Yes, I went MIA for way too long.
Things have been wacky in my world the past couple weeks. I bought a new vehicle, my best friend's mother died, I got a raise, I had severe abdominal pains and today I had my very first CT scan! Let me just say, the barium isn't sitting so well for me this evening. I am not so much HappyBlogChick as GassyBlogChick at the moment. I haven't a clue what the abdominal pain is all about - it is fine this week but last week was a nightmare. I'll keep you all posted and you'll know soon after I know.
So anyway, I apologize for being out of touch. Everything got a bit overwhelming and I had to take blogging off the list for a while.
I hope all of you are doing fabulously on your weight loss and fitness journeys.
As far as my exercise and weight goes, I stalled on the running last week completely, and maybe part of the week before that ... it's all running together (so to speak. Or should I say all NOT running together? Anyway...). But I'm back at it this week - I ran Monday, I ran Wednesday, and I will run Saturday. My couch to 5k schedule is all whacked, but I'm up to running 28 minutes. Unless something gets in the way, I'm still doing the 5k on April 19th.
Weight-wise I'm maintaining. I've had a day or two when my weight bobbed up into the above 134 danger zone, but only a couple times. I'll update my weight tracker soon and you can see for yourself.
Chances are in the next couple days I'm going to hit everyone's most recent posts and get caught up at least a little. And I will try to post again before too much time passes - really! I will!
Showing posts with label family and friends. Show all posts
Showing posts with label family and friends. Show all posts
Friday, April 11, 2008
Thursday, March 27, 2008
Couch to 5k Week 7: DONE!
Last night I completed week 7 by running my last 25 minute run. The run was extra-special and extra unusual. How so? My husband and I ran together! That has never happened in the history of our 7.5ish year long relationship. Granted, we’ve only been running for a few months, but even so … wow!
Hubby called on his way home from work saying “I’m heading to the gym to run.” At the time, I hadn’t done my run yet. I figured what the heck, and invited him to run with me here in our neighborhood. I was nervous about the idea … he runs faster than me, I’m used to running with music but didn’t want to be rude and play music while we ran together, we’d never done it before (what if I look funny when I run; what if we end up fighting about running and all hell breaks loose and bad things happen; what if my heavy breathing repulses him … or excites him…) … I wasn’t sure how it would go. But I figured it couldn’t hurt to try.
So try we did. I set the pace, which meant that he started out slower than he was used to. He said in the long run it was OK, though, because the pace felt right for him towards the end. Maybe it’s because this was my last 25 minute run but his first 25 minute run, I don’t know. Whatever made it work, I’m glad it seemed all right to him. And it worked for me, too. Although strangely enough I found I went a little slower yesterday than I’d gone in my last 25 minute run. I can’t explain it – I don’t know if I was just tired, or if having him with me changed my pace. I guess I’ll find out, because guess what?
Now we’re talking about making this a weekly thing! Woo hoo!
Wednesday night may become husband/wife running night. We might even invite a friend who works with my husband to join us – he was doing c25k too, last I heard. As long as he can tolerate my turtle-pace, the more the merrier. If I head across town to meet him/them near their office we could go to a number of different pretty running trails instead of running around our neighborhood.
This plan would be great for both hubby and me, since it means I have another reason to get out of the house (yay!) and we’ll end up always working out at least twice a week, on Monday (with the trainer) and Wednesday (doing our together-run). Some weeks hubby has a hard time getting all his workouts in – maybe this structure is the key.
My husband was SO sedentary when we got married. Looking back to 5 years ago when we were just about to be married, and then looking at now, it is AMAZING the difference. He’s eating better, he’s working out, he’s lost weight, and he’s gaining muscle. He’s no super-athlete, but that’s not what I’d want anyway. I’m just so happy for him that he’s becoming healthy.
And from my perspective, it’s great for selfish reasons, too. It’s easier for me to stay on track with healthy eating and exercise when he’s on the same page. It makes me soooo happy that this increases the chances of us having a long life together. And … um … TMI WARNING … the healthier we both get, the better the sex is (and I tell ya, it was good before).
Now THAT is a benefit! Hooray for being healthy!
Hubby called on his way home from work saying “I’m heading to the gym to run.” At the time, I hadn’t done my run yet. I figured what the heck, and invited him to run with me here in our neighborhood. I was nervous about the idea … he runs faster than me, I’m used to running with music but didn’t want to be rude and play music while we ran together, we’d never done it before (what if I look funny when I run; what if we end up fighting about running and all hell breaks loose and bad things happen; what if my heavy breathing repulses him … or excites him…) … I wasn’t sure how it would go. But I figured it couldn’t hurt to try.
So try we did. I set the pace, which meant that he started out slower than he was used to. He said in the long run it was OK, though, because the pace felt right for him towards the end. Maybe it’s because this was my last 25 minute run but his first 25 minute run, I don’t know. Whatever made it work, I’m glad it seemed all right to him. And it worked for me, too. Although strangely enough I found I went a little slower yesterday than I’d gone in my last 25 minute run. I can’t explain it – I don’t know if I was just tired, or if having him with me changed my pace. I guess I’ll find out, because guess what?
Now we’re talking about making this a weekly thing! Woo hoo!
Wednesday night may become husband/wife running night. We might even invite a friend who works with my husband to join us – he was doing c25k too, last I heard. As long as he can tolerate my turtle-pace, the more the merrier. If I head across town to meet him/them near their office we could go to a number of different pretty running trails instead of running around our neighborhood.
This plan would be great for both hubby and me, since it means I have another reason to get out of the house (yay!) and we’ll end up always working out at least twice a week, on Monday (with the trainer) and Wednesday (doing our together-run). Some weeks hubby has a hard time getting all his workouts in – maybe this structure is the key.
My husband was SO sedentary when we got married. Looking back to 5 years ago when we were just about to be married, and then looking at now, it is AMAZING the difference. He’s eating better, he’s working out, he’s lost weight, and he’s gaining muscle. He’s no super-athlete, but that’s not what I’d want anyway. I’m just so happy for him that he’s becoming healthy.
And from my perspective, it’s great for selfish reasons, too. It’s easier for me to stay on track with healthy eating and exercise when he’s on the same page. It makes me soooo happy that this increases the chances of us having a long life together. And … um … TMI WARNING … the healthier we both get, the better the sex is (and I tell ya, it was good before).
Now THAT is a benefit! Hooray for being healthy!
Monday, March 24, 2008
People, people who need people ...
This past week was officially the worst couch to 5k training week I’ve had. I ran one time – only one time! – out of the three times I was supposed to run. I also did ZERO strength training. Phhhhhhhht.
When I look back at what I did instead of run, I have to say it was very good for me in a non-physical way. I saw my friends more this past week than I have in a loooong time. It sounds frivolous, and it was fun, but it was also a very good thing for me. Working from home, I really need opportunities to be around people. When I was working SO much week before last, I was getting a little crazy. My poor husband tolerated at least one meltdown that probably would have been prevented if I’d just gotten myself out of the house and into a face-to-face encounter with friends. It is hard on me mentally and emotionally when I go a while without seeing anyone but my husband, and I only see him a couple hours a day at most on weekdays. The working from home thing has its benefits, but it also has some serious drawbacks from a mental health perspective.
So although my physical health from an exercise standpoint went to hell this past week, I feel better mentally and emotionally than I have in a while. Although my not-running on Tuesday was due to house-cleaning, the rest of the time it was all about PEOPLE. I did dinner with friends on Wednesday, happy hour with different friends Thursday, girl-time shopping and dinner with yet another friend Friday, lunch out with friends and my friend’s new boyfriend Saturday, dinner out and then going to a bar with husbands/significant others Saturday night, and then my husband and I had our neighbor over for dinner last night.
Human beings! It was so nice to spend time out of the house with real-live-and-in-person humans. How I’ve missed the human beings! Oh, the joy of human contact!
I know you think I’m kidding, and I am being overly dramatic, but I’m dead serious about needing human contact to stay sane. And not just contact with people who bag your groceries or ring up your purchases – contact where you connect with people via in-person conversation.
The challenge for me is to figure out how to fit in exercise AND human contact AND eating well all at the same time. This past week I definitely got the human contact, and (even with all the eating out) I did fairly well at the eating well. I ate a lot of grilled fish and veggies, asked for lots of substitutions, and avoided a lot of breadbaskets. The scale is up a little this morning, but the pattern isn’t different from the pattern I see most weeks (up a little on Sunday, up a little more on Monday). The scale numbers will start dropping again tomorrow or the next day.
But anyway, how do I fit in all three – exercise AND human contact AND eating well – every week? I think that’s something I need to work on. I have some ideas, but if you guys have suggestions, I’m all ears.
When I look back at what I did instead of run, I have to say it was very good for me in a non-physical way. I saw my friends more this past week than I have in a loooong time. It sounds frivolous, and it was fun, but it was also a very good thing for me. Working from home, I really need opportunities to be around people. When I was working SO much week before last, I was getting a little crazy. My poor husband tolerated at least one meltdown that probably would have been prevented if I’d just gotten myself out of the house and into a face-to-face encounter with friends. It is hard on me mentally and emotionally when I go a while without seeing anyone but my husband, and I only see him a couple hours a day at most on weekdays. The working from home thing has its benefits, but it also has some serious drawbacks from a mental health perspective.
So although my physical health from an exercise standpoint went to hell this past week, I feel better mentally and emotionally than I have in a while. Although my not-running on Tuesday was due to house-cleaning, the rest of the time it was all about PEOPLE. I did dinner with friends on Wednesday, happy hour with different friends Thursday, girl-time shopping and dinner with yet another friend Friday, lunch out with friends and my friend’s new boyfriend Saturday, dinner out and then going to a bar with husbands/significant others Saturday night, and then my husband and I had our neighbor over for dinner last night.
Human beings! It was so nice to spend time out of the house with real-live-and-in-person humans. How I’ve missed the human beings! Oh, the joy of human contact!
I know you think I’m kidding, and I am being overly dramatic, but I’m dead serious about needing human contact to stay sane. And not just contact with people who bag your groceries or ring up your purchases – contact where you connect with people via in-person conversation.
The challenge for me is to figure out how to fit in exercise AND human contact AND eating well all at the same time. This past week I definitely got the human contact, and (even with all the eating out) I did fairly well at the eating well. I ate a lot of grilled fish and veggies, asked for lots of substitutions, and avoided a lot of breadbaskets. The scale is up a little this morning, but the pattern isn’t different from the pattern I see most weeks (up a little on Sunday, up a little more on Monday). The scale numbers will start dropping again tomorrow or the next day.
But anyway, how do I fit in all three – exercise AND human contact AND eating well – every week? I think that’s something I need to work on. I have some ideas, but if you guys have suggestions, I’m all ears.
Friday, March 14, 2008
Couch to 5k realizations
I considered going to yoga yesterday, and then based on the feedback I got in my comments I decided that wasn’t the best idea ever. Instead, I went shopping. That’s always better than an extra workout, right? OK, maybe not always, but it’s better for me right now while I’m doing this couch to 5k thang. Someday I’ll add in additional workouts. I’ll get back to you on that in a couple months.
About the couch to 5k program … yesterday I had two realizations about the program and my progress, and my husband realized something else and shared it with me. My two realizations are happy – his not so much. I’ll start with his … might as well get the unpleasantness over with first.
Realization #1: Hubby (who is also doing the couch to 5k) looked up the program info on coolrunning.com and calculated the miles per hour it assumes we’re running.
It assumes I’m running 6 miles per hour. HA! Now that’s funny. Or depressing. It kind of depends on the moment as to how I feel about that news.
It’s just not happening. I am NOT going that fast. I’ll have to work my way up to that. This info changes nothing, really, but I hated to hear that I am OFFICIALLY slow. Oh well. When I finish the couch to 5k official program, I have a couple extra weeks before my 5k … I’ll keep training and hope my speed increases during that time.
Now, on to happier things …
Realization #2: Over my last post or two I’ve talked about how my Week 6 Day 3 run today will be 25 minutes. Last Friday I did a Week 5 Day 3 run that was 20 minutes, then this week for Week 6 Days 1 and 2 I went back to doing walk/run sequences. I assumed after my Week 6 day 3 run I’d go back to doing walk/run sequences for next week, too.
NOPE!
This week’s Wednesday run was my last run where there is walking in between periods of running. From here on out, I’m scheduled to run 25 minutes straight, then 28 minutes straight, and then 30 minutes straight.
EEEEEEEEEEEEK!
I didn’t realize that I was at that point in the program until yesterday. When I was doing my run on Wednesday I had no idea it was my last day alternating walk/runs. I may have been blocking this out. It is overwhelming to think about those long runs. But hey, I’ll try. I’ll try, and if I am not ready I’ll back up a week and then try again. Hopefully I’ve progressed enough that if I run slowly I can do it, though.
Anyway, despite the long-and-concerning-length, there’s something wonderful about this “I will be running X minutes at a stretch from now on” thing. I can now discard the podcasts and listen to my own music. Woo hoo! Plus, I figured out how to use the timer on my heart rate monitor yesterday*. That means that once I finish my 5 minute warm-up walk and set my timer I won’t even have to watch the clock. After 25 minutes an alarm will sound. Cool stuff!
Yay! I’m so looking forward to my own music. And it’ll be good for me to not be reminded how far I still have to run while I’m doing these long runs. In the early weeks, the “you’re halfway done!” messages were reassuring – now they’re becoming a little anxiety provoking. Only halfway!?! Yeah, I didn’t need to know that.
Realization #3: I’ve been plugging along on the couch to 5k program, and somehow I did not notice until yesterday that I AM MORE THAN HALFWAY DONE WITH THE PROGRAM! Now granted, as noted in Realization #1 I’ll need to keep training for my 5k after my official Couch to 5k program is over, but still! Yay! Lookie here:
That’s where I am right now, before doing my run today. Woo hoooo! Look at that pie, with those more-than-half-finished numbers. (…mmmm pie…) I'm over 60% done, even before I run today! And next Wednesday is officially one month out from my 5k.
It’s all very exciting and intimidating at the same time.
Wish me luck on my run tonight!
* This makes a whopping two things I’ve figured out how to do on my heart rate monitor … 1.) look at the time and 2.) use the timer. Note that my heart rate has nothing to do with either of these things. Ugh. I’ll figure the durned thing out at some point.
About the couch to 5k program … yesterday I had two realizations about the program and my progress, and my husband realized something else and shared it with me. My two realizations are happy – his not so much. I’ll start with his … might as well get the unpleasantness over with first.
Realization #1: Hubby (who is also doing the couch to 5k) looked up the program info on coolrunning.com and calculated the miles per hour it assumes we’re running.
It assumes I’m running 6 miles per hour. HA! Now that’s funny. Or depressing. It kind of depends on the moment as to how I feel about that news.
It’s just not happening. I am NOT going that fast. I’ll have to work my way up to that. This info changes nothing, really, but I hated to hear that I am OFFICIALLY slow. Oh well. When I finish the couch to 5k official program, I have a couple extra weeks before my 5k … I’ll keep training and hope my speed increases during that time.
Now, on to happier things …
Realization #2: Over my last post or two I’ve talked about how my Week 6 Day 3 run today will be 25 minutes. Last Friday I did a Week 5 Day 3 run that was 20 minutes, then this week for Week 6 Days 1 and 2 I went back to doing walk/run sequences. I assumed after my Week 6 day 3 run I’d go back to doing walk/run sequences for next week, too.
NOPE!
This week’s Wednesday run was my last run where there is walking in between periods of running. From here on out, I’m scheduled to run 25 minutes straight, then 28 minutes straight, and then 30 minutes straight.
EEEEEEEEEEEEK!
I didn’t realize that I was at that point in the program until yesterday. When I was doing my run on Wednesday I had no idea it was my last day alternating walk/runs. I may have been blocking this out. It is overwhelming to think about those long runs. But hey, I’ll try. I’ll try, and if I am not ready I’ll back up a week and then try again. Hopefully I’ve progressed enough that if I run slowly I can do it, though.
Anyway, despite the long-and-concerning-length, there’s something wonderful about this “I will be running X minutes at a stretch from now on” thing. I can now discard the podcasts and listen to my own music. Woo hoo! Plus, I figured out how to use the timer on my heart rate monitor yesterday*. That means that once I finish my 5 minute warm-up walk and set my timer I won’t even have to watch the clock. After 25 minutes an alarm will sound. Cool stuff!
Yay! I’m so looking forward to my own music. And it’ll be good for me to not be reminded how far I still have to run while I’m doing these long runs. In the early weeks, the “you’re halfway done!” messages were reassuring – now they’re becoming a little anxiety provoking. Only halfway!?! Yeah, I didn’t need to know that.
Realization #3: I’ve been plugging along on the couch to 5k program, and somehow I did not notice until yesterday that I AM MORE THAN HALFWAY DONE WITH THE PROGRAM! Now granted, as noted in Realization #1 I’ll need to keep training for my 5k after my official Couch to 5k program is over, but still! Yay! Lookie here:
That’s where I am right now, before doing my run today. Woo hoooo! Look at that pie, with those more-than-half-finished numbers. (…mmmm pie…) I'm over 60% done, even before I run today! And next Wednesday is officially one month out from my 5k.
It’s all very exciting and intimidating at the same time.
Wish me luck on my run tonight!
* This makes a whopping two things I’ve figured out how to do on my heart rate monitor … 1.) look at the time and 2.) use the timer. Note that my heart rate has nothing to do with either of these things. Ugh. I’ll figure the durned thing out at some point.
Thursday, March 13, 2008
Help! Questions for you yoga-doers.
On Monday I finally had to give up and set everything in Google reader to “read.” I hated to do it, but I just couldn’t get caught up. And now, after a busy work day yesterday, I’m behind on my reading/commenting again. Ack! Hopefully I can get caught up this morning. Yesterday at work I worked my ass off to get some stuff sent out, and as of yet NO ONE has responded to my email, given me feedback, nothing. So I’ll take some time to get caught up on ME stuff until I hear back from them (or until my next meeting, whichever comes first).
My point is that I'll be stopping by your blog soon.
Anyway, tonight my husband has a poker game, so I have an evening to myself. I looked at the gym schedule and there’s a yoga class I could go to. I’ve never really done yoga before … I did it one time around 6 or 8 years ago at the Bally’s I used to belong to, and I couldn’t walk for two days after that. I hear that’s not typical. I got a yoga mat for Christmas, though, so I’m tempted to try it. But I have a couple questions for those of you who do the yoga thang.
First, today is a rest day for my couch to 5k run. I try to take my day of rest as truly a REST day … I don’t do aerobics classes or strength training or anything that might make it harder for me to run the next day. This is especially important today, since I do a *gasp* 25 minute run tomorrow. So … what do you think? Would I regret going to yoga tonight? I tell you, my one other experience with yoga suggests the answer would be YES. But the way some of you talk about yoga I’m not sure that’s true.
Also, I’m truly a yoga beginner. They have beginner’s yoga classes at our gym, and the one tonight isn’t one of them. Do you think I should wait and attend the beginner’s class first?
Those are my questions – what do you guys think? I definitely want to do my run tomorrow; I don't want to do anything that'll prevent me from running. I don’t have time to run on Saturday, so if I miss my run tomorrow it’ll set me back in my training schedule. And FYI, I don’t know anything about the yoga classes at my gym, so I won’t be able to answer questions about the class tonight.
Any answers/opinions/advice/suggestions/warnings/encouragement is appreciated!
My point is that I'll be stopping by your blog soon.
Anyway, tonight my husband has a poker game, so I have an evening to myself. I looked at the gym schedule and there’s a yoga class I could go to. I’ve never really done yoga before … I did it one time around 6 or 8 years ago at the Bally’s I used to belong to, and I couldn’t walk for two days after that. I hear that’s not typical. I got a yoga mat for Christmas, though, so I’m tempted to try it. But I have a couple questions for those of you who do the yoga thang.
First, today is a rest day for my couch to 5k run. I try to take my day of rest as truly a REST day … I don’t do aerobics classes or strength training or anything that might make it harder for me to run the next day. This is especially important today, since I do a *gasp* 25 minute run tomorrow. So … what do you think? Would I regret going to yoga tonight? I tell you, my one other experience with yoga suggests the answer would be YES. But the way some of you talk about yoga I’m not sure that’s true.
Also, I’m truly a yoga beginner. They have beginner’s yoga classes at our gym, and the one tonight isn’t one of them. Do you think I should wait and attend the beginner’s class first?
Those are my questions – what do you guys think? I definitely want to do my run tomorrow; I don't want to do anything that'll prevent me from running. I don’t have time to run on Saturday, so if I miss my run tomorrow it’ll set me back in my training schedule. And FYI, I don’t know anything about the yoga classes at my gym, so I won’t be able to answer questions about the class tonight.
Any answers/opinions/advice/suggestions/warnings/encouragement is appreciated!
Tuesday, March 11, 2008
Where am I? (Volume 7)
Happy Tuesday! It’s time for a “where am I in my weight loss fitness and wellness journey” update.
I’m still losing weight, but last week I said the focus would be on exercise, and I mean it. This week I’m starting with exercise and non-scale victories and THEN I’ll talk about the scale.
Exercise: My goal was 3x cardio via couch to 5k, 2x strength, and 5x abs/planks. I met my cardio goal, but other than that I only got one strength session in and only did abs/planks 2x. I think the 5x abs/planks may not have been feasible with my busy week, but I should have been able to get my other strength session in. Oh well … it’s hard to be concerned because I had a fun week.
NSV #1: My brother commented on my weight loss and an old friend commented on my weight loss. Both comments were unprompted and they were said as soon as I saw them. Note to self – spend more time reconnecting with people who don’t see me often – they can see the changes!
NSV #2: I went on a mini shopping trip and I was able to fairly consistently fit into size 6 clothes. There were times I brought three different sizes into a dressing room because I wasn’t sure what size I would be, and most of the time the answer was a 6. I ended up buying a skirt and a dress. I didn’t try on jeans or bathing suits … I decided to stick with the more forgiving articles of clothing for this first shopping trip. Anyway, size 6 = good as far as I’m concerned.
NSV #3: I had a wonderful week which involved no obsessions about the scale, and I didn’t completely lose control … I ate reasonably the majority of the time, and I got some exercise in. I wasn’t in any way perfect in my eating, but I’m not striving for perfect.
With all those non-scale victories, I think a badge is in order:
Weight: Weeeell, I’m up 0.2 lbs. But my body fat percentage over the past week averages lower than my body percentage over the week before my last weigh-in. My goal was to maintain or lose each week for the next 1.5 months … I think I’m going to call this maintenance. Close enough, right?
My goals for next week are the same as for this week – 3x cardio via couch to 5k, 2x strength, and 5x abs/planks. I’m also aiming to maintain or lose from a weight perspective. I'm on week 6 with couch to 5k ... that means that on Friday or Saturday I'll be doing a 25 minute run! Ack!
I think it can, I think I can, I think I can, I think I can ...
I’m still losing weight, but last week I said the focus would be on exercise, and I mean it. This week I’m starting with exercise and non-scale victories and THEN I’ll talk about the scale.
Exercise: My goal was 3x cardio via couch to 5k, 2x strength, and 5x abs/planks. I met my cardio goal, but other than that I only got one strength session in and only did abs/planks 2x. I think the 5x abs/planks may not have been feasible with my busy week, but I should have been able to get my other strength session in. Oh well … it’s hard to be concerned because I had a fun week.
NSV #1: My brother commented on my weight loss and an old friend commented on my weight loss. Both comments were unprompted and they were said as soon as I saw them. Note to self – spend more time reconnecting with people who don’t see me often – they can see the changes!
NSV #2: I went on a mini shopping trip and I was able to fairly consistently fit into size 6 clothes. There were times I brought three different sizes into a dressing room because I wasn’t sure what size I would be, and most of the time the answer was a 6. I ended up buying a skirt and a dress. I didn’t try on jeans or bathing suits … I decided to stick with the more forgiving articles of clothing for this first shopping trip. Anyway, size 6 = good as far as I’m concerned.
NSV #3: I had a wonderful week which involved no obsessions about the scale, and I didn’t completely lose control … I ate reasonably the majority of the time, and I got some exercise in. I wasn’t in any way perfect in my eating, but I’m not striving for perfect.
With all those non-scale victories, I think a badge is in order:
Weight: Weeeell, I’m up 0.2 lbs. But my body fat percentage over the past week averages lower than my body percentage over the week before my last weigh-in. My goal was to maintain or lose each week for the next 1.5 months … I think I’m going to call this maintenance. Close enough, right?
My goals for next week are the same as for this week – 3x cardio via couch to 5k, 2x strength, and 5x abs/planks. I’m also aiming to maintain or lose from a weight perspective. I'm on week 6 with couch to 5k ... that means that on Friday or Saturday I'll be doing a 25 minute run! Ack!
I think it can, I think I can, I think I can, I think I can ...
Monday, March 10, 2008
Couch to 5k Week 5 Done: Oh hell yeah!
I RAN 20 MINUTES STRAIGHT!
Well, I mean, I didn’t run straight the whole time, I ran around my neighborhood so I actually went in circles a little, but you know what I mean. I ran 20 minutes without stopping.
I almost didn’t do the 20 minute run. The 20 minute run was week 5 day 3, and I almost repeated week 5 day 2. I just couldn’t imagine that I was ready for a 20 minute run. I’d almost talked myself out of trying, and then I told myself that I should at least TRY. If I can’t sustain a jogging pace for 20 minutes, fine, no harm done, but I should at least TRY. And I tried, and I did it!
I look back at the fact that I almost didn’t try it, and it makes me wonder how many other things in my life I didn’t do because I didn’t think I could do them. I suspect I’ve missed out on a lot because I was scared I would fail, and failing seemed worse than not trying.
That is so messed up.
So anyway, I ran! And it was good! I was grinning like a fool when I finished.
Truth be told, I ran slooooooowly. I’m not sure I’m going as far as I’m supposed to go each time I run. The program is set up where you either run a certain distance or a certain time, and I’m going with time so I don’t know if I’m getting my distance in. But I’ll worry about that when I’ve finished the program – I can work up to running faster/longer. One thing at a time, right?
Hmmm, what else do I need to tell you guys? It seems like ages since I’ve checked in. I completely fell out of the blogosphere for almost 6 days. I have a lot of catching up to do on everyone’s blogs … my Google reader overfloweth! If you’re reading this and I haven’t been to your site yet, I promise I’ll stop by soon.
My time away was lovely. I had a great time with my brother and the rest of my family. I hadn’t seen my brother since Christmas, and guess what the first words out of his mouth were? “Hi, skinny! You’ve lost more weight!”
I love that man.
I took the day off work on Wednesday, and it was fun. We didn’t do anything too exciting … we met some old friends for lunch, then did some shopping, met some other friends for dinner, and then went to see the Spiderwick Chronicles. I bought myself a couple of treats … I got a Nike+ gadget for my iPod that will track my run distances. I don’t have the special shoes, but I found something on Amazon that I can attach to my shoes that should do the trick. The attacher thang should come in this week – when I get it and I’ve had a chance to play with it I’ll let you know how it all works. I also bought myself an on-sale skirt from Old Navy in a size 6. Woo hoo!
On Thursday I went back to work, but my parents and brother came over and spent the night that night, then my brother flew out Friday morning. It was a great few days. Over the weekend I had to get caught up on work … with a day off and people in my house for part of two work days, I was a little behind.
I’m still a little behind, actually. I have a TON to do at work. It’s going to be a busy week.
Oh, and did I mention that my eating got a little off track during the family time and the weekend? But it’s all good; I’m back on track today. I have to say that any gain was worth it. Last week was a great week.
I hope the last week has been wonderful for all of you, too!
Well, I mean, I didn’t run straight the whole time, I ran around my neighborhood so I actually went in circles a little, but you know what I mean. I ran 20 minutes without stopping.
I almost didn’t do the 20 minute run. The 20 minute run was week 5 day 3, and I almost repeated week 5 day 2. I just couldn’t imagine that I was ready for a 20 minute run. I’d almost talked myself out of trying, and then I told myself that I should at least TRY. If I can’t sustain a jogging pace for 20 minutes, fine, no harm done, but I should at least TRY. And I tried, and I did it!
I look back at the fact that I almost didn’t try it, and it makes me wonder how many other things in my life I didn’t do because I didn’t think I could do them. I suspect I’ve missed out on a lot because I was scared I would fail, and failing seemed worse than not trying.
That is so messed up.
So anyway, I ran! And it was good! I was grinning like a fool when I finished.
Truth be told, I ran slooooooowly. I’m not sure I’m going as far as I’m supposed to go each time I run. The program is set up where you either run a certain distance or a certain time, and I’m going with time so I don’t know if I’m getting my distance in. But I’ll worry about that when I’ve finished the program – I can work up to running faster/longer. One thing at a time, right?
Hmmm, what else do I need to tell you guys? It seems like ages since I’ve checked in. I completely fell out of the blogosphere for almost 6 days. I have a lot of catching up to do on everyone’s blogs … my Google reader overfloweth! If you’re reading this and I haven’t been to your site yet, I promise I’ll stop by soon.
My time away was lovely. I had a great time with my brother and the rest of my family. I hadn’t seen my brother since Christmas, and guess what the first words out of his mouth were? “Hi, skinny! You’ve lost more weight!”
I love that man.
I took the day off work on Wednesday, and it was fun. We didn’t do anything too exciting … we met some old friends for lunch, then did some shopping, met some other friends for dinner, and then went to see the Spiderwick Chronicles. I bought myself a couple of treats … I got a Nike+ gadget for my iPod that will track my run distances. I don’t have the special shoes, but I found something on Amazon that I can attach to my shoes that should do the trick. The attacher thang should come in this week – when I get it and I’ve had a chance to play with it I’ll let you know how it all works. I also bought myself an on-sale skirt from Old Navy in a size 6. Woo hoo!
On Thursday I went back to work, but my parents and brother came over and spent the night that night, then my brother flew out Friday morning. It was a great few days. Over the weekend I had to get caught up on work … with a day off and people in my house for part of two work days, I was a little behind.
I’m still a little behind, actually. I have a TON to do at work. It’s going to be a busy week.
Oh, and did I mention that my eating got a little off track during the family time and the weekend? But it’s all good; I’m back on track today. I have to say that any gain was worth it. Last week was a great week.
I hope the last week has been wonderful for all of you, too!
Tuesday, March 4, 2008
Happy goes missing
Hey everyone!
I mentioned in my last post that my little brother is in town. (If you can call someone who is 33 and taller than me little, that is.) I'm going to be spending some time with him, trying to get some work done (that pesky job - ugh!), and getting that exercise in, so I don't think I'll be around much these next few days.
I'll catch up with everyone this weekend, I promise.
You guys have a great rest-of-the-week!
I mentioned in my last post that my little brother is in town. (If you can call someone who is 33 and taller than me little, that is.) I'm going to be spending some time with him, trying to get some work done (that pesky job - ugh!), and getting that exercise in, so I don't think I'll be around much these next few days.
I'll catch up with everyone this weekend, I promise.
You guys have a great rest-of-the-week!
Where Am I? (Volume 6)
Happy Tuesday! Where am I in my weight loss journey, you ask?
Weight loss since last Tuesday: 1.4 lbs (136.6 vs. 135.2). Yay! I’m super-close to goal!
Weight loss since fall 2007 (most recent leg of weight loss journey): 17.2 lbs (152.4 vs. 135.2).
Total weight lost (entire weight loss journey): 31.8 lbs (167 vs. 135.2). I earned my 30 lb badge last week, so nothing new to report here.
As I mentioned in my post yesterday, I’m having some minor motivation issues. Nothing that is going to derail me completely, but I do think my heart isn’t in the weight loss groove as much these past couple weeks. I’ve been close to goal but not AT goal for a while now. My goal is 132-133, and I’m currently at 135.2. SO. CLOSE. I have to say that I’m eager to get to goal, but maybe not as eager as I should be. It’s a little frustrating to be so close to goal but not there, but …
While one part of me is a little frustrated, another part of me is OK with where I am, as strange as that sounds. Like I said, my goal is 132-133 lbs. Why such a strange number as goal? Because I bought a lot of clothes the last time I was at 132-133. I’d like those clothes to fit again, and I need to lose a couple more pounds and firm up just a little more for all of them to fit.
Right now most of the clothes fit, but a couple things don’t fit perfectly. The non-fitting clothes? One pair of shorts and a pair of Capri pants are a tad bit tight in the thighs. I can put them on, but the thighs are just a tad too big for them to be a perfect fit.* But have you looked outside? SNOW. I’m not exactly in need of shorts and Capri pants at the moment, and the jeans I bought at the same time do fit.
Right now, if the scale moves slowly downward I’m a-OK with it. I think I’m going to officially take my focus OFF the scale and focus more on exercise. I’ve decided that as long as I get these last couple pounds off by mid-April, I’m happy. The key for me is to not let it start moving BACKWARDS. As of right now, I’m aiming for a maintain or a loss every week for the next 5 or 6 weeks. If I can do that and exercise at the same time, I’ll be back in those shorts and capris just in time to wear them on vacation at the end of April.
So everyone, I have a couple favors to ask. Please support me in thinking that maintaining or tiny losses are great, wonderful, and exactly what I need.
Also, I want you guys to know that for me, reaching goal isn’t touching it one day. I weigh daily, so my scale goes up and down and up and down and up and down. In my mind, I’ll have reached goal when the average weigh-in for a seven day period is 133. I’m telling everyone this so that I don’t get lots of premature congratulations when I have a downward blip in my weight. It’s disheartening to have to say “Actually, I’m not at goal. See, the scale every day since then is 2 pounds higher.” Maybe on my daily posts I’ll start giving the running last 7 day average so we’re all on the same page.
Anyway, enough about that damned scale.
I think that I’m much more focused and motivated about exercise. This is a change – usually that’s the hard part for me. But I’ve really gotten into this couch to 5k program. I love seeing the progress, I love finding that I’m capable of more than I think I am, I love having a specific goal (running a 5k on April 19th), I love that I can do it outside when it’s nice and in the gym when it’s not … I love it.
Now, we’ll see if I keep loving it after this week. Tonight I run a couple of 8 minute periods – 8 minutes! Ack! Then the next run after that, I run 20 minutes straight. TWENTY MINUTES! I don’t even know what to say about that.
How did the exercise go this week?
Exercise: I did it! I earned my exercise badge! My goal was 3x couch to 5k runs and 2x strength training, and I did it. It feels good to say I met that goal.
My exercise goal this week will be very similar: Couch to 5k runs 3x, strength training 2x, and this week I’m also adding in a short abs workout 5x. As the week progresses I’ll keep you posted on how the progressively longer runs on the couch to 5k program are going.
It’ll be a challenging week to get all my workouts in. My brother is visiting from out of town, so my free time isn’t very free. But luckily I think he’ll understand completely, so I should be able to sneak out to get a quick workout in when I need to. I’m so excited about seeing him! I’m also curious if he’ll notice that I’ve lost weight since Christmas.
Anyway, I hope all of you have a wonderful week, and that you are successful in meeting your goals.
*Yes, some of that is muscle. But I can look in the mirror and easily see that it isn’t all muscle. Saddlebags do not equal muscle!
Weight loss since last Tuesday: 1.4 lbs (136.6 vs. 135.2). Yay! I’m super-close to goal!
Weight loss since fall 2007 (most recent leg of weight loss journey): 17.2 lbs (152.4 vs. 135.2).
Total weight lost (entire weight loss journey): 31.8 lbs (167 vs. 135.2). I earned my 30 lb badge last week, so nothing new to report here.
As I mentioned in my post yesterday, I’m having some minor motivation issues. Nothing that is going to derail me completely, but I do think my heart isn’t in the weight loss groove as much these past couple weeks. I’ve been close to goal but not AT goal for a while now. My goal is 132-133, and I’m currently at 135.2. SO. CLOSE. I have to say that I’m eager to get to goal, but maybe not as eager as I should be. It’s a little frustrating to be so close to goal but not there, but …
While one part of me is a little frustrated, another part of me is OK with where I am, as strange as that sounds. Like I said, my goal is 132-133 lbs. Why such a strange number as goal? Because I bought a lot of clothes the last time I was at 132-133. I’d like those clothes to fit again, and I need to lose a couple more pounds and firm up just a little more for all of them to fit.
Right now most of the clothes fit, but a couple things don’t fit perfectly. The non-fitting clothes? One pair of shorts and a pair of Capri pants are a tad bit tight in the thighs. I can put them on, but the thighs are just a tad too big for them to be a perfect fit.* But have you looked outside? SNOW. I’m not exactly in need of shorts and Capri pants at the moment, and the jeans I bought at the same time do fit.
Right now, if the scale moves slowly downward I’m a-OK with it. I think I’m going to officially take my focus OFF the scale and focus more on exercise. I’ve decided that as long as I get these last couple pounds off by mid-April, I’m happy. The key for me is to not let it start moving BACKWARDS. As of right now, I’m aiming for a maintain or a loss every week for the next 5 or 6 weeks. If I can do that and exercise at the same time, I’ll be back in those shorts and capris just in time to wear them on vacation at the end of April.
So everyone, I have a couple favors to ask. Please support me in thinking that maintaining or tiny losses are great, wonderful, and exactly what I need.
Also, I want you guys to know that for me, reaching goal isn’t touching it one day. I weigh daily, so my scale goes up and down and up and down and up and down. In my mind, I’ll have reached goal when the average weigh-in for a seven day period is 133. I’m telling everyone this so that I don’t get lots of premature congratulations when I have a downward blip in my weight. It’s disheartening to have to say “Actually, I’m not at goal. See, the scale every day since then is 2 pounds higher.” Maybe on my daily posts I’ll start giving the running last 7 day average so we’re all on the same page.
Anyway, enough about that damned scale.
I think that I’m much more focused and motivated about exercise. This is a change – usually that’s the hard part for me. But I’ve really gotten into this couch to 5k program. I love seeing the progress, I love finding that I’m capable of more than I think I am, I love having a specific goal (running a 5k on April 19th), I love that I can do it outside when it’s nice and in the gym when it’s not … I love it.
Now, we’ll see if I keep loving it after this week. Tonight I run a couple of 8 minute periods – 8 minutes! Ack! Then the next run after that, I run 20 minutes straight. TWENTY MINUTES! I don’t even know what to say about that.
How did the exercise go this week?
Exercise: I did it! I earned my exercise badge! My goal was 3x couch to 5k runs and 2x strength training, and I did it. It feels good to say I met that goal.
My exercise goal this week will be very similar: Couch to 5k runs 3x, strength training 2x, and this week I’m also adding in a short abs workout 5x. As the week progresses I’ll keep you posted on how the progressively longer runs on the couch to 5k program are going.
It’ll be a challenging week to get all my workouts in. My brother is visiting from out of town, so my free time isn’t very free. But luckily I think he’ll understand completely, so I should be able to sneak out to get a quick workout in when I need to. I’m so excited about seeing him! I’m also curious if he’ll notice that I’ve lost weight since Christmas.
Anyway, I hope all of you have a wonderful week, and that you are successful in meeting your goals.
*Yes, some of that is muscle. But I can look in the mirror and easily see that it isn’t all muscle. Saddlebags do not equal muscle!
Saturday, March 1, 2008
My inner critic has shut up for the moment
Last night I ran my couch to 5k week 4 day 3 run – I completed week 4! Woo hoo!
When Stephanie told me in my comments that the first 10 minutes of a run always sucks, she was spot on. In my case it was more like the first 8 minutes, given that I was running in 3 and 5 minute segments. The first 3 minute segment and the first 5 minute segment were so much harder than the second 3 and 5 minute segments. I guess endorphins really are our friends.
Sunday* I’m on to week 5. Yikes! (no no no, stop with the yikes. I can do this.) I mean, yay! (there, that’s better.) AND I met my exercise goal for the week! Extra-yay!
So I’ve managed to smother the inner critic for a while. While I was running yesterday I felt so good about what I was doing. I am 100% doing the best I can, and it kicks ass. What is there to get frustrated about? Nothing. So what if I finish a couple minutes after my husband in the 5k. I’m extremely happy that he’s working out. It’s all good.
Actually, I’ve realized part of what bothered me about my relative speed is that we’re doing this 5k with quite a few of our friends, and I expect all of them to finish before us. So, what I really mean is: So what if I finish absolutely dead last amongst all our friends. I’ve finished! I’m good with that. Especially since I’ve decided that I clearly need to find someone who runs more slowly than me to join us in the run. Problem solved!
JUST KIDDING!
No, seriously, starting out slow gives me lots of room for improvement, and getting faster will be an excellent, satisfying new goal to work towards starting in May.
*My workout with the husband/friend/trainer has been moved from Monday to Sunday because I somehow double booked myself for Monday night. Thank gawd everyone else was able to reschedule.
When Stephanie told me in my comments that the first 10 minutes of a run always sucks, she was spot on. In my case it was more like the first 8 minutes, given that I was running in 3 and 5 minute segments. The first 3 minute segment and the first 5 minute segment were so much harder than the second 3 and 5 minute segments. I guess endorphins really are our friends.
Sunday* I’m on to week 5. Yikes! (no no no, stop with the yikes. I can do this.) I mean, yay! (there, that’s better.) AND I met my exercise goal for the week! Extra-yay!
So I’ve managed to smother the inner critic for a while. While I was running yesterday I felt so good about what I was doing. I am 100% doing the best I can, and it kicks ass. What is there to get frustrated about? Nothing. So what if I finish a couple minutes after my husband in the 5k. I’m extremely happy that he’s working out. It’s all good.
Actually, I’ve realized part of what bothered me about my relative speed is that we’re doing this 5k with quite a few of our friends, and I expect all of them to finish before us. So, what I really mean is: So what if I finish absolutely dead last amongst all our friends. I’ve finished! I’m good with that. Especially since I’ve decided that I clearly need to find someone who runs more slowly than me to join us in the run. Problem solved!
JUST KIDDING!
No, seriously, starting out slow gives me lots of room for improvement, and getting faster will be an excellent, satisfying new goal to work towards starting in May.
*My workout with the husband/friend/trainer has been moved from Monday to Sunday because I somehow double booked myself for Monday night. Thank gawd everyone else was able to reschedule.
Friday, February 29, 2008
Telling my inner critic to piss off
I was talking to my husband yesterday about the couch to 5k program. He’s also doing the program, although he’s doing his 100% on the treadmill and I do mine on the treadmill 1-2 days a week and on the road 1-2 days a week. I’d been out of the loop on how it’s been going for him, since I’ve tried to stay out of his business about it. He’s relatively new to exercise, and I didn’t want to seem like a nag or a critic. Because of our different work schedules and his commute we’re not really doing the program together as much as we’re doing it over the same span of weeks. Over the past few weeks we’ve ended up on treadmills side by side only once or twice, and those times we each had our headphones on listening to the podcast that told us when to walk and run.
So anyway, the topic came up, and we chatted about how we’re feeling about the program. We’re both feeling good, the podcasts are helpful, blah blah blah. Then the topic turned to how fast we’re running.
Dammit! The man is running MUCH faster than I am.
For some reason I find this irrationally maddening.
He’s 6 inches taller than me so that’s a very slight advantage perhaps, but other than that it seems like I should have the advantage here. He’s been inconsistent with his training, but I’ve been on track (with the exception of one missed workout). He’s skipped parts of weeks, and I’ve been following the training program religiously and by the book. He started out at a lower fitness level than I did. When we do the personal training together weekly, he lifts heavier weights than I do, but I seem to have better cardio endurance than he has and I seem to be able to handle physical discomfort better. He’s never been an athletic person; I’ve had two periods in my life where exercise was the norm.
Right now I’m feeling annoyed at myself for running slowly, bewildered at how the realities above translate to him running faster, and, well, just COMPETITIVE.
I didn’t want this running thing to get competitive.
I’ve been surfing around online trying to get a sense if I’m at least “normal” when it come to how quickly I’m running. I’m not finding many answers – what I am finding is repeated suggestions to do it slowly and to pace yourself. Great, wonderful, I’m doing what I’m SUPPOSED to do with the program.
Why isn’t that good enough?
I need to find a way to silence my inner critic and to stop comparing myself to him or anyone else. It does NOT matter how fast I run, it matters that I run. It matters that I’m stretching myself and doing something new, something I never thought I could do. I don’t have to do it better or faster than anyone else. In my heart I know all this. And I also know that once I’ve run 5k, I can move on to building my speed, and/or building my distance, and/or move on to some other completely different goal. I know this.
So why am I having such a hard time with the speed thing? I guess I’m a competitive person – I don’t think of myself that way, but I guess I am. And I really didn’t want this to be competitive – I wanted to do this for myself. Now I’m a little worried that when we do run our 5k, I’ll be disappointed in myself when I cross the finish line many minutes after him. I hate the thought that I could let something like that take away from how I’ll feel about accomplishing this goal.
If you guys have any suggestions about how I can tell my inner critic to piss off, please, suggest away.
In the meantime, it’s payday. I’m going to head out after work to buy a heart rate monitor.
So anyway, the topic came up, and we chatted about how we’re feeling about the program. We’re both feeling good, the podcasts are helpful, blah blah blah. Then the topic turned to how fast we’re running.
Dammit! The man is running MUCH faster than I am.
For some reason I find this irrationally maddening.
He’s 6 inches taller than me so that’s a very slight advantage perhaps, but other than that it seems like I should have the advantage here. He’s been inconsistent with his training, but I’ve been on track (with the exception of one missed workout). He’s skipped parts of weeks, and I’ve been following the training program religiously and by the book. He started out at a lower fitness level than I did. When we do the personal training together weekly, he lifts heavier weights than I do, but I seem to have better cardio endurance than he has and I seem to be able to handle physical discomfort better. He’s never been an athletic person; I’ve had two periods in my life where exercise was the norm.
Right now I’m feeling annoyed at myself for running slowly, bewildered at how the realities above translate to him running faster, and, well, just COMPETITIVE.
I didn’t want this running thing to get competitive.
I’ve been surfing around online trying to get a sense if I’m at least “normal” when it come to how quickly I’m running. I’m not finding many answers – what I am finding is repeated suggestions to do it slowly and to pace yourself. Great, wonderful, I’m doing what I’m SUPPOSED to do with the program.
Why isn’t that good enough?
I need to find a way to silence my inner critic and to stop comparing myself to him or anyone else. It does NOT matter how fast I run, it matters that I run. It matters that I’m stretching myself and doing something new, something I never thought I could do. I don’t have to do it better or faster than anyone else. In my heart I know all this. And I also know that once I’ve run 5k, I can move on to building my speed, and/or building my distance, and/or move on to some other completely different goal. I know this.
So why am I having such a hard time with the speed thing? I guess I’m a competitive person – I don’t think of myself that way, but I guess I am. And I really didn’t want this to be competitive – I wanted to do this for myself. Now I’m a little worried that when we do run our 5k, I’ll be disappointed in myself when I cross the finish line many minutes after him. I hate the thought that I could let something like that take away from how I’ll feel about accomplishing this goal.
If you guys have any suggestions about how I can tell my inner critic to piss off, please, suggest away.
In the meantime, it’s payday. I’m going to head out after work to buy a heart rate monitor.
Friday, February 22, 2008
Motivation looks a lot like a bikini
In a couple months, my husband and I celebrate our 5th wedding anniversary. It’s been a great 5 years, and we have a lot to be grateful for. There have been ups and downs, but many more ups than downs. To celebrate, we just booked a trip to a beach resort in Mexico.
Now there’s a reason to lose these last few pounds!
I tell ya, going to Mexico feels a liiiittle bit like a cop-out. Typically we like to visit places we’ve never been before; we like to go, see and do … we like to sight-see and learn and experience local culture and change hotels every night or two to see more of the countries we visit. Not this time – this time we are going to a region we’ve been before, we’re staying at one place all week, and we may never leave the resort. We talked about doing an interesting go-see-do vacation, and decided that isn’t what we need right now. This vacation is all about relaxing. As far as sightseeing goes … well … been there, done that, pass me a cocktail.
I can’t wait!
This upcoming vacation definitely gives me a motivation boost. Knowing that I’ll be in a bathing suit … knowing that I’ll be in PUBLIC in a BIKINI… that’s definitely going to keep me focused. Plus, most of my nice clothes will only fit when I’m at goal. And won’t it be nice to look at pictures of myself on our honeymoon and look at pictures of our 5 year anniversary trip and be able to say I’m the same size?
Heck, I may even be able to say I’m in better shape. We leave for our vacation exactly one week after the 5k I’m planning on running.
Yay! If I wasn’t focused before, I’m definitely focused now.
How are things going, you ask? I’m still on track in my “back to the basics” week. I drank all my water yesterday, journaled everything yesterday, and managed to make healthy choices eating out last night. Even after splurging a little on Tuesday night, I still have plenty of flex-points left for the weekend.
From an exercise standpoint, I finished Couch to 5k week 3 day 3 on Wednesday. It was hard but not impossible … it was easier than Week 3 day 1, but harder than Week 3 day 2. (Even though all three days were the same – isn’t it odd how the difficulty seems to vary even though the workout doesn’t?) Tomorrow will be much nicer weather than today, so I’m planning on doing my couch to 5k week 4 day 1 run tomorrow, along with a strength training session. I’m still on track as long as I do it before Sunday. I’m nervous about week 4 (it looks a lot harder than week 3), but I’ve surprised myself before doing these runs so maybe I’ll surprise myself again.
I’m going out to dinner again tonight, but based on what I hear about this place I should be able to make healthy choices. If all goes well I may even be able to get a little popcorn at the movies tonight and still be on plan.
All in all, things are good! The only challenge is that I still haven’t made it to the grocery store. To get my fruits and veggies in, I’m dipping into the cabinet and freezer … applesauce, edamame, and other frozen veggies are my friend right now. I’ve got to get to the store – I miss fresh produce!
Now there’s a reason to lose these last few pounds!
I tell ya, going to Mexico feels a liiiittle bit like a cop-out. Typically we like to visit places we’ve never been before; we like to go, see and do … we like to sight-see and learn and experience local culture and change hotels every night or two to see more of the countries we visit. Not this time – this time we are going to a region we’ve been before, we’re staying at one place all week, and we may never leave the resort. We talked about doing an interesting go-see-do vacation, and decided that isn’t what we need right now. This vacation is all about relaxing. As far as sightseeing goes … well … been there, done that, pass me a cocktail.
I can’t wait!
This upcoming vacation definitely gives me a motivation boost. Knowing that I’ll be in a bathing suit … knowing that I’ll be in PUBLIC in a BIKINI… that’s definitely going to keep me focused. Plus, most of my nice clothes will only fit when I’m at goal. And won’t it be nice to look at pictures of myself on our honeymoon and look at pictures of our 5 year anniversary trip and be able to say I’m the same size?
Heck, I may even be able to say I’m in better shape. We leave for our vacation exactly one week after the 5k I’m planning on running.
Yay! If I wasn’t focused before, I’m definitely focused now.
How are things going, you ask? I’m still on track in my “back to the basics” week. I drank all my water yesterday, journaled everything yesterday, and managed to make healthy choices eating out last night. Even after splurging a little on Tuesday night, I still have plenty of flex-points left for the weekend.
From an exercise standpoint, I finished Couch to 5k week 3 day 3 on Wednesday. It was hard but not impossible … it was easier than Week 3 day 1, but harder than Week 3 day 2. (Even though all three days were the same – isn’t it odd how the difficulty seems to vary even though the workout doesn’t?) Tomorrow will be much nicer weather than today, so I’m planning on doing my couch to 5k week 4 day 1 run tomorrow, along with a strength training session. I’m still on track as long as I do it before Sunday. I’m nervous about week 4 (it looks a lot harder than week 3), but I’ve surprised myself before doing these runs so maybe I’ll surprise myself again.
I’m going out to dinner again tonight, but based on what I hear about this place I should be able to make healthy choices. If all goes well I may even be able to get a little popcorn at the movies tonight and still be on plan.
All in all, things are good! The only challenge is that I still haven’t made it to the grocery store. To get my fruits and veggies in, I’m dipping into the cabinet and freezer … applesauce, edamame, and other frozen veggies are my friend right now. I’ve got to get to the store – I miss fresh produce!
Friday, February 15, 2008
A Weight Watchers confession
I was supposed to go to a Weight Watchers meeting with a friend of mine tomorrow morning, and it looks like she’s bailing on me. I’m not terribly disappointed about this change in plans.
Why? Weeeelll …
I haven’t been to a Weight Watcher’s meeting since early October 2007. There. I said it.
I used to get a lot out of the meetings. People had words of wisdom and advice, everyone was supportive, you could help others and others could help you, someone would always have a new product to tell about … good stuff. It really was. It was good stuff. I have no regrets about going to the meetings. In the past, I could not have lost weight without the meetings.
If you asked me today if you should go to the meetings, I would say yes. Go.
They were the best thing ever for me … in 2003.
And they were pretty darned helpful … in 2005.
But when I went back last year, I wasn’t feeling the love. I went back twice when I started losing weight again. And I liked and respected the leader. I didn’t mind weighing in. I had faith in the program. I didn’t even mind paying … they came up with a great program, so I’ll pay for it. But … ugh! The lines! All those people! All the waiting! And this was back in October … I’m not even talking about January, when the place REALLY becomes a zoo.
I think somehow in my mental cost/benefit analysis, the costs became greater than the benefits.
It probably sounds crazy, but I feel like a bad Weight Watchers person. I feel like I should want to go to the meetings. I feel like I should encourage YOU to go to the meetings. I feel like I should keep my big fat mouth shut about the fact that I’ve stopped attending meetings. (I also feel like I drank the Kool-Aid, since I feel bad about all this.)
Know what’s even worse than the fact that I’m not going to the meetings? I don’t really miss the meetings. Especially now that I’m blogging. I feel like there is a community out here that is just as supportive, if not more supportive, than the community at the meetings.
But I was willing to give it a shot, since I had a friend who was going, too. If nothing else, I’ll be there to support my friend, right? The meeting we were going to attend tomorrow is in the next town over, in a different center than the one I used to go to. Maybe this place will be less of a zoo. Maybe it won’t just be about supporting a friend, maybe I’ll regain my love for the meetings.
But I won’t find out this week, it seems …
Why? Weeeelll …
I haven’t been to a Weight Watcher’s meeting since early October 2007. There. I said it.
I used to get a lot out of the meetings. People had words of wisdom and advice, everyone was supportive, you could help others and others could help you, someone would always have a new product to tell about … good stuff. It really was. It was good stuff. I have no regrets about going to the meetings. In the past, I could not have lost weight without the meetings.
If you asked me today if you should go to the meetings, I would say yes. Go.
They were the best thing ever for me … in 2003.
And they were pretty darned helpful … in 2005.
But when I went back last year, I wasn’t feeling the love. I went back twice when I started losing weight again. And I liked and respected the leader. I didn’t mind weighing in. I had faith in the program. I didn’t even mind paying … they came up with a great program, so I’ll pay for it. But … ugh! The lines! All those people! All the waiting! And this was back in October … I’m not even talking about January, when the place REALLY becomes a zoo.
I think somehow in my mental cost/benefit analysis, the costs became greater than the benefits.
It probably sounds crazy, but I feel like a bad Weight Watchers person. I feel like I should want to go to the meetings. I feel like I should encourage YOU to go to the meetings. I feel like I should keep my big fat mouth shut about the fact that I’ve stopped attending meetings. (I also feel like I drank the Kool-Aid, since I feel bad about all this.)
Know what’s even worse than the fact that I’m not going to the meetings? I don’t really miss the meetings. Especially now that I’m blogging. I feel like there is a community out here that is just as supportive, if not more supportive, than the community at the meetings.
But I was willing to give it a shot, since I had a friend who was going, too. If nothing else, I’ll be there to support my friend, right? The meeting we were going to attend tomorrow is in the next town over, in a different center than the one I used to go to. Maybe this place will be less of a zoo. Maybe it won’t just be about supporting a friend, maybe I’ll regain my love for the meetings.
But I won’t find out this week, it seems …
Thursday, February 14, 2008
Did I mention that life is short?
(I can’t even pretend that this post is fitness related. This one definitely falls into the “I'll also occasionally ramble on about other life experiences and events. There's more to life than fitness” category.)
Thanks for your support yesterday, everyone. I can’t tell you how much it means to me.
What I can tell you is what contributed to my thoughts about a career change. There’s more to it than my escalating work dissatisfaction.
I recently saw links to the video sites below on someone else’s blog.* These are videos of Carnegie Mellon Professor Randy Pausch giving his last lecture. He is dying from pancreatic cancer, and his talk is "Really Achieving Your Childhood Dreams." This guy is amazing, inspirational, and … really amazing. He talked about life lessons learned and gave advice on how to achieve career and personal goals.
Here’s the version I would recommend. It’s long. About an hour and a half long, to be specific. But watch it. Seriously, watch it. Come on, there’s a writers strike, there's nothing on TV … step away from the TV and watch this instead. It is worth every second.
Here’s a much shorter version, where he gave a mini-lecture on Oprah. It’s not as good … he’s rushed and there’s a lot of interesting stuff missing. But not as good is still damned good, so if you really only have 15 minutes then watch this one. FYI, I watched the short one then went back to watch the long one because it was so good. I’m glad I watched the longer one, and I wish I’d skipped straight to it because watching the shorter one was like reading the end of a book first.
So I watched this video.
To understand where I was mentally and emotionally when I watched it, I have to put it into context. I watched this video two weeks after my best friend’s mother was diagnosed with terminal cancer. It was also a little under five months after my grandmother died of terminal cancer. My family spent nine months in 2007** caring for my grandmother, and I anticipate that my best friend and her sister will spend most of 2008 caring for her mother. It goes without saying that these are life-changing experiences. (Although apparently I felt like I had to say it anyway.)
So here I am, confronted repeatedly by life’s fragility and transience. Add to that my work dissatisfaction, and is it any wonder that the video had an impact?
Life is short. TOO short. We should live it fully, and I’m not sure I can say I’m doing that right now.
After watching the "Really Achieving Your Childhood Dreams" lecture, I started to think about my childhood dreams. I was a creative child … I took art classes and wrote stories (unprompted – not as school assignments) and I daydreamed. I was an introvert with an active imagination, and when I grew up I wanted to be an interior designer. This was in the mid to late 70’s – long before HGTV! All of that drifted away around puberty; I think the social pressures were such that my dreamy introverted artsy way of being didn’t work with the boys and friends scene.
Fast forward through high school and college and graduate school and over a decade in the work-force. Somehow I’ve become this analytic creature! Granted, I find that my employers typically like me because I have a creative problem-solving approach, but still. There’s a big piece of who I am that I left behind a long time ago. A couple years ago my current job used to tap into that creative side occasionally, and I think it’s what kept me happy here. But the last two years have been different. Management and organizational focus has changed. Now, creativity is a thing of the past and, because of that and other crapola, I’m becoming an analytical cynical dissatisfied employee.
And I started thinking … what brings me joy? What do I like to do on my days off? And the answer is … you guessed it … putting together fun, funky, functional home décor, as well as landscaping my yard. Which leads me to think that my childhood dreams weren’t too off-target. Becoming an interior decorator or landscape architect would be a good fit for me in terms of aligning my career with things I love. And the more think about it, the more appealing those options are.
But is either one of those feasible? That’s a question I can’t answer yet.
To answer the question, I think the first step is research research research. Research, and list-making. I’m glad I’m not alone in my anal-retentive OCD list-making. My blogger family understands … ya gotta make a list. So, my next step … well, my next step is to do research and figure out my next step. Right now I have more questions than answers.
What are my options? What can I do while I’m still employed at my current job? How long would I need out of the workforce, if any? Financially, what do I need to do to prepare for the possibility of being out of the workforce for a while, and returning to the workforce at a lower income? How do the degrees I have reduce the time it’ll take to get new degrees I may need? What is the job really like? How can I use the skills I have to position myself well in the new industry?
I have work to do!
Thanks again for your support. You guys have helped me think this through. I don’t know if I’ll actually do this career change thing or not, but I have to at least check into it. It’s too important to blow off. Life it too short!
*I’m so sorry – I don’t remember who had it. It was a while back, and I just don’t remember who it was. I’d totally link to you if I remembered
** Someday I’ll talk more about 2007 – those 9 months were the worst months of my life by far. Oh, as a side note? Please don't smoke.
Thanks for your support yesterday, everyone. I can’t tell you how much it means to me.
What I can tell you is what contributed to my thoughts about a career change. There’s more to it than my escalating work dissatisfaction.
I recently saw links to the video sites below on someone else’s blog.* These are videos of Carnegie Mellon Professor Randy Pausch giving his last lecture. He is dying from pancreatic cancer, and his talk is "Really Achieving Your Childhood Dreams." This guy is amazing, inspirational, and … really amazing. He talked about life lessons learned and gave advice on how to achieve career and personal goals.
Here’s the version I would recommend. It’s long. About an hour and a half long, to be specific. But watch it. Seriously, watch it. Come on, there’s a writers strike, there's nothing on TV … step away from the TV and watch this instead. It is worth every second.
Here’s a much shorter version, where he gave a mini-lecture on Oprah. It’s not as good … he’s rushed and there’s a lot of interesting stuff missing. But not as good is still damned good, so if you really only have 15 minutes then watch this one. FYI, I watched the short one then went back to watch the long one because it was so good. I’m glad I watched the longer one, and I wish I’d skipped straight to it because watching the shorter one was like reading the end of a book first.
So I watched this video.
To understand where I was mentally and emotionally when I watched it, I have to put it into context. I watched this video two weeks after my best friend’s mother was diagnosed with terminal cancer. It was also a little under five months after my grandmother died of terminal cancer. My family spent nine months in 2007** caring for my grandmother, and I anticipate that my best friend and her sister will spend most of 2008 caring for her mother. It goes without saying that these are life-changing experiences. (Although apparently I felt like I had to say it anyway.)
So here I am, confronted repeatedly by life’s fragility and transience. Add to that my work dissatisfaction, and is it any wonder that the video had an impact?
Life is short. TOO short. We should live it fully, and I’m not sure I can say I’m doing that right now.
After watching the "Really Achieving Your Childhood Dreams" lecture, I started to think about my childhood dreams. I was a creative child … I took art classes and wrote stories (unprompted – not as school assignments) and I daydreamed. I was an introvert with an active imagination, and when I grew up I wanted to be an interior designer. This was in the mid to late 70’s – long before HGTV! All of that drifted away around puberty; I think the social pressures were such that my dreamy introverted artsy way of being didn’t work with the boys and friends scene.
Fast forward through high school and college and graduate school and over a decade in the work-force. Somehow I’ve become this analytic creature! Granted, I find that my employers typically like me because I have a creative problem-solving approach, but still. There’s a big piece of who I am that I left behind a long time ago. A couple years ago my current job used to tap into that creative side occasionally, and I think it’s what kept me happy here. But the last two years have been different. Management and organizational focus has changed. Now, creativity is a thing of the past and, because of that and other crapola, I’m becoming an analytical cynical dissatisfied employee.
And I started thinking … what brings me joy? What do I like to do on my days off? And the answer is … you guessed it … putting together fun, funky, functional home décor, as well as landscaping my yard. Which leads me to think that my childhood dreams weren’t too off-target. Becoming an interior decorator or landscape architect would be a good fit for me in terms of aligning my career with things I love. And the more think about it, the more appealing those options are.
But is either one of those feasible? That’s a question I can’t answer yet.
To answer the question, I think the first step is research research research. Research, and list-making. I’m glad I’m not alone in my anal-retentive OCD list-making. My blogger family understands … ya gotta make a list. So, my next step … well, my next step is to do research and figure out my next step. Right now I have more questions than answers.
What are my options? What can I do while I’m still employed at my current job? How long would I need out of the workforce, if any? Financially, what do I need to do to prepare for the possibility of being out of the workforce for a while, and returning to the workforce at a lower income? How do the degrees I have reduce the time it’ll take to get new degrees I may need? What is the job really like? How can I use the skills I have to position myself well in the new industry?
I have work to do!
Thanks again for your support. You guys have helped me think this through. I don’t know if I’ll actually do this career change thing or not, but I have to at least check into it. It’s too important to blow off. Life it too short!
*I’m so sorry – I don’t remember who had it. It was a while back, and I just don’t remember who it was. I’d totally link to you if I remembered
** Someday I’ll talk more about 2007 – those 9 months were the worst months of my life by far. Oh, as a side note? Please don't smoke.
Thursday, February 7, 2008
My love/hate relationship with Buffalo Wild Wings
Tonight I’m meeting up with some friends to go to Buffalo Wild Wings. (From here on out Buffalo Wild Wings = BWW because that’s too durned much to type.) Do you guys have BWW in your area? My gawd they have good wings. I credit some of my 2007 weight gain to BWW and their wings.
I used to go to BWW with my friends all the time. I’d order 12 wings with sauce, plus a little ranch dressing, a couple 24 oz. light beers, AND some sort of appetizer to share. Hey, at least they were light beers, right? Ugh. Based on what I found online, the 12 wings cost me about 35 points, the beer would be 8, I’m going to throw another 4 points for the ranch, and who knows how many points for the appetizer. That’s 47 points before the appetizer is even factored in! That is MORE THAN TWO DAYS WORTH OF POINTS FOR ME! In ONE MEAL!
Sorry to yell, but that’s just crazy.
When I got my eating back under control last fall, I stopped texting people saying “BWW 7 PM” … and our friends stopped going for a while. It seemed my husband and I were the big BWW pushers in the group. But then in December when a couple of months had passed without a BWW trip, my friends started talking about how much they missed going. At that point, I started trying to hunt down BWW nutrition and points information.
There is a little bit of information out there. You can find info if you really dig around, but in general the company does not openly provide nutritional information so it isn’t easy to come by, and I wonder if the information that I do find is spot-on. Anyway, from what I did find, it was clear that I’d have to seriously alter my menu choices. Since my friends started organizing BWW visits every few weeks or so, I had to figure something out. I’m not willing to kill my social life because I’m eating well. I work from home – if I don’t get out of the house, I go a little insane.
What stinks about BWW being the hangout, though, is that some of the healthy choices there are really not good.
They have naked wings – basically “grilled” unbreaded chicken breast strips. Theoretically that would be a good choice, and it is a good choice nutritionally, but they are like shoe leather. I asked a waitress about it (you know, the one who knows us because we used to go there so often?), and she said that they get made early and then they’re microwaved when folks order them. YUCK! They also have a grilled chicken sandwich that is a little easier to stomach because the texturally challenged chicken is masked by the bread and stuff, but there is SO MUCH bread. There are grilled chicken salads which are pre-made (so they’re not fabulously fresh), and they’re covered in cheese. And then there are buffalitos, which are basically chicken soft tacos.
I’ve found that the buffalitos are my best choice … it comes with chips – if I sub the chips with celery sticks and get all the sauces on the side so I can control how much I get, I estimate it to be 10-11 points. The texturally challenged grilled chicken is chopped into chunks so you don’t notice the texture as much. If I get a beer, I’m still eating more points than I usually eat in one sitting, but thank goodness we don’t do this every day or even every week, so it works out fine with a few flex points.
You know what’s funny? Now that I have been doing this eating well thing for a while, I don’t really miss the greasy regular wings. It doesn’t bother me to see folks eating them, and I enjoy being there with my friends. Plus, I get that yummy spicy sauce in my buffalitos. What does bother me is that there are so few good healthy choices there. I try to be grateful that there are some choices, but is it too much to ask that there be a variety of good tasting healthy options?
I didn’t have much of a point with this post. I just wanted to get all that off my chest.
By the way, I know switching restaurants would be an option. I did ask the group, and we did try. But because of the location and the fact that the place is run more like a bar than a restaurant (so folks who are getting off work at different times can show up at different times), BWW is the one that has worked out best for the group. Being with my friends is valuable to me and I enjoy the atmosphere, so I plan ahead, use some flex points, and it all works out. (But again, why so few good healthy choices in that place? Grrrrr!)
Oh, and also? BWW’s not providing nutritional information … it pisses me off. I’m not going to boycott them because I would be shooting myself in the foot socially. But it pisses me off.
I used to go to BWW with my friends all the time. I’d order 12 wings with sauce, plus a little ranch dressing, a couple 24 oz. light beers, AND some sort of appetizer to share. Hey, at least they were light beers, right? Ugh. Based on what I found online, the 12 wings cost me about 35 points, the beer would be 8, I’m going to throw another 4 points for the ranch, and who knows how many points for the appetizer. That’s 47 points before the appetizer is even factored in! That is MORE THAN TWO DAYS WORTH OF POINTS FOR ME! In ONE MEAL!
Sorry to yell, but that’s just crazy.
When I got my eating back under control last fall, I stopped texting people saying “BWW 7 PM” … and our friends stopped going for a while. It seemed my husband and I were the big BWW pushers in the group. But then in December when a couple of months had passed without a BWW trip, my friends started talking about how much they missed going. At that point, I started trying to hunt down BWW nutrition and points information.
There is a little bit of information out there. You can find info if you really dig around, but in general the company does not openly provide nutritional information so it isn’t easy to come by, and I wonder if the information that I do find is spot-on. Anyway, from what I did find, it was clear that I’d have to seriously alter my menu choices. Since my friends started organizing BWW visits every few weeks or so, I had to figure something out. I’m not willing to kill my social life because I’m eating well. I work from home – if I don’t get out of the house, I go a little insane.
What stinks about BWW being the hangout, though, is that some of the healthy choices there are really not good.
They have naked wings – basically “grilled” unbreaded chicken breast strips. Theoretically that would be a good choice, and it is a good choice nutritionally, but they are like shoe leather. I asked a waitress about it (you know, the one who knows us because we used to go there so often?), and she said that they get made early and then they’re microwaved when folks order them. YUCK! They also have a grilled chicken sandwich that is a little easier to stomach because the texturally challenged chicken is masked by the bread and stuff, but there is SO MUCH bread. There are grilled chicken salads which are pre-made (so they’re not fabulously fresh), and they’re covered in cheese. And then there are buffalitos, which are basically chicken soft tacos.
I’ve found that the buffalitos are my best choice … it comes with chips – if I sub the chips with celery sticks and get all the sauces on the side so I can control how much I get, I estimate it to be 10-11 points. The texturally challenged grilled chicken is chopped into chunks so you don’t notice the texture as much. If I get a beer, I’m still eating more points than I usually eat in one sitting, but thank goodness we don’t do this every day or even every week, so it works out fine with a few flex points.
You know what’s funny? Now that I have been doing this eating well thing for a while, I don’t really miss the greasy regular wings. It doesn’t bother me to see folks eating them, and I enjoy being there with my friends. Plus, I get that yummy spicy sauce in my buffalitos. What does bother me is that there are so few good healthy choices there. I try to be grateful that there are some choices, but is it too much to ask that there be a variety of good tasting healthy options?
I didn’t have much of a point with this post. I just wanted to get all that off my chest.
By the way, I know switching restaurants would be an option. I did ask the group, and we did try. But because of the location and the fact that the place is run more like a bar than a restaurant (so folks who are getting off work at different times can show up at different times), BWW is the one that has worked out best for the group. Being with my friends is valuable to me and I enjoy the atmosphere, so I plan ahead, use some flex points, and it all works out. (But again, why so few good healthy choices in that place? Grrrrr!)
Oh, and also? BWW’s not providing nutritional information … it pisses me off. I’m not going to boycott them because I would be shooting myself in the foot socially. But it pisses me off.
Sunday, January 13, 2008
It just might work!
I had to share.
From: Husband
Sent: Thursday, January 10, 2008 3:59 PM
To: Female Friend, Male Friend, Wife (me)
Subject: Calorie Calculator
According to this, I need about 2,500 calories per day. Woo-hoo!
From: Female Friend
Sent: Thursday, January 10, 2008 4:08 PM
To: Husband, Male Friend, Me
Subject: RE: Calorie Calculator
Yer calorie counter SUX! Females don’t even get the option to eat 2500 calories a day!
If I started exercising a little bit, I could work my way up to 1900 per day. Uhm yah… I think I’m in trouble. :-)
From: Male Friend
Sent: Thursday, January 10, 2008 4:13 PM
To: Husband, Female Friend, Me
Subject: RE: Calorie Calculator
If I knock off 20 years, increase my height by at least a foot, and consider myself “very active,” I can have 3,450 calories a day.
Pass me a brownie!
From: Husband
Sent: Thursday, January 10, 2008 3:59 PM
To: Female Friend, Male Friend, Wife (me)
Subject: Calorie Calculator
According to this, I need about 2,500 calories per day. Woo-hoo!
From: Female Friend
Sent: Thursday, January 10, 2008 4:08 PM
To: Husband, Male Friend, Me
Subject: RE: Calorie Calculator
Yer calorie counter SUX! Females don’t even get the option to eat 2500 calories a day!
If I started exercising a little bit, I could work my way up to 1900 per day. Uhm yah… I think I’m in trouble. :-)
From: Male Friend
Sent: Thursday, January 10, 2008 4:13 PM
To: Husband, Female Friend, Me
Subject: RE: Calorie Calculator
If I knock off 20 years, increase my height by at least a foot, and consider myself “very active,” I can have 3,450 calories a day.
Pass me a brownie!
Saturday, January 12, 2008
Who are you, and what did you do with my husband?
I have no time no time no time to post, but I'm doing it anyway.
I have to work this weekend, which is a rare and horrible thing. I want to get back to it ASAP so I can finish work if at all possible. It would be good to be able to enjoy my Saturday night and my Sunday. I'm taking a break to share an interesting development in my world.
My husband is a wonderful man who I adore. His Achilles heel is fitness, though. Growing up he was always told he'd be skinny like his father, so he never learned anything about nutrition or exercise. He has a sweet tooth that takes up his whole mouth, and he was raised in the south where fried chicken and BBQ reigned supreme and being a smoker was the norm. Not surprisingly, he's slightly overweight and his cholesterol is high (although it's managed by meds). He quit smoking around 7 years ago when we were dating because he knew I wouldn't marry a smoker, but his eating and exercise ... ugh. They improved a little over the years we've been together, but until October when I talked him into going to the trainer with me he'd never really focused on nutrition or exercise.
Well ... things are changing! He's been talking about calories and exercise, both with me and with some of our friends. He's jumping on the scale, and he's enjoying the dropping numbers. I see him making better food choices. And he's going to the gym not just on Monday when we see the trainer, but at least one more day (if not two more days) of the week.
Woo hoo!
What prompted this post? This morning we talked about going to the gym together, after we both finish work* for the day. If this happens, it will mark the first time we'll have gone to the gym to work out together on a day that we weren't working out with our trainer.
Hooray!
I would love to work out with my husband on weekends. It would be so much easier to talk myself into getting to the gym over the weekend if we're going together.
My fingers are crossed that we do go, and that it is the first of many weekend gym trips. Yay!
In other news, work was so awful yesterday that when I finished up in the evening, I put on the Grey's Anatomy episode that I'd DVR'd and cried like a baby.**
I hope work gets better soon. It's casting a big shadow over what would otherwise be a very sunshiny and beautiful time, what with the husband's new interest in fitness and my weight loss and "meeting" all of you. I'm so grateful for the support you've provided - thanks, guys!
*Stupid work - both of us are supposed to be M-F people, and both of us are working today. In the words of Homer Simpson, work stinks!
** I would never, never, ever do this in sight or sound of anyone I work with. But on my couch after business hours, sometimes ya just gotta let it out.
I have to work this weekend, which is a rare and horrible thing. I want to get back to it ASAP so I can finish work if at all possible. It would be good to be able to enjoy my Saturday night and my Sunday. I'm taking a break to share an interesting development in my world.
My husband is a wonderful man who I adore. His Achilles heel is fitness, though. Growing up he was always told he'd be skinny like his father, so he never learned anything about nutrition or exercise. He has a sweet tooth that takes up his whole mouth, and he was raised in the south where fried chicken and BBQ reigned supreme and being a smoker was the norm. Not surprisingly, he's slightly overweight and his cholesterol is high (although it's managed by meds). He quit smoking around 7 years ago when we were dating because he knew I wouldn't marry a smoker, but his eating and exercise ... ugh. They improved a little over the years we've been together, but until October when I talked him into going to the trainer with me he'd never really focused on nutrition or exercise.
Well ... things are changing! He's been talking about calories and exercise, both with me and with some of our friends. He's jumping on the scale, and he's enjoying the dropping numbers. I see him making better food choices. And he's going to the gym not just on Monday when we see the trainer, but at least one more day (if not two more days) of the week.
Woo hoo!
What prompted this post? This morning we talked about going to the gym together, after we both finish work* for the day. If this happens, it will mark the first time we'll have gone to the gym to work out together on a day that we weren't working out with our trainer.
Hooray!
I would love to work out with my husband on weekends. It would be so much easier to talk myself into getting to the gym over the weekend if we're going together.
My fingers are crossed that we do go, and that it is the first of many weekend gym trips. Yay!
In other news, work was so awful yesterday that when I finished up in the evening, I put on the Grey's Anatomy episode that I'd DVR'd and cried like a baby.**
I hope work gets better soon. It's casting a big shadow over what would otherwise be a very sunshiny and beautiful time, what with the husband's new interest in fitness and my weight loss and "meeting" all of you. I'm so grateful for the support you've provided - thanks, guys!
*Stupid work - both of us are supposed to be M-F people, and both of us are working today. In the words of Homer Simpson, work stinks!
** I would never, never, ever do this in sight or sound of anyone I work with. But on my couch after business hours, sometimes ya just gotta let it out.
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