Days 5 – 20: My Journey from Pudgy to "Perfect"

I know, I’ve been a very bad girl. No updates in 2 weeks :(. Well, I have been keeping track and here is how things have gone.

Days 5 & 6

Power 90 kicked my butt so bad earlier in the week that I decided to slow things down significantly. Instead of quitting altogether I decided to do the Great Abs Guaranteed video on Thursday and Friday both. I figured since the abs are muscles that recover very quickly that they could be exercised a couple days in a row exclusively so that the rest of my body could recover.

Days 7 & 8

Saturday was not a good day for exercise. My in-laws were coming over and I needed to get a lot of housework done before they showed up. So as much as I would have like to continue exercising that day I just couldn’t find a free moment to do it.

Sunday on the other hand was OK. I got up, had my breakfast and coffee, waited half an hour and then got to working out. I did the Slim-In-Six program again. If I’m going to get on a routine I’d better stick to it.

Days 9 & 10

Monday and Tuesday were just more of the same. My thighs and arms were feeling not quite as sore and I was getting the hang of the Slim-in-Six workout. The one part of the workout that I find difficult right now is the push-ups. At this point I’m barely able to do one without struggling. Debbie Siebers, the instructor, offers an alternative that you do what looks like a yoga inspired move to keep your body flat on the floor and just push your body weight up into the cobra position. It still works.

Days 11 & 12

Wednesday I was pressed for time because I was going to spend the day with my Mom. I worked out first thing in the morning after my husband left for work and before the girls woke up. It felt good and I was energized.

Thursday I ended up still at my mother’s house since we spent the night. It got too late Wednesday and mom didn’t want to let us leave. DH was none too happy. That’s a story for another day should I ever choose to share it.

Since I did not have my video I made to most of playing with Yeyda and mom. We did squats, used the exercise ball to do crunches and did a total upper body exercise using a gallon water jug. I saw this exercise in a Prevention magazine several years back. You and your exercise partner stand back to back, not necesarily touching but close, and pass a medicine ball back and forth. Say you start by passing the ball to your left and your partner turns to their right to grab it. Do 10 reps and then switch sides. Your arms, chest, obliques and abs all get a workout. If you stand in a slightly squatted position so do your legs.

Days 13 & 14

This Friday the 13th was truly a nightmare. I was depressed, upset and tired and didn’t have the energy to do anything. I forced myself to clean house and do laundry. Of course I took care of my girls, but other than that I couldn’t stop crying. That evening I gave the reason for my mood a piece of my mind so by Saturday I was feeling better.

The in-laws were coming over again on Saturday so I knew I’d be pressed for time getting my family fed, clean and ready. Somehow I was able to make time for my workout before I ate lunch. Actually, I did the Slim-in-Six workout while I cooked lunch for DH and DD1. It worked out pretty good. I had to find sensible places to pause during the workout so I could go check on the food. I kept my heartrate up by marching in place while I prepared their food.

Days 15 & 16

Sunday morning I woke up tired again, but there were things I needed to do before we went to church. Working out just didn’t make it’s way into the schedule. The good thing was the weather that afternoon was phenomenal and we went to a local outdoor mall for the afternoon. DD1 and I had been suffering from a serious case of Cabin Fever (which would have explained our recent crankiness). The long brisk walk in the sun was what we needed to release some endorphines and let our bodies create some vitamin D.

Monday my workout consisted of shopping at a breakneck pace. Lately, because my DH has been working on the house on the weekends we haven’t been able to go grocery or any kind of shopping for a while. Monday was the only day that I knew I’d have free and that the weather would be nice enough for the girls to be out in public with me. I packed lunch for all of us and took it to feed DH. Then we visited my sister-in-law at her coffee shop. She hadn’t seen the girls in weeks and was starting to miss them. It was nice because DD1 got to have a tea party and my sister-in-law offered to take DD1 home with her while I shopped. I jumped at the offer!

So I got to go to Kohl’s with DD2 sweetly sleeping in her car seat. She did wake up while I was there so I had to nurse her in the dressing room. It was nice to have some privacy while I nursed at a store. As far as clothes I was looking for shoes, trouser jeans and jackets. All I found that actually fit was a little black 3-button blazer with some cute detailing for $13.60. That was quite a deal since it was originally $68! Then it was off to Meijer to grocery shop. I knew exactly what I needed and went around the store as fast as I could to get done. By the time I was done my legs and back hurt and I was ready to go home.

Days 17 & 18

Tuesday was not a good day. I felt like a wet rag. It kind of felt like I was coming down with a cold. Needless to say I didn’t work out that day.

Wednesday I knew was going to be a crazy day. DH and the guys from work were going to an expo in Chicago on Thursday and we planned on spending the night at my mom’s since they are close to the turnpike. They figured it’d be better to drive the hour north to the toll road the night before instead of having to leave an hour earlier the next morning.

Anyway, I had laundry to finish, dishes to wash, clothes to pack and two little girls to get ready. After breakfast DD1 said she was tired so I let her go back to bed and I popped in the Slim-in-Six DVD. Half way through my workout I heard her talking to someone so I went to check on my DDs. DD1 was happily “reading” a book to DD2 whom had just awakend. What a sweet girl!

I had to workout barefoot because my athletic shoes, like all my shoes are now too small for me. The toes on my left foot get cramped and leave me in pain by the time I’m done. The workout helped me feel energized. I also noticed that I was able to do 8 girly pushups before I had to resort to the cobra move again. I was very happy about that.

Days 19 & 20

Thursday we were left with my mom and dad so we decided to go shopping to get out of the house. Dad has been laid-off and getting out of the house is good for him; it prevents him from getting too depressed. The walking served as my workout and I found some cute clothes for the girls at the Children’s Place outlet we went to. I found 2 dresses, one sweater, one onesie and a pair of tights for DD2 and a sweater and 3 shirts for DD1 for under $25.

Today, Friday, I woke up early to nurse DD2 and I couldn’t go back to sleep. Since the men had gotten home well after 2 am from their Chicago trip everyone else was still asleep (as they are now). I took the opportunity to do the Great Abs Guaranteed workout. Even though I don’t have the video I’ve done the workout so many times I still remember all the moves. Since I didn’t have a stop watch or a clock nearby I did between 15 and 20 reps of each of the seven exercises to comprise the 30 second intervals. The exercises in the workout are:
– Reverse Crunch
– Leg Lifts
– Bicycle
– Crunch
– Right Oblique Crunch
– Left Oblique Crunch
– Full Body Crunch

You have to do each exercise for 30 seconds and do the circuit twice.

Even though it doesn’t seem like I’ve lost any weight I feel stronger and more energized. We don’t have a scale at home so I rely on when we go to the doctor’s office for DD2’s checkups to weigh myself :-P. That’s not really a bad thing. Although I would like to have a scale. We just always forget to get one since it’s not on the top of our list of things to buy.