On the Wagon

I kicked my own tush at the gym last night, despite it being 'family night' at the gym.  Apparently family night means hip-hop DJ's blaring tunes with the occasional 'awwww yeah, this is mah jaam!' inserted wherever necessary.  It also means dudes flexing their muscles for chicks, and chicks roaming the gym, dressed with their hair done, makeup, jewelry...  well, you get the picture.

My Sweetheart and I went together, which I always love.  He is so funny.  He was rockin' out 'his' hip-hop moves on the gym floor.  I almost fell off the Elliptical.  He has no fear or feelings of embarrassment.  He will do anything.  I admire that bravery, especially since it usually involves me laughing.  We went long this time: 1 hour 25 minutes straight of Angry Elliptical and Cross-Training.  I am always sweaty at the end, but Sweetheart is drenched like someone poured water over him.  Kinda gross, but I am kinda jealous.  To me, sweat is the battle scar of gym wars.

So, one more day till my first 5k.  Pretty darn excited.  My mother has decided to come, which means I will be doing more walking than running, I suspect, but that is OK.  We are also going to see King Tut's exhibit afterwards, so it should be a good day.  Have a great Friday!!

Fat-Rat Mid Week (Anxiety Getting the Better)

Hi Rats.

I have been a bit off since last Friday.  I am just a ball of anxious energy, and all I want to do is run and hide from the gym.  I have not kept up this week with my no 0 physical activity challenge.  I did 5 minutes of nothing on Monday, and then, instead of going to the gym last night, I stayed home and watched 'Sisterhood of the Travelling Pants'.  How old am I, 12?  Next thing I know, I am going to be signing up for Miley Cyrus concerts.

As well, I just feel bloated for no good reason other than I am stressing and anxious.  I actually feel like a round medicine ball of stress, and no physical activity or stretching or food is making it go away.  I am a girl down without any crutch or mechanism to get herself back up.  I have been struggling like this now for days and it is starting to really get me down.

In terms of food, I was horrid on Monday.  I had a work dinner and they all wanted to go for Rodizio.  Ever do this?  It is Brazilian-style, meat fest.  Basically, it is an all you can eat meat buffet, except they bring the meat straight to your table.  You even have cards on your table that are red and green.  When the green card is up, the servers bring meat fresh from the grill straight to your plate.  They only stop when you submit defeat and flip the card to red.  So of course, I ate enough meat to make any carnivore proud.  I didn't binge, but I did want to try all the different options.  So, after 15 options, I definitely had too much and it has taken me days feel less gross.  I have been eating much less meat and much more veg these days, so this was just a total tail spin for my health.

The scale did move this week.  I lost .9 lbs, but it seems like a bittersweet win.  I do not feel defined by the scale, but I am not optimistic about going through a period of being stuck.  I just want some wins I can count and some consistent evidence that all this 'getting healthier' is paying off.  My mini goal for today is to get moving again and also do some extra PA to make up for my two days of weenie-hood.  For now, I will just pray that you are all having big wins and that my week will turn its head around.

Balance Fitness and Food?

I have questions for all of you.  I am stumped.

Now that I have a trainer, I am exercising more than ever.  I have done almost 2x's the amount of physical activity calories in the last couple of weeks than I did before.  I have not changed my eating plan at all, still the 1200-1600 calories per day.  So, one would think that I would be peeling off 2x's the amount of weight.  Not really happening that way.

What does that mean?  Isn't this thing supposed to be about math?  Am I breaking my own a$$ for no reason?  Maybe I should slow down my sweaty torment, especially if it isn't going to make much of a difference?  Now, don't get me wrong, I want to do my C25K.  I want to reach that goal, but I do want to see a difference in the numbers.  I will weigh in and do some measurements on Monday.  I hope I see some evidence.  This all being said, I should say that my clothes are definitely feeling better and I do feel fitter.  But how do you find the sweet spot?  Where is that balance coming from?

I'm Expecting!

Got you for a second. (No puppies for me right now.)  I am expecting to RUN my 1st 5K!

Hey go big or go home right? Well, I am scared and stoked. It is next Saturday. I will be on the tail end of week 4 of C25K, and it is a run/walk, so I totally am going for it. Prayers, and if you want, sponsorship donations are appreciated!! Just donate under my BIB 20672. You can also look on my sidebar for more details on the Revlon Run/Walk.

Cancer has definitely impacted my family. Both of my mother's parents died of cancer, my Sweetheart's grandfather lost his battle with cancer, my mother and I both have had pre-cancerous moles removed. So, I am invested to the cause, even if after 15 minutes I fall into a lump of mush.

If any of you are already doing this, then ROCK!  Let me know and I would love to see ya/meet ya/move with ya!

For the Running Pro's out there, any advice? 

Fat-Rat Mid Week (Whipped and Purdy)

Hello My Fellow Rats!

This week has been pretty good.  I am keeping in my fitness routine rather nicely.  Still keeping with my Physical Activity Calorie targets, still moving everyday.  I am whipped from today's cardio.  Can't you tell?

Today, I ran my best time to date:  under 15 minute mileage.  I am on week 3 of C25K.  I know this is probably slow for most, but for me, this is saying something.  I never thought my fat a$$ would ever run.  Well, unless something was chasing me.  It is satisfying to know that if someone chased me, perhaps someday soon I will not be caught... and if I am really snarky, they will choke on my dust!!  My nemesis right now is the potty.  I had to pee so badly at the 50 minute mark that I just had to stop.  It is really hard to do the pee-pee dance when you are running.

Lost some poundage this week too:  down 3.1 lbs.  Not too shabby.  I will take it for sure.  This brings me to a little over 40lbs lost.  So cool.  I am really looking forward to loosing the next 10 pounds.  When I do this, it means I will be a weight I have not been in at least 7 years.  7 years with an extra 50 lbs on my bones.  What the hell was I thinkin'?!?  I'll tell ya.  I was thinkin' Krispy Kreme baby.

For those of you who haven't had the pleasure, Krispy Kreme donuts are ridiculously good.  Hot, glazed are my favs.  I could easily inhale them in seconds.  However, I think they are pure trans-fats and are linked to cancer, heart disease and funny sores in monkeys, rats and flies.  :-)

So, now for the Purdy.  Remember the dress from last week I told you guys about?  Well, here is me in it.  I think I am fillin' out just fine.  If this was a year ago, you would never hear me tootin' my own horn.  So, if I sound vain, just think of it as a catch up for lost time!! I have a waist dang it!!

Hope you guys have a strong ending to this week!  I am cheering you on!!

Sleep Monster or Sleeping Beauty

This weekend was kind of a wash.  I pretty much lazed around the house, read a book, and went to the gym.  Saturday, I did a kick-butt C25K session and felt pretty good.  Sunday, I tried the yoga thing.  I liked it because it gave my tight hips a real stretch.  I also enjoyed the total relaxation.  The class was for little over an hour, seemed peaceful and is definitely something I might do again.  It is something that I would classify as active-rest, but definitely not a workout.  There was one drawback though.

I got home at noon and then struggled to keep my eyes open all day.  I was so incredibly relaxed/sleepy.  At 5:30, I told my Sweetheart that I was going to lay down for a nap.  Well, I woke up Monday morning.  I slept almost 14 hours!!!  I have to say that Monday was kind of refreshing.  I wasn't sleepy at all and felt pretty crisp at work.  This could become addicting.  I could be taken over by a Sleep Monster.
However, I can't sleep like that all the time.  Who the heck has time to sleep that much?  If you do, I want your job.

Today is training with Debbie again.  I need to get my She-Ra attitude together to face it.
Have a great week!

To Yoga or Not to Yoga, That is the Question

Happy Saturday Everyone!

I had yet another kick-butt session with Trainer Debbie.  She totally kicked my brain in.  I find that she is a bit of a fib job though.  She tells me at least 10 times that the set I am working on is going to be the last set.  I finish, then she has me doing something else.  I told her that I am starting to see the asterisks after her words, and the 10 pages of disclaimers that are sure to follow.  However, I did do all she wanted me to do.  She pushed me.  I got there.

I also took something called a VO2 Max (Maximum Oxygen Consumption) test.  This is a test that measures that amount of oxygen my body can use while I am at my maximum effort.  Basically, you march on the treadmill till you can't take it and have to stop.  The machine measures your oxygen, heartrate and breath.  I did not love the machine, as it was a big face mask.  I kind of felt like I couldn't breathe normally.  I think maybe I was just feeling a bit closterphobic.  Anyway, I scored in the low-fair category of fitness. I am not surprised.  I have a long way to go.  What I like about the test is it can tell me more accurately how many calories I burn on average when I hit certain heartrates.  That is super cool.  Has anyone ever taken this test?

This morning, I woke up early.  I got caught up on a lot of your blogs and just enjoyed the crispness of the morning.  The temperature has dropped about 10 degrees today and I think it is going to rain a bit. 

Sidenote:  I am in love with frozen berry mixes in my oatmeal this morning.  I just nuke those puppies and they get all warm and super yummy.  I just lay a cup of them in my oatmeal and it is just so good.  Can you tell I am eating breakfast?

So, here is the question:  should I add some yoga into my fitness?  Does yoga count as a good workout, or is it just recovery?  There is a class this morning at a local studio, and I am toying with going.  Is it like a day off? I have done yoga before and it definitely can get your heart moving, but it isn't the same as a huffing and puffing at the gym.  What do you think?  How do you rate yoga in your fitness routine?

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