Archive for Fitness Check Up

Moderate

November 28, 2010 · Filed under Fitness Check Up

I have come to some realizations lately about lifestyle and self importance along with the numerous goblets of wine I consumed with dinner are dictating that I share them with the world (or the ten people who seem the check the blog every time I post).

Obviously, healthy diet is essential.  Also, the multiple baby books I’ve read tout the necessity of things like folic acid, protein, fiber, calcium, and a bunch of other things.  Because you know, when babies are on the horizon I want to make sure they’re not scary deformed creatures.  Also, I don’t want them to blame me for their problems.  That shit is not right, yo.  Respect your mama!

Umm.  Sorry.  Back to what I was saying.  I’ve come to the realization lately that my diet, while it could stand some changes, is fairly healthy.  Could I get more protein?  Oh, heck yes.  I still don’t get enough.  Could I get more folic acid?  Absolutely.  Only recently have I become tolerant of spinach, and then only in its raw form.  Brussels sprouts, another wonder food, are still not my favorite but I can choke them down.

Ultimately, I think I’ve come to the understanding that what I do with my diet needs to work for me.  That means that any changes I make have to be ones I’ll be okay with sustaining for the long term.  It’s just not worth it to make major changes, even if they’re ridiculously healthy, if one week from now I’m going to find myself facing major cravings for boxed macaroni and cheese with kielbasa in it.  Mmmmm, kielbasa…

So, some basic changes I’ve made:

* cutting out refined carbs except for the occasional baked good (but only stuff that’s delicious and homemade)

* adding wheat bran to my morning greek yogurt to increase fiber (this one I’ll start tomorrow but after a small trial run today I’m positive about it)

* adding quinoa, whole wheat pasta, and brown rice to my diet and actually measuring serving sizes

* cutting out soda (mostly- maybe once a month I’ll have some soda)

* limiting bad fats (but hey, things like avocados, almonds, and olive oil shouldn’t be scary in moderation!)

So ultimately, my weight loss has slowed.  But, that’s okay.  I’ve done a superb job of maintaining my weight at an oh-so-close to perfect body weight for several months now.  And, once in awhile, there is a dip.  Slow but steady, right?

Right.

Now, my nightly after dinner walk with my husband calls.  Happy holidays, folks!

Edit to original post: Also, thanks go to GirlyQ for her long talks on this subject.  I love our talks and our friendship.

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Meditations on Success

November 3, 2010 · Filed under Fitness Check Up

Umm.

 

I brought in three pants yesterday to get them tailored.

 

Those pants were a size 14.

 

The pants I wore to the dry cleaner’s were a size 10.

 

And even they were a little big.

 

Slow and steady wins the race.

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Almost there

July 29, 2010 · Filed under Fitness Check Up, friends, Mr. Cookie

I’ve been thinking a lot lately about the culture of weight loss and dieting.  How can I help it, with how immersed in it I’ve been?  The good news is, that after an early weigh in today I’m back on track.  In fact, given a couple more pounds, I will no longer be considered overweight.  That’s a pretty good feeling.  Your support and encouragement have really helped me along.  In an effort to push ourselves through this final stretch, Mr. Cookie and I came up with the idea to track our progress on a big ole whiteboard we’re keeping in our kitchen.  Not just our weight, but our body fat percentage, hydration levels, waist and thigh sizes.  I realize this seems extreme.  But we need extreme.

Both of us came from families where food was a form of comfort, not just sustenance.  Not to knock our parents or anything, because they did too many other things really wonderfully that we absolutely want to emulate.  But, that’s not how we want to raise our kids.  We want them to eat to live, not to eat emotionally.  This is something that Mr. Cookie and I both struggle with.  Having a bad day?  Let’s order some wings and a pint of ice cream!  I’m not saying that food isn’t love.  It is.  But there’s a difference between preparing a wonderful meal for loved ones and digging your way to the bottom of the Ben & Jerry’s in one sitting because your day wasn’t perfect.  We do too much of the latter.  And we’re out to change our habits.  Teach through example, right?

I am so lucky to have people who support me.  I know that in the past, Mr. Cookie and I have unintentionally sabotaged each other time and time again.  Whether it be baking that batch of brownies because someone had a bad day, ordering up two half moons from the Italian bakery down the street, or even just saying “I don’t know why you want to lose more weight.  You look great,” we’ve both done it.  You need support in such a mighty endeavor.

Women especially, I find, are quick to sooth each other by telling them what they want to hear.  Often, this is more detrimental than helpful.  Think about it.  If I was a smoker and was really struggling with quitting, was really having a hard time and was doubting myself, how helpful would it be if my girlfriend said “oh, you know, smoking is not that bad.  My grandpa smoked until the day he died at the ripe old age of 87”?  Because that is, essentially, what many of us are saying to our friends and loved ones who are trying to get in shape.  Guess what!  It is possible to be on a diet and be happy.  It is possible to be thin and healthy and happy as well.  And yeah, sometimes I have a low moment because things aren’t working out how they ought to.  But way more often than not, I’m optimistic and excited.

I want desperately to be a mom.  But I’m not just going to go out tomorrow and throw my legs up in the air.  Mr. Cookie and I know that you can’t plan perfectly.  Heck, it could take us months to get pregnant.  Or, magically, my birth control could stop working and we could get pregnant when we’re not expecting it.  And we’d be okay with either of those scenarios.  BUT we want to be in a healthy place emotionally and physically because we all know how hard it is to postpone  your fitness goals for after a baby comes along.  They take up a lot of time and I’ve known too many women who really struggled to lose weight after giving birth.  I want to be in a good place before my pregnancy so it’s easier to rebound after.  We also want to embody good, strong habits so we pass those on to our kids.  Not to mention, you know, the fact that if Mr. Cookie gets a new job elsewhere next year and I’m stuck here finishing our my contract with my school system, we could be apart for an entire school year.

And the last thing I’m going to say is this.  Diabetes, blood pressure, and cholesterol are all problems in our families.  Yes, we’re young.  Yes, all of those numbers look great for us right now.  But pregnancy does strange things to many women.  Heck, they’re even linking being overweight to PCOS (a syndrome where your ovaries frequently develop cysts that make it hard to conceive- guys, I’ve only got one ovary left!).  I realize that I can prepare all I want and there’s still a chance I could wind up with pre-eclampsia or gestational diabetes.  I get that.  But I like odds.  And I know the odds are lower if I’m in the best shape possible from the start.

Can I get an “amen?”

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Off the Wagon

July 26, 2010 · Filed under family, Fitness Check Up, Marriage

Sometimes, I want a child so badly it aches.  I actually cried the other day because of it (that may have also been induced by a lack of sleep).

For the beginning of my dieting, that feeling and desperation sustained me.  It pushed me to eat healthier and get my exercise in and I was incredibly successful.  It felt like pregnancy was a very near and attainable goal.  Then, when our next year of life became more uncertain and it seemed to grow more and more clear that any family planning would have to take a back seat for a year or so, I started to flounder.

This past week was lousy on a dieting and marriage perspective but great on a personal level.  The show I’ve been working on finally closed, so the late late nights, bad food, and heavy drinking have come to an end.  It has also left me three pounds heavier on the scale (it doesn’t really help that I seem entirely unable to poop).  I am demoralized.

But, I’m not giving up.  I am way way way behind on my weight loss.  I may have to wait an eternity to have kids because of my fat ass (and believe me, it feels like an eternity).  But I’m going to do this healthfully.  No crash dieting.  No obsessive exercising.  Besides, I have all the time in the world.

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Fitness Check In: Week Nine

July 19, 2010 · Filed under Fitness Check Up

Slip-ups:  blarg.  I don’t even know where to start.

Eating Habits: I started out really well and then fell to pieces by the end of the week.  The show coupled with personal stress and drama have combined to convince me that it really is okay to eat that extra tub of ice cream.

Exercise: I told myself my challenge was to lose two pounds.  In my head, that meant eating strictly, running at least ten miles, attending swim lessons, do my weekly workout with Sunny, and ride 30 miles on the bike.  I did all of that, minus 3.5 miles and eating strictly.

Weight: 163.  It is going down again, but it’s not the two pounds I had hoped for and I’m not off to a good start this week either.  I feel bloated and fat and I’ve eaten a bunch of crap the last two days.  I have no motivation to exercise.  It doesn’t help that my right elbow has been acting up since Thursday (hurts to extend it all the way; there’s a crunchy feeling when I do) and my left foot has been very sore since Friday (outside length of foot feels tense and strained).

Challenge: stop being so hard on myself.  Realize the weight will come off even if it is a little slower than I’d hoped and I can’t force myself to be perfect to the point of unhappiness.

Sorry the blog has been suffering, guys.  I am going to try to post about the show soon.

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Fitness Check Up: Week Eight

July 11, 2010 · Filed under Fitness Check Up

I know, I know.  I  missed week 7.  To fill you in, my weight went up 1.5 pounds and I couldn’t deal with posting about it.  So there.

Slip-ups:  It started with the Fourth.  Much bad food and alcohol were consumed.  I also didn’t really exercise much this week.  Everything was a slip-up.

Eating Habits: I got it together partway through the week, but the beginning of the week was filled with bad food.  I’m focusing on the getting it together part, though.

Exercise: We ran the LL Bean 10K on the Fourth.  I love that race!  I had swim class on Wednesday and then two nights ago I went on a run with Mr. Cookie.  Yes, that’s all I did.  Blech.

Weight: 164.  I’m glad it went back down from last week’s 165.5, but am irritated that in the course of three weeks I’ve only managed to drop .5 pounds total.

Challenge: Get myself refocused and rededicated.  Lose two pounds by next Sunday.

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Fitness Check In: Week Six

June 27, 2010 · Filed under Fitness Check Up

Slip-ups:  Washington DC has a lot of dangerous places to eat.  Still, we did pretty well considering.  Yes, I had a Five Guys burger and fries.  Yes, I ate copious amounts of carbs and even some sweets.  What really did me in though, was the cake I made for a friend’s party last Thursday.  One day’s diet consisted literally of Chobani, Oreo Cream filling, chips, cake, and vegetables.  I felt GROSS.

Eating Habits: Not good.

Exercise: Happily, we managed to stay fairly active in DC to counteract the negative affects of bad food.  I met my challenge of two runs but forgot the resistance bands and did little strength.  I also had swim class again this week, along with my weekly workout with Sunny (so sore) and the run from hell from yesterday.  I’m planning a slow, short recovery run today to help my body work out some of the kinks and keep me moving.

Weight: 164.  Straight up.  This means I lost half a pound, which, given my terrible eating habits this week, I think is entirely fair.  Still, I’m back from vacation, back on my game, and ready to see bigger losses.

Challenge: This week my focus will be on not just staying within my calorie goals, but also eating calories that are really worthwhile.  The whole point of this is not just to say I ate a certain number of calories, but to really honestly say that the food I’m putting into my body is worth it.

Guys, I have 19 pounds to go to my estimated goal weight.  That’s crazy go nuts awesome.  It feels doable!

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Fitness Check in: Week Five

June 18, 2010 · Filed under Fitness Check Up

This is coming a little early this week since Mr. Cookie and I will be in DC this weekend (for his swearing in to the Supreme Court Bar!)

Slip-ups:  Overall, I did very well this week.  Yesterday, being the  last day of school, I went to the teacher after school party and drank a TON of booze (think:  one bottle of Prosecco, two Jello shots).  Then, I took several hours to sober up, drank tons of water, had a chicken sausage, went home, met Mr. Cookie downtown, and ran the Lawyers Have Heart 5k.  And my doubting co-workers said I couldn’t do it!

Eating Habits: There were too many days where I felt like I was getting too many of certain things (carbs) and not enough of others (protein).  I’m finding that in eating out, you can almost always find healthier dishes that have carby bases but not as much protein.  Fail.  Overall, I’m happy though.

Exercise: There were a couple great runs and then the 5k yesterday. We also started swim class!!

Weight: 164.5.  Pardon me while I throw myself a little party.  This officially means that I have lost more than 9 pounds since I started.  It also means I have fewer than 20 pounds to go to my estimated goal.

Challenge: All right.  I’m creating a new section in light of our vacation.  My friend just went on vacation and she told everyone she planned on exercising a certain number of times while on vacation so she would feel held accountable.  I’m going to do the same thing.  Mr. Cookie has planned a couple great runs for us and during at least one of those runs (probably the one on the Mall) I want to end it by doing some strength exercises.  That reminds me- I need to pack the resistance bands.

Have a great weekend, all!

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Fitness Check Up: Week Four

June 13, 2010 · Filed under Fitness Check Up

Slip-ups:  This week’s downfall was not so much a ton of slip-ups as it was having two or three days where I just ate TOO MUCH.  Granted, on Monday I had a piece of cake at work but that was, once again, within my calories.  On Wednesday, we had Field Day and as I result I ate cookout food.  My body was probably shocked by the refined carbs.  Again, within my calories for the day, but eating crap.  I did have two heavy calorie days:  Friday we went out for a fancy dinner together and while the portions were small and the food seemed relatively greaseless, we had a few courses plus plenty of alcohol.  Yesterday was also somewhat heavy, because it was a work day for the theater and of course they had their usual snacks that I had trouble resisting.  I think I also ate too much this week because (as evidenced by the blog) I was in a slump.

Eating Habits: Mostly okay but I feel off the no refined carbs wagon and ate too much.  The good news was that I didn’t feel good and am not really tempted to keep doing this.

Exercise: Other than a typically active lifestyle, I got in little exercise.  I had a great workout on Thursday with Sunny and I had fun on Field Day running hurdles and doing other things with the kids.  I got out on a run with Mr. Cookie at the beginning of the week.  Beyond that, I walked a lot.  I’m surprised by how little time was actually spent sitting around.

Weight: 166.8.  No difference from last week.  This is pretty disappointing, but I was also bracing myself for something way worse.  So, while I’m sad that I didn’t go down at all, I’m happy I didn’t undo all of my hard work with one bad week.  Expect to see a much better number next week!!

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Fitness Check Up: Week Three

June 6, 2010 · Filed under Fitness Check Up

Slip-ups:  I’m pleased to say that this week I managed to really behave.  I had a piece of cake on Friday, but it still fit entirely within my calories for the day.  Mr. Cookie even found me a theater that sells Coke Zero (a rare treat for me).

Eating Habits: I ate really healthfully this week.  Good for me, since my exercise was kind of lame a lot of the time.

Exercise: I ran a couple times with GirlyQ and her friend last weekend which made for a great interval workout.  I also ran the two miles to her house in 19 minutes (which translates into a 9:30 pace) Mr. Cookie and I got out on a 22 mile bike ride on the Minute Man.  That was all the weekend.  Then the week hit and things slowed down.  A run here, a workout with my trainer there, another run today… yeah.  Oooh!  Oooh!  I am wicked sore today from doing very belated spring cleaning yesterday.  We’ll call that my workout for the day.  I think it counts- moving furniture to sweep and mop, wiping down baseboards, dusting…

Weight: 166.8.  Down 7 pounds from 4 weeks ago.  I’m glad to see that even with a small amount of exercise, I was still able to go down with awesome eating habits. Kick butt!

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