Daily Fit Thought #12

self explanatory, right?

 

Very often I hear people say that to lose weight they need to workout and eat less.
Eat less?
No, not necessarily eat less. You need to eat less junk food and eat right.  Eat healthy food!
Eat clean.

Today’s daily fit thought is about eating right. Becoming healthy does not mean that you need to go to the gym for four hours five times a week. Becoming healthy, which should be the goal, is about becoming moderately active and eating right!

Skip the drive-thru, avoid the temptation of those sweets right by the cashier, and give up the cheddar and sour cream Ruffles addiction! Make sure that on a daily basis you are eating vegetables, fruits, whole grains, lean protein, and healthy fats.
Yes, you do need a certain amount of fat in your diet. These can come from nuts and avocados.
It really is that simple.

If you watch the quality of food you are putting in your mouth, everything else will fall into place.

Slip-On Sneakers at the Gym

I’d apply at that place!

After a weekend of not running or going to the gym, my workout today (technically yesterday) was very needed.

I am reaching the end of Stage 1 of New Rules of Lifting for Women. I will be sad to go on to Stage 2. I am currently OBSESSED with back squats. I may just add those into the workout somehow. Anyway, here was my workout today.

Back squats: 1×8 @ 115lbs, 2×8 @ 125lbs
Push Ups: 3×8 on an aerobic step with 1 pair of risers
Dumbbell Bent Over Rows: 3×8 @ 25lbs
Step Ups: 3×8 on an aerobic step with 3 pairs of risers w/ 22.5lbs (per dumbbell)
Prone Jackknife: 1×10, 2×12

Cardio was weird today. I love to run. I spent all of my childhood hating running. I dreaded the mile in gym. I always got side stitches and my legs felt like lead. Last year, something changed inside me. I slowly started running and now I love it. I am psycho about trying to protect my knees though. I have only one pair of shoes right now and they are a pair of blue slip-on sneakers. I picked them up at Target one day for twelve bucks. These are not the type of shoes I would run in. I felt like a dork in the gym today. I kept looking down at my feet wondering if I looked like a super gymrat because nothing stops me from working out or if I looked like a fitness nOOb who doesn’t even get the right shoes to workout in. Either way, I did what I needed to do! I decided to do twenty minutes on the stairclimber and then do half an hour on the elliptical. I worked up a nice sweat.

One thing I did notice at the gym today was that I could not keep my eyes off of myself. My confidence is raising. I see a strong sexy lady when I look in the gym mirrors now. I no longer see a girl that always felt physically weak. I see a woman with a barbell across her shoulders squatting ONE HUNDRED AND TWENTY FIVE POUNDS! I have made such a giant transformation. Today, it was hard to stop looking and myself with pride. I hate to go on about myself like that, but it is a big deal for me. I’m sure i’ll divulge into that more later.

In other news, we have a cute little Minnie Mouse themed Christmas tree up. We decided to be those people this year, haha. A tree up before it is even December. It is hard not to be excited when you have an thirty-four month old bouncing around with a smile on his face constantly babbling about Christmas. I am more excited about December 14th though. Fall semester will be over!!

I will try to catch up on blog reading (and posting) but I am now in finals week so…..anything that does not involve my son, school, or working out…..EEEEK….do not know if I will have time!

In the spirit of finals (and trying not to stress myself out about if I am or am not getting straight As):

Mmmm……I believe in you too ;p

Can’t Steal My Spirit

After a very long weekend, I am feeling much better. I have a game plan and spirit. Those are two things people cannot steal.

I want to thank y’all for being great followers. The sympathy I have received the past few days has made me feel so loved. It has helped me cope with not being able to run for a full week.

I did binge yesterday. I watched television and ate. The good part was finally seeing Magic Mike. That movie immediately became a favorite. I think pieces of pumpkin pie fell out of my mouth as my jaw dropped during Channing Tatum’s stripping scenes. Haha.

Anyway, today I woke up with my head on right. I will be replacing all of my running gear this friday. I will start hitting the gym again Tuesday to lift, use the Arc trainer and climb those endless black stairs. Tuesday also starts finals! My partners in health class have not gotten back to me about our group project. I loathe group projects. I will not do all of the work. I have sent 2 pms and 3 emails and no response. They have until the 30th to respond, otherwise I am doing the whole project and turning it in with only my name on it. (Yes, I am that kind of person.) Besides health, I have two giant projects for Film and Lit. One of the projects is broken down into three spreadsheets and two papers on Othello v. Othello (1995…or 1994 film). The other one is the usual exam.

I am determined to not let the stress of finals get to me. I will finish Stage 1 of New Rules this week (or the start of next week) and I will resume running again Saturday. I am doing a lot of modifications to the way I eat this week.

I am not eating anything from a restaurant or fast food place for a week. I am also cutting my calories from 1700 to 1500, only for this week. I also am trying to stick to a more clean approach. I will not have any diet soda this week or any of the pre-made meals I love from Fresh and Easy. I want to see what one week of being extremely strict does for my body.

Time for bed. I cannot wait to beast it this week! (:
I also cannot wait to take my son to Disneyland one last time this year. I decided not to renew my annual pass just yet and they expire on Wednesday. I love his excitement and smiles when we go to DL. He’ll be a happy boy which will only make this coming week better!

Food is Not a Shoulder to Cry on

My husband and I went out today. We never go out on Black Friday; “Why not see it for once”, we said.

Our first stop was Target. We saw many deals out still, even after 1pm. Surprisingly, we ignored the shopping bug nipping at our wallets. On the way out, however, we saw a box. Inside the box was a twelve-inch bike all decked out in Lightening McQueen decals. Our son, almost three, has been begging for the past few months for a bike. His birthday is a month after Christmas. We found the perfect gift. With smiles, we purchased the bike and bounced out of Target. We were so happy to find such a great deal on a bike for our boy! We place the box in the trunk and decide to walk the short distance to the mall. Earlier we saw that the parking lot was ridiculous, so why bother?

After a few hours at the mall, we headed back to the parking lot. After five minutes, my scanning starts to become frantic. “Hun, where is the car?” My husband walks down the next aisle of parked cars. I stand there while a lump grows in my throat. I can see he is pacing in between cars. There is a worried look coming over his face. My eyes begin to water because I know what has happened. “The car is gone, isn’t it?” I start to scream the first part over and over again. I begin to cry as I run between cars. I am silently praying that I am just being paranoid and jumping to conclusions. I always jump to conclusions.

But I am not being paranoid and I did jump to the right conclusion; the car was stolen.

I think of my son’s new bike. I wonder how will my husband get to work. I, selfishly, think of my running shoes. I think of the little things in my car, in my family’s car.

Jump to two hours later.
The police report was made. We are all at home. At the dinner table, I check the NBA game scores for the night. I watch my grandmother set up dinner. I immediately think of all the food I want to eat. I am not hungry, but food will fix my problem. I always tell myself that food will fix the problem.

How disgusting of me to go there. All the progress I have made, but I need to work on my relationship with food. Eating three slices of pumpkin pie will not bring the car back. Eating 5,000 calories will not make this turn into just a nightmare.

Luckily, before we start eating dinner, the police call and tell us our car is at a tow place. We can pick it up tomorrow. I hope my baby’s bike is still in there.

I am disappointed that I almost binged. Almost three years has past since I have actively decided to not emotionally eat. I need to take more time to work on this goal. Food does not cure emotional problems.

Thanksgiving Breakdown

And also you Chuck.

I spent almost a week stressing out about Thanksgiving. I imagined my hubs and grandmother not getting along. I imagined 5,000 calories worth of food going down my throat and expanding my stomach. I imagined crying and wishing that Thanksgiving had never became a holiday.

As usual, my worrying was for nothing. My grandmother cooked a delicious meal. There was a lot more butter going on than I would have preferred,  but it was not as bad as I thought.

My grandmother was channeling her inner Paula Deen yesterday.

Since I know it is so easy for me to make a day of overeating become a week of overeating, I kept an eye on myself yesterday. I tried to fill up on turkey, green beans (she did not add the bacon, yay!), and cranberry salad. I did eat a tiny portion of the candied yams and mashed potatoes and gravy. I did not want my grandmother to feel bad, even if our previously discussed meal plan was ignored. I even indulged in a pie of homemade apple pie and a piece of pumpkin pie.

I had more room for pie because I did do my training run yesterday. I ran 4.15 miles on the streets. I really hold myself back on the treadmill. I run a steady 10:20 pace on the streets, while I stay between 10:45-11:10 on the treadmill. I have always been one to focus on my distance, not my speed. I also do not want to push myself to run to fast and then suffer an injury. I like to be careful.

I finally discovered why I have felt so sick. I am suffering from a killer sinus infection. But it is not stopping me from my training!

Hope y’all had a great turkey day!

Daily Fit Thought #11

Today’s daily fit thought is being typed out with tomorrow in mind. I know that I am stressing about a table full of bad decisions, refined carbs, unhealthy fats, and too much sugar. I have been internally stressing about the amount of “no more thank you”s and “i already had some and could not possibly eat anymore”s that I will have to politely fling out at my family.

Thing is: IT IS ONE DAY. One meal consumed during a single day. One meal will not make or break a string of very good decisions.

I am not saying shove a whole pumpkin pie down you throat, throw up your hands, and scream, “YOLO”. What I am saying (typing? you get it!) is that a little stuffing, gravy, yams, rolls, turkey, and a piece of pie will not ruin what you have been working on. As long as the next day you are back on track.

Try not to worry when you look at that full Thanksgiving dinner table. Do not make your family feel bad for the food they cooked. Do not make yourself feel bad for eating some of that lovingly cooked food. You will be alright. It really is just one day.

Learning to Modify

I took a rest day today. Hubs is having some issues and I decided to take him out today. I know he has been so exhausted working overnight shifts the past month, so I was hoping a little day date would cheer him up.

We went to a hamburger restaurant that he really likes, Red Robin. Usually when I go there I kick the idea of healthy eating out of my mind. I slide in that plastic booth and prepare to eat my heart out. However, since I was rocking my size 10 skinny jeans (with no muffin top at all!!), I decided that I should maybe try that modification thing I hear so many talk about.

Yep, that is about 700 calories of pure fat and refined carbs, YUM.

Instead of getting my usual chicken sandwich, I made it a healthier version of what is pictured above. I took of the bun in substitute of a lettuce wrap, cut out the mayo, and said no cheese please. Taking off those three items made a calorie splurge into a decent choice. The sandwich became 330 calories, 10g of fat, 25g of carbs, and 32g of protein. I topped that off with a side salad, hold the dressing, and I had one decent meal. I really need to learn how to modify more. The sandwich was still awesome tasting and I did not have to feel guilty after eating it. Haha.

Speaking of worrying, I am worried about tomorrow’s Thanksgiving dinner. I spoke to my grandmother about modifying some of the side dishes and such so it would not be such a blow to my efforts. I like sweet potatoes, so let’s do that instead of candied yams. How about just cranberry slices instead of the cranberry salad? How about making a healthier homemade pumpkin pie instead of buying a giant one at Costco? How about wheat rolls (or preferably no rolls at all) instead of white rolls? She agree a month ago to all of this. Then, last night she came home with 4 packs of white rolls, 2 bags of marshmallows, and a humongous pumpkin pie from Costco. This really disappoints me. I am very anal about what my son eats, my hubs will not eat anything other than the turkey anyway (because he is picky), and she just picks at food. This leaves a load of leftovers for who? Oh yeah, me. Not thrilled at all……I have decided not to help her cook. These are not the meals we agreed to. These are not the items I agree to cooking. If she initially had a problem with the meal plan I had discussed, it would have been nice of her to say so. Oh well, I will figure something out. I did give myself a rest day today and will be working out for 2-3 hours tomorrow. I have double training so….that should keep me away from all that terrible food for a while.

I know that sounds like ED in full swing. I just have had a hard time maintaining control this year and I do not want to slip up. Like my new challenge said, I am going to love myself and respect my needs. I do not want marshmallows and I have a right to not eat them.
I’m sorry if I sound whiny and spoiled. Lately, I have just felt a lack of support at home and it is really getting to me. I hope my readers in America have a great Holiday and for my readers not in the states have a great day too. (:

Gym Rant: The Squat Rack Dudes

Because doing homework and being caught up for the holiday break is for lame people, I have decided to procrastinate and blog about my current pet peeve: the squat rack users at the gym.

I just found the perfect meme to start this rant off. Internet score.

This was me earlier at the gym. Seriously.

I have had a gym membership now for about a month. I love my new gym. The 24 Hour Fitness Super Sport I go to has three squat racks. Now, as a girl who likes to lift weights I need the squat rack. I have a heavy amount of weight I am squatting, lunging, deadlifting, blahblah-ing, but I cannot lift it over my head. I love the ability to duck under the bar, get situated, and pump some iron.

Since I have had this membership, I seem to go around the same time every day. I am a 12:30-3:30 frequenter of the gym and so are the world’s most annoying weight room men. The same five guys seem to be in the weight room with me when I am lifting and they have the worst freaking habits in the world. (These habits concern the squat rack. All of the terrible habits seem to revolve around the squat rack.)

The first most annoying thing these dudes do at the gym is placing their towels on machines that they are not using. I get that the squat rack is important. I love to use it myself, but if you are done or moving on to another machine for a bit REMOVE YOUR TOWEL SO I CAN WORKOUT! I am very methodical when I am in the gym. I group all my workouts according to areas. I do the squat rack needed moves first (because it is a busy machine), then I go to the free weights area to finish up whatever is floor work/dumbbell work. I have a plan. I have a method. It makes sense. This leads into my second issue.

You cannot use two or three bars on your ONE squat rack. Today, when I was at the gym, I spotted an open squat rack. I raced over with a smile upon my face. How lucky was I? A squat rack open and waiting for me. As fast as my smile appeared, it disappeared when I realized that there was no bar on the rack. Confusion racked my brain. I scan the gym for the bar that I so desperately needed. Quickly I spot the bar I need on the rack next to me. This dude had three bars on the squat rack he was using. He had a monopoly on all of the squat rack bars. Apparently, he was the only person in the whole gym that used bars when he worked out. Worst part of it, HE WAS NOT EVEN USING THE SQUAT RACK OR ANY OF THE BARS! Needless to say, I walked up to the machine he was working on and told him to give me one of his bars.

My final pet peeve with these dudes is how they are constantly trying to “help” me. This may not completely be about the squat rack, but it is annoying nonetheless. Almost every time I start to place weights on my bar, one of the dudes come up to me and ask me if I need help. “Hey, that looks heavy….do you need some help?” Clearly. Y’all have seen me here how many days now and you still believe I need your help? Take a cold shower and piss off. K?Thnx(:

Good thing I am not lifting tomorrow. Haha.

Do y’all have any gym pet peeves?

Exercise Recap: 11/20/2012

Today was my week 2 day 2 of the 16-week marathon program. I was supposed to run 3 miles; I ran 3.33 miles in 36 minutes. For the past three runs, I have been adding a minute of slow jogging (4.5) on a 6.0 incline. I run on 1.0, because I have been told that is comparable to flat pavement running, but even when I start running the streets again I do not live in a hilly area. I should take advantage of the treadmill right now.

My lifting workout was great today! I felt bad-ass in the gym today. I saw a couple guys watching me at the squat rack. What can I say? Momma knows how to lift with the big boys. 😀

Deadlift 3×10 @ 105lbs
Dumbbell Shoulder Press 1×7 1×8 1×9 @ 20lbs (for each dumbbell) <— This has always been the hardest move for me.
Lat Pulldown 1×8, 2×10 @ 86lbs
Split Leg Lunges 3×10 @ 100lbs
Reverse Crunch 3×10

I am officially in triple digits for three moves now. Y’all can only imagine how often I checked myself out today. I felt like one sexy lady.

 

(http://heyrunnergirl.tumblr.com/) Has a plethora of ‘Hey Girl’ memes for runner girls. LOVES<3

How was your workout today?

 

Daily Fit Thought #10

As a perfectionist, I am easily discouraged. I strive for a something, make a mistake, and then feel like the world is no longer my oyster. I tell myself that since I could not do that thing perfectly that I will never be able to do anything.

See how easy makes quitting a healthy lifestyle?

You’ll never be perfect, but that is alright! I am slowly learning that there will always be someone running faster than me. There will always be someone lifting heavier than me. There will always be a person with a lower body fat percentage than me. But everything will still be alright. I will still be able to work towards my goals and make myself better.

I have to remember that there are people I can run farther and faster than. There are people I can lift heavier than. There are people that would look at me as a source of inspiration, just as I have people I look at for inspiration.

That is the thing about the world, about people. We are all different and we all have a unique set of skills. Not everyone in school can write an essay, but I have always excelled in that. There are people who can ace math courses. I can barely do basic mathematics.

 

So, end rant, the fit thought today (because I am horribly behind) is: Be the best you can be everyday but never get discourage when you are not perfect. As long as your heart is in it and you are giving it all of your positive energy, you are doing it right.