At the risk of being ostracized by my fellow Canadians (especially ones like my friend Jon, who refuse to believe anything negative about this country).... I am going to go off on a personal tangent.
I am generalizing, of course, but for the most part, Canadians have - for a long time - felt as if we were an elite and superior group. We believe (or believed) that our view and handling with politics, education and lifestyle are some of the few contributors that makes us better than most countries and exponentially better than U.S. citizens (a.k.a. "Americans").
Well, I've been seeing things in a very different light lately (not that I felt ethnocentric or that Canada is better than any other place to live, but that I felt Canada was the best place for me to live, and I felt lucky to have grown up here and to be able to live in a place like this).
Well, I do consider myself lucky to have grown up here. I have been very fortunate to have had shelter, food, an education and a few other luxuries that I have had, like Canada's sense of freedom and democracy. However, lately, I feel that maybe Canada is no longer the same place I grew up in... something is changing dramatically, and I don't feel the same awe and love that I did before.
Lately, I have been thinking that life might actually be better for my fiance and I if we were to move to the US.
Here are a few (light) reasons that have recently been egging me on even more:
1) I'd live away from most of the people that cause extra stress in my life and as an added bonus, I would be closer to my best friend (one of them, at least).
2) There's better prices for everything almost everywhere: houses, groceries, etc...
3) You have more metropolitan areas to choose from, and even if you go to somewhere more remote, comfy and spectacular (like New Brunswick was to me, when growing up) it's going to be somewhere deliciously fabulous. Even Texas has the best of both worlds (and I will convince myself that all the charming people and their cute accents are just like the cool Southern Vampires from True Blood).
Hell, I could even go to the Cape or somewhere else near Harvard or close enough to New York to find my own Stars Hollow town to live like a Gilmore Girl... and here are some more reasons (although I guess they do revolve around the glamor of television and commercialism).
4) I would be able to order Glee online for free (and enjoy some of the other perks, like streaming your favorite T.V shows online for free without having to find a shady questionable (legal or illegal) sites to stream off of full of ads and possibly viruses).
5) Ever notice a really cool deal or a sweepstakes or a group or something incredible that you are totally jazzed to join and realize that you are exempt from participating because you are not a US citizen? I'd get to be included in those for once if I lived there... not including free shipping in most places, free samples, I would frequen cool companies that are not yet international and I would have more brands to chose from, including some innovative and awesome gems (like unique artificial flavor free vitamin water) that I cannot try due to it's exclusivity and high shipping rates.
6) When Belgian beers or cool exclusive imports that are to die for come to a country to try to expand their demographic reach, they usually choose the U.S. first. The downside is that maybe some of the good brands, like my ultimate favorite, Leffe, may not be so easy to find... if at all.
7)... well, I guess the list goes on. but being excluded from the cool things that would help trying to make healthier choices, like the vitamin water, a wider variety of vita top brands and kozy shacks simply well products and 40 calorie Asian protein noodles... things like that is what really peeves me off. I feel as if I would have a better chance at incorporating some fabulously yummy and low-calorie foods into my diet and actually be able to enjoy more or weigh less.
Dammit Canada! Why don't you demand to be the supply hub of the world?!?
Well... at least we still have maple syrup and Ketchup Chips... oooh... Ketchup chips, you sexy staple you, I would not like to see a world without you!
Thursday, August 5, 2010
Tuesday, July 13, 2010
Mean and Evil Cortisol!!! Why you gotta be that way?
Let's look at some sad but very serious facts:
Stress causes weight gain in your tummy area. Fact.
Weddings are stressful. Fact.
All brides are viewed as bridezillas at somepoint. Fact.
We should amputate the Zilla from our vocabularies! True that, Fact!
My cortisol levels have been very high lately, what with petty, snappy and selfish individuals and all that jazz that comes with planning a wedding. It's gotten so bad that I feel like I don't want any of my friends to plan a wedding, because I don't want them to have to go through this stress, and I don't ever want to relive it in any form ever again.
I feel this close to screaming bad advice, like : "...forget marriage, just have babies out of wedlock..." or "...go to Vegas, elope or go to city hall..." and worst case scenario "...hire a planner that will do everything for you and just be happy with everything! Don't have any expectations, don't count on people, don't plan parties or expect to do anything..."
Yup. That just about sums it all up. Pesky, backhanded and sneaky vendors, emotional, confusing families, snappy ignorant and petty people who call themselves your friends... weddings are hell. People just get offended and equally offensive out of nowhere and I just want everyone to take a chill pill--including myself, because it's hard not to get involved in all that drama when technically, you're at the center, and all you want is for everyone to be on board and happy and involved in a stress-free way.
So, since stress is bad for the belly, I was doing some research on how to get rid of the abdominal fat that causes most of those awful health issues (like heart disease and cancer).
Of course, working out in general is the only way to get rid of the fat, but I am of the opinion that it's nice to strengthen your abdomen as well to help shed the pounds since the more/stronger your muscles are, the more fat you burn.
According to the ACE, the best abdominal exercises for the rectus abdominus are :
The bicycle is easy, it's just the crisscross crunch with your legs up in the air on an angle.
One knee comes in, you cross the opposite elbow in a crunch toward that knee, and reverse (same for the other side; stretch out the leg and bring the other knee in, turn the opposite elbow to meet the knee and repeat).
I had to look up the captain's chair to remember what that was.
My mom's trainer has one in his basement gym, but I would likely have to go to a gym to do that one. I can't think of a way to recreate that equipment unless I had a stable shelf or high enough chair that's cemented to the floor to dangle off of and use to simply pull my knees up to my chest.
The closest thing I can think of that would supplement this activity would be the reverse crunch:
Crunches on an ab ball are pretty straight forward too.
I am lucky to have found this woman's version of these ab exercises on youtube, since she seems to do all of the positions correctly and with great form.
The vertical leg crunch sounded complex, until I realized that it's something I have been doing for ages.
It's popular in pilates and yogalates. It's just a crunch with your legs straight up in the air.
Also, according to the ACE's research, these are the top most effective exercises for your obliques
Of course, I believe you could also just take a yoga/yogalates class and get everything all in one great strengthening package, since most of these moves are incorporated into these classes. Too bad I'm not doing any of that stuff anymore.
I really miss my yogalates class--I had the best instructor, ever. My old gym had to cancel the class and I haven't found a decent yogalates instructional tape or Wii program to follow at home in lieu of attending her classes.
As soon as I can create some time, I will search for a replacement to my old awesome class taught by Jocelyn. That woman should partner with Nintendo Wii or with Beach Body to create a series of yogalates classes that people can follow at home.
So that's two things I need to find: Fun and effective Boxing/Boxercise and a decent Yogalates replacement for my personalized at-home fitness center.
Stress causes weight gain in your tummy area. Fact.
Weddings are stressful. Fact.
All brides are viewed as bridezillas at somepoint. Fact.
We should amputate the Zilla from our vocabularies! True that, Fact!
My cortisol levels have been very high lately, what with petty, snappy and selfish individuals and all that jazz that comes with planning a wedding. It's gotten so bad that I feel like I don't want any of my friends to plan a wedding, because I don't want them to have to go through this stress, and I don't ever want to relive it in any form ever again.
I feel this close to screaming bad advice, like : "...forget marriage, just have babies out of wedlock..." or "...go to Vegas, elope or go to city hall..." and worst case scenario "...hire a planner that will do everything for you and just be happy with everything! Don't have any expectations, don't count on people, don't plan parties or expect to do anything..."
Yup. That just about sums it all up. Pesky, backhanded and sneaky vendors, emotional, confusing families, snappy ignorant and petty people who call themselves your friends... weddings are hell. People just get offended and equally offensive out of nowhere and I just want everyone to take a chill pill--including myself, because it's hard not to get involved in all that drama when technically, you're at the center, and all you want is for everyone to be on board and happy and involved in a stress-free way.
So, since stress is bad for the belly, I was doing some research on how to get rid of the abdominal fat that causes most of those awful health issues (like heart disease and cancer).
Of course, working out in general is the only way to get rid of the fat, but I am of the opinion that it's nice to strengthen your abdomen as well to help shed the pounds since the more/stronger your muscles are, the more fat you burn.
According to the ACE, the best abdominal exercises for the rectus abdominus are :
1. Bicycle maneuver
2. Captain's chair
3. Crunches on exercise ball
4. Vertical leg crunch
The bicycle is easy, it's just the crisscross crunch with your legs up in the air on an angle.
One knee comes in, you cross the opposite elbow in a crunch toward that knee, and reverse (same for the other side; stretch out the leg and bring the other knee in, turn the opposite elbow to meet the knee and repeat).
I had to look up the captain's chair to remember what that was.
My mom's trainer has one in his basement gym, but I would likely have to go to a gym to do that one. I can't think of a way to recreate that equipment unless I had a stable shelf or high enough chair that's cemented to the floor to dangle off of and use to simply pull my knees up to my chest.
The closest thing I can think of that would supplement this activity would be the reverse crunch:
Crunches on an ab ball are pretty straight forward too.
I am lucky to have found this woman's version of these ab exercises on youtube, since she seems to do all of the positions correctly and with great form.
The vertical leg crunch sounded complex, until I realized that it's something I have been doing for ages.
It's popular in pilates and yogalates. It's just a crunch with your legs straight up in the air.
Also, according to the ACE's research, these are the top most effective exercises for your obliques
1. Captain's chair
2. Bicycle maneuver
3. Reverse crunch
4. Hover
5. Vertical leg crunch
6. Crunch on exercise ball
Of course, I believe you could also just take a yoga/yogalates class and get everything all in one great strengthening package, since most of these moves are incorporated into these classes. Too bad I'm not doing any of that stuff anymore.
I really miss my yogalates class--I had the best instructor, ever. My old gym had to cancel the class and I haven't found a decent yogalates instructional tape or Wii program to follow at home in lieu of attending her classes.
As soon as I can create some time, I will search for a replacement to my old awesome class taught by Jocelyn. That woman should partner with Nintendo Wii or with Beach Body to create a series of yogalates classes that people can follow at home.
So that's two things I need to find: Fun and effective Boxing/Boxercise and a decent Yogalates replacement for my personalized at-home fitness center.
Wednesday, July 7, 2010
Does a soup a Day keep the pounds away?
Wedding stress? Try some wedding soup!
I've been taking a page out of the Hungry Girl diet and souping it up. I've had some home-made soups that I make a cup at a time in the microwave. I haven't followed these particular recipes and I've used organic broth, but I am interested in trying out some of these.
Of course, I do not consider soups a "free" food, like the weight watchers plan would. I count the calories and I think it helps keep the overall diet on track. It helps maintain a healthy mindset and helps me not get too out of control emotions wise.
The Canada Day/long weekend I spent with the fiance set me back a bit. I gained about 3 LBs and we came home only to celebrate his mother's birthday at her house, full of foods with no calorie count.
I guessed and calculated everything on my plate to the best of my ability, but, of course, I can only assume that we went over that day. I ate almost four helpings of broccoli... I think I must have been craving the calcium and iron.
Prepared for the weight-gain outcome, I tried my best to not let it get to me, just accepted the fact that we expected this to happen, and moved on. It could have been way worse and I'm glad that it was only 3-4 pounds, or whatever it was. I have lost most of it since we've got home, so that helps things too.
I came home and jumped back into my workouts and diet routine starting on the Sunday. Just yesterday I did the whole 5 mile workout, which, if you follow the 1 mile walked =100 calories burned measurement, I burned off at least 500 calories :) in workouts in that day alone.
My joints have been killing me lately and I haven't been feeling too good health wise, so I've had to resort to sticking to low-impact workouts.
Sometimes, if I add a little bounce into my workouts, it feels like my knees are about to grind and pop out of their sockets and/or that my leg bone (situated halfway between my knee and my ankle) will snap in half.
When I keep the impact low, it doesn't hurt as much, so... since I'm trying not to be a crazy person anymore, I'm going to stick with what I think is healthier and say "safety first".
I don't know why I am feeling pain like this, but maybe I'm deficient in some minerals or calcium in my diet, especially since I've been losing lately. The soup I try to have regularly should at least help with the cushion around the bones. I haven't been having as much protein as I would like since our trip, but I will try to remedy that when I am well enough to go out grocery shopping.
So far, I've already lost 2 lbs, and I just need to get rid of one more pound to get back to where I was before the trip.
Today I'm not well enough to work out, so I'll take it easy and just try my best to stick to a reasonable program. Hopefully tomorrow or the day after I'll be well enough to do some walking or some sort of physical activity.
I've been taking a page out of the Hungry Girl diet and souping it up. I've had some home-made soups that I make a cup at a time in the microwave. I haven't followed these particular recipes and I've used organic broth, but I am interested in trying out some of these.
Of course, I do not consider soups a "free" food, like the weight watchers plan would. I count the calories and I think it helps keep the overall diet on track. It helps maintain a healthy mindset and helps me not get too out of control emotions wise.
The Canada Day/long weekend I spent with the fiance set me back a bit. I gained about 3 LBs and we came home only to celebrate his mother's birthday at her house, full of foods with no calorie count.
I guessed and calculated everything on my plate to the best of my ability, but, of course, I can only assume that we went over that day. I ate almost four helpings of broccoli... I think I must have been craving the calcium and iron.
Prepared for the weight-gain outcome, I tried my best to not let it get to me, just accepted the fact that we expected this to happen, and moved on. It could have been way worse and I'm glad that it was only 3-4 pounds, or whatever it was. I have lost most of it since we've got home, so that helps things too.
I came home and jumped back into my workouts and diet routine starting on the Sunday. Just yesterday I did the whole 5 mile workout, which, if you follow the 1 mile walked =100 calories burned measurement, I burned off at least 500 calories :) in workouts in that day alone.
My joints have been killing me lately and I haven't been feeling too good health wise, so I've had to resort to sticking to low-impact workouts.
Sometimes, if I add a little bounce into my workouts, it feels like my knees are about to grind and pop out of their sockets and/or that my leg bone (situated halfway between my knee and my ankle) will snap in half.
When I keep the impact low, it doesn't hurt as much, so... since I'm trying not to be a crazy person anymore, I'm going to stick with what I think is healthier and say "safety first".
I don't know why I am feeling pain like this, but maybe I'm deficient in some minerals or calcium in my diet, especially since I've been losing lately. The soup I try to have regularly should at least help with the cushion around the bones. I haven't been having as much protein as I would like since our trip, but I will try to remedy that when I am well enough to go out grocery shopping.
So far, I've already lost 2 lbs, and I just need to get rid of one more pound to get back to where I was before the trip.
Today I'm not well enough to work out, so I'll take it easy and just try my best to stick to a reasonable program. Hopefully tomorrow or the day after I'll be well enough to do some walking or some sort of physical activity.
Saturday, June 26, 2010
Doesn't this make it look fun?
http://www.joystiq.com/2007/01/16/lose-weight-by-playing-wii-sports/
If only it were that easy.
For some reason (plateau? not enough percentage of lean protein or fish?!?) the past two weeks have been not so great. I've been going up on the scale when all signs in my diet (as far as I know) should point to down. The percentage of body fat had been going down according to that scale, however, it's not very reliable and therefore not something I would use to measure success.
This week, I was so discouraged that I just did diet, and didn't do as much exercise. I was not as aggressive because I had training downtown and I was tired when I came home. Also, I came home to the fiance, so it wasn't easy to do "me time", and also, because the fiance was home instead of at work, due to the G2 for the rest of the week, so even though he was working, he was always around and it's hard for me to workout or maintain my drive in front of him. I think I did a workout or a DDR early to mid week and then I did a walk workout the other day. I lost track. I just know that my diet was on-par and my weight kept going up.
I have been so tired and upset about this weight issue.
So, I remembered this thing that an old "dietitian" I saw told me about plateaus. "Eat a bowl of pasta" or just eat a lot and then you'll get back on track the next day. It is supposed to break the plateau phase. I felt somehow that that advice was sound and it made sense. It felt like my body was tired and it told me to feed it and just go back to the diet after. So I did. I ate something like 1,500 calories more than I planned to; I had whole wheat french toast for breakfast with peanut butter, gnocchi and ravioli for dinner, ice cream, liquor and 1/2 bag of mini chips for snacks.
I went over and I felt great. I felt comfortable and like my body ate just the right amount.
That was last night.
Today, I slept and it felt good... it felt good to sleep till 12:30 and when I weighed myself after my morning hygiene routine (probably around 1pm), I lost .2 oz.
STRAAAANGE!
Maybe this plateau-trick is right-on the nose. You have to feed your body when it's running low to help create that switch. Help it realize that you're not starving and everything's okay, you just need to shed some of that fat for health.
Well... I hope that's right.
I had eggs today for breakfast. I am about to do a workout and I'll try to make soup or some other healthy recipes to eat for today and get back on track.
If only it were that easy.
For some reason (plateau? not enough percentage of lean protein or fish?!?) the past two weeks have been not so great. I've been going up on the scale when all signs in my diet (as far as I know) should point to down. The percentage of body fat had been going down according to that scale, however, it's not very reliable and therefore not something I would use to measure success.
This week, I was so discouraged that I just did diet, and didn't do as much exercise. I was not as aggressive because I had training downtown and I was tired when I came home. Also, I came home to the fiance, so it wasn't easy to do "me time", and also, because the fiance was home instead of at work, due to the G2 for the rest of the week, so even though he was working, he was always around and it's hard for me to workout or maintain my drive in front of him. I think I did a workout or a DDR early to mid week and then I did a walk workout the other day. I lost track. I just know that my diet was on-par and my weight kept going up.
I have been so tired and upset about this weight issue.
So, I remembered this thing that an old "dietitian" I saw told me about plateaus. "Eat a bowl of pasta" or just eat a lot and then you'll get back on track the next day. It is supposed to break the plateau phase. I felt somehow that that advice was sound and it made sense. It felt like my body was tired and it told me to feed it and just go back to the diet after. So I did. I ate something like 1,500 calories more than I planned to; I had whole wheat french toast for breakfast with peanut butter, gnocchi and ravioli for dinner, ice cream, liquor and 1/2 bag of mini chips for snacks.
I went over and I felt great. I felt comfortable and like my body ate just the right amount.
That was last night.
Today, I slept and it felt good... it felt good to sleep till 12:30 and when I weighed myself after my morning hygiene routine (probably around 1pm), I lost .2 oz.
STRAAAANGE!
Maybe this plateau-trick is right-on the nose. You have to feed your body when it's running low to help create that switch. Help it realize that you're not starving and everything's okay, you just need to shed some of that fat for health.
Well... I hope that's right.
I had eggs today for breakfast. I am about to do a workout and I'll try to make soup or some other healthy recipes to eat for today and get back on track.
Thursday, June 17, 2010
Week of June 14 2010
Monday
DOWN .2LB
Had to help mom with something I believe I did a mile workout before I met her, but I didn't log anything into my Lose It! app and I had no energy at the end of the day to work out from what I recall, so I didn't do any extra workout. I had sushi with her and I went over 386 calories due to that.
Tuesday
UP .2LB
DDR
I logged it for 800 cal burn, but about half way through the Wii fell and the power cord disconnected from the unit making me have to start again. I logged somewhere around 665 calories the second time I turned it on and began from the beginning. So I logged 665.
Consumed under 112 calories
Wednesday
DOWN .2 LB
5 mile walk workout
Counted as 65 min of walking in Lose It!
Consumed under 346 calories
Thursday
NO LOSS (NO GAIN)
Wedding Workout 30 min of weights and cardio and abs with additional arm work --can't remember if I tagged on extra cardio or not, so I'll just say not.
counted ad 15 min weights
Consumed under 319
Friday
DOWN .2 LB
Walk workout (3 miles plus abs) counted it as 30 min of walking in my Lose It! app.
Consumed under 64
Not too much protein today.
Saturday
GAINED .8 LB !?!??
Twenty min interval training followed by arms of envy workout
Counted it as 10 min weights and 10 min aerobics in Lose It! app.
The week's count is 454 calories under budget so far, and somehow it went up... it's not something to cry over, but it is something that raises a bit of anxiety, as I don't understand what went wrong. It could be that I'm getting tired of flavorless, butter-free eggs for breakfast and that I need more protein and weights in my week's routine. I don't want to plateau or gain, I want to drop a lot and I want the excess weight to continue to melt off.
Once all of the unhealthy fat falls off my body I'll look and feel much better. I want that happy, positive, beautiful glow and energy for my wedding day.
Anyway. I hope I work through this and/or figure out a solution if my body doesn't just drop some pounds at the end of the week.
Time to get back to that assignment that's due tomorrow.
Monday
DOWN .2LB
Had to help mom with something I believe I did a mile workout before I met her, but I didn't log anything into my Lose It! app and I had no energy at the end of the day to work out from what I recall, so I didn't do any extra workout. I had sushi with her and I went over 386 calories due to that.
Tuesday
UP .2LB
DDR
I logged it for 800 cal burn, but about half way through the Wii fell and the power cord disconnected from the unit making me have to start again. I logged somewhere around 665 calories the second time I turned it on and began from the beginning. So I logged 665.
Consumed under 112 calories
Wednesday
DOWN .2 LB
5 mile walk workout
Counted as 65 min of walking in Lose It!
Consumed under 346 calories
Thursday
NO LOSS (NO GAIN)
Wedding Workout 30 min of weights and cardio and abs with additional arm work --can't remember if I tagged on extra cardio or not, so I'll just say not.
counted ad 15 min weights
Consumed under 319
Friday
DOWN .2 LB
Walk workout (3 miles plus abs) counted it as 30 min of walking in my Lose It! app.
Consumed under 64
Not too much protein today.
Saturday
GAINED .8 LB !?!??
Twenty min interval training followed by arms of envy workout
Counted it as 10 min weights and 10 min aerobics in Lose It! app.
The week's count is 454 calories under budget so far, and somehow it went up... it's not something to cry over, but it is something that raises a bit of anxiety, as I don't understand what went wrong. It could be that I'm getting tired of flavorless, butter-free eggs for breakfast and that I need more protein and weights in my week's routine. I don't want to plateau or gain, I want to drop a lot and I want the excess weight to continue to melt off.
Once all of the unhealthy fat falls off my body I'll look and feel much better. I want that happy, positive, beautiful glow and energy for my wedding day.
Anyway. I hope I work through this and/or figure out a solution if my body doesn't just drop some pounds at the end of the week.
Time to get back to that assignment that's due tomorrow.
Wednesday, June 16, 2010
Set me free, why don'tchya babe?
So hungry.
I don't want to eat anymore today, but my stomach feels like it's eating itself. Intense hunger pains are not cool or productive when trying to lose weight.
I keep fantasizing about peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, grabbing the individual serving bag of ketchup chips I keep in my emergency snack box or eating delicious soft, buttery and salted scrambled eggs with butter and toast and jam for a snack instead of chives and peppers and no-stick (a.k.a. no taste) eggs that I shove down my throat in the morning that's hard to chew and hard to enjoy. I just want cereals or something nice, but protein is key and I make my sacrifices. No sugar or too much salt, not too much fat and I try to up the veggies whenever I can.
I have to focus on some school stuff and business stuff with my mom, and frankly, spending time with her takes too much energy. I do not recommend going into business with your parents, at any cost. Unless you're an exceptionally Brady family, don't do it.
I'm so tired I can barely focus on any of my other goals. I have to contact some people for interviews for a book I should be writing, I need to do research for my mom, I need to do a lot and I barely had the energy to go grocery shopping today.
I couldn't workout, or cook... I'm tired and stressed and hungry. It's hard not to give in when food is the bright side of your day. Which is why Glee episodes have been so helpful--but I am finding it hard to feel the same with re-runs.
I'm just not sure how the calorie count will go down today. I'll keep my fingers crossed that the feeling will go away or that will power will win.
I don't want to eat anymore today, but my stomach feels like it's eating itself. Intense hunger pains are not cool or productive when trying to lose weight.
I keep fantasizing about peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, grabbing the individual serving bag of ketchup chips I keep in my emergency snack box or eating delicious soft, buttery and salted scrambled eggs with butter and toast and jam for a snack instead of chives and peppers and no-stick (a.k.a. no taste) eggs that I shove down my throat in the morning that's hard to chew and hard to enjoy. I just want cereals or something nice, but protein is key and I make my sacrifices. No sugar or too much salt, not too much fat and I try to up the veggies whenever I can.
I have to focus on some school stuff and business stuff with my mom, and frankly, spending time with her takes too much energy. I do not recommend going into business with your parents, at any cost. Unless you're an exceptionally Brady family, don't do it.
I'm so tired I can barely focus on any of my other goals. I have to contact some people for interviews for a book I should be writing, I need to do research for my mom, I need to do a lot and I barely had the energy to go grocery shopping today.
I couldn't workout, or cook... I'm tired and stressed and hungry. It's hard not to give in when food is the bright side of your day. Which is why Glee episodes have been so helpful--but I am finding it hard to feel the same with re-runs.
I'm just not sure how the calorie count will go down today. I'll keep my fingers crossed that the feeling will go away or that will power will win.
Monday, June 14, 2010
Let's not jinx things...
I am a little concerned about today.
So far, everything has been much better. I have been feeling great and I've lost approx 2 Lbs lately (all this week, I think), total 4 Lbs. I am so happy because it feels like the scale has been perma-stuck for the longest time, and to finally see it budge (lower) is a slice of calorie-free heaven-cake!
I did pretty good on the weekend, actually, which helped with my overall week. I ended up something like 500+ calories under budget for the week, and I didn't add all of my workouts in, which I think is helping.
I decided to do some preemptive strikes to deal with my notorious behavior... because I tend to think I can eat more when I see how much more room I have, and I like to push it to my limits, I control what I mark down so I have room for error if I do slip and go nuts.
So, in other words, I am fudging the numbers I record, so I prevent bad behavior. If I'm going to push it, I will push it good... damn that's a good song.
On Friday or Saturday, I ended up doing a DDR workout and it counted a little over 800 calories, but I felt so exhausted, I could barely keep up and I didn't have the energy to do any of it from the beginning.
I could barely lift my feet and I was wheezing like a smoker in high altitude. So, I felt like I didn't give it my all, and that I didn't burn as much as I should have because I missed or half-assed my steps. I was tired and I was ready to pass out, so I thought the best compromise would be to cut the workout calories in half and log that. So instead of logging -800 or -819... I logged -400. It was the safest and best choice I could have done, and I didn't eat anything extra that night. I just showered and put on Glee and opened myself up to this private and totally geeky joy of mine.
I did this throughout the whole week--preparing for the worst so I can be sure I have the best results and not letting myself get to the worst.
For example, The Wedding Workout from Women's Health where I combine weights, abs and cardio for my strength days, I only count 10 min of weights instead of 30 min or 50 min cardio. I don't count my warm ups or cool downs, though I believe they contribute to the total workout, and it helps keep me in check. So if I do over eat, it's not as bad because I'm more conscious not to go over now.
It sounds sort of harsh, but I feel very positive about it and I feel like it's actually a healthy change. I just set myself up to succeed rather than allowing myself to log accurate numbers and knowing how I would read that and behave psychologically in return. I am adjusting my results to prepare for my reaction.
I'm taking a page from the Count of Monte Cristo, when you think about it "every action in the universe has an equal or greater reaction in physics... and in man...", considering that, it is brave to put an action forward, but it is much wiser to act in a way that would best guide the reactions you desire.
So while the past week has been very positive. I feel that I have to remind myself of these things today, because I am very close to my daily limit due to a sushi lunch with my mother that I just had. In order to be able to get through this evening, I will have to either skimp on my meals or DDR again tonight. I hope I deal with it properly and manage to make this week another great one.
So far, everything has been much better. I have been feeling great and I've lost approx 2 Lbs lately (all this week, I think), total 4 Lbs. I am so happy because it feels like the scale has been perma-stuck for the longest time, and to finally see it budge (lower) is a slice of calorie-free heaven-cake!
I did pretty good on the weekend, actually, which helped with my overall week. I ended up something like 500+ calories under budget for the week, and I didn't add all of my workouts in, which I think is helping.
I decided to do some preemptive strikes to deal with my notorious behavior... because I tend to think I can eat more when I see how much more room I have, and I like to push it to my limits, I control what I mark down so I have room for error if I do slip and go nuts.
So, in other words, I am fudging the numbers I record, so I prevent bad behavior. If I'm going to push it, I will push it good... damn that's a good song.
On Friday or Saturday, I ended up doing a DDR workout and it counted a little over 800 calories, but I felt so exhausted, I could barely keep up and I didn't have the energy to do any of it from the beginning.
I could barely lift my feet and I was wheezing like a smoker in high altitude. So, I felt like I didn't give it my all, and that I didn't burn as much as I should have because I missed or half-assed my steps. I was tired and I was ready to pass out, so I thought the best compromise would be to cut the workout calories in half and log that. So instead of logging -800 or -819... I logged -400. It was the safest and best choice I could have done, and I didn't eat anything extra that night. I just showered and put on Glee and opened myself up to this private and totally geeky joy of mine.
I did this throughout the whole week--preparing for the worst so I can be sure I have the best results and not letting myself get to the worst.
For example, The Wedding Workout from Women's Health where I combine weights, abs and cardio for my strength days, I only count 10 min of weights instead of 30 min or 50 min cardio. I don't count my warm ups or cool downs, though I believe they contribute to the total workout, and it helps keep me in check. So if I do over eat, it's not as bad because I'm more conscious not to go over now.
It sounds sort of harsh, but I feel very positive about it and I feel like it's actually a healthy change. I just set myself up to succeed rather than allowing myself to log accurate numbers and knowing how I would read that and behave psychologically in return. I am adjusting my results to prepare for my reaction.
I'm taking a page from the Count of Monte Cristo, when you think about it "every action in the universe has an equal or greater reaction in physics... and in man...", considering that, it is brave to put an action forward, but it is much wiser to act in a way that would best guide the reactions you desire.
So while the past week has been very positive. I feel that I have to remind myself of these things today, because I am very close to my daily limit due to a sushi lunch with my mother that I just had. In order to be able to get through this evening, I will have to either skimp on my meals or DDR again tonight. I hope I deal with it properly and manage to make this week another great one.
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