I'm gross.

I am totally gross. I don't know what came over me yesterday. Since last week, I've been on best behavior - eating well and exercising regularly. But yesterday was a day of minor stresses and I ended eating really yucky bad for me things that I would never had eaten when I'm being sane. Or had Kashi TLC or Larabars on hand (I certainly have them at work today).

The trouble is that we have several weekly meetings. And at each of them are Dunkin Donuts bagels and donuts and coffee. I normally try to stick to the coffee since the bagels and donuts are yucky and make me hungrier if i eat them. But I usually end up eating about a 1/3 of one in a moment of weakness. No biggie.

Well yesterday, I ended up picking at the leftovers (there were a lot this time) throughout the bay and ended up eating a whopping 2.5 donuts and a third of a bagel with cream cheese. I am so gross! Although I'm know to have my moments, this was particularly bad. Especially because one of the donuts looked just like that pink one that they use to promote the Simpsons Movie. Yucky, right? I'm so gross. I also had my normal meals: grapenuts, coffee, banana, pear, white bean kale soup, string cheese, and a small bit of shepard's pie. Oh, and Lindt truffle thingy (white chocolate - I don't even like white chocolate!)

Anyway. I'm doing a bit better today, though I did just scarf down a Larabar (not low cal, but better than eating MORE bagels and donuts).

In better news, my school has a yearly fitness team challenge. Basically, you get into teams of 6 and everyone tries to exercise a minimum of a certain number of minutes per week. It goes on for something like 10 weeks and ramps up the minutes. This week is 150, so I should be able to make it easily. I'm glad I signed up, especially in light on the donut madness. Certainly, minor stresses are about to add up for me in the coming months.

Weigh-ing in the New Year

(I know I know, lame title, but I couldn't help it.) I weighed 140 this morning. I'm very pleased with that, considering my luxurious (read: buttery, inactive) holiday season. I'm also glad that my body seems to have some kind of stopping point around 140. I still hope to lose an additional 10 lbs or so in the next 6 months, but I don't need to, so if I just maintain from here, that's ok too.

The important thing now is keeping my eating habits and making exercise regular. I have diabetes running on both sides of the family so I need to ramp up my exercise for my health, not my looks. So far (erm, ok, just 2 days), marking my new calendar is working for me.

BTW, does anyone have a link (or book recommendation) for good Thera-band workouts?

I thought I was a morning person...

I always thought I was a morning exerciser - get on the treadmill first thing and forget about it for the rest of the day. But I was a bit slow to get out of bed this morning and skipped my 30 min session. Tonight, I was on for an easy 60 min while I happily watched TV (prime time is way better than the Today show - who knew?) - it makes me wonder if I should change up my routine. I think if I switch to evenings I'll be a little unreliable but will have a better workout when I get around to it. Hrmm...decisions, decisions...

On the other front, I've been losing a bit of motivation lately (thanks Mr. Scale - I hate you too) but luckily my produce delivery is keeping me on track and I've been hitting the winter veggies pretty hard. I love cauliflower as "mashed potatoes" - the boy once claimed that he didn't like it, but last night polished off the pot...liar.

Walking at Midnight...

i've relapsed a bit and am back to my night owl ways...

i generally prefer to exercise in the mornings, but lately, i just can't get up and running early enough to get it done first thing. my brother and i have often talked about how we need to invent some type of catapault device that will launch us out of bed in the morning...i really wish i was more of a morning person and got up at 5 or 6 am. but alas, it seems that after brief flirtations with being a morning person, i always return to my night owl ways.

anyway. instead of just giving up on walking if i don't get it done in the morning, i've started walking in the middle of the night. (cue that billy joel song...) oh, i should mention i walk on a treadmill. not out in the streets or anything.

i'm not sure if it's the greatest idea, as i'm sure it goes against some type of health guideline somewhere...but i feel better when i exercise regardless of the hour of the day.

how about you? when do you like to exercise?

Sustainability

I've been thinking a lot about sustainability lately. I think that my re-found eating habits are sustainable - we eat pretty well at this house, and most of it is "whole". I don't feel limited or "on a diet" when faced with good foods, even on weekends. I think this'll be great for me come maintenance time, but I'm really worried about my exercise. Living in Boston, I get a fair amount of walking in, but I have not fallen into a good exercise pattern. It's not a habit. And I think it's because I haven't found exercise that I like. I've been asking to boy to go on walks with me (we go all yuppified, with hot drinks in hand) but walking your neighborhood still isn't quite enough. Treadmill speed walking while watching the only tv I get will still be good for me, but I'm just haven't gotten into it, if you know what I mean. Pilates is a chore, so I barely get around to it. Hrm. Any ideas?

FJ: I dipped into my flex "account" today because I forgot my lunch at home (GASP!) and ended up eating pb+honey, plus some dumpling that a friend was sharing. Then I came home and was madly craving toasty bread with yummy creamy cheese all over it to go with the soup. I've never made this soup before but it's good. Highly recommended. Anyway: ate 26, exercised 2, leaving me 8 flex for tomorrow (not bad considering my weekend!).

the eagle has landed!

well, i have a new roommate! check out the "secret weapon" that i mentioned on friday...

i'm so so so excited about this! i've been hemming and hawing over whether to buy a treadmill for about the last three years...so, when i saw a great deal on amazon.com over labor day, i just couldn't say no.

it arrived on friday and it took me all day saturday to convince my brother to help me carry it upstairs (it's severely heavy)...then i worked on assembling it today. i feel very handy!

i hope this will solve some of the exercise roadblocks that i keep running into...if i don't go walking in the mornings, it just doesn't happen...i oversleep, then it gets too late, i get too busy, then it's dark outside and i don't want to go by myself (i have a million excuses!). this will let me squeeze in some walking at all of the odd times that i have time to exercise...like at night! or i can just roll out of bed and get in a quick 20 minutes instead of driving somewhere (like the park). plus i can justify watching tv!! and, i'm sure this will come in very handy this winter when it is snowing and i can't/won't walk outside. i probably will keep walking outside while the weather is good, but i like having this as an "emergency workout" option.

i walked for an hour today after i finished putting it together and it was great! (while i watched the food network show about the pie making championships...haha!)

umm...counting this weekend has been, hmm...nonexistent. i kind of felt like i needed a break from points because i think i am driving myself crazy...but that's another post. back to counting tomorrow!

i heart pilates

"in 10 sessions you will feel a difference, in 20 sessions you will see a difference and in 30 sessions you will have a whole new body." ---joseph pilates

i'm posting about pilates today because i am a huge believer in finding a form of exercise that works for you. i am also a huge believer in the importance of strength training.

i spent a lot of time in high school lifting weights. i worked with a trainer 2-3x a week and lifted with some of my super athletic friends. it was fun, and i got really strong. however, i believe i can say that i'm one of the 1% of the females who do actually bulk up from lifting weights. (you can ask bri, i was kind of bulky and ripped...but not in a good way.) anyway, even though i did like lifting, i never liked the way i looked.

i know, i know. "females don't have enough testosterone to bulk up." well, that's what my trainer kept telling me...(and she was a girl) i was apparently doing everything right, my body just didn't like it. (i'm posting about it because i figure, maybe there are others out there like me?)

i "discovered" pilates equipment classes about 4 years ago and totally fell in love with them. i really wasn't even sure what pilates was when i first went, i had just heard that it was good for posture, balance and lengthening muscles. pilates equipment uses tension springs and your body weight to strengthen and lengthen muscles. for me, it is a perfect fit. i get the strength training that i need without any of the unsightly gigantic quads and/or biceps that seem to sprout up if i go anywhere near weight lifting equipment. (but again, that is just me...)

pilates also improves balance and coordination. it emphasizes that every motion comes from the core and my teacher really emphasizes the mind-body connection (i.e. mindful movement--kinda yogaish). i've noticed a huge improvement in my posture since i started too. in fact, many physical therapists are now offering pilates equipment classes as part of their treatment. (some insurance companies will pay for it now too!) best of all, i love the way i feel after pilates--i feel worked, strong and long. actually, i remember reading something somewhere awhile back that measured people before and after a pilates equip. class and most people were .5-1 inches taller after! how cool is that?

(oh, and by the way, the oft-used gimmicky quote above is actually true! i always hated the way i looked in jeans before i started pilates...i remember after i had been going for about 4 months ( twice a week), i started getting tons of "did you lose weight?" comments and i started actually liking to go jeans shopping...)

now...one of the major drawbacks is the cost of most pilates equip. classes. (i'm lucky and i happen to live in an area where equipment classes are fairly cheap.) however, more and more places are offering group classes that are less expensive. at the studio i go to, i had to take a few private lessons before i could go to the group classes--but it was really helpful to really learn how to use the equipment... other ideas:
-newer teachers or newer studios are often a lot less expensive than older more established studios
-a lot of studios offer special promotions around the holidays
-some gyms even have reformer classes
-and, if for some reason you are in physical therapy, try and get your insurance to pay for it!!
-(mat classes and videos are also awesome!)

personally, i think even going once a week is totally worth it.

anyway, if lifting weights isn't working for you, pilates is definitely worth a try!


Food journal: first even remotely virtuous day in awhile! exercised 3, ate 24. yay! (i credit my pilates class this morning for getting me back on track :)

image credits: studiodarien.com, rolife.com, fyvie.net

new love for painting

So, I totally pigged out today (are you asking yourself how this is different from all my other days? shush). Breakfast for lunch, ice cream, pb&j instead of salad thingy...the list goes on. But, I painted my kitchen. And it took FOREVER because I have to do all kinds of taping, etc. Plus there are all these nooks and crannies to fill in. It turns out that interior painting burns LOTS of calories! My 2.5 hours of painting burned 500 cals according to caloriesperhour.com. I think I'll just count half of it though, sounds too good to be true. So, I ate 29 and burned 6, leaving me 21 flex for the week.

Triathalon!!!

HURAHHHH!!!! I've had a SUPER VIRTUOUS DAY aka SVD (not to be confused with singular value decomposition, you nerds). I did a triathalon. Of sorts.

1. Run (um, does "run" describe jogging on treadmill so slow that I could be walking? It's the thought that counts, right?)
2. Bike (each way was pretty short, just 15 minutes, but it takes some effort to avoid the speed walkers and strollers on the trail)
3. Kayak (I know it's supposed to be swim, but oh well - and, kayaking really works the core and the arms!)

I think I'm eating out for the next three nights (ack!!!) so it was nice to fit in a SVD this week. I ate 22 points and worked off 6.

(the pic is from a few weeks ago)

HUH?

So I finally got my body on the treadmill for a full 30 minutes this morning - horaay! Then I biked to the subway. AP=4 (plus I'll get another for the ride home). But now I'm totally confused because I'm NOT HUNGRY. I've only eaten 8 points today (and its already my afternoon snack time, and I'm still not hungry). I remember that this happened to me when I first started running a few years ago. Am I alone on this one? Anyway, now I love my treadmill. Even though I was dripping sweat all over the place and my cats were looking at me like I was bonkers. I tried to take a picture of my sweat for you all, but luckily enough, the picture didn't really do it justice...