spring challenge off to a bad start...

okay, this week was the first week of the spring challenge ~ 10 pounds in 10 weeks.  and i did EVERYTHING WRONG!!!!  waaaa!!!  i was doing better before the challenge was ever made!  grrr!  but i think it's because this week was crazy for me.  and the weather was just horrible.  anyone have a better week than i did?  i'd love to hear some success stories!

here's what i did wrong ~ 

1.  i worked out on monday, and only monday.  booo..

2. ate out twice, very rich foods, wine, dessert, the whole nine yards

3.  since i kept making bad decisions, i got depressed and mad at myself.  my whole week was just yucky!  i would have been much happier had i taken that spare minute and done just a few yoga poses, or something!  i ate pretty healthy the rest of the week, despite those two lunches out, but my body did not forget that crap i put in it.  my tummy's making funny noises even as i write this!

so, it's finally sunny out today and i'm going to salvage my week by being as active as possible this weekend.  must forge ahead.  swimsuit/shorts season is approaching!!!!

hope you all are doing well!  let me know your progress!!!!

spring challenge

i've been taking mental notes all week regarding what will be the subject of my next journal entry.  articles in yoga journal giving advice on a stress-free life, talks i've had with friends and family about putting things into perspective.  you name it.  when you have an artistic brain, your thoughts go "there" a lot.  

but instead, i'm going to throw out something much less profound, and maybe downright superficial!  my friend amy and i flippantly made a weight-loss challenge to each other a few days ago:  10 pounds in 10 weeks.  the general goal date would be may 1st.  well, i told a couple other friends and they were all like, "i need to do that too!"  so let me just send it out there and see who else would like to join in!!!!  

write back if you're interested in joining.  you can use this blog to comment on your progress and give advice on how you're doing (or not doing) it.  we ALL could you advice and extra tips in this area.  

but let's not do this the brow-beating way.  there's nothing wrong with having gained a few over the winter months.  there is a general 5 lbs we all put on around winter, to keep us warm.  and not to mention all those anti-depressants (in the form of brownies) we took when it was 17 degrees out.  and that's why i think this would be the perfect time to make this challenge.  spring is coming and our bodies will be eager to shed the weight.  i hope!

here's what i'm doing to hopefully lose the blubber:  then you write in and give your strategy!

i've been working out for about 5 weeks, relatively consistently.  i see no difference, but the whole point was for me to simply overcome a huge hurdle i've always had when it came to working out consistently.  so now that i feel like i'm in the clear and can move on to higher goals, i'm going to step it up a bit.  my challenge for this week is to work out every day this week, and push myself to a higher level with each exercise.  my general rule is 2 separate 30-minute things a day.  yoga, then treadmill.  or pilates then weights.  i have fit tv and one day i did yoga, then kept it on and did belly dancing, which was the next show.  my hips were killing me the next day!  it was so fun!

the only trick i have for eating healthy is vegetables galore.  as many as i can stomach.  and i'll be doing this detox leek soup i found in the book "french women don't get fat."  it's delish.  you drink it for two days and it sort of resets and flushes your body.  i also eat a lot of fiber foods like beans.  and fish.  i eat A LOT more when i'm working out, so this week will be about making healthier decisions when i'm stuffing my face every other minute of the day.  and drink more water.  and eat breakfast every day (but not those eggs with hollandaise i made the other day.  do NOT learn how to make hollandaise sauce at home.  it is dangerously easy and good.)

anybody have any other tricks they use to lose weight?  

i think the best thing you can do is have accountability partners.  friends you can walk with, talk about your goals, report your progress to, etc.  so here it is!  

i'm going to be blogging every monday morning, and even if weight-loss is not the subject, please feel free to write in and brag about your progress from the week before!  or talk about the goals you want to meet that week.  while we're waxing poetic and talking about spiritual warfare and the pursuit of peace, we might as well be getting ready for swimsuit season as well!!!!!

have a great week, y'all...

i'm back! you still out there???

hello bloggers!!!!  it's been such a long time, hasn't it?  i don't even know the last time i wrote an entry.  but i was having lunch with my friend stephanie and she said i needed to start blogging again.  i think i need to as well.  there are such benefits i receive from this form of communication.  the major benefit is that it makes me think of others.  i take the time to unscramble the jumbled mess of thoughts and emotions in my head and try to make sense of it and make something good out of it.  somehow, in my incredibly selfish world, that seems giving.  i feel responsible for thinking of something thought-provoking to write, and that helps me stop thinking all the other junk that gets me nowhere.

it feels like you all are my accountability partners out there in cyber space.  i work harder to see the beauty in everything, or at least make sense of everything, so that i can have something uplifting to write on this blog.  

it really works, though, if you comment or reply to this blog.  it's like a confession booth or something.  a safe place to voice your opinions.  i don't always feel comfortable voicing my opinions to people.  especially when it's politics and religion.  my take on it is ~ do i actually think that arguing with this person is going to change their views?  but on this blog, i feel safer to write what i want to write.  and you should feel that way too.

i mean, listen.  we live in a very segregated day and age.  when was the last time your neighbor asked you for a cup of flour?  (of course, they don't need flour because they went to costco and bought a 20 lb bag, and then decided to go on the atkins diet)  but if blogging is the only way we are going to communicate honestly with each other, then let's do it!!!

please send me a comment to let me know you're out there.  hope you all are doing well!!!