Let's Try This Again, Shall We?

[Lizbeth927]

I think my story is similar to so many other people who post on this site. I've been reading posts and other peoples journals for the past week and have finally decided that it's time to start my own journal. It's time to be ACCOUNTABLE. About three and a half years ago I hit my high weight, 204 pounds. I'm only 4'11" so I was VERY big. I was also completely miserable, had just been laid off, and had virtually no social life to speak of. So, I committed myself mind, body and soul to Atkins. The weight came off so quickly, I honestly never thought that I COULD lose weight, but once I committed myself to a cheat-free Atkins way of life I found it incredibly easy to lose the weight. Within nine months I lost 75 pounds and was down to 130, which is actually still at the heavy end of the spectrum for someone of my height. But to be honest, I have never been that thin. I was wearing a size 6, sometimes even a 4. I started working out a lot about halfway to my goal, which really helped shape and tone my body. During that time I also found a job that I loved and met and moved in with a man who I adored. And then I stopped losing. And eventually I stopped hearing about how great I looked and how much weight I had lost and what an inspiration I was to other people. Then things ended VERY badly with the man that I desperately loved. So I started to learn one of the lessons that I think every heavy person who sheds the weight learns...that losing weight won't solve all of your problems. When I was at my heaviest, it was SO easy to sit in my apartment alone eating ice cream and blame all of my problems and loneliness and heartache on being fat. I thought it was this "thing" that I had no control over and that I couldn't change. I spent hours dreaming about what my life would be like when I was finally thin. How I would find the man of my dreams and a great group of friends and my life would turn into a TV sitcom. So, when I finally did lose the weight and actually liked what I saw in the mirror, it was so disappointing when my life didn't pan out exactly as I had planned that it would. After my bad relationship ended I knew that I had to do something in order to meet people closer to my own age, so I took on a part time serving job. And through that job for a long time I found the happiness that had been escaping me for so long. I started dating someone new, and I became a part of a group of friends that I had so much fun with. Change, however, is the only true constant in life, and the happiness didn't last forever. The guy that I started dating died in a car accident and about six months ago I finally left the serving job. I'm starting to get older, and all of the people that I worked at the restaurant with were still young, college kids who liked to go out and party. I found that all I was doing was drinking my life away, and I didn't want that lifestyle anymore. I also didn't want to have to work 60 hours a week between my two jobs. Anyway, to end this long story, ever since I started working in a restaurant I began to slowly eat the way I used to. And once I finally left that job and lost a lot of those friends in the process, I turned to food for comfort more and more. Suddenly, a pint of Ben and Jerry's here and a bag of licorice there, and two and a half years after originally reaching my goal weight, I am back up to 170 pounds and feeling miserable all over again. So I have decided that I need to take hold of my life again, and recommit myself to Atkins because I know that it's something that I can do. I have done it before and experienced a tremendous amount of success. I know how to follow the plan, and I have revisited the book and some helpful websites. The hardest part for me is going to be not having any alcohol, which I have to deal with. But I think not drinking so much will be good for me. I have a tendency to rely on alcohol more than I should. Anyway, I started my eating and exercise plan a few days ago, and while I haven't seen any major drops on the scale yet (just down to 169, but it's a start!) I know that this is something that will not happen overnight. Heck, right now all I really want is to be able to fit back into my old jeans! Any pair will do So, this is the place where I am going to hold myself accountable every day. I'm keeping a separate food journal, so I may not record all of my food intake here, but if I need to then it will happen. Besides food, one of the main things that I am going to focus on is exercise and getting back in shape. At my goal weight the first time around, I was able to run three miles without stopping and I LOVED to run. I loved the power I felt over my own body, and how strong and sexy I felt knowing what my body was able to accomplish. The past two days I have walked three miles each day, and yesterday I even managed to run for about a mile of the trip (in segments, of course!) I want to make a commitment to getting some sort of exercise 6 days a week. It makes me feel SO much better and it helps me to stay on track with my diet as well. Ok, this has been a LONG entry. Good luck to me!!

[Lizbeth927]

Well, for some reason (mainly that I was sitting at home on a Saturday night and feeling a little down) I ended up drinking entirely too much last night and then proceeded to EAT CARBS! I wish that I had not even started drinking in the first place, because then my mind would have remained clear enough to make a conscious decision about the foods I was putting in my mouth. But, I have decided not to dwell on last night and instead focus on today. Despite the carb blowout last night I was still at 169, which I guess I'll take considering that I expected to have gained. I'm probably just dehydrated from drinking Must nip that in the bud asap. I had chicken salad on baby greens around ten this morning, kind of a brunch meal I guess. Then I went for my walk/run. Definitely ran more today than yesterday, although my legs feel like jello! I really need to find a good ab workout because even though I know I need cardio to burn off my excess fat, I'd like to tone and build muscle too. I'm supposed to go out to lunch today with a friend, but she and I have been having a lot of problems lately and I'm not sure she'll actually call. If she doesn't, it might just be the last straw! However, if she does happen to call I have already decided that I'm just going to have a small salad, considering that I'm still VERY full from my mid-morning meal. And I can't forget the WATER!!! I really need to go to the grocery store and stock up on some low-card snacks, like veggie sticks, etc. When I'm bored in the evening I always find myself reaching for something, and right now I really don't have any snack type things around. Ok, I WILL stay on track for the rest of the day. And no drinking tonight!

[Lizbeth927]

I had such a good day yesterday. I ate totally clean, went out to lunch with a girlfriend and didn't even have a cocktail! Got in a huge fight with a good friend and DID NOT turn to food for comfort, I honestly can't say how proud of myself I am about that one. Plus, I walked/jogged two miles and did an hour and a half of tae bo. Granted, I am feeling sore today but otherwise I feel so great. I bought a new food/health journal that is more enjoyable to write in than my old one, and I think it's going to really keep me on track. I remember that the first time around I didn't stick with my journal very long but still had tremendous success, but this time around I'm going to use it until I feel like I don't need to anymore. And I definitely still need to now! Anyway, I had a really hard time sleeping last night (despite all the exercise, which is strange. I think the fight may have had something to do with it) so I am just getting up and around now. I am going to have some scrambled eggs and then go for my run. Then I have errands to run and I am driving up to visit my brother. I'm hoping I'll have time to fit a second bout of exercise in later in the day, but we'll see. I'm just REALLY hoping that once I go back to work on Wed. I'll still stick to exercising every day. I MUST! Anyway, down to 168 today Just gotta keep it going! I'm on the way to skinny-town.

[Lizbeth927]

Adding another little note for the day. Breakfast was 4 scrambled eggs with a little cheese. Definitely should not eat so many eggs!! I would have been full with just 2! But damn, since they were in front of me I just kept eating them anyway. I'm not sure if anyone happens to read my journal, but I'm new to the site and so far haven't posted anywhere but here, so if anyone wants to comment on anything, feel free! I feel inspired just reading other peoples' journals, I am definitely feeling like this time around I've got things back on track. Plus, I am finally starting to come out of my carbless fog and the headaches are diminishing. This morning after breakfast (which I really should have let digest a little longer, I nearly got sick!) I went for my (now!) daily walk/jog and ran almost the entire 2 miles. I ended up walking a few blocks here and there to catch my breath, but finished VERY close to the first mile without stopping at all, which felt amazing. Exercise just makes me feel so much more in control of my body, I love it! My goals for today are KETOSIS (my strips are still showing that I'm only in ketosis a small amount, I'd love to see a darker purple), no alcohol (I'm making this my goal for the entire month of April, which honestly will probably be harder for me than sticking to my food plan!), and fitting in one more bout of exercise like an ab workout or weight training if I can find the time. I'm finding that these posts are really helping. I used to write in a journal that I just saved on my computer, but something about putting these entries on this site for other people to see makes me feel much more accountable. I love it!

[JHudson04]

Hi Lizbeth! Thanks for posting your story. I hope we can support each other as we work towards our mutual goals. Good luck!

[Lizbeth927]

Well, I ended up going out last night and definitely drank more than I should have. This no alcohol thing is VERY hard for me. But I had a great time and got to see some friends that I haven't seen in quite awhile. And I ate VERY clean yesterday. Have yet to test my ketosis because I'm worried that the drinking last night might have knocked me out (even though I stuck to very low carb beverages). The good news is that I'm down to 166!! Hooray More later...for now I need to go back to sleep. It's my last day of vacation

[Lizbeth927]

Ended up having a bloody mary lunch to reconnect with my best friend. It's been a while since we've really sat down and made time for each other. I don't really want to think about how many carbs are in ONE bloody mary, let alone the two I had (although if anyone knows off the top of their head I would love to know!). On a positive note, I only ate about a quarter of my chicken caesar salad (no croutons of course) and drank 3 glasses of water. I feel like once I am back to work tomorrow it won't be as difficult to say no to alcohol, except on the weekends which I'm okay with. My friends just drink a lot, it's a part of their lifestyle. Sometimes it's hard to say no, but I need to learn how. Especially because I have been doing so well saying no to carbs!! Anyway, it was GREAT to catch up with my friend, I felt like it was long overdue. Now I am going to go catch up on some shows I Tivo'd and haven't had time to watch yet. Then it's time for my run...definitely. Even though I really don't want to today...I MUST!

[Lizbeth927]

Back to work today. It was really nice to be back with the kids...but they didn't even wake up until after ten this morning, and I was there at eight! I got almost NO sleep last night, so I really wasn't too happy when I got up to go to work this morning and found a dark house. Oh well, what can I do. I ended up not getting up this morning to work out because of my insomnia last night. I think I only slept for a total of two hours. It was terrible. Anyway, I am debating doing some sort of exercise tonight while watching TV (I have a glider and a mini trampoline), but I also may just count this as my rest day since I have worked out the last six days. I woke up this morning weighing 170!! Which is crazy because my eating was completely clean. But I'm not going to get discouraged because I realized I haven't exactly been "regular" and that might be a large part of it. Besides not getting nearly enough sleep last night I really am feeling so much better. I think that exercising is really helping me to get rid of some of my anxiety, which is fantastic. Went grocery shopping with the kids today and made sure to put a lot of lc food in the cart too, although they eat pretty low carb (except for fruit) at their house anyway. Today's menu:

B: three scambled eggs with a little shredded cheese
one cup coffee w/ heavy cream and 1 pkt Splenda
S: Organic cheese stick
L: small plain green salad w/ 1 slice low sodium turkey and 7 cherry tom.
S: few slices salami with swiss cheese, 10 almonds
D: turkey taco salad (just turkey meat w/ taco seas. and lettuce)

I'm VERY full right now, almost too full. Also, I know induction doesn't technically allow nuts but I ate them the first time around and did all right, I just know to take a certain number from the bag and then PUT IT BACK, otherwise I could eat and eat them. No alcohol ( ), and my ketosis strips are dark purple, so even though I showed the gain today, I'm pretty happy. I'm considering just Tivo'ing Lost tonight and waking up early to watch it while I work out. For some reason we got SNOW here and the temp dropped over 40 degrees in less than 24 hours, so running outside like I usually do isn't really an option. Ok, it's time to clean up my dinner dishes and RELAX

[Lizbeth927]

Well....I ended up having sushi tonight!! But, it's my first food cheat in almost a week, and I'm honestly just glad that it wasn't ice cream or cake or something. It was absolutely delicious but NOT a reason to fall off the wagon, so tonight I enjoyed the sushi and time with a great friend, and tomorrow I'm back to riding the lc train. I went with my friend Jessica, who is quite a bit younger than me and will be graduating and moving to CA in just a few weeks. She's been out in CA for the past week and I realized while she was gone how much I'm going to REALLY miss not having her here Time for me to make some new friends. Before I find myself REALLY isolated. Anyway, menu for today:

B: three eggs (decided it's time to cut out the cheese, I think all the cheese I
have been eating may be slowing my weight loss)
Coffee w/ cream and splenda, two cups
L: Small plain green salad with one slice low sodium turkey
S: ten almonds and one organic cheese stick (couldn't resist the cheese!
oops)
D: Spicy California and spicy tuna roll (both small) w/ miso soup and hot
unsweetened tea

I haven't worked out yet but I made a promise to myself earlier that I would log some cardio on my mini trampoline while watching Thursday night tv...even though Grey's is a rerun, AGAIN. I don't really WANT to work out but I know I'll feel so much better about myself if I do and it's been almost two days since I exercised. So I'd better go change and just DO IT!!! Haha. More later...

[Lizbeth927]

K, worked out at home and I was right, I feel better!!!

[Lizbeth927]

Well, I ended up eating kind of late last night, and it wasn't exactly pretty. I think I kind of somehow subconsciously convinced myself that because I'd already eaten sushi and fell out of ketosis that it didn't matter anyway. The weird thing is that I am back down to 168 today...not essentially a loss because the other day I saw 166 on the scale, but better than 170! At any rate, I will take it. Today my main focus is just to eat clean and be back in ketosis within 48 hours. I'm supposed to go out with friends tonight, I'm setting a two drink limit! And I need to stick to that. Ok, off to work, I'm so glad it's Friday!

[Lizbeth927]

I went out with my girlfriends last night, definitely did not stick to that two drink limit (haha! I'm terrible), but I had SUCH a great time last night. I haven't gone out with those girls in ages and it was so much fun to just drink and not have to worry about driving and we just danced the night away. Plus, this morning I am at 164.5!! I'm not really sure how that's possible, but I will take it anyway. I'm just going to spend a few hours on my couch catching up on the Tivo and recovering and then I'm going to workout before working tonight. Despite my hangover, I'm in such a good mood today! And NOT just because of the number on the scale, although it doesn't hurt

[JHudson04]

Hey Lizbeth!

I'm sure all that dancing burned off any extra booze-related calories! I quit drinking all together, for the time being at least, because I know it just stalls me. Still, I do miss having a glass of wine with dinner or going out with friends and having something other than tonic w/ lime. I'm following your progress and rooting for you!

Jodi

[Lizbeth927]

Wow, I can't believe I didn't post yesterday! Not posting made me realize how much it really is helping me to stay on track. Easter was pretty uneventful, I went grocery shopping for the week because I had practically nothing to eat. Now I feel prepared and ready for the week. The scale this morning was back up to 167. I just need to remind myself that because I have done induction so many times, my body is probably saying "Been There, Done That". I know that if I stick with it and keep up my exercising and healthy eating, eventually the weight will come off, even if it is slow and steady. Anyway, I had dinner with my parents, which was nice. My mom has been in Georgia staying with my nephew while my twin sister and her husband took a cruise, and she just got back late so we met for a casual dinner. I am back on my normal work schedule now, working 11-6 M-F and then also Sat. evenings, which is nice. I woke up early this morning and did 45 minutes of jogging on my mini trampoline. I definitely enjoy working out in the morning best. It's too tempting to blow it off if I wait until the evenings to do it. My goal this week is 45 min-1 hour of exercise 6 days. I can do it! The mini trampoline doesn't really give me as intense of a workout as running outside does, but I like being able to catch up on any missed TV shows and the low impact is nice. I think that once it gets nice out again I may run outside one day and then workout inside the next. That'll mix it up a little. Ok, I'm going to go make breakfast and get to work.

[Lizbeth927]

Well, today was one of those days where I felt like I was going one way and the whole world was going the other. But, I'm home and it's about over, so I survived!! I mentioned earlier that I jogged for about 45 min. this morning on my mini trampoline, and then I had two eggs with a little salad and a sprinkle of cheese for breakfast. Oh, 2 cups of coffee too. Then I had a crazy day at work and the kids were little hellions, I haven't been that frustrated with them in a LONG time. Dropped an entire carton of eggs at the grocery store...you get the picture. Anyway, so after work I need to blow off some steam so I went to the gym with my friend Jess and did 40 HARD min. on the elliptical. I don't usually sweat so much when I do the elliptical but I was BEAT. I feel really good though. The only thing is that ever since I started working out my lower back has REALLY been bothering me I bought some new running shoes a while ago and I'm wondering if they might be the cause of my pain. I think I also just need to take the time to stretch out everything, including my back, before and after working out. Maybe it's time for a massage Anyway, I ended up having some almonds and two slices of cheese while working, with LOTS of water. My work schedule is so weird that I don't really have time for a "lunch". Maybe I need to try eating right when I wake up and then again before I leave for work at eleven, so that I'm not starving by the time I finally get home at night. Anyway, I made a quiche for the kids for dinner tonight and thought that it looked so yummy (I also tried a few bites of it! Guess I should mention that. No crust though.) that I decided to make my own lc version, and it's baking now. I can't wait because I'm very hungry from my workout! No wine today though I ran out and resisted the urge to buy more yesterday while grocery shopping. Yay! Also, and this is going to sound terrible but I can't help it, my twin sister is home from her cruise and she told me that she gained over ten pounds! I know it's not good to compare, but we have always been VERY competitive when it comes to weight, and all through high school she was a size 4 while I was a 12, which is REALLY difficult when you're the bigger identical twin. Then, when I finally got serious about losing a few years ago, I'm the one that got down to a 4/6 while she was wearing 12's and 14's. That was probably one of the hardest couple months we have ever gone through. She even told me that she couldn't be around me for a while because I was too "obsessed" with my weight and I made her feel bad about hers. I wanted to be like, What about how I felt ALL through high school and college?? But we got through it, then she got married and pregnant and had my nephew, and I stopped paying attention and started regaining, and now we are pretty much exactly the same size, which is weird because we've never been the same size! But she and her husband do South Beach, so I feel like now that we are on the same page we can really help support each other. We'll see. Ok, my quiche is done!

[Lizbeth927]

So, the scale read 166 this morning, that's good news Work was much better today, although I had to make this complicated Indian beef stew recipe (I feel like lately not only am I their nanny, I'm also their personal chef!) that took a majority of the morning to prep. Plus, I can almost guarantee the kids will hate it, but whatever, I didn't pick it. I haven't been hungry at all today...just had a generous portion of crustless quiche and two cups of coffee w/ cream and splenda for breakfast. I had a Coke Zero this afternoon and have otherwise been keeping up with my water, but I wasn't really hungry for lunch or snacks. I think my body might FINALLY be adjusted to this WOE, because I didn't get a headache today!! I got out of work a little early (two days in a row!) so I ran/walked two miles right when I got home. I wanted to get up this morning and do it but I was SO tired, I slept ten hours without a sleeping pill! I'm sure it's the exercise, but I'll take it Usually I have a terrible time getting more than six hours in a night. I think I'll have another piece of quiche for dinner...since I live alone it's a lot of quiche to get through! But I really like how it turned out, I made kind of a spicy mexican one by modifying a recipe I found online. I'll definitely make it again, plus other variations. K, I should go eat before it gets too late. I'm sure I'll write again later. Idol is on tonight!!! YAY

[Lizbeth927]

164!! I woke up this morning FEELING thinner, so I knew I was going to see a little whoosh. I forgot how great losing weight makes me feel. Plus, I am back in ketosis! I never thought that peeing on a stick and seeing it change color would actually make me happy Just kidding, but it is quite a highlight. I actually ran out of strips so maybe I'll pick some more up today, it's a great motivational tool for me. I ended up having a piece of quiche for dinner last night, and then around midnight I was having a LOT of trouble falling asleep, so I had two cheese sticks and two sugar free jello cups for a snack. I have no idea why I had two of each. I think my mind is just still ingrained with the thought that one won't be enough, so I automatically grab two. One of each really would have been just fine, but because I'd taken two out of the fridge I ate both of each snack. Next time, I'll start with one. We're supposed to get a lot of snow here today so it looks like I'm going to have to either work out at the gym or at home after work. My calendar is clear tonight though so neither should be a problem. I'm letting myself be really bothered because a close male friend of mine has not been returning my calls lately. He is someone who I've had feelings for for quite some time, although I am REALLY trying to get over them. He's also kind of seeing someone, but it's not serious. Anyway, we have a great friendship most of the time, but last week I made a little comment that I didn't think was a big deal at all and he's been acting weird ever since. He got a new puppy on Monday and I really expected him to call me either that night or yesterday to come and see her, but he hasn't called or been online (which is extremely strange for him). I have called and left him a Myspace comment, so I guess I just need to remember that he's most likely got his hands very full with the new puppy and he's probably not even remotely thinking about whether not calling me back is hurting my feelings. I've tried to contact him, so now I just need to let it go. He'll call me when he's ready. Okay, I feel better just having written that, even if I don't truly believe it I think I also need to remind myself that I am WORTHY of finding a guy who feels the same way for me that I do for him, and I don't need to waste my time pining after someone who will never see me as more than just a friend. *Sigh* Sometimes I really can't stand men. Anyway, I got up late today so I should get a move on, I think I'll finish off the quiche for breakfast, maybe have turkey and almonds for a snack at work, and then have a salad with some broccoli for dinner. Hopefully I'll have a good day!!

[JHudson04]

Congratulations!! Your hard work and discipline is paying off! Keep it up!

[Lizbeth927]

163 on the scale this morning I know this rapid weight loss can't last but it's nice to finally see the scale moving in the right direction! I'm going out of town with my girlfriends in a little over two weeks and would love to be down to at least 155 by then, I think it's definitely possible. Yesterday's menu:
B- Slice of Mexican quiche
L- 2 turkey slices w/ two small slices cheese and a little mayo
D- Slice of broccoli cheese quiche

My workout was pretty light last night, I just did twenty minutes of jogging on my mini trampoline and then did a lot of toning and abs. I woke up exhausted this morning so I have yet to work out. I literally couldn't drag myself out of bed until after ten! Now I'm running incredibly late for work, oops. But I still wanted to get a morning post in. I ended up making a broccoli cheese crustless quiche yesterday because I liked the first one that I made so much. This one is just all right, not as good as the first but I like that it has lots of broccoli in it, I haven't been eating many veggies lately. I'm supposed to hang out with the girls tonight, but since the payoff of not drinking has been so wonderful, I'm going to stay alcohol-free tonight, even if there is temptation. I realize now how much drinking stalls me and don't want all my hard work to be for nothing Ok, I'm off to work. Hopefully I'll have time to fit in even a quick cardio workout after work, otherwise this may be my exercise day off. But hopefully not!

[JHudson04]

Hi Lizbeth! Thanks for posting in my journal and for your good thoughts! And good luck with your outing tonight. I love the way success breeds the desire for more success! You're on a roll, so let it carry you through whatever temptations you're faced with tonight. Drinking is a social lubricant, but you can have just as much fun without it. More, really, considering all the problems you'll avoid. (headaches, water retention, lowered temptation threshold that leads to eating stuff you never intended, etc.)

[Lizbeth927]

I ended up not going out tonight after all, plans kind of fell through and to be honest I am perfectly okay with that. I'm really not feeling so hot, I've had a major headache for most of the day and just feel REALLY tired. But, I made myself go to the gym and got 30 min of cardio in on the elliptical, which helped a little. Hmmm, today's menu:

B- three hard boiled eggs (just the whites)
L- a handful of almonds and half a grilled chicken breast

I haven't eaten dinner yet, my stomach has been bugging me today too so I haven't felt that hungry. I did have two diet cokes though...maybe that's the problem! I've got to work a long day tomorrow so I'm going to need to either get up and exercise early or do it late tomorrow night after I put the kids to bed (while I'm at work). I'm thinking I need to get to bed early so I can get up at a decent hour. I just hope my upstairs neighbor keeps it down tonight. If not, I am going up there to complain!

[Lizbeth927]

162.5 on the scale today. I'm getting scared for the day when I don't see a loss...or even worse, EEK, a gain! But I know that eventually it will happen. I think I need to set ONE time daily to weigh myself and make that be the only time. I'm becoming such a scale slave, and I don't really like it. I weigh myself more times a day than I care to admit. I've been up since five this morning, I just couldn't sleep. Go figure that I get too little sleep on a day that I have to work for 12+ hours. Yuck. A few positives though: I am down 10+ pounds from when I got back from Georgia three weeks ago! And my size ten jeans can actually button now (although these are the size tens that I once put great effort into stretching, so they're not a true size 10). I finally heard from my friend who I thought had been ignoring me. I just need to learn to CHILL out. Of course it turns out that he was just having a really bad week with a lot going on and he finally called last night to talk about everything. He said he felt so bad for not calling me. It made me so happy to hear from him, I missed him! Also, I decided to do a little shopping yesterday (without buying anything of course!) and I tried on a pair of size 12 jeans at the Gap and they were too big! A month or so ago I couldn't even get 14's to fit. I think I'm going to get my glider out and try to get in an hour of cardio this morning...maybe after one more cup of coffee...cause I'm TIRED! But I know that exercise will help. Here's what I'm thinking today's menu will look like:

B- slice of Broccoli cheese quiche and coffee w/ cr. & sp.
L- two hard boiled egg whites
S- hot green tea
D- shrimp salad (cooked shrimp on fresh greens w/ lemon)

I think that'll work. I need to have a plan because I'll be at work all night. Oh, maybe I'll have some broccoli too cause I think there's some in the fridge there. Ok, sounds good. I'm going to go enjoy one more cup of coffee on the couch and then it's CARDIO time!