The end of a challenge

While it isn't official I believe that Mark has won our 10% in 10 weeks challenge (this time!). He never did get around to choosing his prize so maybe I'll pick something for him (banana cream pie maybe-just to get ready for our NEXT challenge ;-P). It is so nice to see him looking a bit more like the guy I married, add to that the fact that most nights his snoring is basically non-existent & I'm not too sad about "losing" this round. Besides, can it really be losing if I got back into my jeans (that I'd "grown out of" in the last few months) in just a few short weeks?
Now, after all that foreshadowing I think you know what I'm about to say.


Round 2 is ON!


I still have quite a bit of "extra me" to let go of before I'm ready for summer (and since I get to go have a weekend in SoCal in early June I even have a deadline!) and Mark is actually getting more interested in getting himself healthier & more fit so this round will be a bit more focused.
Now~if you want to get in on this just leave a comment, let me know what your 10% is and what your prize will be if you accomplish it. It could be as simple as getting a well-deserved pedicure or as extravagant as a new Coach bag. Whatever it is, be sure to keep the thought of that reward in mind while you workout, make food choices & choose your daily activities. I find that knowing I will get something (besides looking & feeling great) out of my efforts it motivates me, maybe it'll work for you!

Oh, how the mighty have fallen

I began going to my early morning boot camp class again last week. I started it the first time in September of '09 & it was a BIG part of the 60 pound weight loss that I had in about six months spanning from then until March-April-ish of last year. I think we all know that at that point I plateaued & I also began being less diligent with my eating & workouts. No big surprise that through living like that for the rest of 2010 left me with a loss of some of my strength & endurance & a gain of about 20 pounds by the end of this January. Needless to say, I am NOT where I used to be.
I had a pretty big eye-opener on day 1 last week. We were doing some tricep push-ups (you lay on your side with your top hand basically up in your armpit & your bottom arm holding your shoulder-and then you push up. can't picture it? that's okay, it's hard to imagine even when you see someone doing it).

the infamous tricep push up

This is an exercise that I used to feel SO STRONG when I was doing it because I knew it was a hard one & I COULD DO IT!!! So, imagine my disappointment last Monday when those were not only SUPER hard again but I could barely even get going!
Anyway, I am not complaining. I am merely stating my desire to not only return to where I was before (strength, endurance, weight, size) but I want to SURPASS that place. I know that boot camp is a GREAT workout & I know that my challenge is my eating (possibly my hormones but I'm working on what I can control, you know?) so if you see me with french fries or pizza (or anything nasty!) in my mouth, punch me in the gut. Chances are I won't feel like finishing whatever nasty thing I was eating!
In closing, remember THIS post from May of last year? Yeah, that's just the tip of the iceberg as far as how AWESOME I'm going to look & feel in the coming months!