Let Me Explain...

So I realized yesterday's post was sort of depressing. Kristy was so concerned she called to see what she could do to help. Thank you :) And the comments were so encouraging. Thank you all! But what I failed to say in that post was that the list was meant to motivate me, not meant as a list of how I'm feeling now. Fortunately, I'm not feeling that way now, but I want to avoid feeling all those things. Does that make sense? So thank you for the encouragement and everything, though I'm doing pretty good it's always nice to be reminded.

And why am I doing so good? Well, I've been a busy bee! I already told you I went to the gym on Sunday and Monday. Well, I carried right on and went Tuesday and Wednesday (yesterday) too!

A little gym log action:

Tuesday:
15 minutes elliptical, Level 6
15 minutes treadmill @ 3.5mph walking with four 5.0mph minute intervals jogging
300 calories burned!
No weight training. I needed to let my body rest after Monday's training session.

Wednesday:
15 minutes elliptical, Level 6
15 minutes treadmill @ 3.5mph walking with four 5.0mph minute jogging intervals
15 minutes on the upright bike, Level 6
450 calories burned!!
Weight Training...

Back & Biceps
Seated Row
Inverted Back Extension
Bicep Curl
Straight Arm Lat Pulldown
Lat Pulldown
30 crunches!.

What I discovered about my abs is that it's my lower abs that are weak, my upper abs seem fine. So crunches were fine, I did 30 without too much difficulty. But I could barely lift my legs off the ground when I tried to do bicycle crunches. So those were out. I will take it very slowly, I don't want to create any lasting problems. Oh, and my heartrate monitor said I burned 150 calories while weight training. I wanted to swim a few laps, like 10, and hit the jacuzzi but called home and was told to get home STAT, baby was hungry!

So that was the Back & Biceps routine. The other two routines in the plan are:

Legs & Shoulders:
Squats!
Lunges!
Upright Rows
Calf Machine
Leg Extension

Chest & Triceps
Pushups (modified)
Tricep Extensions or Kickbacks
Dumbell Flies
Close Grip Chest Press

Seem doable in a half-hour? That's what we're aiming for. I felt pretty darned good after completing the back and biceps routine.

And what about today, you ask? Well, as you may have heard there is a pandemic going on. It's made me a little nervous to drop Marek off in childwatch as there was a sick person there the other day and I just don't want to take unnecessary chances. Plus, I figure my body might need a break from the gym. So I went for a walk! We walked from home to the closest coffee shop and back. Can you say 4.33 miles?! And 715 calories burned! It took me about 45 minutes each way, with a break at the coffee shop for some fuel for both of us (I'm getting pretty good at breastfeeding in public with the hooter hider). That's a picture from our walk. Walking in the stroller is like a sleeping pill to Marek, he conks right out!

It felt so good to be outside. It was perfect outside weather, a slight chill in the air, cloudy, but not cold and not windy. Oh, here's the route in case you are as curious as I am compulsive:



And there was another new family out enjoying the day :)



Finally...a picture from this morning.



Honestly, I didn't know my heart could hold this much love.

Ok, tomorrow is weigh-in Friday. I am trying to prepare myself for the possibility of not losing. A: My eating has been less than stellar and I tracked for less than one day. B: I started a workout routine this week and I'm probably retaining water as a result. C: I started weight training again. Is it possible I gained some muscle already? In any event, three reasons why I might not see a loss, and might even see a gain on the scale tomorrow. I've been very good and resisted the urge to weigh myself so I don't know what to expect. I am reminding myself over and over that I don't have any expectations of myself to lose so any outcome is just fine. But, well, you know how it is.

Well, that's it from me. I can't believe I wrote this all in one sitting!

10 Things I Hate About Being Out of Shape

10. Waiting for elevators because stairs are too challenging. Then being stuck in said elevator with heavy perfume woman or coughing man.
9. I feel more self conscious in my bathing suit.
8. My back and knees hurt.
7. I'm not as excited about life.
6. My skin gets pale from too much indoor time.
5. I don't have the benefit of momentum. An object at rest tends to stay at rest.
4. I don't even enjoy the "bad" food I'm eating because it becomes hum-drum.
3. My mood, and outlook, is not as positive.
2. My clothes don't fit right, they are too tight and don't look good on me.
1. I feel like life is passing me by.

Got anything to add?

Addendum: It isn't as bad as it sounds, please see my next post for an explanation.

Time is of the Essence

Before I start can I just say that I'm pretty darned tired? If this post rambles a bit please forgive me. So on Saturday we went out to the Indian Valley area for some recreation. I've been wanting to get my butt on the bike, just to see what it feels like, so Miguel put my mountain bike on the car and off we went. He's been on this trail before but I haven't. He assured me it was easy-peasy and only a little more than a mile long, which was important since it'd been a long while since my legs had done any pedaling. The weather was a little chilly but it was beautiful out.

Miguel had Marek in the Bjorn carrier while I rode the trail round trip a couple times for about a 5 mile ride. It was so SO fun to be riding my bike. I had a big smile on my face the entire time. My legs still know how to pedal, though my butt bones were a bit sore the next day. I'm looking forward to my first time on the road bike. Nothing like the speed of the road.

See that smile?


Isn't it gorgeous?


Miguel and I had a really nice afternoon. And he was right, the trail was easy peasy. Perfect for my first time in the saddle.

On Sunday I hit the gym again. Here's what I did...

Elliptical, level 6, 15 minutes.
Treadmill, mostly walking @3.5mph with two 1-minute jogs @5mph. Whew!
Weight training. I just played around doing a few of the things I used to do.
Swimming: I swam 10 laps. It felt good to be back in the pool.
And finally...Jacuuuuzzzzi !!

I burned about 450 calories plus whatever I burned in the pool. Not bad.

I have now officially engaged in every activity involved in a triathlon. Well, sort of, since I was on the mountain bike not the road bike, but close enough. My mental view of "exercise" has really changed. I believe I've finally shifted it, at least generally, from a dreaded chore to fun. Challenging, sometimes painful, sometimes dreadful too, but generally fun.

I made it to the gym again today (Monday). I had my free initial training session. I had to leave Marek in the childwatch :( It's the first time he's been out of Miguel or my care for any length of time. Anyway, I asked the trainer to help me put together a weight training routine that can be done in a half-hour. I used to think I was sometimes pressed for time when it came to getting my workout in. Ha! I used to have all the time in the world. Now I am pressed for time. Childwatch will only allow a 2 hour stay. When you factor in clothing changes, cardio, weight training, core work, stretching, swimming...2 hours is not a lot of time. And once I go back to work I will be lucky to have even 1 hour at the gym. More on that in a minute.

Before meeting with the trainer I did 30 minutes of cardio, this time with 3 jogging minute episodes. My legs felt heavy and my heart rate soared while jogging but I got through it. For weight training we came up with three routines. I'm too lazy to go upstairs and get the book to share what they are. Next post :) But I think they are doable in a half-hour. The trainer was very encouraging about time limitations. He told me that the modern thinking is that 30 minutes is a great amount of cardio, "just pound it out", followed by weight training. He reminded me that muscle burns more than fat and that if I keep it up I'll burn off the extra fat eventually without hours on the cardio machines. That's what I like to hear. By the time we were done my 2 hours were up so I went to retrieve Marek. They said he was an angel :)

Back to the issue of time. Something occurred to me recently. Once I go back to work time will be gold. I have 6 weeks left of having a lot of time, followed by a few months of having more time. But in less than 5 months I will be back to work full force and have very little time. I have to use the time I have now to build my fitness back up. I remember reading that it takes 1/2 the time and effort to maintain fitness gains as it takes to establish them in the first place. I need to use this time to establish those gains so that once I'm back to work I can be in maintenance mode. I have to take advantage of this time. This realization has stoked the flames of my motivation.

I wish I could say my eating has turned around but it hasn't. I've had some encounters with Costco pizza, cookies, ice cream, Cheetos...the list goes on and on. But I can't fix everything at once so I'm not going to worry about it for right now. Hopefully it won't take another gain to make me ready to make changes in the food area too. I've had some crap around the house that I finished eating today. I've vowed to bring no more crap in the house. Gotta start somewhere.

Can I close with a picture of my little angel?? I got a smile on film :)

Motivated by a Gain

Two weeks in a row I made it to meetings, which means I'm continuing to meet the goal I set for myself. I say that to remind myself of the goal, as it's so easy to get ahead of myself. Anyway, the big news is I gained weight. Of course I did, why wouldn't I? Not following the plan, eating a bunch of chocolate and what not. This is not behavior that leads to weight loss. Good thing that wasn't my goal :) But a gain makes an impression. The main thing is that I don't want to have more pounds to lose later. I don't mind maintaining but gaining is going backwards and I don't want to be going backwards. I gained 1.4 pounds.

What to do what to do. The talk this week focused on tracking, emphasizing that just by tracking alone we tend to do better in our eating. So I'm going to make an effort to track this week. The leader and I were talking about how I'm just back for meetings, not following the program yet, and she said, "Well, you're more likely to start following the program sooner than if you weren't coming." That's so true.

A gain is motivating. A gain says, "What are you doing Michelle?". A gain reminds me that more food + no exercise = more weight. And what does more weight translate into? More weight = less healthy. Less healthy is not good. So what did this weight gain motivate me to do?


Yep, I joined a gym! I did a little research and decided on the local YMCA. They have two facilities I can use, a small gym-only facility near my house and a large one with a pool, racquetball, basketball, rock wall, etc, etc about 10 minutes away. Both have childcare. For baby and I it's $84 bucks a month. Ouch. But I spend that much on Internet & Netflix so it only makes sense I could spend that much on my health.

After signing up I headed in to try out the old body on some cardio machines. I forgot my headphones :( I got on an elliptical and did 15 minutes. Ouch. Then I switched to the treadmill and did 15 minutes there @ 3.5mph. Ouch again. The body just ain't working like it used to. I burned 250 calories. My mind wandered around thinking about how much I used to be able to do, how fast I used to be able to go, how I could push myself hard and it felt good. STOP! You are where you are. You had a baby for crying out loud. This is the body that made your son and it is what it is.

One good thing about aging is that I care less and less what others think. My gym clothes were kind of tight, I was slow as molasses on the elliptical, and I was like a kid on the first day of school not knowing where to sign up for machines and all that. I didn't really care and that was nice. But one thing I did care about was the pain my boobs were in. Breastfeeding boobs are big and when they bounce it hurts! I need to wear a super tight sports bra so they are locked in tight.

After my gym excursion I'm not sure about signing up for the June 20th tri. Might just wait until the second or third one (they do three a year). I want to feel good and have fun, not push myself early and have a negative experience. The first one doesn't usually sell out so I can decide at the last minute if I want.

On the baby front, Marek is doing well. The big thing is he's starting to smile! It's SO friggin' cute. I need to try to get a picture of it. Sleep is elusive, poor Miguel got very little of it last night. I'm going to give him the night off tonight. Marek's gaining weight at a healthy pace, I'm still adjusting to my new life, trying to stay positive, and trying not to think about the return to work. How do people do this? One thing I have to prioritize is fitness. I imagine it's so easy to put that at the bottom of the list when you have a child but I'm telling myself it's the foundation for everything else I do. Without fitness, everything else is harder.

A Hot Weekend and a Shady Trail

A heatwave in the middle of April? Yep. It's damn hot! As I said in my last post we were planning a hike. I searched out a hike that was shady and flat. Both Miguel and I are sorely out of shape and we didn't want the baby to be in the sun so shady, flat and...gorgeous were the criteria. I wanted Marek's first hike to be a pretty one, even though he basically hitched a ride on his dad.

We headed out in the afternoon to the Sky Oaks Trailhead in Fairfax and arrived around 3pm. It was still plenty warm out but there was a nice breeze. We can't figure out which lake we walked around...was it Bon Tempe or Lagunitas? We either walked 2.5 miles or 3.5. About 2/3 of the way Marek decided he was hungry so we found a bench near the lake and parked it for a bit. Breastfeeding in the wild like that made me feel like a crunchy granola mom, which, truthfully, I am not.

Here we are! Miguel's carrying Marek in a Baby Bjorn Active and I've got the Camelbak.

This is the bench we were lucky enough to find. That's a happy post-meal Marek.

And even happier hanging out with his dad. Actually, he looks like he's about to throw a jab to his dad's chin!

What a fun afternoon. I think we'll be hitting up this trail again, it's just so perfect. Next time I'll wear my Garmin so we can figure out how far it is and maybe which lake?

Along the trail we ran into a dad pulling his son in a Burley trailer. We've talked about these but were scared the kid'd get hurt if we fell. We chatted with the dad and found out the trailer doesn't tip. These things are not cheap but we're thinking to save up for one. Miguel will definitely be doing the pulling! I'll ride caboose and keep an eye on the LO. Anyway, it'll be a bit before Marek has the muscle to sit up in one of these things so we have time to think it over.

Our next purchase is probably going to be a B.O.B. stroller. A little research is needed to figure out which one but did you know they have a B.O.B. Ironman?! I've heard the front tire being able to swivel is key and I don't know if this one does that or not. These things are not cheap either. How are we ever going to save for college?

On the food front I've been watching what goes into my mouth a tad more than last week. No major changes by any stretch but a few more veggies have worked there way into my meals. Not really tracking at all. it's going to be strange to get on the scale on Friday. I'll likely either be up or down and either will have an effect. I guess we'll see what happens!

And on the fitness front. I'm thinking of signing up for a Tri for Fun. This is the same one I did (twice) last summer. The first one is on June 20th (they do three every summer) and, call me crazy, but from my vantage point (on my couch!) it seems doable. I'd rather not do it alone so if you're up for it let me know! It's only a sprint distance, the swim is a scant 1/4 mile (about 7 minutes), the bike is relatively flat (only one tiny hill) and the run is on a trail (though not flat). Come on, you know you want to! I'm thinking a little tri action will get my ass off the couch and out for some exercise. I'm still a little sore in the abdomen but that shouldn't last much longer. Besides, I can cruise the tri if needed, it's a Tri for Fun after all.