The past 36 hours I have had the headache from hell. Like absolutely miserable. No amount of advil is working. Ohmygoshhelp.

So, I decided to make matters worse by doing a sugar detox. Yeah. I apparently want to have a terrible headache and be a cranky person. You’ve been warned everybody! Stay away from Monica.

I’ve been professionally trying to lose weight for, oh, like ever, so it’s always on my darn mind. Lose weight. Lose weight. Lose weight. Oh a donut! Lose weight. Hey, beer time! Lose weight. That’s a glimpse of my psyche right there. Ugh. So this year, I had managed to lose about 17 pounds, and now I’m at only 9 pounds loss, which means…lose weight. Obviously whatever I am doing is just not working, and I think the culprit is carbs. Not all of them, but the refined, delicious ones. Like donuts. Which I love. A lot.

I love donuts so much that I look forward to the fateful day in August when Bath & Body Works releases their cinnamon sugared donut scented candle. Judge away. Even worse, I snag all those suckers up once they go on clearance. I’m literally hoarding one right now in my home office. Maybe I’ll light that and sniff it when I get a donut craving.

{Photo credit}

With great triumphs, comes great sacrifice. And I’m willing to sacrifice refined sugars to see if I feel better. Well, honestly how could I feel worse? For real, y’all. I was on vacay in Houston with my pal last month, and while she was shopping away at most stores, I was sitting on a bench outside the store waiting for her because none of the clothes in there fit me. None. And how pitiful is it to google, “Plus size stores in Houston Galleria?”

The answer: hardly any unless you’re over 60 or want to look like a plus size prostitute. I prefer neither of those, thankyouverymuch!

I’m tired of being the DFF. Designated fat friend. I WANT TO SHOP AT NORMAL STORES! Oh, and yeah, I’m not talking about the plus size section at the JCP at La Palmera Mall—it’s upstairs, in a dark corner, sequestered with the maternity clothes, in the ONE PART of the store that has not been renovated. Oh, oh, and…!!! The fitting rooms are not air conditioned because they want us fluffies to sweat. I know I need to, but maybe not while I’m trying on clothes I haven’t even purchased, mkay, JCP?

But I digress.

I really do think that too many carbs and sugars have led my body to store fat despite my best efforts at calorie counting. This can lead to insulin resistance and diabetes. No thank you. Maybe for the first time in my life, my desire to be healthy is trumping my desire to be thin and shop at normal stores.

Here’s my plan of action for the next week:

• No pasta, bread, sweets, refined sugars, etc.
• I can eat fruit and nuts. And veggies, of course.
• Lean proteins.
• Nothing fried!
• I’m not quitting my diet soda for fear of committing a crime out of anger/hunger, but am limiting myself to 1-2 a day.
• Alcohol in moderation (though I will try to avoid it)
• Water, water, water! With lemon. :)
• I can still use honey/splenda, sparingly.
• Non-fat, unsweetened yogurt is OK.
• I’m reading this book and this book to remind myself that science backs this up.

Nothing crazy. Or at least not to me. Some of the sugar detox plans called for like no fruit, no honey, no caffeine, no artificial sweeteners…Once you start telling me what I can’t have, I obsess over it. I think this one-week trial is enough to get my foot in the door of trying to cut out some of the things I know are just not good for me. And then I can cut some more later. You can view my daily food diary over on MyFitnessPal and feel free to friend me if you’d like.

I’ll be blogging/tweeting about my progress, so if you want to cheer me on, please do so. I really hope this helps my constant headaches, oily skin and acne issues. Plus, I am so tired, cranky, and generally just not the woman I’d like to be because of all this junk in my body. Maybe I do have a gluten issue or am insulin resistant, so this will help no matter how I look at it. Lastly, this gets me started on a semi-paleo/gluten free/low carb lifestyle that I’d like to adopt forever. If you want proof that Paleo/gluten free can be delicious, please visit Juli’s blog: PaleOMG.com. (Thanks @FlamingoToes_ for the rec!)

Tortillas, I will miss thee!

Have you tried to combat a sugar addiction? Any tips, helpful blogs, success stories, or donut recipes that aren’t made with flour/gluten/sugar would be lovely.

Hi everyone! I’m here to give you all my review of my new Fitbit Zip. Now, I will totally be upfront with you all about 2 things.

1.) I paid for this myself.

2.) I did so much research before buying this damn thing that it is SHAMEFUL.

So about #2… I was debating between a Bodybugg, Fitbit One, and the Fitbit Zip. I pretty much scratched off the Bodybugg from my list really quickly because they require a subscription fee to access all the data, and I found the armband to be rather obnoxious. I didn’t want it to be totally obvious that I was wearing a weight loss/fitness device, especially at work. Not that I am embarrassed, but I just didn’t want the extra attention or looks. No thanks!

Then I started debating between the Fitbit One and the Fitbit Zip. Now, without going into a ton of details, here are the main differences between the 2 devices:

-Price: The Fitbit Zip is about $60 and the Fitbit One is about $100.

-The Fitbit One tracks your sleeping patterns, stairs/floors climbed, and has a vibrating alarm to gently wake you up in the morning.

-Both track your steps, distance traveled, and calories burned.

At first, I was thinking of splurging on the Fitbit One, because hey for $40 I get a bit more data. Then I started thinking that I don’t really climb stairs (none at home or work), and that I don’t really think I would do much with sleep data. To me, my sleep is what it is. I try to get as much as I need, but I have a 99-cent sleep app that really gives me all the information I care to know.

So I finally decided on the Fitbit Zip. The MSRP is about $60, although Amazon has them at about the $50 range. Honestly, I am a total cheap ass because spending money STRESSES ME OUT. Like I seriously will agonize over $4 cosmetics at Walgreens. I guess it’s because I grew up that way, and I am still that way now. I call it thrifty.

Yeah. $50. Ugh. I waited.

I was at Target on my birthday, and I saw that they had the blue Fitbit Zip for $35…but they were all sold out. I checked my Target app, and sure enough both Targets we frequent were sold out. Curses.

Not one to be deterred, I checked the Target app again about a week later when we were in another city and BAM! They had 2. I snagged one up, and now I’ve had this little guy for almost 2 weeks.

Here’s what I love:

• It’s made me walk more. I used to avoid getting up at work to go do mundane tasks, and now I actively look for opportunities to get more steps in. Same thing at home. If I forgot something in another room, I am eager to get up and get it. It’s weird how a little device can make me want to work harder. It is really hard to get 10,000 steps a day on days I don’t exercise. I am lucky if I hit 5K. Hmph.
• I feel it’s accurate. I truly do. I don’t think it’s giving me extra steps or anything.
• The calories burned information is so valuable! I’ve been struggling with weight loss lately, so it’s nice to be able to look at data and develop a game plan. Looking at a week’s worth of data, I see I burn about 2100-2500 calories a day. This helped me come up with my daily calorie goal to help me lose 1 to 1.5 pounds a week. Before my Fitbit, I was relying on internet calculators to help me determine that.
• I clip it onto my bra in the morning, and I don’t think about it until I shower or change for bed. The little clip is super snug, so I am not at all worried about losing it. If you’re a guy, you can clip it to your waist band/belt.
• I can check my stats by either looking at my Fitbit screen or just checking my iPhone 4S. It uses bluetooth technology to sync with my iPhone so I can see if I need to get up and be more active, etc. HOWEVER, the Fitbit Zip can only do this with iPhone 4S and 5 (don’t know about Android phones, sorry!) because it requires some sort of fancy new bluetooth technology. It does come with a bluetooth dongle to be able to sync wirelessly using a computer. :)
• No need to remember to charge it; it uses a replaceable watch battery that has to be replaced every 6 months or so.
• No fancy subscription required.
• Totally syncs with MyFitness Pal flawlessly!

Here’s what I don’t love:

• Not waterproof! Not that I swim,  but if I accidentally leave this on a bra and throw it in the wash…bye, bye Fitbit Zip!
• Not backlit. If I want to check my stats in the dark (without my iPhone), it’s nearly impossible.

That’s pretty much it. I absolutely love this little gadget, and I think it would totally be worth the $50-$60. Will the novelty wear off? Hhmm. Maybe. I don’t know, I’m pretty determined to lose 100 pounds and have like 87 to go, so I think this will be a fun way to stay motivated and beat my previous weeks, etc. On the Fitbit website you can create a profile and add friends and such so you can get uber competitive if you want. Here’s the link to my Fitbit profile if you want to friend me.

I read some reviews that called this a fancy pedometer, and I would disagree. If you really drill down into the data and features, it’s truly a valuable health tool. You don’t even have to want to lose weight to find the data useful.

I guess the other bad thing is that now I really want the Fitbit Aria scale so I can really over analyze all the data!

If you have any questions, leave them in the comments or email me at monicawantsit@gmail.com :)

Would you want a Fitbit Zip?

Hi everyone! It’s been awhile since I updated my blog, and it’s been purposeful for the most part.

This month has been crazy, but I’ve so missed writing to you all. Today I’m here to give an update on my 8-week weight loss journey.

Since January 1, 2013 (8-weeks ago), I’ve lost 13.2 pounds. That equates to about 1.65 pounds per week, which is pretty darn fantastic. In my ideal world, I would have lost 10 pounds a week and be DONE, but alas, that is now how weight loss works.

Picture: Taken 2/1/13, my first day of Turbo Fire.

I’ve been counting calories on My Fitness Pal, which is by far my most favorite and FREE way to lose weight. Feel free to friend me on there, I don’t bite.

It blows my mind that My Fitness Pal is so amazing and costs me zero money. The first 4 weeks of my weight loss, I lost about 10.2 pounds with Turbo Jam doing the advanced rotation. In February, I switched to Turbo Fire and have only lost 3 pounds. Turbo Fire is essentially Turbo Jam on crack. I’ll do more in-depth reviews of both in an upcoming post.

I never thought I’d be able to do Turbo Fire, and it’s quickly become my most favorite workout of all time. It’s so fast-paced and you never do anything for a super long time, so it moves by so quickly. Yet my weight loss has totally slowed down since I switched programs. I’d like to say I’ve kept measurements, but alas, I have not. I suck at taking measurements because I half-way suck it in, or I don’t know if I should measure between rolls or above rolls.

Complicated, I tell ya.

I did take before and after pics, and I don’t see a huge difference yet. Hmph.

As soon as I am done with this blog post, I am going to take measurements just for my sanity. My pants feel a little looser every week. It’s funny because before I started on my weight loss journey (for the 1.8 billionth time), I was like squeezing into my pants. Like, shimmying them over the hips, laying down, sucking it in, doing squats to make those suckers fit. Now, straight out of the dryer, they fit loose. Progress!

However, I am fairly certain my weight loss may go faster if I totally gave everything I had with my eating habits, but I told myself I wouldn’t force myself to be a saint knowing very well that it wouldn’t be something I could do forever. I still eat out. I still drink. I still eat sugar and carbs. But I do eat less of those things I love. I cut my restaurant portions in half. I have switched from margaritas with salt over to beer with lime. A donut is a once-every-2-weeks treat rather than a 2-3 times a week occurrence. Moderation is the name of my game. I also don’t eat 1200 calories a day…I eat closer to 1700-2000. I know if I cut out all those things, I probably would have lost more weight by now. But I’d also be very grumpy and ready to cave at any second.

So, 13.2 pounds down, about another 85-90 pounds to go. This is going to take awhile, and maybe that is the most discouraging part on any given day. The fact that although 8 weeks have passed, I probably have another 60, 70 or 80 weeks until I reach my goal. But if I stop now, eventually that time will pass, and then I’d have to start over again.

I’m not going to let that happen. I look forward to week-9 because it brings me my 28th birthday next Friday, March 8. One of my 30 before 30 goals is to finally be at a healthy weight. I think I’m going to get there this time.

Hope you’ll stick along with me on these pages for the ride.

The next few posts will be about some awesome fitness headbands (see photo below), a cool desk I made, and maybe I’ll finally finish the damn master bedroom makeover and take photos.

Progress.

Picture: Taken 2/20/13, after 20 days of Turbo Fire.

It’s funny how many people tweeted, wrote or Facebooked me to ask, “What are those meals you’ve been eating?”

Well, I was sent 4 days of food from DietToGo.com to review and give my honest opinion about. I finished the meals about a week and a half ago, but I am just now getting some time to write about my experience. Work is CRAZY INSANE. Everytime I think it’s going to settle down a bit, it so doesn’t.

So, I didn’t want to do the review rushed/halfway when I knew I wanted to point out some things.

I didn’t take pictures of all my meals because I get hungry and forget, but I did luckily get pictures of my favorite meals. That is one thing I will honestly say—the majority of the meals were TASTY. There were a few that I hated purely because it’s just not stuff I would normally, ever eat. Those dishes were a quinoa salad thing and a greek breakfast burrito. I tried to eat those and just could not. But if you like those foods, you might enjoy those dishes.

Here’s one of my favorite meals…it’s a reuben sandwich. I left off the salad thing that went on it to make it a reuben, so this was like a tasty grilled sandwich to me. The bread was like french toast and the cheese was plentiful and really gooey and yummy. Two thumbs up! It came with a fruit salad on the side that was super sweet and tasty.

While I thought the dinners and lunches were good overall, I thought where Diet To Go would prove really valuable for me personally is breakfast. Somehow that is the meal I have trouble with. I either eat something bland and am hungry, or I splurge and blow my whole day. The Diet To Go breakfasts were all A+ in my book (minus the greek breakfast burrito).

I tried 2 different kinds of muffins, and they were good. Now, the texture is different than a bakery muffin, but I sort of expected that because these are WAY lower in calories. The muffins were dense, in a good way, so they took me awhile to eat and digest. I was full with just the muffin. I want to know what magical stuff is in there, because I wasn’t expecting to be that satiated with a muffin. The muffin breakfast pack also came with juice (which I gave to the hubby) and yogurt. Simple, but tasty.

I thought the muffins were as good as it gets, but wait…the waffles. OH MY GOSH THE WAFFLES!

Sooooo good.

I stuck the breakfast pack in my purse on my way to work:

Then I dug in once I got to my desk:

So. Darn. Good. Delicious. Chewy. Filling. Sigh. I want more waffles. I could eat them everyday. The portion was uber generous.

Now I know a lot of you may be asking yourself if I think it’s a good value. Well, I got 4 days for free, and honestly… I liked it. It was nice to be heading out in the morning and just grab a breakfast. For lunch it was easy to just pick what I wanted to eat. It’s easy, and when I figured out the cost, it’s a bit better of a value than eating out at a restaurant…

And then there’s the sodium issue. Yes, there is a lot of sodium. There’s no way to prance around that issue. The way I look at it is that McDonald’s may be cheaper, and have just as much sodium, and maybe a Subway sub has less calories but more sodium. It is a concern though, and one I know so many people have. I feel you. I looked at the sodium and just drank more water, but yes, I was concerned.

Yeah. I don’t know what more to say about the sodium. There’s so many aspects to losing weight, and it’s hard to be perfect on all of them. My focus is calories in vs. calories out, try to make healthy choices, and exercise often.

You should do what’s best for you. Do I think that Diet To Go can help people lose weight? Absolutely. It takes the guess work out of it, it’s all there for you. Do I think it’s expensive? Yes and no. I think the meals are well thought out and coordinated, pretty filling, and it’s a tool to help keep calories under control, and if you want to lose weight, this might be a good way of doing it.

The food is tasty, and I wish they had a breakfast only plan.

Or if they just want to send me muffins, I’m down with that, too. And waffles, please.

I know many of you were waiting for my review, and I hope that I covered all my bases, but if you want to ask me a question, leave it in the comments and I’ll reply there. Or you can also email me privately at monicawantsit@gmail.com

I was sent a fabulous pack of Balance Bar® products to try to help me stick to my New Year’s Resolutions. The variety pack I was sent included a pair of each of the following: Peanut Butter, Chocolate Mint Cookie Crunch, Blueberry Acai and Cookie Dough & Double Chocolate Brownie Minis (<---only 100 calories each!).

I’ve seen Balance Bar® in stores, but have never tried them until I was sent this variety pack. My absolute fave is the Double Chocolate Brownie Mini—I eat half before a workout and I eat the other half right after. My 2nd favorite is the Blueberry Acai bar—it’s become my go-to 3 p.m. snack. It satisfies my sweet tooth and keeps me satiated until dinner time at 6 or so.

But my favorite thing about Balance Bar® is that the bars are all reasonable/low in calories, and have a perfect amount of fat/protein/carbs plus vitamins and minerals. And, to be honest, some of the varieties are pretty darn close to being better than a candy bar. Sweet and satisfying.

Since I am trying to calorie count/do Weight Watchers, these bars don’t break the bank like some others I’ve seen. The most they have is around 200 calories and the mini’s have 100. Perfect as snacks or a quick breakfast. They’ve made it a tad easier and convenient to stick to my New Year’s Resolution of losing mucho weight.

Also included in my goody box of bars were some tips to help “outlast” my New Year’s Resolution. In 2011 I pretty much caved in April, and in 2012 I caved on January 3. This year, I hope to beat both of those records by making 2013 my lucky year. This tip is really what I keep telling myself daily because some days it really feels like a lot of work to stay on track:

“Be Patient with Yourself - On average, it takes 21 days to create a new habit. When you first get started, it will take more time and energy to focus on your daily goal. The trick is to notice when you didn't accomplish your daily goal - and to not beat yourself up about it. After about three solid weeks of working on your daily goals, they'll become second nature and part of your daily routine.” –Amber Rosenberg, Certified Life Coach

So, I’m being patient with myself, trying to enjoy the process, and trying to focus on the fact that it’s a journey not a phase.

And to help YOU outlast your New Year’s Resolutions, I’m giving away a box of Balance Bar® products just like the one I got! YAY!

You can enter below using the Rafflecopter widget. Good luck!  

Disclaimer: I received products to review/giveaway, but was not otherwise compensated for this post.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

I know many of you might be thinking about New Year’s Resolutions. What is it about a new year that makes us all think we can succeed at everything we failed at the previous year?

Well, besides the fact we can succeed at anything, it is a fresh slate of sorts. Everything is so last year and is so not happening  again in 2013.

I feel ya. I do.

And while it’s technically not the new year yet, it is a great time to beat everyone who is also thinking of hopping on the fitness bandwagon. They won’t get on it until January 1, sooooo, you have almost a whole week to snag up the fitness apparel in the sizes you want/need. Now, as a woman who is fluffy, I am appalled at the lack of cute fitness apparel for fluffys. It’s like I have to lose weight to fit into anything from the major fitness brands. I’m looking at you, Reebok.

Well, let’s say you want fitness apparel, aren’t sizes 0-10, and don’t want to spend $70 on yoga pants (yeah, screw you Victoria’s Secret!)…then you’ve come to the right place. These are stores with super affordable, cute, fitness apparel that will fit you NOW.

1.) Walmart.com: Affordable (think $17 and under per item), cute, and with 97-cent per item shipping (or shop in store), they are a viable, SUPER affordable option for workout pants, tops and sports bras.

2.) LaneBryant.com: Not as cheap as Walmart, but with coupons, it can be (if you buy at the right time). A lot of the items are made by Reebox, oddly enough since Reebox.com only goes up to XL, but lots of the tops/pants are on sale constantly. The sports bras are FAB quality, and are usually BOGO 50% off or free. Coupons are key to maximizing your savings, but the prices are reasonable nonetheless.

3.) OldNavy.com: Free shipping on orders over $50, free returns, and loads of coupon offers every week, this another great option for affordable fitness apparel. They have a whole section of plus size fitness wear that is cute, practical and affordable. The sizing is a little funky, so you might want to order one size up/down and return one. Some items run huge, others run small.

As you can see, with these options there is no excuse to workout in ratty t-shirts and icky pants. I think investing in a 2-3 workout outfits will help make you feel good about yourself when working out, and hopefully keep you motivated because you’ll look so darn cute.

And since you’re saving on workout apparel, I’d urge you to splurge on these items:

1.) A heart rate monitor! My absolute favorite is this one. I’ve owned it for about 2 years now, and I love that it tells me if I need to work harder (or take it down a notch), plus it tells me how many calories I’ve burned. That info alone will help your weight loss goals since those online calculators tend to grossly over estimate how many calories you burn. This is money WELL spent, and Polar is an outstanding brand that will last you MANY years. Well worth the $65 or so.

2.) Good athletic shoes. Your knees, joints, and feet will thank you profusely. I’d suggest going to a running/walking store to get properly fitted for the proper shoes (over/under pronators), but if you don’t or can’t, Amazon.com’s shoe department is your friend. They offer free returns on all shoes sold by Amazon, so by a few different sizes/types, keep what fits, and send the others back. You won’t even have to leave the house. I personally love Asics, these shoes to be exact, but order shoes that will work for the type of exercise you will be doing (running/walking/dancing, indoor/outdoor).

3.) If you’re running or walking or even just planning on vacuuming as a form of exercise, a pair of bluetooth headphones will prove invaluable. Gotta love the feeling of no wires to interfere with your arm motions, plus if you get a phone call while you’re exercising, it’s really easy to just pick up the phone by pressing a button on your bluetooth headphones. Adjust volume, switch songs, talk on the phone without having to mess with your phone. Pure. Bliss. I own this pair, and they’re so luxe without the luxe price tag. They’re rechargeable, have good volume and seem pretty heavy duty.

I hope those suggestions help all of us who are a little ahem, chubby, find some cute workout clothes so we can be fit and healthy in 2013. If there’s a store I forgot about, please leave me a comment so others can see, too.

I almost forgot—if you’re shopping online, remember to click through eBates! You earn cash back on all your purchases, so if you spend $100 at Old Navy, and they’re doing 5% cash back that day, you’ll end up with $5 cash back. Every bit helps, and it’s super easy to sign up here. You can save up that cash back money to buy some smaller clothes in spring time, right? :)

What are your favorite exercise/fitness activities to do when you’re trying to get back into a fitness routine?

I’ve tried it all when it comes to exercise DVD’s. From the age of 16 or so (when I started working at the Target 1-hour photo lab), I bought into the latest exercise crazes. If it had an infomercial, even better.

Winsor Pilates? Check. Hated it. Sold it on eBay.

Original Zumba on VHS? Loved it. Til VCR’s became extinct.

Carmen Electra’s Striptease Workout? Liked it. Til I got bored. Sold it on eBay.

Turbo Jam? Loved it, was too cheap, burned copies from a friend. Still love it.

Richard Simmons Sweatin to the Oldies? Adore. Still have them.

The Shred? Loved/hated/despised it. Sold it on eBay.

See? I’ve done it all. Now that I have to ahem, budget, I don’t go nuts and buy too many of those gimmicky kinds of things. I tend to only buy DVD’s that I can do and that will be fun. No need to torture myself doing something like P90X. No offense to those of you who love them and think they’re fun—it’s just not my style of workout.

Honestly, when I workout I like to pretend I am a backup dancer for Britney Spears. And I have to be DAMN NEAR PERFECT, because by golly, I am dancing behind Britney effing Spears.

I can’t be the only one. You don’t pretend you’re a pop star back-up dancer when you workout?

You should.

Image Credit: Amazon

While working out to the Jazzercise: Burlesque DVD. First of all, the workout has songs 90% of us will recognize. It has 2 Britney songs (“3” and “Slave For You”), 2 Pussycat Dolls (“Dontcha” and “Wait a Minute”) songs, a song from the movie Burlesque, a song by JLO (“On the Floor”), one by Beyonce (“Girls”)and a song that sounds like it maybe could be by Marc Anthony. Don’t hold me to that. It’s Latin-ish, not by Pitbull, so Marc Anthony is a safe bet.

As someone who has done Jazzercise before, I adore the format of their classes. They stay true to that in this workout DVD. The warm-up and stretch part lasts a good 6 minutes or so, unlike other workout regiments I do where they’re like “shake your hips, clap twice, now let’s hurt ourselves by jumping around like crazy people!”

None of that here folks. After about 6 minutes, you go into the JLO “On the Floor” routine, and it’s challenging. I’ll be 100% forthcoming in admitting if it involves jumps, I am NOT doing it. A year ago I landed in physical therapy due to Zumba classes, so I do not want to go down that road again. While they’re jumping, I march in place or shake my ass.

Also, minutes 6-20 are the absolute hardest. You will be huffing and puffing, but you’ll also be having FUN. The moves are fun, and you don’t feel dorky. The moves are a bit sexy and don’t require you to be a proficient dancer. Again, just to be real with you all, I am the type that picks up on dance workouts very quickly, but for someone who doesn’t it might take 1-2 workouts to get in the groove. As long as you’re moving, don’t sweat it.

After you finish the super hard part (minutes 6-20) you do a few more dances until about minute 30 when it switches to Beyonce. It’s a standing ab workout that I find to be effective and not torture. The next toning song is Britney “3” and it’s toning for legs. I do about 1/2 of this one—anytime there’s lunges I lightly march/jog in place. I’m not willing to hurt my knee over a $15 DVD. Toning lasts from about minute 30 until 40. Then the last song comes in and you cool down and stretch.

Super fun, not super easy. This workout is great for those who find working out to be a chore, are overweight, don’t like dancing in public, but are willing to shake what their momma gave them…in the privacy of their own home.

I hope this review helps someone who has been wanting to workout, but dreads doing a super “serious” DVD and wants something that feels like a night of clubbing with friends.

If all else fails, I swear that pretending you’re a back-up dancer for your favorite pop star is a good way to have fun and dream a little.

What workout DVD’s do you love?

You all know my struggles, and boy do I struggle, with weight loss.

The last time I wrote about it, I then committed to about 4 weeks of counting points and doing well, but without exercising at all. Then, I went out-of-town to see my mom, decided to splurge, fell off the bandwagon and have been half assing it since then.

So, I lost 5 pounds, gained them back, and here I am, oh about 6-8 weeks later?

And let’s rinse and repeat because, hey, it’ll probably happen again!

And again.

Dear God why is this so hard?

I know a lot of people say that fat people are fat because they are lazy. Then fat people get all upset because they have a thyroid issue or some medical attention or are big boned or whatever…

Personally, I’m coming to terms with the fact I am fat because I AM lazy. I know, sounds harsh, but truth hurts. And it hurts to be fat.

Big time.

Pun intended.

I want to lose weight, look like a JLO/Jessica Alba hybrid and still eat what I want and sit on my ass watching my TV shows every night in my super huge night shirt that hides every ounce of fat.

Wow, I sound pretty pathetic now that I said that out loud.

But it’s true. So. I know I’m not alone. Perhaps you’re feeling this way, too. I guess what I need to think about during these moments is that being lazy and overweight not only leads me to be unhealthy, but it leads me to be unhappy. Since I’ve put on all this weight since my wedding (like a ton…it’s awful…omg…), I now don’t go to the mall to shop for clothes. I go to the mall and stick to buying pretty shoes, handbags and jewelry or stocking up on stuff that smells like donuts at Bath & Body Works. You know, stuff that doesn’t revolve around getting my thunder thighs into the latest trendy, cute clothes. With the exception of plus size stores, I can’t really buy any clothes at the mall.

And that is sad. I miss the days of being able to fit into clothes at New York & Company or Anne Klein or White House Black Market. Now I shamefully do the walk to the “woman’s” section of the department store or I try to be blissfully oblivious and shop from home to avoid seeing my rolls magnified in a 3-way mirror under harsh lighting and dressing rooms that smell like armpits and pee. Oh, oh, and I also hate to see the “W” behind my size. It’s bad enough it’s a LARGE number, do we hafta add a W for like “WIDE ASS” after it? I mean, gosh.

BUT, rather than give up, I somehow never lose sight of what I want. I want to be healthy. I want to be thin. I want to shop in normal stores again.

I want to feel better about myself.

So, I’m devising a weight loss plan for lazy people, like myself.

I do so much sitting around at home in the evenings from about 6-11 pm, so part of my lazy people weight loss plan involves scheduling stuff in the evenings so I am more productive and more active.

4 times a week, from 6:30-7:30 pm, I will engage in some form of exercise. At 6:30, I will stop what I am doing, change into workout clothes and MOVE. Then from 7:30-8, I will shower and all that jazz. From 8-9 pm I will work on blog posts, with original content, so I can actually try to get in the habit of posting regularly instead of sporadically. Then from 9-9:30, I will do stuff around the house in order to not have to spend all my weekend doing housework. Then from 9:30 until bedtime, I will watch TV or troll online, etc.

Just 4 evenings a week. The other evening I can use to catch up on my DVR or do grocery shopping, menu planning, etc.

On weekends, I have to exercise on Saturday or Sunday.

And as far as eating goes, I get off track when I don’t plan, or when I allow myself to totally splurge. Oh and when I go out drinking. This means I have to think ahead and plan, plan, plan. I will stick to what has always worked for me…the old school Weight Watchers flex points plan.

Will this work? Who knows.

There has to be a way for lazy people to lose weight. If only desire produced results.

But speaking of shopping, there is a new line of clothes I am in love with (especially for work!) that I will be writing about tomorrow. I know it’s so hard to be plus size and confident, so I am excited to write about some of the stuff I’ve bought from this fab brand/store.

What do you do when you have no energy to focus, workout and lose weight, but tons of desire to?

Have you ever worked out on carpet at home and found it difficult? Especially when doing activities like dancing or maybe kickboxing where you have to pivot, slide or move your feet quickly?

Well. It sucks.

It especially sucks if you have bad knees, like yours truly. Working out on carpet makes an already painful situation that much more challenging and painful.

Which is why when I heard about these awesome slip-on dancers that make working out on carpet a bit easier, I was enthralled. Could such a magic item really exist? And... Could it really be about $15?

Apparently yes.

I was so smitten with the concept that I asked for a pair to review, and they said yes. Score! (And thank you!)

When I took them out of the package, I was a bit skeptical. They sort of look like a bracelet gizmo that a cheer squad would wear.

Putting them on my shoes proved to be interesting. If you put them on after you already have your shoes on, you kind of have to man handle them to get them just the way you want them. If you put them on your shoes before putting them on your feet, it's hard to get the perfect placement. Overall, I'd recommend putting them on shoes first, then put the shoes on and tweak as needed. If you put the slip-ons too far up close to the toes and try to walk you'll quickly feel as if you're about to fall on your ass.

Not that I personally experienced that or anything. Hmph.

I've used them in various workouts, and I found that they do make my exercises easier. Are they a miracle worker? Not quite, but for $15 you shouldn't expect them to be. Basically they are designed to make it a bit easier, not effortless. They help my knees "twist" less during Turbo Jam, Just Dance, Zumba and help my lateral movements during Walk Away the Pounds.

However, I do find one of them does usually shift to the point of sliding off about every other workout or 2.  Annoying, but not a deal breaker.

Personally, I only use these shoes to workout in, so I don't have to take the slip-ons on/off constantly. I think if someone wanted to slide them on/off constantly (since you don't want to wear these outside) would probably reduce the life of the slip-ons.

Overall, they've made my workouts less strenuous on my knees which in turn makes me more likely to workout on my non-workout friendly carpet. The affordable price makes them worth a try. Let me know if you all have any questions in the comments section and I'll reply. :-)

I also wanted to point out that in addition to the carpet slip-ons they also have slip-ons for smooth surfaces. Make sure you order the proper one. Happy Dancing!

Disclaimer: I received a pair of slip-ons to review, but was otherwise not compensated for this review. All opinions/photos are my own, as always.