Jillian Michaels is Evil

Just because I don't weigh 400 pounds does not mean I can do a minute of push-ups followed by a minute of jumping jacks. For those of you who are familiar with 30 Day Shred and Jillian Michaels, these words should sound familiar to you. Perhaps even grating. Every time Jillian challenged me to push myself by comparing me to contestants on The Biggest Loser, I thought two things--one, "What if I weighed more than 400 pounds?" And two, "Fine, maybe I am lazier and weaker than 400 pound people." And then I wanted a strawberry milkshake pronto.

I am not the kind of person who benefits from tough criticism. I need uplifting, Disney-esque motivation--more along the lines of exaggerated praise for getting my ass off the couch and doing something. Even if it's just going for a five minute walk. The last thing I need is to be berated by a very angry looking woman and mocked for being less in shape than some mythical 500 pound person. It's not good for the soul.

But, thankfully, I did not let my negative reaction to 30 Day Shred keep me from working out. Drum roll please, I have started jogging again. I jogged (on the treadmill) last Thursday and this past Monday. And I jogged outside yesterday. Granted, I'm jogging a mile and a half as opposed to the 3 miles that I was doing in November, but I feel confident that I can work my way up to that distance fairly quickly.

It's completely bizarre that at this period in my life I actually like jogging. I used to dread it more than anything, and I'd use every excuse I could concoct to get out of mandatory runs in gym class. But now that there's no pressure to jog in front of others, I have started to appreciate the activity. Here are my four reasons:

1. It's immensely efficient. You can spend 23 1/2 hours of the day being lazy, but if you jog for a half hour people will think you're an "active" person.

2. It's possible to forget your pain. After the first five to ten minutes of a jog, sometimes you get into a groove, the endorphins pump through your blood stream, and you get this confident high that tells you this false assertion: "I could do this FOREVER." Of course, that's not remotely true, but it does help you get through the time.

3. It burns a lot of calories. 'Nuff said.

4. It requires little to no coordination. You don't have to follow an instructor's moves or practice a flexible pose; all you have to do is keep putting one foot in front of the other.

So, now that I have officially convinced you all to buy running gear and shun Jillian Michaels (just kidding!), I will proceed with the really important part of this post--you get to see my handwriting. I was tagged by my friend Emily, in her blog Emilina Sassperina to take a handwriting quiz. I will admit that it took me several attempts to complete the quiz because I am super self-conscious about my handwriting and I don't have a decent camera. Thankfully, a friend lent me his iPhone and I was able to take a fairly clear photo...haha.

The rules of the game:
1. Write your name & blog name
2. URL
3. Write, “A quick brown fox jumped over the lazy dog!”
4. Favorite quote
5. Favorite song
6. Favorite bands/singers
7. Anything you want to say
8. Tag some other bloggers!

Hopefully, you can read my artistic (read: cramped and scratchy) handwriting, haha. Hey, it's got personality, right ;)

Anyway, I weigh in tomorrow and I can honestly say that I'm excited to weigh in. I've followed the plan, with WPs to spare, and I'm hoping for my first official loss in months. I'll let you know of the verdict tomorrow. Happy hump day everyone!