Squat!!

Yesterday I started the 30 Day Squat Challenge that I found on Pinterest. It's funny... I was planning to start it at the beginning of May, but then yesterday I just decided to get out of my seat and do it.
You see, one of my biggest problems with getting into shape has always been putting it off. "I'm going to start on Monday", or "I'm going to start that next month". Part of it is my OCD of beginning things at the start of a week/month/year, but mostly it's just my way of putting shit off until tomorrow (and then some). After all, why put off until tomorrow what you can avoid doing entirely?

But not this, not now. I am 2 days into the 30 day squat challenge, and by God I will see it through. And it goes a little something like this:
Day 1 - 50 squats               Day 16 - Rest
Day 2 - 55 squats               Day 17 - 150 squats
Day 3 - 60 squats               Day 18 - 155 squats
Day 4 - Rest                       Day 19 - 160 squats
Day 5 - 70 squats               Day 20 - Rest
Day 6 - 75 squats               Day 21 - 180 squats
Day 7 - 80 squats               Day 22 - 185 squats
Day 8 - Rest                       Day 23 - 190 squats
Day 9 - 100 squats             Day 24 - Rest
Day 10 - 105 squats           Day 25 - 220 squats
Day 11 - 110 squats           Day 26 - 225 squats
Day 12 - Rest                     Day 27 - 230 squats
Day 13 - 130 squats           Day 28 - Rest
Day 14 - 135 squats           Day 29 - 240 squats
Day 15 - 140 squats           Day 30 - 250 squats

As long as my left knee holds out, by May 5th I should have thighs and an ass way more suitable for the shorts-wearing season that will be rapidly approaching.

Art Imagining Life

A few years ago Steve got me a really nice art kit for Christmas. I've always liked to doodle and sketch, so he went all out for me (as he is so want to do). It's in a big black case and has colored pencils, chalks, paints and an easel... all in all a very nice gift. One that I always felt was too professional for my skills and abilities (or lack there of).

Lately my insomnia has been kicking in, and after a few nights of 3 hours or less of sleep I start to feel creative. It's always been like that for me; back in high school my creativity would burst out in the form of poetry. Now though it seems to want to come out as drawings, and who am I to stifle my own creativity?

For whatever reason, all I could think about drawing recently was Florence, Italy. I've never been of course - I've never been anywhere. But I'd like to go some day, and until that day comes I'll keep dreaming about it. Since I couldn't draw it from memory I had to go off of a picture I found on Google.

Anyway, here's my most recent sketch art. I've never drawn something like this before, and I have to say I'm pretty proud of myself. I showed Steve the almost-finished product last night, and he was proud of me too. He said it makes him happy to see me indulging my creativity. :-)

Progress!!

It's been 8 weeks since I started my Lifestyle Overhaul, and I have nothing but good news to report! I have lost another 5 lbs (from last Sunday), and that brings the total to 28 lbs lost since January 6th. 28 motherf**king pounds!!!
I'm excited - can you tell? Hell, if I was any more excited there would be two of me. :-)

Of my 28 lbs lost, 20 have come off in the last 4 weeks alone, since I started The Juicing. I put that in bold letters because it's been such a remarkable thing for me that I feel, at this point, it deserves to be revered a bit. Unfortunately I'm not able to acheive the effect I would like, which would be for you to hear those words in your mind spoken by James Earl Jones. So be a dear and just imagine it that way, okay?

Anyway... The Juicing.
I did a juice fast (nothing but fresh vegetable/fruit juice and tea) for the first week, and since then I have had juice nearly every day for breakfast and lunch, and small, sensible dinners. I have been drinking coffee, tea, and decaf Nescafe quite freely, along with lots and lots of water. It's all been working out so well that I have actually become enthused by my prospects. Case in point, this morning I woke up at 5:17 and instead of rolling over and going back to sleep (which I easily could have done), I instead chose to get up and weigh myself because I was eager (yes, you read that right - EAGER) to see what the scale would show me.
Of course, it's not just the scale that I am getting hope and excitement from... I have lost enough weight in the right places that I have once again started to feel good about myself. I no longer dress/undress away from any and all reflective surfaces. I look in the mirror now and I can tell, every week, that I have lost weight and gained back a little bit more of my health and fitness. I am fitting into smaller jeans and shirts, and I feel so damn proud of that I could burst. And Steve can tell how well I'm doing, just by looking at me.

So here's to losing weight!
Here's to getting healthy!
Here's to finishing my coffee so I can scrub the vegetables and fruits I'm going to drink for breakfast! The juice may not taste as awesome as the blueberry pancakes Steve promised the girls for breakfast this morning, but I'll drink it anyway because it's worth it.

Juicing Update

A lot of people have been asking me how my juicing fast has been going, and I figure it's time I give y'all an update.

Monday through Thursday I did great. All juice, all day. I didn't drink any coffee, but I did drink a couple cups of green tea each day. Friday we were started running low on certain vegetables, so I started incorporating some solid foods back in. So for the last few days it's been juice for Breakfast and Lunch, and soup or fish for Dinner.

Since last Monday I have lost 8 lbs (that's a total of 16 since Jan 6th), my clothes are noticeably looser, and I have felt AMAZING. Seriously, I can't believe how good I felt having nothing but juice and water for days in a row. I won't say all the juices were delicious, because frankly, some weren't.
I was never hungry either; that honestly shocked me.

So that's the update. I am still drinking the juice, and so is Steve (let's give him a round of applause, shall we). He is also down 8 lbs since last Monday. And he and I both agree that we are going to keep at this a while longer. :-)

I Scream, you scream, we all scream for...

...JUICE?!
A friend of mine recently completed a 10 day, all juice detox. She drank nothing but freshly juiced vegetables and fruits. And water. Plenty of water.
She said the whole time that she felt great and had SO much energy, and after 10 days she lost 11 lbs and 7.5 inches. You can read about her adventure here...
http://juicingforahealthylife.blogspot.com/

After hearing how much she loved the whole experience, I decided to give it a try myself. What's more, Steve has decided to do it with me (though he'll likely do just a week). After multiple trips to various grocery stores this weekend we have bags and boxes and 2 fridge's stuffed to the gills with fruits & veggies. I spent this evening washing all of the vegetables that I will need for breakfast tomorrow. Below is the spread that Steve and I will be drinking.

 

 

I am really excited about trying this. After 4 weeks of lifestyle changing I have lost 8 lbs and am alcohol free. THAT hasn't been my reality since I was growing a human being in my stomache. I have traded beer for tea and bourbon for decaf Nescafe, and I drink over a gallon of water a day now. I have to pee ALL THE TIME, and every trip to the bathroom feels like a life or death emergency, but at least I'm sober.

Demolition Man... and Wife

This has been a very productive weekend for us. We had one goal, and one goal alone... Take down The Shanty.

 

The Shanty, as you can see below, is a tiny little shack that was on the corner of the property when Steve purchased it. The previous owner had built it to be a green house, but Steve and his father used it as a shelter from inclement weather back in the early days of the home construction. They even put in a wood burning cast iron stove. A stove which still stands sturdy (though rusty) and will make a kitchy addition to my future Spokane home's back deck. 

 

These pics are the before, during, and after shots...

 

 

Behold The Shanty! Complete with missing glass panels

and rotting tree stumps.

 

Steve, standing amidst the wreckage.

 

It's gone... ALL GONE!!

 

 

I am sitting here now, tired and sore as all get out. But I am SO glad that we tackled this project (finally!) and managed to get it done in one weekend. The plus side of course is that we have torn down the aesthetic abomination. The down side is that by tearing down the trashy shanty we opened up the corner of the yard facing the even trashier yard of the people behind us. Complete with rusted, broken swing set and a fire hazard lawn that has not been mowed in over 2 years. Sometimes when you win, you lose.

 

I will say that, in spite of the crazy body aches and moist chest wheeze I have as a result of two days hard labor, I am SO happy that we spent this weekend getting something big checked off our Get the Hell Out of Here checklist. So goodbye, Shanty. May you find renewed purpose in the 'mask wearing, knife wielding psycho' nightmare's of  youth.  

Progress!

It's Sunday once again, which means it's Weigh-In Day, or WID for short. I was tickled pink when I stepped on the scale and saw that I am down 5 lbs from last week. Add that to the 3 lbs down from the week before, and I have lost 8 lbs in the last two weeks. Pardon me a moment while I do a little happy dance...

*Weeee!!!*

Thank you.
I have not been the working-out champion like I wanted to be. I've only exercised twice in the last two weeks. So those lost pounds are solely due to not stuffing my face uncontrolably. :-)
I'm pretty proud of myself so far, not just because of losing 8 lbs. I've managed to make a 75% overhaul to my eating habits without cravings or problems. I still need to tackle the exercising, but I'm not berating myself for not doing so yet. I'm taking on one problem at a time, and I now have 8 lbs of progress to help keep me motivated. Baby steps.