Desktops

My Workout Buddy Gidget

Last night I cried during my workout.  During the last six minutes of the workout while I was trying with everything I had to bust out six dive bomber push-ups I collapsed onto the floor and sobbed.  My arms were jello, my back hurt, sweat was pouring in my eyes and I just sat there hunched over on my living room floor and breathed in the scent of my puppy with each ragged breath.  Of course there was my husband, Kennith, coming to the rescue with every positive thing a girl wants to hear at a moment like that, reassuring me that "Yes, working out and eating right is making a difference!  Just stay with it!"  A few deep breaths later and I stood up and finished up the last few minutes of my cool down.  We all know that losing weight isn't easy.  Not everyday is filled with unlimited amounts of motivation and optimism.  I know that I'm not always 100% positive in these posts but this is my journey in its entirety including the bad days.  I think its important to share not only our successes but also our failures if we are to hold ourselves completely accountable and that is one of my goals in keeping this blog.

On a different note I was sitting at my desk this morning and took a moment to really look at the things posted on the wall in front of me.  I thought I would share these with you because I think they are all relevant to this journey!  The two largest items on the wall are two posters put there by a previous tenant.  The first details a problem solving process:



IDENTIFY THE PROBLEM
What are some signs that are indicative of this problem?


LIST SOME POSSIBLE SOLUTIONS
What are the consequences associated with each of them?


IMPLEMENT THE BEST SOLUTION

EVALUATE THE OUTCOME
Did the solution work? If not, start the process again.  If so then CONGRATULATIONS!


The second poster is the acronym of STAR standing for:

STOP
THINK
ACT
RESPONSIBLY

The first item that I put on my wall is a poem by Emily Dickinson.  This poem really caught my attention when I came upon the first stanza some time a few months ago.  The poem is titled Hope.

Hope

Hope is the thing with feathers,

That perches in the soul,

And sings the tune -- without the words,

And never stops at all,

And sweetest in the gale is heard;

And sore must be the storm

That could abash the little bird

That kept so many warm.

I've heard it in the chilliest land,

And on the strangest sea;

Yet, never, in extremity,

It asked a crumb of me.

Emily Dickinson

One cannot forget the bright green HEATER sticker at the bottom that reminds me to turn off the heater under my desk before I leave for the day!  Then to the left of my poem, courtesy of Jaren, I have the Ultimate Butt Work Out posted so that if I have the time an inclination I have a workout ready for me!  The workout goes as follows: 

A. Front Lunges (ALT.)

B. Side Lunges - Holding Weights (ALT.)

C. Back Lunges - (ALT.)

D. One Legged Hip Lifts (L.R.)

E. Squats - Holding Weights

F. Side Leg Raises (R.L.)

G. Ste Ups Onto Bench

H. Curtsy Squat - Holding Weights (L.R.)

I. Plank - 60 Secs

J. Pushups

The worse part of this workout has to be the plank but when you do it you feel awesome about doing it!!  And last but not least - A wedding photo.  Now this wedding photo isn't posted to remind me of my big day but more so that I can see my starting point.  I look up at that picture and it reminds me of what I don't want to look like and where I am coming from.  

So how funny is it that I have all of this motivation and strategic advice all around me and I barely ever pay attention to it!  How often do we do that?  Miss some positive motivation in our lives because we are too busy going through the motions to take a second and focus on what is around us!  What little bits of motivation do you have around you throughout the day that you might not notice?  I'll tell you that last night after I got done crying all over my carpet I got a voicemail from my mom telling me all about how she had gone home and done 40 minutes of exercising.  You see while I was there this past weekend we turned one of her spare rooms into a workout studio complete with treadclimber, yoga area, and resistance bands.  I am so proud of my Mom for her hard work!  Hearing the excitement and satisfaction in her voice really helped get me out of the slump I had found myself in.  

After saying all of this I do have a confession to make.  I didn't make it through my work out tonight.  It was plyometrics and though I started out doing better than I had anticipated my head just wasn't in the game and I quit about with about 25 minutes to go.  I'm not proud of this and even tried putting in another dvd to make up the time but I just couldn't seem to get my body working.  Not to make excuses for myself but I think this mental slump has something to do with a medicine change.  You see a few months before my wedding I had a falling out with my best friend and it was about a week after that I went to the doctor and admitted to having some pretty bad mood swings and problems handling stress so she put me on an anti-depressant.  Its not something that I'm proud of but it has really helped me over the past few months.  Well two weeks ago I changed prescriptions and I don't think I've adjusted to the change just yet so I seem to be experiencing some dips in mood and motivation.  Hopefully this will equal out pretty soon!

Gidget offering her support...right under my feet!

So there you have it - Some desktop motivation and a ginger's confession of missing the mark!  On a positive note I did stay within my calorie count today.  Thanks to my husband for his support, my mom for her hard work and encouragement, and to you for holding me accountable.  Tomorrow is another day and I plan to kick butt!  Today my best wasn't what I wanted it to be but it was my best!