Hone my curves

I’ve always been striving to attain a healthy self-image, one that does NOT revolve around protruding hip bones, but around sassy girlcurves. Or when my self-esteem is in the shitter and all I can do is look at someone else and think how nice it would be to have their stomach or their arms or whatever. I do appreciate my body. I love how different I am, but sometimes, it’s difficult. And I hate that fact. That has to go.
My manifesto is to just try to be healthy, mentally and physically.

Ergo, I’m dusting off the yoga workout dvd, hopping back on the salad train and logging back onto The Daily Plate.

Hopefully it won’t be too much of a bumpy ride.

Which in itself is amazing for me.
I aim for twice a week and sometimes only make once. But that is just a sometimes now.
And I want/need to go.
As well as honing them there curves I’ve noticed my stress levels are dropping. They’re down to almost manageable levels now.
Another kilo and a half off too.
The good thing is that I am most certainly not on a diet of any form. I’m trying to be mindful of choices but if I want it, I have it. I just try to eat it in a controlled way.

I just got a Caribbean Style Stretch into Yoga DVD, so as soon as I figure out how to get my DVD player working, I’ll start using it!

I’ve been doing the odd “now that’s a good idea!” fun exercise shows I come across, and we’re outside taking walks twice as often, but damn… I’d really like to go swimming again. It’s been years. If only there wasn’t the issue of buying a bathing suit. That, I have to confess, is not one of my favorite tasks on the planet.

We’re also stocking up on much better snacks, I’m back on the V8 train, drinking lots of water & taking my vitamins. The scale has been my friend lately. Sometimes it even gives me a cheeky little wink. I’ll just keep plugging away.

Basically, I want to be stronger, leaner, and more tone. Overall better control of my body.So here’s what I’m going to do, more specifically…

1. Drink more water.
2. Snack less.
3. Exercise more(taebo, walking, running, hula-hooping, sit-ups whatever)
4. Stretch more.
5. Learn a type of dance.
6. Stop beating myself up for not being rail-thin.
7. Find and wear more clothes that compliment my body.

I not only fell off this wagon, but it ran over me and kept going down the road. The main culprits have been lack of exercise (I get out for walks, but I need to get the heart going faster & to actually break a sweat more often) and Markus bringing home evil, delicious treats that batter my self control. With all the combined evils, I think I’m probably back where I was this time last year.

This morning I was up early & started thinking about how I’ve been continually putting off another big push on this, so I flipped on the tv hoping to find something similar to the dance workouts I was following before surgery & the M channel shake-up. Lo and behold I found the new station had a bellydancing workout on. I sat there watching for a few minutes, then Isak shouted “Shake your booty, mommy!” (where did he learn that?) so I did. I shook my booty, and several other things as well.

I followed ‘Venus’ through half an hour of bellydance (Isak joined me, happily hopping back and forth, waving his arms, giggling and insisting that his hands were butterflies). It wasn’t anything I’d film and proudly display on youtube, but I feel an odd re-connect with my body, and I’d love to do it again (if I can manage to get up and shimmying at 7am).

Afterward Isak insisted I join him in his own favorite choreographic creation, the peanut butter dance, which nearly kills me every time I try to keep up with him, but definitely gets the heart rate up.

I returned to the gym on Monday after a good 3-4 week absence. December was wonderful but crazy busy and the gym didn’t seem like a priority.

In the short time that I didn’t go I noticed that my knee began to hurt.
On the AMT machine, as soon as I started moving I felt my knee muscles ache – but in a good way. It’s obviously an exercise that is necessary for my poor, overweight body!

We made it twice this week and this has got to be the minimum that I do.
The shocking thing for me now is that I think I’m enjoying it.
And I didn’t put on ant weight over the festive period…this is amazing considering the amount of cheese, prosecco and crisps that were consumed!

Ah, the post holiday, new year, whip cracking, scale slapping business. I fell off the conscious curve honing wagon a while back, and between lack of daily workouts and all those offers of Christmas goodies that I couldn’t refuse, I need to find some appetite reigns and an exercise crop.

Ideally I try to get out and walk whenever I can, but the weather is making it hard. The up side is that with all the extra layers and wading through several feet of snow, I’m expending twice the energy as before. Isak and I made it halfway around the lake today before the snow got so heavy we had to turn back, but two halves make a whole, do they not?

But really, really... I need to focus more. And to say no to marzipan on occasion.

Another thing I’m waaaaaaaay behind on (though it wasn’t my choice) is regular exercise. Now that I’m allowed to get back on the horse, they’ve taken the morning dance show I was doing off (and even if it was still on, my body clock is so messed up I wouldn’t even be awake for it – I have to start going to bed/getting up earlier again). I need to find something else. I’ve been taking walks, but motivation wanes when it’s cold and wet.

Today was supposed to be chilly and rainy, but it turned out to be warm and sunny – a beautiful fall day, so Isak and I went to the park and chased each other around in the leaves until we were pink cheeked and winded. It felt great. I need more of that stuff – YEAH!

Two trips to the gym this week and I enjoy the fact that I can see myself going further on the machines and at a higher resistance too.
I’ve lost another kilo too so that makes 4 in the last two months. Slow and steady but I can cope with that. I’m enjoying the stress busting properties of exercise very much.
Off for roasted vegetables now.
Keep honing….