Feeling the Burn

I was dreading my usual January health kick for a couple of reasons. First of all, I was heavier in December than I've ever been in my life. It seems like each year the number on the scale creeps up and up, but this year it virtually leaped into another tens group the likes of which I hope to never see again. Secondly, I felt like I had no other choice but to do something because of a conversation I had with Meredith. Back in November I was complaining about how much I was eating and how much I weighed and she said, "If I know you, once New Year's hits you'll be on a big kick and you'll lose it all." She's known me for a while and it appears she knows me better than I know myself. Last January I was gearing up for a trip to the Bahamas, three Januarys ago I was gearing up for a wedding that year. It seems I always have something to get skinny for once January comes around.

This January was no different. While I once loved Weight Watchers I have come to despise it in the last couple of years. I get really "Gung Ho" about it but then I cheat and cheat, so it doesn't really work in the end. I try to come up with plan after plan after plan, when the reality of the situation is quite clear to anyone with an ounce of a brain. As Skinny Bitch says, "Don't eat crap and move your ass." I can stick to that!

The perk of this year's health kick is the added encouragement of my new workout buddy - my husband! Every year I tell him to exercise with me and he never does, but this year, when I went to check out our local YMCA he came along, perhaps out of boredom and perhaps out of genuine curiosity. Either way, he came. When we finished our tour and they asked us if we wanted to sign up, I looked at him and he shrugged his shoulders as if to say, "Why not? It can't hurt."

Well, we've been going to "the gym" for three weeks now. The fine folks at the Y showed us how to lift weights and I LOVE the treadmills with private televisions. It looks like our routine will be Mondays, Wednesdays and Saturdays with weights and carido on Mondays and Saturdays, then just cardio on Wednesdays. Chud wants a stationary bike for the basement and I would give my right arm for a treadmill or an elliptical machine, but I'm fine with using the ones at the gym until it's warm enough to go outside (which is was this weekend, but I still prefer the TV treadmills)!

So here we go, into the wild abyss of health and weight loss. Lots of friends are also trying to stick to a routine, so at least we have support out there. Thanks to Laura and Meredith for the recipes and motivation to make this work!

How to Stay Happy

Okay, I just had a really great early morning workout and I have a theory as to why this moring's routine was so much more pleasant than the last week's worth of morning workouts - I laughed my ass off right before bed last night! I'm not even kidding. The last few mornings, I woke up groggy, stuffed up, cranky...but today I woke up refreshed and energized. Right before bed, Sylvain and I were watching AFV and I always laugh when people fall down, but last night there was the FUNNIEST video of a little kid at a T-Ball game. I won't go into details, but it's been a LONG time since I've laughed that hard and it felt really good. The best part is, I didn't feel stupid or guilty for laughing until I cried because Sylvain was laughing equally hard and we shared one of those - "Wow, this is really weird and really fun" - kind of moments. I fell asleep with a smile on my face and woke up exactly six and half hours later. I didn't wake up ONCE in the middle of the night; I don't even think I switched sides. I didn't move a muscle and I got the best sleep I've had in a long time. Then I went to they gym and ran like I've never run before. I'm about to start my day at school and I'm actually looking forward to it! It's amazing how far a little laugh will take you.

I'll try to find the video on-line and post it either here or on MySpace. Chances are it won't be nearly as funny today, but I'm hoping for the best!

Nice, long weekend!

Hooray for Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.! One extra day on my weekend makes me so much more productive. I've really been sticking to my 5 am workouts, which I've grown to love, but today I didn't have to work out until I woke up - at 10:00! I'm coming into my third week of Weight Watchers and exercise, which is a very important week because I've never really stuck to anything for more than three weeks before. This time I have a very effective goal in mind - I just want to look as good as my sister-in-law in a bathing suit when we all go the Bahamas in June. 22 weeks and counting!

I got lots of school work done this weekend - tons of science plans and "flashbacks," the new buzz word around our building and the new F-word to fourth grade teachers.

On Friday night I was fortunate enough to go to a dinner at the Louisville Writing Project where we heard author Linda Reif speak about being a teacher who writes. Not only did she give an amazing talk, but I met lots of people from the LWP, which was great. Then on Saturday we went to Emily's for a sushi dinner - yum! Last night we went to Laura and Pete's where the manfolk watched the football game and the womenfolk went to see a movie. It was a surprisingly good movie (27 Dresses) and I had so much fun hanging out with girls! Who knew?

Today was filled with exercise, laundry and school work, but it's been fine. I'm going to add a few new fun websites to my blog. I was introduced to them a la Emily and Laura. Thanks, friends!

(Blech)xercise...No Excuses

I know it's been forever since I've posted, but trust me, I haven't forgotten about my little blog! Every few days I evaluate my eating habits at school and think, "Oh...I should put this on my blog..." So here's a recap of my school's cuisinary events:

Good Things:
1. I still haven't eaten lunch from the cafeteria! Hooray!!

Bad Things: (that's right folks, not many good things lately...)
1. A few weeks ago our school held a fundraiser at TGIFridays. All the teachers ordered lunch out and instead of a killer salad I ordered Bufallo Chicken Wings. I'm a sucker for fried chicken and I felt very guilty after that lunch!
2. The teachers also had a football food day in the lounge on the Friday before the UK/UofL game...I gave in! I don't even remember what I ate from the lounge, but I know it was sinfully good. Forgive me!
3. Okay, so I said I didn't eat lunch from the cafeteria and that's still true, but one day last week I was having a HORRIBLE day, and they were having cheeseburgers.....I debated all day whether or not to get one lunch from the cafeteria. I rationalized it like this: I haven't had a cafeteria lunch for seven weeks, I've saved lots of money, and maybe I could just start having one cafeteria lunch a month. I went downstairs and came so close to buying the lunch, but instead I just bought a small bowl of those heavenly crinkle fries and took them upstairs to eat with my sandwich. I called it my "bad day treat" and I was still able to stick to my vow - sort of.

So those are the big moments from the last four weeks or so. I also found out that our cafeteria (and all cafeterias in Fayette County) don't actually fry anything. All the tater tots and french fries are baked, so I guess that's good. They also switched to whole wheat buns and rolls which I'm really happy about. I don't think the kids even noticed! Hooray for healthy food!

As for (blech)xercising, I have to write a little bit about my first day of "running," and I use the term very loosely! I have some friends, Laura and Pete, who are the healthiest, runniest people I know and ever since they started running together and Laura started looking all skinny and beautiful (not that she didn't before, she's always been lovely, but none of her old clothes fit her anymore and now she's smokin' hot!) I've been feeling fat and lumpy. The best part about Pete and Laura is they didn't let me make any excuses about exercising. Here's a quick version of the conversations we've been having over the last couple weeks:

ME: I need to start walking or running again. It would be so much easier if I had one of those watches with a timer on it.
LAURA: Here, have my old one. I don't need it anymore.

ME: Well, I would have started running today, but I don't have an armband for my new ipod, so I might just wait until I get one.
LAURA: (calling from her car) I just left TJMAXX and they have ipod armbands on sale for 5.99! Now you don't have to wait to get one.

ME: Well, I would have started running yesterday, but I don't really have any running clothes. Just one pair of shorts and a tank top that's probably too small for me anyway. I'll have to wait until I get some good running clothes.
PETE: Hey, why don't I just look through my attic for some old samples that will fit you. (He works for a fitness store)

DAMN IT!! WHAT IS IT WITH THESE PEOPLE? There's just no excuses! So what did I do today? I went to TJMAXX and bought me a stupid arm band, I hauled out my one pair of shorts and my tank top that shows all the flab, I strapped on my old pair of sneakers and hit the pavement. Let me tell you...

It was pretty great.

I walked for four minutes and ran for one, thanks to my new timer watch. Walking and running to music changes EVERYTHING! I had so much fun! The weather was gorgeous, my tunes were kickin' and everyone was out on their bikes or going for a run. There was only one time where I was supposed to be running that I had to stop. I was out for about 35 minutes and I tried really hard not to over-do it, because last time I tried to exercise I killed myself the first time out and never went again. So now I'm going to try to walk/run every other day for a couple of weeks, then perhaps start changing the time increments. I'm not a good runner and my face looks like a tomato when I'm done, but it feels good, so I'll do my best to stick to it. I'm sure Laura and Pete aren't going to let me quit.