Fair Warning to HASAY Participants

I just thought that I'd share this important exercise tip with my favorite diet group:

It is not recommended that you use an ottoman instead of a stair-step piece of equipment...when you are wearing your UGG slippers.....because you are too lazy to leave the room where your computer and all your blogging buddies are located.

You're Welcome!

Have Your Cake and Exercise it Off, Too

I have three wonderful people to thank you for this week's success in the diet and exercise departments.



First, a big thanks to Casey at Half As Good As You for continually supporting our HASAY efforts with her comments and emails. The constant nagging, er, attention, really does help me 'stick to my guns'. (Is this a Republican saying?)



Second, goes to Sommet Fitness in Scottsdale for providing the most awesome Boot Camp this past Saturday morning. I do not know about the rest of the country, but here in Arizona, the Boot Camp concept is all the rage. This one was fun, because it had a little running, a little something that felt like football training, some Pilates and some Yoga and went for about 90 minutes. Today, I am very sore, but in a really good way. Plus, the most important thing, I did not feel at all guilty about enjoying several Holiday parties and eating small portions of everything on the buffet tables.

Finally, to Angella of The Pilates Lounge and also my Pilates teacher once a week for giving me the 3 lb. weighted ball made by Danskin Now. This squishy, soft ball adds that extra little umph to every exercise. There is a written exercise ball, but I prefer to go to Angella's website and see a short video on how to best use this adorable little ball. I love the festive green color, too. It feels like I get more of a workout with this ball instead of free weights. You can get yours, I believe, right off mine or any one's Amazon widget, FYI.

So this coming week, I plan to continue exercising enough so that I can maintain (or lose) weight while enjoying all the Holiday events and parties and returning children. I think this is an excellent way for this empty nest Mom to have her cake and exercise it off, too.

Original HASAY weight: 135 pounds
Current weight: 129 pounds

Don't Hate '08, Hasay Diet

My daughter graduated from high school last year, in 2008, and their class motto was 'Don't Hate '08'. I thought to myself, what a nutty saying. Why would anyone hate 08? Was there something I was missing?

Well the same goes for the eighth week of the HASAY diet that Casey has organized. What's not to love? Each week she posts all our riveting stories of the progress (or lack thereof) on our individual attempts at losing weight. She gets on us (not literally) if we are slacking and complements us when we are doing well.

This week, I was sporadic in my eating and exercising. I hiked a difficult trail Saturday afternoon, then ate 'like a pig' and 'drank like a fish' at a really fun party that evening. Another day I ate healthy salads and grilled salmon but didn't exercise at all. My goal for this coming week is to be consistent for 7 days straight...starting tomorrow. I know, HA HA, Beth's being funny. No seriously, I cannot start today as I drank sooo much red wine at another really fun party last night, that my stomach is still queasy and maybe I'm still a little drunk (HADAY?). But I want to have some success and lose some weight.

One of the ladies I was talking to this weekend had had great success with a product called Alli, bought at Costco. Does anyone know about or have tried this product? If I hear good things from you, I may give it a try. But not today, I think I need to go lie down. The room is starting to spin........

Original HASAY diet weight: 135 pounds
Current weight: 131 pounds

You Say HASAY, I Say Time Out

This week was a complete time out on the exercise and diet fronts. Unless you count the following creative ways to burn those pesky calories:

Lifting a 22-pound turkey in and out of the oven to baste every 20 minutes;

Chasing the 2-year old nephew around the living room so his Mommy can enjoy her meal;

Giant bear hugs to the kids home from school for the weekend (at least 50 each);

Racing to and from the airport with bags on Wednesday and again on Sunday;

Chasing the dog around the house when his mouth is full of our appetizers;

Serious lifting and lowering of large wine glasses, every day, over and over....and over; (more points if you squeeze in those abs while lowering the glass to the counter to pour more)

Stripping the beds, doing the laundry and remaking the beds to be ready when the kids return for the Christmas holiday/ Winter break;

Napping on the couch through endless hours of football on the TV (more points when the inner thighs squeeze the blanket around your legs).

Okay, so you're not buying into my new workout routine? Let's see how it worked....

Original HASAY weight: 135 pounds
Today's weight: 132 pounds (up 3 pounds from last week). Damn. Such a shame.