But the bandwagon looks so small from here...

A month?!

I let a whole month go by without updating the Jolly Green Giant?!

Yikes.

Well...there's a few excuses reasons I let that happen.

I've been a little sick.
It's hard to want to exercise when you can hardly breathe already and ache all over.

I've been a little busy.
School is well under way and with two kids with two different pick up times and two sets of daily homework assignments it's busier than ever.
Then there's dance classes and friends over and church activities and this and that and that and this.
And you don't have four kids and not be a little frazzled at least nine different times a day.

I've been a little depressed.
I was laid off from my work from home job.
This greatly strains our financial situation.

I've been a little lazy.
I don't know if I would call it so much "lazy" as just not having as much self control. "Busy" and "depressed" combine into one nasty little one-two punch that knocks out my self control in no time.

I've been a little overwhelmed.
We just found out our daughter has something called Celiac Disease. This means her body attacks itself when she eats anything with gluten (wheat) in it. While this can be controlled with a gluten free diet, it is a life long condition that there is no cure for. The diet is pretty intense and as I look through my pantry I can't help but feel overwhelmed when I see that 85% of our food has wheat in it. And I already struggled with what to make for dinner every night. *sigh*

I've been a little embarrassed.
I didn't exercise consistently. I ate a lot of junk. Even a couple of Dr. Peppers. I gained a few pounds back. I couldn't face the blog with my failure.

So...now that I have gotten all the excuses out there, it's time to take control again and get back on the bandwagon. Even if it does look so teensy tinsy from here.

I gained a few pounds back, but after a 3.4 weight loss this week I am currently at 227.7. That means since 09 May 2011 I have lost a total of 53.8 pounds. And that, my friends, is nothing to shake your head at. I will not let the last sloppy month destroy the success I've already had. Onwards and upwards.

As I try to shake the plateau and get back on course I have finally entered the world of calorie counting and with the help of loseit.com it's easier than I anticipated. I'm still breastfeeding 8.5 month old Cee so I added on 300 calories in my daily allowance. How long can I get away with that one, eh? ;)

I restarted P90X last week and made it through all six days. I know it's only been a week but I can already feel a difference in my muscles. I'm rather excited to see what can happen in 90 days. I don't want to look like a steroid body building Amazon woman or anything, but a little tone and definition wouldn't hurt.

Please don't think I'm so hard core by doing P90X. I don't do the pullups. Instead I use my hand weights and imitate what the people with the resistance bands are doing. I figure there's time for real pullups later. I only have a set of 3 and 5 pound weights so I'm not pumping eye-popping weight either. For right now, 5 pounds is enough. I plan to get on KSL.com and find an inexpensive weight set soon. Oh and I haven't started following the P90X diet yet either. I just can't seem to get on board with one carb, one fruit, and seven--SEVEN!--servings of protein a day.

And honestly, P90X is not as bad as everyone makes it sound to be (except for the diet). They sure intimidate the sweat right out of you with all the commercials on TV. All those sweaty, ripped beasts cranking out pullups like nobody's business. It's totally doable as long as you're willing to follow Tony's motto: "Do your best and forget the rest!"

I haven't ran in a few weeks. I miss running, but with Joe being out of town all the time, the weather cooling off, the days getting shorter, and my mommy schedule, running has to take a back seat for a bit. My hope is that doing P90X will help me be a better runner when I can get back to it.

And there it all is. The excuses, the failures, the updates, the hope. Bandwagon, here I come! Happy Monday everybody!