Much like weight loss I am very frustrated with paying off debt. Neither seems to want to go away very quickly. I think they like me.

I was always fortunate when it came to my weight. I was a stick until I hit about 29 and got pregnant. I remember being a teenager and drinking milkshakes hoping that they would put some meat on my bones. Enter my 30s and the metabolism slows down and now all that meat I was wishing for has found a home. I guess I shouldn't really complain as this is the first serious effort I have put into losing weight (I am 5'7" and currently at 156 lbs). It just isn't coming off fast enough and it seems like all the things I am doing right aren't helping. I am not eating after 7pm anymore and I am limiting my stops for coffee and a donut in the am. I haven't drank much soda and I have increased the amount of water and fruit I take in. Exercise has been limited due to the foot injury which is starting to feel better.

Credit card debt seems to be in my blood although I should know better. My parents were in deep debt when they both died. Luckily I didn't inherit that debt but I remember them struggling to pay the bills. Why would I want that for myself? Well, I know I didn't set out to want that. I did some soul searching and came up with the thought that when I was younger like late teen early 20's I was dealing with the fact that my both my parents were alcoholics. The falling down drunk kind. They had been all my life. I believe that as soon as I hit 18 and was able to get a store credit card I went out and bought myself stuff to make me feel better about the situation at home. That mental process stuck with me for years and I always associated buying things with making myself happy. I didn't think about the long term consequences. So, here I am 37 years old. Both my parents passed away in 2001 and I am for really the first time in my life trying to get this under control. I am getting frustrated because I have created my budget, done my menu plan, and basically stopped all shopping and it doesn't seem to have made any difference whatsoever.

I am at a loss. It is so hard to try to deep yourself out of debt when you are trying to keep your family going. Kids are expensive and they need things. I am not talking about wants. I gave up on wants. Needs are expensive enough. And the weight, well, I am holding on to the idea that once my foot is healed I will head back to the gym. Just not seeing either number (total weight and/or total debt) decrease is very, very disappointing.

In an attempt to get this body into pre-baby shape I attended 2 fitness classes at my gym last night. Buts and Guts followed by Arms and Abs. Let's leave it at the fact that I can barely walk down stairs because my thigh muscles are shaking constantly and my arms are so sore I can barely type this! It was a challenging hour but I am very proud of myself for making it through the whole 60 minutes without giving up (by the time we were on our 40th situp/crunch I was thinking of walking out). They offer the class tomorrow night as well and I am thinking of punishing myself some more and going again. Tonight I am going to a Total Body Conditioning class-hopefully that will help me stretch out some of my sore muscles!

I am a little bummed that I haven't had a no spender in almost a week. I am hoping tomorrow will be one if I can get my act together tonight and get prepared.

DS celebrated his 3rd birthday yesterday. We had a nice low key celebration at home. We sent him to daycare with donut holes for him and his friends and the family party will be Saturday. I am thinking of just ordering pizza and wings so I can socialize with family and not spend all my time in the kitchen. May cost more but sometimes spending time with family is the better deal.

Paid off my first credit card this week!!! The balance was only $131 but I paid it in full as the first debt in my snowball debt repayment plan. It felt so good to send that payment in

I have to return library books tonight before going to the gym and I want to return a few things I bought that I found I don't need. I purchased white pepper for a recipe last week not knowing I could subsitute black pepper. So that is going back-prior to last week I didn't even know they made white pepper! I also have an extra salad dressing to return and a set of stamps I purchased at Michaels for DD chore chart. We are just using simple check marks when she completes a chore. So, I think I am looking at about $10 to add to my debt.

Off to make some Bruschetta Chicken with rice and veggie for dinner.

I recently joined a gym and was concerned about the money I was spending in membership fees and not knowing if I would go or not.

Well, last night I had my first appoitment with my trainer that my sister in law and I made together. We were to get weighed and measured and from that they develop a program for you to help you reach your weight loss goals. After the appt we had plans to attend a Cardio Pilates class.

Well, the sister in law got sick or so she said. Funny thing is the night before at a family birthday party she was complaining that she didn't want to get weighed at 6:30 at night and that she didn't like the idea of being measured. So, she left me a voice mail telling me that she wasn't going to make it.

So, I went to my appt alone and had a hard time convincing myself to stay for the class since I have never taken a class before and was extremely nervous about making a fool out of myself. I ran on the treadmill for about 30 minutes, until the class started and then I forced myself to go in. And you know what...it wasn't all that bad. It was difficult b/c I didn't know the routine but it made me sweat and use muscles I haven't used in years!

I am glad I pushed myself to go. That is a huge accomplishment for me as I would normally not go and wait until she was ready on another day. I am so proud that I didn't fall back into my usual way of doing things! This gives me hope that I can work my way out of the usual way I handle my money

Oh, and I opened a savings account online today!

So, I joined a gym last night. My sister in law took me as a guest and we did a yoga class. I then proceeded to sign up. They had 2 programs, one where the first year costs a little more but you are locked into a lower rate after the first year. The second was a lower payment the first year and no guarantee the price won't increase in subsequent years. I chose the first option. I am nervous because it is a lot of money I could be applying to my debt. I talked to my husband last night and he said any money you spend to improve your health is money well spent. I guess this is true. I just have to create a routine and stick to it so I get my moneys worth. My hope is that as my weight decreases so does my debt Wish me luck on this new endevour...by the way, yoga is a lot harder than it looks