Don't you just hate that?!?!

You know when you hear from skinny people that you'll feel SO much better about yourself and your day if you exercise regularly? I HATE it when they're right! Ha!

This morning I continued my swimming exercising, but I amped it up a bit and went for 20 laps instead of 12-15. In total is took my about 40 minutes to complete. My eyes are still a bit stingy from the experience, even though I got a pair of goggles the other day. But truth be told, I DO feel better!

I weighed this morning before heading out and even saw that I was down 2.5 lbs this week!! Yay!!

I'm meeting some friends for lunch this afternoon, and still have a LOT of cleaning to do before heading out on vacation Sunday, but I'm confident that I can keep this trend going!

Going it alone...sort of...

Weight loss, I've been told, is always easier when you have someone to make the journey with, as opposed to going it alone. Well, my family is less than enthusiastic about joining me at the local rec center on a regular basis. One of my close friends around here usually sleeps late as she has trouble sleeping at night. So I've decided I'll go at it alone, sort of. I say "sort of" because I have my Facebook and blog friends/family to encourage me as well. But don't fret! I'm not discouraged at all! I'm finding my inner strength and pushing forward.

My sleep schedule has somewhat normalized this week. I'm going to bed around 9:30-10pm and getting up between 5am-6am in the mornings. I usually check my online games and messages, then do a little personal bible study, then its off to exercise! This morning I spent some time at the rec center, then headed to the neighborhood pool for laps. The only other person awake this morning was my loyal hound, Daisy Mae (a chihuahua). But no worries, it allowed me to gather my thoughts and plans for the day in relative silence.

I go on vacation next week with the kids, Hubby, and my parents. We'll be on a houseboat for a week and then the kids, Hubby, and I will head to NW Arkansas for an additional week. It'll be difficult, for sure, to keep in a good state of mind and motivation, but I'm sure I can do it!!

Choosing the more healthful alternative isn't always the most popular, but I KNOW I'm going to feel SO much better as the pounds melt away and my health improves overall!

Summer Fun

So every now and then I like to indulge in a little harmless art work. Lots of my friends go to the nail salon a LOT to have their nails done. Mostly there's a lot of French manicures running around here. But lately I decided I wanted to do something more fun and funky. And seeing as how its summer in Texas, I felt I needed an appropriate color, or rather colors, to adorn my fingers.

I did all the colors separately and without guides. Yellow, orange, pink, and red. Then I let them set overnight and I then drew on the palm trees by hand (far more difficult on the right hand...eek!). Afterwards I covered it all with a clear coat of polish.

Just keep swimming...

Yesterday was a better day, for sure! Instead of rockin' out the xBox or Wii, I instead went to the neighborhood pool and swam some laps in the pool. I did the backstroke, breaststroke, sidestroke, and front crawl (aka freestyle). Swimming has always been a favorite activity of mine and so I thought this would be a great way to exercise. The pool opens at 8:00am, so I think I'm going to do the same today. I consider myself to be a good swimmer, but this really took it out of me! I was winded after two laps. I'm not going to lie, this kind of made me sad and feeling somewhat defeated. But I went on and pushed through.

I wanted to go to the rec center with the rest of the family, but they didn't care to go yesterday, so we just stayed home and hung out. I have lots of errands to do today, so I'm hoping that I can remain optimistic and keep going on a positive track.

Makeup days and excused absences

I remember in school we had excused and unexcused absences. If you had a note, the absence was excused and you were allowed a makeup day for any work you'd missed. If unexcused, well you were pretty much outta luck. I don't really think diets have excused and unexcused absence days. Don't get me wrong, everyone always has plenty of excuses as to why they didn't stick with their diet, but I don't think many of them are valid excuses.

Yesterday, I had an unexcused absence. I know I can't make up for the lost progress. At the same time I cannot allow myself to torture my will power into giving up altogether. I watched a friend of mine's elementary school aged children (9 and 10). We went to the pool, but we drove there (when we could have easily had walked). While there, I got in the pool and just sat there, telling myself the water was a little chilly and rather than swim mini-laps I needed to focus my attention on the children. After the pool, we went and got pizza. I know that I could have still maintained my healthier choices by only having a slice or two and making sure my choices of toppings were not dripping with grease, neither of which did I do.

So today I start anew, while telling myself that yesterday cannot get me down. I simply need to make better choices today. I joined the local rec center two days ago. I went for a 25 minute workout that day. They don't open until 12pm on Sunday, so it looks like I'll be waiting to go until this afternoon. I'm hoping I can talk the rest of my family into joining me on today's visit. This morning, since the dog and my husband woke me up early, I'm going to take advantage of my current state. I think I'll hop in the bath, shave my legs, and go upstairs to work out on the Wii or xBox 360 for a bit. In fact, EA Active is calling my name this hour.

Be well friends!

Schedules

I've never really been one for following strict schedules, but when I keep a list and plan a schedule I tend to stick with it. So I need to come up with a schedule for my days at home. I just have to decide what my daily activities will be. I know I need to incorporate work on my medical transcription, eating/snacks (healthy options, not crap), cleaning around the house, exercise, and just plain personal time.

There's now a recreation center in my town and not too terribly far away. I'm considering paying for a family membership (its far less expensive to go with that option rather than individual memberships for 3 of us) and making that my gym. Then on days that I can't get to the gym for whatever reason, doing things around the house for exercise or simply going for a nice walk.

I'm not happy with my body or my energy level, and no one is going to do anything about it but me. So over the next couple of days, I'll be planning a schedule for myself.

Be well friends!

Surgery wonders

I'm accompanying a friend to a doctor's appointment tomorrow. She's seeing a local bariatric surgeon to consider a lap-band procedure. She said the office already checked, and her insurance will cover all of it.

I'm not proud to say that I'm at a new high weight. I doubt my insurance will cover as much as hers will, but it'll be interesting to sit in on the appointment nonetheless.

I need to get moving! That's my problem. I've been listening to a taped message at night that is essentially a subliminal recording designed to motivate you to exercise.

If you have any tips to keep you daily committed to exercising, please share them with me!

Thanks friends!