Day 196

I am supposed to check in every Monday, but this is just day 1 of the challenge for me! It has however gotten off to a great start. I am at 10 servings of fruits and vegetables, and I had one of the best workouts I have had in months.

Today I went to the gym thinking that I would kick the challenge off a little easier than I would have usually. I wanted to just do an hour at the gym today instead of my normal 2 hours. I haven't been in a while, and I didn't want to over do it. I was going to do 30 (15-circuit-15) minutes on the treadmill and then my strength circuit. I got on the treadmill and started at 2.8mph which is a touch higher than usual, after a few minutes I got it up to 3.0 and managed to walk without holding on to anything! That felt pretty incredible and so when I got to 15 minutes I was so close to a mile that I kept going. After 21 minutes on the treadmill I was walking toward the weight machines when I saw an open elliptical machine next to my mom. I decided to try it. I don't know why I suddenly wanted to, but there I was arranging my feet on the paddles and trying to figure out the digital controls. It took me a minute but I figured it out. At first it felt weird and wasn't going very smoothly. It felt jerky. The moment that I figured it out and started moving smoothly and without fear of falling off I said "Ohh!" Then it took me 5 minutes to figure out that I didn't need to move so fast, which was killing me! It was so easy, but I was dripping with sweat and breathing so hard. So I stopped and took a second and restarted, going slower, but still moving pretty good. In total I ended up doing a full 30 minutes on the elliptical and let me just tell you, I do not think I have ever sweated that way at the gym before. My hair was soaked and my face was red. 30 minutes there was worth more than an hour on the treadmill! It was hard work. I think that I might change my workout around a bit to get that elliptical in whenever I go because I think it will make a big difference. I don't think that I can do a full hour on it yet, and perhaps I can't do that and the treadmill in the same 1 to 2 hours at the gym. But I could definitely do 30 minutes whenever I go though. It really was one of the best work outs I have had in months, and with my circuit added it would be challenging and engaging, which is something I have been missing in my work outs.

So day 1 of the challenge rocked! What did not rock was that my car, while parked legally outside my house was crashed into by a police officer. We know because they left an accident report on the windshield. Its crazy because I live on a side street, like 20 feet from a police station. They hit my 1990 Ford Taurus (Tank) so hard that they annihilated the drivers side headlight and peeled the steel on the side of the car back over the wheel well. How fast do you need to be going on a side street to do that kind of damage to someones really old, really heavy tank of a car? I'm not angry, because it wasn't a hit and run and I'm sure it wasn't on purpose, but we have enough issues to deal with don't you think?

Today:
1 cup bran flakes: 2
1/2 cup skim milk: 1
1 banana: 2
1 serving cheesy tuna mac: 7
2 cups stir fried veggies: 2
2 tbsp szechuan sauce: 2
1 yogurt: 2
1 cookie: 1
1 serving meatloaf pizza pie: 9
1 serving peas: 1
2 serving steamed broccoli: 0
1 tbsp ranch: 1
1 oz cheese: 2
ADDED:
1 serving ice cream: 3
1 bag popcorn: 5
40/41

I'm psyched that I am already finished with my quota for veggies and fruit. I think I am going to have some ice cream and watch tv for a while.