Hot damn! I managed a morning workout!
Daisy dog and I took a brisk 2-mile walk / sometimes jog around the 'hood after getting the nine-year-old to his bus. And then we returned home for some yoga and strength training. It feels FABULOUS to have this out of the way for the day.
In other news: Last night, I dreamt that we discovered that Daisy is actually a robot dog. And that she's trained for terror.
Explain that.
Wednesday, November 30, 2011
Monday, November 28, 2011
Project 40 to 41: Day 22
Chalk up another workout: 25 minutes of strength and flexibility work on the living room floor.
Tomorrow's plan: Hit the gym for some treadmill groovin'.
Tomorrow's plan: Hit the gym for some treadmill groovin'.
I had that one good workout... on Saturday... this weekend...
Confession time: Remember how I wrote how sick I felt? And how that was just A-OK because -- hey! -- you can still exercise when you have a head cold? Even Mayo Clinic says so!
I was just a little ray of workout sunshine that day, wasn't I?
Well, I kind of want to wrestle me for that. Or at least give myself a big, fat eye roll accompanied by a sneer. Actually, that's what I'm doing now.
When I started Project 40 to 41 not even one month ago, I was determined to exercise every. single. day. for one year. No matter what. I was my own, built-in cheerleader:
A day full of meetings? Exercise!
Traveling by car, by plane, by boat? Exercise!
All levels of disease? Exercise!
Well, I'm here to tell you that I have failed miserably.
Failed, I tell you. Miserably.
Don't think I don't feel immense guilt. Because I do. But last Wednesday night, as I sunk into my bed -- "for just a minute" -- with every sinus cavity in my head filled to capacity and my face wincing in pain with every swallow and a mountain of tissues and cough drops piled on my nightstand, I just couldn't force myself back up.
Ditto for Thursday.
I made that Thanksgiving dinner. I sucked down as much ibuprofen as necessary to swallow it down. And then I watched three episodes of Mad Men on Netflix back to back until I fell asleep.
And I felt bad about it. Sure, I did. Bad enough to do some stretches across my bed for five minutes and call it "yoga."
But not guilty enough to take a walk or throw in Wii Fit or -- God forbid -- actually drive to the gym.
So where does this leave me?
It leaves me with a goal unrealized. No matter what happens now, I can't say I exercised every single day of my 40th year. That sucks. But I'm not stopping now.
On Saturday, I had a fabulous workout at the gym. I cranked up the incline on the treadmill (I usually go at 0.0 -- so this is a big deal for me) and really worked those legs.
Last night, while we watched Elf, I did jumping jacks in one-minute intervals between core work on the mat. (Turns out jumping jacks? Crazy intense for me.)
Today I'm working all day, then heading to a meeting in Cannon Falls for the night. To get a workout in today, I'll have to do it late tonight, when I'm home. And I will.
Game back on.
I was just a little ray of workout sunshine that day, wasn't I?
Well, I kind of want to wrestle me for that. Or at least give myself a big, fat eye roll accompanied by a sneer. Actually, that's what I'm doing now.
When I started Project 40 to 41 not even one month ago, I was determined to exercise every. single. day. for one year. No matter what. I was my own, built-in cheerleader:
A day full of meetings? Exercise!
Traveling by car, by plane, by boat? Exercise!
All levels of disease? Exercise!
Well, I'm here to tell you that I have failed miserably.
Failed, I tell you. Miserably.
Don't think I don't feel immense guilt. Because I do. But last Wednesday night, as I sunk into my bed -- "for just a minute" -- with every sinus cavity in my head filled to capacity and my face wincing in pain with every swallow and a mountain of tissues and cough drops piled on my nightstand, I just couldn't force myself back up.
Ditto for Thursday.
I made that Thanksgiving dinner. I sucked down as much ibuprofen as necessary to swallow it down. And then I watched three episodes of Mad Men on Netflix back to back until I fell asleep.
And I felt bad about it. Sure, I did. Bad enough to do some stretches across my bed for five minutes and call it "yoga."
But not guilty enough to take a walk or throw in Wii Fit or -- God forbid -- actually drive to the gym.
So where does this leave me?
It leaves me with a goal unrealized. No matter what happens now, I can't say I exercised every single day of my 40th year. That sucks. But I'm not stopping now.
On Saturday, I had a fabulous workout at the gym. I cranked up the incline on the treadmill (I usually go at 0.0 -- so this is a big deal for me) and really worked those legs.
Last night, while we watched Elf, I did jumping jacks in one-minute intervals between core work on the mat. (Turns out jumping jacks? Crazy intense for me.)
Today I'm working all day, then heading to a meeting in Cannon Falls for the night. To get a workout in today, I'll have to do it late tonight, when I'm home. And I will.
Game back on.
Monday, November 21, 2011
Tonight at dinner...
"I'm sorry your throat still hurts, Mom."
"That's OK," I whisper.
"At school, Sophie and Logan have strep throat. They sit right next to me."
Please no. Please no. Please no. Please no.
"That's OK," I whisper.
"At school, Sophie and Logan have strep throat. They sit right next to me."
Please no. Please no. Please no. Please no.
Project 40 to 41: Day 15
I'm officially sick. Sore throat. Stuffy nose. Blah, blah, blah, etc., etc., etc.
The bad news: I'm officially sick. The good news: That doesn't mean I have to take an all-out break from the Project.
Protest if you want, but it's true. Here's something I wrote about a year and a half ago for one of my health information clients:
How do you know if you're too sick to exercise? Follow this rule of thumb: If your symptoms are "above the neck" — such as runny or stuffy nose, sneezing, or sore throat — exercise is okay. If your symptoms are "below the neck" — such as chest congestion or tightness, hacking cough, or upset stomach — postpone your workout. Also, don't exercise if you have a fever, fatigue or widespread muscle aches. [Source: MayoClinic.com, Exercise and illness: Should you exercise when you're sick? February 2, 2009. www.mayoclinic.com/health/exercise/AN01097.]
So I'll keep at it. But I will slow down a bit. Yesterday's 45-minute aerobic session might've been pushing it. Today I'll focus on strength and flexibility.
In other news, I received this message in my inbox last week from a Jen's World reader:
Your column reminded me about myself 5 years ago, when I discovered I was gaining weight (all around my belly ) with no good reason nor any diet or exercise change in my daily routine. When I checked with my doctor, she said: You are 40, and from now on you have to exercise every-single-day of your life just to keep your current weight... Period.
So I started Zumba. I am not a sporty person, but this is not exercising, it is having a party! Probably what I love more about this exercise is the level of energy I've got! I am alternating with little weight lifting because at 40 I also started menopause (hopefully you still have years before menopause!) and I feel very good about myself.
Give Zumba a chance!
-- Angelica
I've tried Zumba before -- once. And then I decided I should probably stick to running. Despite how I love to dance, the choreographed moves of Zumba seemed above my ability. Plus, the studio at my gym has these big wall mirrors, which is just embarrassing. Still: My exercise variety IS lacking. Maybe I'll give Zumba another shot when I get bored.
The bad news: I'm officially sick. The good news: That doesn't mean I have to take an all-out break from the Project.
Protest if you want, but it's true. Here's something I wrote about a year and a half ago for one of my health information clients:
How do you know if you're too sick to exercise? Follow this rule of thumb: If your symptoms are "above the neck" — such as runny or stuffy nose, sneezing, or sore throat — exercise is okay. If your symptoms are "below the neck" — such as chest congestion or tightness, hacking cough, or upset stomach — postpone your workout. Also, don't exercise if you have a fever, fatigue or widespread muscle aches. [Source: MayoClinic.com, Exercise and illness: Should you exercise when you're sick? February 2, 2009. www.mayoclinic.com/health/exercise/AN01097.]
So I'll keep at it. But I will slow down a bit. Yesterday's 45-minute aerobic session might've been pushing it. Today I'll focus on strength and flexibility.
In other news, I received this message in my inbox last week from a Jen's World reader:
Your column reminded me about myself 5 years ago, when I discovered I was gaining weight (all around my belly ) with no good reason nor any diet or exercise change in my daily routine. When I checked with my doctor, she said: You are 40, and from now on you have to exercise every-single-day of your life just to keep your current weight... Period.
So I started Zumba. I am not a sporty person, but this is not exercising, it is having a party! Probably what I love more about this exercise is the level of energy I've got! I am alternating with little weight lifting because at 40 I also started menopause (hopefully you still have years before menopause!) and I feel very good about myself.
Give Zumba a chance!
-- Angelica
I've tried Zumba before -- once. And then I decided I should probably stick to running. Despite how I love to dance, the choreographed moves of Zumba seemed above my ability. Plus, the studio at my gym has these big wall mirrors, which is just embarrassing. Still: My exercise variety IS lacking. Maybe I'll give Zumba another shot when I get bored.
Sunday, November 20, 2011
Project 40 to 41: Super Major Fail
OK, so here's the completely aggravating story of last night:
4 p.m.: "Twilight" with friends. (I will never, ever be able to drink out of a styrofoam cup again.)
6 p.m.: Dinner with the fam.
7 p.m.: Movie night with the 9-year-old while the 12-year-old stayed at a friend's.
9 p.m.: "OK, kiddo, I'll just lay with you for a few minutes before I get my workout in."
And that's it. That's my whole night.
I fell asleep and broke my streak!
arg-arg-arg-arg-arg. I was so angry when I woke up this morning. I was also coughing and wincing every time I swallowed--and talking liking the sexier, huskier-voiced version of me. (But definitely not looking like it.)
So, yeah. Day 14 was a wash. But I'm not going to beat myself up too much about it because, clearly, my body needed the sleep.
But it also needs exercise. So today, I'm making up for that missed workout by getting in a full 60 minutes. And I'm starting in a few minutes so I can get it in AND get that full night's sleep I need.
(Still. ARGH. ARGH. ARGH.)
4 p.m.: "Twilight" with friends. (I will never, ever be able to drink out of a styrofoam cup again.)
6 p.m.: Dinner with the fam.
7 p.m.: Movie night with the 9-year-old while the 12-year-old stayed at a friend's.
9 p.m.: "OK, kiddo, I'll just lay with you for a few minutes before I get my workout in."
And that's it. That's my whole night.
I fell asleep and broke my streak!
arg-arg-arg-arg-arg. I was so angry when I woke up this morning. I was also coughing and wincing every time I swallowed--and talking liking the sexier, huskier-voiced version of me. (But definitely not looking like it.)
So, yeah. Day 14 was a wash. But I'm not going to beat myself up too much about it because, clearly, my body needed the sleep.
But it also needs exercise. So today, I'm making up for that missed workout by getting in a full 60 minutes. And I'm starting in a few minutes so I can get it in AND get that full night's sleep I need.
(Still. ARGH. ARGH. ARGH.)
Saturday, November 19, 2011
Project 40 to 41: The conversation that started it all
For my 40th birthday, my sisters and their families came down to celebrate with me. We danced. We played cards. We held ruckus, kid-centric dinners in my too-small dining room.
And we had the conversation that made me write this Jen's World column.
If broadcasting the details of my muffin top to 30,000-plus newspaper readers wasn't enough, my family had to take it to the next level. When my friend Kelly posted the link to this column on her Facebook page, the resulting comments looked like this:
[My mom] Jenny didn't mention Amy's comment about her stomach looking like a butt.
22 hours ago · LikeUnlike
[My mom] Amy told me to write that.
22 hours ago · LikeUnlike
[Me] Real nice, guys. Real nice.
19 hours ago · LikeUnlike
[Kelly] Witch.
18 hours ago · UnlikeLike · You like this.
[Kelly] LOL!
18 hours ago · Like
And we had the conversation that made me write this Jen's World column.
If broadcasting the details of my muffin top to 30,000-plus newspaper readers wasn't enough, my family had to take it to the next level. When my friend Kelly posted the link to this column on her Facebook page, the resulting comments looked like this:
[My mom] Jenny didn't mention Amy's comment about her stomach looking like a butt.
22 hours ago · LikeUnlike
[My mom] Amy told me to write that.
22 hours ago · LikeUnlike
[Me] Real nice, guys. Real nice.
19 hours ago · LikeUnlike
[Kelly] Witch.
18 hours ago · UnlikeLike · You like this.
[Kelly] LOL!
18 hours ago · Like
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