There''s no place like Nome and exercise

I was able to spend the last week the the great city of Nome, Alaska.  A city you can only get to by airplane and not a very big city.  But the prices were CRAZY expensive, but that is not what this is about.  I did not go to Nome, expecting 4-star accomedations, but I wasn't expecting to have to do to exercises from memory.  (There was no fitness center.)  I do not have a personal computer I can travel with, just my work computer, and it does not have a DVD player, so I took my iPad...but the hotel did not have consistent internet access (if any depending on the weather) and so I could not access the exercises blogs, pinterest pins, or other items I saved.  The hotel, although clean, the carpeting on the floor bothered me.  I posted my issues on my FB page, and took the advise of one of my followers, use a towel or blanket on the floor.  The towel helped, so I was able to get in some ab work.  But since there was no fitness center at the hotel, I had issues getting cardio in.  There were finally a few days of not so hard rain, that I was able to get out and walk.  Althoughh this isn't the type of city, I was ok with walking around by myself, so I stuck to the main street.  I did walk on the "golden sands of Nome" and put my feet in the Bering Sea, which means I did a little beach walking.  As far as food goes, I thought I was prepared (except for the first day of flying).  I brought my protein drink for breakfast and dinner and bought a subway sandwich for lunch (a footlong sandwich can last 2 meals for me.  The last day I was prepared for the airport (because there is nothing at the airport, besides a vending machine that will give you a soda for $3) with granola bars and ritz crackers.  I was not prepared for the flight to be delayed, and delayed again, and finally cancelled.  I was able to get out of the city on the 9pm flight, which was delayed, and delayed again, and finally took off at 11:30pm to land back in Anchorage after midnight. 

I still have 1.5 pounds to lose.  I weighehd myself the morning I got home, and I hit the mark, but the when I weighted myself this morning, I had gained a pound.  I know that I should not be obessed with the number of the scale, but it is difficult for me to change my way of thinking.  My clothes fit better (some are actually falling off my hips) and I sleep better, but I really want to get rid of this last pound.  This last pound will put me at the 10 pound mark...a great accomplishment for me. 

Sister's visit and weight loss

Well, my sister was here for a week, and although I did not gain weight, I didn't really exercise like I wanted to.  I felt guilty when I worked out, so I didn't work out.  We did a lot of "unintentional" exercise, when we went to the glacier and to the waterfall.  My eating habits were also not the best and I didn't drink water like I should have...and I'm feeling it.

I wish there were lesson learned while she was here, but we really didn't talk, and have very little in common. 

I am down 9 pounds, and I'm really hoping to get to the 10 pound mark before the end of August. 

Sister is here...and stuff

So my sister is here for a week, I was not sure how much exercise I would actually get done, but today I beat my personal best for the plank.

Today I walked 2 miles with my Leslie Sansone DVD and baby girl acted as my personal trainer. She is very good at that. After I walked the 2 miles, I did planks, squats and push-ups. My arms are killing me!  So, for my plank? I held it for 2 minutes and 32 seconds...my personal best!  My goal is to be able to hold a plank for 5 minutes by the end of August. I think it can be done.

Oh, and the other good news...I've lost weight!  So really that is the point of exercising and eating well, but when I put on my pants for work yesterday, they were too big!  It felt like it was a tent. The hops were just super baggy. I'm gonna have to take them to be altered.  The waist was also big, but not as obvious as the hips. It really helped to brighten my Monday.

Anyway, I hope that when you read this, you have had or will hve a wonderful day.

Completely lazy day

Today has been a completely lazy day (if you don't count doing the dishes and making cinnamon rolls). Baby girl has been my workout partner and she hurt her ankle the other day (we thought possible broken since after 2 days it was still swollen), but it is just sprained. I guess, really, I'm using her inability to workout with me as a reason not to workout. I know she doesn't control when/if I work out, but I've been using it. Since I've realized what I've been doing, I plan to change that. I want to continue to workout with her, so she can control the stop watch and count for me. 

On the other hand, I have let her. Ale cookies and I've even promised her cinnamon rolls fori the morning. I plan to keep drinking my shakes, no matter how yummy the cinnamon rolls smell.

Plank challenge and other stuff

So tonight I did a plank challenge with my kids! Super fun, but I will say it was a bit rigged. I have been doing planks for a while and baby girl is in cheer, so her core is super strong. Baby boy didn't really have a chance, but he surprised us all.

Plank challenge :
Round 1.                      Round 2
Baby girl:  0.55.           1.36
Baby boy:  1.07.           1.30
Me:  1.45.                     2.00

In baby boy's defense, he didn't even know what a plank was when we started this challenge. He has also spent the majority of the summer doing NOTHING...so to hang for over a minute impressed me, but he is also competitive.

I finished the workout with sit-ups, v-ups, full body roll up and stretches. Even though it wasn't a traditional work out, I enjoyed getting the kids to "play".

Hitting the 'wall'

Last week I have had problems with forgetfulness, being grumpy and tired, all the time.  I think after 6 weeks for consistant working out, I finally hit that "wall".  I took the majority of this past week off from working out and I feel better, so when I go back to working out tomorrow, I'm hoping for renwed energy. To be honest, I even stopped eating healthy and drinking the water I know I should.

I am nervous about what the scale will show on my weekly weigh in (tomorrow) but I know that my clothes are still loose and that should be enought.  Right?

Today, I will be spending the day at baby girls car wash, so it will be a final day of not a typical work-out.  I think I like the non-typical work outs. 

No more diet pills...and it is all in my head

I used to be a dedicated user of diet pills. I thought I could not lose the weight without them; and then I would use them all and not buy more for a little while and the weight would add back on. And I would start all over. To be completely honest, it has been 2 months since I've taken a diet pill. I was unsure about how much weight I would lose without the pills, but it was all in my head. I have changed from the pills to drinking LeanShake 25 from GNC (I LOVE the stuff) and I have dropped 6 pounds! A lot of it is, I know really watch what I eat (thanks to myfitnesspal.com) and I exercise regularly.

So, now that I've kicked the diet pills habit, I still have the scale habit to beat, but I don't think that will be as easy to beat, but then again, that is all in my head too.

Another thing that is in my head is my dislike of running...being in Alaska doesn't help because of the cold weather for so many months, but when I was in the military, I disliked running, and I had to run everyday. But my hubby said that the running is all mental...I just have to get over it, and get that voice in my head to stop telling me I can't do it.

I borrowed a co-workers 10 minute trainer...and I LOVE it! I like that it is different from just being on a treadmill, or cybex arc machine. I am hopeful that this will help me see the weight drop off Hubby can see there is a difference, but the voice in my head keeps telling me there is no change; and I am wearing pants a size smaller...but I can't get that voice in my head to change its thinking...at least not overnight.

Happy day to everyone.