January Check in.

    Well, I've been sidetracked by some pain issues recently, and it seems I have middle aged mom's syndrome and need my gall bladder removed.   The surgery is next week, so hopefully I will be back in community center form about two weeks after that.
    Yes, I said community center!  I have decided to keep resume to the aqua class & tai chi class I love, and maybe one or two others a week, or not.
   That's because I think I can do the cardio thing with the Wii.  I still play racket sports, and love the bull dodging and cardio boxing on the latin dance disc. 
(The Latin Dance itself, um, awkward.  My hips catch instead of roll it seems.  I'll keep trying.)   The kids love mimicking the instructors too, so it's something I can do around Si...but will probably be more effective when he starts school.
   My big thing this week is I've started tracking my food on Sparkpeople.com again.    It's good to see where I'm doing well, and where I'm still a work in progress.   It's nice seeing the little report at the end of the day.  It's also motivation not to just sit down and randomly graze, because I have to quantify it later!
   Sure there's still a lot of "in progress" to consider.
1) Getting fiber intake back up to 25g a day. 
2)  Consistently getting 60g of protein a day
3) Drinking enough water
4) Getting a "real gym" membership eventually
5) Using more than the nutrition tracker on Sparkpeople

BUT, I am doing something, and that's definitely better than nothing.  I'm a hippo that's about 30lbs lighter than last year.  That's something to dance about.

the year in review

I would vote this year an overall success from the hippo fitness point of view.  We started this show in March, made regular trips to the gym and lost 35lbs by September, and even now, maintained through gym-free but outdoor active September and October, still maintained through kicked by life to the curb November, and only gained 3lbs back in Holiday Blitz December.
We got a Wii for Christmas, and I got a Latin dance fitness game with bull dodging I really enjoy.  I forsee a balance board and some additional fitness games coming in January, along with hopefully getting the hippo back in the water by February.  Cheers to 2011 and hoping for similar results in 2012!

The hippo mom has been a bit out of it lately.

      Somehow, November kicked my fitness oriented self to the curb.  Maybe it was having a kid in the hospital.  Maybe it was hosting national overeating day.  Maybe it was just the weather changing.
     My November fitness plan involved raking two houses yards twice each.  I guess if we count each day raking a yard as a weeks worth of exercise, I still made goal.  I definitely made it if you count the hours upon hours of shopping I put in at the end of November too.  I park in the back of lots, and carry bags instead of pushing carts out the store.  Surely that's something.
    December, with all it's candy, cookies, and another holiday food fest, or two, or three....isn't looking a lot better on the diet front.  On the up side, of the thirty five pounds I've lost, only three have come back to visit.
     On the exercise front, I'm toying with options. 
    I enjoy walking, especially if it's "crisp", not "Freezing."   The trick is to walk farther than Wal-Mart or Quick Trip.  Walking is free...except for what I spend at Wal-Mart or QT.   Si Guy and I get some playground time in to when the weather is okay.
    I do miss the community center, but money, gas, and kid schedules really mucked things up once we got back into school and sports.  I think this is the direction I may head back in, now that we're down to just basketball.
   Mr. Man's work offers a discounted membership at several places.  Only one is a couples deal though, and I just don't see too many hippos hanging out at Gold's Gym.  24 hour fitness looks fun, and has childcare, and doesn't have a monthly payment plan.   The other two, Jazzercise & Curves, are the closest to our home.  The thing with those is I'm not sure there's enough variety available in what they offer to keep this hippo happy.
   That's what brings me back to the community center.  I can do tai chi on Monday, and aqua aerobics on Tuesday, and try spin again if I ever feel masochistic.  So it really is coming down to convenience, or variety?  Which one is more important to keep me keeping at it?

Tiny Tot fitness

Today I didn't do any structured fitness activities, but Si Guy took me walking for about 2 miles.  One mile before lunch in the form of a "squirrel hunt", and another one after lunch in mall laps.  I checked on Google maps to be sure.  I did some using my weight as resistance climbing playground structures and lifted an approximately forty pound child several times during these outings as well.  While he was playing independently I snuck in some Tai Chi warm ups....so one doesn't have to be a gym rat to be active.  It was definitely fun this way!

Yoga

You Yoga.  Me.  owcha.  That sums out class today pretty well.  It serves me right.  My attendance of late has been well, sporadic.  Almost nonexistent.  I wasn't even really planning on going today.  I just had a moment of guilt.
"Hey, Si, wanna go to child watch today?"  (expecting his usual scream of NO!)
"Sure!  Chil-watch!  Yeah!"  (damn.)
So to yoga we went.  Today was a dog day. (oof.  I mean woof.)  More up and down dogs than I could count.  Thus I spent a lot of time in child and table...because this dog only goes down so many times.  On the plus side I did get to be a warrior princess.  I LOVE the warrior poses.

Si guy was ready by the time I got back.  We rewarded ourselves with an hour at the park.  Outside beats a sweaty studio anytime.

Judgement day is coming

To keep from an automatic 10% rate hike next year, Mr. M's insurance company is requiring a biometric profile....so they can legitimately raise our rates by classes instead.  In a way, that's what got this ball rolling...but I'm glad it did.
Even though there's no way I'll have a "passing" BMI or waist circumference, I'm going in the right direction and motivation is good.
My other numbers will probably all be okay.  They were last year, and I'm eating better and more active now than I was then.  How's the workout schedule going?
Fall has blown it to bits.  I still get to tai chi, most of the time.  I would like to get to aqua more, but at the moment am being thwarted by kid football, soccer, and before school activities.  Si Guy is willing to go to child watch occassionally, so yoga is kind of back in the picture. On the "unofficial" front though, I walk regularly to local stores, walk and play on the playground with my other kids during practices, and walk laps w/ Si at the football games...so I'm still doing something.  It's just a lot more outdoor something and less at the community center.  Come November, I'm sure that'll change.

The pool is open! The pool is open!

Finally.  Hyper-chlorination "just in case"  "even though we never had a problem" at my favorite community center is done.  So tomorrow, the hippo is hauling herself out of bed at 4:30am for a 5:45 aqua class.  Really.
I thought this on Monday afternoon about Tuesday morning too....but then there was the skating party.   Yes, the hippo mom skated, for about an hour.  So come Tuesday morning her body was saying, "I don't think so.  You exceeded your 500 calorie per workout limit.  Today is rebound day."  But tomorrow will be different.  Really.   I believe it so, so so it will be.