True Confessions Tuesday

This is an odd one for me. I'm so immersed in my common cold misery that I feel validated in all my shortcomings. I mean, what am I supposed to do - confess that I have a cold?

But I'm being facetious here. I know it's not the cold that I need to confess to - it's what I've done with the cold that I need to own up to. I mean, did I need to repeat to myself again and again - feed a cold, starve a fever?

Did I need to leave my dumbbells stashed away in their secret hiding place in the TV cabinet?

Did I have to lay around the house all day letting everything go?

It seemed like I did. It seemed like I should rest my achy, sorry, unhappy body. And it seemed like I should feed it too. And it seemed like the only real work it needed to do was try to stay warm.

And maybe that was true. Maybe it wasn't. I might never know. What I do know though is that somewhere I needed to press forward. At some point I was going to lose the benefits of all the hard exercise I've done for the last few months. And at some point my husband was going to become less understanding about the mess around here. And, worst of all, if I kept up the bad work, at some point I'd start to gain back the weight I'd worked so hard to lose.

Then I re-found out what I already knew. The 'Hood is a good place to hang out when you're struggling or not caring or not motivated or just plain in a funk. Because lots of other people go through the same thing and they get advice and sometimes there's just that one comment that turns things around for you - one that seems like it's made more for you than the person it's directed to.

That's when things start to turn around. After hanging out there for awhile today, I put down my sorry-for-myself hanky and picked up my dumbbells. I only shredded for ten minutes but it's a start. Hopefully tomorrow I'll go a little farther but I know for sure I'll get in ten minutes again and that may not help much but it can't hurt.

So I've eaten my 'power food' chicken noodle soup and a clementine (for no points) and I'm ready to go again. I hope I can sustain this mood and attitude for at least the rest of the day (or better yet the rest of my life).

If not, I'll hang around the 'Hood some more.

Some of The Sweetest Words

"You have just finished Level 1 of the Shred." Sweet! It's not just those words that are sweet but it's also the feeling.

I've heard a lot about Jillian Michaels' Thirty Day Shred. I've heard people say things like, "You don't think you can do it but you can". And, "how much do you hate...er..I mean love the Shred?" I've heard it described as the quintessential workout so I was pretty sure that it would be too much for my old....er.....older body; but, I was determined to do as much as I could every day no matter how little that was.

I faltered a little a couple of times. Once I thought we were going to do two minutes of jumping jacks and, since I knew that was beyond my capabilities, I rested a few seconds. Shortly after that they were finishing up and I knew I had misunderstood. Also the butt kicks got a little long and in one of the sessions I pulled out early. Dang it!

The most amazing thing for me is that I finished! And it really didn't seem THAT bad. What an awesome feeling.

Then I turned off my DVD player and headed for the kitchen and some water. What? My legs feel like what? Jelly? Yeah, that's right. My legs feel like jelly. I have an unusual ache from my chest to my, you know, bottom of my abdomen. Something's definitely going on. And what's this water leaking from every pore of my body? Sweat? Yep, it's sweat. My hair's wet and I'm grateful that I saved my shower until AFTER the Shred. How could I have considered anything else?

I have a pretty confident feeling that these unusual sensations are going to intensify. And I'm wondering if I'm sure that I'm going to walk tonight even if it's only a mile.

But guess what. Jillian says we have to pay a price to get in shape. It's not free. If these are the dues, I'm paying. Every toned muscle, every endurance increase, and every ounce of strength that I can buy is priceless. I'll walk tonight and I'll shred again tomorrow.

I can do anything for thirty days.