My gluttonous angel and noodley arms

Happy Tuesday, friends! I must say, in the grand scheme of Mondays, yesterday was pretty rockin'. As I told you yesterday, I did my p90x workout in the morning. It was a bunch of pull up exercises and even more push-up exercises. Yesterday was also my workout with my lovely trainer.

On my way to the gym, like always, I cranked up the music and pumped myself up for the next hour. I was also thinking ahead to dinner. My sister mentioned Taco Bell in an email earlier yesterday and I wanted it. Bad. The power of suggestion is so, well... powerful. Anywho, I was craving The Bell but at the same time, trying to get in the zone for my workout. This is a constant battle for me daily. My stomach and my brain totally battle it out, especially lately as I've been focusing on portion control.

At this very  moment, I pulled to a stop at a traffic light. Glancing over my shoulder, I saw a woman in her car shoving handfuls of french fries into her mouth. She washed it all down with a super sized drink before she'd scoop another handful of fries into her mouth. You guys, she looked RIGHT AT ME while she was eating. It was like she knew I was struggling. Not only did I know that I shouldn't eat like that, just watching it sort of grossed me out. So, with renewed clarity, I turned the corner and continued to the gym.

Going into my workout with my trainer, I was feelin' goood. I had motivation and a week's worth of good food choices and awesome workouts behind me. Nevertheless, I am always a little nervous to go there, because I'm terrified she'll work me too hard and I'll spend the next two days struggling to walk, let alone have productive workouts. Yesterday, she assured me that the workout wouldn't be "too bad."

As always, it was time to hop on the scale and meet my fate weigh in for the week. After last week, I wanted nothing to do with that devil scale, but I worked really hard last week and ate like a champ. So I was actually feeling a few shreds of confidence. Slipping off my shoes I stepped on the scale and...

I lost the 4 pounds that I had gained last week! Hoorah!

This means that I'm back to where I was two weeks ago with weight. BUT. My BMI and fat are both down. Bam. Scales don't know nothin'.

What was the workout? I know you're dying to know. We started off with a few leg exercises on machines,

{side note: did you know that if you position your feet in a plie position on the leg press machine and work out that way, it works your inner thighs? That's a trouble spot for me, so I was excited about that.}

and then we did a few exercises on arm machines. Then we went to The Island (bum bum bummmm).
a little back story... My gym has two floors. The top floor has an indoor track and inside of that is The Island (bum bum bummmm). The Island has a rail around it and a gate that tells members that it is strictly for trainers and their clients. If you missed it in the description, it's in the middle of the track. So basically, you're sweating and being totally repulsive and jiggly for all the world to see.

This is where we did the next few excerises. We began with bench push-ups.

Push-ups, y'all. Push-ups. Sure, I felt great after this morning, but after a few of the arms exercises we did prior to this, I was feeling a little shaky. She had me put my hand on a bench, my feet on the floor, and plank. Do a push-up and put one arm out in front of me. Then another push-up and put the other arm out in front of me. That's one.

I had 3 sets of 10 of those beasts.

Finally, ab exercises. These were sit ups with an 8 pound medicine ball on my chest. I sat up, tossed the ball at her, did another sit up and that was one. I had 3 sets of 10 of those.

The last ab exercise that I had to do between sets of the first ab exercise, was leg lifts. Laying flat, I lifted my legs straight up and down... 10 times. three sets of those.

Kids, I am sore today. All over achey and I'm exhausted. Any motivation is welcome!!

Lastly, {and I'm sorry this entry is so lengthy...what can I say, I guess I like the sound of my own... typing) I went to the fella's first softball game last night; he plays for our church league. I met a girl there whose husband was on the team also. We were chatting about blogs and so many other things and one was gluttony! A friend of mine even posted this article on Facebook recently called "The Socially Acceptable Sin." A good read. You guys, this has been in my head for awhile and this girl said the same things I was thinking about it! It's amazing what you see what you open your eyes, isn't it?

Results at my own pace

After a ridiculous P90X workout.
 

Good morning and happy Monday, friends!

Today marks 47 days until the Big Day and I'm starting week 3 of my p90x/Shakeology and week 33 (eek!) of my trainer workouts. I should be in better shape. My first reaction to seeing results slowly is discouragement and disappointment. I want to sleep in and go home after work and eat pizza because clearly working out isn't doing me any good, right?

Read that sentence again... I'm seeing results. Also, I'm in for quality and not quantity...I don't want to lose weight super fast and be a bag of loose skin. That's not ok. Thirty-three weeks in, I was hoping for more noticeable results. For people who haven't seen me in awhile to gasp with surprise and squeal, "Wow, you look great! What are you doing?!" I want Jennifer Hudson-like results that have me rocking skinny jeans and singing about weight loss just because I can.

Remembering my first workout with my trainer on September 12, 2012, she was concerned I couldn't make it through and I almost didn't. I was breathing hard and sweating like a pig. I nearly threw up several times throughout the 30 minute workout. The way I was breathing, an onlooker would have thought I was training in high altitudes to go up Mt. Everest or something...it was bad. I left the gym that day completely exhausted and sore all over. It was awful.

Fast forward to this morning. April 29, 2013. My P90x workout this morning was chest and back. Y'all, in my 52 minute workout, I did 6 push-up exercises and 6 pull up exercises. I did 102 reps of the push ups and 270 pull up exercises.

I couldn't even do one push-up (on my toes) 6 months ago. I did however, struggle pathetically through push-up on my knees.

I have changed my eating habits to actually consider what  I'm putting into my body. I slip up all the time but it's a conscious thought now and I work it off in the gym later. I am also more conscious of how much I move. Walking, running, etc... ya gotta move to get weight down.
I guess my point today is, although you may not be getting the immediate results you want, you are working towards it. Rome wasn't built in a day and this body you're trying to improve wasn't either. It takes time and work and you can do it! I am not Jennifer Hudson, yet. I have not reached my goal, yet. But going how I'm going, it's just a matter of time!

Sore Muscles & Beer Samples

It's been a rough 24 hours, friends. Here's how it's gone down.

Yesterday morning, I did plyometrics for my p90x workout. It... was a challenge. There was lots of moving and jumping, building agility and squatting. The host even said, "You'll probably be a little sore after this... even your feet will hurt." He wasn't lying! Coming to work I felt fine, but I sit all day at a desk, so when I would get up to move, I felt like my legs might give at any minute and I would just lay on the floor in my office whimpering in pain my muscles were stiff.

After work, I usually head to the gym for the second workout of the day. However, my college alumni group had an event that I couldn't miss because, well, I planned it. So, I went to the brewery tour and beer tasting.

This is where it starts going downhill, y'all.

With a few alumni in December... I'm a few lbs. lighter now!
 

I was having a great time, hanging out and socializing with my Bearcat family. The brewery doesn't serve food, but we were welcome to bring our own, so my fiance and I brought avocado dip made with greek yogurt! (Here's the recipe.. it's amazing.)  Three craft beers in, I realized, a few pita chips, avocado dip and delicious IPA beer were not a suitable dinner. But, we had to stay to make sure the tours happened and everyone had a good time.

Afterwards, we went to my fiance's apartment, where I made popcorn and fell asleep on the couch while the fella and his buddy watched the NFL draft, which by the way is a very confusing and mildly boring process.

Two hours later, my fiance woke me up so I could head home. It was 11:30pm. You guys, between the beer and the stupid crazy workout that morning, I was exhausted. I went home to sleep and woke up around 6:30am.

Obviously, I slept through my alarm, missed my p90x morning and now I'm spiraling out of control. By this afternoon, you'll probably be able to find me hunkered down under my desk, fast asleep, mid-bite in a huge piece of pizza.

Just kidding.

Despite the fact that missed my workout and my muscles still hate me from yesterday, I still had my delish, healthy, protein packed breakfast, made it to work on time and plan to have my shake at 11:30. I'm human and we all make mistakes but I am back on track!!

Weird motivation from the stinky kid

Everybody has their motivation to get to their fitness goal(s) and I'm no different; it just took me awhile to find what made me tick. There are lots of common tools to get a person motivated...some of which I've covered in other entries. But for the sake of being thorough, I will review:

Motivation #1 - How you want to look. We all have that ideal shape which includes but is not limited, to a flat, toned tummy, toned arms, a high, tight butt and legs for days. Don't forget about perma-glow sunkissed skin and perfect, beach wave hair. Everyone wants to look lean and toned naked, just not in yoga pants. And every woman, whether she's a bikini wearer or not, wants to at least have the option to wear one!

Why this motivation doesn't work for me: It may work for some, and that's ok. I also still work towards the goal of a flat, toned tummy, etc. Actually, that's long term. Short term, I just want to get to a point that I don't have to adjust my pants to accomodate my tummy when I sit down. The difference is, I can't compare myself to others. (If my fiance is reading this right now, he's probably saying, "THAT'S WHAT I'VE BEEN TELLING YOU!") Look at the girl in the picture. She's probably at least 5'10". I'm 5'6". Her torso is super long, mine is average.... the differences go on forever and thus, I will never look like her. My own sister, has a very different body time than me. She's thin all over naturally and has had two young children. I'd be lying if I said it didn't frustrate me to have her swimming in my exact same gene pool, but she's a different person. I deal and readjust my motivation.

Motivation #2 - The goal clothes. When I graduated from college, I had this pair of jeans that were a Basically, I was supermodel status. I still have them in my closet and now, I can't even get them up over my thighs, but dammit, I will fit into those suckers again one day.
little long in the leg so I had to wear heels with them. My thighs looked small and my butt looked phenomenal.

Why it doesn't work for me: I justify my size too much. "It's ok that I don't fit into something from when I was 22...my body has changed." "I look just as great in this <insert item of clothing here.>" Having goal pants/swimsuit/dress, etc. is great! It just doesn't work for me.

Motivation #3 - An important event. I am getting married in 51 days. This is the event that I should look stunning for in my life. I also have a high school reunion coming up... we all know the deep-seeded need to impress that comes with that. Others are working on post-baby body, getting ready for a marathon or prepping for a vacation.

Why it doesn't work for me: Those ARE factors for me, but on the treadmill, at an incline of 7 on full sprint... I need an extra push.

Yesterday was cardio day, and like I said in yesterday's post-- I needed extra motivation to do a full hour of sweating. Again, I rocked out in my car on the way to the gym to get pumped up. I found a parking spot easily (unlike the day before) and took my positive attitude straight into the locker room to change. I even remembered my pants today. It was shaping up to be a good day, folks.

My treadmill was even available! My warm-up for every workout is as follows:
On the treadmill, run for 4 minutes at a brisk pace at incline 3.
Sprint for 30 seconds.
Run 3 minutes at a brisk pace at incline 5.
Sprint for 30.
Run 3 minutes at brisk pace at incline 7.
Sprint for 30.
Cool-down for 2 minutes.

As in many gyms, there are TVs on the wall in front of the cardio machines. I usually just watch what's on. Sometimes it's something stupid, but sometimes magic happens. I found my gem of motivation.

The Food Network.

Yeah, I said it. The Food Network motivates me while doing cardio. Specifically, I watched Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives. If you've never watched it, the basic premise is that the host travels around the country to various diners, drive-ins and dives (duh) to sample delicious local fare. He learns how certain dishes are made, prepares them and then eats them.

I believe I just found my dream job.

I also believe I found a heart attack waiting to happen. Watching him eat fried, greasy, cooked-in-butter deliciousness from all over our Great Nation, I wondered about his health. I hear the host from Man vs. Food is actually a vegan off the show and works out like crazy. This is probably a good thing because otherwise he'd biff it by the time he turns 50, elbow deep in the world's biggest calzone or something. I wonder if Guy Fieri, the host of D, D and D is the same way.
Oddly, all this fantasizing about food made me want to work harder. I mean, everybody has to eat. I want to be able to indulge from time to time and after all, I am a midwesterner. I'm a proud Iowan and the Great Iowa State Fair is just around the corner. Never heard about it? It's fantastic and I suggest you educate yourself on it's greatness....and fried food.

At the end of my cardio day, I was a disgusting mess. I even stunk (stank? not sure about the appropriate verbiage to describe this) and you KNOW it's bad if you are disgusted by yourself. I stepped off the elipitcal (the final leg of my cardio day routine) feeling like I had a successful, productive workout.

I'm never going to be a vegetarian and I love me some fried carbs. But it's all about moderation folks, and I need to earn that delicious corn dog.

Pantsless at the gym that smells like fried chicken

After my post yesterday, I WAS READY for the gym. I listened to music on the way there that pumped me up and I was excited to sweat it all out. There was some event happening at the events center next door so parking was a bear, but I found a spot and hurried in, anxious to get started.



Taken from google images... I didn't creep on a jeans guy.

In the locker room, I started to change for my workout. Until I realized, I forgot my pants. Of course that would happen on the day I'm SO ready to sweat my life away. My only other option was to work out in my just-began-fitting-me-today trophy pants and that wasn't going to happen. I didn't want to be like those people that come to gym and work out in street clothes. *Above all the other things I think about those people, I wonder how that is even comfortable?! No way that sweating like a beast in jeans can be fun not to mention it's GOT to irritate the skin.*

I re-dressed and walked BACK out to my car to go home and work out. It was ok, but admittedly lazier than I would have done at the gym. I realized I'm a person that needs to go to the gym after work to feel like I've had a complete day.

I mentioned in the first paragraph that there was some event happening at the events center next door. I didn't examine it too closely, but it appeared to be an Iowa Hawkeye event of some sort. For those of you non-Iowans, college football is a way of life here. Football season doesn't start until August or September, so I guess it's only appropriate to start anticipating the season in April. Geez louise.

Anyway, there were various vendors with tents in the parking lot and by the smell of things, there was a large amount of fried food being made. At first I thought it was the Burger King that's right next to my gym, but it was definitely this event. This led me to ponder, why does every fitness/health place have some awful food establishment near it?

Near one of the Weight Watchers locations here, there is a Baskin Robbins. Near a martial arts place, there's a Godfather's Pizza. Near my gym, a Burger King. It's so not fair.

But, in the spirit of looking at the positive side, I guess while developing your best body, you're also developing some wicked self-control.

This morning was p90x yoga and I need to plan accordingly. It's 92 minutes long! One of my things to do today is to look up all the work outs and the times and plan accordingly for my mornings. I guess some days I'll be getting up a little bit earlier then 5!

Tonight is pure cardio at the gym! It will take me the whole day to get psyched up for this because cardio is pure torture to me. Positive encouragement welcome!

Reasons to motivate yourself to go to the gym

There are probably hundreds of blogs and articles with this same title all over the internet. But I didn't write them so...they aren't as good. Ha!

It's 4:00pm and I'm mentally gearing up for the gym after work. Here's why I don't want to go:

1. It's FREEZING here! I want to go home, put on my sweats, eat soup and catch up on New Girl.

2. I'm lazy and totally would rather do just about anything than go to the gym and send mental hate notes to the fit girl WALKING on the treadmill I want to use, perusing through the latest People magazine. Get off lady, if I'm going to be here, I'm going to do this. I'm giving up perfect good couch time for this.

But, like my post said yesterday, if I'm not making progress, I'm making excuses and I would much rather spend an hour a day making progress towards my goal. Sweatpants after that are much more deserved.

Here are the reasons I need to go to the gym:
1. Wedding. T minus 53 days. Burn calories, burnnnn. Bwahaha!

2. Any jiggle that has ever cursed my body. Don't have jiggle? Walk at a brisk pace on an incline. You have it. It's sneaky stuff sometimes, but the incline will find it.

3. High school reunion. 10 years is a crucial time to impress former classmates. By first glance, people will decide if I will age well or be a midwesternly plump lady forever. At my five year reunion, a girl that I didn't get along with in high school (the feeling was pretty mutual) came up to me and said, right to my face, "Wow, you've really filled out." Um...? I weighed 115 pounds upon graduating and at my 5 year reunion, I probably weighed 145? I guess from 115 pounds, one can only "fill out." And, that girl totally sucks. But, the words still haunt me and I want to be a hottie.

4. Grandma arms, lunch lady arms, "hi Helens" I got 'em, I hate 'em. My grandmother had arm flab that I thought was SO cool when I was a kid. I do not think it's cool now and I will be damned if that gene is passed to me.

5. Focus on positive. I will probably talk more about this at a later time, but I had a great thought at the gym the other day. I don't want to focus on things like my lunch lady arms or perma-jiggle. My church offers a fitness class that is (of course) fitness, but also teaches what God says about being physically fit. 1 Corinthians 6:19-20 says "Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body."

Do it for God, yourself, your spouse, kids, stupid judgemental girls from high school, whatever... find your motivation. If you can't find it, there's always Pinterest.

There's always a silver lining

I'm pretty sure that I had breakdown with those random thoughts yesterday, y'all. I didn't get my shake for lunch so my whole day was out of whack and I was thinking in fragments. I wanted chocolate, pop (or soda, for those of you located in other parts of the country) and really, just to start the day over and more positively. Preferably in stretchy pants.

After work I went to the gym to see my trainer for the first time in a month. The routine is that we weigh in (see yesterday's entry for that delightful exchange), measure BMI and fat percentage and then discuss nutrition for awhile before the work out.

I trudged up to her office feeling like a whale, or a moose or something that trudges, keenly aware of the size of my bottom in the yoga pants I was wearing. Walking in, I sat down and we exchanged pleasantries about her trip (she's from Lebanon and was there visiting family). She even gave me a gift! A little pocket mirror, that is "folkloric" according to her, and Lebanese candy. CANDY. Worst. Trainer. Ever... or maybe the best, but whatever... she gave me CANDY before we discussed nutrition. This is the crap I'm dealing with, people.

The dreaded weigh-in was upon us. I stepped on the scale and...

I had gained 4 pounds from last week.

FOUR.
EFFING.
POUNDS.

I immediately teared up out of sheer frustration. She was clearly unsure what to do with my emotional breakdown, so she tried to console me. Women are only their ideal (read: not retaining an ocean of water) weight 10 days out of the month. What did you eat this weekend, how's your cardio, how much water are you drinking, yada, yada, yada. I have been rocking with all of it and four pounds was not what I wanted to see after that much work. Also I was pissed because I cried. I'm kind of a loose cannon with emotions anyway...I've been known to cry at commercials from time to time (that damn Sarah McLachlan animal cruelty video is ricidulous) but I manage to keep it together at the gym in front of my well-meaning trainer.

The next thing was to measure my BMI and fat percentage. With a quivering lip and tears still threatening to fall, I grabbed on to the stupid unholy gizmo that measures that stuff. Both numbers were the lowest they have been since I began this journey in September. YES!! VICTORY!

Then, she checked the calendar... April 22. The last time she took my measurements was January 21, and she does it every 3 months. Surprise! Yesterday was measurement day. Oh dear.

The number on the scale doesn't determine health!

If the BMI and fat percentage weren't enough silver lining for totally bombing the weigh-in, this tops it.

She measured biceps, hips, waist, chest, and thigh. I HAVE LOST INCHES IN ALL OF THEM! Since I started working out with her in September, I have lost a total of 9 3/4 inches! Take THAT, you stupid scale! My sister posted this picture of me on facebook yesterday. Ok, so this isn't me and isn't what I look like half naked, but it's what I WILL look like! Proof that the number on the scale doesn't matter.

The work out was the exact same work out she did with me just before she left. She wanted to see if I'd been doing my "homework" (work outs she'd left more me to do in her absence). We did the same work out, but unbeknownest to me, she upped the weight on every machine for every exercise. Checking her log, I increased my weight for each exercise with ease! Meaning, I aced my homework! Bam.
This morning I woke up at 5am to do my p90x because my wonderful fiance fixed the dvd player last night. Shoulders and arms today! Then after a shower and my back-on-routine breakfast (3 egg whites, one egg, diced tomatoes, diced mushrooms and chopped spinach), I settled in to my daily battle with my closet on what to wear.

This midwest weather is nuts and I'm sick of pants and sweaters. I want to wear skirts but I digress. I was looking to wear something different today, not just the same ol' stuff I wear every week. Rifling through my clothes, hanger by hanger, I stumbled on a pair of pants I have hung on to for some reason even though they haven't fit since 2009. They have never been my favorite pants, but they are a fun blue/gray color summoning spring and they are different from the black that I always wear.

There's nothing more miraculous for someone who struggles with weight than to risk her self-confidence and the mood of the whole day by putting on a pair of pants that she hasn't worn in a few years. Usually, once they  make it past my hips, I'm home free. They not only cleared the hips, but they zipped! They. Fit. (cue the choir of angels singing 'Hallelujah')

They are still a bit snug and still not my favorite pants but I'm wearing them today because I freakin' can. Hooray!

Just Another Manic Monday

I've officially made it to Monday afternoon and I am a huge failure. I'm tired, I'm hungry and I'm craving every piece of chocolate in the bowl in front of me.

I forgot my shakes at home today and it's only been a week of taking them, but I felt perfectly satisfied and had no cravings after my shake lunches. I messaged my sister in a panic as I do usually (like she doesn't have enough to do) and she assured me I could drink the shake for dinner when I get home and be fine.

Dinner is at least 5 hours away.

Here's what I'm doing to try to stay positive:
1. drinking hot tea... it makes me feel full.
2. drinking cold water...it speeds up metabolism

..and that's about it. I leave in 3 hours and meet my trainer at 5:30. It'll go down like this:

her: ok, take off your shoes and step on the scale
me: (shoes off, steps on scale. Note whoever was on this scale last didn't clear out the number and that person weighed 114 pounds.)
her: (edging the weight higher and higher on the scale... until it finally balances at some place near what I was last week.) She will then state my weight out loud and then write it down and interrogate me about my diet, exercise and amount of water intake.
me: while she's talking, I'll be pondering if I can get away with slapping her.

Wish me luck...words of encouragement are appreciated. I will probably be posting tonight after the torture training.

Random {fitness} thoughts by LP

In high school, my friends and I were always writing notes back and forth to each other. While cleaning up my house and packing to move in with the hubs after the wedding, I've stumbled across a few that I saved. In an attempt to waste time in classes and make my friends laugh, I would take up a whole page of "Random thoughts by LP," which would include silly things I observed of our classmates, the teacher... whatever drama was happening in our lives at the time. Because of this and that it's Monday and my thoughts are in pieces above my head like the chocolate bar scene in willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory, I bring you, Random {fitness} thoughts by LP.

Weekends are always hard for me. I'm at home, kind of lazy and therefore, don't always make the best decisions. Food choices are worse and more frequent, exercise is not as intense and I take a nap or two.

To make matters worse, my dvd player isn't working for some reason, which I need for P90x. I forget about it until 5am when I'm groggily stumbling through setting up my workout area. This morning I realized again that it wasn't working. So, I did 50 reps of ab exercises.

Why 50, you ask? We are 54 days out from the wedding... so I'm doing 50 of everything. When we get into the 40s, I'm going to increase it by ten. By the time we get to the wedding, I'll be a beast.

Anyway, 50 reps of crunches, side crunches, lower ab exercises, pelvic lifts, and planks. I can definitely feel the abs under the flab! I see hip bone definition and from the side, I look a lot less like I've had a few kids. My love handles are even shrinking, although not nearly fast enough. The best improvement I've noticed is that when I sit down, I don't have to readjust my pants to, for lack of better term, "tuck in" my belly flab. That may be a little too real for some of you that have never had that problem but it's real for many and for this, I'm totally high-fiving myself.

Today, I work out with my trainer for the first time in about a month. She's been on vacation out of the country for a month, so I've been reporting my weekly weigh-ins to her via email and expressing my immense discouragement with lack of results. I'm hoping that this week, I'll like what I see on the scale. My trainer assures me that once I get to a certain percent of body fat, it will be much easier, but I'm SO FAR AWAY from that and her perfectly fit, 100 pound frame does not help. I know her workout tonight is going to kill me, so I need to be prepared for that.

With these 2 a day workouts I'm doing, I've got 11 more workouts this week. *whew*... hang on friends, it's going to be a bumpy ride. Mondays aren't too bad, but with the combination of the trainer being back and the amount of working out I'm doing, I'll be exhausted by Thursday. I need motivation and encouragement to get me through the week!! I'll be looking for it, friends.

Shameless lunch plug

Usually on Fridays, I have some time on my hands at work. This usually leads to a lot of boredom Facebooking, shopping on Etsy and Pinteresting and by Friday, that all gets a little old.

SO-- I thought I should update you all on my lunch. I know... cling to the edge of your seats kids because this is going to be the most interesting thing you'll read all day.

On Monday, I began replacing one meal a day with a Shakeology shake. This is not a ploy to sell the product... I don't profit from this in any way. But, as a person that could always stand to lose a few lbs, this was an option that was introduced to me by my sister.

Here are the basics: you replace one meal a day with a Shakeology shake and also work on a Beachbody workout. I chose p90x but there's also Insanity, Hip Hop Abs and many others.

Friends, I was skeptical. I guess I still am, since it's only been five days. I am a person that diets in waves. I struggle to keep weight down and I am contantly aging in what I wear just to cover my unwanted curves. Nothin' lovable about love handles! I have tried the fads and work out videos, spin classes, cardio madness, I am READY to lose weight. I want it. I needed something else.

Today is Friday and I began replacing my lunch with shakes (Chocolate Vegan Shakeology mixed with vanilla almond milk =delish) on Monday. In these short 5 days, I sleep better and have a TON more energy. I'm talking, I wake up at 5am to do p90x, get to work a few minutes early and work with unfaltering energy throughout the day. Then I am excited to go to the gym after work. Seriously guys, who is excited for that? Certainly never me before this. I work out for about 45 minutes to an hours, depending on the work out, get home around 6:45 or 7 and still have a few hours before I hit the hay. Even when I go to bed, I want to read or do something to wind down a bit to sleep.

Then I sleep.
Like.
A.
Rock.

Here's the BEST part of my new lunch routine, I don't have awful cravings, y'all. I know you've been at work, around 3pm and suddenly, YOU NEED CHOCOLATE. I sit at a receptionist's desk all day with a bowl of chocolate right in front of me. I also have a drawer full of chocolate to refill said bowl.

I don't event WANT it. Not out of craving, or boredom or sheer gluttony. Craving  = gone!

Well, I take that back. I really crave cold water. I drink a ton of water and it is AWESOME.

Love it.

Starbucks taught me a lesson today

It's only 8:30am and I kind of feel like I failed with my day already. Here's how this morning went down:

5am: Alarm went off. The rest of the week, I've gotten up right away and texted or skyped my sister, Meghan who is my coach, motivator and the person who has kept me in check this week. Today we skyped as I shuffled to the bathroom to put in my contacts. Unfortunately, my contacts were not havin' it this morning. For those of you that experience this issue, contacts can, for whatever reason, wage a war on your eyes and when you put them in it's an intense amount of stinging and burning.

If you have perfect vision and don't have a need for contacts, you are very lucky... and a huge jerk. I've been dealing with this crap since 8th grade.

Today was also supposed to be my "off" day from P90x, but I originally was going to work out today so I didn't have to tomorrow, when I go to IKEA in Minneapolis with my mom and sister, Emily. But since the contacts weren't havin' it this morning, I gave in to the off day and went back to bed.

I didn't wake up then until 6:45, which is outrageously late for me. My morning routine is usually work out, shower, get breakfast, try on 5-7 outfits until I find pants that fit me that day, and watch a little Boy Meets World* before I leave the house at 7:30. Obviously this morning I didn't have time for that, so I got dressed and headed out the door without breakfast.

*Don't judge my taste in morning TV... I watch news all day so a little nostalgic mindless is great in the morning.

My beautiful friends, Shawna and Kate. Note my grouch face in the back.

Here's what you need to know about me. Even before all this scheduled eating, I am a total grouch if I am hungry. I'm not one of those people that can just survive on a few bottles of water and a stick of gum to make me feel full. The options for a quick bite to eat (notice I didn't say fast food) are as follows:

Dahls-- a grocery store which also turns into kind of a time suck. They also make their own donuts and my self control, especially on Friday, is well below par.

McDonalds-- Which I COULD have done...it's certainly fast, but the grease smell tends linger on my clothes no matter what I do and I can't really handle smelling like a dumpster all day.

Starbucks-- By far the best choice, because they have a delicious Spinach Feta Wrap, which is a smidge high in sodium, but it's made with egg whites so it has good protein, so it's fine in a pinch.

I arrived at the Starbucks near my office at 7:40. From experience I know that it's much faster to sit through the drive-thru than to go inside. So, I waited in a line of 30 cars to get a dang wrap... getting grouchier by the minute.

I'm not a coffee drinker, so it's completely beyond me why it would take 10 minutes to fill up as many coffee cups. The woman in the car in front of me took a full minute to place her order, then pulled up just enough so I couldn't yet place MY order and then sat there forever waiting for them to give her her order. Finally, the drive thru window opened and ONE CUP OF COFFEE EMERGED. Seriously? One cup? You weren't ordering for your entire office?

I finally get up to the window and the girl working wanted to confirm my order of a latte-grande-soy-something. Politely, but with a hint of impatience, I told her I just ordered a wrap. Hint of impatience really means: GIVE IT TO ME NOW OR I'M GOING TO REACH THROUGH THAT WINDOW AND GET IT MYSELF.

Then I waited. For 5 minutes.

I still arrived at work early, but I've certainly learned my lesson... get up early and work out with glasses on if I have to!

I'm still down a 1/2 a pound form Monday... boo ya.

58 day haitus from the original plan

The original purpose of this blog is to focus on my 30 x 30 list... 30 things I want to accomplish before I'm 30. Which reminds me, I'll be 28 in 4 months so... I have to get rockin' on that list. One of my goals is to get in better shape and live a generally healthier lifestyle. In my last entry I expressed my frustration during this goal. I have a trainer, I log my food, I exercise nearly every day...but I've only lost 8 pounds. It's discouraging and frustrating.

A culmination of a few things happened for me to be inspired to write this post.

1. My sister is a coach for Beachbody and talked me into trying Shakeology for 30 days. These are delicious* shakes that I have for lunch. I'm currently only on day 4, but I've already realized I have more energy and feel fuller, longer. Those things get me more motivated to go to the gym, kill it with cardio and actually feel like I did something in the gym.

                      *At first, the shakes tasted like dog food. By day three, I found myself craving them. So either they aren't as bad as I originally thought, or I'm acquiring a taste for dog food.**
                      ** They are actually good. I'm just used to eating crap, I guess.


2. A girl at work asked me yesterday if I had a blog detailing my weight loss nightmare journey. At the time I was chowing down on a grapefruit as a snack before I left to work out. At the gym, I found myself phrasing what a blog talking about this subject would sound like; things I'd talk about, observations in the gym, and of course my results. I could do this in a witty, humorous way while still documenting this adventure. Why not?! I'll just make it an amendment to my existing blog, since I don't have the time to manage two seperate blogs.

3. I've lost a half pound since Monday. It's Thursday. Bam!

I think also in this intro of my sub-blog (subblog? sblog?) I should detail why I want to lose weight and life a healthier lifestyle. And to mix it up, I'll use letters as bullets.

a. My paternal grandmother had breast cancer (not anymore...she's 91 and still kickin'). Most of the female members on my mom's side of the family are overweight and over time they have developed heart disease, diabetes, etc. They also have a history of poor knees.. mostly due to the amount of weight that's constantly on them. Staying a healthy weight and eating right will not only help me and my longevity but it will give people around me (i.e., my future children), a good example of health.

b. I want to wear a bikini again. I realize how superficial this is, but it DOES serve as motivation. It doesn't even have to be skimpy... maybe something with a vintage feel that's high-waisted... like the picture.

c. I get married in 58 days, which is the reason for the length of this obsession about fitness and health. I. want. to. look. stunning. I get this day once and I don't want to waddle down the aisle being self-conscious about my lunch lady arms and back fat. My fiance loved me 8 pounds ago, he loves me now and this isn't about him. It's about me and being the best version of myself. In talking to my sister about this, she agrees that confidence is one of the secrets to a happy marriage and I want to start it out right.


Me, top right, high school track. Super skinny.

d. I am fed up with arguing with the button on my pants on a daily basis, wearing layers to cover my physique that resembles a busted can of biscuits on most days and jiggling everywhere when I do jumping jacks. I was naturally thin growing up. In fact, in high school, my track coach pulled me aside every year for 4 years to ask if I ate. And if I ate, did I throw it up? Um. No. I ate constantly. My brother and sister were both in school there and were also very thin. In college my metabolism remained high, so copious amount of beer, late night pizza and lack of exercise didn't phase me too much. But, I walked ALL the time on campus and let's face it, I was 21 years old. Out of college, I worked at a desk, sat all day, indulged in office potlucks and thought I could still not exercise and be healthy. At this point, it's caught up to me and I want to look great.

So there you have it. I may do several entries in a day, and I may skip a few days, but I will keep you in the loop. If you want to know about Beachbody, Shakeology or my work out schedules, I'm happy to share what I know.

Shedding for the wedding

Hi. My name is Laura and I have been working with a trainer since September 12 to completely overhaul my eating and exercising habits....

This is the beginning of many successful weight loss stories. They usually include pictures of very petite girls holding up large 'before' pants next to their now-svelte frame. They speak of having tons of energy and making this change "for good."

I am not that girl. I love food- namely carbs and cheese. I have hips that won't quit and I also have lunch lady arms.

It's true I've been working out since September 12 and I have completely changed my eating habits. But, I've only lost 8 pounds. EIGHT. POUNDS.

For those of you that have ever tried to lose an amount of weight, you know that it's probably one of the most tedious and frustrating tasks one can accomplish. If done correctly, it takes a lot of time and doesn't come off quickly. It comes with weird cravings for fast food and irrationally bitter feelings towards anyone in a swimsuit. It involves sacrifice, sore muscles, and a constant battle with buttoning your jeans.  It freakin' sucks.

I get married in 68 days. It's quite literally crunch time at this point to hopefully lose 10 pounds. Can I do it? Yes. Will everything in the previous paragraph be amplified? Absolutely. But-- I have tons of resources that I will use in the next 68 days to get closer to my goal of 25 pounds. I think if I write this out, I will be able to hold myself more accountable to my end goal. Getting to a healthier weight and living a better lifestyle is on my 30 X 30 list also, so I'm really working towards that goal!

I have a fabulous support system. My fiance loved me 8 pounds ago, he loves me now and he'll love me no matter what. He is supportive by offering to go on runs with me to get in extra cardio. He makes a point of keeping healthier foods at his apartment so I won't splurge when I'm there.

I also have my mean and awful fabulous trainer, Jessy. She's supportive, understanding of my struggles, and super nice. Unless of course, she's training me boot camp style and I'm sweating like a pregnant warthog in the Sahara desert.

My friends and family are extremely helpful and supportive also. I can rely on them to be truthful but helpful. My sister set up a workout plan that she is sharing with me and has also told me about several healthy eating apps and tools that will help me in my struggle journey. A friend is starting the couch to 5k program and she has invited me to start it with her. This is happening.

I have no excuses and nothing but support, so it's got to happen!