Merry Christmas to me Part 2

This time it's not something I got in the mail, but I bought it from a friend and neighbor for real cheap and I wanted one for so long: my very first treadmill. 

YEAH baby!!! I'm so thrilled I got it as days are getting really shorter and it's not always easy to fit my wort out during the day. Now, I can do it whenever I want, it doesn't matter if it's rains, it's 80F or below 20F, I will be able to get my daily miles done no matter what. 

For now is sitting in the garage, which is fine with me. I sometimes sneak out there after putting the kids in bed and have at it! 

How cool is that??? A drink holder so I can have all I need handy. 

I'm pretty confident I will be able to manage my weight easily now. I've been using it almost every night since I got it and I must admit that I find a little bit more difficult running on a treadmill rather than the road, but I figure that if I keep at it, it will get easier once I get used to it.

The ONE Run

Isn't my daughter just darling watching all those runners go?? 

 I promoted this race before and yesterday was finally the day! It was lots of fun but today I totally paid the price of the fatigue. 

Still, it was totally worth it! 

This is me and hubby waiting for the race to start!

But let me tell you, I was tickled from Friday when I picked up my registration packet:

Of course, the packet contained my runner number (47), my personalized shirt that says "My Child is the ONE" and then lots of goodies from local sponsors like a bag from LuluLemons, an Autism Awareness bracelet, a clip holder from Chelco, tooth brush, tooth paste and floss from the local dentist, coupon for spa treatment, a beauty class and a night club coupon, plus free pass for the bowling alley and gift certificates along with soap, shampoo and facial creme samples.....even a pen and a drink holder.....JACK POT! 

My personal contribution was to crochet the medals that went to the winner. 

I created a small puzzle piece and I choose the colors green and blue as they are the colors of the school we were raising money for, the Emerald Coast Autism Center.

This is me running it!!

And this is how I looked after finish the whole 5K.....OMG!

Hubby even took a picture of my coming out of the port-a-potty, but I spare you that one! 

The things I'd do for this little guy!!

The nitty gritty

A couple of days ago I posted about my weight and my resolution in shredding some extra pounds and I was very pleased with the response I got from my post. 

Among the encouragements and the pats on my shoulders, I also got some very good ideas and few questions. 

My friend Krystal intelligently pointed out to take measurements of my body rather than focus only on my weight and I think that is a very smart idea. 

Last time I took measurements was a year and a half ago, so I guess it was about time!

So here you go, brace yourself! 

Bust: 38" 

Waist: 33" 

Hips: 43" 

Thigh: 24" 

Arm: 12" 

I basically gained 2 full inches in my middle section from last time and it was enough to bump me a size up! 

Grrrrrr. 

Also, I got requests about what kind of exercise I do or plan to do, so I thought I'd share some here. 

What I do every day is walking 10,000 step. I usually takes me about 45-60 minutes to do about 3 miles but I'm hoping to work my way up to 5 miles. For now I had to put a pin on running as I need very good running shoes that I can't afford and my shin splints are very painful. So, walking, power walking, is the best next thing. Now, the weather her it's been crazy raining and I do have 2 children to take care of, so I really have to cut my time out for it when hubby is home and it's not raining buckets. For the last week, I wasn't able to do it every day. Those are the times I wish I had a tread mill or an elliptical machine, so I can still get my cardio in, but it is what it is. 

 I also realized that even when I was fit and thin, I always had very weak arms, so weak that I was never good at doing push ups. I think in my best form, I was able to do 5 push ups. Pretty pathetic. Since I've been so lazy for so long, now it's even more pathetic. But I started working my arms with weights (that's why I took my arm measurement too) and little bit at the time I introduced my self to this routine. 

My idea here is not to get bulky, so I use 4 lb dumb bells. I'm able know to follow all the exercises except for the final push ups and I must confess that the leaning triceps extension make me cry all the time. But I bet if I do this routine once a week I will get there! 

 Also, there is this move that I do EVERY.SINGLE.DAY as soon as I wake up! It only take 30 seconds, it stretch my entire body and takes care of the "belly pouch". I've been seeing a big difference in my posture!

 

I also tried to join an abs challenge that consisted in 300 abs in 30 days.....I wasn't able to do even half of it that I felt too much pain, not to my abs as I was expecting, but to my back. Definitely not for me!! 

I'm not trying to say that the exercises where some how faulty, I'm just trying to make a point that there are a lot of routine and work outs out there but there is no-size-fits-all. The right exercises for you depend a lot on your shape and what you body can stand and I realize that for my abs I need to start from the very basic before getting in some fancy routine. Baby steps..... 

Next time, I will have more exercises to other body parts, those above are so far the things that I do and I've tried successfully!