A New Award -- timed perfectly!

Greta over at BigBottomBlogger was kind enough to give me an award that I will pass on to five others in a moment. This couldn't have come at a better time, as I had a difficult day yesterday, not physically, but emotionally and mentally. So this was a nice little treat that made my day.

I have rededicated myself to making the most of my weight loss efforts for the remainder of this year and have been seriously working my ass off. I increased my exercise this past week not only in time spent doing it, but I upped the intensity BIG TIME-- and I intend to continue this way for as long as I can stand it! LOL

On my walks, I have picked up the pace; at the gym I've increased the weight on a lot of the machines; during the ChaLEAN workouts, I really focus on slow, deliberate movement and perfect form; AND I added in the Biggest Loser Boot Camp DVD at least a couple of times a week.

Food wise, I cut back once again on the grainy carbs and dairy as I tend to lose more that way. Physically, I feel great! I feel sore in a good way. Tired at the end of the day, as I am working hard.

And yet, yesterday, as I sat having my coffee, I looked down at the massive gut that I still have sitting in my lap, and felt these waves of discouragement come bubbling up from the depths. Don't get me wrong, my gut is probably half the size it used to be, but it is still proportionately BIG and an obvious problem area.

So I was sitting there drinking my coffee, looked down, saw the gut, and just felt discouraged. It wasn't as bad as it has been in the past. It didn't take over my being. It didn't make me want to give up. But it was a persistent feeling and stayed with me throughout the day--like something that aches in a dull way, but not enough to make you go to the doctor, but enough to make you unfocused and uncomfortable.


When I was having my coffee, I thought, "How the fuck can I have worked so hard since March-- nine months!!!--- and still have this friggen thing on my lap everytime I sit down? Jeez, will this ever freakin' end?"

I didn't let it physically stop me from doing what I needed to do, I took my walk, did the ChaLEAN session, and later did the boot camp workout for good measure! I exercised for 2 1/2 hours yesterday -- hard!

Everytime I walked in the bathroom, I could not resist looking at my profile as I passed the mirror, and every time my subconscious puked out a negative observation, I would say, "Shut the fuck up!" I thought the day would never end.

I cooked a great meal with DH of orange glazed salmon, mashed butternut squash with cinnamon, and broccoli sauteed with onions and garlic. After dinner, my internal weather seemed to be clearing and I was relieved. I checked my email and found a comment notification and found out about this award -- so it REALLY was like a reward instead of just an award. A reward for getting though a tough day and still doing the right things.

And so it is with great joy that I explain the SUPERIOR SCRIBBLER award and pass it on to five others. Here are the rules:

Each recipient must pass the award on to five other deserving bloggers.

Each Superior Scribbler must link back to the author and the name of the blog from whom they received the award.

Each Superior Scribbler must display the award on his or her blog, and link to this post, which explains the award.

Each blogger who wins the Superior Scribbler award must visit the page noted above and add his or her name to the Mr Linky List. That way, the originator of the award will be able to keep track of everyone who receives it.

And finally, each superior scribbler must post these rules on his or her blog.

And the recipients are:

Friend of the Bear

Sandra over at My Travels to becoming a better me

Helen over at Doing a 180

Leslie at Something Brilliant is Brewing

and Kat over at FitMindbodySpirit

Well, DH and I decided to try something new-- we got up at the ass crack of dawn today-- 5am, to do our gym routine, as he has an appointment this evening so we won't be able to squeeze it in before the Biggest Loser as we usually do.

It was weird to be doing my walking in the dark-- but the gym was nice and empty when I got there. DH was one of the few people using the Nautilus machines. I blasted through a chest and back workout and really maxed out the pounds to the maximum that I can lift.

I didn't like getting up so early but at least right now it is only 8am, yet I know that if I do nothing else all day, I would have at least gotten in a 30-minute walk and a 30-minute chest and back workout. But I probably will do the Biggest Loser Boot Camp DVD later today--I'm feeling driven so I'll just go with that for as long as it lasts. LOL

Be good to you today!