I did end up taking yesterday off from any "official" working out, although I ended up walking a lot. Living in NYC you get plenty of walking in, and yesterday I had to transfer between two trains that involve a rather hefty set of stairs. So I got a decent amount of moment in, and I kept my calories right at 1500 (I even managed to budget in a cupcake!)
Today I started with a little Wii Fit Yoga for half an hour, and I'm planing on opening up the brand new Yoga DVD I just got in the mail to try out once my stomach settles down again (I had a rather bad reaction to the multivitamin this morning, I think I need to find a different brand to take.) Later me and the S.O. are heading to the gym to run, although seeing how sore we both still are from Sunday's boxing class, who knows how well that will go. The surprising thing is how sore my legs are, and how *not* sore my arms are. Guess the pull ups are paying off!
How was your start to the week?
-Meg
Tuesday, February 10, 2009
Monday, February 9, 2009
A successful weekend
I managed to go to the gym both days this weekend. This is a major victory. On Sunday I even went to the boxing class at the gym.
I went in to the class confident in my new level of fitness, knowing that I would be able to do the exercises and would be fine. Ten minutes into the class I was wondering how I was going to make it through the rest of the class. I kept wondering just how out of shape I really was, was I not working out hard enough during my normal workouts?
I pushed through to the end of the class, wimping out on some of the exercises (Body builders/Squat thrusts are evil - no matter what you call them) and ducking out once for a slow stroll to the water fountain and back. I was drenched by the end of class, and very very tired. Today, I'm sore all over, and hurt in places that havn't hurt in a long time.
Today I'm taking the day off from the gym, I'm just going to do some Yoga to stretch out the muscles.
How was your weekend?
-Meg
I went in to the class confident in my new level of fitness, knowing that I would be able to do the exercises and would be fine. Ten minutes into the class I was wondering how I was going to make it through the rest of the class. I kept wondering just how out of shape I really was, was I not working out hard enough during my normal workouts?
I pushed through to the end of the class, wimping out on some of the exercises (Body builders/Squat thrusts are evil - no matter what you call them) and ducking out once for a slow stroll to the water fountain and back. I was drenched by the end of class, and very very tired. Today, I'm sore all over, and hurt in places that havn't hurt in a long time.
Today I'm taking the day off from the gym, I'm just going to do some Yoga to stretch out the muscles.
How was your weekend?
-Meg
Saturday, February 7, 2009
The gauntlet of going out
Last night we went out with friends to celebrate one of our friends Birthdays. The entire night revolved around food and drink, and was ripe with pitfalls for me. First was Karaoke and Sushi and Drinks. Then was off for Dinner in China town, and then finally back to a friends house for Ice Cream and Dumplings. I tried my best, and ended up doing ok, but not great, avoiding some of the worst food offenders.
It's very difficult in a social situation to turn down food. It's hard, when some of your favorite foods are in front of you, to just say no thank you. It's even harder when it's a constant stream of foods in front of you.
I had sashimi instead of sushi (no rice), and dutifully recorded the half bottle of hot sake I drank in my food log. I had steamed vegetables and water at dinner, resisting the family style banquet of sesame chicken, steak, pork chops, fried rice, and more. I then succumbed to a half bowl of egg custard (doh). At my friends place, I resisted the fried dumplings, but had one cups worth of cookie dough ice cream. It would have been less, but the hostess refilled my bowl after I had declined a refill and I felt so bad about turning it down that I ate it. Silly I know.
In the end I went over 1200 calories over my caloric budget for the day. Made worse by the fact that I hadn't made it to the gym yesterday. I felt so awful about it that I'm considering reinstating my "free day" policy, wherein I designate one day a week where calories are not counted. One day where I can eat whatever I want.
How do you survive Food laden events?
-Meg
It's very difficult in a social situation to turn down food. It's hard, when some of your favorite foods are in front of you, to just say no thank you. It's even harder when it's a constant stream of foods in front of you.
I had sashimi instead of sushi (no rice), and dutifully recorded the half bottle of hot sake I drank in my food log. I had steamed vegetables and water at dinner, resisting the family style banquet of sesame chicken, steak, pork chops, fried rice, and more. I then succumbed to a half bowl of egg custard (doh). At my friends place, I resisted the fried dumplings, but had one cups worth of cookie dough ice cream. It would have been less, but the hostess refilled my bowl after I had declined a refill and I felt so bad about turning it down that I ate it. Silly I know.
In the end I went over 1200 calories over my caloric budget for the day. Made worse by the fact that I hadn't made it to the gym yesterday. I felt so awful about it that I'm considering reinstating my "free day" policy, wherein I designate one day a week where calories are not counted. One day where I can eat whatever I want.
How do you survive Food laden events?
-Meg
Friday, February 6, 2009
Staying Grateful
Today I was going to write a whiny post all about how I only managed to run for 20 minutes yesterday, and how much I hate restricting my caloric intake. Then, while reading my blog subscriptions, I ran across a wonderful post by MizFit on gratitude. It was a beautiful post, wonderfully written, and it got me thinking about gratitude myself.
As I said in the comments on MizFitOnline.com, every workout I do is a blessing. The ability to walk, to run, to shimmy and shake, to do a pull up (even if I need assistance), all of it is a blessing.
My mother has Multiple Sclerosis, she was diagnosed when I was very young, and as I grew up I watched it steal her ability to move. My Mother was an avid hiker when she was younger, and her favorite story to tell is about when she hiked up Mt. Washington, not knowing there was a road up the back. When the finally reached the top, they were greeted by two typical tourists, one of them turned to the other and said "Oh My God Look! It's a GIRL!" the other one then looked at my mother and asked "Could you go back down a bit so we can get your picture coming up?" To which my mother replied, "Down?! You want me to go Down?! I've been going Up for the past week and you want me to go Down?!"
My mother was also a Belly Dancer, as a hobby if not a profession. After my first belly dancing class I called my mother, coincidentally that day also happened to be her birthday. As grateful as I am to be able to move, I am also grateful that I still have my Mother. She is an extraordinary woman who remains positive and grateful despite all that's been taken from her. I am also grateful for my Father, who is an electrical wizard. He's turned my parents house into a command center for my Mother, who can control the door, the telephone and the lights from her computer, and who can control her computer using voice commands.
I have amazing parents. I am eternally grateful.
What are you grateful for?
-Meg
As I said in the comments on MizFitOnline.com, every workout I do is a blessing. The ability to walk, to run, to shimmy and shake, to do a pull up (even if I need assistance), all of it is a blessing.
My mother has Multiple Sclerosis, she was diagnosed when I was very young, and as I grew up I watched it steal her ability to move. My Mother was an avid hiker when she was younger, and her favorite story to tell is about when she hiked up Mt. Washington, not knowing there was a road up the back. When the finally reached the top, they were greeted by two typical tourists, one of them turned to the other and said "Oh My God Look! It's a GIRL!" the other one then looked at my mother and asked "Could you go back down a bit so we can get your picture coming up?" To which my mother replied, "Down?! You want me to go Down?! I've been going Up for the past week and you want me to go Down?!"
My mother was also a Belly Dancer, as a hobby if not a profession. After my first belly dancing class I called my mother, coincidentally that day also happened to be her birthday. As grateful as I am to be able to move, I am also grateful that I still have my Mother. She is an extraordinary woman who remains positive and grateful despite all that's been taken from her. I am also grateful for my Father, who is an electrical wizard. He's turned my parents house into a command center for my Mother, who can control the door, the telephone and the lights from her computer, and who can control her computer using voice commands.
I have amazing parents. I am eternally grateful.
What are you grateful for?
-Meg
Thursday, February 5, 2009
Hip Drop
Last night I went to my very first Belly Dancing class. It was, to say the least, an experience. First, I need to preface this by noting that I was attending a Belly Dancing class offered at my Gym, so it's not the kind of class you'd get at a Belly Dancing studio, although I have to say the instructor (who does own a studio) was most definitely a dancing instructor.
One major thing about Belly Dancing, you can't be shy. All of the moves are devised specifically to show off your body in the most sensual way possible. So yeah, it was a tad embarrassing to be learning them in a room full of strangers. It will, hopefully, do wonders for my social anxiety though. I mean, seriously, once you've learned to belly dance, gyrating awkwardly (for me at least) with two dozen perfect strangers, how bad can dinner be? Maybe this will help get me back across the deck into a pool.
I'm also hoping it'll do something to help me move more gracefully. One of the biggest issues I had during the class was that my body is trained to be a martial artist. I move in strait lines, usually with a strike at the end. I am not graceful, I am powerful, but I'd like to be graceful.
There was a lot more leg strength involved than I would have thought, as most of the time you're up on the balls of your feet on at least one foot, and you're almost always in a bit of a squat, keeping your knees bent slightly. I did not feel the workout in my abs as much as I was expecting, but that may be more to my level of inexperience than any failing of the exercise. I'm betting that as I learn to do that hip shimmy thing right my abs will all of a sudden have something to complain about. So far, I can shake, but I can't shimmy.
Thank you to Melissa for the links to her daughters blogs (both of whom are apparently belly dancers!) I will replug them here, as I'm sure they will have more intersting and informative things to say on belly dancing than "Hur, it was hard!" like me ^_^ (I would also like to point out that having skimmed the most recent few posts on all three blogs, I am very happy to have three more blogs to add to my reading list)
http://funwithhypergols.blogspot.com/ - Lots of inspiring insights, including a very intriguing writing exercise.
and
http://kentuckybabe.tumblr.com/ - this ones more a poetry blog, beautiful stuff!
What scary, brand new, challenging, or exotic things have you tried lately?
-Meg
One major thing about Belly Dancing, you can't be shy. All of the moves are devised specifically to show off your body in the most sensual way possible. So yeah, it was a tad embarrassing to be learning them in a room full of strangers. It will, hopefully, do wonders for my social anxiety though. I mean, seriously, once you've learned to belly dance, gyrating awkwardly (for me at least) with two dozen perfect strangers, how bad can dinner be? Maybe this will help get me back across the deck into a pool.
I'm also hoping it'll do something to help me move more gracefully. One of the biggest issues I had during the class was that my body is trained to be a martial artist. I move in strait lines, usually with a strike at the end. I am not graceful, I am powerful, but I'd like to be graceful.
There was a lot more leg strength involved than I would have thought, as most of the time you're up on the balls of your feet on at least one foot, and you're almost always in a bit of a squat, keeping your knees bent slightly. I did not feel the workout in my abs as much as I was expecting, but that may be more to my level of inexperience than any failing of the exercise. I'm betting that as I learn to do that hip shimmy thing right my abs will all of a sudden have something to complain about. So far, I can shake, but I can't shimmy.
Thank you to Melissa for the links to her daughters blogs (both of whom are apparently belly dancers!) I will replug them here, as I'm sure they will have more intersting and informative things to say on belly dancing than "Hur, it was hard!" like me ^_^ (I would also like to point out that having skimmed the most recent few posts on all three blogs, I am very happy to have three more blogs to add to my reading list)
http://funwithhypergols.blogspot.com/ - Lots of inspiring insights, including a very intriguing writing exercise.
and
http://kentuckybabe.tumblr.com/ - this ones more a poetry blog, beautiful stuff!
What scary, brand new, challenging, or exotic things have you tried lately?
-Meg
Wednesday, February 4, 2009
In need of a little inspiration
Ok let's get this out of the way, I am a Gemini, the proverbial social butterfly with the attention span of a Goldfish with A.D.D. To say that my devotion to this fitness thing is miraculous would not be an understatement. The only other thing I pursued for a similar length of time and with similar passion has been my Illustration and Graphic Design Career. I would venture so far as to say that that does not count because it's a constantly evolving process of newness and fun, whereas this fitness thing is a day in day out slog through the same trenches.
Yeah, I'm having a negativity problem right about now. I need some inspiration.
So tonight, despite my horrific fear of attending new classes at the gym alone, and my certanty that I will make a giant fool of myself, I am forcing myself to attend a Belly Dancing class tonight. No more excuses, no more thinking "oh I really should do that someday"...No tonight I go. Yes, it's at an awkward time for me (8:00 pm) and Yes, I have to go all by myself, but dammit, I want to try Belly Dancing, and I need to overhaul my routine!
Part of my problem lately has been that my attention has been absorbed by a myriad of other pursuits. Chief among them overhauling my online portfolio and brushing up my skills to help me in the Job Hunt. And while all of this is very healthy and productive, it unfortunately results in me sitting in front of a computer for long periods of time, and using lunch and dinner dates as an excuse to get out of the house. Let me tell you, some of the coffee shops here in NYC make the most tastiest cupcakes on earth, my softening middle can attest to that.
One of the other changes I'm trying to psych myself up to is adding swimming back into my routine. It's hard, because the gym with the pool is so far away, which leads to a lot of excuses on my part, but I think maybe a once a week trip would be good.
Any motivational words or inspirations for me?
-Meg
Yeah, I'm having a negativity problem right about now. I need some inspiration.
So tonight, despite my horrific fear of attending new classes at the gym alone, and my certanty that I will make a giant fool of myself, I am forcing myself to attend a Belly Dancing class tonight. No more excuses, no more thinking "oh I really should do that someday"...No tonight I go. Yes, it's at an awkward time for me (8:00 pm) and Yes, I have to go all by myself, but dammit, I want to try Belly Dancing, and I need to overhaul my routine!
Part of my problem lately has been that my attention has been absorbed by a myriad of other pursuits. Chief among them overhauling my online portfolio and brushing up my skills to help me in the Job Hunt. And while all of this is very healthy and productive, it unfortunately results in me sitting in front of a computer for long periods of time, and using lunch and dinner dates as an excuse to get out of the house. Let me tell you, some of the coffee shops here in NYC make the most tastiest cupcakes on earth, my softening middle can attest to that.
One of the other changes I'm trying to psych myself up to is adding swimming back into my routine. It's hard, because the gym with the pool is so far away, which leads to a lot of excuses on my part, but I think maybe a once a week trip would be good.
Any motivational words or inspirations for me?
-Meg
Monday, February 2, 2009
Feeling the burn again
I finally found an exercise that gives me that familiar sore-the-next-day pain again. I had been slacking on the arm exercises, so on Saturday after my run I decided to pony up to the Gravitron again and see how much strength I'd lost. I could only manage two sets of 5 pull ups with the Gravitron taking 100 lbs of my weight. Uft. What a set back! But I do have that sore feeling in my arms, even today, so I know I'm heading in the right direction again.
I've also upped my running time again, I'm back up to 25 minutes of all out running with a five minute warm up and five minute cool down. I'm also running an 11 1/2 minute mile. I'm totally beat by the end of that run though. I'm going to give it another week and then see about pushing it up to a full half hour at this pace.
I think that after a long time of sitting at this fitness level, I may finally be getting myself back on the path and stepping it up again.
How was your weekend?
-Meg
I've also upped my running time again, I'm back up to 25 minutes of all out running with a five minute warm up and five minute cool down. I'm also running an 11 1/2 minute mile. I'm totally beat by the end of that run though. I'm going to give it another week and then see about pushing it up to a full half hour at this pace.
I think that after a long time of sitting at this fitness level, I may finally be getting myself back on the path and stepping it up again.
How was your weekend?
-Meg
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
Tracking Transformation: Where I stand now
