I smell like chlorine!

Even after I shower and wash my hair, I still smell like the pool! Maybe because I'm spending almost 2 hours a day in the pool, ya think? But it's okay, because I know that the more time I spend in the pool working out, the better shape I'm going to be in eventually!

It felt really good this morning when I got into the water for my arthritis class. We do a lot of range of motion exercises in that class, using the water as our resistance. We also walk back and forth and do some aerobic exercises, too. It is a great way to warm up my body before I swim my laps or hit the track. It's also a great way to finish up a workout. So whether I do the rest of my workout before or after class, I always want to do my class! I just feel better on the days I go.

I'm still a little sore today. I woke up a couple of times last night because my knees were hurting. But it's also a little cloudy today, so the weather could be playing a part in that. I thought about getting into the hot tub at the Y, but the last time I did that my swimsuit faded a lot, even tho I washed it after I got home. Plus, there's always a lot of foam on the top of the water, and the sign next to the hot tub says that comes from sweat and body oils, so please shower before getting into the hot tub, but no one does. So I would just rather come home and take a soak in my own bathtub!

I'm getting ready to head to the store and go swimsuit shopping. Since I wear my swimsuit every day, it's wearing out pretty fast. Of course, it's one of my old suits, so that also contributes to the wear. My problem is that I'm so picky about my suits. I don't really want anything with fancy decorations, because this suit has to be in the pool daily and get rinsed out daily, and washed a couple of times a week! So it has to be able to stand up to all that. Plus it has to stay in place while I'm swimming. I can't be constantly tugging my suit back in place.

So, I'm headed out to brave the stores, then coming home to watch Abduction and play with some new weaves with my paracord. It's a great day!

I am soooo sore!

Swimming is such a deceiving exercise! I glide thru the water and feel like I'm not making much of an effort at all, and if I'm sweating, I can't tell because I'm surrounded by water! But after a few laps, it gets harder and harder to kick my legs, and lift my arms. But I still did 1/4 mile again today!

I also did my water class and 20 minutes on the treadmill. Tomorrow I'm sticking to the track. I just don't like the treadmill. It just doesn't feel right. But boy was I sweating! But I was also sweating on the track yesterday, so I'm sticking to it!

I am so sore, but I'm determined to stick with it! I also stopped at the store and picked up some lean ham and I have all the salad fixings. I had a ham sandwich for lunch, and am going to grill some chicken on the George Foreman grill and have a grilled chicken salad for dinner tonight. I'm also going to dig out my notebook that has my healthy menus so that I can eat the proper amount of calories, along with the proper foods.

I'm so determined to be in the best shape I can be by the time we head to Texas. And I know that once I'm seeing a difference, it will give me more incentive to keep going. But today, I am sooo sore!

7 weeks, 4 days until the beach!!

In 7 weeks and 4 days I will be on the beach in South Texas! We have already made our reservations at a campground in Fulton, TX and I have already started gathering up the stuff we will need to take with us. We have made a list of all the places we want to eat at while we are there. And there will be plenty of beach time, along with visiting friends and going to see the Hooks play. I am sooo excited about our trip, and I know it will be so hard to leave and come back to Kansas, but I am going to enjoy every minute while I'm there!

But along with the anticipation of the trip, there's the consternation of hitting the beach weighing over 200 pounds and wearing a size 20. Do you know they don't make all those cute swim suits in size 20? Or if they do, they're not so cute when you put them on. I know that I am not going to be able to get down to a size 8 in just 7 1/2 weeks. But I think a size 16 is completely doable! And to keep myself motivated, I'm printing out some of my favorite beach pictures from when we lived in South Texas and I'm going to dig out my smaller swimsuits and hang up the pictures and swimsuit where I can see them everyday and stay motivated!

Since I haven't been consistant with my workouts, I started slow last week, with some exercises I got from Pinterest. This week I headed back to the YMCA to my water workout class and swimming laps in the pool. I swam 1/4 mile yesterday and today, in addition to my arthritis water workout, and today I also walked on the track for 30 minutes. Then I came home and had a good lunch, with a bowl of mixed berries for dessert. I'm getting ready to go finish up my workout with the exercises from Pinterest.

Tonight I'm going out to eat with our Small Group and we're going to Sumo, a Japanese place. I'm really looking forward to it! I'm not sure how healthy it will be, but I've tried to be really good all day to help make up for tonight.

So, I better go finish up so I can jump in the shower before I have to leave. I'm moving a little slow today because I'm not used to working out this hard. But I know that that will pass in a few days and it will be worth it when I feel better!

tired legs

Went to see my nephrologist this morning and got a good report! My creatin levels dropped from 1.4 to 1.2 over this past year, so now I can just have my regular doctor check my levels! I only have to go back to the nephrologist if my levels go back up.

So after my appt, I went to the gym. I started out with a 10 minute warm up on the bike, then went to Aqua Zumba. After that I did 10 lengths in the pool, which is 1/8th of a mile. That's not much, but it's a good start! I finished up with my regular water exercise class, then headed home. My legs are tired, but it's a good tired! The goal is to get up and do it all over again tomorrow! And then the next day, and the next.....

Motivation

Sometimes it's hard to find a motivation to keep getting up and going to the gym. I have printed off some posters to put up on my wall, I have marked goals on my calendar, I have brought out clothes in the size I want to be and put it where I can see it often. But when that alarm goes off in the morning, I just want to keep hitting the snooze button as long as I can. I know that I will feel better after I actually get up and go work out, but it's actually getting up and walking out that door that is the hardest thing to do. And why is that? When I know it's good for me, and I know I will feel better! I don't know. But I need to find that motivation and get up and get going because in 10 weeks Terry and I will be heading home to South Texas to celebrate our 30 year anniversary. And I want to be able to enjoy myself on the beach and fishing on the pier and jetty. I want to be able to wear a swimsuit and not worry about looking fat. I want to feel good about myself. So, somehow, somewhere, I have GOT to find the motivation to walk out that door every morning!

Happy New Year!

So, last Valentine's Day, I began this journey. It has been an up and down year, as regards my weight. I am still over 200 lbs, but I must say, I am in better shape than I was when I started. When I first went to the YMCA last year, I could barely complete my weight workout, and now I go to my water class, swim at least a 1/4 mile, do 20-30 minutes on the bike, and then 3 days a week do my weight workout! There's no way I could have done all that a year ago!

It is a little depressing when I realize that 11 months later I am still a size 20. But I had a talk with my dr and was reminded that with the medication I am on, it is very hard for me to lose weight. It can be done, but I will really have to work hard at it. So, with that in mind, I am changing my mind set.

I'm still going to be trying to lose weight. And to get to a smaller size. But more importantly, I'm going to be working on being in the best condition I can be in. I am going to set goals on how far I can swim, and how long I can go on the bike, and how many miles I can do on the track, and how much weight I can do in my workouts. I think if I focus on those goals, rather than a number on the scale or the tag in my clothes, I will achieve more!

I haven't set "New Year's Resolutions" since high school because I never knew anyone, including myself, who ever kept them. But I have decided that for 2012 I need to set some goals. So, here are the goals I am setting for myself this year. Some of them have to do with working out and getting healthy, and some are from other parts of my life. But I'm going to list them all here, because being healthy is just a part of my life.

My 2012 goals:

1. To be more consistent with my Bible reading--I want to read my Bible everyday and keep up with my reading schedule.

2. To walk more closely with my Heavenly Father--I want to draw closer to God and seek His will for my life in all things.

3. To be more consistent with my workouts--I want to get to the gym everyday day and get in my workout. I want to set monthly goals and achieve them so that I can be in the best physical condition I can be in.

4. To spend more time with Terry--I want to spend more time doing stuff with Terry, not just watching tv together, but to actually get out and do things, and spend more time interacting with each other.

5. To spend less time focused on myself--I want to spend more time focused on serving others this year and less time focused on myself. I want to find more ways to volunteer and serving others.

6. To spend more time with my parents--I don't know how much time I have left with my parents and I want to spend more time with them this year. They are in their 70's and both have health issues, so I know they will not be around forever. And I want to spend as much time as I can with them, because I don't want to look back someday and wish I has taken more time to be with them!

These are my goals for the year. They are realistic and achievable. And they are goals that I will probably continue to set every year, because there is always more that I can do in each area!

So, I may not get into the box containing the size 8 jeans in my closet this year. But I'm not going to beat myself up about that this year. As long as I am being consistent with my workouts and I feel good, I'm going to be happy with that. My workout goals for Jan. are to be consistent with my workouts, swim 1/4 mile everyday, 20-30 minutes a day on the bike, 1-2 miles on the track, my water workout everyday, and my weight workout M/W/F. I'll set my Feb. goals at the end of Jan.

Happy New Year!

Sweatin' to the oldies...

Well, I had planned to get up early enough this morning to go to the store and see about getting a new pair of goggles, because Colby decided to use my old ones as a chew toy. Terry found most of the pieces outside in the backyard! However, I kept falling back asleep, so I finally got up and fixed myself a good breakfast. Then I took my time getting around and making sure I had everything else I needed. I went to my water exercise class, then headed upstairs. Yesterday I tripped myself a couple of times while walking on the track, but I managed to catch myself before I actually fell. I really need some new sneakers, but those will just have to wait until after Christmas. So instead of walking, I added the time to my time on the bike. I was so sweaty and tired by the time I finished! Whew! I had the Newsboys playing on my phone and it was hard to keep myself from singing along, but for the benefit of all those working out around me, I restrained myself! They don't know how lucky they were today! :-)

I'm going to have a light lunch, then get a shower and head to Walmart. I missed swimming my laps. The bike is good, but swimming works out my entire body and believe me, my entire body needs the workout! I swam yesterday without goggles and quickly realized why I wear them. I have a hard enough time staying straight when I can see....there's no hope when my eyes are closed!

I also want to try out the eliptical that Terry brought home. I didn't like it much in the past, but who knows, maybe I will now. I'm also going to set up a Pandora station so I don't have to figure out where my cds are!

Have a good afternoon!