Ericka: It's Been A Long Time 12.5.13

It really has been a long time; two and a half months to be exact. During that time my son turned 2 and immediately became terrible, and that's about it. So what have I been up to? Not much really, which I'm sure you can tell by the lack of blogging. By not much I mean not much exercising, not much healthy eating, not much weight loss (quite the opposite actually). I have a lot of reasons for not keeping up with my healthy lifestyle. The following are my top 5 reasons:

1. No buy in from my partner. My husband slacked off, so I decided to slack off. 
2. No buy in from myself. I think blowing out my hair was the start of my downfall lol. I got a taste of the not working out life, and I loved it.
3. Laziness. It's so much easier to grab a meal on the way home, especially when you have a hectic work and home life. Dieting requires preparation, and if you know me, you know that I am quite the procrastinator.
4. Lack of time. It's too dark in the morning and in the evening to go for a jog, and I've been so busy at work, that I have not been able to go to my lunch time workout. I could get up at 5a, since I'm up at that time anyway due to daylight savings, but I've been using that as my moment of tranquility- sleeping baby & sleeping husband = happy mama/wife
5. I don't wanna!

While I have reasons for falling off, I don't have any excuses for doing it. I have been working out here and there, but not much. My latest fitness challenge is this step class at French Riviera on Earhart. This is not your ordinary step class, and it is not for the faint of heart. My friend dragged me to the class a few weeks ago. It started at 9:30a and around the 10:15 mark, I started my countdown. I was giddy with excitement over the fact that the class would be done in 15 minutes. However 10:30 came and went. Then 10:45 then 11. Holy shit! The class was an hour and a half. She neglected to mention that part to me.. The instructor, Jerry/Geri just turned 60, I believe,, and looks barely north of 40. She has so much energy that it's sickening. The class incorporates walking lunges, squats, and ab work in addition to the step portion. At the end of the 1st hour Geri the Tyrant, as I like to call her in my head, makes us do 400 jumping jacks straight! Then we started with the lunges. 

Since I haven't been exercising, I put on a couple pounds, and by a couple, I mean 8. Luckily, since trying to do better over the last 2 weeks, I lost 4lbs. Nonetheless, I am utterly disappointed in myself. While I have started embracing eating well again, I have yet to get the physical fitness portion together. I have to do better.
So yes I faltered, but consider me a cautionary tale of what happens when you start to slack off. It's a slippery slope that starts with a missed workout or overindulging a meal or two. I hope you are doing better, than I have been doing lately. I've paused the challenges until I get mentally prepared. My current plan of action is start with eating right and exercising 3 times a week. Once I can do that consistently, I will start the challenges again. I believe I owe you guys a video

Please continue to root for me, and I will do my best to keep you updated as to my fitness successes and failures.

E