Goals Review
Comments (5)Wow, December already? Where did last month go, actually, where has 2009 gone? Time flies when you’re having fun, I suppose. Time to update the goals progress…
- Workout 4 times a week: 2 solo gym workouts, 1 with Mr. Personal Trainer, and 1 DVD at home (I don’t want to rely on DVDs at home!) – This goal always transfers to the next month! I did pretty well on this, with the exception of Thanksgiving week, in which I only worked out 3 times.
- Before eating anything, ask myself if this particular food is good for my body. I did okay with this, with the exception of last Friday. The game was on, the food covered every surface of the kitchen, the family was gathered around, it was one of those days…
- If taking lunch to work, cook / pack it the night before. Oops. This was a goal? I ran around in the morning’s like a chicken with its head cut off…definitely need to work on this! I think I maybe achieved this goal 3 out of 30 days or so…EPIC FAIL.
- If taking gym bag with me in the morning, pack it the night before. Complete and utter SUCCESS!!!
- Take my thyroid medication everyday. Be on the lookout for side effects. No side effects, no issues with taking the medication. Will find out later this month if my TSH levels are in the normal range…
- Finish the Christmas list for my Mom – and get Christmas shopping for my son done before Thanksgiving. Christmas list is done and submitted, but I haven’t even started Christmas shopping!!! This weekend, maybe???
I’m off to the gym to start my c25K training…a bit nervous, but I’m bound and determined! I’ll let you know how it goes…
If you Tweet, or if you Facebook, or if you just wanna know more about why my blog text is red today – click no further. December 1st is World AIDS Day. Help spread the word and turn your blog RED!
My Quarter-Life Crisis / Birthday
Comments (4)Wow, I’m 25 today. Just 75 years short of living to be 100! I’ve been in quarter-life crisis mode for the past year or so. It was as if I graduated from college and then questioned every choice I ever made since graduating from high school. Did I choose the right major? Am I in the right career field? Why am I still living in this hicktown? What the heck and I doing with my life? I feel as if I’m finally starting to figure it all out, but then again, I’m not so sure…:-?
But no worries today, my friends! It’s my birthday! I’m going to a really awesome restaurant that’s a 30 minute drive from my house with my bestest. I’ll probably come home to read a good book with a hot cup of tea, take a hot as I can stand it bubble bath, and cuddle up in bed.
I start my c25K training tomorrow with Josie and Craig (right guys?!), and I’m a bit skeptical. Week 1 training is 60 seconds jogging, 90 seconds walking. I can handle the walking part, but I’ve never ran more than 45 second intervals. We shall see. I guess if I need to work up to Week 1, then so be it. I’ll do Week 1 until I master it!
But today, it’s hakuna matata!
Bye-Bye Birdie…
Comments (1)I’ve long wrestled with the idea of going vegetarian. This is due to the many moral/ethical issues I have with the food industry, the nutrition of products available today, etc. I can easily live without beef, pork, and seafood. Easy schmeesy. But chicken…oh, my beloved chicken. Actually, as I type that my stomach is churning. Images of chicken farming practices rush through my brain as I re-read that sentence. As I ate my eggs this morning, as is customary on a Sunday morning, I found I couldn’t finish. I was too busy wondering where my eggs were raised. That chicken thawing in the fridge for tonight’s supper? Well, it’s going to my Mother’s! Maybe watching Food, Inc. last night had something to do with this?! Why, of course it did!
Food, Inc. has to be one of the most eye-opening experiences of my life. Deep down, I feel as if I’ve always known some of the facts, but they were literally on the back burner. I was too busy grilling my chicken breast. But seeing the disgusting conditions in which our food is raised, I’m done. Looking at that chicken in my fridge now, I want to throw up. Going vegetarian will be a simple transition for me, as I only eat meat 2-3 times per week to begin with. My son doesn’t eat meat of any kind, so he won’t be affected by my switch. We live in a dairy-free household, so it’s not much of a transition to eliminate chicken/eggs. I anticipate going vegan at some point, but I like my change to be gradual. For now, that chicken and those eggs are being delivered to my Mother’s home.
I hope your Thanksgiving was peaceful and surrounded by loved ones.
Erin
ZzzFail!
“Eat right and exercise.” I’ve heard it over and over again. Why do ‘they’ always leave the 3rd part out? Sleep plays a huge role in any weight loss journey. Any LIFE, for that matter. And insomnia, I’m convinced, is the inability to sleep until just before the alarm goes off. Call me Sleepless in Seattle the Midwest.
I just can’t shut my brain off! There’s always something to do, watch, read, clean, etc. Sunday evening was no different – gotta do this, gotta finish reading that, gotta get the house ready for Thanksgiving guests – gotta gotta gotta!
Then I was late for work Monday. Fail. Lather, rinse, and repeat for Monday night. I was irritable and tired on Tuesday. For good measure, gimme a 3peat…
Fail. fAiL. FAIL!!!
This morning wasn’t as bad, but I didn’t get to actually sit at the breakfast table and eat – I ate on the road. Not especially safe, even in my hicktown, and I hate being rushed through a meal.
I’m sabotaging myself. Ack.
Don’t You Dare!
I guess the scale doesn’t understand verbal threats, eh?! Well, I just about tossed the damn thing out the window this morning. Ok, ok, it’s not the scale’s fault. I need to name the scale something other than wretched piece of s...! Suggestions?
I didn’t slack this week by any means. Just the opposite. This week I’ve hit the gym soooo hard and stayed within my nutrition guidelines soooo well! Better than weeks past. WAY better. I just don’t understand how I only lost 0.5 lbs! Any loss is a good loss, but how is it possible that it was just 0.5 pounds??? The only thing I can think of is that I did eat some red meat for supper one evening (we have a love/hate relationship). Consuming red meat is rare, like, I can’t remember the last time I had any prior to Wednesday night. I busted tail this week, too – cardio, weights, yoga. I sweat my arse off everyday, and achieved a few goals this week. (Heck yeah for goals achieved!) My stress levels were low, I ate healthy food and obviously, worked my arse off. But only 0.5 pounds? Either that damned scale is playing an evil trick on me or I just had an ‘off’ week. I’ll hope for the former, but it’s likely the latter. 
Breathe, Erin…in and out…lungs are functioning properly…ok, relax now. It’s going to come sooner or later, you just have to keep working on it. Just let it go now, Erin. <— That’s obviously the self talk that I’m using today to get through the frustration and disappointment, the questioning. Fretting over my lack of a ‘big loss’ this week is only going to stress me out and in turn, give me undesirable results. So I am stopping this crap, right now. NO MORE worries about what the scale did or didn’t tell me this morning. Time to move forward…
Weekend plan of action:
- Maintain healthy eating habits throughout the weekend. I had my cheat meal @ work over lunch (our annual catered ’Thanksgiving’ lunch – my carbs are totally consumed for the day), so it’s clean eating all weekend. And really, can you go wrong with steamed broccoli, chicken breast, and carrots? Nom nom.
- Do Iron Yoga DVD on Saturday morning.
- Maintain appropriate blood pressure levels during the football game (ha!).
- Do 30 Day Shred on Saturday evening after the football game.
- Repeat exercise on Sunday.
- Do the Whittle My Middle challenge (it’s supposed to be 6-10 minutes for 5 days/week, but I’m an overachiever doing 7 days/week and 10-15 minutes per sesh!).
- Email Craig about setting up a mileage challenge via Daily Mile. If you’re reading this, Craig, check your email soon!
Alright, I’m outta here. Going to hit up the gym, pickup my son, and have supper with my lovely Aunt/Uncle and their kids. I may or may not post this weekend, but we’ll see. I’m unpredictable like that. Take care of you!
Erin
Busy Bee
Ok, I’m running late for my chiropractor, so I’m going to hold off on a real post. I’m going to give you this daily motivation from Great Day (http://greatday.com/) WordPress hates me today, so I had to put the link in the old fashioned way. Actually, WordPress hates me almost everday. But I digress.
In each and every moment, you are successful at doing something. You take action, and that action successfully brings a result.
Success is not really something you must strive to create, for you are always making it happen. What’s important is defining and intending the success you do create so that it is a positive force in your world.
Many people are successful at just barely getting by. Others are successful at bringing pain and dismay into their lives.
Yet the very same skills that succeed at creating mediocrity and despair, can also be used to create rich fulfillment. What’s needed is not so much a change in effort as a change in focus.
You truly deserve a great and wonderful life, and you have everything necessary to experience that life. Keep your thoughts focused on your most meaningful desires, and your actions will align with those thoughts.
You’re always succeeding at something. Choose now to make it something great.
– Ralph Marston
Sometimes we (I) get so bogged down in what we (I) haven’t yet achieved in our (my) lives (life), that we (I) don’t notice the successes we (I) have. I’m thankful for my all my successes today. I hope you are aware and proud of yours.
Erin
That’ll wake you up in the morning, boy!
First of all, huge props if you can ‘name that movie.’ It’s one of my favorites!
I really didn’t feel like working out yesterday, but I did anyway. I kept thinking about Jen’s post awhile back – “Remember that choosing to skip a workout will NEVER feel as good as completing a workout.” So off to the gym I went, but I still didn’t want to. I really didn’t want to get on the PRECOR AMT, which is a beast, but I did. I did a bunch of ab work, then got on the Death Machine and did 10 minutes. My heart rate was WAY high, so high that I won’t tell you what it was, for fear your chin may hit your keyboard as your jaw drops. I took a few minutes to rest, and I even debated on stopping, as my heart rate has been a constant PITA (pain in the …) for some time.
I thought of something Bob said last season on TBL…in a moment of frustration with one contestant, he said, “Just shut the (F-bleep) up and do it!” So, I did. Another few rounds of abs, a nice cool down on the treadmill, and I was done! I did it, even if I didn’t want to!
I got up this morning, and I want to! Completing that workout yesterday motivated me for today. I can’t wait to get to the gym after work! I can’t wait to get on that AMT again and push myself even further. I never see myself anticipating the Death Machine, though. I can’t wait to leave that gym looking like I just stepped out of a torrential downpour. Sweat is damn sexy, I tell ya!
Take care of you!
Erin
The Holidays are Coming!
So, my mother has been nagging asking me for Christmas lists. This year, I have no idea what I want/need. I’m the practical type, I’ve asked for vacuums and can openers in the past. One year, my parents got me a cute trash can set that I asked for. Yes, for Christmas. I don’t like fru-fru fluffy stuff. My philosophy is that if you’re going to give me a gift, give me something I will actually use! I have nothing against those who enjoy receiving ‘wants,’ but I prefer ‘needs.’ My son is happy with toys, as any 5-year-old would be. Needless to say, I’ve spent every spare moment perusing the Internet looking for things to round-out our list. I’m finally finished, and I just emailed it to my Mom.
Another interesting bit of information…I got a phone call from the McNasty gym manager over lunch today. One of those fakey, “we miss you, let me know how you’re doing” calls. Hmm…if only he knew what I’ve got up my sleeve, but that’s another post. I’m off to McWonderful gym!
Do you make Christmas lists? Are you practical as I am or do you enjoy the fru-fru?
Take care of you!
Erin, who didn’t mean to make a rhyme in that last bit…
Inches and Whoops!
First of all, the INCHES! I had a fabulous workout with Mr. Personal Trainer this morning. We did my monthly measurements, and I’ve lost 4 ½ inches in the past month! Whooo-hooo! I’ve lost 5 pounds total over the past month, so double Whooo-hooo! Not too shabby for just getting my thyroid back in check. Do your best happy dance, shake it, girl!
And now, my WHOOPS! When I was heavier, I feared the day when I would sit in a chair, only to have it collapse and send me to the floor in a pile of belly-rolls and thigh-blubber über-embarrassment. I still cannot say for certain that I’m over it, but I got out of the shower after my workout and dried off. I dropped my towel onto the chair (dun dun DUN!) and the chair COLLAPSED! (OMG face!!!) The mirror reflected a look of horror in my eyes, followed by my best attempt to stifle my uncontrollable laughter. I laughed while getting dressed, while doing my hair and makeup; I just couldn’t stop laughing! As I was leaving, Mr. Personal Trainer probably thought I was having auditory hallucinations because I couldn’t stop giggling! All that pent-up fear of my larger self collapsing a chair, and a TOWEL does it for me…
“At the height of laughter, the universe is flung into a kaleidoscope of new possibilities.” ~Jean Houston
I’ll leave you with that for today, cuz I’ve got a kaleidoscope to explore! I’m still laughing!
Until next time, take care of yourselves!
Erin
Acceptance & Passion
Well, I stepped on the scale this morning. I’m down 3 pounds this week! (Happy Dance!) I’ve found that when I my nutrition is rockin and I’m killin’ it in the gym (and my thyroid is functioning properly – haha!), my fatsicles melt off. It’s certainly not easy to do, though! I still crave chips and guacamole every night at 8:15 pm, I have mental blocks during my workout that I’m constantly trying to break through. But the point is that I’m doing it, and I feel fabulous! In losing 3 pounds this week, I’ve also come to adequate degree of acceptance (ha!) with regard to my hypothyroidism and the fact that I must take this medication in order to continue my weight loss journey. It’s sinking in, I suppose. I’ve really hit the cardio and strength training this week. Mr. Personal Trainer ran me through a great leg workout and my quads/hammies are cooked! Nice ‘n toasty!
In other news, my gym membership transfer has unfortunately been denied (again) and my only other option is to get written permission from Manager de la McNasty gym. I can guarantee that isn’t going to happen (shady corporate greed). Hmm…what to do? In addition to solely using McWonderful for the next 60 days (which is a 50/50 last resort option), I’m drafting a letter of complaint to two separate entities: McNasty gym’s (the owner), and the corporate office of the entire franchise. I also promised to let Mr. Personal Trainer look over my letter to make sure I’m not too harsh…my excuse is that I’m just passionate about my beliefs. I dunno if it will make much difference in getting a transfer, but I’m willing to try anything at this point.
Hope you all have a wonderful weekend! It’s supposed to be nice here, so I’m going to catch up on some yardwork before we get hit with the cold/ice/snow of approaching winter.
Erin
