Saturday Nights Alright for Fighting

I’m traveling this week.  I packed both my food scale and my hand weights.   It feels like a whole different ballgame when you don’t have your own  kitchen of food.  I went out and bought my yogurts, bran buds, turkey and potato wheat bread yet I am struggling every damn day to stay within my calorie range.    Mostly it’s dinner.  I’m not generally the one making dinner and I am cranky at my (lack of) options and even eating less than I should just to stay in range.   Nonetheless,  I’ve journaled the first few days (so far) and I’ve been at the high-end of my range everyday but 1.    I keep thinking I’d be fine with maintaining my weight through the following 2 weeks of travel  and exercise is the key to doing that.   So far, I’ve kept my promise to workout ever single day.     However, right now I’m sitting on the couch trying to motivate to do my 10 minute weight routine.   It will take a lot more motivation to head to the gym for my 60 minutes of cardio.   Really all I want to do is sit in the pool with a rum drink and not care about calories.  It’s tough to be me.

In other news, it was only a matter of time till Lindsey Lohan was arrested for a DUI and woops the cops found cocaine in the glove box AFTER her security person drove the car away from the scene of the crime.  Brilliant.  Apparently she was chauffered around all night but felt it was important at 5:30am (after a night of booze and drugs) to chase her lesbian girlfriend.  Rehab worked wonders for her.

Gettin’ Down (with my bad self)

In an effort to constantly switch up my workouts (and keep my body guessing), as well as complete the 10,000 steps a day challenge via Woman’s Health, I’ve been playing around with my workouts a bit.   I’ve been back to the pool (4 times), I walked in the park, took Hip Hop Aerobics (possibly the most fun I’ve had exercising in years), spent time in the weight room, used the cardio machines (elliptical, cybex, treadmill), and fooled around with ExerciseTv via my cable OnDemand.   Oddly, I am enjoying the “Buff Brides”  series and a Leslie Sansone (I remember hating her back in my Walk Away the Pounds days) thighs, hips and glutes series.   I also tried a 10 minute stretching program.  That was just ok, really.  Right now I am doing some form of strength training/toning every day, mainly rotating arms/back/shoulders one day to hips and legs the next.

So far my favorite workouts are lap swimming (it’s calming -and- a full muscle workout) and Hip Hop Aerobics (I sweat a ton -and- have a blast), however the time slots don’t always work with my schedule.     That’s when I fill in with the booooring cardio machines.    I’ve also become a fan of fun swimming caps.  I ordered a bright pink, a baby blue with an anchor, and a piratey one that says “Arrrrrrrrrrr!” on it.   Who know, lap pool fashion?

Allez cuisine!

Apparently a special planned meal out can still throw me into a pit of frightened insecurity.   It’s certinaly not pretty …   One day I’m seeing real progress, the next day I worry if I’ve blown it all.   Worse off, I am whining to anyone (poor Tim)  that will listen about wanting my routine back.  

Morimoto (of Iron Chef Fame) opened a Japenese restaurant in New York City and Tim and I have been talking about eating there since last year.   Months ago we booked ourselves in for Friday night.   I knew it was coming, so I planned my entire week around it:  extra exercise, light calorie days prior, minimal food on the day of, etc.   We had a great meal and date night, and except for maybe 1 cocktail too many, I felt no guilt the night of.   Yet curiously enough, the next day I woke up suffering from a shame sprial.    Perhaps it was sodium overdose to the brain?  Whatever it is, it’s annoying.

The confusing part is, the logical me knows 1 meal like this will not blow my healthy agenda.    I didn’t eat an entire chocolate cake, we had cooked fish and sushi for shits sake.  It was carefully planned for (cut calories, extra exercise, see above).   So, why is there still that little voice that says “you blew it, you blew it?”    

The only thing that seemed to calm me down was a complete return to strict behavior on Sunday, an extra long workout, and good numbers on the scale this morning.     This is something I need to work on.  Pronto.

I Came. I Saw. I Swam.

I wobbled out of the pool after 32 laps.    Literally.  My legs gave out.  My arms ached.    I believe I used muscles I didn’t even know I had.   Also, my heart was pumping and I was breathing heavy after every single lap. 

I arrived at the pool at 9pm and watched for a good 10 minutes.   Honestly I was trying to work up my nerve to Just Do It.   Not to mention, I really don’t like to be clad in just a swimsuit.   Last time I peeked into the pool area it was full of senior citizens.   Today I encountered the high school swim team and a bunch of other 20-somethings.  I guess I got stage fright.  Luckily my zeal to burn calories overcame embarassment and I just said to hell with it and got to swimming.    Ow.   I am curious to see how my arms and legs feel tomorrow as they started to ache within 10 minutes of changing out of my swimsuit.

4 Months Have Elapsed

I lost 4.1 lbs (our old scale broke and the new one measures in .2 increments)  in April bringing my 4 month grand total to 19.1lbs lost.  I seem to have settled into the pattern of losing 1lb a week (except during the week I have TOM).   I am comfortable with this rate of progress.   In fact, here’s hoping it continues on through the next few months.  My April focus was to drink more water and to exercise consistently, and I did OK.    In terms of exercise I managed to clock in 4 60-minute formal workouts each week, and I made a conscious effort to take additional informal walks on top of that.     The water intake is still a work in progress, as I am averaging about 7glasses of actual water a day.  

In May, my goal is to shake up my workouts a bit.  Aieee… my first swimming session is tonight. I am freaking a bit about it, only because I expect I’m a rather week swimmer.  The other goal is to include 2 additional formal exercise sessions somewhere.   My double job schedule makes it tough to clock in 5 trips to the gym each week, so I’ve decided to use our treadmill at home.  I can work on my running,  2 miles here I come -and- fit in the extra workouts.  I figure I’m killing 2 birds with 1 stone.  (Stupid cliche, actually, but you get the point).

Since we’ve completed our 4 month stint, we can now relax (slightly) on the moderate carb diet.   I plan to add back in carby veggies like corn and potatoes.  Oh spuds, how have I missed thee!  However, I’ve decided to continue staying away from processed carbs like white pasta/bread/rice.   I have been able to find whole grain alternatives that I am enjoying and I just feel better, healthier, etc.

So there it is.  I find that with each passing month my insecurities continue to abate.   However, I will be very happy (read:  need) to complete my 5th healthy month and begin on my 6th with the same motivation.   There’s been a lot of progress, but for me, that’s real progress.

Goin Swimmin’

Today I bought a cheapie sport swimsuit and some Speedo goggles at Target and Thursday night I’m going swimming.  Adult lap swimming starts at 9pm and I’m curious to see how long I can last and how many actual laps I will do.

Tomorrow marks my 4 month anniversary of consistent committment to my health.   The changes in my body are amazing.  Not only are smaller clothes (2-3 sizes down) fitting, but my leg muscles are significant now, my stomach is much smaller, my face is leaner.    I look forward to another 4 months.

Karma

Of course I don’t know Paris Hilton personally, but I believe that the public persona she has created for herself has a lot to do with her being thrown in the slammer.    Karma is certainly a bitch, isn’t it?

 Of course she’s going to appeal it . . .

The socialite’s attorney, Howard Weitzman, said she was singled out for being a celebrity.  “To sentence Paris Hilton to 45 days in jail is inappropriate and borders on ludicrous. It is clear that she has been selectively targeted for prosecution for who she is.  I think she was honest in her testimony. We do intend to appeal to the judge and to a higher court to modify the sentence.”

HIIT and Swimming

To keep my body guessing, I am really trying to change up my workouts.  Today I did 55 minutes of high intensity interval training on the cybex, the treadmill and the elliptical.  Right now, I am sitting here trying to psyche myself up to swim laps tomorrow night.   I have always loved swimming and apparently it’s a phenomenal workout.   But… not the best workout for weight loss.  Of course I don’t own earplugs or goggles but I could pick both those things up tomorrow at lunch.  I am also worried that my 1 piece bathing suits will piss me off in the pool.   I don’t know, I kinda want to try it.

Pink M&Ms Taste Better (while Dirty Dancing) or NOBODY PUTS TAYLOR IN THE CORNER!

Last night we trekked to the Regal Theatre off Times Square to see a sold out showing of Dirty Dancing on the big screen.   The movie was re-released for it’s 20th Anniversary.   Interestingly enough, I see a lot more depth to the film now then I first did at the age of 12.   At 32, it’s easier to see the coming of age story I missed as a preteen.  Amusingly (yet expectedly) the audience cheered and clapped along throughout the entire experience.    In fact, the room erupted after Patrick Swayze delivered his “NOBODY PUTS BABY IN THE CORNER!” line. 

Weeks ago when we bought the tickets, I told my friend Kate “I am having popcorn and M&M’s that night.”      This is by far one of my most coveted snack combination indulgences.   Nevermind it would be high in calories.  Nevermind it would blow my carb count for the day.   This is something I eat twice a year.    If that.   

Initially, I had been planning to purchase a 220 calorie bag of standard M&Ms at the drugstore.  However we stumbled upon the Times Square M&M store.  M&M store?  Who knew?  Rainbow upon rainbow of chocolate candy covered happiness.   We enthusiastically filled our plastic bags at the 40ft M&M vending machines, mainly choosing pastels (hey, we like pink) and then dropped our bounty on the scale.    Woops.   I decided then and their to split my M&Ms into 2 separate bags.   Portion control, ASAP sister.    At the theatre we shared 1 medium popcorn and 1 large diet soda.   At the end of the movie,  75% of the popcorn remained in the bag.   All in all, I ate about 2cups of popcorn and 1/4 of a cup of M&Ms.  I enjoyed every damn bite.

When I got home Tim and I talked about it.   For me, I needed to know that I could have it.   Tell me I can’t and I’m on a diet, right?   My life moving foward at these lower weights cannot mean deprivation.   It means planning and portion control.  It means taking better care of this body,  but still enjoying the things I love in balance.  After all, God wouldn’t have given me maracas if he didn’t want me to  shake ‘em.