Boot Camp

In part of trying to change my lifestyle to a healthier one, I decided to join a boot camp. Now the best part of this boot camp is that it’s in a way through work. Someone graciously decided to do a boot camp for the employees of the company that I work for two days a week, an hour a day. Not too bad, right? WRONG! Given the fact that I’m extremely out of shape, unless we can count round as a shape, and the fact that I’m not coordinated in the least, any exercise is brutal. When you take those factors and add to it that I live in Texas where we have already hit 100 degree days, its just plain miserable.

So I have had three classes at my boot camp and the first week was rough. Going the bathroom was a miserable feat that took all my strength just to pull myself off the toilet. My thighs hurt so bad after the 200+ squats we did each class that going down the stairs made me want to just try rolling down them and taken the chance of breaking something rather than taking each step one at a time. Our instructor said that she wants us to have Chihuahua arms and legs by the end of the class which means they should be shaking a little bit from your muscles getting tired. I don’t know about everyone else in the class but after my first class my Chihuahua looked like it was having convulsions! My arms and legs were shaking so bad that they were still shaking the next morning. My signature looked like I was either on a serious caffeine high or that I was drunk at the time and trust me, neither was true.

But I can happily say that I have already noticed some kind of improvement. I was able to attend the third class yesterday and after just two previous classes I can say that my thighs don’t hurt nearly as bad as they did last week after doing the same amount of squats. Another accomplishment, I was able to do 50 jumping jacks in a row before pausing to complete my 90 jumping jacks. The first class, I was only able to do 30 before pausing. I think that was a great accomplishment in such a short time. Yesterday we also worked on our lower half and let me tell you that my rear hurts like it has never hurt before!

Another big accomplishment for me…I wanted a donut so bad this morning that I seriously could have driven through the donut shop in order to get one. However, I did the smart and sensible decision and stopped at the grocery store and got a Jimmy Dean Delight bowl with egg whites, turkey sausage, potatoes and cheese. It had 7 grams of fat and less than 300 calories. It was far more filling than a donut and more satisfaction that I overcame my craving.

Here’s to a better week and good health!
KJ

Another Manic Monday

So, I’m on my lunch hour and all I can say is “what’s the point?” I’m feeling so discouraged today. I know this isn’t my usual chipper post but boy I’m frustrated! I gained weight…again.

Here’s the thing about being overweight, it’s not simply watching what you eat and exercising. Many people who are overweight have an addiction to food. When you are an alcoholic, with help, you can eventually quit drinking. When you are a drug addict, you can overcome that addiction as well. When you are a smoker, besides what my friends say, you can live without those pesky little cigarettes. I’m not saying it’s easy but you don’t need alcohol or drugs to survive. You do need food though. You have to eat, your family has to eat, and because of that it’s so easy to blow a hard days work on watching those calories.

Another good observation most of you can understand is that EVERYTHING revolves around food. Your child has a birthday, you serve food. A special occasion occurs, for example: weddings, graduations, a job well-done and we eat to celebrate. We hit 100 degrees outside, might as well get some ice cream because that’s what cools us off best, just kidding. This weekend I think I hit every category there was. My nephew graduated Friday night and we were rushed to get there so we ordered pizza before we left. My daughter officially turned 2 Saturday and low and behold, we had our family over to grill out hot dogs and hamburgers and of course, there was cake and ice cream. Then Sunday we had my nephew’s graduation party and unfortunately, there were no calories spared there either. Anything from chicken salad with cranberries served on the thickest most delicious crackers, spinach artichoke dip, chicken egg rolls, and quiche and all were just jumping on my plate. Yes, there was a watermelon filled with lots of fruit, but to be honest, I made it and the last thing I wanted to do after spending over two hours making the thing was to eat it. We won’t even talk about the cream puffs that were just wonderful. So as you can imagine, the scale was definitely not in my favor today.

Here’s to a better week and good health!
KJ

Do you want fries with that?

Why is it that when you make a plan or a schedule that everything comes up at once to ruin that plan? Do you know what I mean? It has been a few weeks since I have entered something into my blog, mainly because time has gotten away from me and two, because I am embarrassed to say that I haven’t lost any weight! It takes a lot of nerve sometimes to admit when you messed up. Between wrap up parties for community events, end of school activities for my son, sick children, busy evenings, and Memorial Day, things have not gone my way as far as healthy eating habits and a workout time. Needless to say, fast food played a big role in my lack of weight loss! Tomorrow is another day though.

So my plan tonight…grocery shopping. I absolutely dread going to the grocery store. I tend to compare it to Black Friday because no matter what time of day it is the store is crowded, the lines are long, and I spend way too much money on a half-full basket. One thing I have started doing is using coupons. Yes, it may make my trips a little longer but it has become a challenge to me to see how much money I can save. I shop at Kroger’s where they double or triple your coupons depending on the amount of the coupon. I get all excited to see my savings when they print out my receipt, which is usually as long as my leg, to discover that I have saved anywhere from $60 - $80.00! I have even gotten compliments before from other frustrated shoppers that they need to start doing that same thing to save money. The only problem now is that they never have coupons for healthy food.

So here’s to grocery shopping, a less stressful and busy week, hopefully, and good health!