The results are in...

I can't believe how fast time is going by. The kids are already scheduling their first quarter parent/teacher conferences. That means two birthdays and Halloween are just around the corner. Which also means that Thanksgiving and Christmas are right around the corner.

Gasp!

Let's pretend I didn't just say that last comment.

Okay, back to my results. I had undertaken a new fitness goal beginning Aug. 1st. I measured myself, borrowed a weightlifting book, collected a ton of motivation and began. The first month I really stayed on the workout challenge. I got all the workouts in, both cardio and strength training. I could really feel that my motivation was faltering a bit. I saw definition and tone in my arms. The second month I was working more on the cardio side. I felt burned out on the weights. You see, I was reading a great book, so I wanted to spend my time doing more cardio where I can read at the same time. Then my dear Alison got mycoplasma pneumonia and erythema multiforme and my next week was, shall we say without workout, but with stress which may have the same net effect as actually spending time in the gym.

While my daughter was being diagnosed (difficult) and then healing (so sad because of the systemic allergic reaction she had to the bacteria that was infecting her), I realized that the little things really are very little. Dishes, laundry, kids' homework didn't cause me anywhere near the stress that they usually evoke. I was just so thankful to have her on the road to recovery. The next week I was completely wiped out, totally exhausted, understandably so. Then, I was back into the swing of things (workout wise) and I did the annual grass preparation. In the desert, you have to shave back, thatch, and rake up your grass before you plant new seed each fall. Something they don't advertise when they suck you into living here. Anyway, all that work, and dust and debris in the air, caused me to be super wheezy, so working out was out for the next few days. Now I'm feeling better and I wake up and it is Oct. 1st, my deadline.

Drum roll please.....

My weight was exactly the same as August 1st. In my defense, it was a great weigh- in on Aug 1st, I hadn't seen that number for months. It is probably what helped to get me inspired in the first place, hope. My measurements in 7 areas combined today were 9.5 inches fewer than they were on August 1st. I knew I was looking better, but the scale wasn't reflecting any of the positive changes that I was making. So diamonds, not bathroom scales, really are a girl's best friend.

Where do I go from here? Well, I can see how people (I) usually quit when they aren't seeing the results on the scale. I can also understand how people (I) get sidetracked as they put out the fires that are unexpectantly cropping up throughout the week, month, and year. And that is okay. Working out is like doing the dishes. It is something that needs to be done most of the time. It is fine to let it slide when other things become more important, but when it is said and done, you eventually need to get back there and "do the dishes." You know how much better you'll feel when they are done.

The honeymoon is over.

So the newness of the working out has faded, shall we say. I’ve made it a whole month. I am still going, but each visit to the gym is a little harder to psyche myself up for. When I get caught up in something new, it takes priority over everything else. Then when the newness wears off, I look around and finally see all the things that I’ve been neglecting. Ooops! So then my new priority become fixing the symptoms that have cropped up during the latest period of neglect. It’s a cycle of endless catchup-itis. Such is my life. ;-)

The struggle is learning to achieve balance with all my jobs, hobbies, and projects. So my new goal for the gym is 3 times a week. That is close to what I was doing, however, I have to cut the workout to 1 hour maximum. Too many things suffer when I spend longer than that amount of time. This will free up more time to blog, declutter and organize. I will lose more inches in the long term if I stay on the plan, than if I give it my all for 6 weeks and then dropout completely.

So that is where I am. Working out is a lifestyle not a short-term obsession. It is just something that needs to be done, so that a long healthy life is ahead of me.

Game on.

Things are finally getting back into order around here after our vacations. School starts this Monday. I can hardly believe that our summer break is over. I knew it would go fast.

I thought I’d share with you an alarming statistic that I read recently. Beginning at age 35, women start losing about 1% of muscle mass per year. Muscle burns more calories than fat, so if we are more “fat” than we used to be, we aren’t burning as many calories as we did when we were younger. I’ve been noticing that it is harder to lose weight, and harder to even maintain an even weight. I also see that my body composition is not what I would like it to be, meaning I look like I’ve had 3 kids. I’m going to be proactive and try to stop this nasty tendency its tracks. I’m taking on the mission of gaining muscle.

My first goal is to have 13 total body weight training sessions and 10 cardio sessions this month. I started on August 1st. So far I’ve done 2 of each. By October 1st, I have goals of losing inches on specific areas. I won’t scare you with the details. I will, however, share the totals lost on October 1st. I’m not going to be concerned with the scale because muscle weighs a lot, so my weight might not change much at first. Over time, the muscle will help burn off the fat eventually. I'm practicing delayed gratification.

I have been totally blown away by a friend who recently completely changed her body through diet and exercise. She even won 1st place in bikini in a big body building competition. She is a mom of two and was competing against 19 year-olds. The change was inspiring. That being said, I hope that by telling you all of my plans of transformation, it may help me stick with my plans. I’ve been know to completely forget about goals. It will be harder to forget it now that I’ve told you all. Wish me luck.