Survival of the Unfit

Tonight, my workout buddy and good friend Lori and I swallowed our collective pride and attended boot camp at the YMCA. The good news is we survived without humiliating ourselves. It is embarassing at how out of shape I have become in only 55 years! UGH! This is going to be a long process but it will be worth every bead of sweat, aching muscle, crunch (not the Captain variety), lunge, and step when I am healthier and have my heart in better shape. Lori and I both learned a valuable lesson tonight - do not eat right before boot camp. At least an hour needs to be between the time of your meal and exercise. We received encouragement from a woman who has lost 100 pounds in a year! She was a great motivator and encouraged us to just keep moving and to not give up.

Tomorrow is a workout on the treadmill - more fun to come!

Weight loss this week was 3 pounds. I will take it.

Missing those who have gone on . . .

This weekend I've been thinking about those who have passed away. Of course the person that I think of most is my mom's mother, Mamaw Litteral. Her favorite hymn was "How Great Thou Art". The words have been going through my head for the past few weeks:

O Lord my God! When I in awesome wonder. Consider all, the world thy hands have made. I see the stars, I hear the rolling thunder, Thy power throughout, the universe displayed;

When thru the woods and forest glades I wander And hear the birds sing sweetly in the trees; When I look down from lofty mountain grandeur And hear the brook and feel the gentle breeze;

And when I think that God, His Son not sparing , Sent Him to die, I scare can take it in; That on the cross, my burden gladly bearing,He bled and died to take away my sin;

When Christ shall come with shout of acclamation And take me home, what joy shall fill my heart! Then I shall bow in humble adoration And there proclaim, MY GOD HOW GREAT THOU ART!

Then sings my soul, my Savior God to Thee; How great Thou art, how great Thou art! Then sings my soul, my Savior God to Thee; How great Thou art, how great Thou art!

Almost 40 years have passed and a day doesn't go by that I don't think of and miss her. I think she would have loved the link below.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pLLMzr3PFgk&feature=related

Another week down

Another week down another weigh in to go. All in all it has been a good week. Since the muffin incident I have been to Tazza Mia three times with no slips. My friend Lin gave me some suggestions for fat free muffins I can make myself - thanks Lin, I picked up the fat free blueberry and will make them for breakfast for next week. I love the advice and suggestions from my friends.

Twenty-nine days and a wake up until Cancun! I can't wait to take walks on the beach. Exercising on the beach will be a treat. I'm also looking forward to starting my workouts next week at the Y with my friend Lori.

I want to say thank you to a group of people today who went out of their way to be kind an accommodating. There are still people who believe in customer service. The Cincinnati Reds may not enjoy a winning season, but they do have a winning team of people that work for their organization.

Remember the families and those who lost their lives 10 years ago as a result of a vicious, hateful act. May we never have to experience that type of hatred again.

Y-M-C-A

I have been out of pocket for a few days. I have a bad cold and some old habits threatened to come back. We know the old saying, "Feed a cold; starve a fever." Well, I was afraid to the point of shaking that my belief the cure for the common cold was comfort food was going to take over and slap the common sense right out of me. For the most part I did well; lots of water and vitamin water.

I did suffer a small slip yesterday. I was so cold and really craving a good cup of coffee. I walked over to my favorite coffee place Tazza Mia in the Chiquita building. Now it has been a while since I visited Tazza Mia; they probably think I'm in the witness protection program because I was a twice daily visitor. Coffee and a white chocolate scone for breakfast and on some days that afternoon coffee screamed for a molasses cookie with vanilla bean icing. Can you believe I wonder why I'm overweight? I did have my coffee, but I couldn't pass up the cranberry walnut muffin. I guess on the positive I only ate the bottom portion and didn't add a muffin top to my own muffin top. The good news is that even though I had a slip I didn't stay on the path and didn't beat myself up. Today was a new day.

I have now rejoined the Y-M-C-A and have gained a workout partner in my friend Lori. I'm excited to start a workout program again and to be working out with a good friend. Double the benefits.

Weigh In Day

Today is weigh in day. To say I was nervous is an understatement. However, the scale was kind and I am down 6 pounds! Thanks Bethenny for the daily workouts.

The YMCA is offering no signing fee until September 17th. I believe it will be a stop on my way home one night this week. I think with a little variety I will be more successful. Anyone else belong to the YMCA who is looking for a workout partner?

I have had a wonderful day with CeCe. She is such a sweet little girl. She is cooing and jabbering up a storm. She was 4 months on August 27th and she weighs 14 lbs. 4 oz and is 25 1/4" long. She has been talking to her Papaw today and spent a good amount of time on Mamaw's lap. I'm glad my parents were able to spend time with her today. Time like this is so precious. It did my heart good to see my mom walking through the kitchen carrying CeCe. CeCe is all fed, dry and snug in bed sleeping like a little angel.

All in all, a very good day weight wise and Nana T wise.

I miss my two best friends. One I will see in a few weeks; the other not for a long time. I pray for them both every day.

TG for the Weekend

Does anyone else feel like they are living in a sauna? This heat and humidity makes me feel nauseous, lazy and all I really want to do it sit in the house with a book and my bottles of water.

A mid-morning trip to the Farmer's Market was the high point of my day. Scott Farms has had the best peaches this year and I got the last of them. In fact, I think when I finish this entry I'm going to have a second one.

Life is too short to not enjoy the simple things; a bottle of cold water, air conditioning and yes, peaches from Scott Farms are a few of the things I am thankful for today.

Tomorrow I have my precious second granddaughter, CeCe overnight. I am happy to spend this time with her one on one. Sometimes I don't feel like I have the bond with her that I have with Jill. Of course she is ony 4 months old, so it is too early to tell if she likes me or not. I love CeCe with the same intensity as I do Jill. It is a careful balance with a three year old who has had her Nana T all to herself and now sharing that time with CeCe. Jill has been adjusting better than her Nana T.

Tomorrow is also weigh in day. It makes me a little sick to my stomach. I hate failing - again I put more pressure on myself than anyone else. Maybe because it is more important to me than anyone else. Another crazy thing I have to figure out about myself.

Wishing everyone a fun and safe Labor Day weekend.

Hot Fat

What was I thinking?

I left The Fringe Salon feeling cool for a variety of reasons; I have the best hair stylist - Missy Lee. I walked in feeling frumpy and old - I walked out feeling rejuvinated by new color and highlights and a very cool new accessory. She has such a calming and peaceful spirit; I always leave feeling more relaxed and very centered.

Wanting to support my nephew who is on Injured Reserve for the Cooper High School Freshman football team I went to watch the freshman football game. I now know what chicken and okra feel like in the skillet.  Sitting on those metal bleachers in all my fat glory I wondered what in the world I was thinking. I felt like I had been dipped in batter and dropped in the frying pan. So, right after the third quarter began I had to get out of there or throw up all over the Cov Cath fans sitting around my sister and I. Taylor, I'm sorry I didn't make it through the whole game; but really who expected to be sitting in 90+ temps watching high school football? I wish I would have had the funeral home fan concession this afternoon. I probably could have put a good down payment on full body sculpting.

This evening taught me a very important lesson on this journey - hydrate, hydrate, hydrate. I thought I was doing a good job of getting all my water. Apparently not. Lesson learned today was make sure I drink more water than I think I really need and the only thing hot fat is good for is frying chicken, okra or fried pies, all which are off my diet. Weigh in on Sunday. Hoping for a good result. Thanks Bethenny Frankel for my early wake up call. If you could only prepare a nutritious breakfast as well - - a fat girl can dream.