And cut! That’s a wrap! January is over and gone and February is here. I can’t believe how quickly January sped by, I really can’t. Look how far we’ve come in only a month.

My predictions were right, unfortunately, and everyone at the Oliver house is still ill and down for the count. Hubby even has it now, too. I’m really sad that I had to sit out the entire last week of the fitness challenge. The number one goal was building a habit and every day that passes by without that habit is a crack in the wall. Ugh! The good news is that today I feel better than I have in many days, I think I’m on the other side of the hill headed up. This cold has totally sapped all my energy but today I felt a little more energetic and I hope that tomorrow or the next day I can feel up to eeking out a workout. I know that if I get back into that it will help me feel more energized.

Even so, I still accomplished SO. MUCH. this month.

I saw so much improvement in my energy and stamina throughout the day because of exercising and eating right. I felt SO. GOOD. And I know that now. And I see that. And I want that. So even though this challenge is over I need to, I WILL, continue working out and weighing in every Friday to measure my improvements.

I saw my muscles grow stronger as I had to increase the size of handweights and dig deeper into the exercises to get the same burn as at the beginning. I look at those two pound weights that I haven’t quite mastered yet and I think, “that’s a joke. I’m exercising with two pound weights.” And I want to see that number go up to 3. And 5. And 10. And so on. And I have to keep exercising and building muscle strength to see those weights get bigger and bigger.

I’ve seen my endurance and stamina increase during the workouts as I started out struggling to make it to the end of the workout, then was able to make it to the end more easily, and as I was able to push myself farther and farther than before each step of the way.

I’ve lost weight – not nearly as much as I’d hoped, but I got the ball rolling and I’ve learned that to lose a lot of weight I’m going to have to push myself farther and harder than I’d realized. I’ve lost six pounds this month. And I’m happy about that. But I want to see that number go up and up and watch the scale go down and down. I want to be able to feel more comfortable in my skin and feel more able to keep up with my kiddos when we play outside. I want to feel more attractive to my husband and not get so frustrated when I shop for clothes. I’ve realized that I’m going to have be more diligent and committed than what I’ve been in the past if that’s going to happen. It’s not going to happen by itself.

I’ve increased our healthy eating here around the house and cranked it up another notch above and beyond what it was. We already ate a lot of healthy things but we also ate a lot of unhealthy things. The kids and I would eat at Sonic at least once, or maybe twice a week. I think we ate at Sonic twice in the whole month of January. (And I didn’t get a soda either time.) We’d also order pizza one night during 3 out of every four weeks, and we only ordered twice in January. On the other hand we also joined a local organic produce co-op which increased our amount of fresh veggies in the house by a huge amount, and we swapped out of our other normal snack foods and grocery items for some healthier options. Clearly we have a little farther to go, but one step at a time, we’ll get there.

I’ve learned a lot. I’ve learned a lot about exercise and metabolism and body types, about healthy foods and ingredients, about calories and required daily amounts of proteins and carbs and fats and so on, about healthy cooking and new recipes. I’ve learned a lot about myself. I’ve learned a lot about what I can and cannot do. Or should I say that I’ve learned that I can do a whole lot and that I shouldn’t say “I can’t.” I could say more, but I might start crying all over the keyboard. I. Learned. A. Lot.

I’m really disappointed that I didn’t get to finish the challenge the way I wanted to. But I’m so happy that I did so well with it up to the point that I got sick. I know, now, that I can keep this up and I that I can do better than what I have been doing up to this point. I know, now, that I don’t have to make excuses and put exercise off and never get around to it. I know, now, that I don’t have to settle for this, I can do better. I know that if I don’t do something now, things WILL get worse. And I know, now, that I have it in me to do something about it.

Now, I want to know what you know. I don’t want to know about all the ways you failed, I want to know all the ways that you overcame those failures and all the ways that you succeeded. I want to know what you learned, and what you’re going to continue doing now that the challenge is over.

I also want to say a quick thanks – thanks for getting this going and doing this with me. I really enjoyed it. You gals rock for joining in on something you didn’t have to do because my husband challenged me to do it. Thanks, ladies!

My oh MY, how time flies, doesn’t it?? It seems like just the other day we were starting this journey and here we are at the end of the 4th week. So let’s catch up, shall we??

If you haven’t read the last couple of posts, I’ve been sick since Monday evening and I haven’t exercised since. It’s a real bummer. Really. I had worked out really hard for the few two night and then nada. I did manage to lose one more pound. It’s not a lot, but it’s one more pound toward my goal.

There are only two more days left in January, and since I’m mainly blogging “the day after” my last blog post for this will actually be on Monday. On Monday I’ll put our LAST linky for a monthly review/recap on how we’ve done with our goals.

But for now – how did THIS week go? I’m skipping the linky since I’m putting one up in a couple of days.. so leave a comment and let me know, and leave a link to your blog post if you have one.

By the looks of things, there’s a very good chance I’m going to be “finishing” this challenge with a cup of hot tea and warm blanket and an iv drip of cold medicine. Ugh! I really dislike being sick. I really, REALLY, dislike being sick when all my kids are, too. Needless to say, I haven’t seen any improvement on the sick front, and also, no improvement on the energy front.

But here’s what I HAVE been doing. I’ve been drinking plenty of water and hot green tea with honey. I haven’t eaten much, but I’ve been eating plenty of fresh vegetables and fruits, especially those with vitamin C. I have avoided munching on comfort foods, except for the pizza we ordered tonight so that I didn’t have to cook. ;0) I’ve been getting enough rest. I’ve managed to get up just enough to stay on top of some basic chores like loading the dishwasher so that the house doesn’t get overrun while I’m down for the count. It’s not impressive, but it’s what I’ve been doing.

Tomorrow, Friday morning, is supposed to be a weigh in day. I’ve only exercised 3 times this week. But then, I haven’t been overeating while I haven’t been exercising, so I likely haven’t put any weight back on. I suppose I’ll go ahead and weigh in, even though I haven’t done much. Hey, sometimes you lose a couple pounds just from being sick. Hehe. =P

How has YOUR exercise been going this week? I hope it’s better than mine. WOW! There’s only 3 more days left in January – can you believe it!!??

Day 22?? I haven’t blogged about exercising since DAY 22??!! OH. MY. WORD.

It all started on Sunday. I DID exercise Saturday night but I really laid around and enjoyed my day on Sunday, I didn’t blog at all. I figured I’d catch up on Monday. Monday… I don’t even really remember Monday. What did we do on Monday?! I know that we got all our school done, I read to the kids for an hour at bedtime, and I felt like I was coming down with something – which I was. I excercised that night anyway. Both of those nights I did the 30 Day Shred like a good little girl, even though I didn’t feel like it, even though I had no energy and no stamina.

And then there was no more “good little girl even though ____” exercising after that. Because Tuesday morning I DID wake up sick. And I am still sick. And I have not exercised for the last two nights because I really don’t have the energy – but more than that, I’ve got the kind of sick where you don’t really “care.” You know – “Oh, look, the kids are making a mess, Oh well…” or “Oh, look, it’s past their bed time, Oh well…” or “Oh, yeah, I really should exercise, but, Oh well…” Meh. I told my husband that my driving force with making sure I did NOT miss any days was my goal for a perfect record and with that out of the way and gone already, what can I say? I’m flaky that way. There was little resistance to the “I’m sick” excuse.

Anyhow… I haven’t yet decided if I will exercise tonight, or if Day 27 will be another “oh well” day. I mean, I SHOULD. But “they” say that you need to get your rest when you have a cold, right??

Right now, I’m off to read some more Boxcar Children to my kiddos, as much as my scratchy throat can handle anyway,.. and then I betcha I crash in bed and sleep like a baby. Or better than a baby. Or whatever.

And PLEASE. Do not use me as your motivation this week. Look elsewhere if you want “driving force,” this cold has sapped all of mine. Call up Jillian Michaels. I think her number is 1-800-KICK-BUTT. She’ll get you pointed in the right direction. Oh yes she will!

What a day this was! We were so very busy. We began our day bright and early, and after breakfast and getting ready we met up with some homeschooling friends for a fossil dig. We hung out with our friends and dug up some local fossils, ate a sack lunch and played outside for FOUR HOURS! (I even got a sunburn – in January!) After a brief nap we did chores and supper and then I had to run some errands to the next town over, including picking up my new glasses. I felt like I was just going and going and going all day long! But all in all it was a really GOOD day. I was exhausted though, my energy totally sapped. I drug through the first part of The 30 Day Shred and I cut out early. There’s Jillian saying, “Don’t quit on me now!” and I’m turning it off, skipping the third circuit. What can I say – I’m human.

The rundown for Day 22:

Activity: The 30 Day Shred, Level 1 – most of it
Activity Length: 15 minutes
Difficulty: You know, it’s REALLY hard to kick butt when you have no energy! And though I often feel energized by a good workout? Not so, not this time. I just needed sleep something fierce!
Tomorrow: 30 Day Shred – AGAIN!

If you’re just now finding this challenge, start here.

Ready for the last week? The very last week?? That’s right. Only one more week left!

So how did your third week go? Mine was full of ups and downs but I’m still going, and that’s what counts!

I did keep exercising, with the exception of the mishap. I didn’t start using the food diary again, and I still need to do that because it really does help me. And I think I lost a couple more pounds, too. I’m pretty sure. It’s kinda hard to tell on this old spring scale I have if it’s just a difference of a pound or two. I DID look at digital scales at Walmart tonight and I NEARLY bought one. I’m going to wait unti the next paycheck, though. In the meantime, I’ll just keep guessing. It will get obvious when the needle starts hovering around one 5lb increment lower instead of the previous one. In between, it gets a little “mushy.” I guess that’ll keep me from focusing too much on the numbers, huh? =P

All right my fellow exercisers – link up! Tell me how your week three went! And no hiding this time, okay? ;0) Let me know you’re still in this thing.