No Brainer

It was dark.  It was cold.   There was frost on my windshield.  It was early!  

I laid in bed going back and forth.  Go to the gym?  Stay home in my comfy cozy bed?  Guilt over signing up for a more closer albeit expensive ($10 more a month...plus the start up fee) gym pulled me from my bed.   Yes, I went to the gym this morning.

I wasn't there any great length of time.  I went to use the treadmill.  I went to put in a few miles on my legs.  I didn't have grand plans to push it really far or hard.  I want to ease back into running.   By about mile two, my foot was starting to make it's presence known....not really painful, just aware.  I'm going to look at that as a victory as a few weeks ago I could only make it through the first mile before I became aware of my foot issue!

Don't cheer too much.  It was a brutal run.  It was more a run a half mile and then walk a half mile.  Treadmill running is for the pits and I always struggle to keep running the whole time!  Regardless of the walk run dealio, I am happy with what I did.

As I was doing my thing on the treadmill at the crack of dawn this morning, I had the thought.    I want to lose this weight.  I want it down to the core of my being.  Yet I struggled to get to the gym.   Really?   What do I expect?   Do I expect the weight to melt off  if I take a steamy hot shower?   Do I expect the weight to disappear while I'm sleeping?   Do I expect to lose weight while I'm shoveling movie theater popcorn that is smothered in butter into my mouth?    WHY?   Why do I insist on these bad habits and fight the good habits?   I know they are NOT what I need to be doing to get to my goals.....yet I resist!  

Seems kind of dumb to me!

I can't expect different results if I don't change my habits!  So the question really comes into play.....what is more important to me?  The results or the stupid habits that are slowly killing me?

Lets break this down......

The stupid habits....

** laying in bed and doing nothing versus going to the gym

**eating fattening food that tastes good 

Results.......

**being able to run without stopping

**cool clothes

**thin svelte body (or as thin as it's going to be)

**being able to hike, ride roller coasters, go sky diving, or whatever my heart desires without the fears and constraints of being overweight....the sky is the limit, not my weight

**not feeling sick, stuffed and bloated from the foods I eat

Seems such a no brainer to me!

Today is a new day!!!!!!  

Singleminded

I made a decision that was a rough one for me.  A few months ago I joined Planet Fitness.  It seemed a good plan.  I thought I would have time before I went to work in the mornings...even if I decided to go to the gym and then go home to get ready.  I had my zumba class with Anita that I was paying for...so the lower cost was a good deal and I wasn't concerned about exercise classes because I had Anita.  I also had a neighbor/Aunt that was going to go with me. I went a few times...but it just has me criss-crossing back and forth across town(yeah, excuse) that just deters me in the morning when I have to be up and out the door by 5:30-6 at the latest in order to do the gym before work. (Have I mentioned how cold and dark it is at that hour???)   In the interim I lost my beloved Zumba class.  My Aunt has moved.  And Planet Fitness was just not working.  So on Wednesday when I left work, I headed there and cancelled my membership.   Within 24 hours I had secured a membership at Golds Gym.   I have been a member there on two different occasions.  I've never had a problem with Golds and have always cancelled the membership for other reasons that have nothing to do with my satisfaction with the gym.  This gym is about a mile from my house.  So that cuts 30 minutes out of the time needed to utilize the gym.  Awesome!  It is a bit more expensive...but with it being closer AND with the option to pick up a zumba class (and other classes), even if it isn't with my beloved Anita, I think I will be ok.

So I made that decision (even knowing that I would have to ante up the sign up fee and that would set me back a bit).  But I forgot to think about the odd noise my car had started intermittently making a day or two ago...I put it on my mental note to have it looked at.  Jason was in my car last night and heard it and was almost instantly convinced that my brakes were going bad (who knew there was such a thing as a "squealer tab' on brakes)  So bright and early this morning I was having my car checked (NO, I'm not messing with brakes...that's kinda necessary).  Yup, he had diagnosed the noise quite correctly.....so brake pads and rotors later and a nice bill......I'm done.  Isn't it fun being an adult??????

I recently read a book.  It was written by Keith Foskett and entitled Balancing on Blue: A Dromomaniac Hiking.  It is basically the story of a European who hikes the complete length of the Appalachian Trail.  It is a pretty good read.   Practical, insightful and just full of fun.  It is good enough that I am planning on reading his book chronicling his hike on the Pacific Crest Trail.   I would highly recommend the book for anyone that is interested in nature, health and just pushing themselves to the limit. (Of if you particularly liked Bill Bryson's book and subsequent movie "A Walk In the Woods" ....or Cheryl Strayed's book and subsequent movie "Wild")  This book is less of the 'bumbling hike that Bill Bryson attempted"  and a little less than the self discovery that Cheryl was looking for.  It is just a guy hiking, thinking, pondering and moving through a life that he doesn't quite understand unless he is lost in the woods!

What brought this book into the spotlight of my blog?   A passage in the book really stuck out at me!  This passage could easily be adjusted...take out 'hiking' and "trails' an instead insert 'weight loss' and 'Healthy lifestyles'  It is really the same!

"If you attempt a long distance hike, the chances are heavily stacked against you and there is a very real chance that you will fail. Most quit in the first month.  They were not as fit as they thought, new gear is chafing everywhere, red -raw blisters make walking excruciating or it's too cold, too hot, too dry or too wet, sometimes for days on end.  I always say push through that first month and if you come out on the other side, chances are you will be successful.  Above everything else, you have to be single minded and totally fixed on your goal to succeed.  If you are mentally strong, can persuade yourself that you're not in pain and can push another mile out, that your hunger and thirst are imaginary, that it really isn't the seventh straight day of being wet and the fact that you badly misjudged your food supply doesn't really matter, then you just may succeed."

Wow...isn't that an absolute parallel to weight loss? 

***The first month IS the hardest...and the time when people give up on weight loss efforts. (Think about the gym in January as compared to the gym in February).

*** We find out it isn't easy.  Our muscles will ache.  Our new 'equipment' isn't as cool and awesome.  

*** We have excuses....it's too hot, too dry, too wet  etc

*** Weight loss IS a study in being single minded in our efforts.  We have focus on it.  We have to say "who cares that I'm whatever....the end goal is out there!

***If we believe we can succeed...we can hike over 2000 miles over numerous mountains.....we can run a 5k, a 10k or even a half marathon....and we CAN lose weight!

HI HO HI HO It's off to work I go

My eating has been totally spot on the last few days.  I feel so proud of myself.  It really is crazy that the 'high' I get from that sense of pride.  It is a feeling that is so much more long lasting and pleasant than the high I get from eating.  The high I get from eating is a fleeting feeling...this empowering prideful high totally feels me with a sense of happiness.  It just feels good to be in control!   And no, being spot on does not mean that I am not eating or just eating one thing.  I'm eating nice quantities of food.  It's amazing that when you are choosing healthy options that you can eat a decent quantity.   It reminds me of the book that used to be a big hit..'this or that'. You see, I can have one serving of chips for 140 calories (give or take) OR I could have a serving of applesauce, grapes AND a string cheese for roughly the same amount of calories.  I'm not saying that I won't have the chips...some days are just 'chip days'....but if I'm choosing the correct foods, I don't have to eat 'less'.

And just to prove that I'm still eating normally and not depriving myself...YET still staying in the correct zone of calories..... why yes, that is the biggest loser on the tv,...and why yes, I have cats that LOVE ice cream!  

Ethel (right) and Desi (left) both eyeball my ice cream

On Monday the bank was closed so I was off work. Hip hip hurray!   Todd didn't have to work until 2, so we headed up to town,  What did we do?  Why we went to the gym!  I spent a half hour on the treadmill running.  I then moved to the upright bike for thirty minutes on a hill climber program.  I was sweaty but feeling great when I was done. 

From the gym, Todd and I headed out to lunch.  We went to a small eatery called Cafe Del Sol.  I got a turkey wrap (no cheese, the calorie buster is the flavored mayo on the sandwich....but OHHH so worth it) and the field greens with a balsamic vinaigrette instead of their homemade chips.    Not bad in terms of calories.   I was happy with my choices.  I felt satisfied with the food I ate and proud of myself.  

After a quick trip to the store, we went home and Todd almost immediately left for work.  I sat down and did some work on my computer, worked on some laundry and did some things around the house.  I contemplated working on some scrapbook stuff, but when I looked at the clock I realized that by the time I got it set up I would be heading out the door.  

Where would I be heading???  Well Monday night is my normal zumba night.  Since I was home and feeling so awesome, I decided that if one hour of zumba sounded fun than two hours would send me into total rapture.  Yes, I headed out to a double session of zumba. I have fun at zumba, I wasn't thinking about the exercise...I was just thinking about the fun and camaraderie that the extra hour would give me!!!

The first hour of class I was on fire!!  I had a pep in my step and I was pushing myself hard.   I was feeling GOOD.  The fifteen minute break came and I stopped moving to talk to my friends and get some extra water before starting round two.  (Technically round three of exercise for the day.)  I don't know if  if was just that my legs were about shot by then or if it was that minimal 15 minute break but the second hour was ROUGH.  The natural pep had totally disappeared from my step.  I had to mentally tell myself to jump and move.  I had to make a concerted effort to push myself.  Even then, I allowed my body to work at the level that I was comfortable with, afterall, I was working on three plus hours of exercise for the day.  I was just having fun.    

I came home from zumba, had dinner and took a shower.   Some nights after zumba (or a really hard workout) I get home and I am totally freezing.....shivering cold.  I stayed in the living room for a few minutes but then decided that I was just COLD.  I decided to go to bed and read!   I curled up under my blankets, petting my cats (they took turns visiting me) and read for a bit.  By the time Todd got home, I was sound asleep!

Today was the big day of the projected snow.  I woke up and it was just starting to fall. I am supposed to be at work until 10.  I know for a fact that we are open for business, so I'll be heading out the door for work in a bit.  I'm only hoping that they realize that the snow is coming down steadily and that it is only going to get worse and thusly send us home at a decent hour.  Like noon....(the news is saying get out in the morning if you MUST go out, but be home by noon). .....however, I have my serious doubts as to getting released early today....

Disjointed Catch up

Really the things I have to say don't really flow into one easy blog post so I'm going to write random paragraphs.  Some may build upon each other, other will be totally random!

******I went to the gym yesterday morning.  I ran for 2 miles on the treadmill (25 minutes or thereabouts) then I moved to the exercise bike and biked for 25 minutes (10 plus miles) and then I worked on my upper body.  While I was doing the cardio I was pushing it and working it.  My heart rate was high in my zone and I felt GREAT!   Even when my heart rate is really high in my zone (both based on the generic age zone and the zone based upon my resting heart rate) I can still talk and converse like normal....which is the unofficial litmus test.  So I'm not worried about maxing myself out.  When I get to that point, I back off  :-)    I'm not in this to hurt myself or damage any components of my body!

******We don't have a lot of extra money, but I've been slowly saving my 'allowance' for ages.  I've been slowly watching my stash of money grow.  I also occasionally totally deplete that stash and have to start again.  The saving has been for a road bike.  I have had a Trek Nav and I have LOVED it.  It was just what I needed when I bought it.  It is still an awesome bike to ride on the canal.  It has been a reliable and wonderful bike.  But, I want to branch out and ride on the roads and while I can on my Trek, it just isn't as feasible.  I've in essence outgrown the Trek. (that said I'm NOT getting rid of my Trek!) So I saved.  Recently I started to watch for used bikes on Craigslist and other used outlets.   I didn't want to go bottom of the barrel with an entry level bike (I knew that I would quickly outgrow the bike..and the limitations of the bike).  But good road bikes are expensive!   I have contacted bike ad after bike ad.  I've either gotten there too late and the bike is gone already or the bike is built for a giant (ok ok ok, 60cm frames are not for giants...they are just too big for me!).  FINALLY on Monday I saw  bike on Craigslist that would work for me size wise!  It is a Lightspeed Vela.   Lightspeed is a high end bike manufacturer that for a while made some entry level bikes (retailing for about $1500-2000). It didn't last long becuase they were just not making a profit on the bike.  Anyway, I contacted her within an hour of her placing the ad.  It looked good.  I had my brother researching it.  I went and looked at the bike last night and it looked good  and I purchased it.  So I now have a road bike.  I have to either swap out the pedals or buy a pair of clip shoes so I can ride it.  I also have to figure out how the shifting mechanism works.  I rode the bike around the neighborhood and got it to shift once or twice but admittedly, I'm sure it is user error.  (My brother laughed when I told him over the phone my shifting issues and also agreed that it was most likely user error).  The bike took me to the limit of what I had saved.  I have 75 bucks (and that is only leaving 3 dollars in my savings account) left after buying the bike...and that will probably be sucked into the few things I need to actually ride the bike.   (I either need to swap to flat top pedals or buy clipped shoes and learn to actually use them)   I always hate hate hate depleting my savings. I hate parting with my moldy money, but oh well.....   I only hope that this purchase turns out to be money well spent!  Meaning that I love the bike and that I USE the bike a LOT!  (My brother thinks that since this is my first road bike and I have nothing to compare it with, that I will automatically love it.....he said it's like how we all remember our first car with love and fond memories!)

*****   Photoshoots of people..while not my favorite thing to do (I prefer architecture, nature, scenery, inanimate objects) helps build the savings account...so hopefully soon I can pick up  few small shoots!  I do have a wedding that I'm supposed to shoot in about a month...so whew I can start rebuilding the funds that I just depleted to buy my bike!  That and my 'allowance'. Allowance at age 40?  Yes, Todd and I each payday get a set amount of money to put into our pockets.  This is OUR money.  If we want to skip packing a lunch for work, we can use our allowance to eat out.  Or we can pack our lunch and save our money and use it for hobbies (Todd just purchased a bunch of stuff for his beermaking hobby AND a bunch of stuff for his painting hobby).   It's our money to do with what we want.  It keeps our random spending for our own purposes (hobbies and fun) in check.  NO, when we do something together like dinner out last night it comes from the 'general' fund.

******  The bike I purchased last night was in Germantown...which is about an hour away from me.  So after work Todd and I took a little trip.  Of course we planned to go to dinner after looking at the bike. (oh heck, that was a trip for ME and my bike...should I have purchased dinner out of my allowance?  ha ha ha  No, it came from the general fund....we hadn't eaten out in about 2 weeks so we were good!)  We ended up at Red Robin.  I had eaten accordingly all day.  How does one eat accordingly all day?  Well, I filled up my lunchbox with low calories/low fat items.  I ate just as much as any other day and actually didn't even eat everything in my lunchbox because it was a LOT of food, I just planned my food wisely to give myself the maximum calories to spend at dinner.  I walked into the restaurant with about 700 of my daily calories left from my base calories.  I started looking.  My normal sandwich was 900 calories (or thereabouts.  YIKES!  I don't know if they just changed their menus to add the calories of if I had just never noticed...we hadn't been at Red Robin since before I started watching my weight again.    I looked for  lessor sandwich and thought about settling for something else to save a few calories.  I finally decided to get the sandwich that I wanted but to swap out the fries (and they do have pretty decent fries) for the fruit salad.  Nice trade and only put me at about 1000 calories for the meal (and that is only 300 calories over!!!)  Todd (Mr. Sabotage   ha ha ha) really wanted the pretzel bites.  So I agreed.   I counted my calories and entered them in.  I'm about 500 calories over for the day (putting me at 1800 calories for the day give or take).    I panicked for a moment or two there after we ordered.  But then I calmed myself down and reminded myself of two things.  The first thing?   I exercised HARD in the morning so even though I was eating more, I had at least burnt those calories already in the morning..plus some.  And no, I don't subscribe to that attitude with my exercise.  But on occasion it actually works!   The second thing?   Our bodies get in ruts with what we are eating.  Jillian Michael's first book (I think it's the first one) was a great read and she actually encouraged the readers to change up their calorie counts.  She recommends to have four or five consecutive low days and then pop it up and have a high caloric day thrown in there.  She advocated that it would keep your metabolism from getting into a 'rut.'    I know that when I was losing my weight the first time I would watch carefully EVERY MEAL of the week except one.  On weigh in nights at weight watchers, I would leave my weigh in and I would have a TOTAL splurge meal.  Comfort foods....pizza.....whatever I wanted.   I consistently lost weight too!  (and eventually you also find that your splurges are not the 3000 calorie splurges that you once had....like me...I am only 500 over for the whole stinkin' day...on a splurge day!)   It worked for me.  So I had to remind myself of that last night.    So I stepped on the scale this morning....the verdict??????????   I stayed EXACTLY the same!   224.6!   So I know to buckle down today.  NO splurges....clean eating...and all will be well. Oh and that maintain (and Sundays loss of 1 pound) comes along with the monthly ick!

***** I'm solidly into a woman's size 16.  I found the first time I lost weight that there is a huge break between woman's size 16 and regular size 16.  So 16 is the "feels like forever" size.  It's almost as if there is an extra size in there.  16a and 16b.  Regardless...I'm into 16 women's.....my size 18's are getting loose....the 20's are off my shelves and in a storage tote/bin.  Moving right along!

*****  It's Wednesday.  The work week will soon be officially half over!  Can't wait for the weekend!  Todd and I can hopefully get on our bikes or do something active on Friday afternoon when I get off at 2.  (he mentioned a game of tennis, I mentioned a bike ride on the canal).  I also will be having my brother look at my new baby...my road bike and I'll be getting geared up for that.  Lets see, I'll get a run or two in there.....and a walk with Sherry.  But in the meantime...it's Wednesday...so work all day....zumba tonight.   Maybe I can even squeeze in a yoga workout or maybe a step aerobics workout this morning before work (it makes me feel so much better to workout in the morning....revs me up and makes me feel alive for my day!   I better skedaddle!


 

Too costly?

Today I'm paying the price.  Yesterday morning Todd and I headed to the gym.  I worked out....pushing myself. My heart rate was up there and I felt good.  It was  good workout.  I put in about an hour at the gym.   Being as yesterday was a bank holiday I had off work.  Todd and I came back to the house after the gym and we relaxed a bit throughout the afternoon, just watching TV and hanging out.   Typically on days off of work, I do a double session (two straight one hour classes versus the one class that I typically can work into my schedule).  I thought about it all afternoon.  A double session?  Or should I take into account that I had already had a pretty intense workout in the morning?   Decisions decisions decisions.

I had stuck to pretty much straight cardio at the gym in the morning.  I KNEW I was going to go to the second zumba session with is actually zumba sentao.  That is usually a pretty good upper body workout (lots of tricep dips and pushups...amongst other torturous moves)  So I knew that pushing my body on the weight machines wouldn't be a good thing...I didn't want to head into that session of sentao with aching arms.  So my decision wasn't based around the second class...that class was never in debate.  My debate was for the first class.  That class was zumba with some zumba toning songs included into the rotation of songs.  Todd kept asking me throughout the afternoon what my plans were.  I kept saying I didn't know.  I didn't know for sure until about an hour before the class...and then I knew.


I was going to go for broke.  What's the worst that would happen? If my body couldn't handle it, I would just stop.   I headed into the first session and I felt really good.  My legs were responding and I felt pretty good.  It was almost as if I hadn't worked out in the morning.  My foot started hurting pretty badly toward the end of that session.  I just ignored it.  You see, my foot has been bothering me for about a year now.  I just push through it.  :-)  Pretty soon the first hour was done.  I got my chair ready and in position for the sentao hour.  It started.  I was moving but about half way into that hour I felt myself totally run out of steam.  My legs felt like they were dead weight.  I pushed through it.  I was NOT going to give up.  I was whipped, but I was NOT going to let it win.  I focused.  I moved.  I constantly thought about my exercise motto... "mind over matter."  I knew that I was tired, but I knew that my body was not in danger....while my intensity level had  threatened to waver, I knew that I was technically OK. I forced myself to maintain my intensity level.   Quitting was NOT an option.   Praying for it to end WAS an option.  haa haa haa.   I persevered.  I made it!  I conquered something that I would have thought impossible for me.  Will I do it again?  Probably not...it's a bit extreme...but I DID IT!

I came home and boy was I tired.  But the real consequences didn't hit until this morning when I went to get out of bed. Eii yii yii!   My body has this weird feeling of heaviness and achiness.  Three hours of intense exercise worked my muscles!   The cost of my three hours.....soreness! So was that too costly????   No....I did something I never thought I would do!!!! There were also some good aspects!  I got to eat extra food (I normally don't eat many of my earned exercise calories....I ate about 400-500 earned calories....not quite even one workout worth of earned calories).  Ohh...and with the pain I wanted to see what happened on the scales.  One more pound off my body.  :-)  (That's not an official weight loss...just a sneak peak).

So what's my plan for today?   Well...lets just say I'm packing my gym bag to take to work....zumba tonight after work! 

Fear and happiness

I decided that it was time to rejoin the gym.  Todd and I debated about which gym to go to. OK, Todd never debated...I did.  When I originally started the healthy lifestyle thing, we joined Gold's Gym.   We both liked it but we spent a LOT of money each month for the two of us.  After a few years we decided to move to a gym that was  bit closer...thus we tried out South Point Fitness.  It was small and cramped and Todd hated working out there, he said it made him claustrophobic.  We left there and switched to the ultra cheap Planet Fitness.  That wasn't so bad...for a no frills gym, but eventually as money became even more tight we dropped that (plus there was an issue with a worker and Todd that wasn't pretty and Todd complained about the gym the whole time...said he didn't like the vibe).  We went gymless for a while.   We went back to Gold's (which is substantially cheaper now).   And there have already been a few lessons that I would like to share.

Lesson number one.  I was talking to the guy that signed us up.  I mentioned that I was doing the couch to 5k training program and that it was working, I wasn't fast and it wasn't by any means pretty, but I was doing it.   He looked at me and his words were "I think it's splendid, you've already lapped everyone that's sitting on their couch!"    You know....that is totally right!   I sat around for so many months and years of my life and I let myself be lapped over and over again. Why?   Fear kept me down.  I was afraid I would look retarded.  I was afraid I would fail.  I was just afraid.  But you know what....sitting on the couch doing nothing is what I SHOULD have beeen afraid of!  I am up and moving.  There is no way in hell that my actions will hold me back......the only thing that holds me back is inactivity!

Lesson number two wasn't really a lesson, but rather just a thought that flitted through my mind.  Today is  bank holiday, so of course I'm off work.  We decided to head to the gym.  After my workout I went into the locker room.   And that's when I realized.   I don't fear the gym.  I will go and push myself and feel confident that I'm doing my best.  What I fear?  I fear the locker room.  I always chose a locker that's off in  corner and hope and pray that the area will be uninhabited when it comes time for me to change after my workout.   And eii yii yii..the showers???   ~~shudder~~    So today I walked into the locker room.  I set my stuff down and walked over to the sinks so that I could take  look at myself.  You see, I was trying to figure out if I could forgo taking a shower after my workout (when I used to workout at the gym I only showered at the gym once.....fear you know.....even though it's irrational and I know it!) I walked to that mirror THREE times....dreading it.  But I knew that we had some plans and errands after the gym and I really needed to do something......greasy sweaty hair is not a good pretty sight.  After my shower, I started to think about it.  Seriously?  What do I fear?  It's absolutely NUTS!    I'm not going to live my life with irrational fears.  I'm going to push myself and the world better as hell watch out because I'm going to emerge from this cacoon strong and ready to kick ass!
 OK upon rereading this for a quick edit, I just realized that lesson one and two are both me facing my fears.  Interesting.
I've been saying that our happiness has to come from inside and not due to any amount of exercise or weight loss.  I've said it can't come from a job...or a spouse...or material possessions.  It really does come from within.  Apparently George Washington felt the same!

Ramblings from a somewhat feeble mind

Found the neatest tee shirt today. I just had to buy it. On the front it says Get off the Couch. The back has a picture of a bike and over top of that it says: You could ride off a cliff and die, You could get lost and die, You could hit a tree and die. YOU COULD STAY HOME AND FALL OFF THE COUCH AND DIE. This just hit a funny bone on me! So I bought it! I debated long and hard. I tried on the medium and it fit...a bit tight but it fit. The large was a nice fit now. What do you do in these cases? I bought the large. I'll still be able to wear it later, and if not, hopefully Todd will get to a large! :-)

Well, last night I couldn't sleep worth a darn. I laid in bed and tossed and turned for what seemed like hours. I finally got to sleep and woke up an hour or so later. It then took me about another hour to fall back to sleep. NOT good when you have early morning plans. You see, we had decided to set the alarm for 6AM and get a move on early. We wanted to bike in Cumberland which is a little more than an hour away by car. Leaving early would get us onto the bikes before the heat and humidity got too bad. I actually woke up before the alarm went off. (What's up with that....4 hours of sleep) I got my shower, breakfast and packed us clothes to change into. I prepared our water bottles, loaded the bikes onto the car and made sure I pulled the money from the safe to put into my purse all before I even got Todd up. We were out the door, in Cumberland and on our bikes by 8:30 or so. We had a really nice ride. We didn't push it. I didn't ride in some super high gear to really push my muscles. Nor did I ride in some easy smeasy gear to garner high rpm's. It was a nice middle grade ride. We were out until about 11:30. I'll admit my constant companion of muscle aches was present before I even got onto the bike. But the aches and pains pretty much 'disappeared' OK, pushed aside in my mind while I was on the bike.

After our ride, we changed our clothes (ahhhhh the train station/visitor center place had some clean bathrooms...what a treat....I hate when I have to change my clothes in some parking lot) and headed to downtown Cumberland where we had been told that there were some decent restaurants. My my my...for a town that is economically depressed, they had a really nice little arts district thing going on. (relative to the town I should say). Todd and I really couldn't decide which little neat looking place to eat at so we literally did rock/paper/ scissors to decide. I got this pasta dish...it as supposed to be hot and spicy. And I got a side salad to go with it (prices were VERY reasonable). Todd got a salmon salad (in a taco shell). The salad was really good. They make all their own salad dressings. I had some Dijon vinaigrette....it was to die for! Todd LOVED his dinner salad. (nope, I didn't even try his as it was salmon and I don't do seafood....well, except for tuna salad). I'll have to admit though that disappointment of all...my pasta dish was...well......lackluster. It was bland. The chicken was tough and well, it just lacked. I ate maybe a 1/4 of my plate and then pushed it aside. No use eating something I wasn't really enjoying. HUGE victory for me! (don't get too excited for me.......I turned around and this evening gave in to my craving for pizza. I've known it was coming and I've been OK with it. I'm not here to deprive myself. I just try to manage it. SO this evening for dinner I got a pizza. Thin crust...even though I prefer a thick greasy crust, I went with a thin cracker crust. Ohh dang, was it tasty! I'm not going to weigh myself for a day or so....and manage my eating very closely the next few days...and I'm sure I"ll be fine!)

After lunch, we walked around for another couple hours. We finally got home at around 4:30. My lower body was TIRED TIRED TIRED! I rested and dang...turned around and went to the gym for a session with the personal trainer. THANK GOODNESS it was to work up a new routine for my arms! I laughed and told her that my bottom half felt dead. She looked at me and laughed and said, "then lets make the arms feel dead also" Oh yeah, I think it's gonna be a whole body thing tomorrow! LOL We'll have to see.

Well, there you have my day. I've not drank all my water that I should have drank. Well, actually upon further thought, I probably have drank my minimum of 64 ounces. Lets see...my main water bottle that I used today is 24 ounces...and I finished that and started on my back up bottle. I think the waitress refilled my water glass at lunch 4 times (they looked to be about 16 ounce glasses....minus the room for the ice of course...so maybe 10 ounces of water each drainage) And looking at my big 'sippy cup' water mug, it shows that I'm 32 ounces down...so yeah, I've done it...but still with the sweating (it was still hot outside) from riding and walking I probably didn't drink enough. Oh well what a boring rambling paragraph!

Plan B

Yes, we had to utilize plan b for our day. Plan A was to go to the western section of the C&O canal and bike for a few hours. Well, I woke up and mosied to the bathroom. On the way there I noticed that it was awful dark outside. When I left the bathroom Todd broke the news to me by showing me the weather map on the internet. It wasn't looking good at all! I bit back my disappointment and we packed our gym bags. Yes, we went to the gym and had a nice workout! I'm not going to lie and say that I'm not bummed out that I didn't get to go for the ride that I was looking forward to all week...but I'm happy that I didn't let it ruin my workout plans!

BUT the biggest victory of day. We went to the Mountain Gate restaurant. I got the buffet, which in itself is pretty risky. :-) However, I was able to do very good! VERY good in fact! I felt satisfied and I didn't overeat at all! The only splurge I had was about two small bites of mac-n-cheese. Oh yummm it tasted so good. And ironically, because I only had the two bites, I appreciated it all that much more! I think before I would get a big pile of it...and the first bite or two would be so wonderful that I would keep eating..until I was so stuffed full..that I no longer enjoyed it as much! I totally ignored the bad desserts and opted for fruit and some fat free pudding instead. Quite tasty! :-)

Last night, went into the icecream shop here in town and I saw the receptionist from my weight watchers meeting. She laughed when she saw me! BUT, I knew I only had points for a kiddie fat free yogurt...so that's what I got. A kiddie. AND even though I really wanted the chocolate...that is not fat free. I didn't have the extra point to ante up for it! I actually did slip up momentarily though. I ordered a small size (which is two scoops.....so I asked for a split of peach and strawberry). BUT right as she started dipping it up, I came back to my senses and switched it back to a kiddie size...strawberry! Does that count as a fuit/vegetable serving??? haa haa haa. Ok, I had already eaten all my fruits and veggies for the day. So the thought didn't even cross my mind until right now! And no...I'm not lacking today either.....I ate a big lettucy salad and lots of veggies/fruit for lunch (all veggies except for the low cal/fat salad dressing, the pudding, and those two bites of mac-n-cheese.....oh and one bite of Todd's roasted turkey) It tell you...I did good!

The scales were REALLY friendly this morning! My lowest yet...EVER!

Great Workout

Well, first of all....got on the scales today and found that I was 1 pound heavier than yesterday. Now that can be water. So I'm not stressing. However, unless I do a massive drop like I did the other week, I'm not going to make my end of month goal. I'm not stressin' over it though. Slow and easy is the ONLY way to do this in order for it to be a 'life' altering experience. My goal of 2 pounds a week...is pretty bold...but managable...AND healthy! I'm still pretty much on target...even with having sat for the last few weeks without moving the scales!

OK....my workout! Yesterday we went to the gym. I started on the elliptical trainer. I was on it and even though I wasn't exactly lazing, I decided that I was going to push it up a notch. Every five minutes I reversed it for one minute before going back to foward. Reverse just about kills me...so this was pushing me. I felt VERY good when I got off the elliptical. I then went and did the weights...I pushed my weights up a notch....5-10 pounds more in some cases. Just enough to REALLY feel the burn! :-) So today we went back to the gym. I did the treadmill today......I pushed my speed up to the point where I could walk but just barely....and every five minutes I pushed it up to a point that it was either jog or fall off the back of the treadmill. My lungs were sucking in air for that minute before I pushed it back down. SO....I did like 8 total minutes jogging out of 45. May not seem like much....but it is monumental for me. I haven't run anywhere for YEARS!

Signing Up!

Today my husband and I went to Golds Gym to see about getting a membership. We know that we need the variety that a gym provides. SOoo....we took our tour and plunked down our money. We would have started today...however, Todd is on a liquid diet in preparation for a colonoscopy that he is having performed tomorrow. Soooo...I came home and rode the exercise bike and did my crunches. I had been doing the 20 minute preprogrammed workout on the bike....the first day or two my legs felt jelly like when I got off. But quickly I was hot but not really pushing it.....soooo today, I pushed it up to the next level.....30 minutes. It is a harder bike program...and longer. The last 8 minutes KILLED....but I did it! :-)