VANESSA!

I made a friend, or I found a friend at the gym today.

 

VANESSA!!

It’s was insanely early, but there we were at 6am ready to do BODY pump. I sized up her plates and briefly contemplating trying to keep up. Nope. This girl is strong and ambitious. She loaded more than double my weight and killed the class. We both has moments of hesitation, when we weren’t really sure if our bodies could do what our minds (and hearts) were asking, but we finished out 50minutes of cardio weight lifting.

 

And this class was awesome, killer play list, enthusiastic instructor who kept the class on pace and trucking along, despite the continuous lunges. More freaking lunges. I HATE lunges.

 

It’s only 10a and feel completely satisfied with the day. Now don’t eff it up.

 

I woke up with Thomas at 5:20 had a bottle and a cuddle, got dressed, grabbed a banana, headed to the gym, where I met a friend, had a killer class; got home with time to spare, greeted my boys before a  quick shower, had breakfast, made lunch, played with Thomas, kissed my husband and headed into work. If only every morning would go SO smoothly.

 

Tomorrow is week 2 weigh in. I am working to get up every 30 minutes and take a lap, my thighs HATE it, as do my knees, but they get relief tomorrow at hot yoga for a deep stretch, please send me your best wishes on surviving that class. I have never done an early Hot Yoga class, and think it might be the WORST with no time to eat, hydrate or prepare.

 

We shall see.

 

Xo

 

Ps. But weighing in after an hour of sweating, might be AMAZING!

 

Jillian we meet again

Note to self: eat before class or you won't survive it.

There is no part of me that was satisfied with that class. I think it had the bones of a good workout, but a substitute instructor, low energy music and an unprepared body.... 15minutes in I got nauseous and bored. 

Today felt like a lot of effort with no payout. I wish there was a 6a step class. 

And can I add, I know interval training  and I know Jillian's style, this was not it. I am hoping it was a case of unpreparedness on the substitutes side (otherwise she was lovely and upbeat), but she kept missing the tones. Everyone who interval trains knows you wait for that tone (ding or beep), it means the end of that interval, you GO HARD until that ding! Today the ding was embedded in the track, but not in use. I am programmed to stop at the ding.

GO GO GO GO ding STOP.

I am going to go in early tomorrow and do a bit of cardio before BODYpump and I am reevaluating Hot Yoga in the AM... I need time to prep for that class, hydrate.

Until tomorrow!

Ding!

Morning #1 and body pump

My first morning at the gym and I am issued a snowstorm challenge by the powers that be. Sadly for them, I did not succumb. I slide around the corners and drifted into a spot, with no time to spare. I raced up the stairs and hit the class 5 minutes in.

 

Body Pump is basically weight lifting for 60minutes, you work through circuits highlighting consecutive muscle groups. It’s a lot of legs… and lunges. I freaking hate lunges. So do my knees. I did the class. I kept pace. I surprised myself. Then I tried to walk down the stairs to the exit…  nothing worked. My legs suddenly forgot how to function. They quit on me. I held the railing and hobbled down the steps getting side-eye from the people arriving to the gym.

 

Thanks legs.

 

The only thing worse than the stairs, was the parking lot and a dozen icy patches between me and my car. I hope no one was watching.

 

Arm spread wide, for balance despite the deep ache from push-ups and dips. Slightly bent over, working on the theory that it will hurt less if I am closer to the ground when I fall. Knees bent and spread apart, because that feels good (well better than any other position). Bum out, as far as I could get it, hoping that would help with my balance… all of this while wearing a red face, hot pink toque, light pink winter jacket, mittens, hood and capri pants with winter boots.

 

What a mess. I laughed at myself the entire struggle.

 

No gym tomorrow! Woot!

 

xo

 

Stepping it up!

Today I went to the gym, with the wrong schedule, broken earphones and a hole in the crotch of my pants.

And it was awesome!

All of last week I prepped and planned for my triumphant return to the world of gym goers, sadly I look like a resolutionist (all the ambitious folks who plan to get healthy, but lose interest in 6 weeks), but I am not. I am a lifer... it's been 14 years. You'd never know by looking at me, but this girl knows her way around the gym.

So Sunday morning came, I had woken up in the night to drink as much water as possible,trying to hydrate for Hot Yoga. I quickly ate, as to not go into class with a full belly. I packed my bag, I even bought a new yoga mat. I had fresh socks and perfect hair.

I ran out the door psyched to finally be at the gym.

I ran up the three flights of stairs, scanned my card and stepped into the gym.

Big breath.

And the realization, I am an hour early. An hour. 

What am I going to do for an hour?

Can this old body handle an hour of cardio BEFORE an hour of hot power yoga??? No.

So I opt to go for a run.

I pick a locker, grab my water and my headph---, I forgot my headphones. They are locked on the other side of the parking lot, down the three flights of stairs.

Hmpf!

I jog down the steps, open the door, shiver in the cold and wander to my car, wrestle the headphones out of the cup holder and skip back inside and up the three flights of stairs (my fitbit freaking LOVES it).

I get everything out of the change room and hop on the elliptical.

Go to pop my earphones in and--

Really?? The gym gods are punishing me for the last 6 months of laziness.

So I tuck it in my ear, but it's not the same.

I'm zipping along and it feels good, but I want better. I want to do a class. 

I google Goodlife schedule and finally some luck! Step class starts in 13minutes.

But where?? I opted out of the tour, I wander around until I find a crowd of ladies and sure enough, it's the line up for spin.

They welcome me in to the conversation. They're wonderful and offer tips, advice and even the scoop on which classes to avoid.

It's nice to be apart of this world again. Like motorcycle riders... You have instant friends.

We get into class, where I am introduced as new, I am setting up my step and as I bend I feel a draft or an empty spot, between my legs. Oh god. I have a hole

in my pants, right in the groin region. And like most experienced gym goers I am not wearing anything under my gym pants (in case you didn't know, most women don't wear panties... layers and bunching are nobodies friend).

FML.

I'm doing it anyways. Eff it.

So I do. It's upbeat, loud and exhilarating.

Now I am prepping for my first 6am class.

Wish me luck!

Body Pump is tomorrow!

Xo

Ps. Step pushed me over 10,000 steps today!! Squee!

And now that I am using my fitbit to it's full potential, I like it.

Thanks babe!!

 

This girl got a Gym membership!

I am about to live the GOOD life. I finally got to join a gym, Good life is my dream gym, but has never been in the budget before. Not to mention the lack of available time. With my new job I have extra time in the AM. 

So today I met with Cory (the sales guy) with the intention of signing a 3 day pass, but after rambling on and on about my goals, my life and my delivery story... I committed to a year (there is a 10day cancellation period, but I'm not going to use it). So tomorrow it begins. No more lazy. 

Hot yoga tomorrow morning... three 6am classes this week and then maybe a personal trainer.

I want it, but it's a lot... losing 30lbs in 10weeks is a lot too.

Wish me luck.

Xo

https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=10152515522951017&id=500586016&notif_t=like&ref=m_notif

Enjoy!!

Pink PJ and 20,000 steps

The sea of pink rolled through Georgetown this past weekend. What a perfect set-up for me, because if you remember correctly I love exercise that isn’t. Well Friday night was amazing, and full of exercise that wasn’t, that and a dance floor full of firefighters.  

I went to 'My sisters Pink PJ party' an amazing charity dinner, raising funds for Breast Cancer awareness. The co-ordinator holds the event in memory of her sister who passed away from Breast Cancer. 

This year I was invited by my Mommy friends and jumped at the opportunity for a night out with the ladies to support an incredible cause. A cause that has a huge opportunity to affect us as we age, expand our circle of loved ones and watch our parents age. 

So we helped raise a ton of cash; by eating, dancing and playing games, in the hopes of something amazing in the near future. 

Where does the fitness kick in?? Dancing for 2 hours. Jumping, squatting, lunging and drooling at the wonderful performance by the men in uniform. My fit bit tracked over 11,000 steps before it cut-out (low battery).... Kim hit 20,000 so I am sharing her number, she's cool with it.

I forgot how good it felt to dance, to let loose and work up a good sweat; to be silly, crazy and hang out with an entire crowd of fun loving adults. My hand is sore from all the high fiving (or possibly the dance clapping)! And this morning my thighs, bum and back ache, from my steady twerking, hard-core two stepping and incredible jumping to the beat. Not to mention my hoarse voice from all the ‘Wooo’, ‘Ow Ow’ and singing along with Bon Jovi.

I'm calling it a 'dance-over', because it feels similar to a hangover, but I didn’t ravage my body with alcohol.

The entire party dressed in pink, including our table of Pink Pirates and their fairy princess pirate (this was me, as I ran my mouth during planning, but my magic wand came in handy when we needed a male presence… with a simple flick of the wand, a handsome firefighter would appear with deviled eggs, or sausage rolls or a well-deserved photo opt).

Vanessa and I even co-ordinated outfits, for some BEFORE & AFTER posing. We will revisit our attire when I am happily in my ‘after’ status.

We even placed second in the toilet paper roll game. This is a tricky game of getting the ‘stick’ in the hole. Vanessa was the stick, I was the hole… twice we came in second, but I’m giving us FIRST place because WE didn’t cheat. I may, or may not, have batted my eye lashes at a handsome Firemen on an opposing team, but all’s’ fair in love and war.

Can't wait till next year!

Xo

Get it done!

What a day for getting shit done. I found some sort of motivation to get up and go. And today I am in a getting shit done.

Mostly in the fitness world, since I feel like I have all the other aspects of my life worked out and mostly functional.

 

Katl and I are having daily competitions with our fitbits, I am continually losing, but it’s very motivating, because I hate to lose. I get up every 30minutes and take a lap 200-300 steps, but nothing compares to her commute, which I happily don’t have, but at the end of day I am walking more than if we weren’t battling it out for hypothetical fitbit badges.

 

I am joining Goodlife fitness! Well, I am on a trial for a week to see if the morning classes give me enough time to get to work in the AM, but that’s not even the best part. Vanessa (my ultimate workout buddy and the most physically fit person I know) is thinking about doing it all with me. What a motivator?!!?

 

AND Vanessa and I are going to take an Orangetheory fitness class, which seems like a crazy one hour interval training course, but amazing. We were originally road blocked, because you can’t do a trial in the AM, but we’ve figure out an evening that works for both of us and we’re going to make it work. If that goes well I might tack that on for a month, just to up my game.

 

Mornings at goodlife, evenings at Orangetheory… my body won’t know what to do with itself… the fat will run away in fear and I will hit my goal of losing 30lbs by my birthday. Gah.

 

All of that and I am working to get everything done at home, learning everything at work and working towards putting together a charity event with my favorite girls.

 

I will make a difference in this life, to myself, my family AND my world.

 

Remember BE better.

 

This is my better and I can only hope the high of this moment carries me through the early mornings… planning is the easy part.

Xo

And my biggest motivation "Dad, that's my smoothie!"

 

Come on, Melanie! Fuck.

On to the next ‘idea’… why I can’t just exercise and eat well is beyond me, but I like challenges, I set goals… it is just who I am.

I am going to measure everything (weight, body fat %, Waist, Hips, Chest, Arms, Legs with pictures*barf*) tonight and update this post… Enough monkeying around. I need to light a fire under my ass and get on with this getting healthy.

Come on, Melanie! Get it together! Fuck.

I am working on a Health & Safety Minute for work (I post every Monday) this week I am writing about ‘Your health and the office, what to do when your resolution has failed’, but it has gotten me all FIRED UP about my own failings.

So I am taking part of my own advice and posting my motivation.

She is hot as BALLS and I want to use her to push myself… I will look like that (I am being VERY optimistic) because believing you can achieve it is half of the process (I don’t necessarily BELIEVE that).

I also downloaded an Interval Timer App. It will beep every 30 minutes to tell me to get off my ass; to stand, stretch or go for a walk. My plan is to head down the stairs and back up (just one flight, but enough to get the blood flowing).

Kat also friended me on my Fitbit and I have challenged her. I must win. So I need to up my daily steps… which the stairs should help with.

My water intake… needs to increase, one of my 30-minute walks will be to refill the water bottle, but that means I must drink the water before I can refill the water.

And I vow to you and to my son (because I love my readers BUT a promise to Thomas is a blood oath) to use the Loseit! app and to stick with it. I want to lose 30lbs by my birthday. I have 3 months; 10lbs a month, 2lbs a week. This is completely feasible. 

I also am going to work to eat my dinner with Thomas and nothing more after he has gone to bed. I am ALL ABOUT snacking in the evening, but nothing healthy ever happens after 7pm.

I am off this restricting wheat thing… restrictions don’t work (as previously posted I hate being told what not to do). Everything in moderation. I need to work with the Loseit! app, I can even have cookies with the app as long as I have room in my daily calorie allowance which is 1600.

Gah! The timer just dinged… 30 minutes has passed already.

I chose the stairs this round, but as I jogged down the steps I noticed a person sitting on the step. Watching me. So I ducked into the bathroom and hung out in there for 20 seconds (I counted) before I popped back out and jogged up the stairs.

This is going to be weird and take a bit of getting used too.

10:38a – Phone dings, lock computer (that also dings), leave office (that dings), jog stairs, duck into bathroom (that gratefully doesn't ding), count to 20, jog upstairs, return to office (door dings), unlock computer (that dings).

Everything dings!! And my office is SUPER quiet with every sound echoing. All this dinging is going to garner some questions.

On that note… let’s abandon this post on a funny note.

FROM EMAIL CHAIN WITH KATL: 

We have no sound proofing. You can hear EVERYTHING.

So I am sitting up at my desk, its ultra-quiet. I feel a little rumble and think I can let out a little pressure, but then I lose control of things and fart. Extra loud.

There is NO recovery… I can’t go around the corner and ask ‘Hey did you hear that?’… I am wondering if it sounded enough like a chair squeak that I don’t have to blush, but I am already blushing I can feel it.

And also… my cheeked are more clenched than ever before.

xo 

And my measurements *face palm*

Bread... my mistress, my love.

I want bread. This is stupid.

I don’t know why I do this to myself, well I know why… it’s because it is the only thing that works. I can’t calorie count, because I am lazy. I haven’t figured out how the gym/fitness fit in to my new life just yet. I can’t be controlled, but I can NOT do something… it takes no effort to NOT do something. So my something of NOT is wheat. Which is bread. It’s delicious and wonderful, toasted or plain, with jam, jelly or honey. It’s incredible with delicately sliced meats stuffed inside or ooey gooey cheese. A smackerl of mayo or mustard. It’s soft and fluffy, its melts in your mouth; yet holds substance, it could be a meal all on its own, a delicious treat from the gods, provided to nourish mother nature’s children and I can’t eat it. It’s full of sugar, makes me bloat and is the basic ingredient on ALL of my favorite snacks.

Last night I wanted something, but nothing quick was wheat free… so I just didn’t snack, which is the whole system in progress. It does work as silly as it is.

Sidenote… I also signed up for a class with Orange TheoryFitness, which seems intense, scary and awesome. I am just waiting for my confirmation, but hopefully one day next week I will roll out of bed at 5am for an hour long cardio class, because we all know how much I love new things (read: schemes)

New toys to get my bit fit.

Richard is the king of support. He's all about me getting healthy, but I think part of it is selfish, who doesn't want a HOT wife. PLUS a healthy wife complains less about being unhealthy. He's so selfish. 

The boxing day we went shopping and he surprised me with a FitBit Flex. This is a stylish little bracelet that tracks me, like a needy girlfriend. It counts my steps, monitors my sleep and gathers all my details in one place (it also syncs with Loseit.com). 

It's fascniating to see all of my details laid out and ironic on my 'busy' days I seem to do less than on my lazy days. I wish it had a heart rate monitor, it's only flaw. I have always been fascinated by how my body works. 

The goal is 10 000 steps a day. Which is tricky... 

So I am only a few days in... I will report back later with the help this has provided, or whether it is another novelty. 

I can't wait to hit the gym and see the lights flash. 

I need to get settled in the new gig, before I join the gym, but I can't freaking wait!! They have lots of 6am classes, which gives me lots of time to work out, shower and get to work on time. 

We've decided to delay baby stuff... so I have a few months to get back on top of my health which has declined. DE. CLINED.

Alright... tons to do for tomorrow.

xo

#greensmoothie

We signed up for the Green Smoothie Challenge. It started January 1st. The first 4 have been less than delicious, but they are so full of goodness, we're trucking along.

We've hit a small snag, it's 8pm on Sunday and I haven't recieved my list of recipes and ingredients yet. Hmpf. 

We're going to make it up tomorrow... Kale, Banana and Orange (and maybe Pomegrante, if I can figure out how to cut/prep it).

Thomas and Richard are just as commited to this, in fact Thomas has been more into it than the rest of us. 

I don't notice a difference in my world yet... Although I don't expect too, I have piece of mind knowing I am getting the right fuel for my day to day. It should be a great platform for everything else. I have also given up wheat (not gluten, that is a lot of work and completely unnecessary, based on all of the research I have done in the last 3 years, at least in my world).

I am going to jump back into the gym once I get my bearings at the new job, which kicks off tomorrow. I am so freaking nervous/excited. 

Wish me luck!

xo

Ps. How the hell do you cut a mango? And Ew. Grapefruit.

New Years Resolution - Let's be better

My New Years resolution is always the same, not because I am unsuccessful (and not that I am not), but because there is no end to my resolutions.

I resolve to be better.

A better person, a better mother, a better wife, a better friend, a employee, a better stranger.

Be better to myself.

I resolve to be more.

More patient (with family friends and myself), more conscious, more understanding, more polite, more outgoing, more ambitious, more inquisitive. 

I spend my days trying to better myself, my home and my world (dream big people). I just want to keep moving forward. 

I resolve to be more and to always be better.

There are a dozens of things I want to do less, but I'm trying to be more optimistic.

Better,

Melanie