Right now Tyler and I are putting together our list of songs for our wedding, one of them being 'Sugar Sugar' (cake cutting song - even though we're having cupcakes. How do you cut a cupcake, you ask? We will show you. Prepare to be amazed.)
The song "Sugar, Sugar" reminds me of all the sugar that I ate this weekend. It started off on Thanksgiving, with the candied yams (yum, yum!) and carrot cake with fluffy cream cheese frosting that I topped off my meal with. It continued with brownies and ice cream at the flower girl/princess party that I had for my 7 (yes, 7) flower girls on Black Friday. Then there came the pumpkin crunch that I made last night for a dinner Tyler and I went to.
On a bright note, I did work out yesterday, and not just by lifting my fork from the plate to my mouth. I had a lovely visit with my friend Lauralyn while walking briskly around the lake. Plus, I wore my 2 lb wrist weights! Go, me!
You'd think that being this close to the wedding (22 days!), my motivation would be stronger than ever. But I notice that my commitment to fitness and working out everyday has really been taking a backseat to the many other tasks at hand, between work, the holidays, and wedding prep. Once again, the theme of balance arises - and I think I have the solution! Let's add 5 more hours to each day.
Who's with me?
Showing posts with label workout. Show all posts
Showing posts with label workout. Show all posts
Sunday, November 28, 2010
Saturday, November 20, 2010
Day 24 - the delicate balance
It has been 24 days since I've started this blog.
Which means in exactly 30 days, it will be our wedding day!
And I still have only shed 3 lbs. Granted, I've been a busy busy bee, running around at work getting ready for Thanksgiving, packing weekends in with wedding planning activities, going here, going there, going which way everywhere! My life is a Dr. Seuss book. And you are turning the pages. Are there any illustrators out there?
But I'm starting to come to terms with the fact that I may not lose the 25 lbs that I had once dreamed I would in a mere 54 days. However, I am happy that I've kept the weight that I've lost off, and even though my scale does not reflect a change, I do see slight changes in my physique. Slight. Very slight. But I'm having to wear a belt with my jeans now, which must be a good sign.
Sometimes I feel like there just aren't enough hours in the day for everything that I need to do. My little apartment is a wreck, but it's not more important then spending time with people that I care about (like Tyler! and my flower girls! And my girlfriends!), and it can't come before my many looming deadlines at work. The gym is important, but so is eating dinner. I think the trick is finding balance and variety, so that my life isn't just a dvd on fast forward or a perpetual routine of lather, rinse, repeat.
All of our lives are busy. How do you find balance?
Which means in exactly 30 days, it will be our wedding day!
And I still have only shed 3 lbs. Granted, I've been a busy busy bee, running around at work getting ready for Thanksgiving, packing weekends in with wedding planning activities, going here, going there, going which way everywhere! My life is a Dr. Seuss book. And you are turning the pages. Are there any illustrators out there?
But I'm starting to come to terms with the fact that I may not lose the 25 lbs that I had once dreamed I would in a mere 54 days. However, I am happy that I've kept the weight that I've lost off, and even though my scale does not reflect a change, I do see slight changes in my physique. Slight. Very slight. But I'm having to wear a belt with my jeans now, which must be a good sign.
Sometimes I feel like there just aren't enough hours in the day for everything that I need to do. My little apartment is a wreck, but it's not more important then spending time with people that I care about (like Tyler! and my flower girls! And my girlfriends!), and it can't come before my many looming deadlines at work. The gym is important, but so is eating dinner. I think the trick is finding balance and variety, so that my life isn't just a dvd on fast forward or a perpetual routine of lather, rinse, repeat.
All of our lives are busy. How do you find balance?
Saturday, November 6, 2010
Day 11 - Surprise, you've lost weight!
I've been working pretty hard at this losing weight and getting in shape thing.
Have you ever noticed that it is so easy to gain weight, and so difficult to lose it?
What took me about 2 weeks to gain on vacation this summer has taken me about 3 months to lose. 3 months, people! For 2 weeks of fun! It's sort of like shopping on credit when you don't have the money to pay it off right away. 'Oh, it's such a great deal, and it's on sale! I'll just put it on my card'. 6 months later, you're still paying for that 'great deal', and after a 16% interest rate, it wasn't that great of a deal, after all.
I need to remember this when Tyler and I are on my honeymoon next month (wow, next month!). I must think, 'I will not stuff my face every day full of waffles and butter and mashed potatoes!' Because I'm sure it will be mighty tempting. And don't get me wrong - I'm all for enjoying dinners, etc- but I am now determined after working so hard to be smart about it.
I stepped on the scale yesterday, and it shows that I have lost another pound and a half! Wow! I feel like seeing that is a much better reward than my tissue paper wrapped exercise clothes that I used to use as gifts to bribe myself to keep working out a year or so ago. This is Actual Weight Loss! And it feels great.
I must say, eating the small meals that both my mom and my future mom-in-law have recommended has really, really helped. It's made a huge difference in my habits and I since I've been tracking my calories, it's easy to see what days I am hungrier and how that correlates to what I ate for breakfast, carbohydrates, etc.
And now I must confess that I did not work out yesterday. I intended to completely - but other plans were in store for me.
Tyler lives in about 2 miles away from me, and so we carpool into work from time to time, which is a nice opportunity to catch up and spend time together. Yesterday morning we were planning to carpool, and he walked into my (soon to be our) home in the early am to pick me up and found me sitting on the futon, and I guess I clearly looked completely overwhelmed, sad, and exhausted. We chatted for a bit, and then drove into work together with out workout clothes in tow, planning to meet up after work to go to a weight lifting/cardio blend class.
Just before our workdays closed, Tyler told me that he had a surprise for me, which I assumed was lettuce (which they grow and sell at school - I'm always asking him to buy some and bring it home for dinner because freshly grown lettuce is SO-O-O tasty!).
I was wrong!
He picked me up and wouldn't tell me where we were going, but did tell me that only I was going there, which at first confused me and then excited me, as I knew it had to be something girly and fun. He took me to a spa and left me there to get a (pre-arranged and paid for by him) massage, and said that he knew I needed a little time to relax and be pampered.
How great is he?!?
The massage was awesome, one of the best I've had, and all thoughts of exercising immediately floated out of my mind the second we walked in and he told me what we were doing. I felt a billion times better afterwards.
So I essentially took two days off from exercising this week. (I'm counting the kid-dancing-and-yoga-day as exercise). Back at it today! Close the computer, Kate, and get to the gym!
Have you ever noticed that it is so easy to gain weight, and so difficult to lose it?
What took me about 2 weeks to gain on vacation this summer has taken me about 3 months to lose. 3 months, people! For 2 weeks of fun! It's sort of like shopping on credit when you don't have the money to pay it off right away. 'Oh, it's such a great deal, and it's on sale! I'll just put it on my card'. 6 months later, you're still paying for that 'great deal', and after a 16% interest rate, it wasn't that great of a deal, after all.
I need to remember this when Tyler and I are on my honeymoon next month (wow, next month!). I must think, 'I will not stuff my face every day full of waffles and butter and mashed potatoes!' Because I'm sure it will be mighty tempting. And don't get me wrong - I'm all for enjoying dinners, etc- but I am now determined after working so hard to be smart about it.
I stepped on the scale yesterday, and it shows that I have lost another pound and a half! Wow! I feel like seeing that is a much better reward than my tissue paper wrapped exercise clothes that I used to use as gifts to bribe myself to keep working out a year or so ago. This is Actual Weight Loss! And it feels great.
I must say, eating the small meals that both my mom and my future mom-in-law have recommended has really, really helped. It's made a huge difference in my habits and I since I've been tracking my calories, it's easy to see what days I am hungrier and how that correlates to what I ate for breakfast, carbohydrates, etc.
And now I must confess that I did not work out yesterday. I intended to completely - but other plans were in store for me.
Tyler lives in about 2 miles away from me, and so we carpool into work from time to time, which is a nice opportunity to catch up and spend time together. Yesterday morning we were planning to carpool, and he walked into my (soon to be our) home in the early am to pick me up and found me sitting on the futon, and I guess I clearly looked completely overwhelmed, sad, and exhausted. We chatted for a bit, and then drove into work together with out workout clothes in tow, planning to meet up after work to go to a weight lifting/cardio blend class.
Just before our workdays closed, Tyler told me that he had a surprise for me, which I assumed was lettuce (which they grow and sell at school - I'm always asking him to buy some and bring it home for dinner because freshly grown lettuce is SO-O-O tasty!).
I was wrong!
He picked me up and wouldn't tell me where we were going, but did tell me that only I was going there, which at first confused me and then excited me, as I knew it had to be something girly and fun. He took me to a spa and left me there to get a (pre-arranged and paid for by him) massage, and said that he knew I needed a little time to relax and be pampered.
How great is he?!?
The massage was awesome, one of the best I've had, and all thoughts of exercising immediately floated out of my mind the second we walked in and he told me what we were doing. I felt a billion times better afterwards.
So I essentially took two days off from exercising this week. (I'm counting the kid-dancing-and-yoga-day as exercise). Back at it today! Close the computer, Kate, and get to the gym!
Friday, November 5, 2010
Day 10 - to dance as a child
I really enjoy being around kids. This is probably at least partly due to the fact that I am slightly immature, and I can relate to them and their goofiness. Seriously, I really appreciate the honesty of a child. Once a child asked me why I had so many red spots on my face (pimples), and another time a kid asked me why I was 'big'. You don't get that kind of smack-you-in-your-face, unfiltered honesty anywhere else - and you can rest assured that when kids say things like that, they almost always are not saying it to make you feel bad or to point out a flaw to be cruel - they're just genuinely curious. And when kids say things like 'You're pretty', or 'I want to be just like you when I grow up', you know that they also say those nice words with sincerity.
So because I enjoy being around kids so much, I sometimes moonlight as a babysitter. In my single days, I would babysit often - sometimes 4 or 5 nights a week - for extra money and just for fun. Nowadays though, with planning a wedding and all of the activities going on surrounding that, I babysit much less, and only for one family, which suits me quite well.
The other night I was babysitting for my two sweet girls that I watch - a 6 year old and a 3 year old. They're adorable girls and love to play dress up, cooking show (I'm the 'host'! It's like Food Network in your kitchen making macaroni and cheese!), 'travel adventure', nail salon (with real nail polish!), board games, school (they're the teachers, I'm the student!), etc. Thursday night, however, I introduced a new game to the mix - 'dance party'.
The girls are planning to attend my wedding with their parents and are very excited about it. They frequently ask me questions about what I'll be wearing, what they should wear, if they'll be dancing, and if they should bring their tiaras. So while we were cleaning up from dinner, I put on some Beatles music and we danced all around the kitchen for a good half hour. The girls loved it - they were climbing all over me and each other, we were swinging each other around, and we even formed a little 'loco-motion' style dancing train around the house. It felt like a wedding.
Right about now, you might be wondering what this has to do with anything, and if I'm going to try to pass off having a dance party with a 6 and 3 year old as a workout for the day. And you are half right. I was sweaty, man! I felt my heart pounding! However, I did manage (this is a true miracle) to arise earlier than usual on Thursday morning and I started my day with 15 minutes of yoga.
That counts, right?
So because I enjoy being around kids so much, I sometimes moonlight as a babysitter. In my single days, I would babysit often - sometimes 4 or 5 nights a week - for extra money and just for fun. Nowadays though, with planning a wedding and all of the activities going on surrounding that, I babysit much less, and only for one family, which suits me quite well.
The other night I was babysitting for my two sweet girls that I watch - a 6 year old and a 3 year old. They're adorable girls and love to play dress up, cooking show (I'm the 'host'! It's like Food Network in your kitchen making macaroni and cheese!), 'travel adventure', nail salon (with real nail polish!), board games, school (they're the teachers, I'm the student!), etc. Thursday night, however, I introduced a new game to the mix - 'dance party'.
The girls are planning to attend my wedding with their parents and are very excited about it. They frequently ask me questions about what I'll be wearing, what they should wear, if they'll be dancing, and if they should bring their tiaras. So while we were cleaning up from dinner, I put on some Beatles music and we danced all around the kitchen for a good half hour. The girls loved it - they were climbing all over me and each other, we were swinging each other around, and we even formed a little 'loco-motion' style dancing train around the house. It felt like a wedding.
Right about now, you might be wondering what this has to do with anything, and if I'm going to try to pass off having a dance party with a 6 and 3 year old as a workout for the day. And you are half right. I was sweaty, man! I felt my heart pounding! However, I did manage (this is a true miracle) to arise earlier than usual on Thursday morning and I started my day with 15 minutes of yoga.
That counts, right?
Tuesday, November 2, 2010
Day 7 - the chubby kickboxing ninja
I am a member at a local gym, where they have a variety of group exercise classes available to all members at no additional charge. I've only taken advantage of a few of these classes - the weight lifting class that I talked about last week (remember, the one I have a love/hate relationship with...), a yoga class (that I hate actually going to but once it's over I love it because I feel so fabulous!), and a rare pilates class. I've heard about these great kickboxing classes, but every time I try to go to one (I've only tried once or twice), they've been so completely packed I turned right around and ran out the door.
Yesterday I decided to try again.
I arrived at the gym a full 45 minutes before the class started, thinking that surely that would be enough time to reserve my spot. It was - but let me tell you, the class was jam packed 15 whole minutes before the class began - so I was very glad that I thought ahead and arrived early.
The class hadn't even begun, but already I could feel the positive energy and excitement oozing out of each individual there. People were stretching out, laughing, talking loudly, fast music was already blasting. The teacher of the class was straight out of the movie 'Flashdance' (and all time favorite of mine, if you haven't seen it you should close this blog right now and watch it! I liked her even more because she played a song from Flashdance as part of our workout and referenced it! ), and my expectations were high.
The anticipation is building and my palms are already starting to sweat. The class starts, though half the class isn't paying a lick of attention (I felt like I was back in high school) and is talking away, though the teacher doesn't seem to mind this one bit (not like high school). In fact, she embraces it, jokes around, talks louder, jams up the music, and away we go! Jab, jab, block, kick, turn, side, pivot, jab, repeat.... I'm already lost and it's only the warm up!
See, I guess how turbo kickboxing works, at least at my gym, is that they don't actually teach you the moves - not like in an exercise video where at first there's a little 70's tune and a tutorial about how to jab, block, etc. I think it's more of a 'sink or swim' mentality in this class, and I was quickly sinking. I decided to watch the girl in front of me, and to just try to keep moving for the duration of the class so at least I'd get in a good cardio workout.
The class moved out of 'warm up' mode and morphed into a triple time competition style workout complete with wolf whistles and cat calls, screaming and slapping hands onto the floor. Everyone was having a great time, myself included! So what if I can't keep up? So what if I'm totally faking it? So what if everyone else in the class looks like a ninja armed for battle ready to take on the enemy and I am the, ahem, curvy blonde girl in the middle sweating up a storm? I am the chubby ninja! I will be proud!
And then something amazing happened.
I'm in sync with the class! Doing the ninja moves! Clapping, jumping, jabbing, repeat! It feels amazing! I'm on cloud nine! I'm part of something bigger! I'm..... now out of sync again, as they've moved on to a new move.
It may have only been for 30 seconds, but those 30 seconds will bring me back to that class again. And again. The people in the class were all so encouraging (one nice girl gave me a high five halfway through, I think maybe she could tell I was new... I wonder how!), and I've never before been in an environment where the energy was so positive and uplifting. I see how people can get addicted.
I'm off to do today's workout, more tomorrow! Have you ever done kickboxing? Was your experience similar to mine?
Yesterday I decided to try again.
I arrived at the gym a full 45 minutes before the class started, thinking that surely that would be enough time to reserve my spot. It was - but let me tell you, the class was jam packed 15 whole minutes before the class began - so I was very glad that I thought ahead and arrived early.
The class hadn't even begun, but already I could feel the positive energy and excitement oozing out of each individual there. People were stretching out, laughing, talking loudly, fast music was already blasting. The teacher of the class was straight out of the movie 'Flashdance' (and all time favorite of mine, if you haven't seen it you should close this blog right now and watch it! I liked her even more because she played a song from Flashdance as part of our workout and referenced it! ), and my expectations were high.
The anticipation is building and my palms are already starting to sweat. The class starts, though half the class isn't paying a lick of attention (I felt like I was back in high school) and is talking away, though the teacher doesn't seem to mind this one bit (not like high school). In fact, she embraces it, jokes around, talks louder, jams up the music, and away we go! Jab, jab, block, kick, turn, side, pivot, jab, repeat.... I'm already lost and it's only the warm up!
See, I guess how turbo kickboxing works, at least at my gym, is that they don't actually teach you the moves - not like in an exercise video where at first there's a little 70's tune and a tutorial about how to jab, block, etc. I think it's more of a 'sink or swim' mentality in this class, and I was quickly sinking. I decided to watch the girl in front of me, and to just try to keep moving for the duration of the class so at least I'd get in a good cardio workout.
The class moved out of 'warm up' mode and morphed into a triple time competition style workout complete with wolf whistles and cat calls, screaming and slapping hands onto the floor. Everyone was having a great time, myself included! So what if I can't keep up? So what if I'm totally faking it? So what if everyone else in the class looks like a ninja armed for battle ready to take on the enemy and I am the, ahem, curvy blonde girl in the middle sweating up a storm? I am the chubby ninja! I will be proud!
And then something amazing happened.
I'm in sync with the class! Doing the ninja moves! Clapping, jumping, jabbing, repeat! It feels amazing! I'm on cloud nine! I'm part of something bigger! I'm..... now out of sync again, as they've moved on to a new move.
It may have only been for 30 seconds, but those 30 seconds will bring me back to that class again. And again. The people in the class were all so encouraging (one nice girl gave me a high five halfway through, I think maybe she could tell I was new... I wonder how!), and I've never before been in an environment where the energy was so positive and uplifting. I see how people can get addicted.
I'm off to do today's workout, more tomorrow! Have you ever done kickboxing? Was your experience similar to mine?
Wednesday, October 27, 2010
Day 1 - the experiment begins
In exactly 54 days, I will be walking down the aisle. I said walking, not waddling. At least I hope.
I've been struggling with my weight and fitness level for several years now. "Kate, you look great!" is what I always hear when/if I share about this. But I don't, not really. I'm about 25 pounds over what I would like to be - and I bet you women out there can relate to this. 25 pounds is just enough to make you feel gross without looking totally gross. To the untrained eye, I may look like I'm just a bit chubby, slightly big boned, or, my favorite, curvy.
Over the past 6 or so months, I've stepped up my workouts, lost some weight, went on a 3 week long vacation, gained some weight, came back home, counted calories, drank wine, ate fried food, ate salads, worked out some more, and pretty much look exactly the same. I love all things sweet and salty. I'm the girl that eats a lean cuisine and adds salt to it. I was at the dentist yesterday and they gave me an oh, so delicious chocolate chip cookie cup with peanut butter in the center because they know I love sweets so much. The dentist, people. This means something is wrong.
What in the world will make a difference? I'm not sure, but I have an inkling that blogging from now until the wedding will help with motivation, and hopefully provide some warped sense of accountability.
Here's my challenge.
54 days.
54 workouts.
54 days of eating right 90% of the time, with some room for the occasional delicious meal out (like an anniversary dinner with my fiance this weekend!).
54 blog entries.
And 54 supporters!
Are you with me?
Please?
I've been struggling with my weight and fitness level for several years now. "Kate, you look great!" is what I always hear when/if I share about this. But I don't, not really. I'm about 25 pounds over what I would like to be - and I bet you women out there can relate to this. 25 pounds is just enough to make you feel gross without looking totally gross. To the untrained eye, I may look like I'm just a bit chubby, slightly big boned, or, my favorite, curvy.
Over the past 6 or so months, I've stepped up my workouts, lost some weight, went on a 3 week long vacation, gained some weight, came back home, counted calories, drank wine, ate fried food, ate salads, worked out some more, and pretty much look exactly the same. I love all things sweet and salty. I'm the girl that eats a lean cuisine and adds salt to it. I was at the dentist yesterday and they gave me an oh, so delicious chocolate chip cookie cup with peanut butter in the center because they know I love sweets so much. The dentist, people. This means something is wrong.
What in the world will make a difference? I'm not sure, but I have an inkling that blogging from now until the wedding will help with motivation, and hopefully provide some warped sense of accountability.
Here's my challenge.
54 days.
54 workouts.
54 days of eating right 90% of the time, with some room for the occasional delicious meal out (like an anniversary dinner with my fiance this weekend!).
54 blog entries.
And 54 supporters!
Are you with me?
Please?
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