Sunshine

5 years ago I began a full on assault on my weight “issue.” I was the ehaviest I had ever been at 40 lbs over my goal weight. It took me 6 months, but I lost the 40 lbs for a total of 4 dress sizes. I thought that was huge then.

A year ago I found myself with a 1 month old baby and more than just baby weight to lose. 90 lbs. 90 lbs was what I needed to lose to get to that goal weight of 4 years prior. Yikes. I remember when 40 lbs was insurmountable. It was rather discouraging.

I finally started losing weight when I started working. Makes sense. I was busier then I ever had been, and walking all over downtown Tampa every day. I noticed a difference right away. Well, now I am almost 5 months into my career and I am 30 lbs down. 5 years ago 30 lbs would have been huge. Now, it’s only one third of where I want to be. I still have 60 lbs to go to get to that goal weight.

I’m not trying to say that I am unhappy about the weight I have lost. I am really very pleased. I am down to pre-baby weight and almost down to what I weighed on my wedding day. I made it past my first goal (which was to get under the 200 lbs mark) and now I heading toward my second goal (the weight I was 5 years ago).

5 years ago 30 lbs was huge. Today, 30 lbs is ok. It’s all relative.

Week number one is done. Well, really it was a week and a half, but that’s because I realized towards the end of the week that i didn’t have all of the albums of the first artist. So it was really about ten days…but I digress…

Week:1

Band/Artist:Feist

Website:Feist

Albums:

Monarch (Lay Your Jewelled Head Down) – 1999 – Fun album, lots of soothing and catchy songs. I think I recognize some of these from other places, maybe from a movie soundtrack.

Let it Die – 2004 – Pretty good. One of my favorites is from this album.

Open Season – 2006 – This is an slbum of remixes. Normally, I’m not a fan of remixes, I like originals or covers but not remixes usually. This album was ok though. No crappy techno versions, so that’s a plus.

The Reminder – 2007 – This album is my favorite. The songs are upbeat and pleasant to listen to. The’re overpowering in anyway and when I listen to them, I want to sing along and wiggle a bit.

My Moon Man – 2007? – This album has three tracks, two are remixes of the same song. Not bad.

Discovered:When the new iPod nano-video came out, Feist was featured in the commercial. The song was 1234 from the album The Reminder. The song was kind of catchy and appealed to me from the beginning, so I sought more.

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Thoughts:I really enjoyed this past week (well 10 days). After the initial couple listen throughs, I had some immediate favorites. There will definitely be some songs added to my favorite playlist from now on.

Recommendation:Absolutely!

Favorites:

Monarch – Family
Monarch – Onliest
Monarch – Monarch
Let it Die – One Evening
Let it Die – Gatekeeper
The Reminder – Sea Lion
The Reminder – 1234

Yoga is a wonderful practice. In the past, I have enjoyed practicing yoga, especially when I am able to do it on a consistent basis. It is so beneficial to my body, with all of the aches and pains I deal with on a daily basis. There was one time, for about a month, where I had no pain due to my plantar faciitis (pain in the foot and heel associated with an inflamed tendon in the bottom of the foot), that was when I was doing yoga about four times a week. There was another time when my back pain had virtually disappeared, that was when I was doing yoga five times a week (and working out at the gym too).

I lost a great deal of my flexibility since having my son. Being pregnant messes with your joints. There is a chemical released in your system that loosens the cartilage in your body when you are pregnant. The main reason for that is to make it easier for your pelvis to expand when the baby comes out. Well, the chemical isn’t localized. I had a lot of issues with my ankles and my hips. They didn’t like to stay in their joints. I almost fell several times. Well, I still have those issues. My joints feel weakened and stiff. Yoga would help me immensely.

There is a yoga program on Oxygen network called Inhale. Steve Ross is the instructor. He is amazing. I love that program and won’t waste my time with others (except for practice on my own). I purchased his book some time ago, but it has been collecting dust on my shelf. One aspect about his method that I love is how rigorous it is. unfortunately, that also means I won’t be able to do all of it at first. I am so stiff and out of it, that I’ll have to take it easy for a while. But, hopefully, it won’t take long to get back into the swing of things.

So, Three times a week. That should be enough to ease me back into things while still making a difference. I have a tendency to go balls-to-the-wall when I start an exercise regimine, and I normally injure myself and have to stop. So, I’m going to start off slow and steady and build up my strength a bit before going full force. I am basically starting from scratch since I was out of shape before the pregnancy and that just made it worse. I think it is safe to say that I am in the worst shape of my life right now.