Sorry to hear the weather and the TOM are not cooperating. I remember trying to jog in WI in summer, come to think of it that might have something to do with my complete distaste for running. Humidity + heat + running = hell on earth. I have been shamefully off-plan since Jason left, when I am home alone I have a tendency to become a little sloth-like. And to eat an entirely unacceptable amount of baked goods. Just because the banana bread is whole wheat does not mean it’s a good idea to eat a whole loaf over the course of a weekend. I’m just sayin’, FYI. Oh well, I am too excited to leave for Costa Rica in THREE DAYS to be anything other than giddy, even if I’m up a pound or two from last week. I just ordered Body for Life for Women on amazon.com and I’m going to come home, read it, and get totally inspired and these last 30 lbs won’t know what hit them. But right now the beach and rainforest are calling.

Oh, running in the summer is definitely hell on earth. I hate being hot. HATE. So if I do run in the summer it will definitely be either at night or very early in the morning. I actually do much better with eating/exercising when The Boy isn't here - when he is I don't want to do my DVDs because of the awkward factor, and he often suggests, say, picking up some cookies while we're at the health food store. 440 calorie cookies. Evil. So usually I just schedule my cardio days for the ones when he works, because otherwise - like this week - things start getting put off or forgotten about.

I'm so jealous that you're going to Costa Rica! That's amazing. The rainforest is definitely something I want to see before I die.

I'm going to check out Body for Life on Amazon right now! Thanks. :)

Vegan junkfood is not good for motivation. Though it soothes the soul well. For example, a peanut butter covered chocolate dipped ricecake. Which is so f*ing yummy and it kind of melts all over your fingers and makes you want to lick them instead of being a grown up and wipe them off on a towel.

heat + period = hell. I hear you on both fronts. I don't suppose swimming is your thing? I find it helpful on days when those two factors come together.

jessie - Nope, junk is NOT good for motivation. It actually doesn't soothe my soul very well either, though. It just makes me feel fat(ter) and guilty and really angry with myself. So it's really a lose-lose situation. Peanut butter on rice cakes is a common snack for me, but I've never had it with chocolate. Interesting... chocolate + PB can do no wrong.

megan - I actually love to swim, but it's not really much of an option for a few reasons. One is that I don't belong to a gym, or the Y, or any other place with a pool, nor can I afford to. Another is that I don't really like to swim in crowded pools/bodies of water because I have The Big Issues and am generally a people-phobe. And lastly, shopping for a bathing suit and then wearing said bathing suit makes me want to hurl myself in front of a speeding bus. So yeah, I love swimming, but... alas. It is pretty much the perfect summer exercise, though.

This is totally not helpful and embarassing, but I used to use my mom's (random ass) Kickin it with Country - Denise Austin work out when I was in high school. Boot scooten boogy!

I'm with you, I hate hot weather.

A data base of over 500 exercises? WOW! Neat!

The Risotto looks great! Yum!

It's been in the nineties in MN and humid as hell, too. Ugh. I walked to work yesterday, after having showered, and as a testament to the high humidity, my hair was STILL WET when I arrived at work. After a windy 30-minute walk. I also had to carry my backpack because my back was sweating so much! Ick.

I give you props for trying to work out, at least -- I can't run to save my life, because of bad knees (genetics.) I have good strength and endurance for low-impact things like hiking, walking, and biking, but am a crappy-ass for cardio things like swimming and running. I really need to work on that!

jess - Boot scooten boogy! HAHAHAHAHA I just had major middle school gym class forced line dancing flashbacks. :)

harmonia - I know, it sounds really neat. I wish I didn't hate it so much!

catherine - Ew, I hate humidity. It just makes everything so much worse. I prefer the low-impact stuff as well, but I feel like I need to do more strenuous stuff... ugh. It's too hot to run now, though.

If you want to check out some previews before you buy from amazon go to collagevideo.com. you can also search by type of workout and they have staff picks.

Hundreds of miles away, who knew we'd be on the very same cycle? I did the SAME thing this morning. Weighed myself after eating, not peeing, and on my "." Worst idea ever!

grace - I love collagevideo! It's so helpful to be able to actually see the videos. But I have so many on my list of possible buys that hearing what others think is always valuable.

kat - Isn't it the stupidest thing to do? I mean, really. Why are we such masochists?

I just started back to working out today for the first time in a long time and only made it through 20 minutes of the cardio kickboxing tape, but all was good and it felt good to sweat. I think the most important thing is to just move a little every day. Hope the craps go away soon, because they can certainly wreck your day and are definitely a good reason to not workout hard.

Ooh, I love kickboxing! So fun, if a bit hard to keep up with at times. I agree, just moving somehow every day is the most important thing. :)