Bueller? Bueller? Anyone?

So, it's been over three years since I've posted to this blog.  A lot has happened in three years!  I am in my second year of being the principal at my elementary school building.  I served as assistant principal for three years, but I am essentially doing the same duties I was before.  We are in the midst of building a brand new building to replace our ever-aging one, so that's exciting!

My hubby and I sold our tiny house I bought as a single woman during my first year of teaching and moved into a more spacious house in a much better neighborhood.  We've been here a little over two years and could be happier with our move!

We still have our rambunctious tabby, Herky.  He is eight years old and feisty as ever!  We hope he has many more years left in him as he is our kid.

Speaking of which, we still do not have any children.  It's a love/hate thing we're dealing with.  In July, we will be married 10 years and I will turn 35.  That age seems to be the magic number where doctors start to scare you if you become pregnant...you're suddenly an "at risk" pregnancy purely due to your age.  Here's the thing.  I still want a child.  But I'm struggling with career versus personal life. As a principal, the expectation and duty is for you to be present at all school events, day or evening.  There were a few weeks where I wasn't home before 8:00 PM every night except Friday.

Now, granted, my hubby as a PE teacher doesn't have the lengthy hours I do.  But I also don't feel it is fair for him to essentially be a single father while I do my principal obligations.  I have talked to some administrators who have had babies after taking their job and while they say it can be difficult to balance that time, you figure it out.  Priorities change some and how and when you manage things make it all work.  That does give me hope.

We are still holding off for a couple of reasons.  Last year for spring break, we went to Cancun for the week and did nothing but lay by the pool and on the beach.  It was the best week I've ever experienced.  No deadlines, no emails, no phone calls, no pressure.  We immediately decided that we would do it again this year.  With that begin said, the Zika virus still lurks out there.  We are going again this year and have had it booked for months.  I plan to go and not have a care in the world.  Mosquitoes were a non-issue there last year (the hotel zone is very much concrete and beach, not to mention there is quite the breeze that time of year).  We didn't see or feel a single bug.  I expect much of the same this year.  Nevertheless, we're still being precautionary.

Another reason and the reason I originally started this blog is my weight.  I'm utterly ashamed to admit that I weigh more now than I ever have.  A whopping 267 pounds to be exact.  Twelve years ago, I was at 260 and went through a devastating engagement breakup, depression and awakening and lost 46 pounds.  Since November of 2015, my weight has gone up and down from 214 to where I am now.  I've gotten back down as low as 225 but over the last three years, it's been a steady climb.  And I could have given two shits less.

Today, I went to get measured for a bridesmaids dress for a wedding this September.  Now, I know bridal sizes measure wonky, so I had no expectations.  I still am somehow able to wear a size 18 jeans, but would probably wear a 20 more comfortably.  Well, based on my measurements today, I had to order a size 26 dress.  Yes....2-6.

My heart dropped to my feet.  How could I left myself go this far?

I've had a FitBit since July and while I wear it daily, I only half-ass its usage with recording food.  Also, I haven't regularly exercised in years.

On January 1st, I recorded my weight as 267.2 pounds.  I set recording goals for 10 weeks from then which is March 12th, the day we leave for Mexico.  Problem is, I didn't set an actual goal.  I drew a box around the date.

Well, now it's one week in and I weigh 267 pounds as of this morning.  Loss of 0.2 in a week.  I exercised twice, once being today.  It's incredibly depressing how out of shape I am.  Tonight, I put in a 45-minute Tae Bo video that I used to do with little sweat.  Today, I made it through 30 minutes before I had to stop.  That's tough to swallow.

Now that this has turned into a novel, I will close this post.  I plan to post daily here if nothing else, for myself.  I have got to get my shit together.  For my future baby, for my students, for my husband, but most of all and something I'm trying to get through my thick skull, for ME.  I am putting myself in a plethora of health dangers going in the direction I am.  I have seen way too many people lose their life too early.  I need to do everything I can to make sure that doesn't happen to me.

The journey begins....again.

Novem-what???

How is it November?  What happened to August, September, and October?

I could make this last a long time, but here's the short of it.

I'm six weeks into my "old" bootcamp, Max10.  I love it.  I missed it.  I love the soreness (I've had A LOT!).  It's a much better workout for me than Title Boxing was.  Problem is that I'm only making it 3-4 times per week.

But I'm seeing progress.  My pants feel better.  And after six weeks, I could very well FINALLY be back in the 240s.  I've been over 250 since April.  That's seven months.  I'm ready to get back out of the 250s.  I think my metabolism is finally kicking back into gear.

I haven't changed my eating much.  My first focus is activity.  I feel better.  I sleep better.  I can tell I have some endurance back.  There's something about kickboxing and weightlifting that is empowering.

So, there you have it.  I'm alive.  I'm kicking (pun intended).  I'm seeing some results.

Frustrated

This is going to be a bitching post, so if you're not interested, feel free to pass me up today.

I'm tired of not feeling well.

I'm not sleeping full nights as mother nature has felt the need for it to storm every evening for like the past week between 2 and 4 AM and it pretty much always wakes me up.  Once I'm awake, it's hard to get back to sleep.  Eventually, I do, but it's not a restful sleep.  So, I'm tired.

Headaches.  I'm so over them.  I want to blame my birth control for them, but I don't know if that's what it is or not.  Last Sunday, I had a headache that I couldn't get rid of with Advil and it just sucked.  Now, every day this week, I get one in the afternoon that's a dull ache, but it's annoying.

Stomach.  I've cut down what I'm eating, eating better than what I was and now working out but my stomach has this fullness feeling to it.  It's basically bloated all the time.  It's not that time of the month, so it shouldn't be caused by that, but I don't know.  I'm going to the bathroom regularly, so it's not really that.

Heartburn.  I know I'm fat.  But ever since I've been working out, I get heartburn in the afternoon and eating.  I've tried eating other things (non-acidic) to try and counteract that but it hasn't really worked.  I didn't have heartburn before I started working out, so I'm not sure why it's doing this now.

No scale movement.  At all.  I know, I've only been at this three weeks, but I would think I would notice SOMETHING.  But no.  Not for me.

I'm not giving up.  I'm just frustrated and tired of not feeling well.  I could visit my doctor, but I don't have much confidence that she'd tell me anything or give me additional options.  I do want off my birth control pill I'm currently on.  Levora does not agree with me.  It's a single dose hormone.  While I was on Yasmin, I loved it, but I decided to change because of all of the additional heart side affects it has.  Well, I don't like this one.  Bad part is that I get three months at a time from  my pharmacy and I'm on month two, so I've got another month before I can get something different or my insurance won't pay for it.  Bah.

Okay, bitching done.

Title Boxing

About a week ago, there was a Town Wild deal advertised on Facebook that gave you four weeks of unlimited Title Boxing Club classes, gloves and wraps for $40.  Ten dollars a week?  I can manage that.

So, last Wednesday, I took my coupon and headed over to the Cedar Rapids Title Boxing Club for a 4:00 PM class.  I got the preclass tour and then watched the people come in to work out.  Four o'clock rolls around and our instructor says to lightly jog around the room for three minutes.  Three minutes?  No problem.  I took the advice of the gal who said if I'm not a regular jogger to run around the inside of the bags or people have trouble passing.  Well, coming from the fat girl who hasn't worked out consistently in 18+ months, the inside it is!  First lap, good...no problem...I got this.  Keep jogging...or maybe it was more of a shuffle.  Heart rate's coming up, sweat's starting...it's all good...I'm doing this.  Instructor yells out that we have two minutes left.  What?  It's only been a minute?  I keep going around the bags like a mouse in a ball....sweat's a dripping, heart's a racing, my legs hurt, my lungs hurt, and all the while, I see these fitter people not breaking a sweat, swiftly running around the outside.  Instructor yells out there's one minute left.  One minute?  I want to die.  Seriously.  Kill me now.  My feet hurt, I'm more speed walking than jogging.  That was the longest minute of my life.  We then go on to do some stretches.  Feels good.

Then....jumping jacks.  Now, let me tell you something.  If you weigh 150 pounds and have a small chest, jumping jacks are nothing.  But when you're 255 pounds with a stomach and enlarged chest (I think my weight went there this time, too...), it's not pretty.  There are things flapping that shouldn't be.  But I did it.  The rest of the first 15 minutes are random exercises and stretches to get our heart rates up. Then it starts.

The next 30 minutes are eight three-minute rounds of boxing/kickboxing.  Jabs.  Crosses.  Hooks.  Uppercuts.  Back fists.  Round house kicks.  Front kicks.  Knee kicks.  Ouch.  After three minutes, you get one minute of active rest.  That's an oxymoron.  Mountain climbers, burpies, push ups, jumping jacks, high knees.  Active rest, my ass.

After dying for 30 minutes and just when you think you're done, it's 15 minutes of abs.  And there is no mercy here.  I have zero ab strength, so I try to modify if possible.

I've completed four workouts.  I'm tired.  I'm sore.  I'm exhausted.  But I'm moving.  I guess that's what I get from going to nothing to hardcore.  I need to quit weighing myself because I have this mentality that now that I'm working out, the weight will just magically fall off.  I haven't really modified my eating yet.  I'm focused on moving.

So, that's where I'm at.  This will bring us up to our vacation....Vegas, baby!  We're going because it's cheap and we need a break from life.  Hoping my weight is back in the 240s by Vegas.  That's five pounds in four weeks.  Sure should be able to do that!

Rock Bottom

I'm almost there.

In the months that have past since I've last posted, my life has become a flash.  A flash of day, night, and everything in between.  Let me explain.

My job:
I am an elementary assistant principal this year.  Essentially, I am the building principal.  The "principal" is housed in another building and doesn't really run my smaller building.  Things are going great.  I knew it would be busy and stressful, but I also knew it would be rewarding.  I love seeing the kids walk down the hall and wave or give me a hug.  I love how they're excited to share happy things with me, and I embrace the times we have bad things to talk about.  I've had furious parents and thankful parents.  One thing I knew about but didn't know just how much was how busy my schedule is.  I'm out the door a little after 7:00 AM and there are multiple nights I'm not home until 8:00 or 9:00 PM.  I basically sleep at our house and that's it.  But I knew that when I signed the dotted line.  It just comes with the job.

My health:
This is suffering.  My weight is out of control.  I am 7-8 pounds from my highest weight.  I don't exercise.  I don't eat right.  Many nights, I grab drive-thru on the way home because it's already 7:30 and it would take too long to prepare something.  That's an excuse, I know.  Frankly, most of the time, I'm so tired, I just don't care.  It's starting to show.  My pants that were once loose are closing in on being tight.  My arms are so big and flabby.  My stomach is rounded out.  My legs have the chubby look that's cute on babies and just sad on adults.  My double chin is back with a vengeance.  I haven't exercised regularly in well over a year.  I get on a kick every once in a while for a few days and then my schedule throws it off and a month or two goes by. I am unhappy with myself and I feel like I'm stuck in a trap.

My husband:
My husband has been an elementary PE teacher in a rural district for the last two years.  The state of Iowa has a two year probation license for brand new teachers.  In those two years, those teachers must prove they meet all eight Iowa teaching standards and then their principal signs off for them to get a standard license that is good for five years.  If a teacher does not meet some of the standards, they can be given a one-year extension to try and prove themselves.  To make a long story short, my husband's principal felt he didn't met the classroom management standard, citing two isolated incidents that occurred.  Problem is, my husband was not approached by the principal about these incidents to know they were an issue, let alone a reason not to get his standard license.  My husband went to the education association (union except they cannot strike) and basically came to the conclusion that it was the best interest of my husband for him to resign if the superintendent would sign off for him to get his license.  What it all comes down to is that this is this district's shitty way of getting rid of teachers without having to pink slip them.  My husband has gone through a range of emotions from sadness to anger over this.  Because now, he has no job next year.  A benefit is that there is always substitute teaching, but it's not always consistent and you get paid on each individual district's pay schedule.  This doesn't always align with our bills.  Which leads to the next section...

Money:
With the questionable stability of a paycheck from my husband next year, we're in panic mode with finances.  I don't get the salary an assistant principal should get.  I get paid $42,500...about $30,000 less than the other two assistants in the district.  I knew this when I signed my contract, but I don't know what the possibility of getting that large of an increase in the next year will be.  We pay $800 a month in student loans (which is more than our current mortgage payment).  We don't have credit card debt, so that helps and our cars are both paid off.  But....we still live paycheck to paycheck right now.  Unless a consistent job opens, my husband interviews and is hired in the next four months, I don't know where we'll be financially.  Which leads to...

Exercise:
I struggle being self motivated here.  I perform much better being in an exercise class where someone is instructing and I can use the other participants to be motivated.  The problem with this is that gyms/boot camps aren't cheap and with the financial questionability for next year, it's hard for me to fight an argument that I need to join a gym when paying our regular bills may be more difficult starting in September.

So, this is where I'm at.  I'm not at rock bottom, but I'm almost to the last edge.  It hurts.  It hurts badly.  I don't know where to go from here.

For those or the one person or anyone still reading, how do you come up from this?

Welcome Back

Well, here I am again.

A lot has happened since I last posted...here's a quick recap:
-My father-in-law passed away in late May from his lung cancer.  Probably the saddest time I've ever been through.  My husband has been extraordinarily strong dealing with his grief as well as some bad habits his mom has now begun as a part of her grieving process.  Even through this loss, I think it brought my husband and me even closer together.
-I was hired as an assistant elementary principal this summer after a marathon hiring process.  It literally took me almost two months to get hired from when I applied.  While it was sad leaving the teaching profession, I can now impact many more lives on a daily basis and while it is very challenging, I enjoy what I'm doing.
-My weight has slowly crept up.  I now weigh 248.

Tonight, I worked out for the first time in probably 2-3 months.  I did the 30 Day Shred, a 30-minute video that literally almost killed me.  I'm serious.  I don't remember working out hurting so badly.  My knees hurt.  My back hurts.  I'm out of breath.  My arms hurt.

This makes me sad.  I've taken 100 steps backwards.  It's my own fault, no one else's.

I can whine and moan and complain that I don't have any time and it's just easier to pick up take-out food than cook.  But I'm not going to.

I'm very sad that this is where I've let myself go.  I'm uncomfortable in my clothes...in my skin.  My energy sucks.

So, now I'm working to change it.  Slowly.  I tend to want to do drastic, fast changes.  That never works.  So, first up is reintroducing myself to exercise.  I've told myself if I can do the 30 Day Shred for 30 days in a row, I can look at joining a new Title Boxing Club here in town (cost pending).

I burned 340 calories in 30 minutes.  While that's fabulous, that shows how out of shape I am in.

Time to get to work.

Weekend Recap

How is it Monday night already?

Saturday, I went out to an elementary school a few blocks away and did 5 laps (equals 2 miles).  I actually jogged 1.5 laps which is great since I haven't really run in a couple of years.  Eating was good.

Sunday, I had big plans to do laundry, workout and enjoy the day...that is until the washer started making a very loud noise (it had been making random noises but did the job so I let it be).  I went down, opened the lid and smoke came out.  So, needless to say, we have a new washer coming....$400 I didn't want to spend right now.  I spent the afternoon doing laundry at my sister's house as our new washer isn't coming until Saturday.  My hubby and I did get a short evening walk in.

Tonight, my hubby and I went out for an hour long walk which burned 461 calories.  An interesting observation I made when looking at my Polar F6 HRM watch was that by keeping my heart rate in the 130s-150s, I burn a higher percentage of fat than if my heart right is much higher like the 170s-180s.  Yes, calories are calories, but I'd love to look more into this fat percentage deal...

Hope your Monday treated you well!

Friday, May 4th

So, I exercised today.

I mowed lawn and burned over 500 calories.

Then, hubby and I went on a walk and burned about 300 calories.  I may or may not have had a little ice cream on said walk, but it didn't cancel out the walk completely.

It feels good moving.  My goal is to do it again tomorrow.

While my challenge isn't what I planned, what really is?  The important part is I'm trying.

May 1st

Weight: 246.4 pounds
 Didn't get body fat or measurements.

 Also, didn't really get to exercise.

 My father-in-law, who is dealing with the effects of lung cancer right now, was admitted to the hospital again tonight for dehydration and slight malnutrition. He has ulcers on the lining of his esophagus that make swallowing extremely painful. He's been given different pain meds and through IV they're fine, but once he goes home and takes the pill form, he gets itchy and breaks out in hives. Actually, we almost lost him last week because he was in so much pain he hardly ate or drank and was so extremely malnourished and dehydrated that he was probably days if not hours away from his organs starting to shut down.

 So, while some say this is an excuse, my place was there with my husband and mother-in-law. My husband even said no to me staying home to exercise because he wanted me there.

 Tomorrow, I'll try again. I did count my calories though today and have them recorded in MyFitnessPal, so I wouldn't call this a complete fail.

Welcome Back

So, here it is, April 30th.

 Time flies when you're... Oh, who am I kidding? I haven't posted since February. I've made excuses. I really haven't worked out. I just now started tracking calories again.

 So, a smart girl named Erin over at  http://musingsofmrsmount.blogspot.com/  came up with the lovely idea of a 30 day May challenge. I can pick any behavior I want and have to do it for 30 straight days. 30 days. I can do that.

 Except May has 31 days. So my challenge is a 31-day challenge.

 What's my challenge, you ask? I'm stealing Erin's in that I must work out every day for 31 days for a minimum of 10 minutes. And if I miss a day, it starts over again. No slacking on Fridays because I'm tired or Monday because I don't want to.

 I'm also adding a second part of the challenge. I must track ALL of my calories for 31 days. The good, the bad, and the ugly. I will weigh in tomorrow morning with my weight and body fat and update every 10 days. I'm really going to try hard not to weigh every day. If I get a chance, I also may do measurements.

 My goal of working out? I have the Insanity workouts that I would like to attempt. I say attempt because I broke a sweat by just watching these videos! Holy cow, they're hardcore.

 What do I have to lose? Oh yeah....WEIGHT!!!! HA!!!

Here's the scoop.

So, my father-in-law has lung cancer. It's a stage 3 squamous cell carcinoma of the lung. It has spread to his lymph nodes and his neck. He begins a 7-week intense combination of chemo and radiation (chemo for the lymph nodes, radiation for the mass in his lung) and then they'll reevaluate how he's responding to treatment. The doctors seem to think they can shrink this down far enough that they can possibly go in and remove parts of the mass.

He has developed pneumonia in the same lung the mass is located in and because the fluid is filled up behind the mass, he is literally only using his right lung to breathe. I was very concerned about this, but the doctors don't seem to be. I guess since I'm not a medical doctor, I should let the professionals do their job. I am worried that they're not really doing anything about the pneumonia. I guess time will tell.

As for me, I'm doing fine. I haven't been tracking my calories, but I'm still going to the gym 3-4 nights a week and getting a good 500-700 calorie burn. I'm not gorging, but I'm not cutting way back. I'm trying to live my life.

I was trying the calorie count thing on myfitnesspal, but I wasn't seeing any changes when I was tracking. This last week, I haven't tracked and tried to just be mindful and I'm down almost two pounds.

I don't seem to fit what works for other people. So I'm trying to just live my life without so many numbers (except weight) attached to it. I was almost getting anxiety with calculating calories I've eaten. I do still wear my HRM to track how many calories I burn. I always like to know what kind of a workout I get.

So, that's where I am. I'd still like to lose 30 by my 30th birthday. With my husband's dad, I don't know if the Vegas trip is in the cards. We have a new roof to be looking at as well as some possible car repairs to be made. That bums me out, but what can I do? I'm still crossing my fingers that we might be able to eek this trip out.

Things I love...

Back in college, I hated this day. In fact, a few of my friends and I tagged it as "V" Day (think "D" day) because we were single and miserable on this day.

Now that I'm married and have been for five years, I still don't get overly excited about today. Why for one day out of the year must you proclaim your love?!?! It should be EVERY day!

I digress...

Since I've been a crappy poster of late (more on that later), I thought I'd try to be a little light-hearted and make a list of things I just plain love...

-My husband, of course. He pushes me to always be healthier and more active. He loves me unconditionally and I wouldn't be who I am today if it wasn't for him.

-My parents. I can't say enough about the support they've given me through my life. They've helped me through some very hard times and helped me celebrate during the great times. I'm biased, but they are the best parents ever.

-My brother and sister. While we had our riffs growing up (who doesn't?!), I admit they're pretty cool. They've blessed me with nephews (and a step-niece) and as adults, I appreciate our relationships.

-My nieces and nephews. I love them all....Derek, Andrew, Jordan, Whitney, Anabella, and Zander. Since having kids of our own isn't going to happen in the near future, I get my baby/infant/toddler/child fixes on a regular basis!!!

-My cat. Herky's my kid right now and he loves his mommy. My husband says our cat loves me more than him and that shows every night when Herky cuddles up with me on the couch and leaves my hubby out in the cold!!!!

-Music. It motivates me. It moves me. It makes me smile. It brings back memories. It rocks (pun intended).

-Pizza. Sorry. No way around it. I could eat this stuff every single day for the rest of my life.



I'm sure there are others...but this is what comes to mind now.

Take some time and show some love today....maybe even to a stranger. Random acts of kindness do amazing things.

When life throws you lemons....

...you eat them. At least that's what I've done.

I was doing so good last week. And then on Friday, we learned that my husband's dad has a golf ball-sized mass in his left lung. To make a long story short, we had him in the ER a few weeks ago. The initial X-Ray came back clear, but the doctor wanted him to do more testing. He has lost 30 pounds in 6 months, is weak, isn't eating well, and in the last month, his voice has become very hoarse. He also admitted he's been coughing up blood. It turns out the mass is putting pressure on the nerve that works his vocal chords and one of the vocal chords isn't moving. This is causing his hoarse voice and also, he has trouble eating chunks of things as that chord doesn't cooperate when swallowing.

Today, he has additional scans so that they've scanned from his head to his pelvis. On Wednesday, he will be put under and has a biopsy done. On Friday, we'll get the results. My husband and I have researched and prepared ourselves for the worst-case scenario in hopes that it's better news that we get. My husband and I are both taking off work in the afternoon to be with his parents.

So, if you have an extra minute and can put in an extra prayer, it would be greatly appreciated.

Unfortunately, I've treated this pain with food. I missed my workouts Thursday and Friday last week (Thursday because my sister-in-law had her baby and Friday because of the news we've received). I haven't tracked my food in a week.

This week, I will workout Monday-Thursday. I'm saying maybe Friday because depending on the news, we may be with his family Friday night. And that's where I should be.

My goal this week is to get a grip on my food intake. Consoling yourself with food is not okay. I recognize that which is part of the battle, but I need to do something about it.

My New Challenge to Me

30 by 30.

What's that mean?

I will lose 30 pounds by my 30th birthday (July 7th).

There are multiple reasons:
1. It's nice to have a rounded number to aim for.
2. This will put me at my last lowest adult weight (from about 7 years ago).
3. I will be close to 200.
4. We're planning a trip to Vegas between July 7th and 14th to celebrate my 30th and our 5 year wedding anniversary (July 14th).

That's 158 days.

There are no more excuses.

That's 22.5 weeks.

There are no more excuses.

That's a little over a pound a week.

There are no more excuses.

I can do this.

There are no more excuses.

To put it in reality, today I weighed 244.0. I know, I know...don't start with me. So, by July 7th, I WILL weigh at most 214 pounds. This would match what I weighed in December 2005 when I was last at my lowest.

There are no more excuses.

Did you notice?

Did you notice I haven't updated in almost a week?

Did you notice I didn't weigh-in yesterday?

Forgive me bloggers, for I have sinned. I have been bad. I haven't tracked calories. I haven't been drinking the water I should. I've been eating fried foods, rich in calories, fat, cholesterol, and sodium. I drank beer. Two times. And a lot of it.

I did work out four days last week. So I give myself props for that.

But, that's in the past. I'm moving forward. Tracking. Drinking (water). Moving. Living.

I want out of the freaking 240s. This is ridiculous. But it is my fault. I take responsibility. I'm moving on.



Oh, and did I tell you that I burned 695 calories at kickboxing tonight? Kicking some ass and taking names.

Kickboxing rocks my socks off.

751 calories is 45 minutes tonight. Awesome. Sweat was just dripping off me. Some people don't like to sweat. I love it....because I know my body's burning off that jiggly crap I have mounted up on my arms, abs, hips, and legs.

I even stayed a couple minutes and kicked the sh*t out of the bag just for fun. That's the bomb.

Jillian Michaels, eat your heart out.

Let's kick it!

Okay, more like punching, but anyway...

Max10 bootcamp is back baby! Tonight was 50 minutes of sweaty hotness. We didn't get into kicks since it's the start of a new 10 week session, but I got plenty of a workout! It was just like old times....jab....cross....jab-cross....hooks...uppers...and a combination of all of the above. We even did ladders on the first night! For those of you who don't know what they are, it's a set of punches up to a number and back down. So for example, we did hooks. You're with a partner on her bag....you start with one hook and your partner does one....then two each...three each...all the way up to 10....and then, you get to work your way back down! Now, it sounds tiring but I'll tell you this...punches are way easier than kicks when doing ladders!

I tracked my food today and I'm happy with how it went. I actually had the day off due to school being canceled (gotta love Iowa in January....combo ice/snow) and I'm happy I didn't let myself snack like I could have. In fact, I even took a nap!!!

Cheers to Tuesday!

This is what happens when...

you only workout once and you don't track your calories.

Weight: 242.8

Gain: +2.0 pounds

Boot camp starts back up tomorrow. I expect to be sore. That's a good thing. Time to get my act back together.

Miracles do happen...

Weight this morning: 240.8.

About freaking time.

It's Friday and I'm still here!

Sorry I haven't updated...although I'm not sure I have many followers anymore...

I've been diligently counting calories and working out (with the exception of yesterday as it was my rest day). Thus far, I have lost exactly two pounds. Not exactly what I want, but I'll take what I can get.

I have an hour massage scheduled for tomorrow and I can't wait. I have a tightness just below my shoulder blades (I think it's from the gloves and bands I use doing tae bo), so I'll be glad (and sore) to have that worked out!

Exciting news for me is I'm signed up to do my Max10 bootcamp again starting January 23rd. This was a big time and financial decision and I decided I was willing to sacrifice both to go back. I'm glad I'm doing tae bo now so maybe I won't be "quite" as sore!!!