Friday, February 29, 2008

Boot Camp

Thank G*d it's Friday! I haven't been able to say that in quite some time, because I'm an at-home mom with my kids, and frankly every day is sort of like a Friday and it loses it's luster - it's just ordinarily another day that ends in "y"! But, today I can say it with gusto, because it means I have two days off before I get my butt whooped again in Boot Camp. Yep, I said it, Boot Camp. Not the Armed Forces kind, but shoot - it feels like it. I joined Indy Adventure Boot Camp for Women with my friend Monica. It's M/W/F at 5:30 in the morning for one hour. Yes, I have a new get-up time of 4:40 am. Ewww. Going on week three of this hell I'm actually paying for! I never thought I'd see the day that I was in bed before the local news. Now I find myself crawling into bed when I put the kids down at 8:30!

Anyway, I'm really loving this Camp. The variety is awesome - we do lots of cardio in the forms of running, obstacle courses, and aerobics. We do weight training with our own dumbbells, every kind of muscle builder you can think of, and floor work like stretches and Pilate's. Every day there is something new to do, so the days are never the same. It's really making my 30 minute at-home treadmill workout look like a stroll through the park! I need to step that up a bit I think. A number 4 incline at 4.5 mph on my treadmill used to make me want to puke - but I'm feeling so much stronger now and it feels great to be able to get to the end of a workout and not want to fall on the floor and die! ha ha! My heart is happy for me too.

I said that I was trying to make better choices about getting heart healthy and stronger, this is just one way I've been changing my bad habits. Another is I have not had any soda in THREE weeks! I used to drink diet soda, but still, to give that up that artificial sweetener has made me crave sweets less. I've only been having water or decaf beverages (tea, coffee etc.). I actually don't even miss it! And lastly, I don't snack on anything after 7:30 pm. This has been pretty easy to do since I have been going to bed so early! Making these three big changes has been challenging and motivating. Losing weight is important, but strangely, this is not about the weight for me this time. It's about getting stronger and the rest is just falling into place.

My next step is to incorporate some much better meal habits. I have to try really hard to make myself eat breakfast in the morning. It's not something I was used to doing. I've been taking the 5 minutes it takes to make a dropped egg on whole grain toast, decaf coffee sans sugar but a splash of fat free vanilla creamer. Yesterday I forgot to eat breakfast though, and realized that when my hands were shaking around 11:00. That of course snowballed into eating something breakfast-like, then lunch around 2:30 and then I forgot to make myself some dinner after feeding the kids. Hubby had class until 8:00, so he wasn't home to have dinner with me and I just got busy. I remembered at 9:30 last night that I never heated up my Lean Cuisine for dinner, so I got up and slurped down a protein shake with some banana in it. I figured I'd better get something in me before sleep because Boot Camp comes early and there's no way I'm eating before that workout! See? I need serious help with mealtime structure sometimes! The sad part is, I know what I need to do, but it's such a challenge to do it sometimes. There's always things to be done for other people when you're a Mom, and you just kind of take a back seat to your own needs. Baby steps, I'm doing it....

I just keep reminding myself about the story of the Tortoise and the Hare. Or the Little Engine That Could. Or c'mon, like a typical woman, the way my butt looks in the mirror.... :) Gotta pull inspiration from all places you know!

5 comments:

Unknown said...

Looks like I can cook you some Eggs Benny now that you'll eat in the AM

Paul Brewer said...

Now you know what it's like to get up at O-dark-thirty. And yes, John does make good eggs and bacon.

Andrea said...

Mmmm, John makes the best Eggs Benny! -wiping drool from mouth-

Anonymous said...

Wow, you are my inspiration woman. No way I could get up that early!! Keep it up and you will be so happy with the way your body reacts!! I lost 20 lbs this time last year so I remember how it feels!!

Anonymous said...

Glad things are going great but I don't think I could wake up that early OMG --- I can hardly get up to get the kids ready for school! LOL But it sounds like a great program. You just shift your day to be more am focused! I'm more of a night owl because it's the only time for ME! LOL

Keep us posted - it sounds great!