Feeling *thin*

Isn't it weird how much just feeling thin can motivate you to bang out another workout? I haven't stepped on the scale since last Friday, so I really don't know where I am pound-wise, but I woke up this morning after a cardio + yoga twofer yesterday, and I'm feeling thin and it's the best mood-booster ever. Enough to make me actually want to get out there and run after work (it helps that the weather should be PERF at that time) instead of dreading another cardio sesh.

Anyway, I figured I should document the times I'm feeling pumped in addition to when I'm feeling slumped :)

Happy Friday-eve!

Three Months and Counting

Today marks exactly three months until hubs and I leave for our honeymoon! A short 90 days until the sunny shores of the Mediterranean, topless beaches, biking through Amsterdam, and guilt-free paella. All of this is surely worth a focused mindset for the next three months to actually FINALLY deliver on the annual decree "I'm going to look good this summer."

I'm finally bouncing back from the sinus surgery, during the course of which I managed to lose three pounds (probably of muscle), most of which I think I've readily found again via various trips to YoLo, Sweet Noshings, and Jimmy Johns (comfort food!).

Here are a few commitments that I'm going to try to stick to between now and my wisdom teeth surgery on Feb 20 (so, 23 days from now).

• Four workouts per week: this means 15 workouts in the next 23 days.
• Sticking to clear liquor in limited quantity: this means no beer and as few shots as possible
• Switching to ecigs: this one I don't really have a choice about. It doesn't feel good to smoke regular cigarettes right now due to my new nasal situation (I realize that this is a good thing...) So I'll be relying on ecigs to curb the cravings, which should reflect positively during my workouts.
• Keeping up the habit of cooking 2-3 meals per week at home, eating leftovers, and drinking all the water/taking GC regularly

Hump Day Motivation

Tonight, Amanda and I are going to Good Vibrations at Midtown Yoga.  This will only be my second class in 2015, and Amanda's first class since her sinus surgery.  I'm excited to be getting back into a semi-regular routine with yoga again!

I studied for most of the night last night, so I failed to make it to the gym. I plan on making up for it tonight by doing a quick cardio session right after work.  Yoga isn't until 8:15, so that gives both of us plenty of time to get in a quick workout and eat something.

SO!  Here we go! Mid-week motivation!

Detox Time

I have been completely negligent towards my health over the past two weeks.  I ate anything and everything that crossed my path, and I failed to weigh in for the last two weeks.  I finally went to a hot yoga class yesterday afternoon, my first one in 2015.  It felt amazing, and I'm hoping it's enough to kick-start my motivation to get back on the mat.

I weighed in for the first time this morning, and I was pleasantly surprised to see that the scale hasn't really moved from my last weigh-in.  I'm a little suspicious of its accuracy, but given that it's a Monday morning, I'm not going to worry about it too much.  I had green tea and oatmeal with berries for breakfast.

I'm slowly getting it together again.  Here we go.

Losing Habits

Wouldn't you know it - I've completely fallen off the workout wagon.  I know that a big part of my lapse has been stress-induced, but I still need to get back on track.

I started school again last night, so that throws another kink into my regular routine.  We meet once a week on Tuesdays from 5:00 to 8:00 pm.  Last night I made a simple PBJ sandwich and threw it into my bag along with some carrots.  I was so full from lunch that I didn't really eat much during class.  Portable, healthy dinners is something I'm going to have to keep in mind during this semester when I'm at the grocery store.

At this point in time, I don't have strong motivation to get my eating and working out back under control, but I need to find it somewhere, and fast!

The Grocery T(r)ip

I'm hoping I've found a sweet spot with grocery shopping. Last trip, I found three recipes that I wanted to try and bought what I needed for them, plus our usual breakfast and weekly lunch fixings. Knowing that I had everything I needed for those three meals helped me stay on track with cooking them. They also each had enough for leftovers, so I was able to make three meals last about a week and a half, combined with the occasional dinner out. I feel so much better when we regularly cook at home, so I'm hoping this is a trend that sticks around for me. 

My last three meal choices were Philly Cheese Turkey Sloppy Joes, Turkey Enchilada Casserole, and Chicken and Rice (was supposed to be Chicken Fried Rice but I improvised early Monday). This trip I'm going to get the makings for Three Cheese Penne Pasta, Chicken Spaghetti and Smothered Crock Pot Pork Chops.

Changing It Up

Yesterday, I had terrible knee pain.  I don't know what happened (Amanda thinks it was the after-effects of our roller skating adventure on Saturday night), but I could barely get in and out of my chair at work.  I was dying to work out, though, because I'd consumed an entire Huey burger+fries+cheese and sausage plate+half a bagel in a mere day and a half.

So, instead of hitting the fitness floor, I joined a local middle school swim team and swam a bunch of laps at the downtown YMCA.  It felt amazing, actually.  I haven't done laps in a long time, so I felt a little awkward at first, but it all came back after I loosened up a bit.

Afterward, I rolled around in the hot tub in the locker room and had a fabulous time.  I think I want to add swimming to my regular routine now!

Two Down, Ten To Go!

FINALLY the scale moved! Happy Friday indeed. It's amazing the motivation that comes from dropping two measly pounds.

Of course, this comes at the onset of birthday weekend, which I imagine will see my gaining every bit off that back, but progress is progress either way. Plus, the routine has been established! I'm proud of my accomplishments this week, including three cardio workouts, and early morning yoga class, and home cooked meals every night.

Vodka soda--I'm coming for you.

Ab CHALLENGE, Indeed.

In the spirit of team effort and support, I tried out Amanda's ab circuit at the gym last night.  Holy hurting, Batman.

I glanced at the list and thought to myself, "This can't be that bad.  There's only a few exercises, and for 30 seconds a piece?  Psh."  I was singing an entirely different tune four sets in.  It's amazing how much such a little movement can impact a very large part of your body!  Honestly, I only got halfway through the ab exercises before I gave up.  It was the bicycles that did me in.  I've hated bicycle ab exercises ever since freshman year of soccer.  That feeling hasn't changed with age.

I also want to mention the fact that I made an impressive decision for lunch today; I opted out of lunch from Holiday Ham after quickly scanning their online nutritional info.  So, chicken noodle soup and veggies it is for me today.

Yay.

Midweek Slide(r Inn?)

Okay okay.  I confess, I slid backwards last night.  I didn't go to the gym in anticipation of yoga, and then yoga didn't happen.  And then I had a grilled cheese sandwich with tomato soup for dinner with half of a piece of cinnamon crumb coffee cake for dessert, a few Andes mints, two very full glasses of Prosecco, a vodka Gatorade (I know...), a Bud Light, and one and a half cheeseburgers and FRIES from McDonald's.

Total fail.  But it's fine, because I'm finally not starving (like I've been for the past four days), and I've had my fill of greasy food for awhile.

My plan is to hit the gym pretty hard tonight and tomorrow after work.  I've established a pretty solid routine this week, so I think it won't be too difficult to get back on track.

Gym Etiquette

Since Chris is a personal trainer and has basically lived at the gym for the last two and a half years of his life, I've learned a lot about the silent dos and don'ts of the fitness room.  There's a certain etiquette that is just understood among members, and your inexperience can really shine through if you unwittingly commit a faux pas.

Coming from a background of complete inexperience with a "real" gym (I guess the "weight room" at Immaculate Conception doesn't count in real life?), I tend not to judge people who have no clue.  This exact thing is what prevented me from visiting the gym for so many years, and it still keeps me away from the hardcore weightlifting area where all the gym rats congregate.

HOWEVER.  Last night I had a moment, and I almost whaled on these two OBVIOUSLY NEW ladies who stole my workout bench the minute after I'd gotten up.  I was doing my arm workouts, and I usually do three sets of chest flys, for which I need the bench.  I'd only done one chest fly, and they came over and took the bench from me.  I was pretty into my workout, so my anger at them flooded my body and came out in the form of sideways glares and severe eye-rolling.  Mature, I know, but I'm a wimp and didn't really want to ask them to move.  I should have though.

Chris has always told me that you have to keep an eye on people to see what their rotation is so that you don't accidentally do exactly what just happened.  Instead, these biddies PARKED THEMSELVES on the bench and stayed there well past the end of my arm workout.  Ugh.

The good news is that I got a great workout in, hit my steps for the day, stayed under my calorie goal, won the FitBit challenge, totally reorganized my closet, had a delicious dinner (Thai Lemongrass Green Curry Chicken and Rice) thanks to Mary, and spent time with Jane.  Yay for good Mondays!

Philly Cheese Turkey Sloppy Joe's!

Tried a new recipe last night and it was delish! Hubs said it tasted more like a chicken philly than a regular philly, but either way it was YUM, and only 237 cals per serving! That does NOT include the bun, but I used Wheat Sandwich Thins, which are 100 calories.

Here's the link to the recipe.

Tonight I'm going to make a turkey enchilada casserole from the same website, and tomorrow we will be in leftover heaven :)

Flat Does Not Equal Fit

WELL I've weighed in three times so far (Mon, Fri, Mon), and I've been flat each time. On the one hand, hooray for not gaining any additional weight over the NYE binge and realizing that as long as I am working out consistently I can eat (pretty much) whatever and maintain. Unfortunately maintenance is not quite where I'm at right now, so it's time to get back to portion control and, sadly, saying a temporary adieu to my most favorite sandwich (the Jimmy John's Italian Night Club).

I'm also dreading the upcoming hiatus I'm going to have to take for sinus surgery. Two weeks off of physical activity is PLENTY of time to ruin any recently formed working out habits. Silver lining there is that I might have no appetite at all so maybe it will balance out..

Here's to making the number on the scale move in my favor this week, and to not blowing it all in celebration of the big 2-7.

Go Team!

Back to the Grind

My work pants are still uber tight.  BOO that.   I weighed in this morning and put on three pounds from yesterday morning (thanks to my DELICIOUS Huey's lunch), which is fine because I lost two pounds last week overall (my weekly goal, according to FitBit).

Here's to workday motivation in the form of uncomfortable pants squeezing into my recently expanded waistline.  *protein shake cheers*

New Year, New Routine

I've lost seven pounds since I started tracking myself using my new FitBit!  My parents bought me one for Christmas this year, and I'm obsessed with in love with it!  It keeps track of all the steps I take throughout the day, how many calories I burn, and my sleep cycles.  It also allows you to track your food as you eat throughout the day, so I love having that option all in one app. I  can track my own exercises if I want, but it keeps up with my steps anyway so it's not totally necessary to log that.

This weekend I've been making strides in getting moving and keeping an eye on the amount of calories I consume versus the amount of calories I burn throughout the day.  It helps me stay sane while trying to lose weight because I don't want to die after eating some french fries or a piece of chocolate.

So - now that we're in 2015, I'm determined to get back on track with my regular habits (like working out, taking vitamins daily, meal planning).  Here's to more fiber and more steps!