My New Exercise Toy!

A few blog posts ago I mentioned that I had a bout with sciatica pain. Part of my treatment was to go to a Physical Therapist twice weekly to get some soft tissue massage (terrific!), get hooked up to a machine for some electric stimulation, and learn some exercises to strengthen my core and stretch my leg muscles.

It was amazing how much the therapy helped and I can tell a big difference in my core by the very simple exercises I was taught. One of the tools I used to help with my exercises is something invented my Joseph Pilate called the Magic Circle. I am not much of a gym rat or a group exercise buff, so I am kind of out of the loop on things like Yoga, Zumba and Pilates, so if you’re already familiar with this piece of equipment I apologize, but for me it is a revelation!  It’s amazing how something so simple can gently help strengthen and increase the flexibility of so many muscles.

So since my PT was coming to an end, and I still can’t really return yet to an all out exercise program, I decided to buy myself a little after Christmas treat!

My Magic Circle arrived today and I eagerly took it out of the box and did some exercises right away. I think anything that gets me this excited about exercising was well worth the $25 I spent on it!

So like any new convert I wanted to spread the news of my discovery,

but not everyone in our household is as exciting as I am!

M-I-A MOB back in the saddle again!

It has literally been weeks since I’ve written a blog post and I can only blame one thing….THE WEDDING. Yep, my daughter got hitched this past Friday and a weight has been lifted off of my shoulders and I think a two-ton semi has been lifted off of her much daintier ones!

My lovely, capable daughter did an amazing job of organizing this beautiful shindig in under 10 months, with the help of her patient, hard-working fiance (now husband!). If the team work they displayed throughout this stressful planning process is any indication of all their future endeavors together, I know there will be no stopping them in whatever they do throughout their lives!

And, yes, my Mother of the Bride weight loss program worked spectacularly and enabled me to fit easily into my MOB dress! And in the immortal words of George Peppard’s character Hannibal in the A-Team, “Don’t you love when a plan comes together?”  I know I sure did!

But of course, just as promised in a previous post, I have done a 360° and started eating everything in sight!

And it all started with the candy buffet that was set up at the wedding reception,

progressed to Crumbs Bakery in Virginia,

and culminated in a ginormous A & W root beer float this afternoon!

And now I’m feeling not only guilty, but downright lousy because I’ve discovered a side effect from all this healthy living ~~ eating better makes me feel better. Simple but true darn it, because to be honest with you, I’m feeling kind of poorly right now after a three-day sugar spree.  I won’t lie to you, it was mighty tasty and I devoured every morsel I could get my hands on, but I think tomorrow it’s time to strap on my tennies, run a few miles, and start counting those calories again.

….rats….