Challenges Past and Present

More of the ongoing saga aptly named 'Journey to Thin'. Blah, blah inches down from diet alone and I feel great. More energy than I thought I'd ever have again, but why is this beach ball still in my tummy. Somewhere along the lines my tummy decided to move up from the area where it had been housed forever into the 'pregnant-only' zone under my chest. Unfortunately my chest decided to drop at the same time to join the belly in an oh-so-confusing mish-mash of what's what. So, not much I can do about the chest without surgery, so I invested in some good bras - stay up, damn you.

But the belly...

Well, as it has shrunk there has been a wee bit of downward movement. Not as much as I'd like though. So, even though I'm still working on WW goal I feel that my rib cage, waist and abdominal measurements really need a good kick in the butt.

I began strength training in late November and am really enjoying it. The cardio aspect of exercise almost seems like a punishment though. Last night was strength, but I just couldn't bring myself to jog in place or walk the stairs for 20 minutes of cardio afterwards, regardless of benefit - apparently your hemoglobins are spent from ST and this forces the cardio to burn fat instead of muscle.

So, onto the competitions. It seems all of the competitions I join are tied into trying to make exercise a regular part of my life. Why should the latest one be any different.

Octoberbest: a 12-week challenge proposed by Kim in July. This was housed in Sparks and I constantly tried to get in 150 hours per week of activity. I didn't always succeed, but I did enjoy several noon-time walks and began the C25K, but cold weather hit and that was that.

New Years Best: Following Octoberbest, some of the Sparks girls continued the tradition of weekly weigh-ins and support into the new year. I continued to report my weight, but didn't utilize the group as I had done in Octoberbest. Still, Sparks is a great resource and this challenge kept me connected.

Christmas Challenge: Simultaneous with New Years Best I joined a blogging challenge that Carolyn proposed. The Christmas challenge was to keep us all on track during the most challenging eating months of the year. These included Thanksgiving, Halloween and Christmas. She and Randi headed up a blogsphere support system and, with the 2 of them focusing on the gym I really spent a lot of time figuring out what I wanted to do in the arena of exercise. Tese two ladies really motivate me.

PnP: Not a challenge, but an on-line personal trainer. I joined PnP in November and focused on strength training. There was a challenge going on at the time, but being new I focused on my beginner routine and struggled with getting the cardio in. Now, there is a new challenge. Very simply, members pick a program and go to it. Report each week your compliance with food and exercise. So, since I don't want to report a non-compliance I need to do the right things. Oh, and as proof of our compliance, we sent pictures and measurements into Corrine and will re-take more at the end of the challenge. Pictures of front, back and side while dressed in shorts and a sports bra are always an eye opener. I just know I'm not ready to post them here yet. I'm hoping to receive as a reward for this competition a smaller waist, smaller bum, and bigger guns. Check out Dawn from the last challenge. Isn't this awesome! Crazy what 12 weeks will do.