19,314

That’s how many steps I took yesterday, according to my pedometer.

I was so excited, I took a picture before passing out…

I played with the kids, I walked a mile on the treadmill, I went to a Zumba class (that was 6k steps right there!), I did some housework and a lil’ Wii Fit before bed. 

19,314 steps. That’s just crazy.

Two weeks ago, I could barely get to the 10k step daily goal.  Now I feel like a slacker if I don’t get there!

I’m finally under 240, too.  Weighed in at 239.6 this morning!  (I feel almost sad that I’m excited about that!)

I’m looking forward to the 18th when I’ll measure and weigh in, etc.  I’m going to wait until I’m down 20lbs before I take another round of pictures.  I think I’ll post my “before” pictures along with my 20lb loss pictures and just go from there – posting a pic every 20lbs.  I thought about monthly pictures, but that might just depress me instead of motivate me.

I just got back from a walk on my lunch break – this heat is for the birds!! Not the most professional look to come back from lunch sweating your ass off!  But I don’t think I can give up my daytime walks altogether – they wake me up and cheer me up, even if I do wind up a mess.  I think the PM break walk will have to wait until cooler days come along, though – it’s only 90 out right now and I barely made it the 1/2 mile loop.  I’ll just stick with the 1/2 mile in the AM and 1/2-1mile (depending) at lunch and make up the rest of it once I’m home and can shower post-walk/Wii/etc.

So, as I mentioned, I went to Zumba yesterday.  Fun times!  I went to a class a few months ago and have wanted to get back into it, but kept making excuses.

NO MORE EXCUSES!

I went yesterday and dragged my guys along.  I was dripping sweat by the end.  Those classes amaze me because I feel like I’m going to die 15 minutes in. Then I tell myself I can make it at least halfway through!  Next thing I know, 40 minutes have passed.  Well it would just be silly to stop now, right? You can’t quit 2/3rds of the way in! 

The first class I took, I intentionally took a spot by the door – just in case I wanted to make a break for it. Yesterday, I went to the opposite side of the room.  If I was going to quit before it was over, it would take a lot of pride swallowing. By 45 minutes in, I was having a blast – my legs were burning and I felt silly as all, but I was having fun.  That’s why I like these classes – they’re FUN.  And it’s not all about doing everything exactly right – it’s about moving your body and having a good time.  Sometimes you need a break from the lunges and walking and weights. 

I went ahead and reserved a spot for today (Mon) and Wednesday at 7:30pm.  The classes are free with my gym membership, but they fill up fast, so if you want to reserve a spot in advance, it costs $1.  Not too bad.

I’m planning to go Sun at noon, and Monday and Wednesdays at 7:30pm each week. If I’m feelin’ froggy, I can add Tues and Thurs at 6:30pm, too.  We’ll see.

I also recently heard about http://bountifulbaskets.org – I’m going to try them out this week!  Check it out and see if they have one in your area. A friend of mine posted the picture of her haul recently and I was amazed!

Pedometer Issues and Other Things (quite possibly a TMI post)

I’ve been wearing my pedometer for the Global Corporate Challenge since last Wednesday. (We started our official challenge on Thursday, but I wanted to get a feel for where I was before trying to push myself.)

Today, I’m wearing a dress.  Guess where my pedometer is!

I hooked it to the waistband of my panties. 🙂 I didn’t really see another option. I’m not going to wear a belt!  (A woman with a 50″ waist tends to hate belts – especially when her hips are 50.5″. A belt just accentuates the problem at hand.)

This has worked fairly well, I guess, but I occasionally feel my undies trying to head south – especially when I go on my walks.  Ah well. I’ll deal with it for now.  I don’t have a lot of “pants” options for work – what I find in the stores either doesn’t fit my apple-shaped body or looks like I stole them from my grandma’s closet.  I’ll probably stick to skirts for a while.  It’s too hot outside for pants anyhow! (hahaha…when proofreading my post, I realized I put “It’s too hot outside forpantiesanyhow!)

Not sure my pedometer will ever go this high!

Quick Fact: 10,000 steps = approx 500 calories burned.

 

My weekend was spent with family in a small town of central Texas.  There was a lot of indulging – a lot. I told myself it would just be for one day, but it seeped into the 2nd day before I even noticed!  But I was back on the wagon yesterday.  I even managed to break past my 10k steps/day goal for the first time!  (I thought all the walking I did over the weekend would have gotten me there, but no.)

I pretty much lived on grilled meat (this is Texas, after all), veggies and…cream puffs.  My mom was trying to clean out her junk food in preparation for her bypass surgery (she’s already on liquids) and brought up this bag of cream puffs she bought at Sam’s a few months ago.  Add copius amounts of tequila and Sara found herself sneaking off to the fridge way more often than she should have.  I’m telling myself I had some help, but I’m not so sure I hadmuchhelp. 

Anyhow.

To make up for some of my gorging, I did a lot of Just Dance booty-shaking yesterday.  I challenged the kids in the AM and I danced my hiney off solo after they went to bed.

And today?  I’m sooore!!! (And I’m a whiner!)  But I hurt in all the best places. My obliques and the sides of my back (er…are those still the obliques? Maybe?) are killin’ me.  Yay!  Maybe I’ll get that back fat under control sooner than I thought.

Another advantage? I slept like the dead.  I might have rolled over once last night.  Otherwise, I don’t remember budging one inch.

Downside? My skin is taking a hit.  With all the sweating I’ve done lately, my face is starting to break out. I need to start showering at night, too, I suppose – that will help.

 

Is it nap time yet?