Tag Archives: exercise

Life as it’s been

13 Tuesday Dec 2011

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Well, hello there! November went by in a hurry. Christmas will be here in a week and a half and our Christmas tree still isn’t up. It won’t be going up either. Nor will Christmas cards make the rounds this year. I know, what the heck right? I’m not sure what it is but the time has just gone in a flash. Ever since the end of October it seems like our household has been busy busy. Me taking on a life at the gym and trying to eat healthier, which means planning more meals and eating at home than just popping by a drive-thru. My husband, well, he’s been working on the hallway (new flooring, trim, doors and painting) and he’s had several overtime weekend days or extended hours during the week. Yup, we’ve been busy!

I made it almost the whole year posting at least once a week for the WordPress Post a Week Challenge and I’ve since bombed. As I said mentioned above everything’s good, nothing horrible happened, to explain for my departure.

At the end of October I met with my nurse practitioner for an appointment and she lit the fire to join a gym. I was hesitant since my previous romps at a gym didn’t last long and locked into a contract for a year the money went down the drain; however, I found a gym and I love the place. ::cough:: I enjoy going! Unlike the few gyms I’ve joined in the past that felt like a warehouse full of equipment, smelling like B.O. and music pumping through the speakers loud enough that you cannot hear myself think. This new place for me is great. I call it the Whole Foods of gyms. I also purchased several sessions with a personal trainer to work on my knee clicking issue, which still hasn’t improved but is only annoying and doesn’t hurt thank goodness. Oh, I didn’t tell you about the knee thing–my left knee doesn’t track well and only if I go up stairs does it click. Or if I do a good, decent squat.

Before I go, I need to pat myself on the back about Thanksgiving. Friends, we had a feast, and it was pretty much a healthy one! Jon’s parents came, my mom and her husband, my brother and then Jon and I were all present. Everything was ready to go, as much that could be prepped ahead of time was done but the morning of the bird was a tad still frosty in the cavity so I had to give it a “water spa”…

turkey_water_bath

I wasn’t happy about setting the turkey in my sink because then I had to decontaminate the sink with bleach, but oh well. It didn’t take long and I was able to finally mix up some softened butter and a variety of herbs where I rubbed it under the skin and all over the top. I started out grossed by the neck and other little organ gifts to pull out, but after that I got to know my turkey. I even made it wave to Jon while I was basting it with butter! <– dork

turkey_in_an_oven

Look at that pretty turkey!

Call me silly, but I was excited to use my new All-Clad roaster I bought for a great deal through CHEFS Catalog. My husband said the pan weighed more than the 19lb bird. Which he’s probably right but oh well, I’ll have this roaster forever.

The Menu:

  • Butter herb roasted turkey
  • Garlic mashed potatoes with pan gravy
  • Roasted veggies: Brussel sprouts, parsnips, carrots, new potatoes and sweet potatoes
  • Sautéed green beans with shallots, garlic and slivered almonds
  • Homemade stuffing with apples and onion
  • Whole wheat rolls

Dessert:

  • Apple pie – Jon’s mom
  • Pumpkin pie – My mom
  • Cheesecake w/ gingersnap crust & macerated cherries for topping – Me

No, the dessert wasn’t low-calorie but I had only a small piece of my cheesecake that day because I.was.exhausted. I have a lot to improve with my cheesecake making skills, but that’s okay, as long as it’s edible I don’t care how it looks right now.

gourds

thanksgiving_table

Note Chester’s tail in the last photo there?

I went with a simple dining table and a centerpiece that didn’t cost a ton. Everyone had a great time and next year I need to plan for some leftover stuffing waffles.

Hope you had a great Thanksgiving and the holidays have been merry and bright for you as well! So tell me, what’s new? I’m behind with the blogworld.

*All photos taken with cell phone.

Swift kick in the ass

29 Monday Aug 2011

Posted by in Health & Fitness

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Woke up at 6am on the dot, without an alarm.  The sun wasn’t even up yet.  My clothes were laid out.  My new Spi belt was stuffed with my phone, iPod, ear buds and an extra ponytail holder.  I checked my email, ate a small bowl of cereal, drank some water and took my vitamins.  But I felt a little strange.  A little TMI, after visiting the bathroom, I think I have a UTI in the making.  Not horribly bothersome but a tad.  I brushed it off, got dressed and hauled Jon out of bed to drive me to the school to participate in the 5K.  The 5K in honor of a mother/wife and three little girls who died about a month ago.

And then I got there and lost all confidence in myself.  My husband tried to talk me into it.  To just try, walk the entire way if I couldn’t do it, but I would be okay.  I kept seeing all the healthy people streaming by to go register, the teenagers from the high school who know the sole survivor from the incident, the father/husband, and were there to support him and participate in the 5K.  I couldn’t get out of the car.  I had big dreams after this summer that I would be well on my way with weight loss and I have stalled out since July.  Not because what I’m doing isn’t working, it’s because I’m not doing it at all anymore.  I haven’t tracked anything I eat in two months, I haven’t worked out in two months and I didn’t want to walk the 5K, I know I can do that already!

Then I thought about the UTI part.  What if some pain started?  I didn’t need that stress added to my morning.  I sat in tears struggling to just get out of the damn car and suck it up and do it or cave and run home with my tail between my legs because I didn’t believe I could do it.  I was stuck in limbo.  I kept putting my hand on the door handle to get out of the car and then I just sat there.

In the end we went home.  By the time we got home at 8am the race was starting and I just sat on the edge of the bed in tears.  I had let myself down, I didn’t participate in the good cause like I wanted and it was all my fault and choosing.  I kicked myself in the ass about it the rest of the weekend and I still do.

I’m pretty pissed at myself.

The Merry Month of May

02 Thursday Jun 2011

Posted by in Health & Fitness

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Remember I said I’d take the month of May by storm and I think I did it!  The fact that I have stuck with WW, I’ve made wiser choices for myself not only with what goes in my mouth but also moving/sweating more–I’d definitely call that winning over the month!

I went to weigh-in last night and another win week for me!

Loss so far:  7.2
Loss this week:  .4
Total loss:  7.8

Apparently slow and steady wins the race for me.  Which is fine.  The first few weeks they assume people will lose more than the recommended healthy loss of 2 pounds a week because you are shocking your body and decreasing your caloric intake.  While I do a good job of writing down what I eat, typically, this week I’m going to brush up on my food journaling skills even more and see if that helps to at least clear 1 pound next week!  More exercise never hurts either.

Another reason I feel like May was successful for me….

Experts out there say it takes 21 days to make something a habit.  Considering I’ve been on WW and kept with the mentality of eating healthier for a total of 35 days, as of today, I guess that means I’ve formed a habit!  Do I still struggle?  Yes.  Are healthier choices becoming easier day-by-day?  Yes.  But do I still love sweets?  Uh duh.  In fact, while I was at Borders last Saturday I faced my first true test with my battle of sweets.  Normally if I’m at a store I’m busy chatting with my husband and unloading a cart so I don’t even look at the candy anymore, but Borders was different.  The management at Borders decided it’s best to place a row of chocolatey treats right.in.front.of.my.hips where I pay for my purchase.  Smart for them but bad for me; however, for once it did not take every fiber in my body to not slip a Kit-Kat up onto the counter as a “Sure, what the hell!” addition to my bill.  I still purchased some chocolate though, but not for me.  How does that work, you ask?  The sales associate asked if I’d like to donate candy or coffee to our troops overseas and I reached down and grabbed a bag of M&M’s and said you bet!  It was Memorial Day weekend after all but I love our troops and always like to donate to charities for the men and women who do it all for us.

I’m still struggling trying to even run a mile without feeling winded.  It’s annoying but I’m keeping at it.  I need to run more than I have been and I wonder if I should get a gym membership so I don’t flake out when our weather is even warmer come a month from now?  Hmmm, that or maybe wake up earlier and get out there and do it when the weather is always gorgeous.  Last Saturday I really enjoyed working out earlier in the day, but that was also around mid-morning and not 5:30am!

Are you an early riser?  If you workout regularly, is it in the morning or evening?

Burning off the donuts

31 Tuesday May 2011

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I was clicking around on my dailymile account and found a tab to view my training info.  Granted I got started not too long ago and I need to log more workouts/miles in general, but I love the lifetime stats portion:

Typically when I go for a run jog/walk or a power walk, I only go about a mile or just over right now.  But to see that in the month of May I logged 5 miles, for me that’s huge!  And depending on the temperature when I get off work, I may just add to those stats again tonight!

Did you notice the website can also clock how many times I circle the world?  hahaha  Yeah, I wonder how long that will take me to achieve?  Nice to know I’ve burned off 4.68 donuts too.  I can’t even remember when I last had a donut….hmmm, when was that?!  Let’s say a good six months because it’s been so long I can’t remember.  Probably a good thing since they are oooooh so healthy for me and all.

Do you use a website to track your workouts?  If so, which one(s)?  If you are on dailymile, follow me will ya?  I’d love to have some friends to connect with and encourage over there.

Dailymile doesn’t know who I am.  I am just professing my love for a website that allows me to track my stats in a fun way.  My comments about the website are my own.  I was not asked to mention dailymile and only do so to share with my friends–you guys!

C25K and the Paramedics

10 Tuesday May 2011

Posted by in Health & Fitness

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While I’m actually kinda, sorta enjoying the C25K program, the thing about running jogging/walking aka almost dying on the pavement is that I wonder…..

What if I pass out and the paramedics have to come pick me up?  They’d find me sweaty, wearing my new straitjacket full-coverage sports bra and full booty panties, ya know, cause exercising always seems to cause wedgies….and bouncing boobies are never a good thing.  Anyone ever have that fear?  Thankfully I’m not trying to exercise in extreme heat and humidity like Cely at Running off the Reese’s.  I have no idea how that girl manages even on the coolest of days in SE Texas!

Thankfully here in Colorado the humidity is so low you barely notice, but the higher elevation and less oxygen really does matter for my skin and lung capacity.  Because I’m out of shape, and even though I’ve lived here for six and a half years, if I go to hike a hill or pick a walk up to a jog then I feel like I’m sucking wind through a straw!  I know eventually working out won’t feel as such but right now I just have to power through it.

This week I ended up not losing any weight but I also didn’t gain so that’s a reason to celebrate for me!  I must have just had an off week because I stayed within my points, only used three of my weekly allowance (fun) points and I’ve been working out.  Who knows, maybe I’ll catch up this coming week!  I must say though, chocolate needs an overhaul–same great taste but fewer carbs and fat so I can eat it at every meal.  Yes?  Who’s with me?!  Due to the healthy mindset I’ve had recently and all the internet browsing I’ve done lately on healthy eating/snacks, I found a great little article with some healthy tips for cooking.  Maybe you’ve heard/read the tips before, maybe you haven’t, but I just wanted to share.  So give the link a click, because you never know, you might learn something new!

So two questions:

1. Do you live in a high humidity area and have a problem with heat and exhaustion just stepping out the door? 

2. Or do you live in a climate like I do where you can never have enough lotion, but the hair frizzies stay at a minimum, and you notice the lower oxygen levels when you try to workout?