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Sunday, October 14, 2012

A challenge for mom and I

So I have completely fallen off the bandwagon and gained back what little bit I had lost. Time to pick myself up and try again. Seems like that's all you can ever do in life.

I wish I had, at least to my mind, valid reasons for gaining the weight back. I don't though. I work nightshift and 4 10 hour shifts. Given how busy my job is I usually work closer to 11 hours a night and far too often (or so it feels) longer than that. Sure I work 4-10 hour shifts, but I spend one day of my weekends simply sleeping because I don't sleep well during the days. Basically I feel like I am in a perpetual state of exhaustion.

I need to do something though and I need to do it now. I don't feel good. I don't just mean how I perceive myself. Everyone has skinny and fat days, no matter what size pants they put on. I just mean physically I don't feel good. I have no energy, my back hurts, my knees hurt, and I can tell my blood pressure is high. Although the last one might be more due to my caffeine addiction than anything else. javajavajavajavajavajava

I also know my mom needs to get healthier as well.

So I issued a challenge to her and she has accepted.

Starting tomorrow, from 10/15/12-03/15/13 we are going to have a two-person challenge to see who can lose the largest percentage of body weight. What does the winner get? A new Coach purse. I am not meaning a "knock-off" from the Coach outlet store in Loveland, I am talking a brand-new latest style of your choice Coach purse. Yep. I made the stakes high.

Mom and I set a price limit of course (neither of us are insane enough to say "whichever one you want") and some other personal ground rules.

As for the losing weight part, I set no rules. I just want both of us to get healthy. As I put it to mom, it is however she wants to do it. Atkins, Ideal Protein, Weight Watchers, the cabbage diet (joking on that one!), or whatever.  We just need to do it and we both need motivation and accountability.

So how am I going to do it? Getting my sorry butt back to my gym and doing exercises I love, and counting calories. I still want to get better at running now that I know I can do it and it is something I need to prove to myself, but running still is NOT a passion of mine. I doubt it ever will be. I am still caught up in the novelty of the fact Sandy got me to run (and not completely hate it). Instead I will focus for now on the things I love to do. Yoga, swimming, and bellydance. While my gym doesn't offer bellydance classes, there are half a dozen troupes along the Front Range I can take classes with.

I realized the other day how much I miss bellydancing and the group I danced with in Casper. It is fun, a great workout, and so empowering. Yes it can be sexy...ok most of the time the dancing is sexy....but to feel and know how your body can move is an amazing thing. In fact I tried to go to a bellydance class this afternoon and it was cancelled. Oh well, off to find another!

Off to work on a calligraphy project and get it done so I can do other things in my limited free time....like dance!!

Oh, and the purse I want?