June Updates

I don't have time for a long post. I have been busy watching past episodes of the The Office (funny funny stuff). Now I am tired and need to get some sleep. But, I had meant to update my workout times at the end of every week (Sunday) and I realized today that I did not do that this week. If I don't post them on here at the end of the week, I won't know where I am next week.

I accomplished all 7 hours of working out last week (3 weights, 4 cardio).
I earned $15 toward my car stereo last week.
I worked out 4 mornings so I got 4 more points in my CWE (Challenge with Erin).

That takes me up to:
$29 for my stereo -- and I found one I might want that's not too expensive.
And 7 morning points (with the goal of 30)

Overall, the month of June wasn't good for me. I gained a pound and a half. I haven't raised any weight in BodyPump and I haven't dropped any pant-sizes. What I have done is survived. The Summer Reading rush, the hatred of my job, the agony of working out even though it is a beautiful evening, learning to take Combat alone, tornadoes. Sometimes surviving is good enough.

Life Lessons from the Bike Trail

Today I went for a great bike ride. I had meant to get up early and do it before lunch with my mom. But I decided to sleep in a bit and read a magazine in bed instead. So at about 2:30 I went out to discover the Lincoln Trails. They are wonderful. I did a lot of great biking; I think I rode at least 8 miles in my hour so I probably burned a lot of calories. I also got to soak up some sunshine, but not so much that I was too hot. After I was about 7 minutes away from home (the hardest part of the ride) I realized that I had forgotten my iPod. That left me with 53 minutes with nothing to do but enjoy the scenery. In that time, I realized that there were a lot of life lessons to learn on the bike trail. I will now impart you with my wisdom:
1. When you usually go left, turn right instead.
2. Sometimes the trail is flat and easy, but most of the time it's all uphill.
3. When you find yourself pedaling and not getting anywhere, it's time to change gears.
4. You're gonna meet a lot of people on the bike trail, and sometimes they are old men with no shirts on.
5. Even if you don't know where the trail leads, the ride is still fun.
6. That same wind that dries your sweat will make it damn hard to go forward.
7. Always have your cell phone handy; you never know when you might get a flat tire, or just be too tired to return home.
8. By the time you're worn out enough to need a drink of water, the water will be hot.
9. When you see the Walgreen's, you're almost home.
10. No matter what... your vagina is gonna hurt tomorrow!

3 Pumps 2 Combats

As I mentioned I spent the evening in Omaha with my friend Jen. Besides the near death experience I had getting there, the hurricane-style winds and torrential downpours, and the lack of power we had all night, we had a fun time. Even the lack of power was kind of fun. We played cards by candle-light! We weren't even sure the gym had power this morning, so we drove to the other location. Wouldn't it be nice to have two gyms that you could go to in the same town. It would be extra nice if they had different schedules and you could pick the class and location that fits your needs. Fortunately for us, the south gym had the same Combat/Pump combo which we were planning on. Combat/Pump is definitely more difficult than Pump/Combat. The most difficult part being that you are dripping with sweat after Combat and that makes it hard to hold on to the bar. And because you are holding onto the bar, it is difficult to wipe the sweat from your forehead before it drips into your eye.

It's been a great week workout wise. I have gotten my three Pumps in for the week. And for the first time (in history) I have attended two Combats in one week. I am hopeful that I will be able to go twice next week too (with the Fourth of July holiday). I am probably burning more calories this week than ever before. That's a good thing with the amount of food I have been eating. Last night Jen re-introduced me to TCBY. I haven't had that for at least 15 years. It's good. And if what I researched online it true, the small up we enjoyed had about 200 calories and 7 grams of fiber! It's a health food! Thanks for showing me a great time Jen!

Rise Up

I made it to Bodypump this morning at 6am. Then I came home and slept for another 4 hours. In some ways it feels like I went to Bodypump last night. It's almost like I get a whole other day of the week this way. There is Thursday in which I work till nine, there's Friday, which is always a great day, and then there is that 2 hour period where I just get up and go lift weights in the middle of the night. I have to admit: it's much easier to get up and go to the gym on Wednesday mornings at 6:45, than it is to get up and go to Bodypump on Fridays at 5:30am. It's the difference between early morning and the middle of the night. Anyway I found two more songs I downloaded for my Pump CD. I absolutely dislike the tricep track: Rise Up. You know the one that encourages you to put your faith in Jesus. As I am doing endless tricep kickbacks sometimes I think about Jesus helping me. Then I realize He has much much better things to worry about than helping my triceps through the six minute track. So I figure I can practice at home if I have the song. Then it will get easier, and I won't have to beg God for help! I also really like the My Chemical Romance song: Famous Last Words (I am not afraid to keep on livin', I am not afraid to walk this world alone...). So add those to the play list. Other than that, I went slightly easy this morning because I will taking BodyPump again tomorrow with Jen. Speaking of going to Omaha, I had better get ready!

6 weeks till HSR

Well, I have expected a bad weigh-in all week. I have explained my lack of will power when it came to eating. Or maybe not a lack of will power, just a lack of wanting to eat healthy. I haven't been writing down what I am eating, and in turn have eaten more since I don't have to write it down. I gained 3.5 pounds since last Thursday. I now have 16 pounds to lose. Unless I have a big loss a couple of weeks in a row I won't be able to be done by my high school reunion. But as I mentioned yesterday. Maybe I shouldn't worry too much about it during the summer and get back to it this fall. Maybe I just needed a week off and now I can get back on track. We'll see.

I intend to take today off from working out. I have a three day weekend starting tomorrow. I really deserve it; I have been working really hard and need to get away from that place. I plan on attending the 6am BodyPump tomorrow morning. I don't mind doing that when I know I can take a nap. Then Friday evening I am going to Omaha to hang out with Jen. On Saturday morning we are going to do the Pump/Combat classes at her gym. I am a little scared, but mostly excited. I am eager to have different teachers and different things to work on. And to take the classes with Jen.

Celebrate Summer

I think it's impossible to lose weight during summer. Some people may disagree with this and say the winter holidays are the most difficult time of the year. But I think, since everyday is a holiday in summer, that this is the hardest time of year to lose weight. Let's look at the facts: more cookouts, more family picnics, more reasons to eat ice cream, more fruity alcoholic drinks, more street fairs, more daylight to eat and drink, nicer weather to drive to restaurants rather than hole up at home. Sure sure, it's probably easier to workout during the nice months, but eating healthy and summer cannot go into the same sentence. Last June I was working on running two miles and I didn't care what I was eating, so I didn't lose any weight. Then in July I stopped working out altogether and didn't worry about what I was eating. Curtis got sick and was in the hospital and I was worried and lost 6 pounds. Then in August those pounds came back, but I still didn't go to the gym regularly. Then when September came and summer ended I got back in gear and made resolutions to lose the rest of this weight and make working out a priority. Here I am again. Part of me wants to not worry about what I eat for the next couple of months. Celebrate Summer! I am working out seven hours each week, and that is good enough. But the part of me that has gained 5 pounds this week is worried where this could lead.

Sleepy, Grumpy, and Sneezy

I hardly got any sleep last night. A thunderstorm woke me up around 4 o'clock and then I couldn't get back to sleep. I was having work-anxiety problems like I had a few weeks ago at the beginning of Summer Reading. Since the most stressful of that is behind me, I am confused as to why I would be worrying about it. But, I did have a lot of programs today, so I guess that contributed to my stress. I feel sorry for anyone who had to work with me today because I was sort of grouchy. There's a new intern at work, who sort of follows me around, and I am supposed to impart all this knowledge on her. But I just feel like I am baby-sitting. Oh, and I wasn't sneezing because I am sick, but it is so cold at work that my nose was running all day.

I made it to BodyPump this evening. I am working on becoming friends with this girl that stands ahead of me most of the time. Several months ago, she asked me to move my mat and I sort of disliked her for being picky. But, really she is nice and we always say hi to each other. She generally compliments me on looking good, or doing some weight lifting thing well. So I am working on becoming actual friends with her. Today I asked her where she works and told her what I did. She claimed to be busy at work, but when I explained all the kids running around the library all summer she shut up right away. Added benefit: she is good friends with Mary, the instructor, who is good friends with Ryan, my favorite instructor. Maybe we'll all be hanging out together soon.

I am meeting Erin at the gym at 7am. So I need to turn in for the night. Hopefully no thunderstorms wake me in the middle of the night!

I jab Want cross To hook Quit

I woke up this morning very sore and stiff. It must have been the three laps I tried to swim in the pool yesterday. Both my upper back and lower back were in a lot of pain. Not sharp shooting pain, just very tight sore muscle pain. Who knew five minutes of swimming could turn me into an invalid. I considered calling in sick, seeing as I could hardly turn my neck or lift my hands above my head. But alas, I pulled myself together (with the help of three extra strength Tylenol) and made it to work. There I had a horrible day -- two other people, who could probably turn their heads just fine, called in sick instead. So I had to work twice, perhaps three times as hard as normal. It was super busy and most of the day I was angry and resentful. I wasn't sure if I should go to combat because of my back. But like I said, it wasn't a shooting pain, just a sore muscle. And the Tylenol was helping quite a bit. So I went. And this was the first time that all my aggression just melted away. I was able to take my hostility out while I kicked the fake person's ass. And I think it helped my back. They say using the muscles usually makes them hurt less. Hopefully nothing is worse tomorrow.

Unfortunately before I was able to melt all the stress away, I had to take a break at work in the same room as a box of free pizza. I helped myself. I don't even love pizza. And it was supreme, which I hate and have to pick a lot of stuff off of. But I ate it anyway. Even while I was doing it, I knew I was eating to beat the anxiety of hating my job. Luckily it filled me up enough that I could eat a small dinner when I got home from Combat.

Relaxing at the Pool

I am so tired. Jennifer and I went swimming at Ryan's parents pool all day. And even though relaxing at the pool seems like it wouldn't wear you out, there is something about being out in the sun and water all day that makes me exhausted. We didn't even get out there until 3:30, so I hardly got any sun. But it sure was fun. We started the day by biking down the 84th street trail. We had planned on going out on the East MoPac trail, but by the time we got out to it, we could only go about 15 minutes before we had to turn around and come back. (I had to meet my mom for lunch.) It was still a great hour workout. And I am hoping if I get enough biking in I can have nice calves like my friend Steph, who bikes everywhere!

I had a great week working out. I made it seven hours: two at Bodypump and 5 of cardio. I earned $14 toward my car stereo, and earned three points in my morning challenge with Erin. However, I did NOT eat very well. Friday night I went out to a Chinese restaurant with some friends. I only ate half of my meal, but enjoyed an egg roll and some crab rangoon. Then Saturday evening my boss had a pizza party, where I had to eat pizza as well as other snacks. Today's lunch with mom was at Olive Garden, where I ate pizza again and several breadsticks. Then this evening Ryan grilled burgers pool-side. So basically, nothing I ate this weekend was healthy. I don't even want to know what this is going to do to my weight!

Get Going

Another 6am BodyPump for me! And I was so excited when I showed up and saw that my normal Tuesday instructor, Mary, was subbing for Ali this morning. She seemed really excited to see me too; a friendly face. It is really hard to exert as much energy during a morning session that I do during an evening one, but I made myself keep all my normal weights. I have been trying to follow Jen's advise, and not pull my legs up when I am on the bench. Her instructor pointed out that you aren't actually sucking in your ab muscles when you have your knees in the air. I do fine keeping my feet down through the chest track, but I usually have to pull them up during triceps. My back tends to spasm if I don't. At least I am getting some ab work. And I would rather do triceps perfect, than have to worry about my abs/back at the same time. I stayed after class for an hour of cardio but I was SO BORED. I hate cardio now. I wanted to do 20 minutes on the Elliptical/Treadmill/Bike. I started on the elliptical, but quit after 15 minutes. Then I did the bike for 15 more and went home. I might be able to take a 30 minute walk later this afternoon.

This is my first day off in a long time. Of course I had last weekend off, but I was at my dad's the whole time so I didn't get anything done. Then before that I had to work like 6 days in a row. So I think my last day off, to use how I please, was two weeks ago today. I have a big list of things I want to get done:
-The Muffler fixed on my car
-Lunch with Jennifer
-Clean my house
-Haircut
-Shower to fix my hair, which nobody can style right
-Dinner with girls from work

I better get going!

7 weeks till HSR

This wasn't a great week. Father's day really set me back. I gained one pound this week, which isn't the end of the world. It's just the wrong direction. Hopefully it will melt off eventually. I am not upset by it because I feel like I am back on the right track. I did have an ice cream cone last night (400 calories) but I made sure to eat light the rest of the day so I would have some extra calories sitting around. My goal for this week was to be down into the 10 pound area. That will have to be my goal for next week I guess. As I stand now, I have 12.5 pounds left to lose.

I didn't make it to the gym this morning. And I think I will hit the grocery store late after work. So today will be my day off. I plan on making it to BodyPump and an hour of cardio on Friday, it's my day off. Saturday I have to work and we have a work party in the evening, so I will probably take that day off from the gym as well. Sunday I will get my 7th hour in the morning. That afternoon I have plans to hang out at the pool. Even more reason to get some cardio done.

Biking Fun

As I mentioned before, for Jennifer's late birthday present, I got her bike fixed for her. While she was out of town in Boston/Colorado I snuck it out of her garage and rode it down to a little used bike shop in the Bethany area. They fixed it up real nice and I rode it back. Jennifer has had this bike for almost two years now and we'll save the story of why her new bike had bad breaks for another day. But needless to say, she no longer has an excuse to not go riding with me; except her lack of free time and the torrential downpours mixed with tornadoes that have hindered us during the last two weeks. But today was the perfect evening. Great weather. And a great destination: the Ice Cream store. Sort of contradicts the point of riding your bike, but at least we didn't drive there to get our ice cream. Here we are, looking as cute as ever when we got back.

I realize that I haven't been mentioning all the great workouts I have done this week. Monday was combat (I think I did mention that). Tuesday I made it to BodyPump. This morning I met Erin at the gym at 7:00 to get in some good cardio. Mix that in with my bike ride this evening and I am looking at almost 4 hours for the week.

Erin and I have come up with our own summer challenge. For this one we are working together, which might help get us there more anyway. If we both go to the gym 30 times this summer (before Aug. 31st) before 5:00pm, then we will take ourselves out to a nice dinner. We haven't decided where yet. But it will be fun. Maybe we'll dress up. I am also developing my own challenge that will result in me buying a new car stereo for myself. For each hour I go the gym a week I get a dollar, two if it's in the morning. If I go all seven hours a week I get a bonus three dollars. That's a max of $15 a week. but it will take me several weeks to earn this car stereo. Hopefully by the end of summer I will be able to listen to more than one channel at more than one volume.

Your Favorite Tunes

Last night I was looking around on Itunes and began finding a lot of the music that they play during BodyPump. There are several songs that they play in Pump that I now equate with great workout tunes. They are hard to find though. So then I started to do some searching around the internet. And using my excellent reference librarian skills I found a site with all the tracks listed. I began downloading several of my favorites from Itunes and I plan on making a BodyPump CD. I will share it will you all. But I need to know your favorites too. I don't want to pay for all the songs they have play during class; there are several songs (Linkin Park) that I hate and refuse to have on my computer. Here is what I have on there so far:
Flaunt It (Biceps)
Voodoo Child (Squats)
Rock This Party / Everybody Dance Now (Chest)
Tu es Foutu (Triceps)
Hole in the Head (Chest)
Rise Up (Triceps)

I Love Life

Life cereal that is. It has become my dinner of choice the last week. For once, in as long as I can remember, I have drunk the entire 1/2 gallon of milk before it expired. Of course I am not eating any vegetables for dinner and that can't be good. But cereal just makes me so happy. It's filling and takes like 7 seconds to prepare. And with the stressed-out, exhausted state I have been in the last couple of weeks, that is precisely what I need.

I went to my dad's house for two days this weekend. It feels more like a week. And I probably ate enough calories there to fill up an entire seven days. I thought of myself on vacation for those two days and ate whatever I wanted: cream soups, fries, sandwiches with cheese, chocolate covered peanuts, movie popcorn, chips and dip, cookies, ranch dressing. Wow! I even had a slight stomach-ache on Saturday night from all the crap food in my system. His house also makes me tired and non-energetic. Even playing with his dog involves me sitting and the dog running around. Not to mention the magnitude of second-hand smoke I inhale while I am there.

Besides the extra calories and lack of movement, I didn't have too bad of week. I went to BodyPump on Saturday morning before I headed out of town. So I got all three sessions in for the week. I got about 3 hours of cardio done as well. Now I just need to get back on track. The vacation is over, I have work to do!

I started this week off with my favorite Combat class. Erin was back from her vacation and brought her roommate Alana. It's always fun to have new people in class. Except that girl in the front row who just started today. Yeah, I know, who stands in the front row on the first day? And does everything right? We hate her! Does anyone notice how Mary is kinda mean during Combat? It's alright though, cause first she tells a story that makes you realize that she is just a normal girl and then she kicks your ass into gear!

Oh Those Summer Nights

At the beginning of June, I had this plan to start a challenge among my friends. It was going to be called Save your Summer Nights. The idea was whoever could go to the gym the most times in the morning, thus leaving their evenings free, would win a prize. Then other people got involved in it and started making up all these rules. For example: Jennifer thought you should have to be at the gym before 9am, because she has to work then, and some of us actually don't. Others thought that anytime before 5pm would be saving your summer evenings. Jennifer claimed she wasn't going to tell me how many times she went in the morning (as if she actually thought that she would go without me) because then I would just go more. That is the exact point of a challenge: to inspire you to better yourself, but whatever! The challenge never took off. And as I mentioned on Wednesday, I wasn't successful in getting myself up early to go. I didn't go Thursday morning either (although it would have been past 9 anyway) and we all remember that I didn't make it last Friday at 6am for Pump, because I was up so late returning Jennifer to Lincoln. But this morning: I got my first point! I was up by 6:45 and at the gym by 7:15, where I stayed for an hour walking and riding a bike. Even if I am only competing against myself... at least I am winning!

8 weeks till HSR

Well, I lost a pound this week. That's just right. Slow and steady wins the race! That leaves me at 11.5 pounds to lose in the next 8 weeks. I am really hoping that by this time next week I can be down to the 10 pound mark. It is definitely getting harder. I don't know if it's because I have been so stressed out by work lately or what. I mean the last month has been horrible. And more stress = less workout = more food = less sleep = more fat retention. None of that adds up to good things.

Thursday is now the day that I work 12-9. It seems obvious that I would get up in the morning and go to the gym. I am usually up by 9am even if I do not set an alarm. But even if I am awake, it's hard to get up and go. Like this morning, I just laid in bed and read. And watched some news, and then slowly got ready for work. I told myself I would go after work. But later I remembered that I absolutely had to get a father's day present for dear old dad! That took up most of my evening. When I got home I had some cereal and went to bed.

You know what I am really enjoying right now: Hostess 100 calorie pack cupcakes. I had these about a year ago and was really disappointed. They are teeny-tiny and hardly worth the trouble of opening the package. I could eat on in a bite. There is hardly any of the yummy white middle stuff, which is what I like best about the hostess cupcake. But a few months ago I read that they have 5 grams of fiber in that little 100-calorie pack. So I tried them again. Not bad, and basically a health food!

I didn't make it.

Soreness

Okay so it might be a bad idea to go to BodyPump and then Combat right afterward and then go right back to Pump the next day. My upper body is so sore. My upper back and shoulders don't want to do anything. And I tell myself that this is a good thing because it means that I worked hard and maybe they'll get strong from this. But really it probably means I over worked them.

Yesterday I also took a 30 minute bike ride down to the bike repair shop and back. For a belated birthday present I got Jennifer's bike fixed for her. It was a surprise while she was out of town, and she didn't know about it until today. So although my legs don't hurt from that, my bike-saddle-area sure does. No matter how much padding you get on a bike seat it doesn't seem to do any good. I was kind of hoping to take a bike ride with her this evening, now that her bike actually works. But we were too tired after we went to BodyPump. Jennifer hasn't been for half a month, so her legs were really tired. And as I mentioned, I am just pure soreness.

My goal for summer was to go to the gym on Wednesday and Friday mornings early, before work, to save my summer evenings for more enjoyable activities. I should probably start that goal tomorrow, seeing as summer has been around for eleven days. But now it's 11:40 and I would have to get up by 6:40. That's not going to seem too exciting. But I have my window and blinds open so sunshine should be greeting me when the alarm goes off at 6:30. That's my only hope. I should reward myself with something if I make it... thinking... thinking... more sleep, that is all I'll want!

Good and Bad

I have this bad habit of giving up when the week isn't going so well. On my last post I mentioned that I only had to work out for 75 minutes both Saturday and Sunday in order to get my seven hours. Seeing as I had to work both days, that assumed that I would be working out in the evenings. Then, out of nowhere my mom invites me to attend a social outing on Saturday night. I have been so bored and starved for attention the last week or so, that I said yes. This ruined my gym-time. So I took her dog for a walk late at night, but I was wearing flip-flops, so the walk wasn't as hardcore as it could have been. That left two hours I needed to put in Sunday after a busy day of work. Obviously I wasn't about to do two hours, so I told myself I could just do one. But since I wasn't going to get all seven hours I figured I might as well settle for five. Long story short... I never went this weekend.

Today I finally had a half day, where I got off at 1:00. I spent all afternoon running errands and then was really tired. I had contemplated going to BodyPump this evening, but I told myself I could take a nap instead. As I laid there, I realized that weight lifting would make me happier than a nap. So I got myself out of bed and went to class. Marika was subbing for Ann, and it was that horrible super-busy, college-girl class that I blogged about a few months ago. But I am glad I did it. I went light on a lot of tracks, because I was staying for Combat and because Marika has a way of making you work hard no matter how much weight you put on the bar. She is the best, of all the instructors, on ensuring that you always use perfect form, never cheat and push yourself as hard as possible. I was sore for two days after I took her class on Friday. I also plan on going to class tomorrow evening (25 hours later) so I don't want to be too sore. She also does calf-raises, which I really enjoy. Speaking of calves, I remeasured after doing all those raises at home: no difference. But I am going to keep it up, because maybe I am building muscles, and soon it will start spot melting the fat!!!

Brandy and I hit Combat tonight. It was difficult and great as always. I have decided it's the music that makes it so awesome. They have a lot of great upbeat, good songs that they make techno-ish. So I had a great workout day, after a horrible workout weekend. This is a great start to another stressful week. I am working seven days in a row, and then after that, this weekend, I have to go to Columbus for two days to celebrate father's day with dear old dad. He doesn't work out at all, and his dog doesn't even know how to go for walks. AND he buys lots of junk food for when I come to visit. Great!

The Best Laid Plans

So after work on Thursday night (9pm) I was super tired and worn out from yet another busy Summer Reading day. I said to Karen at work the other day: How am I supposed to have any energy to get to the gym when I spend eight hours here never sitting down? I hurry around all day showing kids where books are, squatting to pick up things people leave on the floor or tables, spending several hours hoisting heavy piles of books around the place. Geez, who can handle a workout after that. So last night, like every day after work, I just wanted to go home and relax. But I said to myself: You have no energy. There is only one way to get energy. You will either have to a) quit your job or b) get your ass to the gym. Since option a isn't really a choice (although very nice sounding some days) I went with option b. That however was the least of my accomplishments last night.

Remember how I mentioned that Jennifer was stuck in Minnesota over night. Well, she calls me at 11:30pm and asks me to go to Omaha asap because her flight will be landing at 12:20am. So I rush around and drive up there. Just as I am pulling into the Airport, she texts me: haven't left yet, check the time. Her plane doesn't arrive until 2:00 in the morning. By the time we get her bags and drive home it's 3:30am. So I did not go to BodyPump at 6. I won't even go into the fact that I got pulled over by a trooper on the way up and given a fix-it ticket because my front license plate will not go in. Nobody has stopped me for that in the 5 years I have owned this car. But they pick the most stressful night of my most stressful week.

I went to BodyPump this afternoon. I surrounded the class with and hour of cardio (walking and elliptisizing). I made sure to go hard through out all tracks today, because this will be the only class I can make it to this week. Crazy huh? If I had managed to make it this morning, I could have gone again tomorrow morning, but now, I can't (that whole 24 hours between weight lifting theory). I would have had to take an hour of vacation tomorrow anyway, so this is probably for the best. I also spent over an hour in the sun today to work on my awesome tan. If I put in just an hour and fifteen minutes both Saturday and Sunday at the gym, I will get my seven hours in. It's a lot more difficult when six of them have to be cardio. And I work this weekend, so again I will be tired. But, tired and super-hot. That's something I can live with!

9 weeks till HSR

Apparently I had a fine week. I seem to remember eating like crap, hardly sleeping and then sleeping non-stop, and only working out like three times, but the scale was still my friend. This morning I weighed in at 12.5 pounds. That's a loss of 4.5 pounds. I think that is my biggest loss to date. Although, my weight was really shifty last week and was unusually high on Thursday. I have been at this weight since Sunday, but it's still a great feeling to only have 12.5 left to work on. It does make me a little nervous though; what if those twelve pounds only disappear from my arms and feet. I absolutely need to lose 5 pounds on each of my legs plus more on my abs and hips. I am a firm believer in the "first on, last off" theory. Meaning, since I have always hated my legs they will be the last thing I will love about myself.

I have been horrible about working out this week. I already mentioned how exhausted I was Tuesday so I skipped the gym. Yesterday, I went to my mom's house after work and told myself that the dog and I would get a good workout in. We walked (quite fast and without stopping to sniff things) for 30 minutes before she was panting a lot. So we stopped home to eat dinner and rest. Then next thing I know there's a tornado and we are in the basement. My mom does have a mini-trampoline in the basement which I thought about using, but we were both a little scared. My mom's two story, pure-glass living room was rattling and shaking so much that we thought it was going to fly off at any minute. Luckily the dog was tired for the long walk, so she laid down calmly if I kept petting her. Needless to say, there was no more working out after that. Just picking up stuff that flew around the lawn.

This morning I should have gotten up and worked out, but again I was too tired and let myself sleep in. I was planning on seeing Jennifer tonight after she returned from Boston and before she takes off for Colorado tomorrow. But alas, she is stuck in Minnesota all night and won't be back. So I guess that means I have no excuse but to head over to the gym after work; barring any more tornadoes that is. I plan on being at my first BodyPump of the week tomorrow at 6am (yes I said first on Friday). I will probably stick around and do some cardio, or plan on going back in the afternoon -- it is my only day off of work this week, so I need to make it count for something. And with Jennifer still out of town, what else do I have to do anyway?

A Bottomless Pit

Yesterday I ate non-stop and here is why. I do best when I eat breakfast (200 calories), lunch (400 calories) a snack on my break (100 calories) and dinner (500 calories). And if I can maintain that schedule and consistency I am fine. I have trouble when my schedule is out of whack and I just graze all day. So yesterday I had to work from 9-2 and 6-9. I was hungry way before it was lunch time, so I had a delicious brownie (thanks Erin!) on my morning break. Then I had nothing to eat at my house when I got home so I ate some chips. Then I took a nap. I am dog-sitting this week so I had to run over to my mom's to let the dog out before I went back to work. There I discovered home-made cookies. I ate six!!!! Why would my mother bake cookies and then leave them for me on the counter? Because she wants me to be fat, that's why! Then I went back to work, where I was crazy-busy hosting a rock concert. But when I went back to my mom's house after work I was starving; I hadn't eaten a real meal all day. So I made myself hot dogs (that's the kind of thing my mom has around her house). Although, without the bun, hot dogs aren't that bad for you. But don't think that the cookies didn't call to me some more... and I answered that call. I didn't even have enough energy to take the dog for a 2-mile walk, which is where I planned on getting my workout in.

I have also been away from my scale for the last two days and although it might be liberating it is also driving me crazy. Tomorrow is my weigh-in (I will be back at my house in the morning, although probably not until after I workout and drink a ton of water, so that might be thrown off.) Not knowing where I stand the days before my weigh-in are killing me. How do I know how that cookie binge effected my weight? Am I drinking enough water? Mostly the scale just reassures me that I am doing just fine!

Combating Alone

Well I did it. Jennifer is out of town, Brandy was taking Elijah to a concert, and Erin had to work. But I really wanted to take the Combat class this evening. So I made myself go alone. Now for most people this is not that great of achievement. But, I hardly like to go to Target alone, surely making a fool of myself in a mirrored room is out of my league. But I did it. I told myself that I would be proud of myself afterward. And really I wasn't alone; I had my good friends Mary and Ryan. I just wish they would invite me to hang out with them after class sometime. They really are a great couple (in a Will and Grace kinda way). They flirted uncontrollably tonight, especially during Avril's Wish I was your girlfriend. And during some song about fantasies, Ryan declared this was the ring-tone on his phone when Mary called. Where can I get a gay best friend who teaches workout classes and possibly is also a dentist. (This makes no reference to Ryan being a dentist, only that I need to befriend one so my fear could be minimized). Anyway, I love combat. I didn't sweat nearly as much as last week. It may have been because all of my friends and their body heat weren't in the room, so it was cooler. Which made me realize: since we (Karrie, Brandy, Erin and Jennifer) make up almost half of the Monday night class, we could probably get a class added at a different time if we promised to attend. I feel the power!

I wish that I was Jesse's girl

That's not at all true; I do NOT wish that I was Jesse's girl. And I know those aren't even the right song lyrics, but I still thought that it would be a hurmorous title, seeing as my blog today is going to center around Jesse and his BodyPump class. First off, Jesse is the guy who Jennifer knows from high school. He was bestfriends with her secret boyfriend. So even though, one would think I would also know Jesse from high school, I do not. Hence the secret boyfriend and his secret bestfriend. But Jesse knows Jennifer (although he thinks her name is Jen, so obviously he doesn't know her that well) and he says Hi to her a lot when we take his class and sometimes he calls her out in the middle of class: Are you getting tired Jen? Needless to say, Jennifer doesn't enjoy taking his classes. Seeing as he only knows me as the girl that comes with Jen, I don't mind. So last week, on Monday when he was leading the special Memorial Day BodyPump class I didn't think twice about it. I saw him walk in with his wife and cute little 2 year-old daughter. Class was fine; his wife must have been doing cardio out in the gym area. After class, as I was picking up my steps, Jesse came over to me and tapped me on the back. I figured he was going to ask me where Jennifer was. Instead he said: You are looking great! And then his eyes went up and down my body as if he was checking me out from head to toe and back up to head. (I wish I could tell you this story in person, because I just can't do it justice in words). I said: Thanks and then hurriedly finishined putting my bench away. As funny as the situation really is, it shook me up a little bit. I was hoping to take his Sunday BodyPump class quite a bit this summer with my new messed-up schedule. But this was just a bit creepy. Anyway, today I powered through and went to his class. Nothing bizzare happened, although he did smile at me, but I think he always did that. Regardless, I put my weights away during abs and stretching, so that I could get out of there right away when class was over.

It was too hot today (only 88, but it felt more like 98) to get a good cardio workout in. The extra work and extra sleeping, left me with only 5 hours of working out this week. But after my five hour nap yesterday and my 9 hours of sleep last night, I had lost four pounds this morning. So there really must be something to that sleep deprivation/stress/pound retention thing after all. I am going to redo this week's running schedule, since I only got one of my three runs in. It's a little strange adding up all my hours and calories based on a Monday-Sunday week, but doing my weekly weigh in on Thursday. But oh well, I'll get used to it.