**Day 158**

Oh my gosh, it was hot out today!!  I spent a total of 20 minutes outside, and came in with the worst headache!  It doesn't take much for the heat to, negatively, affect me.  Thankfully, I didn't have to run outside today - I don't think I would have survived it!  Today was a treadmill workout - I did 2 miles.  I walked 1 mile, and then the second mile I alternated walking and running, doing some interval bursts.  I really enjoy it.  I, also, did some strength training for my arms using dumbbells.  I really want to try to firm up these flabby arms of mine!

I'm having a hard time staying motivated to do the 30 Day Shred every single day because, well, it's a little boring doing the same workout every day.  Don't get me wrong, it's a challenge, and a great workout, but I have such a hard time getting myself motivated to do it every day.  I don't know, maybe I'm just making excuses not to do it, but my new plan is to do the Shred every other day, and do my new FIRM dvd on the other days.  So, for the rest of this month my goal is to do the Shred Mon., Wed., Fri., and the FIRM Tues., Thurs., Sat. - Sundays I won't be doing any dvd workouts.

It's going to be another hot day tomorrow, and I'll have to do my run outside, but, hopefully, it won't be so bad around 9pm when I, usually, go out to do the run.  What about you?  Is it hard for you to exercise on very hot days?

**Day 157**

Tonight my family joined me on my run.  My girls ran off ahead, and they ran the mile with ease!  They were running side-by-side, laughing and talking.  My husband was a sweetie, and stayed back with me.  I felt like crap through the whole run!  My breathing was terrible, and it made the run hard.  I was so happy to see my house at the end of the run!  It took me 14:18 to run the mile.  Yea, I know - some people can walk a mile faster than I run it, but I know I'll get faster, and I'm going to spend the rest of this week working on improving my time.  Anyway, when I was done with the run my knees were really hurting (still are), and I just didn't have anything left (physically or mentally) to do the 30 Day Shred.

I keep saying that I need to start getting my dvd workouts over with in the morning, but I haven't followed through with it yet.  I, almost always, do my workouts at night, and, I think, after a long day it's harder for me (physically and mentally) to get through the workouts - I do it, but it's a struggle!  So, once again, I'm going to try to get on a morning schedule for my dvd workouts, and my treadmill workouts.  For now, I'm going to continue doing my outdoor running at night.  Even though it's hard, I'm really enjoying the running, and I can't wait for it to get easier.....it will get easier, right?

**Day 156**

As soon as I took off on my 1 mile run tonight I felt tired, sluggish, and drained!  My first thought was - I'm never going to make it a mile without stopping!  But I, immediately, switched off that bad thought, and told myself - yes, you CAN run this whole mile. Do it.  Keep going.  Finish it.  And I did!  It feels good to push myself through things.  That's a new thing for me.  I like it.  So, anyway, I got my run in today, and I did the 30 Day Shred.  

I want to be out of the 220's by Friday, so I'm going to work my butt of this week!!  

**Day 155**

Exercise today: 30 Day Shred.  Yup, that's it.  I didn't get my 2 mile walk, but, at least, I did something, and something is better than nothing! :)  The truth is I'm really tired, and I just want a break, so I skipped the walking today.  I'll be back at it tomorrow, for sure!

We had a great day at our cabin!  I love spending time with my family here.  My husband built this cabin for us. It's a very special place for us, and we cherish our time here.  Here are some pics of our day (click to enlarge):

I hope you are all enjoying your weekend!

**Day 154**

I've lost a half pound since I weighed in on Tuesday:

I would love to be below 220 for my weigh-in next Friday, so I'll need to lose 2.5 pounds - hopefully, I'll be able to do it!  I haven't had a big loss in awhile, so maybe next week will be the week!

Today, I'll be doing the 30 Day Shred - Level 1, and, also, I'll be running 1 mile outside without stopping, and then I plan on walking another mile when I'm done w/ my run.

Yesterday, on the treadmill I did cardio intervals.  I would walk at 3.8 mph for 3 minutes, and then run at 4.2 mph for 2 minutes, and then repeat - I did that for 30 minutes.  I think, I'm going to start trying some short burst intervals - maybe run at 5 mph (fast for me!) for 30 sec. or 60 sec., and then go back to walking for a few minutes, and then do another burst.  Have you ever tried short-burst interval training?  If so, what did you like, or not like, about it?

**Day 153**

I haven't worn a dress in years!  Really, I can't even tell you the last time I had a dress on, but I bought one.  This is it:

It's a size 14/16, and it fits!  It's just a bit snug in the bust area, but I won't be wearing it until July 16th, so it will be fine.  I'll be wearing it to my cousin's reception.  The reception is at a restaurant, so it won't be a fancy reception, and, I think, this dress will work.  I bought these shoes to go with the dress:

I don't love, love the shoes, but they are super comfortable, and they look good with the navy color of the dress.  Anyway, it will be weird to wear a dress again, but, hopefully, I will feel comfortable, and be able to pull it off!

Exercise today - 30 Day Shred, and 30 min. on the treadmill
Total calories today - 1470
Water - 96 ounces

**Day 152**

Well, it seems like the warmer weather is here to stay, and I'm, mostly, okay with that, but I'm a little nervous about it, too, because I'm very self-conscious about what I wear during the summer months.  I prefer the fall, winter, and spring months because I can wear more clothing to cover up my problems areas!  You know - the arms are covered by long sleeves, the stomach is covered by big sweaters, the legs are covered by jeans, but if I wore that stuff during the summer months I would look pretty silly, and I would die of heat stroke!  So, even though I've lost a little over 25 pounds I'm still not all that comfortable wearing short sleeves, or capris, and, I'm, definitely, not ready to wear tanks and shorts, but, hopefully, by the end of the summer I'll feel more comfortable.

Today I did the 30 Day Shred, Level 1, and I did another 1 mile run without stopping!!!  YAY!!  Feels so good!!!