Woohoo! "I FEEL GOOD!

da na na na na! I FEEL GOOD! da na na na na! So good! da da... So good! da da..." This song is just bursting through my ears!

I've had lots of "ups" in the past two days. Last night... my girls (both avid and "fit" swimmers) tried to get through Miss Jillian's workout. They copped out, stopped several times, one never finished and the other did it less than the "low impact/beginner" level. They seem to think (and seriously believe) I quit several times during my workouts. Think again, daughters of mine! I did it! This was an "up" for me... All I could think was "neener neener, neener!!!" ha ha! Me, who hasn't seriously exercised in a LONG time basically can outdo these two young things in an interval workout. Yay me!

Another up... [okay... first I have to tell you what was going on with me last night. Yes, I had gotten through two days of the 30 Day Shred. Remember... I was super sore. Well, last night, I was SO sore, that it took me quite a while to get up off the "throne." With all of this drinking water, I have to pee so much... and doing all them squats in Jillian's workout... uh... my thighs just kinda screamed at me and didn't want me to get back up. My girls thought this was the most hilarious thing they've ever seen (so much for my support system, huh?)! They cracked up all night long.]

This morning, I got up, felt much better, still a little burning, but hey! I was actually able to move. Got to working out... feelin' the burn, feelin' the burn... ew... it hurt a little... then the hurt started to feel GOOD. Mmmm... I was feelin' a good burn and able to say, "Hey! That wasn't so bad this time." I completely feel my endurance coming in. It feels good!

Then... my girls finally woke up. (My turn to laugh!) They were sore! Uh... hello! I had explained to them previously (the night before) that they should be careful and don't laugh at me too hard. Whelp, the oldest, who didn't actually quit last night, could barely get up from sitting this evening. Hip hip hooray! Huh! Mom's not so "old" after all... is she? I'm not happy they are hurting, mind you... I'm just happy that they can finally see the light and realize that I am not making this up.

I finally watched my TiVo of The Biggest Loser today. I should've had a box of tissue with me. It was the saddest, most heart-wrenching episode I've ever seen. I'm a sucker, and this is why I put off watching it anyway. Wow! I'm rooting for everyone, especially the big guy, Daniel. These people all have such sad and powerful stories. It is extremely inspirational. And in the end, 9 people had to go (each a set of a partnership). How sad is that?

I went out to eat tonight. I chose a "healthier" and smaller-portioned dish, ordered salad instead of a cream soup, only had small tastes of the appetizers, and didn't finish my coffee. I still felt completely satisfied. I also resisted the slight temptation to nibble of of other's plates {Bad habit, Lisa!} And I did it on my own, which is even better. It didn't kill me to do it. Wow! I didn't think I'd be at this level this soon, but I am!

And... {insert drum roll here} my final "up" for the day? I lost another 4 pounds! My weigh-in is going to be every Thursday night (January 1st was a Thursday, too!), and I "officially" weighed in. I was so jazzed!!!! So my little ticker up in the right corner says I have lost a total of 6 pounds! Go me!

This past week, I have worked out every day (except Sunday - my rest day), cut down on my portion sizes, cancelled out second and third helpings, limited my coffee/Coke intake to no more than 2 cups per day (and sometimes I didn't even have that!), drank a heck of a lot more water, increased my fruits and vegetables, ate smaller/more frequent meals, and have tracked my adventures here. Whew! That's a lot! But, I am happy to report that I don't feel deprived.

Some people (professionals included) may think that it is only healthy to lose .5-2 pounds per week. I am more than sure this loss will slow down for me. I only lost this amount of weight because of the things I did. I did not starve myself... far from it, actually. With the amount of water I have been drinking and the higher fiber content as well as the amount and variety of fruits and vegetables I've been consuming on a daily basis, my body is basically de-toxing as well. And I like it.

While I am ready for my body to slow down on the weight loss (I gotta be realistic, right?), I still kinda like it... 'cause... "I feel good!"