My Path to Outer Skinniness

Okay, so I had a bit of a lapse and I wanted to say thank you to everyone that responded. I was having a weak moment and was feeling very discouraged with my efforts. So thank you again for all being so supportive and responsive. Here's the update on the challenge. I kind of started it early, so today makes day 5 of my 7/30 day challenge, but to keep everyone on the same page we'll make May 1st the first day. I'm sort of going easy on the eating restrictions right now. I've continued with the gluten free for the most part. I did give myself a day on Thursday for having done it for a whole week without any slip-ups. Honestly I haven't noticed any difference in my digestion or my energy with change. I'm going to give it another week or two in order to be sure that it will make no difference in my health. As far as the exercise goes, I went to the free session of Bikram's Yoga yesterday and they let me sign up for the introductory rate again. So I get a...

I haven't weighed myself for probably a week now. It's usually the first thing I do when I get up in the morning (after I relieve myself of extra water weight of course). I kind of think I want to wait until I go to WW this Friday to find out how bad the verdict is. I tried to pack less food and healthier food than I normally do for camping. Although you can only be so healthy when you're camping. A whole package of pinwheels doesn't help. - on a side note, Paul ate half my pinwheels and a whole bag of chocolate chip cookies and I guarantee you he'll lose this week the bastard! - But I didn't eat the entire time. And that's usually what happens when you don't hike or fish or bike or swim or play. I did visit the Austin hotsprings though, so that was an activity if not very active. At any rate, I made small strides. I had meant to go to yoga tonight. I really miss it. The thing with yoga is that I get really really frustrated when I'm there. I can...

I went out last night for Darren's dirty thirty. I watched a UCF fight for the first time, and that was interesting, but actually fun to my surprise. During some of the fights I had to sit on the floor because the room was full. I am such a nerd because I kept shifting to try to get a good stretch as long as I was down there. I didn't get to go to yoga yesterday at all and I won't get to go today either. So I amused at myself because I kept wanting to stretch all day. Afterward we went to Puffs. I was totally surprised when I went to dance and I found myself able to stay on the floor longer than I could before and while my thighs felt the burn - yeah, I have to drop it like it's hot or it's pointless - it wasn't nearly as bad as it was last time I went dancing. Yoga has given me more dancing skills! Oh, and when songs said to bend over to the front and touch your toes, I could do it. And I wanted to do it so I could stretch haha!

I debated about going to yoga. It's one of the only days that they offer the late class, and I really wanted to go for that reason. But about an hour beforehand, I just really didn't feel like going. I also didn't drink any water to prepare for class first. And I lost track of time and started to make cake. So, when I saw what time it was, I decided that yoga was a better choice than cake. The class was really small, and it was an instructor that I really like. I started out pretty strong, but I was having a really difficult time focusing because I kept being distracted by how fat I am. Part of it was that there was this lady I haven't seen in classes before there that was skinny and gorgeous and had the best legs I've ever seen. She looked like she was probably in her late 40's. It was depressing to feel less attractive at 25 than this woman twice my age. I noticed that she was struggling with some of the poses and that made me feel slightly better. But then th...

Went to yoga today at 4:30 instead of my usual 8:15 time (they only offer that time M,T, & Th). I've been trying the other times of the day to see what I like better. 9am is somewhat crowded, 6:30 is really crowded and really really hot. 4:30 today was fairly roomy and ridiculously hot, but that's because the instructor didn't know how to use the fans. It actually really sucked because I couldn't do near as much because I was too hot, so she opened the doors, which cooled it off, but too quickly. Then she figured out the fans right after which completely dried me off. So I was really hot, but the burning itchy kind of hot rather than the warm wet kind of hot. Which makes any contact to your skin rather painful. But I did get through the class. I didn't get emotional. I was very okay with allowing myself to just endure the heat lying on my back instead of pushing myself through the postures. And I wasn't angry for not pushing myself harder. Overall, it was a ...

I got this off of the website for the yoga place I go to. I also found out on their website that they have a free class on the first Saturday of the month at 11am. I have to teach at that time at Beacocks, but perhaps in a month or two I will be done there and can take some people if they want to go. Hatha Yoga Postures Standing Deep Breathing Half Moon Pose Awkward Pose Eagle Pose Standing Head To Knee Pose Standing Bow Pulling Pose Balancing Stick Balancing Separate Leg Stretching Triangle Pose Standing Separate Leg Head To Knee Pose Tree Pose Toe Stand Pose Dead Body Pose Wind Removing Pose Sit-up Cobra Pose Locust Pose Full Locust Pose Bow Pose Fixed Firm Pose Half Tortoise Pose Camel Pose Rabbit Pose Separate Leg Stretching Pose Spine Twisting Pose Blowing In Firm Pose

I didn't get to go to yoga yesterday because I didn't really plan very well. So I was glad to get to go today. On a day like today, yoga is the only thing that gets me off my couch. At any rate, I went to the late class, which I think is my favorite the more I go to different class times. It's less hot and less crowded. It was led by someone different than I expected, but I liked her so it was good. I'm starting to realize that even though every class is the same, the instructors can really make a difference in how hard I push myself. I pushed today. The standing series is an hour long and it's meant to build strength and balance. I have a very difficult time with some of it because my feet start to hurt really badly. I asked her about this after class and she said that it was very normal and that I just needed to build strength in my feet, which would come with time. I tried to work through the pain as much as I could, but I had to stop and massage my feet out afte...

I was so excited to go to yoga this morning. I didn't get to go yesterday because of work, and I've been kind of sore so I was looking forward to stretching some of my soreness out. I got there on time, and there was even a really pretty song on the classical music station on the way there. I put my mat down early and sat outside the room to wait for class. I went in to lay down and acclimate to the heat. People were still coming in and getting ready for class. When I stood up to start, I found that a woman had put her mat directly in front of mine so I couldn't see what I was doing in the mirror at all (very important). I figured I'd trudge along and do the best I could. But then I realized further in that the people next to me were so close that I couldn't stretch without being distracted by trying not to hit them. The class was kind of full. The distraction started to make me angry and then I started getting frustrated with my limited ability to do the poses prop...