Flexible I Am Not

I was going to name this post:

What You Need to Know Before Attempting Pilates

But that was a bit long and the name of this post is 100 percent accurate!

I decided to break out one of my new Pilates DVDs late one night last week. I've had the DVDs for more than a month but didn't gain the motivation to use them until my sister - who has had 2 children in the last 4 years - showed me her stomach last week.

Let's just say that if a stranger were asked to look at her stomach and mine and tell us which sister was the mother of two, I'm sure they would pick the wrong sister (me). That girl has some flat abs! I'd be really mad at her but she runs daily so she's worked for them. I've worked for mine too, but unfortunately mine comes from a lack of exercise and a love of Oreos!

So, after polishing off the last of the Oreos, I popped in the Pilates DVD and got to work.

Here's what I learned during my first attempt at Pilates:

1. Buy a cute yoga mat. It will motivate you, I promise.

My yoga mat has butterflies on it. How cool is that? I love butterflies so finding these was a bonus.

2. Watch the workout once before attempting it. I didn't know what I was getting myself into and I could have benefited from a quick watch before actually doing the workout!

3. If you have contacts, wear them - NOT glasses - when doing the workout. I was wearing my glasses and spent half the workout lifting my head so I could actually see the TV. Not conducive to a good workout.

4.Start with a Pilates for Dummies workout if you are as uncoordinated as me.The DVD workout had one lady doing a modified routine for beginners but they didn't show her very much OR she was just cut off on my TV because I don't have a widescreen TV. I spent most of the workout waiting to see what I was supposed to be doing!

5.Study up on Pilates/Yoga terminology before attempting a workout. The lady was talking about core muscles and powerhouse. What?!?

After a not-so-successful first Pilates workout, I definitely learned some important lessons. But I will attempt it again.

What workout DVDs do you like?

Badly Needed Inspiration

I've been slacking lately.

I've lacked motivation.

I've lacked inspiration.

I've lacked the ability to get off the couch for anything other than going to the kitchen for a snack.

However, it's a new week and I'm determined to take some steps to get back on track.

First step I took was to head to Pinterest for some inspiration...

Source: etsy.com via Megan on Pinterest

Second step is tackling the wreck that is my house. I hate to clean, I really do. Since I live alone, I don't have the pressure to clean it except for when I'm expecting company. Maybe I just need to start inviting people over EVERY weekend. That might just do the trick...

In the meantime, I'm going to start a weekly to do list of household chores. Maybe writing them down and checking them off will provide the accountability that I obviously need.

One of the items on the household chores to do list is going to be doing one of these a week...

Source: littlelucylu.com via Megan on Pinterest

I live surrounded by clutter and I think if I tackle it slowly and methodically, I may just beat it!

Third, I need to start eating better (more regularly and a bit healthier) and exercising in some sort of consistent manner.

I can go a day with only drinking my morning Starbucks peppermint mocha (yes, I drink this ALL year round) and some water. This only leads to bad thing the next day...like headaches.

I've actually started this one already by grabbing a bag of baby spinach the last time I hit the grocery store. I do NOT like salad at all except if it's a spinach salad and then I'm game. To keep the spinach from just sitting in the fridge, I also hard-boiled some eggs and cut them up, fried up some bacon and crumbled it AND bought some Craisins (thanks Ginny over at Gin & Juicy Juice for the inspiration) to keep on hand this week so I can easily whip up a salad for lunch or dinner.

Now when it comes to the exercising regularly, I struggle - big time. I try to remember this...

Source: diethoroscopes.tumblr.com via Megan on Pinterest

But it doesn't always help. Some of my friends are The Couch-to-5K Running Plan but I don't know if I want to start running...my pants aren't THAT tight!

No matter whether I start a regular exercise regimen or just get myself off the couch to run the vacuum, I think it all comes down to remembering this...

Source: stumbleupon.com via Megan on Pinterest

Loving This Wednesday

I haven't done a What I'm Loving Wednesday in a while so I thought "why not?"

I'm loving these chips. They've changed my life. It sounds dramatic, but it's true.

Source: fritolay.com via Megan on Pinterest

I was never a big fan of the kettle cooked potato chips but these changed my mind. I may or may not have eaten these at 7 a.m. on a Saturday morning.

I'm loving that my baby sister hosted a Houseparty last weekend featuring Breakstone's Zesty Blends sour cream and sour cream dips. She had some yummy appetizers featuring the Zesty Blends Chipotle and Garlic and Herb sour creams.

Baby Sister made our Aunt Peggy's famous taco dip with the Chipotle Sour Cream and it gave the dip a nice kick.

Even more than the food, I enjoyed an evening with my family in the home that I used to visit my grandparents in...now home to my baby sister and her family. 


I'm loving a conversation I had with some friends the other night. One of them recently lost her brother to a long battle with cancer. For his obituary and memorial photo, they used one of him in his mid-twenties because that is what he'll look like in heaven (when you get to heaven you revert to the age/look of your best self). I guess this thought is from a book that I must find and read soon. I LOVE the idea, just absolutely love it.

I'm loving all the great things on Pinterest...especially my board dedicated to Butterflies!

Source: butterfly-magic.net via Megan on Pinterest

Source: polkadot-butterfly.tumblr.com via Megan on Pinterest

I'm loving that I'm getting to walk more often these days. I don't think my pace would be considered "exercise" by most, but I sweat while I walk so it's exercise to me!

Source: diethoroscopes.tumblr.com via Megan on Pinterest

Day 7 of Summer Slim Down: Wii Action

I admit it.

I'm a fair weather walker. If it's scorching hot with no breeze, I'm not going out. You can't make me!

I had plans to walk with Lil' Sister again Friday night and she was bringing Ty-Ty with her because her hubby was working.

I decided that it was just too hot to subject lil' Ty-Ty to the heat. Aren't I the best Auntie ever?

Instead I grabbed a movie from Redbox (I love Redbox!), and headed over to Lil' Sister's house for a different type of workout.

Yep, a little Wii Sports action!

We started off with tennis but it wasn't pretty. For someone with little to no eye-hand coordination, I never got the swing of it (excuse the pun).

So we switched to boxing and I found my true calling. I jabbed, I cut, I swung. I was a natural. Lil' Sister wasn't too bad either.

It actually was a pretty good workout for our arms. Not sure we burned too many calories though!

After several knock-out rounds of boxing, we switched to Wii Carnival Games. I really enjoy the carnival games and we competed in some head-to-head games.

Can you tell it was exciting? Notice the dog...she couldn't stand it and had to close her eyes.

I should tell you Lil' Sister is really, really competitive. Me not so much. After besting her in the first few games, she got serious and kicked my butt!

However, I had the largest cheering section:

He was super-excited at his Auntie's total domination in the boxing ring!

After our vigorous workout, we rewarded ourselves with a true chick flick - Valentine's Day! Cute movie, nothing earth-shattering. Worth watching just to see if you can name all of the movie stars in it.

The best thing about playing Wii games (besides the company) was that I didn't snack the entire evening - that's helpful in terms of the slim down campaign!

Stay tuned...picking some toning exercises and doing them!

Disclaimer: Lil' Sister and her family are living in a great little rental house while they build a new home. So the window treatments and carpet in the above photos do not reflect her decorating tastes!

Day 3 of the Summer Slim Down

As I started my journey to fit back into my super cute black swim shorts by July 4th, I decided to start with a vigorous walk after work on Tuesday. Unfortunately, a storm blew through that evening so I did some crunches instead.

Slow and steady wins the race, right?

Luckily the weather has cooperated since then with two gorgeous summer evenings - perfect for walking.

To prepare for my walk Wednesday evening, I pulled up my iTunes to create a playlist for my iPod that would inspire me to pick up my pace and get my heart a pumping!  

Unfortunately, I realized that my recent listening habits tend toward a more laidback type of listening!

I pulled my "Exercise" playlist of 27 songs that I tried out during my walk last night. Most of them were OK. A couple really made me pick up my pace - like "Ruby" and "Paralyzed." And a few just didn't make the grade!

I didn't have a lot of time to search iTunes today but I did grab a Katy Perry song (Hot N Cold) that I usually groove to in the car. I'm hoping to use a couple iTunes cards I got on one of my wheel & dealing trips to CVS to pick up a few more songs.

An iPod is good, but company is better when it comes to exercising! Lil' Sister came over and walked with me tonight. It's great to have an exercise buddy AND time to catch up on each other's lives.

I know I won't always have a real-live exercise companion, so I'm looking to you for help. Have any go-to songs when it comes to exercising?

Send them my way. I only have 17 days to trim down...wow, really didn't do the math until just now.

Maybe I'll just stick with the bigger pair of swim shorts! Cookie, anyone?

Slimming Down by 4th of July (or else)

It's time to buckle down.

See the swimming shorts above? Aren't they cute?

I LOVE them. They are long enough to hide my not so firm upper thighs, but not too long to make me feel like I'm wearing a granny swimsuit.

I have the black pair above and a similar pair in brown. The night before we headed down to Florida for our family vacation, I tried on my cute swimming shorts.

The brown ones fit just fine (they are a larger size)...the black ones, not so much. Close your eyes and think "muffin top" - quick open your eyes...horrible image, huh? Sorry but now you know how I felt!

This is a major problem. I have a lot of cute swim tops to go with my black swim shorts.

I'm determined to get back into them by the July 4th holiday!

Over the last 3-4 years, I've been floating between two clothing sizes and it's annoying. One size is just a little too snug. The next size up is just a little too big.

Now, I'm not saying that I need to lose a bunch of weight - just about 5 pounds (maybe 10 to be back to my drivers license weight) so that I'm firmly in the smaller size.

I do NOT want to go out and buy a bunch of new clothes...just fit into the clothes I already have!

So, I've decided to start exercising regularly because I've tried the serious dieting route before and I just don't have it in me! I am planning to start eating more fruits and veggies and less chocolate and chocolate, but the main goal is to do some sort of exercise DAILY.

I'm going to utilize the great walking path that is right outside my door and walk for at least 45 minutes 4 days a week.

The other 3 days I'm going to do some sort of toning exercises - concentrate on losing some pounds around my middle.

Any ideas for a good workout? I'm looking for some exercises/routines that work.

Check back soon for updates!