I'm Going To Have A Blue Nose.

This is what happens when you take the evening off from your life and you go out with a few girlfriends. You have a glass of wine. Then you have another. Before you know it you've got a second wind and you find yourself enjoying conversation. You're nibbling on some cheese, chatting away, sipping wine and all seems right in the world. You are awesome. You can face any challenge head-on. You are unstoppable.




So what's your next logical move? Well, to come home and register for a half marathon, obviously. Say wah? Maybe you're not quite that awesome. Let's start with a 10k. No need to get ahead of ourself here.

That's right, I just paid good money to enter myself into a race in which I am sure will be the death of me. Not that I don't have confidence in myself. I mean, I did just drink two glasses of wine....the inflated ego hasn't completely warn off yet.

Here's my point. We're not going to discuss this again. Well, not much at least. I'll continue writing this blog for the next few months. But if I suddenly, suspiciously, fall off the face of the Earth on May 20 then you'll know that I have indeed succumb to the the streets of downtown Halifax during my attempt to feel like a bad ass. We should all probably start praying now. Thanks for your support.

Letters to Important People.

Dear Garbage,

Thank you for leaving my basement and making your way to the curb for the city-wide spring clean up. Many folks have enjoyed picking through you. If you mind your manners, perhaps someone will take the hexagonal night stand home and love it just as The Canadian did for so many years. 

Good riddance, The non-hoarder

 Note: Every curb looks like this, its not just us. The annual big garbage day is this week.

 

Dear Uggs,

I'm sorry to wear you under my trouser jeans, but it is the middle of May and the temperature has plummeted to 43 degrees. And it's been raining for days. I tried to put you away when I thought spring arrived, but I was mistaken. We'll try again next week. Surely by June you'll be enjoying your retirement in the closet.

Love, My feet

 

Dear Book,

I love you. However, I must finish reading you quickly as I have been neglecting my husband since you came into my life yesterday. What? You're right. He'll survive.

Love, Your completely enthralled reader

Dear Neighbor,

Thank you for putting out this old ginormous window for big garbage week. I don't know what on Earth I'm going to do with it, but I love it anyway. In fact, I sat staring at it for a solid 10 minutes trying to think of a use for it before getting out in the rain to jam it into my car. Maybe one day I will find the energy and creativity to strip it, paint it and do something cool with it.

Cheers, Your lazy and uncreative neighbor

 

Dear Hobie,

You smell. Please grow an opposable thumb and then call to schedule a grooming appointment for yourself. I'll leave the number on the counter. Thanks.

Love, Your owner who knows how to get to the pound

Dear Breast Cancer,

I wish you didn't exist. However, thanks to you and your research there was a fund raiser at work today. For a mere $5 donation I bought the right to wear jeans for the day. Here's to you and your demise.

Love, My mother's daughter/Denim lover

Dear Father-in-Law,

Thanks so much for making never ending amounts of homemade red wine. I am forever grateful.

Love, Your son's wallet

Dear Spin,

It has been a while since we hung out. Actually, almost a year. It wasn't anything you did...I just lacked the motivation to drive across town to check out my new gym. But after venturing out tonight I am happy to tell you that we can now go back to being best friends. I went to two back to back classes tonight and so I may change my opinion of you tomorrow. But for now, we're friends again. I've missed you.

Love, My sore butt and legs

PS - I'm sorry for being that girl taking photos with my iPhone from the back row. Please don't ban me.

____________________________________

Workout: Cardio  - 90 minutes (2 spin classes), Weights - biceps, shoulders


Week 10 Weigh-In: Lost 3 pounds!!! That's right. I'm awesome. And it is about damn time.


Total Lost:  15 pounds


Remaining: 5 pounds (in 2 weeks...actually, 2 weeks and 4 days. But who's counting?)

The Little Engine That Could.

It's Tuesday -- which means it is weigh-in day. Things could have been worse, I could have gained weight. They also could have better, I could have lost weight. But instead I stayed at the exact same weight.

This is fine considering I was expecting to gain weight for the following reasons:
1. There have been three sets of baked goods made in the last week and I have eaten them all. Shamelessly. 
2. Rover Bill was in town which meant late night pizza, eating out for every other meal, and way too much wine. It couldn't be helped.
3. I stuffed my face with turkey, mashed potatoes and delicious stuffing last night. And don't regret it for one second.
4. I've been miserably sick with terrible sinus congestion and a hacking cough for almost two weeks, thus logging lots of hours on the couch.
5. While I had a sore throat I took to eating mint chocolate chip ice cream every night. And not just regular ice cream, I'm talking milkshake style. 

So while I remain sitting at a loss of 12 pounds I will keep staring at my closet full of work pants that don't fit yet.

I refuse to buy more too. In a moment of weakness I went to the mall today to find a new pair of work pants but ended up with two new shirts. Why? Because I can't bring myself to admit defeat. I am going to continue embarrassing myself by rotating through the two pairs of pants that fit right now. You think I'm kidding? I'm not. Two pairs. If that isn't motivation than I don't know what is.

And don't even get me started on all my workout shorts that don't fit. There are six pairs of fun colored shorts lying in the drawer just calling my name. But until I can shed a few more pounds I'll keep rotating through the three pairs that fit.

Do you understand how much laundry I have to do to keep up with this rotation? It's a sad situation.

So as week 8 comes to a close I remain at 12 pounds lost and at least 8 pounds to go.

But I'm not down on myself...not at all. You can't not feel good about losing weight. I can feel a difference, even if it's not obvious to anyone else.

It's funny that 12 pounds doesn't look like anything when I've worked so hard at it. No one has noticed. Hell, I can hardly tell when I look in the mirror. There are some differences -- slightly more toned arms and a slightly flatter stomach. But that's about it, nothing worth writing home over.





The photo on the left is Week 1. The photo on the right is Week 8.

Don't feel bad that you can't see a difference. Because for now I'm completely happy with feeling the difference instead of seeing it. How I feel in my own skin is just as important as how I look, if not more so. Right? Right. (Nod your head and agree with me for Pete's sake)

Anyway, we're 2/3's of the way done! Four weeks until my 30th birthday. Four weeks until I head to Maine for the summer and bust out the bathing suits.

I can do it. I can do it. I can do it.

Just call me The Little Engine.

_________________________________________

Workout: Cardio - 45 minutes, Weights - biceps, shoulders, legs, abs


Week 8 Weigh-In: 0 pounds lost


Total Weight Lost: 12 pounds   Remaining: 8 pounds

Half Way.

I'm over the gym. Tonight was another struggle just to crank out 30 minutes of cardio. Not to mention that I didn't even finish my weight routine. A month ago I spent my whole day looking forward to the 60 minutes of bliss that the eliptical would bring. But now? Not so much. I'm burned out.

The past two nights of running have been amazing. It was quick. It was intense. It made my muscles hurt. I would keep running every night except I have been down this path before. I'll run for a few days, start to fancy myself a real 'runner' and then stop and not run again for another 6 months. So I'm going to outsmart myself this time. I'm only going to run outside three nights a week, max. Plus I'm going to start mixing in some pilates and other classes at the gym. Maybe that will help fight the burnout.





And if I can stick to running three nights a week maybe I'll really get into it and become a real runner. I've always wanted to be a runner. I love how runners get up every morning before everyone else to get their fix. I love the running clothes. I want to say "Oh, I can meet you for lunch after my race on Saturday." I want to be that person. Plus, I feel like that person is skinny. And that is definitely something I want to be.

Anyway, I'm not giving up on my weight loss plan. Nope. Not this girl. I'm going to keep eating healthy and stick to my calorie counting. Plus, I've dropped wine during the week and am now reserving it for restaurants and social events. That may not sound like a triumph to many of you. But to me, it's a big deal as I thoroughly enjoy my glass of wine with dinner. Anyway, I've hit the 6 week mark, which is the half way point. In just over six weeks I'll be turning 30. Holy crap, how did I get so freaking old? 


Soooooooooo....

Workout: Cardio - 30 minutes, Weights - biceps, shoulders, abs


6 week weigh-in: 3 pounds LOST


Total Lost: 10 pounds. I'm awesome.

Remaining: 10 pounds

3 Months to 30.

Today is March 1. Thus beginning the three month countdown until my 30th birthday.

I don't know if you've turned 30 or not, but this is going to be a monumental occasion. I had a rough time with my 25th birthday so I'm not really looking forward to turning 30. It's an awfully big number. I honestly do not know where the time has gone. I swear I was graduating from high school last week. High school was great - so much freedom partnered with so little responsibility. It was a glorious time. It was also a time of supreme (I use that word very loosely) athleticism on my part. I worked out every day with the football team (that's right, I dropped out of chorus) and had teenage metabolism on my side. Those were the glory days. The days in which I weighed a nice healthy, strong weight and didn't worry too much about anything. My idea of losing 5 pounds was skipping my daily Coca~Cola at lunch. Not these days though. Life is not that simple anymore, especially when it comes to metabolism. I just don't get it. Six years ago I gained some weight and porked up to a whopping size 8. I spent several months busting my arse at the gym and the weight came off, bringing me back down to a record (and probably too skinny) size 2. I eventually put a few pounds back on and rose to a healthy size 4. This is what I consider my happy weight. That was five years ago. Since then I have steadily gained another 10 pounds while I figured out that whole thing called a career. Then I got married. Suddenly NONE of my clothes fit anymore. It's been a year and another 12 pounds have found their way onto my body and yet I still have not bought any new clothes to accomodate this gain. Why? Because that would be admitting defeat. And, in case you didn't know, I'm a badass. I refuse to lose this battle. I have beat it before and I can beat it again. Under no circumstances am I meant to wear a size 8 (not that there is anything wrong with you beautiful women out there that rock out in an 8, 10, 16, or 20 and look damn good doing it!). It is not really a matter of size or pounds either, it is more about finding the place in which I feel good about myself. I won the Presidents Physical Fitness Award in 4th grade  and have logged enough hours at the gym and in nutrition classes to know how to reach and maintain a healthy weight. Like I said, I've done it before and I will do it again. I know how to, it's just a matter of execution.

I'm not saying all of this as a complaint. It's merely what's on my mind and this blog is nothing if it isn't whatever the heck happens to be on my mind at any given moment. Not to worry, I'm not turning into some health freak and this blog won't be turning into some healthy living nonsense. Not that I don't believe in healthy living, I just think its boring to blog about. I like to read about it, I just don't want to blog about it. I find exploding cheesecakes and giant cupcakes to be much more entertaining. However, in an effort to hold myself accountable I will be writing a discreet line at the bottom of each entry stating my daily exercise. It's not meant for you to read, or care about, it's merely meant to embarrass me if I have nothing to write. Also, and I know this is pushing it, I am going to include a weekly weight loss total every Tuesday. Again, solely for the purpose of accountability. Please feel free to ignore the entire last line of every post from here on out. I would feel worse about burdening y'all but only about four people read this blog anyway so I don't feel too bad.

I recently read somewhere a motto that I liked: Goal Big. Get it? Instead of Go Big the motto is Goal Big. I like it. Why not, really? Might as well. That being said, my goal is to lose 21 pounds by June 1, 2011. I think this is reasonable. All I really want is to get back to feeling good about myself and comfortable in my own skin. I am OVER feeling like a cross between a sausage and a marshmallow. I want to wear my favorite jeans again. I want to feel confident in a sleeveless shirt. I miss my comfy shirts that are meant to be loose but are currently snug. I just want to feel good. I don't think that is too much to ask. And what better 30th birthday present to give myself. It's free and generous. The perfect gift.

That is all. You won't hear me rant about my weight or weight loss plan again. It won't be more than the expected smart-arse comment when I bake a giant cupcake. I promise.

On that note, let's begin:

Cardio - 50min; Weights - Tri's, Back, Abs; Pounds lost - 0

Did your eyes bleed? Did my report send you into convulsions? Are you having symptoms of a stroke? If so, call 911. If not, then you have survived my exercise update. Congratulations. I told you it wouldn't be too bad. Really, just ignore it. Pretend it is not even there. But if it isn't there please be sure to leave me a comment reminding me to stop being lazy. Thanks.