31 days of exercise... the end..??

No, it's not the end.  Although today is March 31st, and I officially have ended my 31 days of exercise, I'm not stopping now.

No, I wasn't perfect.  I missed a day or two.  And I didn't lose one stinkin' pound either.  BUT... I did accomplish a few things.

First off, I feel stronger.  I know I have gained some muscle which is good.  I also seem to have a bit more energy. Positive #2.  And, most importantly, I have gotten in the habit of exercise again, which was my main goal of trying to do it everyday for a month.  Exercise has become an important part of my day and I feel the benefits.  Although some days I didn't do too much (maybe 10 -15 mins on my exercise bike) at least I got into a routine and it is one I plan on continuing. 

One of the reasons I didn't push myself too hard, was that in the past I have gotten motivated to start an exercise program and did too much.  I usually injured myself which got me frustrated and I just gave up.  This time I made sure I didn't do too much too quickly so I stayed healthy.

Now April is here and I'm going to start changing my diet a bit on top of the exercise.  Maybe the two combined will help the weight loss begin.

So now I begin my quest for healthy recipes.  My goal is to cut out red meat and white flour.  I'd like to cut back on dairy, but CHEESE is my weakness.  I did pick up some Rice Milk at the store.  I actually like Rice Milk so that's not a big issue.

If any of you "foodies" out there have any easy, healthy recipes you'd like to share, I'd LOVE to hear from you!  I'm sure some of you have your "go-to" healthy recipe that you fall back on.  At least summer is coming with lots of fresh fruits and veggies available... and of course we can fire up the gas grill!  No more rich casseroles for this family for awhile!!

Guess I'll head over to Pinterest now and see what I might find....  here I go.

Basic Step....

Day 4 of  "31 days of exercise" and I'm starting to feel a bit sore.  Rather than do any sort of weight lifting or body sculpting, which I know would aggravate my tender muscles,  I opted for a "Basic Step" aerobic class at my local YMCA.   Holy cow.  "Basic" step sure didn't seem all that basic to me.  I thought I might pass out a couple of times.  Obviously my heart isn't used to pumping that hard.  I think I'll opt for a nice calm Yoga class tomorrow!   I see that "Basic Yoga" is on the calendar for tomorrow morning.  There's that "basic" word again...... Oh boy.

I hate exercise.

Yes, I truly do.  I hate exercise.  I stand in awe of the people who act like they genuinely like it.  I mean.. really?  You LIKE it???  WHY?   I'm only on Day 3 of my exercise challenge and I'm already whining.  I actually asked my husband to tell me that I'm fat and need to exercise to try and motivate me.  Of course he declined to do so.  Probably for fear that I would post "My husband just said I'm fat and need to exercise" as my Facebook status.  He's no dummy....

Today I dragged my grumpy, exercise hating butt out into my sunroom for 30 minutes of "Total Body Sculpt with Gilad".  Even the beautiful Gilad, telling me how proud he was that I was spending the next 30 minutes with him didn't make me happy to be there.  I glared at Gilad as I did my squats, lunges and bicep curls.  He didn't seem to mind.  Oh well... I'm just hoping that at some point in this 31 days, I'm going to find myself seeing the benefits of my dedication and feeling good about all this.  I'm just not there yet.  Nowhere near it.

Any of you exercise freaks have any tips for me?  Like tips on how to enjoy this process??  Please do share.  

Darn these storms.... Day 2

We had a little hailstorm here...

I'm such a weather geek.  When the weather gets nuts, I'm glued to the weather channel, or the local coverage... I can watch it for hours and hours and hours.   It's fascinating to me.  So there I sat, in my work-out clothes watching tv.  I should have been exercising, but I wasn't.  SO... for day 2 of my 31 days of exercise, I had to settle for a little yoga/stretching for my exercise today.  No going to the gym.  No "Faithful Workouts" cardio.  But at least I did something.  Tomorrow will HAVE to be some cardio.  Here's hoping the weather is better!!

The start of my own "March Madness"....

I was so ready.....

I'm not much of a basketball fan.  But I know all about "March Madness".  I know that true college basketball fans LOVE this time of year.  Me, not so much. But... I've decided to have my own "March Madness" in another way.  I'm going to challenge myself to 31 straight days of exercise.  I'm calling it "March Madness" because I'll probably be "Mad" by the end of the month.  No, I'll probably be mad ALL month because I am NOT a big fan of exercise.  Maybe things will change for me, but either way, I'm DOING THIS.  I'm going to blog about it to try and hold myself accountable.

So.. today... March 1st.  I looked on the YMCA class schedule and saw a Pilates class at 6:00pm.  I've never been to a Pilates class, but I decided that sounded like a good way to kick-off my month.  I carefully planned my day so that my schedule would be clear and I'd have no excuse but to make it to the class.  At 5:00, I put on my workout clothes and headed over to the gym with great anticipation of how GREAT I would feel after my first Pilates experience.  I've heard so many people RAVE about Pilates, so I was hopeful that I too would get the "bug".  I waltzed into the YMCA 15 mins early (rare for me), went into the room and was pleased to see I was the first one there.  I carefully picked out a Yoga mat that looked relatively clean (sometimes they can get yucky there at the Y) and chose a prime location to see the instructor clearly.  Then I sat on the mat and waited.  And waited.  And waited.  All alone in the exercise room.  At 6:05, realizing I was still alone, I went down to the reception desk and asked if they had cancelled the class for some reason.  The girl just looked at me stonefaced and pointed to a different room saying, "No it's not cancelled.. it's in THERE dummy."  (Ok, ok.. she didn't really say "dummy", I just heard that in my head.) -- Sure enough... I looked through the glass windows of the aerobics room to see it PACKED with people enjoying a nice Pilates class.  Too late for me to join in.  SERIOUSLY????   My first day of my new exercise regime and I had blown it!  Ugh.  So, I left.   But I DID get in some exercise.  Thankfully I have discovered "Faithful Workouts" which I dvr everyday.  So instead of Pilates today,  I did 30 minutes of aerobics in my sunroom with Michelle Spadafora.  Michelle started "Faithful Workouts" in 2008 but I've only recently discovered it.  It's a great blend of "great Christian music, energizing exercise, and inspiring quotes and scripture".   I always feel great after one of those workouts, inside and out!! 

If anyone wants to join me in the "March Madness"... let me know!  I need some accountability partners!!!!  Here's hoping I'm a size 6 by April!  (A girl can dream.)