Confessions of a Dieter

Workout of the week: Recently I hiked up to Camp Hydaway. I love nature!

If you have been following my posts the past couple weeks you know that I have been doing a workout challenge with the weekend mom. Unfortunately, I am forced to take a break! :( I fractured my spine several years a go while I was working as a gymnastics coach. Since then, I have had a lot of problems with back pain, sciatica, and scoliosis (I did not have it until after my injury. I assume I was left with a curvature, because I did not stop moving like I was suppose to). This injury seems to be revisiting me this week after a fall (literally tripping over my own feet in the computer lab. Embarrassing! :'( ) Anyway, the pain is very severe. It is painful to even get out of bed. Not even my true back or my back brace seem to be helping much. So, no work outs right now. But I am still doing the rest of the challenge with my dorm. This week we cut out whites (bread, rice, and any other white carbs) in addition to sweets and soda. I must confess, I took a break from my diet yesterday. I have ate nothing but salads, sandwiches, and fruit for ten days, but yesterday I had sausage for breakfast and then went to bloop for frozen yogurt last night. I had my final presentation for one of my courses, yesterday, and I succumbed to stress eating! I am not proud of it, but yet at the same time I do not feel too guilty. Every one needs to enjoy themselves occasionally. Well, I am back to my diet, today. Going to get me some oatmeal for breakfast! I confess that I can't help wishing it was oatmeal cookies, instead!

First Week of Workout Challenge

One of my favorite things to do is hike, walk, or run through the mountain trails. It helps, when the view is nice!

So, last week I shared about my workout challenge with the weekend mom (see http://theweekendmom.wordpress.com/the-challenge/ ). I am working out every day for at least 45 minutes (with just a very light work out on Sundays, since it is my day of rest). In addition, my dorm happens to be having a biggest loser challenge. As part of the dorm challenge, I cut out sweets and sodas. So, did it help? Yes, it did!! I lost eight pounds during my first week of the challenge. It was hard to find time for my workouts in the midst of final projects, but spending time in the outdoors to get in shape made me calmer and more energized, when it came time to do my work. I am well on my way to reaching my goal weight!

Workout Challenge

So, I have seriously been neglecting this blog, because I have invested so much time in my ministry blog, Armed with Truth Ministries. This blog is still pretty special to me, because it introduced me to the blogging world. So, I have decided I will take the time to write a post on here once a week. I was sharing with a friend last week how I have struggled to lose weight this year despite my best attempts at eating well. I used to be a team-level gymnastics coach so it is frustrating that I let myself get out of shape last year, when I was on a sabbatical. My friend told me she is starting a new challenge on her blog to work out every day for forty-five minutes. Having a friend "to workout with" has always been very motivating for me so I gladly accepted the challenge! Yesterday, on the first day of the challenge I decided to go running/hiking in the wood trails of snow flex complex at my school (it is one of the few year round snow flex facilities in the world and its in the foothills of the Blue Ridge mountains with awesome trails). I went about four miles in all, because I was determined to run all the way to Camp Hydeaway to watch the sun set. It had rained a couple days before so I was covered in mud by the time I finished my run. Still, the view and the satisfaction of having finished such a challenging workout was worth all the hard work! Today, I was less motivated, but I am not one to back down from a challenge once I have accepted it. I worked out in my own home today for the sake of time. There is a wealth of exercise videos on hulu and youtube! One site I use a lot is Be Fit on youtube. They have new videos every week day for free. http://www.youtube.com/user/BeFit. After about 20 minutes, I decided to switch to my favorite Lecrae playlist and dance freestyle. As always, I end my workouts with crunches, isometric push-ups, and some yoga stretches.Working out does not have to be boring! Find out what works best for you. If any of you would like to join me in doing the Weekend mom challenge, you can check out the details at http://theweekendmom.wordpress.com/2013/04/06/a-new-challenge-the-beach-workout/

This was one of my favorite songs in the playlist I used in my workout earlier. Thanks to the other Lecrae fan who posted this!