Back in the Saddle

Got back in the saddle again today with step class.    I thought I'd be struggling badly because I haven't been on my normal schedule but I didn't do too bad, especially when you consider that Marisa put it on us with a challenging new routine.  We did this one move that she called "feel the beat."  I couldn't help thinking of "Jersey Shore" and how Ronnie said that they "found the beat and then beat up the beat."  I started chuckling to myself (if you can't crack yourself up, who can?) and almost fell over - step class roadkill.   It felt good to get my blood pumping again!   900 calories burned also, not too shabby.  So, I'm walking like George Jefferson, or Godzilla, or Frankenstein, or a cowboy - but I'm back on the horse!   Feels good.

Snowbound and Down

Woo, if I thought Christmas was hard to stay faithful to my wellness plan, being snowbound is worse!   It's so hard not to snack when it's cold outside and we can't get out and about.   I don't do well with cabin fever!  So the name of the game is distraction and finding activities to keep me out of the kitchen.    I can't wait for this snow to go away and to get back on my normal schedule.  It's much more of a challenge to motivate myself to do a workout DVD in my living room than it is to go down to the gym at lunch.    Upside though, I did learn to do the paso double from the "Dancing With the Stars" workout. And the jack russells got a workout doing circles and jumping around me as I exercised.   Where there's a will there's a way  so I'm working on that willpower and praying for a thaw!   

Thank you

My friend Ginger J. sent me this quote:

"Find people who will challenge you, believe in you and inspire you to improve.  No matter what's going on in your life, another person can help you shoot higher, laugh louder and look forward to tomorrow much more than if you go it alone." ~ Vicki Hitzges

How true that is!  I have such a wonderful support system at home and at work and there is no way I could do this without it.   Thank you to all of you! It's what keeps me going when I'm sore, over burdened, and feeling discouraged.  My cup runneth over.

Activating The Wonder Twins

Back when Saturday Morning cartoons were still good there were these two superheros called the Wonder Twins.  They could put their magic rings together and morph into any animal they wanted.    Today when Julie and I first got to the gym we saw the guys hanging out with Jeff so we had to go show them her new pink boxing gloves that look just like mine.  I called us the Pink Glove Mafia.  She said we were the Wonder Twins.  Pounding her invisible ring into mine she said, "Wonder Twins activate: form of a skinny woman!"  I thought I was going to fall down laughing and it got sillier from there.   You gotta have fun in the gym - and believe me there are ways to do that!   And if you go to the same work gym I do, shoot, just watch me.  Odds are that I will trip or something and then you can laugh at me. ; )

Cracker Happy

The other night I was running behind so I picked up some Wendy's chili for our dinner (it's still on my plan).    When we got ready to eat my husband handed me my chili and what was sitting on top?  A pack of crackers.  Recoiling from them like a vampire does to garlic (I might have even hissed) I said, "Eric, come get these crackers away from me right now!" He looked at me strangely but picked them up and said, "Surely you're not that cracker happy?!!!"

The answer to the question is yes, I am that cracker happy. For a former carbaholic to go this extreme in cutting back my former favorite part of the food pyramid, it will make you a little crazy.  That pack of crackers looked like the most delicious thing in the world.  Crazy but true....  Anyone out there who has salivated over a Saltine while on a low carb diet - can I get an Amen?

Like A Bunch of Hyenas

Day Two of Slow Carb is under way.   Nights for me are the worst because back in my bad days, that's when I would reward myself with food: Doritos, Little Debbies, Chex mix, etc.  - at the worst time of day you can consume calories.    I love to watch TV and I used to combine this love with my other love: snacking.  These days I still watch my favorite shows, but I've cut out the snacks.    Last night was hard though.  Even though it's not my habit to snack at night anymore, being on a stricter eating plan made me mentally hungry for anything made out of carbs.    I got through it by drinking a big bottle of water.  Another tip I've found: watch as many inspirational programs as you can to keep your head in the game. I can't wait for this season of "Biggest Loser" and have been enjoying "I Used to be Fat" and looking forward to "Heavy".  

I'm thankful to my cousin Devon and her husband Charlie who started the Slow Carb thing with me yesterday.  It helped to have someone to gripe to who is going through the same thing I am.    Last night when I talked to her before dinner, Devon said, "This better work.  We're over here eating meat like a bunch of hyenas!"

Resolution

I didn't make resolutions this year.    I decided that I have resolved to get this wellness thing done and therefore I don't need to make a New Year's resolution.  They rarely last anyway so why make 'em?  Just calling something a New Year's resolution puts a stigma on something....almost like it's a punishment.  Now some days I feel like I'd rather be beat than go to the gym, but they're rare.  Most of the time it's the part of my day that I look forward to the most.    

All that being said, I did start a stricter eating plan today.   It's called Slow Carb: a way of eating that concentrates on low glycemic foods such as proteins and veggies that your body burns slower than carbs, therefore you get a more substainable increase in energy and blood sugar levels.  You eat that way for 6 days and then on the 7th day you eat whatever you want in order to spike your metabolism and give yourself a treat.  Then the next day you get right back at it.    It's not all that different from what I have been doing, only taking it to that next level....but I must admit that I have been distracted all day with the idea that I'm on a stricter "plan."  I have been thinking, "Well, I can't eat this and I can't eat that..." all day.   I will snap out of it eventually I guess but I tell you what, I would just about kill someone for a Triscuit right about now!