Gym time!

I joined the gym today. And tomorrow I will go before work. Bam.

Sorry for channeling Emeril just then...

So my week isn't starting out great. Well, it is and it isn't. Exercise-wise, it's great. Food-wise, not so much. I'm on the rag and craving carbs like there's no tomorrow. I'll get past it. I think I will start tomorrow with a protein shake, and see where that takes me.

I bought a pedometer recently, and it's been fun seeing just how much I walk during the day. On Monday, I walked a whopping 12,700 steps! Today was my first day wearing it at work, and there alone I racked up almost 7000 steps. Not bad, eh?

Getting there...

Yesterday at work, I walked into our staff bathroom to find someone had barfed all over the toilet and the floor. And just left it there. While I was surely a little grossed out, the first thing I thought of was, "Geez, couldn't they have got it in the toilet? All the times I've yakked up my lunch here, I've never left a mess behind!" Uhhh...What am I? Some kind of professional barfer? Ew. Just goes to show how living with a band can change your perspective on some things, not necessarily for the better.

The other night I was getting my pajamas on and, without thinking, I pulled off my jeans without unbuttoning or unzipping. You know what that means -- time to go down a size! So, I pulled out the size 16 Old Navy jeans I had bought on super sale in December. The good news? They fit! The bad news? My poor old saggy stomach is no match for these low riders. Muffin top galore! Ugh. So now what? I need to find some, dare I say, mom jeans that I can tuck the muffin top into.

The exercise must be working. Duh, right? I'm in my second week of the Angry Birds workout from Nerd Fitness. It's going really well. I'm doing my squats in the locker room before work, push-ups off the counter in my kitchen, back exercises and planks while the kids are playing. So far, I'm up to 50 squats and two minutes of planks. I'm still on level one for the pushups (40 incline) and back exercises (30 1 arm rows). I do need to move up in the back exercise, but I haven't figure out anything heavy enough to lift for a bent over row with both arms. I do have some resistance bands, so maybe I'll try those tomorrow. I love the feeling of sore muscles!

I actually exercised.

I know, right? Me. Exercising.

This week I decided I would get some exercise in come hell or high water. It just needs to happen. The problem was finding a creative solution to the "I don't have any time" issue. Luckily, two things kinda fell in my lap, so to speak, this week.

First, hubs and I went to a party at his boss' house this weekend. It was super fun, and one of the things they had going was, believe it or not, a Just Dance II tournament. And I totally won it. Oh yeah. So, I was reminded how fun it is, and I have it at home, so hellooooo?

Second, one of my fave blogs to read is Nerd Fitness. This dude is doing really cool things, and he has a great message. Recently he posted this workout plan, and I knew this was something I could manage to fit in. Also, if you have time, this post is chock full of goodness that everyone needs to read!

Anywhoo, today when I got the kids home, tater tot and I danced for about 30 minutes, and then I did my squats, rows, pushups, and planks while helping the tater with her Cookie Monster counting game. Piece of cake! Needless to say, I'm quite pleased with myself. Just gotta keep it up!

Food-wise, I'm still staying off the wheat and dairy. Dairy seems to give me headaches, and wheat in any large quantity makes me crash hard. I can do a few triscuits or something like that, but I had half a bagel last Friday and descended into a fog for the rest of the day. I was also constipated for two days again -- haven't had that issue since I started all this. So today I was back to it:
6am: Half of a homemade granola bar
10am: 1 kiwi with ground flax seed
12pm: 2 oz pulled pork, onion soup with rice noodles
3pm: dried apricots
6:30pm: 2 oz pork loin, 1/4 cup spinach
8pm: 1/2 cup nondairy ice cream

That's it for me for tonight. Hope all is well out there is blogland!

The "doing" so far

I wrote a post last night only to have my browser go all wonky on me and, well, no more post. Hate it when that happens.

My hub brought me a surprise late Christmas present yesterday... Wii Just Dance 2! I am loving it! That is my first item of "doing" for this year. I am doing the Just Sweat program, 3 or 4 songs a day. What can I say, I like to dance! And it's better than sitting on my butt, right? I'm counting it as low-impact aerobics and it seems about right. I mean, I like to think of myself as a hardcore gymrat, but seriously, it's been years since I could honestly claim that title. Last time I tried to squat on the smith machine, I threw my back out. *sigh* So, I'm working on being more, shall we say, organic with exercise. Remember, less thinking, more doing. That means less agonizing over what I should be doing at the gym, and more just letting go and having fun a la Wii Fit and Just Dance and whatever else.

I also started food logging again today... recommitted to WW for now. I got the new WW cookbook for Christmas, and we've made a few things already. The turkey meatloaf was delish; Spicy Chickpea Patties... not so much.

12/29/10 Looking forward

I have today off work -- it's so nice to not have anything to do. Oh wait, I did have a whole list of chores, but I got most of them done this morning. I don't really have a lot to say right now other than hurray for not gaining weight this past week. I'm holding steady at 219.6. That damn 60lb loss milestone is ever right around the corner, but I'm just not getting there. I'm also not trying that hard, to be honest. I've totally fallen off the wagon with the gym and tracking. And, once again, I just don't seem to have much restriction. It's better than it was before, but still not where I'd like to be.

I noticed the posts lately about a word for the new year. I've decided on a phrase instead:

Less thinking, more doing.

I am a planner; I like to organize. I let myself get bogged down in the details instead of just getting up and getting shit done. So that is my focus for the year. Just do it.

My number one area that needs improvement is exercise. I have to stop looking at it as an all or nothing entity. My approach must change. I need consistency and action. I spent a little Christmas money on a yoga/pilates DVD and a kettlebell with a Bob Harper DVD. The yoga one has five ten-minute segments, so I would like to fit one of those in every morning. The kettlebell one is 30 minutes long, so I would like to do that one a few times a week after work if I don't make it to the gym.

Another thing I am thinking of doing is going through a workbook I bought a few years ago. It's something about being successful after weight loss surgery. Maybe it would be a good time to do some mental workouts too.

That's all I've got for now. Gotta make some din din.

11/10/10 It's a mystery

I tell you, I never know what to expect from my band these days. For instance, this morning I ate two donuts for breakfast. They went down fine, the little buggers. Then, for lunch, I had some chicken, broccoli, and orzo, of which I ate about five bites before become full. Um, what? Dinner was beef stir fry, and that worked fine except for the beef. It's a little frustrating not knowing where your restriction stands from one meal to the next.

Today was my second date with the trainer. I like this guy. He adjusted the workout this time to a more appropriate level, kept me challenged, and didn't try to force me into things I didn't feel comfortable doing (lunges, for example, no way Jose). So, it's going good. Let's just say that climbing stairs and getting out of chairs tomorrow are going to be fairly difficult. Feel the burn!

11/3/10 Tomorrow's Forecast: Sore!

Two days of solid calorie counting. Good. Stayed within my calorie range. Good. A few not so good choices, like my Taco Bell dinner. OK. And today was the free session with the trainer. He dialed right into my (nonexistant) fitness level and gave me a decent workout. Lots of core work -- I don't think I'm going to be able to move tomorrow! Never mind that I got my flu shot today too, so my arm is all sore. To top it off I went and rolled my ankle while I was trying to put the little guy's bucket in the car at daycare. It feels ok so far, so I don't think I really hurt it. Gah.

Now let's talk about Fiber One bars, actually, the Target Market Pantry version. Holy hell, I MUST lay off these things. For the last three days I've eaten one of these bars as a midmorning snack, and today I pooped three times. Amazing, no? It is, I tell you. While that in itself isn't so bad (I was down a whole pound from yesterday on the scale), the accompanying gas is a problem. I spent the last two days dodging into empty rooms and hallways to let 'em rip, dropping them into chairs praying no one would walk up at an inopportune moment. The kicker was this afternoon when my 7 year old patient suddenly says, "I smell something." O.M.G. I'm dying. His mom asks him what it smells like. I'm waiting for the worst, and he finally says, "It smells like hair gel." GIANT sigh of relief out of me! That was a close one. Nothing like a kid calling you out for dropping ass when you just can't help it.

10/30/10 The gym!

Well, I finally did it. I went to the gym after work yesterday. It was the first time I've set foot in there since the end of June. Thirty minutes of hills on the treadmill felt pretty good. I didn't want to go crazy my first time back, though I'm dying to hit the weights. I also signed up for a free session with the new personal trainer. They're doing a special right now  -- 5 sessions for $100. Pretty good, right? The only bummer is that the Thursday afternoon free Zumba class was cancelled. There's still Saturday, but it's the rare occasion I would get to go to that one.

Hopefully, this gives me a little boost. The scale is still not really moving, and my restriction is mediocre at best.

I Zumba'd!

Well girls, I got my first taste of Zumba this morning. Holy cow! Jump much? Seriously though, I liked it a lot. I'm just glad the Saturday morning class is just a half hour -- I could barely do that! The second half hour was pilates, which was also a first for me. I've tried doing pilates tapes, but I never liked them much. It's so different actually having an instructor there to correct your form. Speaking of the instructor, I'm not sure there is a more perfect person to be teaching Zumba. She is tall, dark, and beautiful, a dancer, and, judging by her accent, of some kind of South American descent. Anyway, I hope to make this Saturday class regularly. My core could really use the pilates since the c-section.

My first new adventure!

Fitting in exercise is a big challenge, not that that is anything earth shattering or new. For me though, exercise has always been an absolute must for achieving any weight loss. I'm not the kind of person that can cut out pop and fast food and drop twenty. Even with my band, to see any serious movement, I've got to DO some serious movement.

So, what to do? I'm thinking Couch to 5k. And wouldn't ya know there's a race right in town about 9 weeks from now! Well, it's only a 2-mile fun run, but what the hey? That would be more than I have ever run in my life, and if I stick with the training, it should be a cinch.

I'm planning on starting tomorrow. I'll let you know how it goes.