oh wow

Yesterday I finally purchased new running shoes. They are Mizunos.

They look just like the picture, except replace all the black parts with green and that is my shoe! It is super comfy and since I pronate a tad, it helps me feet stay in line.

So this morning I met up with my friend Kat at the Lakeline Gold's Gym for the BodyPump class. Which is basically a class that does routines of low-weight, high repitition weights for the whole body. So there is a lunge part, back part, tricep, chest, lunges, and abs parts.

It was hard. But good. My body is going to be sore tomorrow.

I did about 17 min of cardio before the class and 25 min afterwards, followed by some hyperextensions. Last night at Ann's house, she had a little gathering of folks from her church and I ate one lemon bar, one cookie and a big cup of ice cream. I realized this morning that I was eating so much because I felt slightly awkward and out of place at the party since I only knew Ann. Everybody was nice, don't get me wrong, but since they didn't know me or why I was there, it felt a little awkward, a situation I created for myself and "rewarded" myself with sweets.

Not good.

But instead of feeling too bad, I just did more cardio today after class and promised to not eat anything sweet today and maybe tomorrow since this will be three days where I consumed a sweet item: Monday I had a vegan cookie; Tuesday I had a thick, dense chocolate/espresso cake and then the sweets at the gathering. Too much.

The good news is when I weighed myself today, I haven't gained any since traveling back to Austin. Which is good because I was worried that when I started working back at the store where temptations are everywhere, I was going to gain all that I had lost since January.

Tomorrow I plan to workout before heading to Sherman. I don't know if I will be able to run this weekend, but we'll see.

See you all on Monday!

gymin' it

So, long story short, my Gold's Gym account is still active so I will be working out there instead of the Y. At least for now. But it's good because I like to go to the gym downtown and I can walk to Town/Lady Bird lake from there and run outside and still do gym stuff too.

Today I did 10 minutes on the elliptical and then 20 minutes on the stairmaster, which always kicks my butt, but I love it.

Then I did some crunches. Wish me luck as I am now back full time at Whole Foods, where all my temptations lie!

See ya' around! Let me know if you wanna go walking!

Great!

Yesterday was the same as Tuesday but I worked out harder before kickboxing. The actual kickboxing class was hard though because I was getting really hungry. I did manage to at least sit in the sauna for 20 minutes, with a robe on, and I was sweatysweaty by the time I hopped into the shower.

I have lost one pound this week though! Yay! One pound down, many more to go! Or I guess I could look at like, one pound at a time.

I am going to try and come back to workout after class today. But usually by the time class is over, I am so ready to get home to Chris. Maybe we can go for a walk/jog together. At least then I will have done something today. If not, then I can always get up on Sat morning. I hope it is as beautiful as this morning is shaping up to be.

I have been adding more vegetables to my diet. Since we moved to Sherman, our veggie intake has gone slowly down. I am planning on when moving back eating a lot of salads and steamed veggies. Chris doesn't like steamed veggies, but I lurve them! With some lemon juice and a little salt, they are perfect. I love veggies! It truly is amazing how much better I feel after eating them. They sustain me for so much longer than anything with a lot of carbs.

So that will be another goal. Let's talk about diet (as in what I eat daily, not what I am following);

Goals:
Eat more veggies. Broccoli, cauliflower, carrots, edamame, mixed greens, greens.

Lay off starchy, carby foods for dinner. In fact, just lay off all the time. They only make me sleepy throughout the rest of the day.

Drink more water. I do drink a lot of water, but I should be drinking more.

Take my vitamins!!!Daily!! Multi, folic, ginkgo, etc...

Intake more omega-3s in my diet. Through fish or pills or liquid form or avocadoes (yummmm).

EAT MORE SLOWLY. Oh gosh, this is the biggest challenge for me since i have a very bad habit of eating too fast. I have been thinking of syaing the ABCs in between bites just to slow me down. What do you think?

Yeah, I like these goals and am actually excited about eating more veggies. Chomp!

Reality of goals

So, I am really glad I blogged about my goals yesterday. Because that means I actually need to take steps towards them instead of just saying "oh this is something I wanna do..." and then never taking those crucial first steps.

So, on my way to completing a marathon and triathlon, my first step is to run a 5K, which is 3.1 miles. And luckily, Austin has the greatest running resource in the US, a little shop called Run-Tex.

This store rocks. They analyze your feet and how your feet land when walking and running and then find the shoes that help to correct whatever your feet's natural landing abilities are. Online they also have free training programs.

So yesterday I downloaded the one for a 5K and it's a three month training program. Which mean I will be ready to run one in June, which, unfortunately is not a big race month. But I figure if I can sustain the program and the running until September, then that'll be okay.

My next goal will be to run a 10K, then a half marathon and then when I can do that, i will join a triathlon training for women that usually starts in April in Austin. Luckily, there is a half marathon in January and plenty of 10Ks before then. So as long as I stick with the program and work towards my goal, by this time next year I could be training for a triathlon!

And since I am starting to run more, I have decided when I finally get my financial aid check, I am going to use some of the money to go down to Run-Tex and buy myself some nice, new shoes!

Rewards rock.

Awesome awesomeness

I worked out yesterday! And it felt soooooo gooooood.

I did a touch of cardio and then some core exercises before heading into kickboxing for an hour. Then I sat in the sauna, with a fleece robe on, for 25 minutes. I am wearing the robe now because I am trying to get my body acclimated to the heat since I will have to be dealing with that during my internship this summer.

Also, since joining sparkpeople, I have been re-thinking about my goals. Most of them are still the same, which is good and that probably means I really want to do them. And hopefully, through the site, I can meet some workout buddies in Austin to helpme along the way of realizing my goals.

The Marathon Goal:
I used to be a competitive runner, so the marathon idea has always been in the back of my mind. Plus, my dad is an inspiration for this as well as he has run three (or four) and is currently training for one in November. And there is just something to be said for completing an marathon, all 26.2 miles of it.

The Triathalon Goal:
This is hardcore. I used to do triathalons when I was younger, but they were kid triathalons and that was a long time ago. It holds the same appeal that the marathon goal does: to prove to myself that I can still do it as I once did. There's something so powerful at completing a tri. Pushing yourself through the water, knowing you have two more events: the biking and the running. It's exhausting, mind wrenching and the greatest feeling in the world when it's completed.

Hike the Appalachian Trail:

This one is a far away dream. I would love to hike the whole thing (with Chris of course). Hiking the whole thing means starting in Georgia and ending in Maine or vice versa. Usually you have people send you care packages along the way at certain towns along the trail and it takes anywhere from 4 to 6 months to complete. This is another hardcore task. I probably will never have the time in my life to take off 6 months with Chris (not while we own a house and have student loans and credit card debt). But this is one of those things that whenever I win the lottery, I will immediately start training.

Long distance biking:
This one isn't too hard to reach since technically I could do it around Austin on Louise (my Raleigh cruiser). But what I would really love to do is ride for several days, camping at night and riding during the day. That'd be fun. I wouldn't want to ride down back roads though, those drivers are crazy. Ideally, I could ride frontage roads and find a campsite on the outskirts of a town. A trip from Austin to the coast would be awesome! Then you could camp out on the beach to finish your trip! Cool.

Of course, these are just my fitness goals. I have other goals too, like getting my weight to the healthy range, lowering my BMI and fitting back into my skinny jeans.

What are your goals? What do you dream about doing once you are in shape? What do you work towards when working out?

Spark plugs!

So, I didn't workout yesterday due to an excessive amount of schoolwork I am trying to cram into this week before heading to Austin. I didn't eat too badly, though, so I don't feel that guilty.

I did join an online weight loss website called Sparkpeople though. It is basically a support group, where you can track your calories, your fitness regime, your goals, etc...It seems really cool and it's so much better than other online support websites I have seen/been apart of.

Today is kickboxing day though, so I will get a workout in and I already have my workout clothes in the car so there really is no excuse for me NOT to go.

Here's the plan:
work till 9
schoolwork 9-1130
lunch 1130-12
labwork 1230-330 or 4
schoolwork 4-5
gym at 5, core exercises (go strong back!)
kickboxing 6-7, sauna and shower
home by 8
eat and collapse in bed

I am hoping to remember to take my vitamins which should help my energy levels. Wish me luck!

PS A big shout out to Alicia! Thanks for all the comments you leave. They are so encouraging. Thanks for being a great friend! And you were in my dream last night, you drew a road map of Austin on a chalkboard. Crazy fun!

Shocked and good

Here's a quick workout/health aspect of my weekend:
Friday- didn't workout, but was extremely tired as didn't get any sleep on Thursday night. Ate all right with one milkshake on the drive but finished the night with a bowl of ice cream at Chris' parents house in Tyler.

Saturday- went running! Ran about 2 miles. Had one cookie but other than that, ate pretty well.

Sunday- no workout. Bad eating day. Our breakfast was too carb-rich and when that happens, my blood sugar drops really low. I had two helpings of dessert (blackberry cobbler with vanilla ice cream) and a milkshake on the drive home.

ACk! So much ice cream!! Which I don't really feel too bad about since I don't do it all the time, but I do need to cut back my sugar intake. It's starting to creep up on me.

This morning, when I got to the gym, I decided to weigh myself to see how much weight I gained this weekend. The scale put me at gaining 15 pounds!! I stared, quivering lip and teary eyed at the scale. Fortunately, I realized that the scale was not calibrated! Without any weight on it, it took 10 pounds to balance it. So that means I only put on 5 pounds since Thursday and really, I know it's water weight because I hardly drank any water all weekend, so my bod is holding it in.

Whew.

Here's my plan for today:
Work till 10am
Workout 11-1
Schoolwork 1-5 or until the labs are done
Home, dinner with Chris, bed by 8

My workout today will consist of 45 minutes of cardio work and working out my arms: bicep curls, tricep extensions, upright rows, tricep pull back, and shoulder raises.

Yay for a new week!

Working all the muscles

Hi there. Yesterday was awesome.

Although getting through it was hard.

I arrived at the gym at 510 and walked for 23 minutes (3 min cool down) and then did some ab work, using the pilates ball. I did crunches and leg lifts.

Then I stretched for a good while and had my little energy gel pack (since this was during dinner time and I was starving) and kickboxing started at 6.

You guys. It's hard to really get into kickboxing when you are a little...well, how should I put this...gassy.

I had a black bean soup for lunch and although I eat beans almost every day and don't get this gassy, whenever I have some commercially made soup, it hits hard. Geez. I don't know how they prepare it but it's nothing like how chris prepares it and I never get this bad with his soup.

It was also hard doing crunches.

Plus I was a little tired.

BUT! I was wearing my new workout top I got at a dept. store for 7 bucks! It's bright blue, long sleeve, made of that moisture wicking material. I still sweated a bunch though. I sweated so much that you could see sweat spots from the bottom of my bootie all the way to my knees. It was like someone had misted me. But it's an all women's gym and it obvious I was sweating, so instead of being embarassed, I was quite proud.

Then in the sauna, I did something different. This is an infra-red sauna which is supposed to help pain and help you burn calories. This time, instead of just wearing the big towel, I wore a robe. I am trying to get my body used to the heat, so this heated me up even faster but I was able to stay in the sauna for my normal 30 minutes.

When I got home, Chris had prepared a salad and half a tuna sandwich for me. He's the best.

It's amazing how being productive snowballs into more energy and getting more things done. I hope I can sustain this in a positive and non-draining way.

Yay!

I worked out yesterday! And I am sore today! Yay!

I did cardio for 40 minutes, with a 5 minute warmup and cool down. Then I did a lot of lower back exercises and some leg exercises.

The back ones killed me. I did hyperextensions on the pilates ball, which means you balance yourself, stomach down, on the ball, and with your hands behind your head and you lift your upper body up.

Like so.


Then I did a move that I am not sure what it's called. It's a pilates style move, where you get into a position and by tightening your core muscles, hold it there. You get on the ball stomach down. Then with one leg and the same side arm lift up. You hold it there for about 10 seconds.

Like so:

Then I did dead lifts, which is always really hard for me to do but I can feel them working right away.

Like so: (from:http://www.healthline.com/hlbook/strt-stiff-leg-deadlift)

Then I did some sumo or plie squats, where you put your feet wider than shoulder width apart and with your toes pointing out.
Then I did some reverse lunges where you step back into a lunge as opposed to stepping forward.

And that's it.

As you can tell, I am trying to really get my back nice and strong for when I start my new job this summer. There will be lots of lifting and although I have pretty good form when I lift heavy objects, I should make my back strong and ready.

Today is kickboxing day, so I won't workout until this evening.

Here's my daily plan:
Work until 10am
Do errands (rent, mail letters, fin aid!)
Labwork at Winery 12-330
Pick up Chris at 4
Gym at 530- cardio warmup, abwork before kickboxing 6-7
Sauna 7-730
Hopefully in bed by 830.

I usually don't like to workout so close to going to bed, but staying up past 9 and getting up so early is wearing me out. Last night I made myself go to bed at 8 and I feel great today. I did the same thing yesterday and as you can tell, I felt great yesterday too.

I am still dreaming about Lady Bird Lake though. Austin here I come!

Two in one day!

Not workouts, though I do like the idea of breaking workouts up. If only we had the time to do that, right?

Anyways, here is what I have been dreaming about lately, specifically when I move back to Austin:
*jogging at Lady Bird Lake
*doing yoga (Tues nights at Mosaic and I found another free yoga place)
*working out with friends, jogging, yoga, walking, gardening
*Eating more greens! Eating healthier in general! More fruit! More salads!
It used to be, when I lived in Waco, I always ate salads. I loved them so much I never tired of them. I might try to go back to that because when I was doing that, I was also super skinny, in shape and very healthy.

I am also going to try and get a good support working out network built up in Austin. I will need help in motivation. So, you wanna walk with me on the hike and bike trail? Good.

Must overcome...

Yesterday: no kickboxing. No workout. A beer, ice cream and snickers instead. Gads!

Today: promises of working out. But food already started off on a bad foot. Didn't have time to make breakfast (all out of yogurt) and nowhere to go at 445am, so bought a cake doughnut and two pigs-in-a-blanket. Feel like curling up with blanket.

Must do better. Must overcome the backsliding into bad habits.

Unexpected soreness

So I really only worked out once last week. But that's okay. It was a busy week, followed by a busier weekend so I am not beating myself up over it. Plus, I know this week is going to be great!

But I did get a mini-workout yesterday. I played Wii for the first time at Ren and Alicia's house. And I boxed. I totally beat my own husband and my biceps and triceps are beat today. Good lord. It was awesome! I was sweating by the end of it and I got a little endorphin rush off of it.

I think the Wii is pretty amazing. I mean, I hate video games. But at least this one is sort of active. I love that elderly people are using it to help keep them in shape and occupied. I love that kids will be playing the wii and actually standing up and moving around instead of sunk into a couch with a bag of chips resting on their bellies.

Today:
Work until 10
Home to get workout clothes
Workout 11-1
Lunch
Schoolwork
Dinner with hubby

I am planning on my workout consisting of an hour of cardio, some arm exercises to complement my sore muscles, and some ab work.

Have a great and healthy week everyone!
Michelle

Yay!

I worked out yesterday!! And I felt great afterwards!

I'm not gonna lie though. It was hard getting through it. But I did it. I completed 20 minutes on the elliptical before kickboxing, and then an hour of kickboxing. Then I sat in the sauna for 20 minutes, burning more calories and soothing the soon-to-be sore muscles. Also, I ate really well! I had yogurt, banana for bkfast; half a cheese sandwich, cheese and crackers for lunch; powerbar gel; tomato soup loaded with veggies for dinner. And water all day.

And when I weighed myself this morning, I realized I have lost about three pounds in the past two weeks. Cool! Three pounds could be water weight, but what I do is consistently weigh myself, same time and same empty stomach. If it stays at that certain weight for a period of time, then I know it's not just water weight. Yay!

I don't really stress about weighing myself though, I just do it now to keep tabs on myself. There was a time in my life where the only time I weighed myself was when I went to the doctor. And each time I did, I was amazed how the number kept going up! I had no idea! So, it's more of a check system really. I don't stress as it going down so much as it going back up. I tend to go by how I look, feel and how my clothes fit me.

Anyways, today I don't know if I have time to workout. I have to do a lab lesson at the winery which could take a while depending on much I prepare for it this morning. I am hoping to at least get 30 minutes in since I will be driving 5+ hours tonight. Lots of sitting.

And I don't think I will time to workout on Saturday since we will be leaving early to go judge in a speech tourney and when we arrive home, we will be going to a crawfish boil at a friend's house in Wimberley. I love this event, I think they have it every year and it's probably been about five years since I last went to one.

Have a great weekend everybody!
Michelle

Another day, another excuse

I think this week is really testing my patience. Actually, it's testing my ability to not feel guilty about things I don't do. Like yesterday. I didn't workout. I worked long hours, then had too much else to do. I got other things done, so that is good and I ate really well yesterday. Salad and a multigrain roll for dinner, a turkey sub from Subway, banana and PB for breakfast. I did have some dark choc chips and half of a snickers for dessert. But that's better than having a whole snickers and choc chips.

Plus, dark chocolate is good for me! Yay seratonin!

Anyways, today is going to be good. I can feel it. I am going to do some cardio and ab work before kickboxing and kickboxing is going to help me with some of the stress this week.

I guess the good thing I have noticed out of all this is that I noticed when I get stressed, I want to go on a walk or jump on the treadmill.

I like that.

Confession

I didn't go to kickboxing yesterday.

But I did get caught up in one of my classes. I told myself after studying for five hours that I was too tired and hungry to go to kickboxing. Plus I was too stressed.

It seems to me, besides the hunger part, that those are actually perfect excuses on why I should have gone to kickboxing.

Again, the guilt. Again, I am trying to not let ruin my day or start another cycle of bad habits. On a good note, I ate really well for the rest of the day. Lunch I had a salad with a tiny salmon piece and some soup. Then for dinner, Chris and I split fish tacos. I did splurge on three beers (yikes!) and 5 chicken wings, buffalo style.

Today my goals:
Workout! I hope to do 45 minutes of cardio, split between the elliptical and the treadmil. Then do exercises with the dumbbells: chest press, row, flys, deadlifts.

Then I plan to study more now that I am a little more organized in my classes.

I pick up Chris at 4. And I think we might clean the kitchen a bit before eating dinner and watching Battlestar Galactica season 3!! I am super excited, it was just released on DVD.

The main goal for today is working out. I am even craving it now. I want to get my blood pumping, sweat pouring down my face and feel great afterwards! I can do it!

Guilt

I just ate pop-tarts for breakfast. I can't remember when I had this much sugar for breakfast. It won't last me long, I know this. I got up late, rushed to the Exxon because I didn't make my coffee last night, purchased a coffee and the pop-tarts.

Ah well, what's done is done. If I beat myself up over it too much, then a cycle will start where I eat more bad things to make myself feel better over eating the pop-tart.

The best thing to do is to let go. And make sure I go to my kickboxing class today.

So I didn't do anything according to my plan yesterday, but in the philosophy of the above text, I will try to let it go and concentrate on today:
Work from 5 to 9am.
Home, change, get school stuff
School library, do computer class stuff, print off papers for other classes
Pick Chris up at 4
Laundry
Gym at 530, treadmill 20 minutes, abs and then kickboxing
Dinner at pub with Chris
Home and BED

I will try and keep my promises to myself today.

Blogging

Hi.

So, there's a website where I sometimes track my caloric intake called Fitday.com. Except they don't have too many brand names on there.

Then I found one site that has a ton of brand names AND restaurant food on it! So, for example, for breakfast yesterday, Chris and I had Eggs Mexicana from Taco C. At the new site, caloriesperday.com, it has Taco Cabana and then the entire menu on there! So, I entered in the eggs mexicana and discovered that the dish contains about 900 calories.

Whoa. I had no idea. It certainly doesn't look like it should have 900 calories in it. My plan, now, is to find out just what my favorite entrees are from some restaurants so I know going into them how much I should eat and how much I should take home for another meal.

Good news:
We went hiking yesterday along the lake. I think we went for about 2 and a half hours and for almost 6 miles of up and down hills. It was a nice day for it, with cooling breezes coming in from the lake.

Today's plan:
Workout- Elliptical 20 minutes, treadmill 20 minutes. Chest and back workout with dumbbells.

Food:
I had a PB&J sandwich for breakfast.
I will have an energy gel pack before working out. Then a subway sandwich for lunch before studying. Then an apple for a snack. For dinner, who knows? I am hoping a soup and salad.

Have a healthy day everybody!

Fooling myself

I need to be realistic when I set a plate in front of me about the calories, fat and other stuff I don't really like to think about in it.

I need to make several appointments: counselor, eye doc, gyn, dentist.

I need to keep being kind to myself and keeping those harsh criticisms away.

Yes.

Uh yeah

So, almost a year later and here I am.

Again.

But this time with some good news. Shall we start with the not-so-good news though?

Ok.

Since last April, I am pretty sure I have gained weight.

And I will be brutally honest: By December 2007, I had reached 220lbs on my 5'8 frame.

Yikes.

I know.

How did I get this way? Where is the girl that loved to run, lift weights, and do kickboxing? What happened to the girl that was so full of life she didn't eat out of boredom or sadness?

Well, that girl is gone and now this woman has to figure out a way to make it work for who I am now.

And I think I am slowly getting there.

I have lost 10 lbs since December, so I am currently at 210lbs. And my next goal is to get below 200lbs, by the end of May.

I have been using a website called fitday.com to track my calories I ingest and burn. But the food options are limited and I think I found a better one, but I can't remember the name of it now. When I do, I will post a review about it.

Also, my main goal is to KEEP MOVING. You'd think this would seem easy. And lately it has been for me. But when depression hits, moving is the last thing you want to do. The good thing is that if I keep moving now, the depression seems to be kept at bay.

The main thing I still need to work on is portion control. My husband, who is 5'8 but probably about 75lbs lighter than me and all lean muscle mass, needs the portions he doles out for himself. And when we dish out our food, equality seems to be the way to go. But I just can't do that anymore. I need to have at least 10% less than what he is having. And it doesn't help that I eat way too fast and he eats way too slow. So lately, instead of watching him eat more food and wishing I had some, I get up, put my dishes in the sink and WALK AWAY. I hate leaving him alone at the table, but I have to walk away, otherwise I go back for seconds, when truthfully, my first serving was too big.

It would help if I ate slower, but that is going to take more practice and patience than I thought.

Which is a good thing to talk about I think.

Why is it so hard for me to eat slower? I mean, it seems like it would be a super easy thing to do, but it's. So. Hard.

Is it habit or some emotional thing? Do I get bored? Am I not chewing enough? Should I set down my fork? Should I take a drink of water between every bite? Gah, you wouldn't think it would take this much effort, but it does.

It's years of eating too fast that I have to break. The mental pathways are so set that the ridges go deep and I have to climb out of the trenches first before even thinking about setting a new path first.

I remember being younger and we would be watching TV or doing homework, waiting for dinner to be ready. And, of course, dinner would be ready during my favorite show! It didn't matter if it was or not, at that moment, it was my favorite show.
So, we would run to the dinner table, scarf down our food and run back to the TV.

We really didn't watch a lot of TV when I was little. I was always outside. Or running, I was a competitive runner from age 7 to age 15. So I was always training.

And I was also training myself to eat fast.

Eventually we started eating dinner in the living room, but they still went by fast.

And the lunch break at my job in Austin is only 30 minutes long, so by the time you get your food and sit down, you only have 15 minutes to eat.

So yeah. There goes. 20 years of habitually eating fast, combined with current habits equals eating slower is definitely going to take a while.

But we're getting there.