Blood, Sweat, and Tears ... But Mostly Sweat ...

After completing a completely un-required (not a word, I know) workout that ended with me crying in the family room, I remembered, "Hey, I was supposed to post about my results from Insanity!"

Yes, most people do their thinking on the toilet or in the shower; I do my thinking (as a procrastination mechanism, I'm certain) during my workouts and when I'm supposed to be sleeping.

Anyhoodle, Tim and I finished our 60 days of pure terror on Sunday.  Most of you who have talked to me since then have asked, "So???  How was it?  Did it get any easier at the end?"

To which I reply and emphatic, "NO!"


At some point in one of the workouts Shaun T says (amidst his silly giggles and slip ups referring to body parts and their positions) something about how, as your endurance improves, you just push harder, so the workouts never really get "easier."  I suppose that's why even the "machines" in the videos start to drop like flies at the close of each workout.

So here I am, 3 days post-Insanity, and I'm still doing the workouts.  I don't really know what to do now.  I can't imagine not doing anything ... and we have the Peachtree Road Race coming up next week, so I don't want to quit cold turkey.  Tim and I are going to do another round after the Race, with the hopes of getting some super duper results.

But, for now, as promised, here are the results for round 1.

Finishing weight (after 2 weeks of Weight Watchers combined with Insanity workouts):
128.4 lbs

Waist: 28"
Hips: 35.5"
Left thigh: 22.5"
Right thing: 21.5"

Fit Test:

Switch kicks: 124 (started with 84)
Power jacks: 63 (started with 49)
Power knees: 120 (started with 92)
Power jumps: 51 (started with 20)
Globe jumps: 11 (started with 5)

Suicide jumps: 19 (started with 13)
Push-up jacks: 27 (started with 14)
Low plank obliques: 72 (started with 50)

Can I get a Hell, Yeah?!!

And here are some before and after pictures ... again, not the results I was hoping for, but I didn't really try as hard as I could have.  (But why work so hard if I can't enjoy a glass of wine or a cookie now and then??)

Before 133 lbs.

After 128 lbs.

Before

After

After

OK, so I still don't look like the chicks in the video.  But I can certainly see differences in my body.  My legs are much stronger (though I may need knee replacement surgery before I'm 40).  My stamina has increased.  My muscles can endure a lot more now than they could just 60 days ago.  We all know a tan makes everything look better. ;0) And I have sweated more than I thought I could.  Seriously ... when we finish a 55 minute workout, we look like we've run 5 miles in the 90 degree heat!  And we do it in the comfort of our air conditioning!!


I appreciate those of you who have asked about my "journey."  My close friends know I detest(ed) exercise.  I hate(d) to sweat.  But I cannot thank my hubs enough for talking me into doing this.  And I'm glad I didn't know what I was getting into -- or I probably wouldn't have done it.  I can't imagine someone jumping (literally) right into this one.  But it is by far the best workout I've ever done.

Moving backwards

Oh!  Forgot to post this for those people who read and ask ...

Week 7 Fit Test: Here's a link if you want to see what these exercises look like.  Pam the Blam shows you how it's done.

133.6 pounds (Yes, that's up ...)

Switch kicks: 123 (down from 126 last time)
Power jacks: 61
Power knees: 111
Power jumps: 45
Globe jumps: 10.5 (down from 11 last time)
Suicide jumps: 20
Push-up jacks: 24 (down from 25)
Low plank obliques: 60 (stayed the same)

Honestly, though, I don't see how I could do more of some of these.  I can only go so fast ...

I didn't do any measurements this time because I was too upset with my numbers that are down.

Or the weight that is up.

So I decided to jump back on the Weight Watchers bandwagon.

Upside is I get 9 activity points for a HIIT workout. :)  So I haven't delved into any of my extra points allowance yet since I started 4 days ago.  And I'm forcing myself not to get on the scale.

I know, Shaun T would scream at me for "dieting," but it's the only way I know.  I'm still makings use to eat lots of protein (egg whites with ricotta and chives this morning).  But I find that when I write my food down (and research proves this is true for almost everyone), I pay more attention to what I put in my mouth.

So Weight Watchers it is.  I miss the days of losing weight just working out or just dieting.

As Tim said yesterday, "Getting old sucks."

Not Among the Masses

I may be shot for this post.

But I'm going to post it anyway.

I finally finished Fifty Shades of Grey last night.  I say "finally" because I've been trying to read it for about a month or so now.

Yes, ladies, it took me more than 10 hours (gasp!) to read the first installment in the trilogy.  Not because I was sneaking away to be alone or because I wanted to read it by myself so no one would see me blushing.  But because I honestly didn't enjoy it.

I bought the book for my Kindle under false pretenses.  After reading all the rave reviews from my mommy friends, I was hoping for some good, what I prefer to call, mindless beach smut.  But this book goes above and beyond that.  The term "Mommy Porn" has been used loosely to describe it; I think that is a rough estimate of what falls between the overs of this one.  Being a modest, semi-private, Christian woman, I just couldn't get into this one.

I'm sure there is a story in there somewhere, but I couldn't get past all the dirty sex and F-bombs to find the story.

So there you go.  I will not be reading the 2nd and 3rd books.  I'm just not interested.  I don't care if Anastasia takes him back.  I don't care if they have a beautiful love story when its all over with.  I don't care who plays Christian or Ana in the movie (though i find it terribly difficult to imagine them actually making a MOVIE out of this ...).  I don't care why he is the way he is, where the scars came from, or why she didn't run for the hills the first time he opened that door.

And that's several hours of party planning I've missed and $9.99 I'll never get back.

Apparently there are others who agree with me ... for different reasons ...

Feel free to post your disagreements ... now ...

Blessings

Every year as June 6th rolls around, I find myself in a really grumpy mood.  Of course, I don't realize why the grump has washed over me.  I usually contribute it to a full moon or grouchy kids who are already bored with their summer vacation.  Or I may blame it on Tim's work schedule or my lack of direction/motivation or the fact that I'm so frustrated with not being able to find another teaching job.

Alas, I woke up this morning and Kendall announced, "Today is June 6th, Mommy."

She was, of course, reminding me that her 8th birthday is only 10 days away.

But all I heard was "June 6th."  And I was suddenly overwhelmed with sorrow.  Most of you know today is the anniversary (which I hate calling it because anniversaries are supposed to be happy ...) of my dad's death.  Yes, I still remember every second of that day.  I'm not sure those memories will ever fade.

But what does scare me is that other memories are fading -- I don't dream of him as much as I used to.  I remember what he looks like and what his voice sounds like, but somethings I can't remember.  And that makes me so sad.

How will I tell the kids about their grandpa if I can't remember every single bit of him?  How can I make then understand what a loving and caring man he was?  How can I make them understand his passions and his ambitions?  How will I ever be able to make them believe how much he loved them -- even Tanner, whom he never met?

After moping for an hour and thinking about how to talk to them about what I'm feeling, I instead decided to look at it a different way.

I am so blessed to have had a man like that as my daddy.  I am blessed to have videos of him with his voice, so I'll never forget.  I'm blessed he was there to walk me down the aisle and to dance with me at my wedding.  I'm blessed I was able to see him holding my first born.  I'm blessed to have heard (and read) the words telling me he was proud of me.  I'm blessed to have handwritten notes and photos of him so I'll never forget what he looked like.

And I can share all of those memories with my kids, his grand babies.  I hope that my older nieces know how blessed they are to have memories of him.  He adored his granddaughters.  And I know he would have given anything to laugh with his grandsons.

So instead of being sad today, I will instead hold onto these blessings.