Oooooh, look at me -- still working out on a regular basis! It was a little bit of a struggle to get myself to the gym, but knowing how good I'd feel afterwards got me moving. And I did feel sooooo good after that workout!

I'm doing 15 minutes cardio and the rest weight training -- and I've already bumped up the weights on some exercises, and for others I'm noticing it's getting easier! Yay! My nemesis are lateral raises though! Ugh! Seeing some improvement, but not as much as I'd like!

And overall, I'm just feeling really good -- my back seems straighter, it's easier to get things off a high shelf, that sort of thing.

Terry Fox: Today is the 25th anniversary of the death of Terry Fox. Terry Fox is a Canadian icon for his Marathon of Hope -- he wanted to run across Canada to raise awareness for cancer, after losing a leg to bone cancer. You can read more here: Terry Fox's Legacy of Hope. He started his run on April 12th, but never finished it: on September 1st, he was forced to stop his run and afterwards it was discovered that the cancer had spread to his lungs. There's a Terry Fox run every year in September, and this morning I was thinking of participating. Don't know if my knee would hold out for a 10K walk though! If not this year, then I'd definitely want to do it next year!

My good friend, Jerri, has realized something -- and it's something I've been thinking about, too -- yes, people do want to lose weight and get fit, but we can't forget about the bigger picture and we mustn't spend the majority of our time focused on weight loss/getting fit.

In the Weight Loss Forum, Jerri writes:

It's strange that I really focused(obsessed) over losing weight for 2 years. All that got me was an extra 40 pounds.

And also:

I let other areas of my life slip - family time, my hobbies, finances, etc. It's time I take care of them for a while. My hobbies, family and being frugal will make me more active and actually put some joy/fun back into my life. This in turn will help the weight issue too... so it's a win-win.

It's all about having a *well-rounded* life; it's about everything in moderation, and about making yourself stop to smell the roses. If you find your life is full of counting this, counting that, to the point that it's what your life is *all* about, then it's time to step back and re-evaluate what's going on. Remember, you're more than a number on the scale and you're more than the sum of calories that you eat! LOL! If you've lost yourself, now is the time to go out and look for yourself!

Yay me! I went to the gym again -- a bit later than 6:30 AM this time, because I needed a bit extra sleep. Luckily, I have the luxury of making my own hours!

I had another great workout, and it worked out the soreness from Monday's workout -- oh, yeah, I was feeling Monday's workout yesterday! LOL! I absolutely love that I don't have to do the thinking or picking/choosing for my workouts! With all the other millions things I have to think about, having Paige do that thinking for me is helping me so much. I feel that I can concentrate more on just getting the workout done!

I still have to hold myself back though. I find that little drill-sergeant voice popping back up, "Come on, Suzanne, you can do it faster!" But I squished him like a little bug this morning!

And on a really positive note, I went to see a massage therapist and had her focus on the muscles in my shin and my quads, and let me tell you, several times this morning I realized I hadn't been thinking about my knee. It's starting to feel good! I'm cautiously optimistic that I can get back to normal -- I just have to remember to go SLOW!!

Have a great day!

Oh, yeah! I feel good - da da da da da da da -- I knew that I would -- da da da da da da da. Had my first total body/cardio workout (designed by none other than Paige!) and I feel great! Heck, I even got to the gym by 6:30 AM. *does the happy dance*

As I said Friday, I signed up at Plus One Active, and I'm finding it's exactly what I need. I need to track what I'm doing; I need someone to tell me what to do (only when it comes to exercise though! LOL! At all other times, don't tell me what to do! LOL!). It's even motivating to see a checkmark on the calendar that says that I did my workout! I also love the fact that I can write in feedback for each exercise!

Had a horrible day nutrition-wise yesterday! Have to get back on track because I definitely want my hard work to count for something!

Hope everybody had a great -- and active -- week-end!

Wednesday night I got serious about exercise. Real serious. Serious enough to spend some money! (Hey, that's a big deal for me! LOL!) But seriously, folks, lately I've been unmotivated. Injuries aside, I was starting to forget that I had a gym membership. The guilt of not working out was nowhere to be found. I'd think about working out, but the thought would just wither away and die of loneliness...

So, Wednesday night, I told myself enough fooling around and took a step that I'd been kickin' 'round my head for awhile. I signed up to use an online trainer -- and not just any trainer, but our own favorite trainer, Paige Waehner! Whoohoo! I signed up for her expertise through Plus One Active and I should be getting personalised workouts soon! Again -- whoohoo!

I really think this is what I need at this point. I was able to motivate myself at the beginning of the year, but the injuries just sidelined me -- and I slowly drifted out of the exercise habit. Fitness is a lifelong commitment and I know that I need to get back into the game or else I'm going to start gaining weight. I've been lucky that I've been maintaining, more or less. But, as most of us know, it's REAL easy to gain weight!

Okay, Paige, I'm ready! Bring it on! :-)

I seem to be feeling better -- I say "seem" because who knows what the heck my body is doing nowadays! I made a promise to myself that I will ease back into exercise. No long, long walks; no heavy weights, that sort of thing, for this week. It's not easy, let me tell you! I want to just jump back in!

I'm trying hard not to get discouraged, but it is really frustrating. I keep thinking that I'm going to get back into things and my knee is going to keep bothering me. URGGH!

LOL! Okay, not a very awe-inspiring post, eh? I think I'm PMSing as well! Feeling cranky, et al. And then I start thinking, "Well, nothing a good long walk won't fix!" But I don't want to go on a long walk. Oh, man, I'm hopeless today! LOL! But at least I can still laugh! Tomorrow is another day, right?

I was right on the money in my decision to go see a massage-therapist for my aches and pains. It probably saved me about 3 or 4 days of pain! I'm still a bit stiff and I want to be careful, but I'm feeling much better! I walked Tucker this morning, but put him on right-side just to make sure I don't do any more damage to my left side -- I think he's getting the hang of things!

Paige brought up a great point in her blog today -- Not Into The Gym Anymore:

This is an interesting topic because I think, too often, we get stuck in workout ruts without realizing how bored we are. Rather than move on to something new and different, many of us end up quitting thinking there's something wrong with us instead of with our workouts.

I'm finding that I need to keep things lively lately -- well, at least I would, if I wasn't injuring myself all the time! But, yes, I've been thinking of trying different workouts, different equipment, etc., just to spice things up!

I have to wish my sister a happy birthday! Happy birthday, Jo-Anne! Must. Resist. Urge. To. Post. "She's so old." Type. Of. Jokes...

It seems I've strained my bicep/shoulder -- I think from walking my dog (long story short: trying new method because he pulls a lot, he's a 70lb dog; well, you get the picture). It was a repetitive thing; it's not like anything was wrenched. I could also feel a slight tension in my neck the past couple of days. I worked on taking care of the bicep/shoulder yesterday, and made sure I didn't sleep on my left/injured side.

Bear with me; it gets better! Not!

So, I slept on my back and my right side last night to give my injured left side a break. I woke up this morning and seemed to be feeling good. I was still in bed when my 16lb black cat (Zeus) decided to use me as his own personal pillow and plopped down on my chest. Oof! That wasn't the bad part though! I lifted my head up to give him a kiss and -- CRI-I-I-I-CK! There went my neck! So now I'm sitting here with my left upper body in one gigantic muscle cramp! Talk about a pain in the neck! (pun intended!)

I made an appointment with a massage therapist at the local sports clinic. Needless to say, I can't wait!

On the bright side, I've had this eerie calm about food for the past couple of days. No cravings, and I have this desire to eat healthy foods! It's just really bizarre! I even had a small (read normal) portion of spaghetti last night -- and I was even hungry by 10:00 PM. Hungry; not "snacky". I'm *never* hungry when I eat pasta for supper because I eat so darn much of it! Weird, weird, weird -- but I hope it lasts!

Well, one pain went away and then a different one started. "If it ain't one thing it's another!" LOL! But I'm slowly working on it. It's incredibly frustrating, but I'm lucky it's such a small problem, in a way. Some people have to struggle with a heck of a lot more, that's for sure! So I can only imagine how frustrating it is, for example, if you've got a thyroid problem and you're trying to lose weight; I see that frequently on some forums. I guess we've just got to adjust and not let it get us down! I know, I know... Easier said than done, but it's better than letting your problems beat you. (Trying to sound motivational! Don't know if it's coming across that way! LOL! Definitely don't want it to sound condescending or trite!)

I tried on a skirt I bought last year and it was loose! Yay! So I have made *some* progress.

I'm going to go the gym this afternoon and do an upper body workout. I keep "guilting" myself that I should be going more often, but I do need to take care of my knee first.

Oh, and here's a nifty site as a gift to you for putting up with all my whining: Hormel Foods Knowledge - I espcially like their "All About Vegetables" and "All About Fruits" with information on how to select and prepare specific items (I couldn't remember how long to cook cauliflower the other day! Okay, stop laughing!! At least I was eating veggies!)

Saw this today and it got me laughing! It's a Calvin & Hobbes strip, that I call "How A Lot of Us View Exercise". All done tongue in cheek, of course, but lots of us do think that way! LOL! Have a great week-end, everybody!