Today, I had an epiphany at the gym. I'm almost embarrassed to share it here, because it's so simple, but maybe it will help someone else during their work out. As you know, fitness gurus recommend doing a number of reps so that by the last one the muscle is exhausted. Instead of counting out reps, I made myself continue doing whatever exercise until a change in the song - maybe until the chorus started or ended or another voice was added. That way, I was focused on listening for that and not thinking "oh that was 12 reps, I think that's all I can do, my muscle is tired now". I know I pushed some muscles truly to exhaustion that way. So, no, I don't know exactly how many tricep kickbacks I did but I wasn't allowed to stop until I heard Colin Firth's voice (I was listening to the soundtrack to Mama Mia). I'm sure it was more than the usual amount. (I may lose my crush on him if this makes me work too hard.) Why didn't I think of this years ago? I've always listened to music, to drown out the dreaded tv morning shows, but I never used it to my favor like this. marlene, definitely get a bike. I am really enjoying mine. mitchdesj, get a trainer, you're worth it. I need to commit to checking in with one a few times a year, not just once. I definitely noticed improvements after meeting with one last year. awm, I do like how much more territory I can see from a bike. I might bring some post-it notes along and leave people notes on their mailboxes- "nice landscaping" or "love the new trim color" or "don't you think it's time to cut the lawn? You're letting your neighbors down". kellyeng, 106! Oye, you're a trooper to be outside biking in that kind of heat. Congrats on the busy work and the pounds lost. I hope some of the others that occasionally check-in here are still focusing on their health - I'm looking at you sueb, polly, bethpen, gibby, tina, cyn, and anyone else whose screen name doesn't come to me at the moment.

This has been the worst end-of-school-year ever. Spent from 8-1 today packing and cleaning my classroom, but only two more days to go. I am hoping this fabulous weather sticks around and I will start every day with walking the dogs. I have stopped that since DH retired (almost two years ago-egad) and it is time to get back to it. Doing my weights when I think of it. I really need to get on a regular schedule now that school will be out. It was just one of those years whenI dragged myself home almost every evening after a 9-10 hour day. No fun and I hope it isn't just due to being 60 and wearing out more quickly. Had a large delicious salad for dinner tonight. May have to just have fresh green salads for dinner more often. Yum. I think I have hit a plateau weight-wise, so time to up the ante. Even though I am not really over weight, I am for me (does that make sense?). I will not, however, be doing any sit-ups even though I know I should. Oh well. ;)

My husband and I are both 50, and a few months ago we joined a 6-week crossfit "challenge" at a local gym. It included a full nutritional component, where they gave us an eating plan for the 6 weeks, and as many 30-minute trainer-led workouts as we wanted to attend each week (they recommend 3-4). Even though it is a gym, and their goal is to increase membership, they told us that getting fit and losing weight is 80% diet and 20% exercise, which I have heard before. In the 6 weeks, I lost 9 pounds, and my husband lost 28. We both lost LOTS of inches, my husband's BP has gone back to an acceptable range, and we have a lot more energy. The nutritional component was mostly no or low carb (depending on the week), with one cheat meal a week on Saturday. Cheat meals were included so that we would be less likely to feel deprived, and also for a little carb cycling. For our cheat meal, we might have two tacos or a slice of pizza or a sandwich or gluten free pasta. Guess what? We felt terrible after the cheat meal! If we happened to have it at lunch, I was worthless the rest of the day - all I wanted to do was lay around and sleep off the carbs. After a few weekends of that, we tried things like eating beans, quinoa, or even a few servings of fruit. We felt less sluggish, but still a little sleepy. We felt so great after the 6 weeks were up that we joined the gym and have continued to go 4X weekly. We still mostly adhere to the low-carb eating plan because we both have some additional weight to lose, and we also figure it is (hopefully!) our lifestyle now - we don't want to go back to lazy eating. The crossfit sessions are hard work, but a ton of fun and we feel so good and energetic afterward. The exercises switch up all the time, the sessions go fast, and best of all, I feel stronger and I'm developing muscles I haven't seen in 20 years. :)

Late to the party. My weight has been in flux this week. Started the week out 1lb up but now that it's Friday I'm 1lb down, so hopefully I'm either unchanged or 1lb down overall. Trying to stay strong during the weekdays, having healthy meals and avoiding any alcohol. Though to be honest, this has been the kind of week that makes me want to have a cocktail pretty badly. I have been great with cardio this week. Swimming or running every single morning and trying to push myself during the workouts. I am really struggling to find the time to prioritize lifting weights. I've only gotten 2 lifts in this week and I should be at 4. I've been really sore from swimming and running and that's probably impacting my motivation to do it. Had some really exciting non-scale victories this week. My favorite smallest size jeans from 8 years ago fit again! I was not sure I would ever fit into them again but they fit. And every single pair of older shorts fits again too! It feels great to be able to grab some old favorites out of the closet and wear them. Then I had two separate people tell me that I looked great. I know I shouldn't be worried about what others think, but it was nice to feel like finally someone other than myself could see the progress. Thank you for the accountability and support that these posts bring. I love hearing all the successes and what you use to motivate yourselves and stay on track. It really really helps.