Working PointsPlus...and My Body!

I'm so proud of me!!!! (yes, being proud of yourself sometimes is important. You should try it sometime!)

Why am I so proud? I have gone from slug to jitterbug. Sorry, couldn't resist the opportunity to rhyme, but basically this is true. I stopped working out once school started this past fall, and over Christmas break I decided it was definitely time to start moving again. I miss the toned look, the feeling of strength, being in control, and the energy that came with being in shape (and not the round shape...that shape is not so fun).

This past week I worked out all but one day, and 4 of those workouts were at 6:45 before I had to go to work! I've been incorporating cardio, HIITs (high intensity interval training), abs, and general toning and sculpting. By Saturday morning I was sore from just about head to toe! But I knew the best thing was the keep working through it. That, and I longed for that euphoric "I'm tough, I'm strong" feeling! Once you really start experiencing that, working out becomes a treat rather than a chore!

Today I feel much stronger and am bursting with energy. Time for an oldie but goodie...a Turbo Jam cadio party and an ab workout! Join me! Kick some butt!

PointsPlus...a Delicious Change

I am still a fan of Weight Watchers...and I'm loving the new PointsPlus program! I knew I could handle it when most fruits and veggies are FREE (zero points, in other words). I do love some fruit and veggies! The problem for me, in the past, was that rather than make smart, healthy choices and use my points on those fruits and veggies, I would save my points to eat chocolate or something sweet. I still lost weight but wasn't gaining much in the health department.

I have spent the past few weeks losing over four pounds and gaining a nice "fat arsenal" of healthy and new recipes and ideas! It has been quite fun finding new and creative ways to eat and enjoy healthier items. Let's see...I've made butternut squash soup, turkey meatloaf, lightened smashed red potatoes, unique omelets with things like spinach and feta, breakfast couscous with cinnamon and pears, and baked bananas for dessert. Mmmm....

I continue to search for healthy recipes and alternatives. Another idea I'm anxious to try is a Crystal Light smoothie. Basically you blend water, frozen strawberries and banana with a crystal light packet. I'm thinking that strawberries, mandarin oranges and the lemon berry might be good together. So many ideas and such a small, shrinking tummy. :)

Can't Break What You Never Make

Happy New Year!!! Bet you have already been thinking of a New Year's Resolution or two. Most people have! Maybe you have even been waiting for Jan. 1 just so you can "start" working toward that resolution. Well, I have a new philosophy this year...

You can't break what you never make!

 Now, at a glance, this sounds very negative, right? It sounds like I think it isn't worth even having a goal to begin with. It isn't that. But honestly, how many people keep a resolution? How quickly do those goals (which are usually so grand and unattainable anyway) get put on the backburner or old habits take back over? I see it all of the time... And it leads then to a feeling of failure. I know! I've been there every other year! But not this year...

I knew a month or so ago what my goals for 2011 were. Most of did! I decided that anything worth doing is worth doing NOW. Waiting for some silly date makes it seem like that goal really isn't that important. "I'll start next Monday." "I'll start January 1." "I'll do that in a few years." "I'll do that someday."

Those all sound silly and shallow. Instead, if I want something (and I usually want it RIGHT NOW), the best time to start is the moment it enters my mind. So I became aware that I had packed back on 6 of those miserable pounds I had worked to get off earlier in 2010 (via the dreaded monster most of us call the scale). I immediately started making those healthier changes: smaller portions, more fruits and veggies, working out again, and less of those blasted candy cane kisses! 

Then on December 21 I went back to my old friend. Weight Watchers.

I could have waited until January 1. I'm sure my next meeting will be packed! In the meantime, those members will have been stuffing themselves silly of Christmas and the New Year as a final farewell to that "old" life. And believe me when I say I want us all to be successful. I just know the resolution route is not for me anymore.