Pole Dancing...for exercise???

Me at my first pole dancing class!
Originally uploaded by ericaburnsdesigns

That's right! You've seen Oprah do it, you've heard about it. Well all the hype is right. This was the most fun I have had working out...maybe ever! I started a class at a pole dancing studio called A Pole New You located in my hometown, Frederick, MD. I had my first class last night with the co-owner, Tammy Frazier. She has training as an educator, dance instructor & cirriculum writer. The perfect combination to start a pole dancing studio! Tammy told us that she taught herself the techniques of pole dancing in a few months. She was great! I can't wait for session # 2! A Pole New You will be having a grand opening this Saturday the 12th. If you are any where near Frederick Maryland you should stop through!

Success!

After one week of exercising almost daily & following (sort of) the weight watchers flex point system I lost 6.5 pounds in one week! I am really happy about that. The exercise has not even been too strenuous so far, but I plan to start stepping it up this week. But so far this pass week I have done a lot of walking. I have done the treadmill once, but mostly I have been enjoying the coming Spring weather & getting outside & walking. I did 40 minutes of brisk walking 2 days. The other days I walked during lunch around downtown Frederick, MD. I keep forgetting to take my camera so I can show you all (like anyone reads this) how pretty Frederick is. I promise pictures this week! For work I have to go to court once a week. It is about a 10 minute walk, so I walked this week rather than driving. These little changes seem to really be working for me. In addition to the exercising I have kind of started following weight watchers. I say kind of because I have not officially joined, but I am staying within my alloted points according to what I have read online. I also found this great tool called Daily Plate. I have created a free profile & this helps because I can actually see if I am getting proper nutrition rather than just counting calories, fat & fiber. You could technically eat a bunch of 100 calorie packs of junk food & chemical filled Lean Cuisines & stay within your limits, but I believe in eating real food like brown rice, fish, & oatmeal. Now I only have 75.5 pounds to reach my goal weight! That is still a lot, but I am hopeful that I can get there eventually. Slow & steady. This week my goal will be to lose 4.5 pounds. I know that is a lot, but the first few weeks you can usually lose more before you slow down to 1-2 pounds per week. I hope to be down to my goal by next Feb. Well, I'm going to go get in a good workout at the gym today. Come home & cook something good, relax & enjoy the rest of my weekend.

Long Walk

I took a long walk today at my son's baseball practice. He practices at this huge park called Heritage Farm Park in the town of Walkersville. The park is huge & they have a really nice walking path. I took my 11 year old niece Bryana with me. She did nothing but complain the entire time. She kept asking me to slow down, to take a break, take a short cut. She is very overweight for her age/ height, so I really wanted to try to help her get her weight down. Lola & Bella went too. They loved it! They sniffed & peed & sniffed some more. We walked for a total of 40 minutes (actually Bre finally took a short cut so she probably got in 30 min). Before I dropped Bre off she asked when were going to walk again! Maybe she will get used to it & start to like to exercise after all.

As I was walking I thought how lovely some of the scenere would be for my blog. Next time, pictures! I promise!

I feel pretty good right now! I think I am going to go crash now & get some ZZZZ's.