I've got work to do!!!!

After CrossFit on Friday, I took a look at body measurements. There are several measurements to take into consideration. According to the hand-held instrument, my body fat percentage is 28.8%. This is "high" according to the machine, and "Over Fat" according to the nutrition hand-out. I will need to go down several percentage points before I fall into the 21-24% "healthy" range. Next, I took a look at waist and hip measurements: my waist is 34" and my hips are 39". According to the nutrition hand-out, anything over a 33.8" waist is "obese". According to Dr. Oz, one of the 5 numbers you need to pay attention to is your waist measurement. Anything 35" and over for a female increases risk for chronic disease (i.e. diabetes). I am getting near that 35" mark!!!! (FYI Dr. Oz number for men is 40" waist). The handout suggests that a 26" waist for a female is ideal, and Dr. Oz suggests a 32.5" waist. Either way, I am currently not in a good category!!!! My waist-to-hip ratio is 0.86. this is the apple vs. pear shape. Those who are "apple" shaped tend to carry their weight in the abdomen and this increases risk for coronary heart disease, high blood pressure and diabetes. According to the hand-out, I am on the cusp between "average" and "at risk", whereas sources on the internet clearly put me in the "high risk" category. Finally, I took a look at my BMI, which is 25.23. A BMI between 25 and 29.9 is considered "overweight". Thankfully, I am towards the bottom of this one. Considering all of this, I think my first goal will be to lose one inch off of my waist, since my waist-to-hip ratio seems to be the most serious measurement of health status. Loosing an inch will drop me into the "moderate" risk category in the waist-to-hip ratio. I'm sure if I lose an inch off of my waist, my body fat % my decrease, too. Surely an inch of belly fat weighs something?????? I'm guessing maybe my weight will drop too? Maybe loosing that inch will drop my into the "normal" weight category. Setting a goal to lose an inch off my waist at the start of Thanksgiving week...ROTFLMBO Well, We'll see.

$20,500 down in 14 months!!!

Those of you who know me well know that I'm a huge Dave Ramsey fan! Yes, I drank the Kool-aid 14 months ago :) In those 14 months I've paid down $20,500 in debt. This last debt is the slowest to be paid off as it is the largest. Got $6000 left and gonna "kick the old lady (Sallie Mae) to the curb". For those of you interested in becoming debt free, I highly recommend reading "The total money makeover" by Dave Ramsey. My Sunday School class read this as a group. It is an excellent book that lays out all of the principles. There is also have a class called Financial Peace University. Once you pay, you and your family have a lifetime membership. I attended once, but had trouble getting up to the big city in the evenings. I'm going to watch the website for a more local class. I was one of many laid off in February 2012. I was probably the only one in the group not stressed/freaking out---because I had a plan, an emergency fund, and had paid off most of my debts. I saw being laid off as an opportunity to do something more. I was blessed with another job that allowed me more time with my boys. This job will be ending this December...but because I am not leveraged to my eyeballs, I can be somewhat picky in what job I select. Being a single mom (a single income family)the finances can be terrifying. Getting a grip on what's going out vs. what's coming in has allowed me to have "financial peace"...and a lot let stress in life.

Weight is up...must get on track

About 2 years ago my weight crept up from its low point (135) to what I consider the maximum I'd want it to be...or my "high point" (140). This 5 pound range would allow for fluctuations between time of month, time of day, and dehydration vs. hydration. This "high point" is when I should have become worried and become more focused...but I didn't. I've been lax and over the past year and it has crept up to over 140 pounds...fluctuating between 140 and 145 pounds. In recent weeks, my weight has been as high as 150! This is what happens when one DOESN'T PAY ATTENTION and STAY FOCUSED. 15 pounds can come back. I was down to a size 8. Though I can still cram myself into an 8, a size 10 fits much better. I can tell my face is fuller, too, just by looking at pictures. I still exercise, and my endurance is much better...I just need to focus on diet. I am using the calorie counter app on my smart phone. "IF YOU BITE IT, WRITE IT!!!!"

CrossFit Day 2....

I actually felt like falling over last night...I was sooooo tired. I went to sleep at 9:30 p.m. which is not like me at all. Yesterday's CrossFit workout must have worn me out. WOD consisted of 30 cleans, 50 pistols, and rowing 2000 meters. This was in addition to the usual warm-up (10 dips, 10 push-ups, 10 squats, etc, etc). I also worked on my kipping pull-ups...not quite there yet...maybe get there in a week or two. I did my cleans with 20 pounds added to the bar. I used a "cheater-ball" on the pistols. A pistol is a one-legged squat with the other leg extended. One holds on (barely) to a pole. I used the cheater-ball (a medicine ball) so that I knew when my butt was far enough down. I have never really used a rowing machine. Seems like it was a good cardio workout, along with some upper body workout. It took 10+ minutes to row 2000 meters. My overall time was 18 minutes and some odd seconds. I guess I need to write this down in a journal so that I know what time I need to beat the next time we do this routine. I'm considering converting my shop into a home gym as I've outgrown my laundry room. In my limited free time, I have been searching for some equipment so that I can do this on the cheap/free. Class meets again in 3 hours....I hope I survive.

CrossFit Day 1 :)

After my "introductory class" which left me so sore, I couldn't roll over in bed, I signed up for more punishment. That was two weeks ago. I had to take the instruction course which taught the fundamentals of CrossFit. Class met MWF for two weeks. Yesterday was my first day of actual CrossFit class. We ran. Not a good day to NOT have enough time to run home and change into workout clothes. Lucky for me, I had a compression top in my suitcase in my car. I usually wear this top as a swimsuit; I was just getting back in town after spending the weekend at the lake. My time was 17:30 and we had to run 3 segments with a minute rest in between each. I don't know how long the segments were, but the instructor had shortened the lengths to accommodate the class. That's the great thing about CrossFit, if you can't do the workout, it can be adjusted to allow one the benefit of the exercise while allowing one to "work up" to the full amount/exercise/weight, etc. Any how, he told me that since I beat the other participants times, that I will be doing the full length next time. We'll see what tomorrow holds. CrossFit is now daily M-F with a make-up on Saturday. Did go on a short bike ride last night. My rides will most likely be shorter as evening comes earlier....

It's been about two years since I have blogged. I changed the name of the blog to "New You" as a lot of the information that I share can be used by many people, not just divorced people. I guess I get to keep the URL of "newyouafterdivorce" as I tried about 30 variations of New You, but all were taken. Kind of reminds me of the old SNL skit where all of the internet URL were taken except "clownpenis.fart" If you have any ideas of a good name, let me know. I am still working on body, house and finances (among many other things). I recently started a crossfit training program and hope to post some of my progress (and frustrations!). If any of you are doing crossfit (or any other program), I'd love to hear about it. So far the crossfit program seems promising. There have been times that I have been unable to do a portion of the "WOD" or "Workout of the Day", but the exercises can be modified in order to work up to doing the full "WOD". For example, I am not able (yet) to do a series of pull ups, but have started doing kipping pullups (google it) with a cheater box to stand on. From what I understand, that cheater box is going to shrink as the days go on.

Found away to off-load some junk!

It's been awhile since I've blogged, but thought I'd take a moment to jot down some thoughts about what has been going on. First of all, I had about 300 people for Christmas in the country (open house)--getting ready for this kept me from blogging regularly. It was a good reason to get a lot of things done around the house.
Second of all, I've been doing some cleaning. I found a way to get rid of stuff without having to load it up to take to the thrift stores (you guys know me--I shop at yard sales, but I don't have them...) If you google "Freecycle", you can find a webgroup near you. It's amazing the stuff that people want. All you have to do is post an "offer", to which you will likely receive several responses. Pick one and arrange a pick up. I leave the stuff on the porch, I have yet to have to deal with anybody in person. I've also posted a few "wanted", but haven't had any luck with that so far....
Good luck and happy cleaning!