It's Springtime! Remember to reset your clocks tomorrow night, or risk looking like a dork when showing up late for everything for the next couple of days. In honor of the coming of spring, I give you a poem which I learned as a child. I learned it from my dad, and he was totally Brooklyn. This is how I learned it:



Welcome, fellow couch fauxtatoes, to the "April 2005 Couch Fauxtato Activity Challenge" !


Not usually into challenges? Don't want to tie yourself to a particular weight or size result? Intimidated by more traditional Exercise Forums? Do you, perhaps, have a treadmill that has clothes hanging on it? ... hmmm? But are you, perhaps, willing to contemplate a modest expenditure of activity with a short term commitment?


You decide what your challenge is, since you know yourself best. It could be taking the stairs at work, so many times per week, or if you're in the right climate, going for a walk at lunch time. No challenge is too small or too odd! Then we'll check in every so often and compare notes.

Start to tone up for summer! Define your own challenge! Try it for a month!


*****LISTEN, FELLOW SLUGS AND SLOTHS, THIS IS IMPORTANT. A TRUE COUCH FAUXTATO CANNOT JUST LAUNCH HIM OR HERSELF OFF THE COUCH AND INTO AN INTENSIVE EXERCISE PROGRAM! Now, I realize that, for most of us, there's little chance of that. We are often also great procrastinators and most of us will take our sweet time dusting off tapes and/or looking for long burried exercise equipment, and will be adjusting our activity to whatever feels ok, especially to begin with. However, GET CLEARED, MEDICALLY, FOR WHATEVER CHALLENGE YOU ARE PLANNING FOR YOURSELF! Then proceed in a rational manner. Work into it slowly!*****

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My personal challenge this month is finding balance. 1. I need to find a realistic level of acceptance of my limitations. 2. Given that, I need to figure out what, exactly, I can do on a regular basis that will make me feel strong.

In some ways, I seem to wind up back at square one on a regular basis. I'm starting to think that it's because of a failure to achieve the first thing, that leads me to overdo on the second. Previously, I was way too accepting of my limitations and that resulted in me doing pretty much nothing. Then, when I decided to do something I did too much, but kept trying to work past it. Consequently I managed to aggravate all my pre-existing problems.

So, I challenge myself to find some balance.

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my goal - gold star every day. WATP - whichever mile # I have time for, but every day. Continuing to improve

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Mary Kay
2009 WW - 228 / 199

I want a Christmas Onederland!!

Love da Poem Maggie!

my goal was 35 miles last montnh and I walked 62+ so maybe I was a little pessisimistic. So for April I'll set my goal at 50 since April is a rainy month and only 30 days long (not to mention an hour shorter than most 30 day months).

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Maggie, dat poem is so good. It just make me tink a one word... Forgetaboutit.

Yeah. Dad was more fun than my English teacher, Sister Mary Anthea, to whom I am (FINALLY! and eternally) grateful. LOL! (She always said I would be.)

However, I wasn't completely cured of my Brooklyn accent until I was in my mid- twenties attending nursing school here in the Hooterville area. There, I was teased unmercifully by my fellow students until I finally learned the Standard North Central American English accent and syntax. Now I only reveal my roots if I'm drunk, or sad or really p****d off ... or spend too much time at a family reunion.

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I'm a Jersey boy and the accent is not far off from NY. One of my first memories at Immaculate Conception was a nun telling me "It's the number Three Not Tree!" That place was not a school, it was bootcamp with a religious twist.

This morning I put another notch in my belt and today two people said I look thinner. I've been avoiding the scale (for almost 2 weeks) because it's been driving me nuts sence January. Up and down the same 5 lbs from 343 to 348 But tonight I could not help myself and had to check. (on a full belly) 335! *L*

LOL Maggie, dat iz a poifect pome fah spring!!!!!

I think your balance goal is poifect too!!!!

MK and Rob, maybe I'll challenge myself to have a "gold star" steak on the grill when I go bike riding. Sounds like something that would motivate me!!!! I might have to challenge myself to ride my bike to GET those steaks. Now, if I can find a basket or saddlebag setup, in which to put my groceries. Sounds like a plan.

Rob, I think you'll exceed that goal!!!

Ed, YOWZA, that's AWESOME!!!! Especially weighing on a full stomach!!!!!

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So what did I do today? Nothing much physical. I'm teaching a seminar next week, and I've been updating/re-formatting my material since last night.

*** whew *** I hope I'm burning some energy --- as opposed to simply burning out brain cells.

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m-f 1 mi dvd (Miracle Mile)
sat - tried the 2 mi dvd (died at a little over 1 mile)
sun - 2 mile vhs tape (original) - finished, even with hand weights

Conclusion: the dvd's are much more intense than the vhs. coulda figured that out - the 1 m vhs is about 20 min, the 1 m dvd is about 12-13 min.

think I'll stick with the 2 m vhs this week
but I'm doing it, every day - getting my gold stars. It does motivate me - in the morning to get out of bed and do it. I got the chart right there on the wall by the bed. Little visual reminder.

only got a green star one day last week (good food choices) - need to work on that more this week. Weight is up from the beginning of the week, but I know that is carryover from last weekends candy fest. and TOM came to visit this morning. Not concerned at this point - VERY HAPPY I have managed to get in some exercise EVERY MORNING this week. YEAH, ME!!

We do go in cycles - I hope I can break that bad one I had going for 5 months of doing NADDA.

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Mary Kay
2009 WW - 228 / 199

I want a Christmas Onederland!!

Maggie - The bad news is brain cells use very little energy.

Ed - Way to go! That's encouraging!

Barb - A basket on the back of the bike would definitely be an incentive to use it for errands. Just be sure to keep the clasp open so Toto can escape.

I only walked 2 miles yesterday and even that was split in 2 sessions.

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Rob are you implying I am the Wicked Witch of the West? LOLOLOL (Now I have that music going in my head!!!)
Good going, you're off to a great start.

MK, GREAT going!!!! I need to get my DVD going again too!!!

Maggie can I relate..........I will be in frenzy mode on this chair.......doesn't use up much physical energy..........although, come to think of it, it might. I have to hold my body in weird, yoga-like positions to do some of the painting. I just don't concentrate on my breathing when I'm doing it. LOL Digging my bike out of the garage will entail some physical activity. Maybe I'll reward myself by digging it out if I get all the tulips done on the chair.

I LOVE the time change here............gonna do LOTS of grilling!!! WOOOHOO!!!!

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MK & Ed, you are the current STARS of this tater patch!

*sigh* ... as I feared, Rob. ( Does using a cheesy - 4 pages at a time - little hole puncher to punch holes in 375 pages count? Does my having an occassional fit count? )

However, I've got some kick-a$$ training manual done now and I'm quite pleased with how it looks and reads. It was a major revamp.

Tomorrow I believe I will re-institute some kind of physical activity. Hardly anything (except my brain) hurts at the moment.

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Thanks all, but to be honest lately I been slacking on the walking. Did none this weekend, it was raining just to much and I did not feel like doing anyting and for the last 2 weeks I have not been on top of my game. But I guess I'm still making progress so thats good. Tomorrow is going to be a nice day here and I have no reason to get out and walk.