O… about my new friend…

Well, she’s been hanging around here for about a week now. And, to tell you the truth, I think my new friend is trying to kill me. Well… maybe not… but she is, at the very least, trying to beat me up. Okay— so, now I sound like a child complaining about the very thing they need the most. My new friend Teresa (as in Tapp) has been meeting me here every day for the past week. I’m getting in the swing of things—I would have thought I’d be further ahead or that it would be easier by now — after spending 35-40 minutes a day with her. But noooooooooooo. No, she is relentless… every day it’s the same thing – every day she attempts to break my neck or my back or my buns or my thighs or my calves or my arms (or all of them at the same time).

O, oooo I know, this *is* my doing (or undoing). I should have been e-x-e-r-c-i-s-i-n-g every day through the years. But I wasn’t. Now I am. And isn’t that the crux of the Christian life? But I wasn’t—now I am. But I wasn’t walking with Jesus—now I am. I was all those things. Now, by the grace of God I am not. So now, I see it’s the same with food and exercise. I wasn’t doing what I ought—and now I am.

I’m telling you—if you’ll go and get that book and read it(!) and then pop in the DVD — you’ll see. First, you’ll meet that new friend, Teresa. And then you’ll soon learn that she is going to try and beat you up, too! I haven’t gotten to that point where I can smoothly go through two workouts every day. But I am staying with it – 2 a day. No, I haven’t lost 85 inches or 15 dress sizes ( I know – a mere exaggeration) like most of the “success stories” in the book do in the first 15 minutes 30 days. But—I am on the path. I wasn’t exercising every day before last week and it took me a lot of years and a lot of babies and a lot of nursing—okay, and a lot of eating to get where I am today. But —I’m not today where I was yesterday—I’m a tad bit better today than I was yesterday and a whole lot better than I was 5 days ago and will be better tomorrow. O, I still need to concentrate on the “routine” of exercises to get the hang of each one. But, mygoodness, they move along so swiftly that I don’t have much time to concentrate on one thing for too long… she moves on whether I’m doing it right or not. She never waits for me to get it right, even though she does remind me over and over… Is your back flat? Are your knees bent? Tuck those buns, keep your knees bent… KLT and on and on.

I’ve practically heard her in my sleep… and, believe me, I have recurring nightmares that I will be one of the poster children who didn’t lose two dress sizes and didn’t keep my back flat or my buns tucked or KLT in 30 days. O, and the KLT? O, I looked and looked in the book to see what in the world she was talking about: KLT. I thought—KLT… KLT… KLT — keep legs tight? keep laughing today? keep living tough? O: knees-little-toes. That’s where you (with legs bent, buns tucked, tummy in —feet apart: in line with hips — feet straight) keep your knees bent and pushed out toward little toes. Yes, you can! See? You can hear her, too, can’t you?

And I’ve heard her at my washer/dryer. There I am pulling the wet laundry from the washer and tucking it into the dryer… knees bent, tummy in, buns tucked… like I’m doing the “pull the weeds” exercise. Okay… so you’ve gotta get the book or go to the website so you’ll see what I mean. I tell you—she follows me all over the house… I go to unload the dishwasher and I hear her asking me: pamela, are your knees bent, is your back flat? Yes you can! It goes on and on. I’m vacuuming and there she is: are your shoulders back, is your tummy in? And I say, O, for goodness’ sakes — I’m working… I don’t have time for you to visit right now.
So she tells me I will be “Fit and Fabulous in 15 minutes.” Okay— (And that’s the title of her book, by the way) there’s one little part that might be easily overlooked, and that’s: how many “15 minutes” it will take to be fit and fabulous. I’m thinking it’s going to take a whole lot more than one week or even 60 days of 15 or even 32 minutes each day. ~wink~

If you’re going to have my new friend Teresa come over to your house, I’d suggest that you get (in addition to privacy)  a good pair of X-trainer shoes. I was greatly encouraged when I got a pair a few days ago and started wearing them just for when Teresa visits.  And I’m a whole lot more motivatd now that I have a new vocabulary —target areas have been identified and have names I’d just as soon forget. Consider: back fat, bra pudge, tummy bulge, saddle bags… Ooooooooo.   So, I’m learning the secret to a flat stomach without doing sit ups.  I already knew part of the secret (and it’s not sit-ups): it is to quit sitting up to the table (or the computer) and now, with Teresa coming over each day… I’m learning.
More next week.