Does everyone sweat during yoga?

I know it shouldn't be such a major deal everytime I do it, but I got up this morning at 6 am and did 30 minutes of yoga and 20 minutes of pilates. I'm proud of myself. I've decided it's so much easier for me to psyche myself up and out of bed at 6 a.m. if I'm going to do yoga than it is when I'm planning to go for a run or jump around with Jillian.

As I mentioned last night, I went for a run in the evening. It was not exactly an enjoyable experience, (I'm not quite there yet) but I was encouraged by all the people who were out for their runs at 9 pm. Generally speaking, I don't like to exercise in the evening before bed, but I did sleep better than I have in awhile. I've always read/heard that exercising in the evening could keep you from getting a good night's sleep. But that wasn't the case for me last night. If I hadn't been awakened by a torrential downpour last night, I probably would have slept all night!

Finally, I haven't done yoga in about a week. As always, I am amazed at how much I sweat when I do my yoga practice. Shortly after I start my practice it's like a faucet gets turned on, and I just start dripping. Does this happen to anyone else?

2d30D22: Not creative, but feeling good

I didn't post this weekend, but I did do workouts for Days 20 and 21.

This morning I was up and at 'em by 6:20. I did Level 3 of the 30 Day Shred and 30 minutes of Yoga Sculpt. I haven't done Yoga Sculpt in a while and it felt really good. I must have tweaked my left knee a bit, because it was bothering me during the "dancing warrior series," but it was fine for everything else, including the Shred. The Shred felt good too. I still don't do the Rock Star Jumps, but I'm 100% happy with my efforts. I'm able to follow Natalie for all of the other moves!

I gave myself 4.5 activity points for this morning's workout. (3 pts for 25 mins of high intensity; 1.5 pts for 30 minutes of Yoga which is somewhere between moderate and high intensity, but probably closer to moderate.) I realized this morning, though, that most of my activity points are taken up by my protein drink, which comes in at 3 points.

Still haven't weighed myself. I almost talked myself into stepping on the scale, but I just couldn't do it. I have a doctor's appointment next week, so I will for sure step on the scale before then, because I don't want any surprises at the doctor's office.

2d30D19: A New Day

In keeping with my new efforts to wratchet up my weight loss, I worked out for just over an hour this morning. I decided to do Level 3 of 30 Day Shred and Cardio Yoga. I was really close to getting outside to run this morning, but I could hear wind howling, and I thought it was going to be cold. But, when I took my son to the bus stop a little while ago, I realized that it's a "warm" breeze. Maybe I'll run tomorrow as my warm-up.

Also, in keeping with my effort to eat less sugar, I skipped my morning OJ when I realized that it has a whopping 24 g of sugar. I knew OJ had a lot of sugar, but I had no idea it was more than half of the recommended 40 g of sugar alloted for an entire day.

I've already had more than 16 oz of water this morning, so I'm well on my way to 40 oz.

2d30D13: I followed Natalie!

I followed Natalie while doing Level 3 of the 30 Day Shred! I've done level 3 before, but I've always followed Anita's modifications. So, when I got my DVD back yesterday and decided to do Level 3, I also decided to follow "bad ass" Natalie.

I haven't done Level 3 in at least 2 months, and I forgot how hard it was, I mean really, really hard, especially if you don't do the wussy modifications. Honestly, there isn't one move that is easy. From the "walking plank up-up/down-downs" all the way through to the "Rock Start Jumps," all the moves are killer, and I hate them all. I hate the jumping squats and the "weighted plank-hold, arm and leg raise" move and the "Supermans." Jillian even takes the good old "jumping jack" to the next level by making us use weights. Ok, maybe the "one-armed squat clean and presses" might be considered by some to be "easier," but you're so tired by the time you get to those, that it's not as easy as it looks.

I was pretty spent at the end of the workout. I started to do Yoga Sculpt after the Shred, but I was dripping with sweat and wasn't into it. So, I stopped about 2 minutes in and started the Cardio Autonomy Yoga routine again. It's more relaxing. The pace is slower, and I get more of a stretch because you hold the poses longer. It was just what I needed after Level 3 of the 30 Day Shred.

Day 28: Not that sore

I went to bed last night thinking that I could already feel the "soreness" coming on. I even contemplated taking a few asprin just to ward off some of the soreness, but I didn't. This morning, I'm not as sore as I thought I would be. I remember the day after my first session with M, I could not even raise my arms above my head, and I also remember by shins feeling like they were on fire. Today, my shoulders are sore and so are my abs, but that's about it. I did 30 minutes of Yoga and 10 minutes of Pilates abs earlier. I know my abs are sore because I could barely get through "The Hundred" which is usually not that hard for me. I'm glad I did the Yoga, my body needed the stretching.

On an unrelated note, I made Leek soup last night. It turned out really good. I thought it would be a good thing to have for lunch and dinner tonight so I don't eat meat today, Good Friday.

Day 26: Just Yoga and Disappointment

Today was going to be an off day, but when I was only able to get in Level 2 of the 30 Day Shred video yesterday, I decided to move the Yoga to this morning. I did 30 minutes of Yoga Sculpt from Exercise TV On Demand (yep, still working) followed by 10 minutes of Pilates Abs. It always amazes me how much I sweat when I do yoga. I mean, I was dripping all over my mat. I hope this means that I'm doing it right, and I'm working all my muscles hard. Even though I haven't done a yoga routine in, gosh, about a week, I still feel pretty strong.

Disappointment: I weighed myself this morning... 140 lbs. I just don't get it. I have been eating well, I think. I keep track in a journal of everything I eat. I average about 1100 calories per day. Some days I eat 1000 calories, and other days, I eat 1200. On weekends, it's harder to stay within the 1000-1200 calorie range, but that's not unusual for anyone trying to lose weight. Fortunately, I'm able to take comfort in the following: I feel great! I feel strong, and I've noticed that I have more energy than I did a few weeks ago, when I was complaining about feeling tired all the time. It feels like my "tummy bulge" is getting smaller. In fact, today I am wearing a pair of jeans that previously I was unable to zip. I guess I need to focus on the positve and not dwell on the number on the scale, but that's easier said than done.

Tomorrow is my first session with the personal trainer. I purchased 8 sessions, and I plan to go twice a week. At the end of those 8 sessions, assuming I've seen progress, I will purchase another 8 sessions. They are running a 2 for 1 special that ends at the end of April. Those 16 sessions should get me to the end of May, after that I will have to evaluate what to do from there: continue with the personal trainer or join the rec center gym and try to continue on my own or some combination thereof. The problem is the personal trainer will get really expensive, so I need to be really close to my goal in order to justify the expense. I have high expectations, so we'll see what the next 2 months holds.

Day 16: Yoga

I only had time for 45 minutes of Yoga this morning. In the hopes that an offer comes through on our house, we are off to look at a few houses later this morning with our agent. I'm fine with 45 minutes of Yoga. I worked out hard for the past two days so the deep stretches felt good.

Had a great dinner last night at Ocean Prime. I ordered Salmon which was prepared with a soy butter sauce and ginger snap peas. I also had the house salad with the honey mustard dressing on the side. I had two small spoonfuls of potatoes and 1 small spoonful of creamed spinach. I drank 3 glasses of wine, too. Oh, and I just remembered my two bites of chocolate cake. By my calculations, the entire meal was around 1300 calories, a bit high, but not terrible. I'm happy with my choices. Obviously, I could have cut calories by not drinking wine and skipping the salad, and one of spoonfuls of potatoes, but I'm not the kind of person who deprives herself when it comes to food. I like to eat, I just need to be mindful of my portion sizes.