My Weight Loss - Days 27-32

Been a while since my last update... sorry! Been busy!

So last Friday's weigh-in frustrated me. No weight loss or gain. zero, nada, nothing. What the heck?

I've continued to do Zumba and other dances. My ankles and my arches on my feet are really sore. Back when I used to run track in high school, I spent more time on the exercise bike than actually practicing. Apparently I am prone to chin splints and a tendency to have a quick flare-up of tendonitis in my feet. I ordered some new shoes today that had good reviews by those who teach or take Zumba classes. I think I need to also spend more time stretching. Stretching always feels so awesome anyway. :)

This last weekend I had a girl's night out and I was worried how awful I would do with calories between the meals out and all the drinking. But we ate at Cubanitas (Cuban food, of course) and I think the meal was probably more healthy than what I eat at home... and holy ish, it was good! I had Pollo Tropical which was grilled chicken in tropical juices and garlic. There was pineapple and mandarin oranges on top of the chicken. It came with some roasted vegetables (zucchini, yellow squash, carrots, peppers) and some yellow rice. I didn't eat a lot of the rice. I also ordered two black tiger shrimp on the side because they looked so amazing... and I am so glad I did. As far as the drinking... when you have a good 6 hours or so of drinking, there is nothing low calorie about it. I mostly drank red wine and mixed in a couple other specialty drinks. The key drink of the night was lots and lots of water. Made sure to order water everywhere we went and keep it full.

I decided that after girl's night I was going to try to go the rest of the Biggest Loser contest with no alcohol at all. So about 3-4 weeks. I need something to give me a good weight-loss boost and apparently my diet and working out aren't doing it. My mother-in-law said that she's going to do it with me! Let's see if one of us caves in first. :) We both really like wine.

Today I burned over 500 calories doing a 55 minute Brazilian dance. I bought this video on Amazon Instant: http://www.amazon.com/Brazilian-Dance-Workout-Vanessa-Isaac/dp/B000A59PQK

I liked it. The moves are a lot faster than Zumba... or maybe they just require more coordination? They show you the moves in half-tempo and then at tempo. I usually prefer workouts without the dance instruction, but with this one I needed the direction and they kept it fast enough that I didn't lose momentum like I had with other videos.

You'll have to let me know what you think if you try this video!

My Weight Loss - Day 25

Wow... I haven't really been paying much attention to how many days I've been working on this. Day 25!

Two days ago, Saturday, I ventured out of the house to an actual Zumba class with three other friends. It was my first hour-long session of Zumba. Holy cow! I sure got a workout, and I could feel it yesterday and some today. I burned 717 calories! It felt so great to have done it and it's true that any and all types of people are in these classes. No one is looking at you at all. We had men, women, really old, young, athletic, not athletic at all, high intensity, low intensity - you name it. So if you are too intimidated to join a class in your area... Do it! Or at least go watch a class to see how it is. Certainly can't hurt!

Today I found a new workout to do: http://youtu.be/lT09bryb0C4 I think this one had me sweating more than a lot of the other workouts and I like that it really focused on your core/mid-section. That's where the majority of my problems are.

So far it seems like I'm on track to hopefully lose more weight this week! I had a few things that I splurged on this weekend - some pizza and wine - but watching the calories is really keeping it all in check.

Hooray, Monday is almost over!

Kenny recommends...

Kenny mentioned the website www.vitis.com on the show this morning. You can sign up for free and they will send you their deal each day. The prices are awesome. And they teach you about the wines too!

Promo code for 10% discount: HOLIDAYS2011

Sign up. I just did and it was fast and painless. Mmmmm, wine! :)

The Blowfish Results are in...

In short, I think I would give it a 4 out of 5 stars.

I took the two effervescent tablets with water at 6 am today... after feeling like donkey balls when I woke up. I must say that I did get some pep in my step within a half-hour of taking the meds. I never drink anything carbonated, so that took a little getting used to... but it tasted pretty good. Almost like Sprite/7-Up.

It's 8:48 am right now, and I continue to not feel sleepy or like the aforementioned donkey balls. Head feels good. Everything is going to be okay!

The only gripe I have is that it hasn't taken care of my period cramps (sorry dudes). But it's not fair to judge that, because that isn't its purpose. It would just be a nice, added bonus.

I think I agree with Dr. Wider in that I wouldn't go spending a ton of money buying this stuff. For $1 per pack for the trial, I would say it's certainly worth trying. It helped get my ass to work this morning and here I sit:

Let's do this!

I received my "free" trial of Blowfish in the mail today! (it was actually $2 to have the two doses shipped)

I am a wine-drinker. I like to drink wine on work-nights and weekends alike. I tend to drink a bottle of wine on a weeknight... totally not hard to do. :)

So... I am about to put this stuff to the test. As you may have heard through Dr. Wider, she wouldn't spend the money to get it since it's basically just a cocktail of meds you may already take or have around your house. But, for $2, I figured why not!?

Tonight I have sacrificed myself for YOU - by drinking 1.5 bottles of wine... on a work night. (cuz I would have never done that on my own...)

Don't even look at my nasty fingernails with the chipped neon pink polish. I got that from my Secret Santa. And I have a bit of an oral fixation. (oh stop it!)

I will be back tomorrow to let you know how Blowfish works for me. Man, I am crossing my fingers. Got some major work to get done tomorrow.

Until then....

Your Bartender,  Kelly

FDA Approved Hangover Pill - Blowfish

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/the-buzz/post/for-all-your-holiday-party-needs-hangover-pill-approved-by-fda/2011/10/31/gIQAJKwVWO_blog.html

Monday Madness... What are your priorities?

We're upon another week, and Sunday nights are always my time to reflect on what is most important in the new week. I'm working on getting to what is more important personally... and to help me be more healthy. Hopefully all that will lead to me not dreading Sunday nights.

With a family consisting of a husband, 5 year old high-maintenance daughter and 3 year old crazy son, I am finding that my lifestyle needs to change. I drink wine all week like I am 24 and childless. I have been maxing myself out with work as if I don't have a husband and kids... and then I wonder why I am so stressed. Sunday nights I have breathing problems. My husband and I realized that if he gives me a massage on Sunday nights, the breathing issues are better. So, we've concluded that I have way too much stress.

Now it's time to put my knowledge into effect... I need to cut down the drinking, ramp up the working out and find some balance with the work I do during the day and the work I come home and spend doing all night. My kids are used to me working every night, and essentially seeing the back of my head always. It doesn't have to be like that. But I feel like I am not myself or I am neglecting things when I am away from my computer and don't have a glass of wine in hand. A problem, I know.

So, I wonder what you do to prioritize your life. What comes first, next... last? How do you keep a social/family/work life balance? Do you have Sunday night anxiety?

Wishing you a good week ahead...