a little fitness update

I've lost about 10 pounds!! Or so.

I really suck at weighing myself... but I also think that weighing daily, or even every couple of days, is pretty discouraging. The scale just doesn't change that much from day to day, and it can make you feel pretty bad (I know this from experience). So I try to weigh myself weekly, or sometimes every other week. I can honestly say that I pretty much stopped weighing myself after our wedding, and the number I saw on the scale towards the end of January was atrocious. I weighed yesterday and I've lost about 10 pounds since that point. I've only been taking this weight loss thing seriously for about 6 or 7 weeks now, so I think that's pretty good! I'm not trying to lose weight quickly. I did the HCG diet during the summer and lost about 15 pounds... a pound a day. That was AWESOME, but as soon as you go back to your regular eating habits, the weight comes right back on. Right now, we're trying to get used to having better habits that are realistic and easy to maintain.
Zumba has been amazing. I've still been trying to make it to all 5 classes each week. It is such an amazing cardio work out. Our gym does it a little bit differently than others that I've heard of. Our instructors are trained by Zumba, but also take the group fitness training that's specific to our gym, so they incorporate a lot more hip hop and toning than the "traditional" classes do. My favorite part of class each day is at the end when we do an entire song of squats. Every morning my thighs are sore, but I know that's a REALLY good thing. Last night I downloaded the two songs that we have been using for that so that I can do it at home on my own. I think that synchronizing moves to music is so much more motivating than just being silent and counting in your head. It feels really encouraging to finally have found a workout that actually works for me.

On the other hand though, Zumba is really great for cardio and basic toning, but I know I need to step it up a little bit... my arms and abs need attention that Zumba doesn't really provide.

So last Wednesday, I went to a Core class. It's taught by an instructor who does the Monday night Zumba class, and believe me when I say she is INTENSE. She's seriously crazy - I sweat more on Mondays than I do during any of the other classes and I'm usually about ready to curl up into a little ball on the floor by the end of class. And let me tell ya.... her Core class was no different. I'm sure I was the most pathetic person in the class. Most of the class is done by using one of those huge plastic balls, and it incorporates a LOT of balance - which I suck at. We also did a freaking TON of push-ups. It was only 45 minutes, but I went to a Zumba class right afterwards, and could barely lift my arms above my head when I needed to. I was SO sore on Thursday morning. As soon as I woke up, even before I moved I could tell that my arms and abs were sore. I had planned on going to another core class that was being offered that day, and just couldn't force myself to go. It REALLY made me realize that my abs haven't gotten any real attention since before my c-section!