The Kind-Hearted Smart Aleck

I did it! After the first two to three days, I admit, my legs were so stiff and sore, I waddled around like an obese penguin and never thought I'd last two weeks, let alone nine weeks. But, 63 days after I started the insanity beachbody workout challenge, I can officially say I got through it, and without any tears or breaks to boot! After getting through the workout, I can definitely say I notice some changes. Over the past few weeks, I've received comments about changes in my: Stomach, arms, legs, even back. One person even said, "I imagine when some people see your legs now, they'll think you got calf-implants." Yeah, so I've got that going for me, which is nice. After just over two months of partaking in the workout, I don't think I'm ultimately where I want to be as far as my body and look go, but am quite happy with the changes to this point, so happy that I plan on going through the workout again - well, after a couple of days to rest. Fo...

While I am officially through day 53 of the 63 insanity beachbody workout and have noticed some nice changes, I still feel the need to poke fun at it a little bit. In these workouts, the leader - Shaun T - has the tendency to say and do certain things throughout each and every one. For example, I can't count how many times he says the following (okay, it's not that I CAN'T count; I just don't want to): - "Dig deeper!" - "You can do it!" - "I'm watching you!" - "I'm right here with you!" - "Come on, people!" When it comes to his actions, he shows the following tendencies: - To either do 10 seconds of an exercise at the start of it or at the very end, meanwhile everyone else tries to do it for the 30 or 60 seconds he sets. - When he walks around and talks to people and points out what they're doing, 4 out of 5 times he does this with a woman, and doesn't shy away from touching her (a lot...

When talking about cardio workouts, a good friend of mine suggested I check out the "insanity" workout. She was even kind enough to send me a demo so I could decide whether or not to purchase the whole thing. Upon trying it out, I can say without hesitation that the title of the workout is most definitely not a case of false advertising. In fact, "insanity" may not even do the workout proper justice. I'm officially through day 15 of the 60-day workout and can honestly say my body has never felt sorer, my legs have never felt stronger, and I'm quite excited to think about how I'll look and feel when I've completed the 60-day challenge. For anyone who's interested, feel free to visit the link below and that will show you what all you need to do in order to take the 60-day challenge as well. There are also some clips of insanity workouts on YouTube if you think you may be interested, but aren't fully convinced you want to fork over any money f...

Well, it felt nice stepping on the scale this morning. I had weighted 186 not long after moving to Columbus from Omaha four years ago. I remember awaking one morning, hopping into the shower and when I got out and saw myself in the mirror, I was not pleased. On that very day, I decided to make some serious changes in my life. I lost 26 lbs. and was fairly happy being at 160 for my 10-year high school reunion just a year later. Just after I got back home, though, an illness struck me and I was sick for close to two years. Due to this, I couldn't do much of anything, let alone work out. Fortunately, I kept my eating/drinking habits in tact and only added about 5 lbs. to my weight in those two years to up myself to 165 (net -21). Once I began feeling better in late-December of 2010, a new energy struck me and I went on to lose another 24 lbs. - decreasing my weight to 141, a total loss of 45 lbs. Of course, not long after that, I had my gallbladder removed and it took a great deal mor...

I remember about four years ago, I looked at myself in the mirror after getting out of the shower and didn't like what I saw. On that day, I told myself I'd change my habits, lose some weight and one day be proud of what I saw in that same mirror. I did that. I lost 20-25 lbs. before becoming seriously ill for almost two years and being unable to work out at all. Fortunately, I stuck to my new lifestyle as far as eating habits and the like went, so I only gained about 5 lbs. in those two years. When I magically got to feeling better in late December of 2010, I found a motivation I had never felt before and went on to lose another 20-25 lbs. for a total weight loss of 45 lbs. It even got to the point where a few people said I was too thin. Then in July of last year, I underwent gall bladder surgery and it took a long time to get to the point where I was comfortable working out again. Unfortunately, I fell back into some of my bad habits during this time and wound up gaining 29 l...