It's been a while since I have touched base, but today seemed like a good day to check in.
The first month of the experiment, if I am completely honest, was a bit of a wash. With the holidays and general malaise that I was in, I had very little desire to do much past eating and sleeping. Needless to say, by the time January rolled around, I knew I had to get myself a little more in check.
So, with that in mind, I got a gym membership and started working out. It's hard and it's tiring, I will not lie. It has been years since I have focused on actually working out rather than just dancing. It has done some great things for me even though it has only been two weeks. I'm starting to see definition in my abs again, and have lost inches all over my body. So even though the number on the scale has increased, I am looking more toned. It also gave me a big reality check as far as what I can physically accomplish in my daily life. Even the "realistic" schedule I created was far to ambitious for the amount of free time I posses and my current level of fitness.
I am now starting in February with schedule 3.0. It is a dramatically toned down version of the original, however, it smacks of more practicality than the prior editions. Silks training is off the menu until 2013. I miss it so much, but with everything else I have going on, I simply just do not have the bandwidth to get it started, nor do I have the finances. As I mentioned, I returned to the gym and cardio in January as well as kicking off my belly dance teaching in my new Monday time-slot, February will mark my return to once a week ballet classes and at home video belly dance practices, March sees the onset of strength training, and April begins once a week hot yoga.
And, fortunately for me, I have no lack of upcoming events to motivate me in these endeavors. In March we share the stage with the Bellydance Superstars in front of Miles Copeland. This is without question the biggest opportunity of my dance career and I refuse to be anything but at the top of my game. I feel I dropped the ball at the Suhalia workshop in September, so I have a great deal to prove both to myself and the dance community. In April, JB's band has their first show and CD release. Not only do I want to make him proud, but it will most likely be the first time in a while that I will be around the infamous "SJ" and the ex that made our relationship stall so many times. Obviously, there is no room for looking anything BUT perfect. And this morning I spoke with one of my photographer friends who would like to do a shoot this summer (not to mention the week at the beach with J's family).
On February 15th, I'm going to begin the Master Cleanse for 10 days. I'll definitely chart my progress here, as I've never attempted this before. Before the actual fast, I'm going to try to wean myself off of caffeine and after it is done, my hope is to keep it as a treat when eating out only. I can make myself learn to like water, I just have to make it a habit. Word to the wise, I probably will NOT be very nice in the month of February. Duck and Cover.
If everything goes well, I'll post some before and after pictures to show how far I've come. And if it doesn't, all I can do is keep trying. "Never give up, Never surrender!"
Cheers!
