Day 8

My foot's doing far better today - I've soaked it, iced it, massaged it, and Mom even picked me up a little sleeve that fits around my arch and puts pressure on the sore spot. So now I don't have to wear the bandage/tennis ball combo and walk like an extra from Dawn of the Dead! Woo!

My workouts were good today - I tried something called "Pryme Tyme" sculpt, which is a sculpt class more geared toward older people. I felt a little silly at first, but the exercises were far less taxing and still as effective, and all the little old ladies are so nice! You can tell they love having a new face in class - many of them made a point of introducing themselves. It's the same with water aerobics, too ... and they all have names like Winnie, Melba, Mary Lou, and one woman introduced herself as Elizabeth Taylor and began cackling madly. They're a great character study, to say the least!

The hardest class was, surprisingly, yoga. It was a different instructor than usual, and he meant BUSINESS. If Hitler instituted yoga in the ranks, it would probably be something like that class. Except we'd have to do swastika hands instead of Namaste hands. It took all I had not to feign injury and sneak out early, but damnit, it was a challenge! I wanted to see if I could tough it out, and I did. Feeling pretty bone-tired because of it, but I did it.

So I have a new favorite food - South Beach Surprise Mashed "Potatoes." I know, I know - the 'Surprise' and the quotation marks suggest bad things, as do some of the ingredients involved. But when I came down to dinner, my Shiitake chicken and green beans were accompanied by a pile of fluffy mashed potatoes with cheese! Tasted like the real thing, but with an even better texture. I had to eat a few bites before mom would confess what it really was - cauliflower! Cauliflower and a few other ingredients, cooked into something I like WAY better than the real deal. And it's like 60 calories per serving, tops! I inhaled them! Normanites, expect to be invited to dinner, and expect to be served "potatoes."

Today, for the first time in a long time, I put on real clothes - not workout clothes and not my slouchy pajama bottoms and a robe, but a t-shirt and jeans. Mom took one look at me and went, "Oh wow ... now I can definitely see a difference." I could feel it, too - the shirt still hugged my chest a bit, but it didn't fit my belly or hips nearly as tightly as usual. Same with the jeans - if I stood still, I could have a tiny bit of a gap all the way around between my skin and the waistband. It's seriously happening, guys - I'm making a change! I'm not allowed to weigh til Sunday, though ... sigh ... so no concrete update til then. Still! I'm psyched!

Tomorrow's gonna be a long day ... on top of my four workouts, I have a pilates tutorial to teach me how to use the equipment and do the moves so I'm eligible to take the actual class. May mean a late post tomorrow ... we'll see!