Fruit smoothies are my friend. Put in enough ice and it's almost like eating ice cream. It's a nice way to cool down in this steenkin' heat we're having. A major thunderstorm just went through here. It lasted all of ten minutes and didn't cool things down a bit. We're hearing of tornado warnings - never had one come close to us but they have hit the south end of town before. Today was upper body workout at the gym and I did stick with it through 45 minutes. Some exercises are easier than others and the machines are easier than the free weights. I'd like to be able to do all free weights, but I'm never sure that I'm doing the movements correctly and I'm not going to hire a trainer again. You'd think I'd be able to remember from before - but nope. I can do tri-kickbacks and bicep curls with free weights though. I couldn't stay for yoga this morning - it was haircut day. As always - I like the cut, not the style. Janice never seems to get it right but the cut is always good. Not like I have masses of hair to restyle.

I had to pick the hottest week of the year to start jogging. Sooooo typical of me. But here's the thing - I'm doing it. Body for Life says to do 20 minutes - I'm at about 16 - only because I can't judge how far I need to go at the speed I'm going to make 20 mintes. I need a new watch. Since I lost my fake Rolex I can't get interested in another watch. I loved that thing! Time to let go methinks. It ain't comin' back. I did 45 minutes of hard weights yesterday at the gym - probably not quite heavy enough - but I'll get those logistics worked out too. I don't want to hurt myself like I did when I was working with Tom - he had me going so big I hurt every day. The thing is - if I been able to keep my diet under control when I was working with him his plan would have worked for me.

Not a good idea to do yoga in the backyard. I thought it would be easy to do the Tibetan Rites outside where it's a bit cooler. Unfortunately, the grass isn't even and my yoga mat wouldn't lay flat - so doing the spins was a real challenge. The grass was also wet from dew...blah blah blah. Just didn't work. Won't be trying it again. Those yoga folk on tv who are always outside communing with nature have obviously got a better setup than I.

Poor Dexter is dying from the heat. He spends his day in front of a fan or downstairs where it's cool. He wants to go out when I do - but he just can't stand it. Reg went to a ballgame in Toronto last night - took the train. I took Dex with me on both trips to the train station just so he could get some a/c relief. I doubt that we'll ever install a/c in the house. The fans are fine and it really isn't environmentally friendly. That's what I keep telling myself at any rate.

Weekend

What a weekend. It was like August for heat. 27C Saturday and 33C Sunday - add the humidity and we were baked! Sometimes I wish I didn't work weekends, but I think the fact that I do makes me appreciate Monday more. It'll be hot again today, but it was so nice to go into the yard this morning and know that I could just sit there and not have to rush off somewhere. I was really feeling the stress on the weekend and as a consequence I made some bad food choices. I haven't been eating enough the last couple of weeks. My weight hasn't shifted at all - I'm doing more exercise and body finally had enough and told me to eat or else! I don't think it was telling me to overdose on watermelon and cacao/walnut fudge though. The raw food forum fitness challenge is for a 90 day period. I'm going to use those 90 days to step up my lifting program using Bill Phillips' Body for Life Plan. I know I'm not lifting heavy enough, and I've been telling myself that BodyPump is good enough. It really isn't. It's nice aerobic exercise but it doesn't cause any real muscle growth. So this morning I got out and did a 20 minute walk/jog/powerwalk/jog/walk trip - couldn't believe how far I can actually jog. Phillips says it's not how long you go - it's how hard you push yourself. I was PUSHING baby!! I'm determined to get this last poundage off. The first 100 pounds were relatively easy - I'm going to have to really work to make the rest come off.

Cats (Kittens)

Renee's cat had kittens last week. How I ever raised a child to be so irresponsible with animals as to not have them neutered is beyond me - but facts are facts and Yugi has babies. Of course Reg wants one. He misses our cats something awful, and there really isn't any reason why he can't have one. After all, I'm not the boss...LOL I suggested that since we are away at the lake so much in the summer he should get two - so they can keep each other company. We tried travelling Sam and Rachael to the lake for years and they just hated it, so I think they're better off left at home. It's not like we're gone for weeks - just two days usually. Dexter will hate the competition, but he'll be fine. He always got along with the other cats, although he did make Rachael's life miserable teasing her. So...in another 6 weeks or so we'll be welcoming two new creatures into our family. I'm hoping we can get a couple of females. Suggestions for names welcomed - although I don't think naming is necessarily a good thing until you've lived with them for a while.

Raw Food Fitness Challenge

This is a picture taken today that I'll use for my Fitness Challenge 'before' photo. I hope in 90 days I'm able to see a change in those arms! Oh yeah - and I wouldn't mind if the turkey neck were to disappear too. Today was the first day that I actually felt my triceps working during BodyPump - I think I finally got the form right. I'm pretty sure that's how I injured my shoulder - too much weight and wrong technique. It's good now - no more pain.

I'm wearing my pedometer everywhere again. I think the 10,000 step thing is good for me, and it has to be good for Dexter too. I'm finding that he has to get all his exercise in the morning. When I took him out for a walk last night it was like I was dragging him to his death. He's good for the first block and then he wants to lay down...he hates being over-heated. So - it's mornings for him from now until fall.

The fitness challenge has me pumped (lol) and I added about half an hour of free weights yesterday before my BodyFlow class. Have I become obsessed with exercise again? I don't know - I'm looking at it as self-improvement and all for the good. Most days I feel like the weight will never come off and I will never be fit - at the same time I feel myself getting stronger every day. Nick brought over a picture of Reg and I from his birthday party last August. I was 30 pounds heavier and I look like an 80 year old woman! I have to face reality. I DO look old. Good for me that I feel like 20 on the inside.

Tibetan Rites. Read about it on the raw food forum and did some research last night. Looks like something I need to be doing each morning. I tried it last night before fully reading the instructions and I tried to do each posture 21 times from the get go. That is SO like me! Dive in full tilt before looking for rocks. I'm about to do it again this morning - but this time I'll take it slow and build up.

It's looking like rain today which is probably a good thing. I fell asleep in the sun in the backyard yesterday and got one side of my face toasted. I love the sun. I love the way it makes me feel. It's really hard to be depressed when the sun is out.

I joined a 90 day fitness challenge recently that I plan to totally participate in. I've done this before - and given up long before the end, but I feel I'm in the right mindset now to give it my all. Dexter is happy because we're going for longer walks, and I'm getting a lot more books listened to on my mp3 player, so it's all good. I added weight to my bar in BodyPump yesterday - I was becoming a bit complacent with the amount I was using and the routine was becoming too easy. I need to stay away from the 'exercise ladies' because they're happy to go with really light weights and get through the hour without breaking a sweat. I moved my equipment to the other side of the room and went for the burn! I was soaked with sweat at the end of the hour, but I felt SO good. The best part of a gym workout for me is the sauna afterward. I take my audio book and sit for at least 15 minutes. I drink a litre of water while I'm blissing out...lol My food choices are better on days when I get intense about exercise - I'm not tempted to eat a lot of nuts or seeds. I've cut way back on oil too - I realize I was using way too much.

This photo reflects a loss of 110 pounds. Full body shot to come later. Somebody told me the other day that I look like I'm wearing a fat suit in my 'before' picture. That's how I felt too!