It's 2 days until Christmas! Aren't you excited?

Things are getting pretty busy here at home. There's some more Christmas cooking to be done (sausage balls, YUMMY!) and more presents still to be wrapped.

This is my favorite time of year, and I'm definitely looking forward to making new and wonderful holiday memories with my family.

Well, today's topic is

FITNESS.

I've been going to the gym (even though I don't have a membership. Bless my little brother for being an employee so that I can get in for the under 18 non-membership fee.) on a pretty regular basis and I'm working mostly on building muscle in areas where before I had hardly any!

It's been such an incredible journey so far, and I'm looking forward to continuing it. 2011 is going to be an amazing year!

Just for fun I tried on a pair of jeans that I bought in Japan quite a few years ago. When I originally bought them they were pretty tight on me and as time passed they just got tighter until I was sporting the infamous 'muffin top'. I never wore them because they were too tight.

But, what about now?

Well...

(But don't get any ideas...)

If you're wondering who the guy is in the photo, well that would be my personal trainer (a.k.a my little brother). It's great having a fitness trainer in the family. I can utilize some of his knowledge without having to pay big bucks. I'll invest in a regular (not slave labor) personal trainer at some point, but since my little brother is on vacation from school and has the time to help me out then I might as well let him!

Lately my workout has consisted of

30 minutes of cardio (15 at the start and 15 to finish my workout)

I'm still getting used to weight lifting techniques since I'd never done any weight training before, but little by little I'm looking less like a doofus while handling the weights.

ALSO

I'm still enjoying learning more about T-TAPP

Visit their website here

It's a fantastic workout that takes as little as 15 minutes a day. Not to mention there are a few great carb blaster exercises that you can utilize after a big meal or a sweet splurge.

These are called HOEDOWNS.

The name is fun, and the exercise is actually pretty fun too.

Lately I've also been interested in maybe trying out the

Tracy Anderson Method

It looks fun doesn't it?! I think so!

As far as fitness has been concerned, I'm having a little trouble with straightening out my diet. I know that I'll be able to to see better results if I start mastering my eating habits, which I've really changed a lot these past few months. However, these days I've just been enjoying eating pretty much anything I wanted to.

Because I've been just eating whatever I felt like eating I know that it's kept me from seeing even bigger results than what I've been seeing already. I'm enjoying the food freedom though, and not having to worry about what I put in my mouth has been a HUGE relief especially since the topic of eating was something that caused me a lot of stress for years.

As far as getting into shape goes, I tell you what...

Find a program or routine that works for you and keep doing it. Even if it's simple it's better to do a little than to do none at all.

One of the biggest problems I faced with exercising before was that I took on more than I could handle in the very beginning, which made me hate exercising. When I finally began exercising right I started small and worked my way up, after I'd mastered a little I added a little more and a little more. That's still how I'm doing it now.

I'm no exercise guru or anything, but I am a woman who has lost 20 lbs almost 2 clothing sizes and who has gained some muscle and a LOT of confidence.

For me, I actually find 'climbing' to be my current favorite exercise. I love hiking, climbing stairs, or getting on the stair-master or treadmill at a high incline. I do enjoy dance aerobics but since I'm not a member to any gym at the moment I can't take the classes yet.

I'm looking forward to being able to share with you guys more of my progress on my fitness journey and I would love to hear about yours too!

I am!

Until next blog,

~A.