Bottom Up!

 I found these old VHS, yes, the antique VHS copies of the workouts Joyce Vedral put out years ago, Bottoms Up.

And I did the ab one, or rather, I did as much of the ab one as I could manage this weekend.  My abs are WEAK AF.   And while Joyce did 15 reps, I might get 8-10 done.  Oh ok, there were some of the moves I literally laid on my mat, bitching, cause I just couldn't.  I mean I COULDN'T get my abs to move to do that move.  Not 1 rep.  

This week, I did the Upper body on Monday and I loved it.  I really did. I forgot how much of a hoot Joyce is during the workout.  "This is not a game"  I also loved how she was talking about working on your back/shoulders can help hide a big butt and I'm like "But I want a bigger butt" 😂

Tuesday, I did the Lower body, and I just didn't like it as much.  I mean it's not bad I just don't enjoy it as much as I did the upper body workout.    A couple of the moves felt a little weird, off somehow.    Oh well.  I'm still glad I did it cause I worked on my body.

Today, 45 min on the treadmill.  I have a Peloton treadmill, and I LOVE the scenic walks.  I pick a place I'll never get to see in real life, put on i-Pod and pretend I'm really walking in the mountains of Austria.   I actually hit my step goal, 8000, for the day.  First time in probably a week.  I just don't wanna move this time of year.  Sitting and reading, or playing video games, that's all I want to do.  But that doesn't help my cardiovascular system, my bones, my muscles, or my belly get smaller.  So I really need to get up and get moving more, even when I'd rather just hunker down and hibernate like a bear, and lounge and rest and read and relax until spring.

I can thank a friend!

 I'm back blogging thanks to a friend.  She started a blog this month, and she's totally inspired me to get back into my blog.  

Crush it

A link to her blog, if you are interested.

I can also thank her for the workouts I've done in the last couple days.   She had gotten out a lot of her old and I'm talking OLD fitness books, books by Cory Everson, Joyce Vedral, etc. and some of the corresponding workout videos   And a few of them, I have, or had.  I went digging though some of the totes I STILL have yet to unpack, after nearly 4 years after our move.  It was totes FULL of books.  What can I say, I LOVE to read.  And love buying books.  And rereading books.  So I have 2-3 storage totes full of books. Half I've read, half I have yet to get around to cause my to be read pile will never ever be less than 100 books.  Cause I also own both a Kindle and a Nook, and both have multiple books I have read, or need to get around to reading. 

Anyway, I found 2 books.  Bottoms Up by Joyce Vedral,

and Body Flex Body Magic by Anja Langer

a bodybuilder who was very popular around the time Cory Everson was winning Ms Olympia. 

I also bought, or actually repurchased, SuperFlex by Cory Everson

and Hard Bodies by Gladys Portugues.

I also found Train like a Bodybuilder by Erin Stern. 

Now I have so many fitness books and such, that I should be the fittest person in Iowa, but alas, being lazy these last few years, and enjoying foods that are not healthy in any stretch of the imagination have led me towards being the chunky(fat) grandma with Type 2 diabetes.  Sigh.  I mean I must have 20+ fitness books, with eating plans, workouts, motivational tips, etc.  And some I've done, some I've not, and oddly enough, when I do the plan, even half ass it, I tend to get into better shape.  Gee imagine that🙄

So I've been being looking at these books, Remembering a time when, back in the 90s, I followed, loosely, a program in the Cory Everson book, and got in pretty darn good shape.  Of course, I was in my 20s, so... I'm sure that had a lot to do with it lol. But still.  If I could use programs from these books, and get myself back on the weight loss wagon, I'd be thrilled!  I put back on about 2lbs from my 24lb weight loss, thanks to to much stupid Halloween candy, and of course Thanksgiving.  

But until Jan 1 2024, I am mostly going to work on just maintaining what I've lost.  I refuse to allow myself to gain anymore.  Of course if I lost 1-2lbs I'd be very happy, but for now, maintaining what I've lost would be great.  But just keeping the 22-23lbs I've lost off through the season of food, no sunshine, and just wanting to hibernate would be great.  Cause once Jan hits I can sort of almost tell that the sun isn't going down QUITE so early.  I mean it's literally only 2-3 min later than it goes down on the longest night of the year, but by the end of the month, it's more like 20-30 min later.  And going down closer to 5:30pm rather than 4:50pm does make a difference to me, and my just wanting to hibernate like a bear.

What a fabulous weekend!

 My hubby decided, mostly on the spur of the moment,  to go visit his brother, who lives almost 3 hours away.   Left Friday afternoon.

So I decided to have a "ME" weekend.  It was glorious.   I mean I still had stuff to do, take care of dogs, cats, horses and myself, but otherwise, I did what I wanted, when I wanted.  Unless, of course the dogs needed out when I wanted to do something, then I had to do what the dogs wanted.

I did a lot of reading.  I read 3 books this weekend.  One on Friday, one on Sat and one on Sun.

Ok maybe this fits better.

Yes, they were all smutty books, and I loved every second of reading them!    All human and alien meet, and "fated mate" kind of stuff.  Hey, I'm reading so it's all good. 

And I did a lot of this. 

My sassy boy Astarion right there.  I played several hours of Baldur's Gate 3 over the weekend too.  Got deeper into Act 2.  This game has been so much fun to play! I love it.

And of course, lots of horror movies played on my TV in the background.  Several Saw movies, Halloween, Sinister. AHHH.  I love scary movie month.  

But the weekend is over. Hubby is on his way home, and I've got stuff I need to catch up on around the house cause I moved just enough to stave off bed sores over the weekend  🤣

Better get at it.  

Maybe a week off is what I needed

 Cause after being at basically the same weight for about a month I've lost about 2lbs this week.  And I've been, as I said in my last blog, a big lazy bum .  

I mean

Clearly they didn't ask my husband cause he probably eats his share, and a couple other people's share of pizza too LOL.   But still, 23lbs lost.   I'm at a weight I've not been at in over 6 years.  And last time I was at this weight, I was going up to my all time high. 

I think maybe I just needed a week to destress and relax. Cause my snacking has gone way down this week, which I'm sure only helped 110% with me losing weight.  

But alas, I'll not get the butt I want, by sitting on the one I've got, so I'm going to get back up and get back to my workouts starting next week.  Oh, today, I'll either walk or do a spin class, but as far as lifting goes, I'll do that next week.  

But right now, I'm just going to be happy to see that sometimes taking a little time off and destressing a bit can be a good thing. 

I've been a lazy bum but...

 

Technically, it's 22.5lbs lost.  Which is surprising cause well, I've been a big lazy bum this week.  TTOM started and I just have not done much as far as workouts go.  But my cheating as far as eating has been way down so I guess even though I've just been sitting reading um... smut, mostly smut, and getting enough protein in, it really helps.

Or I'm burning a lot more calories than I think reading my mostly smut LOL. 

But today, I AM going to get up and do a real workout.  I tried to do what was one of my favorite workouts, Mix it Up from the Slim Series, a set that Beachbody came out with before they turned MLM, and I just couldn't.  I think I'm more or less over my DVD workouts. 

I'll probably try to get back to lifting next week.  I think I just needed a week to be a mostly lazy bum, with full permission from myself, and destress.  I mean I've read 3 shorter books, which by the way, I need to update my Goodreads account.  Better go do that. I've already passed my Challenge book amount but hey, why not see how many books I can read this year.

That's pretty much it for today.  Short blog, but I just wanted to get it out there that hey, I'm down another 1.5lbs, and I'm pretty dang happy about it.  

Down a little more!

 The weight is coming off much slower but it is still coming off.  Ok, I'll admit, I've been maybe overindulging a little more than I should.  I accept that. And maybe if I cut down on my extra treats, I'd lose weight a little faster.  But my blood sugars have been pretty good, so I'll enjoy just a bit extra here and there. 

And hey, I've lost 16 basketballs LOL

I also have decided that I want to get back to lifting on my own again.  I just like listening to my music, lifting heavy and having a good time.

And I have something I really want to do.  I want to build me a booty.  I've had this book for YEARS

I did the home/bodyweight workout a long time ago, or a few weeks of it, and I liked what it did for my rear end. 

Then I got this one a couple years ago, and love the info in it.

I dug both these books out last week, and have sort of mashed up a couple programs from the books and I'm going to start in Oct on my personal build me a booty program.  Not only will building up my glutes look good, but having strong glutes can help prevent injuries as I get a little older.  Cause I am getting older.  When did that happen???

Hubby's surgery went well, and he's recovering well too.  We have his follow up in this next week, then he can start his PT.  Oh, he's been doing the home moves they gave him to do.  And he's not had a lot of pain, which is awesome.   I'm sure once the PT department gets a hold of him, he'll have more discomfort LOL. But for now, the pain hasn't been bad.

So this next week, I'm gonna finish up using my videos, then in Oct, start lifting heavy on my own again.  

20lbs GONE!

 Yes I'm back like a bad penny.  

Yep, officially down 20lbs.  I feel better too.  I still need to lose at least another 20lbs, 30 would be better.  40 would be just simply amazing.    I'll get there, but it's just going to take a bit longer. 

I also have noticed these

My feet are not nearly as tired or sore as they were 20lbs ago.  I have more stamina. I keep up with my granddaughters energy better.  I'm sleeping much better.  I can only imagine how much more better I'll feel with another 20lbs gone.

My blood sugars have also been pretty darn good lately. Which is great!  Oh, if my fasting blood sugar was about 9-12 points lower it would be perfect, but I'm mostly happy with where they are.  

Today, I'm back to tracking my macros.  I kind of didn't all weekend long.  Went to the Nascar track at Kanas for the race this weekend and ate way to much food.  Today, I'm puffy and bloated, but that will go away in a day or two of normal eating and workouts.

For the next few weeks or so, I'll be doing my videos, a lor of walking and spinning.  My husband is having shoulder surgery to repair his rotator cuff and bicep tendons and welp, I'll be doing more of everything cause he won't be able to move his dominant arm for a while.  I just want to do simple things and have someone lead my workouts cause I won't want to think about stuff while I workout. 

Maybe by Oct he'll be able to move his arm a little bit and I'll be ready to lift weights on my own.  Or maybe I'll actually get around to doing the STS 2.0 rotation I've not gotten around to doing yet lol.  I did a couple of the workouts, but never did them all.  Maybe I'll makeup my own rotation and just do that for a couple weeks. Maybe I'll just do that while I'm lounging around the house today. 

I've also been reading quite a bit and playing Baldur's Gate 3. Nothing like having your favorite activities be sitting activities LOL. 

Not much else to say today.  But I do like the idea of making up my own rotation of STS 2.0 workouts and doing them in a way that works for me and what I want to do.