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Oh, for the love of kettlebells!

I hope that — for those of you who celebrate Valentine’s Day– February 14th was a day to cherish your loved ones; honor yourself; and spend time giving and receiving from the heart.

For me, Valentine’s Day in Hawaii also marked Lunar New Year! My favorite part of celebrating what is termed “Chinese New Year” in Hawaii is the Lion Dance.

Eating lots of treats used to be on the list, but now, I’m looking for more active ways to celebrate all holidays with my friends and family.

Which brings me to the next part of this blog- the “weigh in.” Really, my measurements have not been much different from week to week, so I’ve been eyeing the scale a lot more closely.

What I have noticed is that I’m finally at the point where I will know my weight based on how my clothes fit. Now that’s bordering on obsession. (My trainer would be so happy!)

There’s no significant difference in my weight and measurements from 2 weeks ago. (My trainer would be not so happy…)

At this rate, I’m not going to make it to 179. But remember my mottos:

Don’t Give Up!
and
It’s better to do a little bit of somethin’ than a whoooooole lot of nothin’!

So, “Happy Hearts Day!” Enjoy this season of aloha.

Please send me a comment below… your encouragement makes a huge difference in my attitude, behaviors and motivation!

It’s stats Sunday time.

I just finished 9 days of an Isagenix cleanse, so I was feeling pretty good. I had kettlebell practice with my trainer and my workout partner, and I’d been walking uphill with my 30-pound kid packed on my back, so I went into my office (aka the bathroom) to take my measurements and weigh in.

I’m a little disappointed:

I guess I shouldn’t be that disappointed; I did lose nearly 10 pounds! What is most exciting for me is that I lost an INCH on my hips! Woo hoo! I’ve had no progress in that area in weeks.

This leads me to believe that I did lose a significant amount of water during the cleanse, maybe 2 pounds. I’m not going to complain.

Next goal:  hit 179.

How about you?

Well, folks!

I did it my way, and it’s done… at least for the month of January.  I started the Isagenix Pre-Cleanse on January 15th and already felt like a failure by the 16th.

I scooped myself back up (or actually, scooped some more chocolate shake up into my plastic shaker) and made my own plan. It went something like this:

* Coffee first thing in the morning, with non-fat milk and splenda
* Cleanse drink at work
* Nuts or apple slices as a snack
* Coffee break
* Chocolate shake on the drive home
* Snack-sized dinner or chocolate shake for dinner

Sometimes the nuts or apple slices turned into a peanut butter and jelly sandwich on wheat. Usually those were workout days. Sometimes the snack-sized dinner wasn’t that small. But I did avoid all desserts, sodas and meaningless munching.

I actually began to enjoy my routine and am considering implementing some sort of “cleanse” activity into every week. Stay tuned for that.

From Amy Mac's website

Here is an interesting digitally-enhanced picture I saw at www.withamymac.com. It shows a woman at size 16 and at a size 4.

When I started this journey, I was wearing a size 16W. And that was in designer clothing. I’m comfortably wearing size 14s now.

I have no desire to be a size 4, but this does give me a good visual representation of what I can achieve with effort, exercise, and everything in moderation!

When I get down to half my former size (that would be size 8), maybe I can do this pic for real!

Leave me a comment, and see you soon!

I’ve completed 8 days of the 9-day Isagenix cleanse, and I’m happy with my results thus far. That’s saying a lot, since I tend to have a lot of negative thoughts running around.

I think the key to staying upbeat and making progress is that I modified the cleanse to meet my needs, versus modifying my needs to meet the cleanse.

Some purists may disagree with my approach; but it works for me.

Basically, I stuck to the 2 -days of cleanse and 5-days of shake + 1 meal model, with one major modification. I snacked.

If you recall from my last post, having a snack left me feeling guilty and almost like a failure. I decided to keep going anyway.

Then I resolved to have a small, healthy snack in between every shake or cleanse. The result was that I was eating or drinking something throughout the day.

My only slip-up was when I broke that pattern one night to have dinner with my family. I over-indulged, and you can see it in my weigh-ins:

I’m happy to report, though, I’m close to my end-of -January goal:

How are you doing with your goals? Please, leave me a message!

Hey, kettlepeeps!

Have you ever looked back at small pieces of your life and felt pretty good about it? I find that I usually don’t give myself kudos for small accomplishments, but today, I am.

I’m happy that I haven’t given up on myself in my quest to lose weight and gain healthy habits. I moved my goal date from October 30,2009 (with a 55lb loss) to June 30, 2010 (with a 70 pound loss) and I believe I will do it.

I’ve always lacked a sense of confidence (if you couldn’t tell) when it came to physical activity. I avoided competitive sports, even bowling, until I was well out of college.

I’ve always held at least two jobs, or a job and a side-job, which kept me perpetually running around. I “worked out,” but usually that meant a group class, like high impact aerobics, or my own mix of cardio and body weight training. I’ve only felt comfortable in my own skin with dance, or more specifically (non-competitive) hula.

I started and stopped Weight Watchers after moderate success. I really gave up on working out and meal planning when I was pregnant with my son.

Not surprisingly, these things took a toll on my overall health and well-being.

As of May 2009, I decided to take on something new, set a goal, and strive for it publicly.

I don’t have to be perfect, in fact, who is? But I can hold myself accountable and have some fun while I’m at it. Enter kettlebells.

I started training at FitPro Hawaii, and made some solid gains (or losses) over the past 8 months. It’s been a bumpy ride, and I’m back in the 190s, but I’m still progressing:

My new workout partner, Ty, and I have decided that we are going “ballistic.” To him, this means being able to hike up a mountain wearing a weight vest. For me, this means getting off my tush and making sure I do something, even a little thing, each and every day.

And, there’s friendly competition there. No, I’m not aiming to do as many push ups as he does. But I am working hard to be consistent and show up where I need to be, no complaints.

In 2010, I’m tackling my eating habits. It will be a challenge, Lord help me. But it can be done.

And you-- I’m really curious-- what are you leaving behind, and what are you looking forward to?

Leave me a comment! And thanks for joining me on this journey. Aloha!