Survey says...

So far, things are going well.

I have been frustrated with my lack of weight loss, even though I KNOW my body is changing and muscle weighs more, blah blah. But I decided to just go whole hog, and I joined sparkpeople. It's a free site, and it tracks everything FitDay tracks, as well as having fun articles and an online community. I am loving it so far. Did I mention that it's free? So head on over, and tell them jenna_sais_quoi sent you.

I am still wavering at the same point on the scale. I am hoping that counting calories and logging meals will change that.

The good news is, The Man has been great about going to the gym with me. The even better news is that I took measurements today and compared them with my measurements that my trainer took when I signed up in December.

I am down by 10 inches all over- the place I actually lost the most was in my waist! Two inches down. Hallelujah!

It's a win/win

This week is going to be a big test. Work picks up again, and I still want to do the gym 6 days a week, so I am getting my schedule together. With the weird hours my husband is working, I like that gym time is also together time.

I called The Man at work this morning, to ask what time he wanted to go to the gym.
He said he would go with me when he got home at noon. Then he needed to relax. At 1 PM, I checked on him and he was watching Heroes.

"Um, do you still want to go?"

"Yeah, let me finish this thing!"

Of course, part of the problem here is that my trainer advised me not to eat before the gym. So I was also starving, which didn't help. It also doesn't help that it is not the first time we have been through this particular time management issue.

At 1:40, I knocked on the door.

"I am leaving in 20 minutes."

"OK! I'll get ready."

2:00. I check, and he is still sitting in front of the laptop in his underwear.

I just yelled,"BYE!" and took off.

I got in a great workout, did a little extra cardio, upped the resistance on the elliptical, and tried the x-country ski machine. I also decided to do crunches on one of the big bouncy balls and forgo my usual ab machines. It was a nice switch.

When I got home, The Man was still watching TV. I didn't say anything to him, and by the time he finally emerged, it was his bedtime (4PM- he has to be at work at midnight.)

"Wanna do something?" he asked. it was obvious that he figured I would be annoyed, and he was right.

"Isn't it time for you to be asleep?" I asked, knitting furiously.

"Well, I feel bad, I haven't spent any time with you today."

I sort of bit my tongue. But I didn't say, "Well, whose fault is that?"

I said, "You know, I am just not going to ask you to go to the gym with me anymore. I will just go by myself."

He just looked at me, and said, "I know. I'm sorry."

And I said, "Well, when you make plans with me and then blow me off to watch TV, it makes me feel really unimportant to you. If you have other priorities, say so, and don't leave me hanging around all day."

We have a date to go to the gym together tomorrow when he gets home at 8. I really hope he is going to come through this time.

If not, I won't sweat it, I will just go by myself.

Panic

I went out to lunch with a friend yesterday.

This was an event, because I decided to dress up, and while the same clothes still fit, they evidently fit better. Jeans that took an hour or so to become comfy are now comfy right out of the gate- that kind of thing. So I threw on some eyeliner and big sunglasses, and headed out the door.

While I haven't made a huge effort to eat healthier, my diet has never been that bad- except when I was on progesterone, which made me want to hijack a Girl Scout and steal her wagon full of Thin Mints. I eat whole grains, full-fat dairy (because of the whole fertility thing, and in moderation) and lots of lean protein, fruits and veggies. The occasional Drumstick doesn't throw to big of a wrench into the machinery.

I pulled up to the place we were meeting up at, and some college guys in a car totally checked me out and whistled and yowled at me. I glared at them as I fought with my keys and wrangled my purse.

I was kind of amused, but more thrown off than anything. That hasn't happened for awhile, and I have never done too well with male attention. So, it's solid proof that I either look different physically, or project more confidence, or both. (Or, they were making fun of me, which is always my gut reaction- but they kept watching me as they drove off, instead of snickering and high-fiving each other, so...)

I walked into the place, and the first thing my friend says is, "You look great!"

I haven't seen her in two weeks, and she said there was a big difference.

"I know you're watching it," she added. "But I am going to have a cheeseburger."

The thing you need to know about this place is that they have the best onion rings ever. EV-er. And they also have a BBQ pulled pork sandwich that I love love love, but have to order, but it is called The Pig Sandwich. So if you are say, a police officer, or, as in my case, a fat chick, ordering this gives you a qualm or two.

But it is amazing, so I order it anyway. I am not on a diet! I can eat what I want! And I have copious amounts of onion rings. And realize that I am doing this a. to prove to my friend that I haven't become a "salad and an iced tea girl", b. because I am freaking out about the college guys in the parking lot, and I am prone to comfort eating, and c. because mmmmmm, Pig Sandwich. And onion rings. Thin slice of heaven, right there.

And then afterwards, we go to the yarn store, and there's a fantastic little bakery next door, and I think, well, I have already blown it. And they have the cutest little mini-desserts, but of course, I have already "screwed up" today, I decided against the baby eclair, and I have the Big Momma eclair.

And OH it was sooooooo good.

So yeah, worth it. Until this morning when I woke up and smelled the self-sabotage.
I am not going to say that I can't have onion rings. Or a pulled pork sandwich on garlic bread. Or an eclair as big as my head. But all three in quick succession on the same day is a little much. So I am chalking it up to not eating for the rest of the day yesterday (I had the second half of the Pig Sandwich for dinner) and leave it at that.

She's Crafty

The Man and I have been floundering for a few days. His work schedule is midnight to 8AM, and it just switched over from a much more normal 8-4 shift, so we are getting acclimated and trying to work with it.

We finally made it in to the gym together this morning, and I did my usual elliptical cardio, and noticed- it's getting easier. I can work a little harder, so my heart rate gets more elevated, and I am not gasping for breath. My heart-rate monitor is a godsend...making things easier for me to track my recovery rate, and keeping me honest about how much time I spend in the gym and how many calories I burn. I am not using the calorie features because life is just too short.

I am trying not to stress about my lack of weight loss. I hopped on the scale this morning, and I am down 6 lbs from where I started after Thanksgiving. I need to be patient. There are other physical changes, so I know that SOMETHING is working.

Case in point: My pants. I bought four brand new pairs of exercise pants when we started this escapade- they were all on clearance. Two are a style with a drawstring waist, and two have a wide band of elastic. The pants with elastic are suddenly roomier, to the point where I am hitching them up as I zoom around the gym. I see an appointment with the sewing machine in my near future. It should be a simple matter to just open an interior seam and snug up the elastic.

Another weird thing- my stomach feels different when I do abdominal exercises. I was doing my crunches and my seated rows today, and I felt this strange, fluid shifting. This is kind of gross, but instead of the fat on my tummy just smooshing together in one big bump like it normally does, the bend of my waist was now separate from the curve of my stomach, and they were sort of gliding over each other.

It was odd. There have also been moments when I have caught a glimpse of me in the mirror, and for a second, I just look...well, wrong. It resolves itself almost instantly. The Man says he can tell now in my face, and that my waist is back, which is good to hear.

I have gym time scheduled this week, and it should keep me honest. I am still enjoying going in and working out, but I am still learning the ropes when it comes to the machines that work my arms and legs. I don't think I have gotten a full arm workout in yet- the program my trainer put me on has at least 10 different arm machines on it, and I am letting myself be intimidated by it. So that is the goal for this week- arm workout. And a date with my pants and the sewing machine!

Ow ow ow

Sorry I haven't been around. Christmas caused a few lapses in judgement that I don't want to discuss. Plus, I have been lifting weights, and it literally hurts to type.

My weight isn't really doing much. I am down 5 lbs when I weigh on my "day off" from the gym, but it tends to fly all over the place on the days that I work out.

I got a Cuisinart and a G5 grill for Christmas, so healthy eating is getting easier. Yay, gadgets!

I am getting into the swing of things at the gym, annoying The Man with my insistence that we get there at a certain time and stay as long as it takes for me to get my cardio and weights in. Today, he lasted 45 minutes, and then went out to wait for me in the car.

I caught myself considering fixing up my bike, so I could ride it to the gym, and then he could meet me there in his truck and we could throw the bike in the back.
I never thought there would be a day when both of us had personal trainers and were excited about brown rice. What the hell is happening to us?

We decided to take a mental heath day tomorrow- off to Carmel, to walk and run our dogs at the beach. I am a little leery, but I really hope they will be well-behaved. They were fantastic the last time we went camping, but then, there were no other dogs around. In Carmel, other dogs will be EVERYWHERE. Uh Oh.

The Great and Powerful Oz

I made an appointment with a personal trainer.

There are three sessions included free with my membership, and so I figured I would get acclimated and figure out what I should be doing and how.

I am sort of motivated and repulsed by the whole experience. First of all, I walked in, and I KNEW my trainer.

This is the second face from my past that I have encountered in the past week, and it was kind of eerie, but OK.

I got weighed, measured in inches, and had my body fat percentage measured with calipers. Not too traumatic, but kind of irritating. Ironically, the calipers put me at 12% less bodyfat than my Tanita scale, so I guess I should be happy with that. The goal is evidently to get below 20%, and I am not sure if I am behind that or not. The downside is that weighing in fully clothed, including shoes, after a huge meal....eeeeeeeeegh.

We ascertained that I had no cardiovascular disease, no diabetes, hereditary high cholesterol (but it's the "good" cholesterol that makes it high, so no biggie) and no injuries.

I did really well on the fitness testing, which was a shock. 64 mini-crunches in a minute, 31 modified push-ups in a minute....go figure. My trainer said I did more crunches in a minute than any of her other clients. She managed not to sound too surprised when she said it. Then she said, "Nothing is standing in your way. Six months from now, you won't recognize yourself."

I am nothing if not competitive. I think I went over to the dark side, and suddenly I came back to myself, and she was talking about L-carnitine and colon cleanses and working out 6 times a week and keeping almonds in my gym bag, and I kind of went, "Wait, what?!!"

I have another appointment on Wednesday morning, to get acclimated to the rest of the weight machines and to see if I am happy with the direction things are going in. She asked if I wanted to draft a diet plan, and I said "No, I am not planning on counting calories. I am just planning on making more healthy choices, eating out less, and working out more." And thank goodness, she left it at that.

So yeah, motivated, but repulsed. Nonplussed, maybe? Maybe I will have a clearer picture in the morning.

You Can Do It!

Day One at the gym was on Saturday. We were there when the place opened, 6AM.

It's a great place, and I have to say, I like the fact that our schedules are pretty conducive to working out at odd hours.

But man, my girlie gym has spoiled me. I am used to friendly people, and this place has the desk clerk who is cracking her gum and reading OK! magazine and who answers, "I dunno" to every question you ask.

I am also used to machines that are scaled to someone about my size. And their elliptical machines? Not my friendly little Precors, oh no. These things are by StarTech or something like that, and they are scaled for giants. Also, getting started feels like you are booting up the Space Shuttle. Once you enter program, level, intensity, upper body preferences (push, pull, or none) and weight (in 1 lb increments)and then the time you want to spend, you're so intimidated that you want to spend the rest of the hour hiding in the locker room.

The first day was the hardest. I was ellipticating away, when suddenly the machine hit a plateau which I would describe as "wading through Jell-O". I checked my heart rate monitor at the end, and it took me 30 minutes to burn almost 700 calories. Holy Crap!

I hopped off the machine, panting and red-faced,with legs that wobbled precariously. Then I happened to glance down at the pool, where The Man had sort of draped his upper body onto dry land while the rest of him bobbed gently in the waves generated by the other lanes of swimmers. He looked like a shipwreck survivor.

By the time we admitted it was time to hobble home, I had a migraine and he had thrown up. Today, however, was better. We are learning how to pace ourselves, and are actually having a lot of fun!

Also, a small celebration- today, for the first time, my heart rate monitor pronounced my recovery heartrate "fair". I have been "poor" without fail for the last month, so "fair" is worth celebrating over. Yay "fair!"

Despite all my rage, I am still just a rat

On a treadmill.

Went on an SBux run last night, and then wondered why I was up until 3AM. Ahem.

We went by the gym last night, and I picked up some info and some free 1-week passes.

It's really nice. Prohibitively so. Not cost-wise but just....well, yuppie-wise. The cost for couples to attend it pretty good, it basically boils down to $20 each, plus a fairly ridiculous "sign-up fee." I will have to do the math and decide which route to go- higher cost up-front, with a locked in rate, or higher cost on a monthly basis. Hmmmm.

So we are probably going to head in tonight and sign our lives away.

Considering the last time I used a co-ed gym, I was so sexually harrassed that I vowed never to go back, this is a huge step for me. of course, part of the equation is that The Man will be with me, so I will feel more secure. And have a built-in exercise buddy, which couldn't hurt. We are hoping that we are going to motivate each other.