Encouragement

I took a personal day yesterday to work on packing the storage closet and take a break for myself. Since Brent wasn't home (i.e. in the living room), I put my Turbo Jam DVD in the Xbox and decided to see how much fun it would be to a) see it on a bigger screen and b) have enough room to do it. The bedroom is beyond crammed right now, so I can barely lift my legs. It's pretty frustrating trying to work out in there.

Halfway through the DVD, I realized I wasn't having as much fun as I usually do. The same thing had happened the night before. I finally figured out why.

I wasn't wearing my HRM!

Since I've worn my HRM several times, always getting mostly the same results, I figured I didn't have to wear it every time. What I didn't realize, though, is the HRM pushes me to work harder and "rewards" me when I push the button and see my heart rate in the target zone (or a bit higher). It's like a little digital fan on the sidelines, cheering me on. Without that data, I can't see how I'm doing, and the negative voices start up. The HRM shuts them up. Plus, at the end of the workout, I can see exactly how I've done instead of just guessing.

Lesson learned: always wear my HRM, no matter what exercise I'm doing.

I weighed myself this morning to see if I've finally gotten over the 340 hurdle. Nope! Still 340.0. Rawr! I have between now and Friday morning's weigh-in to accomplish that little goal. It's so funny that I can't wait to see 33* on the scale, considering my first mini-goal is actually 331, not 339. It's not even getting into the 200s or 100s. It's just the 330s. Still, I feel like I've been 340 for SO LONG (see previous entry). Seeing the scale bump down a decade would make me feel so awesome.

And now for an NSV:

One thing I did notice this morning: I was wiggling my feet while sitting in my chair, and I noticed something moving under my skin. It freaked me out for a second until I realized it was just muscles moving. My feet have been so swollen for so many years that I haven't seen my muscles and bones during that time. And when I say swollen, I mean PUFFY. I could barely move my toes most summers. Even my toes were fat. When I sat in a chair, it was even worse because it cut off circulation. Now, I'm sitting in my chair, and they're perfectly fine. Not skinny like they used to be, but I can see those little muscles and they aren't swelling at all. Hooray for proper water intake and exercise!