35 to go!

I started a diet on Sunday. It’s a delicate balance of Weight Watchers and Body-for-Life, with a heavy dose of common sense (eat less, exercise more). Wish me luck.

So far, the best part of my diet is the food. I know that sounds crazy, but I’m finally cooking for ME, not my husband. I get to eat things like lime pepper chicken breast with wild rice. Last night I made these incredibly delicious salmon and veggie packets. Tonight, I’m making prosciutto-wrapped shrimp grilled with bourbon BBQ sauce served with couscous and peas (I’m so excited!). These are low-fat recipes that I pulled out of a Better Homes and Garden cookbook and they take less than an hour to prepare!

And a good diet is worthless without some good ol’ exercise. (This is where the Body-for-Life part comes in to play.) I’ve committed myself to a schedule where I work out my upper body one day, lower body the next day, and do cardio the third day…lather, rinse, repeat. Only I started with cardio: a 3-mile jog (alone) plus a ½ mile stroll (with my daughter) and 20 minutes of jumping rope with my daughter (I almost died). That jumping rope Kicked. My. Ass. I couldn’t decide what would explode first: my lungs, my heart, or my knees.

Day two started with sore legs (I’m serious about jumping rope—YOU try it). I pushed through the pain and completed my lower body work out. Now…I didn’t do the same workout I had planned (that stupid plan was WAY too ambitious!), but I completed a (too) strenuous work out.

On day three, I could hardly walk. My legs hurt SO badly! What the hell? Having learned my lesson, I started my upper body workout with much more reasonable expectations (and lighter weights). I had a good workout. I’m a bit tender in some spots, but no pain (in my upper body).

Day four…I woke up in tears at 1 AM and, using only my arms, dragged my crippled ass to the bathroom for Aleve. I can barely walk, never mind the act of standing up and sitting down. Every time I do it, I sound like I’m giving birth. I’m walking around looking like I have a corn cob stuck up my ass. But I MUST do something and I’m scheduled for cardio. Maybe I could just sit in my chair and wave my arms frantically for 20 minutes.

What the hell? It’s not like I did leg presses with 50 pound weights or something. I only used 10 pounds! Oh well. I reckon I’ll know better next time.

My goal is to loose 10 pounds by my birthday (February 17--I accept cash and personal checks) and another 25 pounds by May 30. Wish me luck and I’ll keep you posted on my progress.