OK so ... blog FAIL for a couple weeks.
Sorry. Long story short, a lot going on and I didn't feel like keeping up for a couple weeks.
But I've been working hard! I wasn't able to go to Weight Watchers for a couple weeks because of various activities, but I went today and lost 1.5 lbs. YAYY. I think I am going to start assigning random objects or concepts to the amount of weight I lost instead of saying pounds. Like, I lost 1.5 cultural zeitgeists. I am down 1.5 soupcons of dignity. I am minus 1.5 tubes of undiluted bilotuber pus. Yeah.
The results for the workout challenge were that I worked out 6 of 7. I really did try to work out the 7th day. I went to see Harry Potter in the daytime, then had some dinner, then headed home. I didn't count on Retro on Roscoe, however. I drove around for an hour looking for parking before heading back to Mike's house to hang out and wait out this awful festival. I SHOULD have brought my workout bag when I left for his house the first time (to meet to take the bus to Navy Pier) but I didn't!
However, we DID walk for a couple miles so at least I did something, I also like to think I burned rage calories in the car.
Like:
Screaming "WHY?! WHO ARE THESE PEOPLE?" - 35 calories
Crying: - 45 calories
Beating steering wheel with fists - 60 x 2
Beating steering with fists while screaming and crying: 130
Shaking with uncontrollable rage: 45
So I did some burning there, I suppose.
What is my challenge this week?! Well since I FAILED to blog for two weeks I am going to have to do two! I think they will be: 1. Working out every day IN THE MORNING! and 2. No eating after 8:30 p.m. *unless something crazy happens and I can't eat dinner until then ... skipping meals = bad for your body. I think we all learned this from that episode of The Donna Reed show when Mary would eat a shitload at dinner because she'd been skipping lunch in a failed 1950s dieting attempt. Donna and Alex Stone told her this was not a sound plan, and Jeff Stone was mildly concerned.
The challenge begins on Sunday!! I will try and update at least 3-4 times a week from now on, I am sorry and hope you're still with me.
OH! At the meeting we discussed cravings and how to avoid them. I found out I am doing pretty well with this already but they gave some good advice. Like, try and find a substitute but if it doesn't work, just feed the craving. How reasonable.
Saturday, August 15, 2009
Thursday, July 30, 2009
Working out Challenge! Five-Sevenths Complete!
Well hello my friends!
Sorry I have not checked in yet but it's been crazy busy.
I am super pleased to report that the workout challenge has been going swimmingly! No swimming has occurred but plenty of other cardio has. Sunday and Monday I worked out for a half hour each day due to time constraints! Lame I know but I got my goal in there.
Tuesday I did 45 minutes, Wednesday an hour and today another 45.
The failure comes in that this all occurred on my lunch hour or after work. I need to step it up and start going in the morning. This makes it impossible for things to come up later that cut my workout short. No one needs me at 7 in the morning so I might as well be at the gym, right?
A problem for the last couple days has been that I am STARVING. I think this is because I've been slacking on cooking for myself. Those homemade meals were really satisfying and filling. I've also cut way back on the peanut butter, switching from peanut butter on toast (peanut butter is a Weight Watchers "filling food") to cereal for breakfast. I gained that point 2 pounds last week (emphasis on the point! 0.2) and I thought maybe the reason I didn't lose was that even though it's technically OK to eat peanut butter, maybe starting out with such a high fat food was not a good idea. We shall see how this worked. I've been missing it and fell off the wagon twice this week and had it for dinner.
I am pleased that I managed to do something active each day and this just proves that I have no business being a lazy bum!
I will give a full report Saturday!
Sorry I have not checked in yet but it's been crazy busy.
I am super pleased to report that the workout challenge has been going swimmingly! No swimming has occurred but plenty of other cardio has. Sunday and Monday I worked out for a half hour each day due to time constraints! Lame I know but I got my goal in there.
Tuesday I did 45 minutes, Wednesday an hour and today another 45.
The failure comes in that this all occurred on my lunch hour or after work. I need to step it up and start going in the morning. This makes it impossible for things to come up later that cut my workout short. No one needs me at 7 in the morning so I might as well be at the gym, right?
A problem for the last couple days has been that I am STARVING. I think this is because I've been slacking on cooking for myself. Those homemade meals were really satisfying and filling. I've also cut way back on the peanut butter, switching from peanut butter on toast (peanut butter is a Weight Watchers "filling food") to cereal for breakfast. I gained that point 2 pounds last week (emphasis on the point! 0.2) and I thought maybe the reason I didn't lose was that even though it's technically OK to eat peanut butter, maybe starting out with such a high fat food was not a good idea. We shall see how this worked. I've been missing it and fell off the wagon twice this week and had it for dinner.
I am pleased that I managed to do something active each day and this just proves that I have no business being a lazy bum!
I will give a full report Saturday!
Sunday, July 26, 2009
Working Out Challenge - Day 1
So this week's challenge is to work out every day (barring injury or illness). The goal is to work out each day and do some activity for AT LEAST 30 minutes.
Today, I didn't feel like I had enough time to actually go to the gym with my busy schedule of television, eating lunch, putting my laundry away and reading the Internet.
So, I decided to work out at home! I have a mini-elliptical, exercise ball, some weights and a Wii Fit. Some of the positives of working out at home include: Being able to pull your pants up super high, and no one cares; Watching TV; Not having to leave.
For the first order of business, I worked out by watching 90210. Watching Steve Sanders and Brandon's (soon to be unveiled as a racist!) love interest Brooke win the beach club's volleyball tournament was exhausting!
Then I got real and did a quick half-hour on the elliptical while watching the State. I prefer TV to music when working out - my iPod is loaded with TV shows to watch at the gym, and I am currently on Season 2 of How I Met Your Mother. I feel good about accomplishing the goal I set. I do want to do more, and I very possibly will when I get home tonight.
Yay fitness!
Today, I didn't feel like I had enough time to actually go to the gym with my busy schedule of television, eating lunch, putting my laundry away and reading the Internet.
So, I decided to work out at home! I have a mini-elliptical, exercise ball, some weights and a Wii Fit. Some of the positives of working out at home include: Being able to pull your pants up super high, and no one cares; Watching TV; Not having to leave.
For the first order of business, I worked out by watching 90210. Watching Steve Sanders and Brandon's (soon to be unveiled as a racist!) love interest Brooke win the beach club's volleyball tournament was exhausting!
Then I got real and did a quick half-hour on the elliptical while watching the State. I prefer TV to music when working out - my iPod is loaded with TV shows to watch at the gym, and I am currently on Season 2 of How I Met Your Mother. I feel good about accomplishing the goal I set. I do want to do more, and I very possibly will when I get home tonight.
Yay fitness!
Veggie Wrap-up and Meeting Recap
So veggie week draws to a close! I can't say I am sorry - I will definitely not miss the breakfast salad. I did get a tasty sounding recipe from my friend Ellen and I will try to make it this weekend!
I went to the meeting yesterday with some reasonable expectations. I had eaten more than usual beforehand - the meeting is at noon, and I normally have a banana or some other piece of fruit ... At any rate, I woke up realllly early and so had a banana and some toast with peanut butter on it later, because I was starving. I still felt really full, so I was thinking I would maybe lost half a pound to a pound on account of the breakfast in my stomach.
However, a week of salads at every meal netted a .2 weight GAIN. Now, I sort of refuse to acknowledge that piddly amount. That is a 0.2 so it really means staying the same because I think I could exhale and lose .2 pounds. But nonetheless, I went into the meeting feeling surly and sat, arms crossed, as Lisa extolled the virtues of this veggie challenge. Someone lost 3 lbs. Someone else 2. Someone got out of their plateau! I wasn't about to kill their buzz by sharing "I gagged down salad thrice a day and I gained a fingernail's worth of weight." Can't you just hear the sad trumpet sound effect in your head? That would have been mean. However, Lisa later brought up that part of dieting is not only LOSING weight, but also maintaining a weight loss. And I thought about some of the positives of the veggie challenge:
Felt healthier
Less likely to snack because tummy full of vegetables
Renewed appreciation for the deliciousness of fruit (I fell upon a nectarine like a savage one day after work. LIKE A SAVAGE.)
Increased desire to branch out, veggie-wise, as a I grew so weary of salad.
Plus, I could have gained MORE weight, or had an allergic reaction to a tomato. So I got over my surliness.
Then Lisa brought up the challenge for this week "Play." She urged everyone to go outside and do things that were fun, like skipping, jumping rope, etc.
I sat there, thinking "Oh Lisa, are you INSIDE MY HEAD?" Because she had basically outlined my plans for the afternoon. I met a bunch of friends at the lake to play games and enjoy the sunshine. We had three-legged races, egg races (which I won!) and just in general had a lot of fun. We also walked a bit.
One of the things I need to be better about is simply moving more and enjoying it. I am lucky enough to be in good health and able to move around easily - no old sports injuries or illnesses - and I live in a great city with tons to do outdoors. I need to take advantage of that!
I would also recommend making sure that the people you invite to play are super awesome and fun!
On a previous nice Saturday, I may have gone for a brief walk. On this Saturday, I spent several hours playing, lazing and walking in glorious sunshine!
It was delightful, and has put me in the perfect frame of mind for this week's challenge - working out every day!
I went to the meeting yesterday with some reasonable expectations. I had eaten more than usual beforehand - the meeting is at noon, and I normally have a banana or some other piece of fruit ... At any rate, I woke up realllly early and so had a banana and some toast with peanut butter on it later, because I was starving. I still felt really full, so I was thinking I would maybe lost half a pound to a pound on account of the breakfast in my stomach.
However, a week of salads at every meal netted a .2 weight GAIN. Now, I sort of refuse to acknowledge that piddly amount. That is a 0.2 so it really means staying the same because I think I could exhale and lose .2 pounds. But nonetheless, I went into the meeting feeling surly and sat, arms crossed, as Lisa extolled the virtues of this veggie challenge. Someone lost 3 lbs. Someone else 2. Someone got out of their plateau! I wasn't about to kill their buzz by sharing "I gagged down salad thrice a day and I gained a fingernail's worth of weight." Can't you just hear the sad trumpet sound effect in your head? That would have been mean. However, Lisa later brought up that part of dieting is not only LOSING weight, but also maintaining a weight loss. And I thought about some of the positives of the veggie challenge:
Felt healthier
Less likely to snack because tummy full of vegetables
Renewed appreciation for the deliciousness of fruit (I fell upon a nectarine like a savage one day after work. LIKE A SAVAGE.)
Increased desire to branch out, veggie-wise, as a I grew so weary of salad.
Plus, I could have gained MORE weight, or had an allergic reaction to a tomato. So I got over my surliness.
Then Lisa brought up the challenge for this week "Play." She urged everyone to go outside and do things that were fun, like skipping, jumping rope, etc.
I sat there, thinking "Oh Lisa, are you INSIDE MY HEAD?" Because she had basically outlined my plans for the afternoon. I met a bunch of friends at the lake to play games and enjoy the sunshine. We had three-legged races, egg races (which I won!) and just in general had a lot of fun. We also walked a bit.
One of the things I need to be better about is simply moving more and enjoying it. I am lucky enough to be in good health and able to move around easily - no old sports injuries or illnesses - and I live in a great city with tons to do outdoors. I need to take advantage of that!
I would also recommend making sure that the people you invite to play are super awesome and fun!
On a previous nice Saturday, I may have gone for a brief walk. On this Saturday, I spent several hours playing, lazing and walking in glorious sunshine!
It was delightful, and has put me in the perfect frame of mind for this week's challenge - working out every day!
Thursday, July 23, 2009
Week One-ish ...
This is sort of a mish-mash of the different challenges I started doing unofficially. This week I am trying to do the July Veggie Challenge – eating veggies at every meal. It … is hard. This morning my gag reflex kicked in pretty strongly when I put a piece of lettuce in my mouth. I didn’t know if I’d be able to chew. When you’re on a budget, don’t like that many vegetables, and purchased salad fixings … you’re kind of stuck. With a salad at every meal. And … after a while it sorta blows. But we will see if it results in a nice weight loss this week. If it doesn’t, I am going to murder a tomato with a homemade shiv crafted from a celery stick.
Last week my (unofficial) challenge was cooking more! I cooked more and as it turns out, bringing my own chicken and potatoes to work was highly satisfying and inspired envy in my co-workers. Suck it, Lean Pockets (the most commonly stolen item in office kitchens!). Now, I don’t know if chicken and potatoes is absolutely the HEALTHIEST food I could eat ever, but at least they are both foods that occur in nature. My body definitely feels better when I eat foods that are naturally occurring. Baby steps. This resulted in a 1.6 pound weight loss for the week.
I also attempted to make some pancakes, and set off the smoke detector. Of the alleged 8 pancakes the recipe was to create, I had two edible ones. Unfortunately neither contained any of the blueberries that were part of the recipe. But they were not half-bad, meaning they were half-good.
I’m continuing this cooking challenge this week.
Tonight I will attempt to make the sweet potato recipe I found for delicious, parmesean covered sweet potato fries. (These recipes were both from the Biggest Loser Cookbook). I will probably end up eating them at lunch tomorrow instead of dinner due to the cracker debacle of earlier.
I am slowly going to attempt to perfect a few things until I get to the point where I have a lot of tasty recipes I can recreate perfectly in my arsenal. And then, like magic, I will be a healthy eater and chef! Voila!
Next week’s challenge: Working out every day. I will aim for AT LEAST a half-hour of gym activity every day. I hope to go above that but I think a half hour is better than nothing and a reasonable amount of time to devote.
Last week my (unofficial) challenge was cooking more! I cooked more and as it turns out, bringing my own chicken and potatoes to work was highly satisfying and inspired envy in my co-workers. Suck it, Lean Pockets (the most commonly stolen item in office kitchens!). Now, I don’t know if chicken and potatoes is absolutely the HEALTHIEST food I could eat ever, but at least they are both foods that occur in nature. My body definitely feels better when I eat foods that are naturally occurring. Baby steps. This resulted in a 1.6 pound weight loss for the week.
I also attempted to make some pancakes, and set off the smoke detector. Of the alleged 8 pancakes the recipe was to create, I had two edible ones. Unfortunately neither contained any of the blueberries that were part of the recipe. But they were not half-bad, meaning they were half-good.
I’m continuing this cooking challenge this week.
Tonight I will attempt to make the sweet potato recipe I found for delicious, parmesean covered sweet potato fries. (These recipes were both from the Biggest Loser Cookbook). I will probably end up eating them at lunch tomorrow instead of dinner due to the cracker debacle of earlier.
I am slowly going to attempt to perfect a few things until I get to the point where I have a lot of tasty recipes I can recreate perfectly in my arsenal. And then, like magic, I will be a healthy eater and chef! Voila!
Next week’s challenge: Working out every day. I will aim for AT LEAST a half-hour of gym activity every day. I hope to go above that but I think a half hour is better than nothing and a reasonable amount of time to devote.
Wednesday, July 22, 2009
FIt is the New Fat!
For me it is, anyway. I want to get FIT. This blog might be a copycat of a lot of other books, blogs and whathaveyou, but I don’t care. It’s my accountability blog and I do what I want. And what I want is to be fit. I’ve thought a long time (oh, 18 years, ever since my mom put me on Weight Watchers at age 10 – thanks for the healthy self-image mom) about what I’d really like my ideal body to be like. And I know that I definitely don’t want it to be like a waif-thin model. I don’t think I’d look good like that. Plenty of people do, and I am not going to put down anyone whose natural body type is skinny (unless they are the type of person who likes to brag about how they eat whatever they want but never gain an ounce. I hate those people. Seriously, we don’t need to see a picture of your plate of cheeseburger and fries and a bragging comment of how you ate that and a milk shake. The only people who brag that much about what they ate are anorexics or bitches.)
Anyhow … in my internal inspiration board, my ideal body type is more athletic. I want to have muscles – not huge muscles, but I want to look strong and healthy. Like more on the personal trainer side than on the super skinny side. And I don’t want to do anything crazy to lose weight. Remember when DJ Tanner was trying to lose weight, and she put up pictures of skinny models on her refrigerator door and made ice pops that she ate which were just ice cubes with a stick through it and then that skinny bitch Kimmy Gibler threw a pool party and came over and took DJ’s cookies out of the trash bragging all the while because she sucked and then the Tanners joined a gym and DJ keeled over on the stepper because as Steph pointed out, she hadn’t eaten anything in THREE DAYS? Yeah, I don’t want to flirt with anorexia in any such manner.
I DO want to keep it interesting (more interesting than fainting in Bob Saget’s arms!) so I am going to be giving myself small challenges. I am not going to do anything unhealthy – no additives, no crazy regimes, no crazy diets – but I will incorporate new ideas and workout plans. So, for example, a bad suggestion would be “try ginseng” while a good one would be “try jogging every day.”
“Suggestions?” you ask? Yes! I will try and think of some but I also want to empower you, my reader(s) to come up with ideas! Tell me what to do each week, whether it’s a certain type of exercise, or a food I should incorporate or an eating plan! I will be like your little puppet. Your little hand puppet who is slowly losing weight and gaining muscle to become a super terrifying merrionette who will then CUT the strings and fly unfettered off the puppet stage much like in Return to Witch Mountain (only in that instance you could see the strings, so it will be like that only without strings and magical alien children.)
Whew. So if you have an idea, leave it in the comments or e-mail me directly. I will follow up with a daily log of my activities and a weekly weight loss amount. I am not going to tell you or anyone how much I weight as that is between me and my Wii Fit. I will document the number of pounds gained or lost though. I also plan on continuing my Weight Watchers meeting attendance and will happily recap those as well. Sometimes they’re funny.
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