posting week 12/12

[JulieL]

Hello Ladies!!! :)

First there shall be no talk of the sweets floating around right now, easily grasped by weary mommy hands, needing something to perk her up - darn it, it's Christmas time!

Second, we all know January 1st there will be a decline in the sweets floating around, enough said - we will get our act together soon ;)

My week actually went really well and I"m proud of my progress so far.

Monday - Pyramid Upper Body at gym - 1 hour

Tuesday - nada

Wednesday - nada

Thursday - Pyramid Lower Body at gym plus floor work & abs - 1 hour 25 min

Friday - nada

Saturday - Pyramid Upper Body up only & abs - 45 min

Sunday - Pyramid Lower Body down only, floor work, 150 walking lunges & abs 1 hour 10 min

So things are going great. My focus is to regain my strength that I lost, so fat burning and cardio aren't a focus here. If I got extra time in the week my goal is to thow in some cardio but havn't had the time yet. My weights are steadily going up and I'm quite happy with that. I hope to get my lower body up to it's previous capacity weight lifting wise in another 6-8 weeks. Then I'm gonna focus on endurance work and cardio (running).

That's me, how was your week? :)

[psophia17]

Does staying awake-ish while your toddler watches too much TV count as a workout? What about rolling over during a nap?

I've done both of those...and I think I took a walk last week...

Graham crackers are good diet food...alfredo sauce is dairy, right?

Yikes...

[chiqanita]

Been away for a little bit.
Having upper back/neck/arms issues.
Saw doc today, referring to chiropractor.

Last week I walked 3x, had my water, ate my fruit and veggies...and I think I had a caramel or two. Oh yeah, had some egg nog, too!

Most of the time I just sit still because of the pain in my back/neck/head. My doc thinks it's because of all the baby wrangling I do along with the arm exercises I started back in Nov. when I started the challenge. Anyway, I'm not getting any sleep due to the pain which is always worse at night.

Trying to care for my little fellas without actually carrying them is so hard because I love to pick them up and play with them.

I'm going to take it easy for a while until I get better. I am feeling stronger in the 'squishy belly' area so that's a big pick-me-up! I'll try to check in when I can.

Keep up the good work.

[crayonblue]

I did pretty well. DH set up my exercise bike and I've been biking daily. I have so much more energy! As for the food, I was planning to be in smaller pants by Christmas. HA!

[chiqanita]

UPDATE

Saw my PCP and a chiro. Both agree that I must refrain from all phys activities for this week and we'll see about next.

I can still stick to the other parts of my challenge: fruit, veggies and water...oh, and no treats in the house.

[jerseygirl07067]

WOW Julie, a great week for you!! :)

My week was not so great, I just couldn't get it together. I got in two days of cardio for about 30-40 minutes on the stationary bike but that was it. No Cathe Slow and Heavy which I was going to try and do during the week.

I have a love/hate relationship with this time of year. Great food, great parties, but way too busy for my taste. And we don't even have a large family or really that many things to buy!

This week will be better, it can't really be much worse I guess...

Oh, and of course I won't talk of any of the sweets floating around, since that's a given for all of us I'm sure...but I will talk about the sweets "flowing" around as we had a holiday potluck party on sunday night and splurged on one of those chocolate fountains.

Ecstasy, it was....

Ok, I am getting it in gear for this week, otherwise I may not fit in my new size 6 jeans for very long!!

Marcy

[kath68]

Bad week, have fallen off wagon. Dang cookies!

Workouts have not been happening, so I need to work on that. Food, well I am trying, sort of, to be better. This season is just so hard!

[psophia17]

You can do it, Kathy!

Personally, I am waiting for my fruit obsession to kick in...with DS, I ate fruit, and almost nothing else, for the whole 2nd trimester. I lost weight, for goodness sakes...

I'm hoping to keep my weight gain this time around, including during BF, from going crazy. I won't deprive myself or diet, by any means, but making healthy choices where I can is good for everyone.

In the meantime, pass some egg nog ;)

[nd93]

Julie - how long does it take for you to need to increase your weight? How many times per week/how many weeks?

I currently only do a pyramid class 1x/week at the gym so I know just doing once a week isn't going to really lead to improvement. If I don't get a video for Christmas I'm buying one myself, so I'm hoping to do weights more than 1x/week. So I'm just wondering how long it takes to see improvement!

Thanks!

[kath68]

You know, if I were to go through pregnancy and bf'ing again (I have no plans to), I would be better about the diet and exercise. It is so hard to come back from letting it all go. It would be so much better not to get to that place to begin with.

For me, I was barfing for the 1st 5 months, and eating right/exercise just didn't seem like an option. The smell of the gym made me hurl. Once I was over the worst of the nausea, my lung capacity was so far down that I had a hard time walking the hills in my neighborhood. Then I started getting ear infections and swelling. Ugh. I went from working out 5 days a week to slug, and couldn't get back. Once I started bf'ing, I craved carbs like you wouldn't believe. My appetite was crazy! And my ginormous overproducing breasts made exercise so difficult, let alone when could I find the time to drag my sleep-deprived body to the gym? It was a downward spiral, and here I am now 20 mos post partum just starting to pull myself out of it. If only I never let the slide happen, I wouldn't have these extra 30-ish pounds now. And then there is the virgin fat issue, which is another post. :)

In contrast, I see my pregnant friend, due in January, who has kept up with the treadmill throughout her pregnancy. Nothing too strenuous, but she does it consistently. Her swelling is minimal, her energy level is good, and her weight gain is under control. I am convinced it has made a tremendous difference to her, and will continue to do so.

So, Petra -- you go do that exercise! Keep on top of it! Feel good about it, even when it is hard. You can do this, and you will be so grateful you did. :) :) :)

[JulieL]

Well right now I'm targeting upper AND lower twice a week. The goal is one long workout 1 hour + long, one short workout 30 min + for upper and lower body (and whatever extra I can throw in for the week). So... if you are only doing an hour class (that's the norm isn't it?) 1 time a week that's about a third of the emphasis I am currently doing. But like I said I'm really trying to target my body hard right now in the strength department. My legs though are weights plus floor work so I"m not doing an hour of weights alone. Right now I'm seeing an the ability to go up in weights on many exercises every one to two weeks - that is very fast, but like I said I"m working up to past abilities, so I think my muscles have "muscle memory" and that's why I can go up so quickly. I hope this helps some.