Heather

After the great frosting debacle of last weekend, I was angry at myself and bound and determined to not gain weight this week.

I launched myself into full on exercise mania. Think DJ Tanner in that episode when she thinks she’s fat and tries to get in shape for Kimmy Gibler’s what a skinny ho pool party and passes out on the treadmill. Except I did, in fact, eat.  But I was careful.

Sunday night, I did Wii Active More Workouts.  Monday, I did Wii Active More Workouts and ran three and a half miles.  Yesterday I did Wii Active More Workouts, I ran three miles and did a 90 minute hot yoga class (which I will post about later – it was horrible/amazing).

I was thinking this would put me at maintaining. And I would have been happy with maintaining, because OMGTHEFROSTING.

I got on the scale with trepidation this morning. After all the rituals (I am SO weird about weighing in. OCD, pretty much), I stood there, perched on the scale…and…

I’m down 2.2 pounds – to 165.6!

Yahhhhoooey! (This is my son’s favorite thing to scream these days)

It feels so good to dodge a bullet, and also see very hard work paying off. Other than some embarrassing eating over the weekend, I did work really, REALLY hard. I’m sure a lot of the weight loss was water – sweat, in the yoga class. It was intense. To say the VERY least.

Water weight or not, I’ll take it, because I feel healthy and vital today.

And that’s really the point, isn’t it?

Here’s the deal. I have a serious problem with frosting. It’s like crack to me. Disgusting, buttery, sugary crack.

I should have known with my son’s birthday coming around there would be frosting. But I had no idea the extent of the frosting.

Friday was my son’s actual second birthday. I picked up a pizza (take and bake, thin crust, so that’s not so bad…right?), salad and cupcakes.

Eight cupcakes. My son had two – let me rephrase that – he had a bite of each, them proceeded to smash them all over the tray of his high chair and then smear the carnage around all over his face and his hair. (I should have taken note that I probably should not eat the frosting after witnessing the fact that it had the same holding properties on hair as superglue).

What became of the other four? Well I had one. Then another. Then I walked away, feeling disgusting. I should have put them in the trash compactor and covered them with bleach right then.

But no. No, instead I made the impossibly intelligent decision that I would eat one for BREAKFAST the next morning. I kept telling myself I was doing a long run that day, so it was okay.

The run never happened. And it didn’t happen on Sunday, either. Let’s just say I got a little carried away in party preparation, and exercising fell to the back of my list. OKAY, I PUSHED IT THERE. BAH.

Back to the cupcakes. Their magnetic pull was impossible to ignore every time I walked by them, sitting looking ridicioulsy pretty with their little orange frosting carrots on top. So, around noon on Saturday, I was about to shove ANOTHER (what is WRONG with me) in my mouth, and I was like, NO. No cupcakes, you don’t win this one. The dogs were in the kitchen, so (omigod, don’t tell our vet who thinks our dogs are fat) I fed them the rest of the cupcakes.

Whew.

You think the frosting saga is over? NO. Oh, no.

I thought it was a good idea to bake my son a cake. The cake part, no problem! I couldn’t sample the cake itself without ruining it, so I was safe.

But the frosting. I made so much buttercream frosting to decorate this bad boy that I used a POUND of butter. And two bags of powdered sugar.

Gross.

The cake turned out great, and I swear I didn’t eat that much of the frosting, but I’m pretty sure I absorbed it through my skin. Frosting osmosis.

The cake, it was adorable. I could hardly bring myself to eat small piece of it due to the previous frosting overload.

But did I eat a piece. Yes.

Ugh.

So, Sunday night, after the party, I worked out. I worked out twice yesterday. And will today, as well.  I’m not sure I can reverse the damage before weighing in tomorrow.

Dammit.

Frosting, why must you be so delicious? I hate you.

Heather D.

Christie O.’s Class

January 22, 2010

Five Reasons I Rock

1. I started running this summer and actually stuck with it – even though I had to do it pushing a stroller. There were many days where I just wanted to throw the towel in – but I didn’t. Which for me – well, that’s huge.
2. When something is wrong, I say so – and I’ve finally begun to just NOT CARE if people don’t like hearing the truth. That said, I can stop myself short of being mean. Can is the operative word in that sentence…
3. I honestly want to help people – be it through this site, or elsewhere. I don’t feel like I am doing my part as a human being if I am not making someone’s life easier/better. Sometimes this can almost be a fault, but I kind of like that about myself. I think empathy is one of the most important traits, and I want to pass it on to my child.
4. For a girl, I’m pretty strong.  For a long time, I wasn’t, but all this working out has helped me build back up.  Sometimes I surprise myself with the things I can move or lift if left to my own devices. I guess that would be a mix of strength, impatience and determination!
5. I am running a half marathon. To me, that’s incredible, unbelievable and, well…AWESOME! I’m still kind of in shock.

Whew. That was interesting!

Why do YOU rock?

CE asked about three things that motivate us while working out…here are mine!

(P.S. I LOVE LISTS and BULLET POINTS!)

1. I have to copy CE here…music. I can’t run on the treadmill without it. No way. My favorites on my Ipod this week?

• Little Secrets by Passion Pit
• Tik Tok by Ke$ha
• Anything by Paramore. I’m slightly obsessed.

2. Sweating. As in clothes drenched, no way you’re rewearing that track jacket sweating. I don’t feel like I’ve had a good workout unless I’m soaking wet.

3.  Cute (and effective) workout clothes/shoes. Now that I’m running more, I’m finding that quality gear is a must! Gone are the days that I can go out and run in my old yoga pants. They fall down – which is totally obnoxious. And, even though I’ve weaned my kiddo (yippee/sob) and my girls have gone back down to a normal size, I still require a structurally sound sports bra. What I’m loving right now?

• My new sports bra from lululemon. It’s called the Ta-Ta Tamer. IT. IS. INCREDIBLE. Totally supportive, yet it lifts and separates the girls. Woot!
• My Nike Dri Fit running gear. I’ve got the pants, the long sleeve t-shirt and the jacket. Love love love them. LOVE. I’m always the right temperature and my pants do not fall down. Bliss.
• My Puma running shoes. Yeah, Puma…I’ve always been a Nike or Adidas girl, but I’m on my second pair of Puma Voltaic tennies – and I adore them. They are super de duper light, don’t hurt my feet (yay), totally cute, and reasonably priced.

That’s three for me! What keeps YOU motivated?

No sweetening this up. Nope. I GAINED 1.5 pounds this week. Not the end of the world, but super frustrating. I feel like I’ve hit a plateau or something. I keep losing and gaining pack the same 2-3 pounds. And there is no way the weight I am at now is where my body ‘wants’ to be. I’m not at a healthy BMI. So staying here is not an option.

I ran this week. For Pete’s sake, I ran SIX miles straight. That is a personal record for me. Including that run, I ran four times this week. So, I supppose I did not hit my five workouts per week. Okay, actually, I did, with the last chance Tworkout last night during the Biggest Loser. But I probably needed more than that.

I did not go crazy with food this week. In fact, I threw a baby shower with all kinds of tempting, fattening food, but by the time I had a chance to sit down and eat, all the food was gone! That said, I did not log my food this week. Maybe I am eating more than I think (which is usually the case).

So, I guess the task now is to reassess what I’m doing. Be more strict about what I eat. Make sure I get all my workouts in – and mix it up. Not just running. Something else. I’m thinking I may try a hot yoga class this week.

I hope everyone else had a more successful week and that I will be able to report back next week with better results!

Okay, I’ll admit I put this off till the last minute.

Good or bad, that’s how I roll. I’ve been this way since, well, forever – I, um, work best under pressure?

Without further ado, and because I’m exhausted from fighting with my new camera, Wordpress and Photobucket, here is my Wall, or Board of Motivation.

It sits right in front of my treadmill, which is where I think I need the most motivation. Some days, it’s all I can do to stay on and push myself.

My new motto. BE YOUR OWN HERO. I admire many people…I think I need to start admiring myself. Not in a boastful way, but in a healthy way.

My biggest fans, my husband and son. And my to-do list for 2010.

A beautiful shot of my friend Colleen, who did her best to kick cancer’s ass, but lost her battle in October. The day she died was the day I realized I needed to push myself further, work harder and challenge myself. Because I’m alive, I’m here and I’m healthy. Because I CAN.

A daily reminder of the mountain I will climb in June. So excited. So terrified.

What I repeat to myself when I’m uncomfortable and want to stop running.

And what I say to myself at the end of a run. Why not? ONE MORE MILE.

I love love LOVED this project. How did you do?

After a substantial loss last week after totally kicking my own butt the first week of the challenge, I went the opposite direction. Oops.

I didn’t go crazy with food. In fact, for going to Vegas, I think I did pretty well. No buffets here! One of the benefits of having a husband who is grossed out by buffet style dining, I guess. Cause I otherwise would be all over the all you can eat action.

We walked TOO MUCH a lot while we were there too. My feet, oh my aching feet! But, still. Walking is good. I just need to be more mindful of my footwear…

But other than that, I didn’t exercise at all until yesterday.  Last Wednesday, I was all fired up from my loss and went running – and it was AWFUL. One of those runs that just never feels good, no matter how much you will it to. No runners high. Ugh.

Yesterday I finally forced myself to hit the treadmill, and made it only 20 minutes before my legs were just killing me. So, today, I’m going to do some major research on leg stretches. There is no way I’m going to injure myself now. NO. NO! The good news is, cardiovascularly (um, is that even a word?) , I feel great.

To the numbers – I was worried I’d gain this week. I was hoping to maintain at best. But I lost! Only .4 pounds, but in the right direction! Woot! Today I weighed in at 166.3.

Even better? I only need to lose one more pound to be a ‘normal’ BMI on the Wii Fit! So hopefully my avatar won’t hang her head in shame every time I step on the balance board. And maybe her muffin top will go away…

Okay, this is going to be pretty short and sweet. I have to leave my house in four hours to catch a plane and need to try to sleep a bit between then and now…

So. Me. What about me? What is my deal with weight loss – what works? What doesn’t?

As long as I can remember, it’s been a yo-yo. When I was younger, I kept my weight in check with crazy sports and workout schedules. Oh, and that thing called teen aged metabolism.

My early twenties brought massive amounts of alcohol and that’s when the weight gain began. I went up and down throughout my twenties, getting pretty thin around my wedding, gaining again, then losing for my high school reunion.

Then, I got pregnant.  My son was born in early 2008.  I thought breastfeeding would help me shed the 60-70 pounds I gained.

Uh, no. LIES!

This brings me to 2009. My rock bottom had to be when I was laid off in February. I looked at myself in the mirror and didn’t recognize the person peering back. I was puffy. Worn down. A shell of my former self. I hadn’t exercised for ages, and my eating? Well, I was GOOD at that. For sure.

I joined up with The Sisterhood in March after lurking for a while. I was 182 pounds.

But it was this picture from even before that, when I’m sure I weighed more, that really punched me in the gut…

This is one of the few photos I allowed to be taken of me when my son was an infant. And it makes me SO SAD that there are so few.

So, back to what works and doesn’t.

WORKS: Weight watchers, done properly.  Running. Shredding. Not eating after 9 pm. Drinking water. FIBER! Being positive!

WHAT DOES NOT WORK: Eating fast food – I don’t care if it’s ‘light’. Just walking (for me anyway). Exercising less than four times per week. Beating myself up if I have a slip up.

This week I’m feeling really good. I can literally visualize my body like a machine. Clean things in, good results. I was too restrictive the other day and had a terrible run – I was even woozy and dizzy. Lesson learned. I MUST treat my body right.

That’s me! I need to hit the hay or I’ll be hating myself tomorrow! Can’t wait to see everyone else’s projects!

I am a human encyclopedia of useless knowledge, so I could very easily bore you with all the fun or not so fun facts I have taking up space in my already cluttered brain.

But I won’t.

I’ll tell you some embarrassing moments.

Cause I figure it’s good to share these things and bring joy to others.

My Thursday Three Embarrassing Moments:

1) The first time I practiced yoga, I was 18.  I was in this class with a bunch of very, shall we say, crunchy people. The instructor was this crazy dude who wore shorts that were too loose/short for yoga.  But this is about me. So, at the end of class we had a ten minute meditation.  Let’s just say I got VERY relaxed and my intestines played a very cruel, loud, smelly joke on me. However, the chill crunchy crowd didn’t seem to even miss a beat. Me, being totally type a and self-conscious? I didn’t recover from the embarrassment for approximately 12 hours.

2) I was a cheerleader in high school – and no, that is not the embarrassing part of this story, thank you – and also had that teenage tendency of shooting off at the mouth when emotional.  We were cheering at this particularly rude school, where we were getting heckled.  At halftime I was bitching to my coach and said very loudly something like ‘Yeah, just because we’re not INBRED.’ A man about ten feet away cleared his throat pointedly and said very loudly back, ‘Well, I’M NOT INBRED.’ I nearly died.

3) If you haven’t had enough, go here and here and here and here. I am a virtual novel of embarrassing moments. I always thought I’d grow out of it, but I’m thinking I’m hopeless.

As I sit and write this, I am saying, WELL DUH to myself over and over again.

Exercise + less calorie intake = weight loss. DUH.

Over the last week, I’ve pushed myself exercise-wise.  If I noticed I wasn’t breathing hard or sweating, I’D WORK HARDER. In my head, a little (no big) voice was asking: you want to see a difference, don’t you? NOW WORK HARDER! I would get off of the treadmill or come in from my run barely able to walk.

Vegetables and fruit comprised most of my diet (don’t worry, I made sure I got enough protien and carbohydrates!). No more little smokies, or cookies. No butter. Little salt.  I didn’t feel deprived, though. Seriously, it felt good to eat so clean.  My poor body needed it after all the garbage I ate over the holidays!

Even though logically I knew I should have a loss this week, I was still apprehensive this morning about weighing in. I haven’t had a significant loss in quite some time, and I’ve been frustrated.

But I got on the scale. And…

I AM DOWN! 2.9 pounds to 166.7. Huge HUGE sigh of relief!

Have I mentioned how much I love this challenge and how fired up I am? Now, to keep up the momentum!

Hope everyone else had a great week!