An Obscene Number

So curiosity got the better of me and I got on the scale this morning.  Big. Mistake.  I was up.  I was so up that I am not going to document that number.  I am going to take a holiday pass and march on toward next Friday's weigh-in.  Hopefully if I'm careful I can undo some of the damage.

Today started off rocky when I woke up with a headache.  Actually I went to bed with a headache last night.  Might have been the Snickers bar.  I ended up eating about 2/3 of it during the last 20 minutes of our car ride.  I took some Excedrin PM and hit the sack around 12:30am.  Woke up at 8am (thank you kids!) and took some regular Excedrin.  We hung around for a while at the house, made waffles for breakfast and put all the stuff away from our trip, and thankfully my headache went away. 

I left for the gym feeling a bit tired but ready to get moving in any case.  I ran outside in the most perfect fall weather - 57 degrees, slightly overcast, no wind.  It was just lovely.  I ran a smidge over 2.5 miles in 32 minutes.  I had some tightening and discomfort above my achilles area and shins for the first 15 minutes or so but once I was warmed up that went away.  I really, really, really enjoyed the run.

After that I did legs/shoulders/core for strength training before hitting the step mill for 5 minutes at 50 steps per minute.  Whew!  I got my stretching done and left for the grocery store feeling revived and alive.  I love exercise, it's the magic cure for what ails you.

By the way, grocery shopping right after the gym is the way to go.  I bought tons of salad fixings and wasn't tempted by anything less than healthy.  Miguel's already offered to cook dinner.  I have black beans on the stove and he'll do the rest. 

Well, it's back to the grind in the morning.  I'm going to really focus on myself and my goals this week.  I need a rebound from all that food!

Turkey, Sand and Sun

Success!  At least that’s what I’m going to call it.  I did eat quite a bit, but it was Thanksgiving and I was visiting family so that’s to be expected.  I only went overboard a couple of times and that was balanced by some exercise.  We arrived on Wednesday evening and we were hungry and tired.  It’s weird how sitting for hours on end can make you tired. We arrived and I started munching on Chex mix and found a random piece of See’s chocolate to eat.  My mom had cooked a mini Thanksgiving meal complete with a roasted turkey, mashed potatoes and gravy, stuffing, etc.  She cooked the mini-feast because we were going to my uncle’s for Thanksgiving dinner and she wanted us to have our own leftovers.  I ate a lot and felt way over-full while I washed dishes.  I was a little disappointed that I didn’t pace myself better with the food intake and told myself I’d try to do a better job the next day.

On Thursday we had a nice leisurely breakfast and enjoyed catching up with family.  Miguel ran to the local gym and had a workout.  When he got back he took me to the beach so I could run along the boardwalk while he ran some last minute errands for my mom.  The weather was made for a run.  The air was cool and crisp but not cold, just a slight breeze and the perfect mix of sun and clouds.  I did a three minute warm-up walk and then started jogging.  I had my garmin tucked into my shirt and my heart rate monitor on.  I used my heart rate as a guide for my pacing.  I had a little shin discomfort in the beginning but that went away after maybe 15 minutes.  I’d decided to do a 5k, my own personal Turkey Trot.  I figured on 40 minutes based on my 5k time during the triathlon.  I jogged along, taking in the beautiful scenery, the sand, the sun, all the people out being active – and I felt so incredibly grateful. 

After 20 minutes I turned around and found myself running into the breeze and sun.  Good thing the breeze was slight.  I was feeling so good, just really enjoying myself.  I am enjoying running in a way I never thought possible.  Around the 35 minute mark I decided to go for 45 minutes instead of 40.  And during the last minute I ran as hard as I could to simulate what I’ve been doing on the treadmill.  Done!  I felt great!  I got to cool down and stretch a bit before Miguel picked me up.  In total I did just a bit over 4 miles.  I have a feeling the Turkey Trot will be a family tradition before too long.  It’s the perfect way to start the day and goes a long way to balancing out all the food.   

We headed over to my uncle’s for the big meal with family.  I told myself I’d eat light since I had a turkey dinner the night before but the run made me hungry and the food was so good!  I enjoyed a good meal and definitely did my part to clear the table but I didn’t feel painfully full like the night before.  I considered that a success.  I also enjoyed some really good pies, including my own pecan/currant tart.  Yum!  All the kids somehow ended up playing soccer in the street and I joined in for a good while.  I know I burned a few calories playing with them, but more importantly I had a great time kicking the ball around and laughing with the kids.  I felt grateful for both the desire and the ability to play with the kids.

We got back to my grandparent’s house and Miguel said he wanted to go shopping when some of the stores opened at midnight.  I said I’d go with him but by 10pm he was falling asleep on the couch so we gave up on the shopping plan and went to bed.  Thank goodness because it sounds like it was madness out there!   But we did try to go shopping on Friday morning.  I say try because it was still pretty crazy when we arrived at the mall at 10am.  I managed to get a few toys for Christmas.

The weather the day prior inspired plans to go to the beach so after the mall we hit the sand and sun!  It was so fun!  Marek was in heaven but Myra took a bit to warm up to the waves.   Once she decided the waves weren’t going to “get” her she had a ton of fun too.  Here are some pics of the kids on the beach.

 

 Myra trying to drink the sand.

 Marek running from the waves, his favorite game at the beach.

Watching the surfers.

Myra toddling in the sand.

Don't they look cute?  We had so much fun!  After 2½ hours of sun and ocean we were pooped and headed home.  

We put the kids down for naps and Miguel and I dragged ourselves to the gym.  I did 25 minutes on the upright bike followed by back/biceps/core for strength training.  I finished up with 2 minutes on the step mill and then a nice stretch session.  It felt really good to get some exercise after all that eating.  I walked out of the gym feeling good.  Back at my grandparent's we had turkey dinner leftovers for dinner and went to bed totally wiped out. 

I was halfway hoping I could get to the gym on Saturday too but that didn't pan out.  My cousin's baby shower was that afternoon and we just had too much going on.  I went to the shower while Miguel took care of the kids and packed up the car.  They served a yummy chicken salad and butternut squash soup for lunch.  And there were giant bowls of m&m's which I helped make a dent in.  I ate a bit more than was necessary but it was a party so I didn't feel too bad about that.  The good thing was the cake and other deserts weren't super tempting so I dodged some calories there.  

And here we are, on the drive home.  We stopped at In-n-Out burger and I had a double/double with some fries for dinner.  I wanted a single w/ no cheese but Miguel misheard me, which was fine.  What's a few more calories over Thanksgiving weekend?  That mindset led me back into line for a milkshake.  It just sounded good.  But while I was waiting in line I look up at the menu and see "590 calories" listed under the milkshake.  Ugh, that's just too much.  The menu-calorie-listing strikes again and I got out of line.  We head to the gas station and I'm still feeling like something sweet so I have Miguel buy a Snicker's bar for me.  So far I've only taken one bite of it.  We're about an hour from home and I'm not feeling like I want more of it so maybe the one bite will be it.  

So I didn't get to weigh-in on Friday.  I meant to bring my scale but I forgot and you know I'm not going to weigh in on a foreign scale.  Random scales cannot be trusted.  I'm trying to decide if I want to weigh in tomorrow and count that for this week's weight or just shoot for next Friday.  We'll see how curious I am in the morning.   I'm looking forward to the coming week. With a light schedule I'm planning to get my full 5 days in without much juggling.

I hope you had a fun, happy Thanksgiving and are looking forward to the remaining winter holidays!!  I know I am :) 

 

A Gal with a Plan

It's been a very eventful week, though that's the way it's been around here lately.  I didn't get to the gym on Sunday but I didn't let that cast a pall over the rest of the week.  This being Thanksgiving week I'm ok with things not going quite as planned.  Monday started out interesting...


I don't have very many pants that fit well.  They are either too big or too tight.  On Monday I woke up feeling fat and didn't want to wear tight pants, so I opted for a pair that are a bit big and headed out the door.  I had to drop some mail off at the post office before work.  While I was weighing my package I noticed a woman who glanced at me looked immediately to my pants, which seemed strange.  So when I walked out I looked at my reflection in the glass doors and I realized why.  My pants were hanging down in the crotch area to what seemed like halfway to my knees!  Not a good look.  So I realized I really needed a pair that fit.  Fortunately Target opens at the crack of dawn for the holiday season so I headed over there and quickly found some surprisingly cute jeans for not too much dough.  Size 12 ankle and they fit great.  Score!  Nothing like a pair of jeans that fit well to make you feel better.


On Monday at the gym I did a treadmill run (intervals) followed by legs/shoulders and core work.  I didn't have enough time to do my whole routine, which is always a little disappointing, but I was happy to get my full run in and do at least some of my strength training routine.  I still managed to burn over 500 calories, mostly due to the run.  Part of why I ran out of time is something I'm working on for my blog and the resolution season that's coming soon.  More on this as I develop it, but I'm hoping you'll like it!



So in the past few days my mom has called a few times to ask me or tell me about food related stuff - which side dishes do I want, can I make a pecan tart (yes!), should she go low on the salt in the Chex mix? - you get the idea.  I started to realize that this trip might take a little more planning than I'd anticipated.  So I decided I'd keep a food journal for the week.  I'm not going to put myself on any sort of plan, or track calories and such, I'm just going to write it down with the knowledge (and hope) that by the act alone I will raise my awareness and thereby not eat like a Survivor contestant who won a meal.  I started on Sunday and so far it's helped me to make a better choice on at least two occasions.  But what I'm really doing it for is the trip to Southern California.  We'll see how it goes.


Anyway, back to Tuesday.  This time I was able to do my whole workout - the upright bike followed by chest/triceps/core work.  The pushups haven't gotten any easier yet but while I'm doing them I tell myself that I'm getting stronger and they'll get easier.  I ran out of things to do between core work so I threw in some triceps kickbacks for fun.  I did three sets and really enjoyed them. I can actually see some indication of muscles in the mirror when I do them, which is really cool.  If I have time I'll add those to the chest/triceps day.  I wrapped up with a couple fast minutes on the step mill and left feeling good.

Today, Wednesday, has been all about driving.  In fact, I'm writing this while sitting in traffic on the 405 in Southern California.  We left home around 7am, only 2 hours later than I was hoping we'd leave, and so far the road trip has gone well.  Except for the traffic, which started about a half hour ago and will likely turn the remaining 45 minutes into more like 2 hours.  But at least we're in the general area and it's not dark yet. 

So I'm still hoping to do a run tomorrow.  I don't know if I'll pay to do a Turkey Trot or not but I've told Miguel about my plans and he didn't groan too heavily.  They'll be a lot of family around to help watch the kids so my absence won't be too hard on him.  On Friday I plan to go to a local gym and pay a day fee.  And Saturday I'm going to a baby shower in the afternoon and we're driving home after that so I doubt I'll get to the gym that day, though it remains a possibility.  So the new plan is...

Thur:  run
Fri:  gym
Sat:  off
Sunday - start the new week with a firm plan to get 5 exercise days.

I snuck a peek at the scale this morning hoping it would motivate me.  I was down from last week, though not by a substantial amount.  Still, if I can eek out a loss the week of Thanksgiving I'll be super pleased. 

Well, that's it for me.  I wish you all a very happy Thanksgiving - enjoyment of every bite of food you put in your mouth, of the friends and family you surround yourself with, and a long list of gratitudes. 

*Not* Too Busy to Exercise

Phew!  I've been busy, busy, busy.  I feel like I'm running from one thing to the next.  The last time I posted was Sunday and it's already Friday.  This kids, husband, household, work, gym thing is not for the weak of spirit.  Thank goodness for a daily dose of relaxation with Marek.  I read books with him almost every night and then sit with him for a bit discussing the day and singing songs.

Anyway, the good thing is that despite the activity level around here I still managed to get my 5 days of exercise.  Here's a quick run-down since Sunday...

Tuesday, gym - 25 min upright bike, legs/shoulders/core, 3 min stair stepper, stretching, 58 min/453 calories
Wed, 5:30am boot camp (I have to note the time, right?), walk/jog there/back, 85 min/659 calories
Thur, gym - 32 min treadmill run, chest/triceps/core, 2 min stair stepper, stretching, 58 min/519 calories
Friday, gym - 25 min upright bike, back/biceps/core, 2 min stair stepper, stretching, 57 min/430 calories

I had to do 4 days in a row, something I usually try to avoid, because of my schedule this week. No other way around it.  I hope I don't pay with a lot of soreness in the coming days.  Back when, I noticed that my body got stiff and sore when I did four days in a row.  Hopefully I can handle it now.  And it won't be the norm, I'm still shooting for no more than 3 days in a row.

So I recently noticed that I burn more calories on days that I run.  I think it's probably because the bike involves sitting on your rump and there's just no way to burn as many calories sitting down.  I started writing down how many minutes I'm exercising too (inc stretch time) just out of curiosity.
  
The week ahead is going to be crazy.  Tomorrow is my second day off from the gym and I'll start fresh on Sunday.  We are driving to Southern California on Wednesday, returning on Sunday, and I cannot tell you how much I do NOT want to drive 8+ hours with very active toddlers.  But I want to see my grandfather and go to my cousin's baby shower so we'll be hitting the road.  We checked out flying but, given the Thanksgiving holiday, prices were ca-razy!  Drive we must.  Thank goodness for Miguel - the idea of him being there makes it feel doable.

I'm going to use this blog post to figure out my workout plan...

Sun - gym
Mon - gym
Tue - gym
Wed - day off (driving day)
Thur - possible Turkey Trot or run on my own for 32 minutes
Fri or Sat - gym (last time I was in Southern California I paid a day pass fee at a local gym)

We drive home Sunday which means I won't hit the gym that day but that's the first day of the following week so I have 6 more days to get things done.

We have a lot of things on the calendar in the weeks after Thanksgiving.  I'm shooting to not add anything additional.  And I might need to take a day off somewhere in there just to catch my breath.  Good thing I exercise. I believe I'd be a nut case right about now if it weren't for the stress management and increased energy I get from that.  But it's not an endless amount of energy so I'm off to bed.

Party Pushups

Wow, I haven't blogged since Tuesday.  In my defense it's been a busy week.  I had the rest of the week off and the kids kept me busy!  But that didn't stop me from getting to the gym five times this week.

On Tuesday I did 25 minutes on the bike followed by chest and triceps.  I've really been working on my pushups. Three weeks ago I lowered the smith machine bar again, working toward doing "real" pushups.  When I first lowered it I couldn't do three sets of 8 reps.  The most I could do was 5 reps.  So I did three sets of 5 reps and then later, after doing the rest of my workout, I came back and did three sets of 3 reps.  The next time I did three sets of 6, came back and did three sets of 2.  Next time was three sets of 7, came back and did three sets of 1.  Finally last Tuesday I was able to do three sets of 8.  The human body is amazing!  More on pushups in a bit.

So on Wednesday I planned to get up for 5:30am bootcamp.  But a work event the night before kept me out late and I just couldn't drag my butt out of bed.  Good thing I haven't signed up yet or I would have been mad about the lost $.  Fortunately my mom was able to come over and watch the kids during their nap so I could still get my exercise done.  I had a nice run outdoors and officially completed c25k with my final Week 9 run!! I did back/biceps and core work.  I have decided to add two minutes to my run every two weeks.  Maybe when I get up to 40, 45 minutes I'll take another look at things.  I really don't have the time to be running much longer than that unless I start getting up in the morning to run before work and then do strength training later in the day.  I'm motivated but I don't know if I'm that motivated.  In any case it's going to take me three months to build up to 45 minutes so I have time to figure that out. 

Thursday was a day off and Friday was another bike session with legs/shoulders and core work.  Saturday was my 5th gym day.  We spent the day at the zoo with the kids so I got to the gym around 5:30pm.  It was chilly and getting dark out so I decided to do a treadmill run.  I increased my time by two minutes so it was a 32 minute intervals run.  I have been doing the last 30 seconds at 6mph just for fun and to let my body experience running faster.  This time I decided to start at the 31 minute mark with a plan to run at 6mph for 30 seconds and then go back to 5mph for the last 30 seconds.  But instead I just kept running at 6mph.  It felt weird, and good. I mean, it was ridiculously hard and I couldn't have done much more than a minute but the feeling of my legs flying under me was strange and exciting.  It's like they were part of a machine and I was just along for the ride.  I couldn't imagine running that fast all the time.

So Ian, the trainer I've met with a couple times, was working that night and I decided to pick his brain about pushups.  He's the one that pushed me to do more challenging pushups (i.e. dropping the bar again and again).  I asked him to show me how to do a pushup.  That might sound stupid but I wanted to know the "right" way to do them, arm positioning, etc.  He gave me a quick lesson and I learned I was able to do three "real" pushups.  I also learned you don't have to touch your nose to the ground when you do them.  So I came up with a new plan.  For each set of pushups I did three floor ("real") ones followed by five on the smith machine, for a total of 8 reps.  On the third set I could only do 2 floor ones, but I was still able to get up and do 5 on the smith machine bar.  Wow!  I am doing pushups.  That's something I think I never would have thought I could do.  I'll work on adding more as I get stronger.  I would be SO happy to be able to do three sets of 8 pushups.  That would be so cool!  Also, Ian said I had really good form - I'm guessing all those planks are to thank for that.

Speaking of planks, I decided to mix it up and try this new (to me) exercise I saw in Women's Health magazine.  It's not exactly a plank but close enough.  I'm going to do these on chest/triceps days when planks are on the agenda.  I didn't use dumbbells - instead I used Harbinger pushup bars, which were WAY more stable than I'm guessing dumbbells are, not to mention less heavy.  These are VERY challenging for me, I did two sets of 8 and was wobbly as heck but I know it'll get easier.  I'll be doing these maybe once a week, which is a nice change in the routine and might help my pushup endeavor.

Now, on to Saturday night!  We put the kids to bed (and crossed our fingers they'd stay asleep for the sitter) and headed out to a friend's birthday party (Happy 40th Wendy!!). I was having a great time!  I'd had a few drinks (read: I have no idea how many) and was in a very good mood.  People were dancing, myself included, and we were closing the place down.

The party thinned out and we were having fun trying to remember 80's dance moves.  All of a sudden, out of the blue - I was doing pushups!  What?!  Ok, I have no idea what happened in my brain but somehow I think my pushup achievement earlier in the day, coupled with the alcohol and dance cardio, I just felt like doing them.  Lest you think I was doing pushups on a grimy dance floor, the party was at Wendy's house so it's not that bad.  But I have been laughing each time I think about it.  Well, I wasn't exactly laughing when I woke up this morning feeling like a truck ran over my chest.  Who does pushups at a party?  The good thing was Wendy and Victor are both into the fitness stuff so they were cracking up and eventually they made Miguel do some so as not to be shown up by his wife.  Of course he had to do his with a clap in between.  Men! 

I was dragging today, thank goodness I drank A LOT of water before I went to bed because I think that saved me.  That and the Whopper (hold the mayo) that I had for lunch today.  I took the kids to watch the first half of Miguel's soccer game and wondered if I'd be able to go to the gym later on only 6 hours sleep and a mild hangover.  But when Miguel got home I dutifully put on my workout gear and hit the gym.  Thankfully I didn't have to run - I doubt I could have.  I sat my rump on the bike and did my 25 minutes.  I then did back/biceps and core work.  My abs were kind of sore and it seemed like I could feel each ab muscle working, which was cool.  I gave myself a break and skipped the stair climber that I usually wrap up with. 

I came home to Miguel and his soccer buddies hanging out.  It is actually Miguel's birthday today so I picked up a cake and, unfortunately, had two pieces of that before the night was over.  The frustrating thing was that the cake was just ordinary cake and the second piece made me sick to my stomach.  Didn't I just write a post on willpower?!  So food wise - all the alcohol and party food, the whopper and cake today - well, it's not stellar.  But I'm ok with that.  I'm doing what feels comfortable in the food department but pushing myself in the exercise department.  I trust it will all fall into place.

I'd like to close with a zoo picture.  Marek was really into the animals and we got a lot of "Wow"s out of Myra too.  It was a blast!  Here we are eating lunch with the elephants.