It's a Thanksgiving Miracle!

This morning I was delighted to step on the scale and find that I have passed the 10 pound mark - a milestone made all the sweeter because it happened over Thanksgiving!  I attribute this success to a few factors:

1. Planning ahead to manage the T-day feast
2. Extreme diligence over the past week with counting calories
3. Daily 400-calorie workouts
4. Extra activity wherever possible.  For example, my husband needed to return some library books on Saturday, so I suggested we walk the half mile to the library instead of dropping them off the next time we were driving by. 
5. Habit - over the past month, I have gotten into the habit of eating smaller portions and eating more fruits & veggies, so it didn't seem like a chore this week to keep up with that routine. 

Overall I'm very pleased with this week's performance.  I feel like this was my warmup for the big event: Christmas.

In other news, this past week my inlaws were visiting.  Their visit gave me the incentive to visit Twisters (a local yoga and fitness studio) - my husband's mom really enjoys yoga, and Twisters offers a 1-week guest pass.  The pass allows you to try all of the classes for free (normally they are $15 each) so I suggested that she give it a try.  When she reported back that the studio was very nice, I decided to take advantage of the same offer.  So yesterday morning off we went - she to a Vinyasa Flow class, and me to a Spinning class.  To date I've tried 3 classes at LA Fitness and enjoyed them, but the class at Twisters was a cut above - the room was spacious, well-ventilated, clean and had a wall of cubbies where you could store personal items.  The instructor was on a platform so you could see exactly what she was doing, and the bikes were in excellent condition and nicely spaced apart (read: I wasn't bumping shoulders with my neighbor).  The music was pretty good too, and most importantly it was LOUD.  And finally, the room was private - no windows where the general gym population could stand around watching you struggle and grimace!   So 2 thumbs up for Spinning at Twisters.

Mom-in-law told me that she enjoyed both of her yoga classes, and that the students were all very experienced.  Of course, this is completely intimidating, but in the spirit of Getting Over Myself, I'm going to try a few of the classes this week anyway.  I survived the spinning class, right?  Tonight I'm planning to try the Kripalu yoga class, which is described on the schedule as 'gentle yoga'.  As a yoga newbie, I think this will be just my speed.  Later in the week I'll try Hatha yoga, mat pilates, Body Pump and hopefully reformer pilates if I can get into the class (which is limited to 5 participants).  After each class I'll report back on my experience.