a big social event, note a set number of points/calories for the big event and work your back to the start of your day. “By starting backward, you get the big picture of your day in mind as early as possible leaving yourself less room for veering off course.”

3.    Keep yourself honest. Track on days when you go over your points or calorie allowance. (Again, speaking my language!)

4.    Set a tracking goal.

So, that is the challenge for this week. Track your food intake for a week. Be honest. Write it down. Keep yourself accountable to this one aspect of your health and see what type of an impact it can make on your week.