Hello everyone in extrapoundsland - Hope you all enjoyed as gorgeous of a weekend (weatherwise) as we did here in Philly. Low 70s, low humidity, cool in the shade and warm in the sun!
Friday night Dh and I had a date night at the gym - I got to do a good upper body workout (usually, I just do some bicep curls and triceps before spin class) and it felt great. I tell you, I put my ipod on before I even enter the gym and I am literally in another world - love that everyone in the gym has one and you barely have to communicate to anyone! So, after weights, at the suggestion of my DH, I tackled the stairmaster. Back in January, during my first gym visit after starting JC and after months out of the gym I tried that beast....15 minutes at level 2 was tortorous.
On Friday, I was able to do 25 mins at level 10 and 11 random hills and it felt GREAT! 315 cals burned too. It is hard - you feel like you are moving so slow but its an endurance thing...my quads were burning by the end. I couldn't deal with it for 45 mins (I did 20 mins on the dreadmill afterwards), but still I felt like I kicked its ass! That has really been my theme when working out these days - I used to go through workouts just trying to get them done - figuring out how to expend the least amount of energy and just be done. Now, I am focused on my workout, can even feel myself pushing myself to continue, go harder, etc. Love this!
Did my spin class on Sat and took the dog for a long walk too. We had a graduation brunch to go to and I made good choices - 2 pieces of sushi, egg white omelet with onions (no cheese), roll, salad, small piece of fish, one chocolate covered strawberry and a bite of the most heavenly chocolate cake ever.
Today I did my spin class and was all set to kick some more ass and do the second class - when the instructor I can't stand showed up - I just couldn't bare the thought of listening to her, so I left. Disappointed, but still did 3 spinning classes, 45 mins cardio and lifting at the gym and several dog walks this week. We had friends over for a playdate with Buddy and they ordered hoagies - I stuck with my beef chow mein! :-)
Took some more pics this weekend, I'll try to post soon.
I notice the scale seems to be moving a bit slower at home...guess this should be expected. Honestly though, I'm feeling pretty good where I am,even though I have about 20 more to lose, I feel good and can live with a slower weight loss pace if that is whats in store for me.
Had a blast at spin class last night. The instructor is fantastic - very well built funky black guy who dances, sings and wears those tight under armor shirts :-) DEFINITELY makes class more fun and motivating!!! He always plays at least 2 Michael Jackson old school songs too.
DH and I are going to have a gym date tonight. I am going to resist the urge to bring my ipod and spin....instead I am going to do some weight training and then maybe I'll do the stairclimber or the dreaded treadmill. Have to crosstrain!!!
Had lunch with a friend at Cosi today. For those of you that know the goodness of Cosi and their "crack bread" (at least that's what I call it), I found a great "meal on my own" :-)
The Shanghai Chicken Salad - Grilled chicken breast and crispy Asian noodles with carrots and scallions over mixed greens. Tossed with low-fat ginger soy dressing. It comes out to the following (including the dressing!):
I was kinda surprised but excited - less cals, same fat, more protein and fiber! Woo Hoo! Its nice to have an alternative. I substituted the oriental noodles for cucumbers so that I could leave some room for their bread!
I have been really resisting the whole MOMO idea, mostly as I don't trust myself. But after doing the calculations (Yes, I went to cosi's website and printed everything out!), I wold like to come up with a few substitute choices for those days I'm looking for some variety.
I've been enjoying a well earned break from my 4 spin classes in a row. Took off Mon - Weds. Tonight I am back on it. :-) Looking forward to class!
Have been doing well with eating this week. Even was home on Tuesday and didn't eat anything except my "scheduled" JC food - that in itself is a small victory. I'm sure some of you can relate that when home, for some reason, I am more hungry. Its like the minutes just slowly pass by and I am ready for lunch and its only 10:30 am!
Had a stressful day at work yesterday and was in the mood for Indian food, so we went out last night. The owner of this place we go is so sweet, he has lost 100 lbs so he is very accomodating. (His theory however, is to eat well 6 days/week and then eat whatever on the weekends - I CANNOT do this, at least not yet). He makes me chicken tikka masala without the cream - basically a tomato based spicy red sauce with cubes of chicken in it. Yummy!!!! And, I am able to satisfy myself and NOT leave completely bloated.
Hope everyone is having a good week and "shrinking'!!!
Had a surprise at WI tonight...not the good kind either - was up .8 lb? Was strange, I was totally not expecting a gain, but also didn't let it get to me.
Last weeks 3lb loss was way larger than normal so I knew this week would be tough...besides the mem day bbq which I MUST have worked off by now, I did pretty well this week. Not to mention 4 kick ass spin classes in a row!
Well, I KNOW that I am doing the right things and I'm not going to let the scale make me doubt myself. But, dammit now I have to get oUT of the 170's again!
Last night, I finally got a bunch of my old clothes together to donate - did keep a few nice pairs of size 14s - kind of like a security blanket. Not sure why, but it felt really uncomfortable to think of giving them up quite yet..
Hope everyone has good WI's this week. Don't worry, I'll be back down next week - I KNOW IT!!
Hello everyone! Hope you are all enjoying your weekend - here in Philly, it is rainy and humid. :-(
I've been doing pretty well eating this week. Had 1 two snack day (after spinning) and have completed 3 spin classes so far (Thur, Fri, Sat) with tomorrow scheduled. That being said, I'm going to rethink my new brilliant plan of spinning 4 days/week - especially since it would be 4 consecutive days.
I've been doing 3/week for a few months, and that has been working great for me, I feel great, enjoy classes and obviously I'm losing pretty consistently. Used to do Tues, Sat and Sun classes which was a pretty good schedule. Then, discovered a new instructor who is wonderful, who teaches Thurs nights and Sun. SO, I switched my Tues to Thurs for him. Then, during the summer months, I get to "work" from home on Fridays - pefect opportunity to get another class in. However, the 915am instuctor sucks, but this Fri I did the 530pm and she is good.
I'm not so sure that spinning 4 days in a row is a good idea - today I was pretty tired in class and I still have tomorrow to go. So, a light bulb just went off in my head - I can just go to the gym on Fridays and make it my lifting and maybe light cardio day. Ah hah, I think that makes the most sense. Thanks for listening to my rambling.
I think I've mentioned that I've really been pushing it in class lately, really giving it my all and making it count. Well, today at the end of class, the instructor pointed to me and told me that I did an awesome job today! :-) That was pretty cool. I spoke with her after class and she said she could tell that I had lost weight and good for me for really going for it! I told her I was determined to make it worth my time. She also said that she has taught everything and in her opinion, spinning and cardio kick boxing classes are the best for weight loss.
You know, I totally have to smile at myself for realizing that the gym and working out is once again a regular part of my life. It feels so good this way!
So, we have a graduation party tonight - I plan on just being reasonable and I'm sure I'll do ok. We didn't get to have our weekly Indian food this week, so tonight will be my substitute.
First of all, I need to thank all of you who read my blog and take the time to comment and support and encourage me. I know it sounds silly, but it means so much to me...some of you have said that I am inspirational to them(thankyou!!) but you need to know that you all inspire me as well..this community is just a wonderful support system!
Ok, enough mushiness!
Have a few NSVs to report. This morning, I'm getting dressed for work and decide I'll wear one of the capri pants that I bought about 2 years ago, that I have not been able to fit ino since then. I love these pants, they are black with think white pin stripes. So, they are too big, like I would need a pin to pin them to prevent the back gap...happily disappointed, I put on a newer pair of pants.
The last few weeks I've been jonesing to buy new pants...knowing tht I should wait and avoid having a rainbow of sizes in my closet. I've been holding off.
Today though, I decided to hit the local Marshall's in search of some new "get me throughthe summer" work pants. When I started JC, I was busting out of 14s and even had a pair of 16s (remember, I'm only 5'2"!). The last pants I bought were size 12s and some of those have been getting looser. So, for the hell of it, I took about 5 pairs of size 10s into the dressing room...AND THEY ALL FIT! the first pair I thought might be a fluke, butno, it looks like I am a size 10!!! WOO HOO. I promptly bought 3 pairs and happily came home.
Then, I took all of the size 12 and 14 pants out of my closet and folded them up (about 8 pairs!). I'm still too scared to get rid of them...but they are out of myreach. Is it unreasonable that I feel like I should at least keep a plain black pair or 2 JUST IN CASE? I know should just throw them out....but I fear that IF I ever needed them again (God, I hope not!) what if I couldn't find a nice plain pair of pants that fit??? Irrational?
Anyway, I'm feeling great about my success...and I still have a ways to go. There are still pants and clothes that I can't quite fit into yet....At my lowest I was in 8s. I think I will end up being pretty comfortable in 10s, but we'll see.
Hope you are all recovering from the bbq's. I think it feels good to get back on track!
Happy Memorial Day everyone! Hope everyone enoyed the Holiday weekend and managed to survive the first phase of bbq season!
I had a great week. A total of 4 spin classes and several long dog walks. Did have Indian food again on Friday - stressful week at work, but definitely stayed active. One of the spin classes I downloaded from itrain.com Gotta tell you, for 4.99 it was not bad!!! 40 mins and it was great to be able to spin at the gym when there was not a class scheduled!
Did a class today, and wore shorts to the gym for the first time. I know you all will understand that this is a milestone! Wore loose shorts on top of tight ones (to prevent too much thigh wiggles while riding), but shorts nonetheless!
I think I had 2 snacks one day this week after spinning class, but I'm sure it all evened out.
So, go to WI today, right after spin class, so I was thinking I may be up do to all the water I just drank. Holy cow, I was down 3 lbs!!! And, into a NEW DECADE - the 160s!! This is the second to last decade in my journey! I was totally not expecting to be here until next week but was thrilled of course.
Had a bbq at our house today. My Mom's husband made ribs, chicken, hot dogs and fish. I had a couple ribs (YUMMY) and a piece of fish and some of the tomato and balsamic salad that I made...oh, and about 1/3 of a hebrew national hot dog - Oh my that was delish! I figured that I deserved it!
Wasn't too hungry tonight, so I just had a banana with peanut butter...maybe a snack later.
I am so excited. My consultant asked what motivates me to do so well...I told her it was continued success, I am totatlly motivated by success and positive feedback - so, I need to make sure it continues to be positive.
Hope everyone got to enjoy some beautiful weather and time with family/friends.
I'm moving back down again - 1.8 down since my .5 gain last week! Yahoo! Working hard and staying on plan totally did the trick! Down to 172.4 - not so far away from the '60s!!
Feeling really good about the week - I definitely stayed focused all week on my goal - AND even got to eat out too. I love that I am at the point in my weight loss/exercise journey that exercising is an automatic again...I used to play such mental tortue games getting myself to the gym...now, I couldn't imagine not being able to make my sat and sun am spin classes! I'm already planning to take a class on Monday (memorial day) since I'll be off. Oh, and during the summer, we"work" from home one day a week (Friday for me!) so I'll do a spin class then also.
More fun news this week - on Saturday we are driving out the meet "Diva", our new German Shepherd puppy - she'll be 5 weeks old on Friday! We are so excited to meet our "daughter"!
Ok warriors, lets hear how your week/WI's went! I'll think I'll have more of the sam this week!
Still going strong, sticking with the program and only 1 snack per day. Yesterday evening we were really hungry and decided to go to our fave Indian place again (do you see any pattern here?). I was good, had baked chicken breast and a serving of DH's yummy rice with masala sauce. Felt pretty good about it, left without being stuffed - which is always a victory in my book!
Scale at home looks "ok", not really a noticeable loss - which is annoying. So, I'm happy to say that I took matters into my own hands this am...
Went in for my normal 8:15 am spin class, and about 3/4 through, started thinking about staying for the 9:15 class. Then, one of the fantastic instructors shows up, and I am IN!! My ass rocked through not 1, but TWO spin classes this am!! I definitely feel like a warrior at this point. It was pretty tough, I couldn't do the 2nd class as intense or do all the moves, but my legs kept going for a total of 2 hrs this am. I rock!! :-) I'm sure I'll be exhausted and sore later, but dammit this should show up on the scale - my guess would be that I burned close to 1000 calories!!
Today, I am winning the war against sedentary lifestyle and weight!!!
Off to make one of my favorite lunches. Every sunday, I make a huge salad for DH and I and we top it withthe chili con carne from the can - no dressing needed (saves a fat) and it is filling and delicious!
Who else has been a warrior this week? Twink, I imagine you were with all those miles. Who else?
So, the week has been going well so far - I am sticking to JC to the T! Did a spinning class on Weds, took dog for a nice jog/walk on Thurs, have a date at the gym tonight, then spinning Sat and Sun. Feeling good. Its funny, I've been so into spinning - went for a jog last night and my legs are sore today!!!
I happy to say that i have NOT had 2 JC snacks on any day this week and have been making more of an effort to have my daily fruits. For example, just now we an ice cream sundae bar at work and what did I bring??? A sliced gala apple! Go me! One day after work and before spin class I did have a banana with peanut butter on it, but I'm confident that spinning took care of that.
Tried the breakfast scramble again this am, its still just ok in my book. Remember, I'm not an egg person. It was more tasty than last time, but not really that exciting to me. I have been loving the french toast though lately. Also had the SW chicken salad again yesterday, very tasty. I also really enjoyed the chicken pasta parm last night.
The scale at home looks lower and I am determined to show a loss this week! Hope everyone is having a good week!
