Tuesday, February 24, 2009

Caloric Nirvana

Today as I perused the aisles of Wal-Mart (no they aren't the only store in town, they are just the only store that carries such a wide variety of "stuff," like Payson's own mall) I was on the prowl. I wanted something super yummy and I just couldn't put my finger on what it was. I looked at the cookies. I've been checking out the shortbread for weeks. Then I look at the price (3.77) and I walk away, because the package is small and probably contains 2 pounds of butter, and I'd be the only one who would partake. There are also the Pepperidge Farms large cookies, the sugar and the molasses. Mmmmm, they looked good. But again, price! Then I checked out the pre-made packages of cookie dough. There were some oatmeal/raisin ones, which I dig, but my family doesn't. I also looked at the donuts. Six is not enough, 12 is too many, so 8 might be ok. But the 8 count packages had no variety and my family demands donut variety. I did end up purchasing candy, but not for myself I SWEAR! it is for training tomorrow, my lame attempt to get the newbies to like me. I also bought some Laughing Cow Lite cheese....mmm mmm good.....for lunches this week. But I just couldn't find the one thing I was craving....my caloric nirvana (a phrase coined by a good friend).

Now you are probably wondering what I chose. Any guesses? You all know I'm seriously addicted to carbs in any form which doesn't really narrow the field does it? You also know that if I could live and eat at a bakery the rest of my life I would consider that my own personal celestial kingdom. But that doesn't really narrow the field either.

You will never guess, so I'll spill it. I bought pre-made tapioca pudding. Man oh man I love that stuff. The pearly wonderfulness of the tapiocas really hit a nerve with me today. The little orbs slide around the creamy yumminess and create my own happy place right there inside my mouth. So carbs, yes. Baked, no. But the calorie count and the fat grams are WAY less than the shortbread or the cookie dough.

Caloric Nirvana. Usually when I'm on that kind of quest I never reach my destination, but today I completed the journey and my mouth is satisfied.

Thursday, February 19, 2009

When I said this blog was "daily ramblings" I meant it...

I posted about this on my private weight loss blog, but I need to say something about it here, too.

A friend of mine who had surgery the same day as me has lost 65 pounds. I've lost 32ish. She works about 6x a week, 70 minutes each time. She tracks all her calories.

I'm feeling discouraged. I am full of excuses. I've watched a bit of The Biggest Loser lately and I'm feeling like every excuse I have is just that....an excuse.

How do you prioritize yourself? To some degree I feel like I do pretty well and I make time for exercise....but not 6x a week.....and I HAVE to do 6x a week to be successful.

The Shred is rocking my world. I really love it. I tried a yoga dvd yesterday and I didn't like it at all. The Shred is my friend. I am almost to the point where I feel pretty confident about workout #1 and will probably move on to workout #2 next week. I'm just not sure I can do it 6x a week. I need to find something else to throw in there a couple of days to keep things exciting. That is why I tried the Yoga, but like I said, not for me.

My work schedule is going to change a bit starting next week and going through March or so. The new schedule will allow me to workout every morning and I'm pretty excited about that. I'm also feeling spring in the air....ok, that might be my imagination, but I desperately want to get OUTSIDE to exercise.

I know this post was a bit of a ramble.....but.....

Here is something funny: Occasionally I do urine collections for my BIL's company. I go to job sites and secure the water sources, listen as they pee, and collect a sample for drug testing. It never fails, almost every single time SOMEONE brings up poppy seeds. Come on people! One poppy seed roll isn't going to make a drug screen positive. That is a total myth.

Here is another one: Someone inevitably wants to discuss their prescriptions with me. Look, not my deal. I'm here to collect a specimen, that's it.

Another: I hope you get paid well to do this job, it must really suck to touch people's pee. Hello!! Do you see the gloves on my hand? Also, if you knew what kind of money was in the drug testing business, you would quit your job now and start a drug-testing company. Even the lowly collector gets paid well, so don't you worry about me having a grody job. And this coming from construction workers whose bathrooms are the most disgusting places I have ever seen.

Thursday, February 12, 2009

Overdue

No, not my books at the library...I took those back a long time ago and now I'm dealing with late fees.

Not that monthly thing....as the equipment is missing.

Not the Redbox DVD, although, yes, it is overdue.

Me posting!

Almost a whole week has gone by and nerry a thing to post about other than having a raging sinus infection. This one really knocked the wind outta my sails. I missed 1 day of working out due to the SI, Monday. Other than that, I've been a good girl! Even though my head is spinning and my ears are all stuffed up along with my nose, I still work out. Even though at some point in the workout when I go from lying down (abs) to standing up (strength) I tend to get really dizzy and wonder if I should sit down. But no!!! I carry on and do what needs to be done.

Our little boy became a Webelos last night. Crazy. He also had a birthday on Monday. We took him to Jumpin' Jacks, this little place nearby that is a warehouse filled with blow up toys to slide on. The extended fam came along and if I hadn't been feeling lousy, I would have enjoyed myself. We brought him home and had cake/ice cream and gave him presents, two of which required batteries. We hadn't checked, so yep, poor birthday boy had to wait 24 hours for batteries!

Since its been an entire decade, I'd like to reminisce a little. We were going to name him Christian. We called him Christian for a few hours even. Then we both looked at eachother and were like, NOPE, not gonna do! We love his name now, it is unique and fun and STRONG! It frequently gets misprounced and even more frequently gets misspelled. Mostly like this: Maxon. As in Max-on, max-off. Lame.

It's okay though. I knew what I was signing on for when I gave my kid a name like that. After all, I have to spell MY name EVERY SINGLE TIME I tell it to someone. Even people who've known me for years get it wrong. I try not to be offended, but sometimes I like to razz friends about getting my name wrong.

When we brought Mack home from the hospital our house got filled up really quickly with two sets of neighbors, a sister, an old mission companion and her boyfriend, and his new puppy. I was on stimulation overload. Harold couldn't understand why I told them to get everyone OUTTA there (ok, not my mom or sister). Any post-partum woman understands, right?

I can't believe it's been a decade. But, here is some good news. I weight 32 pounds less now than I did then. Wow, that rocks! Now onto my next BIG goal, weighing what I did when I got preggo with Sav. It's gonna be a while, but I'll definitely be blogging about it when it happens!

Friday, February 6, 2009

Workout #3

I am not blogging about this to toot my own horn, though I do love to do that. I've been getting sick over the past couple of days. Not a cold, or a flu, or anything like that. My throat started tickling and no cough drop would touch it. Gum was a wee bit helpful. Then this little cough started up. Then last night I pretty much felt like I needed to go to bed around 8 p.m. Then the cough sounded a little more rattly. During the night I woke up with an itchy throat and a funkier cough. Then the alarm rings at 5:50.

Please NO! I waited about 10 minutes and got up to use the "facilities" (I've always hated that term). There I was, vacillating between going back to bed and putting my workout clothes on, when I had a moment of clarity, sort of. I figured that if I really wanted to make a difference today, working out when it was under less than desirable circumstances was going to be the key. I got my clothes on and headed downstairs.

As I was getting the DVD to the right place (for some reason there is all this intro stuff that is stupid to watch after the first time through) Mackson is standing there (he doesn't like to get up before 8 a.m. when it is absolutely necessary to get up to get ready for school). "Are you going to do workout #1?" (There are 3 workouts, each progressively harder). Yes, my sweet son, I will be doing workout #1. Cough, cough, hack, hack. "Are you still sick?" Geesh, I've only been sick a couple of days...but yes, I am still sick. Then he proceeds to get a nice warm blanket and cuddle up on the couch and WATCH!

Towards the beginning of the workout there are pushups. I am really, really bad at pushups. I do the "girlie" kind with my knees on the floor, and even then I struggle with all my might to do them. As I am doing them I'm thinking about my cute little boy, watching me do pushups, and probably wondering what the heck is wrong with his mother. Then comes the situps. Put your fingers behind your ear, let your abs do the work! when my son says, "In level 3 you have to go UP all the way."

Did I mention that last night while H and I were gone to ward temple night my children decided it would be "fun" to do all 3 levels of Gillians 30-day Shred? Yep. When we got home last night Mack had just gotten out of the shower and had his pj's on and Sav was almost done herself. Wow, that was fun!

Wow, that is not exactly the word I would use to describe that workout.

So there I am, on the floor, dying, and my son who is all bundled up, watching, and makes an innocent little comment about workout #3.

Darn it! I am sick! I don't feel well, I am actually doing better today than I did yesterday and definitely better than 2 days ago when I started this dumb DVD. And yet, my best today is nowhere near their casual involvement on any given day. I actually kept going and thought to myself, One of these days I will be thinner, I will be healthier, and I will be able to do workout #3 and not be ashamed to let my children watch. They will be proud and they will have a mother who worked very hard so that she could be around to see the birth of her children's children. I. WILL. BE. A. CUTE. MOM. IF. IT. KILLS. ME.! Hey, that's a little counterproductive, isn't it?

Wednesday, February 4, 2009

The 30-Day Shred

I just got done working out with Jillian Michaels. Just a little note, it does not take 30 days to feel like she has shredded you to pieces. Who knew jumping jacks would be so difficult? Even as I type this my fingers are shaking. If I had to pinpoint the worst part of the workout it would be the jumping jacks. No lie. I did those dumb jacks back in grade school no problem. But back in grade school I did not have a chest. I need help finding a super great support bra. Yikes. She promises up to 20 pounds in 30 days. I'd be happy with 10 and I'd pretty much kiss her little hiney if she delivers.

Sorry if I offend the male readers out there with my openness, but after that workout I've pretty much lost all of my common sense. My brain feels rattled, my legs feel like rubber, I'm shaking all over, AND I couldn't be more pleased about it.

Sunday, February 1, 2009

My February Work-Out Plan

I bit the bullet and made a decision. I will keep going to the gym until Feb. 4th (I think that's the day my membership runs out). From that point on I will be participating in........you know you want to know........what could it possibly be?......will she walk in the freezing cold......will she become a bear and hibernate through February?......

I bought a DVD from Wal-Mart and I convinced Harold that we could give this a 1-month trial. I bought the 30-Day Shred from Gillian Michaels (The Biggest Loser trainer). I hear its a tough workout. There are three 20-minute workouts, level 1, 2 and 3, each one getting progressively harder. I also have the Leslie Sansone Walk Away The Pounds DVD that we can throw in with it since only 20 minutes of workout isn't going to cut it for me, or for Harold.

Gillian even says that I can lose "up to 20 pounds in 30 days!" If that ends up being true....I will personally call Jillian on the phone and offer her my first born! (just kidding Sav, I'll offer Jillian my third born).

I'm pretty excited to do something different and I feel like Harold and I are committed enough to exercise that we will make a go of this DVD and if we hate it, no biggie, we only have to do it for 1 month.

I also want to make it a goal after the month is up to buy a new pair of running shoes. The nice kind, the kind where you go to a fancy running store and they watch you walk and they have you try on different pairs and run around to try them out. I'm really hoping to be outside by March, but if not, I better be outside by April!!!

I don't want to go back to the gym unless ABSOLUTELY necessary!

This plan will also give me time to listen to all the music suggestions for my new workout playlist and get it loaded onto the iPod. I have been so busy lately its unreal. I will post my new playlist as soon as I get it up and running (pun not intended).