Exercise is Enjoyable? Huh, who knew?!

OK, I am totally into this weight loss kick right now.  Let’s hope I can make it last, (I have a good feeling I will).  So I went from just dieting to dieting and exercising nearly every day.  And wow, I forgot how much I enjoy exercising!  Long ago in the before times, I would go jogging nearly every night after dinner.  But now I have become sedentary and well, a bit wobbly.  I do not like jogging anymore because frankly I am horribly embarrassed about how I look and how weak I am.  

We have a treadmill and that has been a great way to get back into exercise.  I start off slow and then work my way up to a speed I am comfortable with.  This way I can work out within the confines of my home, far away from judgmental eyes.   I rocked the treadmill for a few weeks and now I am doing the Wii Fitness+.  Now that feels like a work out.  When I am done with the work out and my muscles are all sore and achy, I kind of see myself like this……



Hulk Martie says 'Rawrrrrrr!!!!"



I plan to continue building up my strength and hopefully by this spring I will be ready to get out there and jog again. 

Now, while I have your attention I would like to say that I HAVE LOST 15 POUNDS!!!!  Woo Hoo!!!  Shall we evaluate how heavy 15 pounds is?  Yes, lets.



This is Oscar the adorable 15 pound puppy!
  

While we are on the subject of cute and fuzzy, here is a baby sea lion that ways 15 pounds!

This cement filled kettle ball weighs 15 pounds!

This nice fellow is about to rock this 15 pound burger!

And last, perhaps the most accurate example I have given yet.  This is a 15 pound bag of pork back fat.  *shudder*

My Favorite iPhone Apps

Before I owned an iPhone I did not think I really needed one.  It seemed like there was so much hype around it, surely a phone couldn't be that awesome.  And then, I got one.  Once I grasped what it could do my reaction was something like this.  Now that I have had time to get to know my iPhone and become one with my precious, I have some favorite apps.  I thought you might like to use them too.  So I give you......

5-0 Radio Police Scanner Lite (Free)

This awesome app lets you tune into police scanner feeds all over the world.  It is interesting to hear what is going on in your town or in Italy.  I must warn you, this becomes addicting.

iMapWeatherRadio

Possibly the most expensive of the apps listed, I still recommend it.  This is just like the weather radio's you purchase in the store.  Now you can have one in your pocket.  For $9.99 that seems worth it.

South Park Avatar Creator

This one is just fun to play with.  Especially if you are a fan of South Park.

Instagram

I love Instagram so hard!  This is a fun social app that allows you to share with the world the unique things you see. Look me up, I'm Supamart

360 Panorama

Take your time and do it right and this app will produce some fantastic panoramic photos!

ComicBook!

This app is so much fun!  You can take your photos and styleize them like a comic book. Good times had by all.

Emoji Free!

Now you can use fun little emoticons in your text messages!  Easily applied to your text keyboard. 

Offender Locator

Offender Locator gives you a map of the registered sex offenders in your area. 

Shopping List Free (Grocery List)

I use this every time I go grocery shopping.  Just enter in your list and check the items off as you go!

Key Ring Reward Cards

I used to have a key ring in my purse with every customer loyalty card I had on it.  Now I don't have to mess with it.  Just ad them into this ap and hold your phone up for the cashier to scan!

GasBuddy - Find Cheap Gas Prices

All of the local gas prices are listed in this app.  Use it to find the cheapest gas in town!



Living Earth HD - World Clock and Weather 
Oh how I loves this app!  It's Earth graphic is interactive and I get lost spinning the planet at my whim.  The cloud patterns on the graphic match current weather conditions and you can set up your favorite cities to check on.  Also has an alarm feature which I use every day.

Calorie Counter & Diet Tracker by MyFitnessPal

I swear by this one!  I use it to track all of my food intake and exercise.  To read more about this app please click here. If you use this app and would like to be friends with me my profile can be found here. 

SpinArt

Lots and lots of spinny fun.

NinJump

Practice your ninja skills as you jump back and forth dodging and obliterating obstacles in your path. 

OK, that is probably enough for now.  Hopefully you saw a couple here that you did not know about. If not, well, hopefully I didn't waste your time.  There is so much you can do with these handy little things.  Who knows what they will come up with next?!

I Curse the Plateau

There’s nothing on the top but a bucket and a mop and an illustrated book about birds….

So this week I have watched my food intake, gotten up every day and hopped on the treadmill, and then gingerly approached the scale.  Monday morning I stepped on, not a single pound lost.  That’s ok; I told myself surely I will be less tomorrow.  Tuesday came and still no weight loss.  Wednesday and Thursday came and still NOTHING lost.  This is usually where I throw in the towel and have a donut.  But I kept with it.  Friday morning I got up and much to my surprise, two pounds!  Woo Hoo!  Then Sunday another pound dropped.  So I curse the plateau and I refuse to ever allow it to affect me again.  No donuts for this fat girl, just exercise and awesomeness.  I know there will be weight loss if I just stick with it. 

So here we go kids, to the fun part.  I have lost 11 pounds.  How much is that you may ask.  Well, let us do a comparison……

Mr. Tom Knox was super proud of this Rosie which weighed in at ELEVEN POUNDS!



This poor football trapped in a bowling ball’s body has some real issues.  While it figures these things out we will weigh it to find out it is ELEVEN POUNDS!!!



Mr. Fluffy Whisker Mittens is a spry and crazed looking ELEVEN POUNDS!!!



These nice young girls went to Paris and got to put their hands all over big jars of glorious Nutella.  Oh, and those precious jars weigh ELEVEN POUNDS!!!



Here is a double example.  Wee little baby and delicious looking turkey both weigh ELEVEN POUNDS!  Please be sure to eat the correct one.



This pink elephant is super smart.  Well perhaps not seeing that he is only a statue and oddly pink.  But.  Elephants never forget and that is probably because their brains weigh in at ELEVEN POUNDS!!!!



Well thanks for sticking with me readers, you are the bomb diggity, the wind beneath my wings, the jam to my peanut butter, the, well you get it.  You are what makes this journey so much fun, you dear readers insert the awesome.  Thank you. 

Gettin’ All Technical With It

Talent can only get you so far.  The same goes for determination.  I strongly believe that if a person is to be successful in a mission, they must utilize tools.  A professional person, no matter what profession, has a set of tools at the ready to get the job done.  The best professionals make accomplishments look effortless and I can guarantee that they not only have a fine tool set they have also mastered those tools.  In my years as a custom framer I spent my down time digging through print catalogues, memorizing artists, styles and media.  To many of my coworkers, those print catalogues appeared to be nothing more than a resource for a customer to use to update their dining room.  But to me, they were a powerful educational tool.  Over time I became a knowledgeable and resourceful framer who not only knew about art, I also knew how to properly display it.  The same can be said for my time as a student of accounting.  I have found many resources that I pull from when completing an assignment.  If I am having a difficult time understanding a term in the text provided, I go to www.accountingcoach.com or www.investopedia.com to find the answers needed. 

The point I am trying to get to is this.  If I am going to be successful in weight loss, I am going to need to utilize some effective tools.  I have some in place, but the one I am the most excited about is My Fitness Pal.  I have gone through a couple of weight loss aps on my iPhone and found them to be rather disappointing.  My darlin’ came across My Fitness Pal and was very excited by what it is able to do.  We have been using it for a couple of days now and I have to say I am quite impressed with it.  

Jazz hands so powerful they brought on jazz feet. 
This thing must be good.



My favorite features it provides are:

Tracking diet and exercise – you are able to enter in all of your food intake and exercise and the application keeps track and displays the information. Super tech-y scanner – When entering in your food, you can use the scanner option to scan the bar code and the dietary information is automatically entered.  Calorie Limit – This ap takes where you are and where you want to be and figures what your daily calorie intake should be to meet that goal. 

It’s Social!!! – It is a social ap!  Once you set up an account you can find friends and see their daily food and exercise diary.  You can encourage your friends and help to keep each other motivated.  Also, if you have lunch with a friend and you have the same meal, you can go into their diary and copy their entries and make them your own.  If you decide to sign up friend me and we can encourage eachother, my username is Supermartie.

It’s F-R-E-E – Yes kiddies you heard me right, this sweet ap is free.

Highly accessable – My Fitness Pal is available for Apple and Android devices.  And if you do not have a handy dandy smart phone, you can still access the website www.myfitnesspal.com

This is by far the best tool I have found so far.  It is fun to see what all you can add in.  I hope you sign up too, even if you are not trying to lose weight, it is great for maintaining.  Good luck to us all!

Diet with a Gun to Your Head

EAT IT!!!  You eat it and you LIKE IT!!!!

Ok, that was a bit violent sounding so let me explain.  Recently my beloved hubby came very close to death.  This brush with mortality did not come in the form of a car wreck, fire fight, or any other type of epic Hollywood scenario.  No, it was diabetes that nearly took my darling from me.  We did not know he was diabetic; all we knew is that he wasn’t feeling well.  We took him into the emergency room thinking he probably had food poisoning.  The staff of St. Francis Medical Center quickly assessed him and started tests.  The tests came back with frightening news.  Blood sugar of 745, ketoacidosis, and pancreatitis, he was rushed up to ICU and we were in the hospital for six days.  When he was finally released to come home, he was sent with several prescriptions and a whole new outlook on life. 

So here we are.  Living on the diabetic diet isn’t so bad.  I am doing this with him to be supportive and well, let’s face it, I’m a fat girl and I can stand to drop some poundage.  The diabetic diet is actually pretty doable, watch our sugar intake, limit fatty foods, increase fiber and reduce carbs.  I know there is more to it but I am just working on the basics right now.  Next week we go to a class that will teach us more.  Giving up fast food was a struggle for the first few days but even that has gotten easier.  So here we go, new diet attempt.  I have high hopes this time.  I have lost five pounds so far, but seeing as I have ten more to lose to get back to where I was the last time I lost weight, I do not have that much to brag about.  

We have hit the point where it is life or death.  So it is up to us to choose, life with veggies or death with fries.  For now I am choosing life.  I hope I continue to do so.