Workout progress/injuries

So far, since February, I've gotten from 210 to 185 - a total of 25 pounds gone. Good job me! 

The challenge now is keeping the momentum going, especially since:

• the last two months have actually seen only a 1-pound loss, which suggests that even despite my extensive time on the elliptical I'm having a hard time keeping the momentum going;

• my recent injury from a car accident, combined with the trainer's increasing intensity, have made it hard to get into the gym as often as I'd like.

So, now, apparently, I have to Mix Up my workouts. The suggestion from the trainer is Incline Walking and Running. Right now running just isn't going to work, since I'm still recovering from the headaches and hip stuff - but I managed 20 minutes of pretty intense Incline Walking at the gym on Sunday along with another 20 minutes on the elliptical, and it was definitely doable. Tomorrow, I go back for more Incline Walking/Elliptical training, and then next week I start running again. In the meantime, I also have to start fitting yoga in - fixing up the yoga room helped, but the motivation's been tough to get going.

Here's to reaching 180!

Today's workout/progress

Today: 15 minutes of elliptical followed by 30 minutes of strength training and 15 minutes of stretching.

Normally, I flank my strength workouts with 15-minute jaunts on the elliptical, but last night's run has my legs and hips a bit tighter than normal, and I started feeling gentle pulls on my thighs as I did the first part of my strength workouts (front, side and back squats with a 4-kg medicine ball), so I felt it was probably best to rest and stretch after the workout.

All in all, though, it felt good - and my mood is much better now than it has been in the last couple of days. This, of course, indicates that I should work out more often, which is Fine by Me.

In terms of progress, I also weighed myself this afternoon - and I'm down to 186, from 189 last week. This is mostly water weight, I'm imagining, but still - that means that 185 is around the corner, which in turn means I'll be down 25 pounds total since the beginning of the year. Not too shabby!

It's about time I got to the gym again!

So, last week was a bit of a bust gym-wise. It was emotionally draining on a number of fronts (which I won't elaborate on), and frankly, I was just too TIRED - to the point where, when I visited my trainer on Tuesday, it knocked me out for the rest of the evening.

However, today I was back in the gym, and I did a full 30 minutes of upper-body work and crunches before doing about 40 minutes on the elliptical. Tomorrow, I have a trainer's appointment at 9am, which I will follow with another 30-40 minutes on the elliptical.

On the eating thing, I'm still working out a system - being so close to the move means no "real" cooking for me, so I got a bunch of prepared stuff at Whole Foods that I'm sustaining myself with for the week. First order of business once I'm in the new place: organize the Kitchen and the Office. Highest Priority.

For now, though, I read Harry Potter.

Morning Notices

It is a profound testiment to the effectiveness of my almost-daily workouts that, after two days of relative laziness and rampant overeating (hamburgers - I ate HAMBURGERS! AND pizza! What is it about 's house that brings about this profound laziness within me? ah well), my weight hasn't increased. It hasn't really DECREASED either, but I wasn't really expecting it to - it's been a week since I last weighed myself, and I've been adding some serious strength training to my workouts.

What I have noticed, though, is that the mound of flab that has been my stomach over the past several months has been calming down and moving on from me, and my clothes are fitting a bit better (although there's still some work to be done in this regard). Also, there's this glow of contentment and a smile that hasn't really been able to leave my face since starting the workouts, and this pleases me greatly. Plus - I'll say it - I look HOT while I'm working out. At least I did today. Not so much in the yoga classes, but I'm not worried about that. I'll still go, and I'll probably start adding more restorative and hip-opening/shoulder-opening stuff at home as the weeks pass.

I decided to splurge on 10 1/2-hour personal training sessions as a gift to myself. This is probably the last such gift for a while, as I want to start actually SAVING some money, and lately I've been far to spendy. But I don't judge.

Another quick notice: it's GORGEOUS lately. Today's walk to the gym was a delight - still some moisture on the ground, and it hadn't gotten over-hot yet. Today's shower will be good.

Week at a glance: w/e 6/29/07

This week was pretty good, although I told myself it wasn't. There has been some physical activity every day, although I didn't really do the gym on Thursday, other than my meeting with the trainer and a wee bit of leg nautilus (which I still feel). However, here is the data:

Monday: 30 minutes elliptical
Tuesday: 45 minutes elliptical
Wednesday: 30 minutes elliptical, 60 minutes yoga
Thursday: 90 minutes (roughly) walking around Somerville, 15 minutes nautilus
Friday: 90 minutes power yoga

And now, a note about Power Yoga. I hate it. Despise it. In all the ways that people despise things. It doesn't feel like yoga - it feels like some weird bastard child of yoga and pilates, and it's a way for athletes to trick themselves into thinking they're doing yoga, when really they're doing this weird transcendental aerobics thing that, no matter how many times you chant "om," just. isn't. yoga. As a result, I won't be going to THAT class again.

I have, however, fallen in love with the Wednesday and Thursday evening yoga classes at Healthworks, and plan on making them weekly events. I might, however, shift my Thursday schedule to include belly dance from 7-8 and restorative yoga from 8-9. The same teacher does it, so I think I'll like it just as much.

Next week, I try the Kundalini class. Tomorrow, Slow Flow yoga. Eventually I'm going to try some Pilates and maybe even hip hop, but for now I'm just happy that I've been motivated to do it every day.

Spring is here!

Okay, so yeah - I haven't been posting here for a while. But things have been going terrifically well - I think spring fever has finally gotten to me, and I've been clearing out all sorts of junk, both emotionally and physically. Not only was I finally able to get rid of some old-relationship baggage I'd been carrying around with me for years, I was able to finish the zen kitchen's website after six months of stalling, I rearranged my office to be LITERALLY 100% more productive (I actually have a reading/sketching/laptop using nook now!), and I've been able to start tearing through the pile of magazines and books that have been staring me in the face for months.

The further upside of all this lovely productivity is that the weather has been wonderful, so I've been forcing myself to get out and enjoy it for at least an hour per day, and that has not only improved my mood, but I've been seeing increased smallness as well!

Okay, so now I have to head out for brunch with my boyfriend, but thanks for letting me fill you all in on this recent goodness!

Getting clearer

This week has been... interesting. Challenging, but interesting.

I realized after a day of being completely useless and, frankly, miserable that, as much as I'd sometimes really like to, I just can't do the after-midnight bedtimes anymore. I wake up too late and feel like a wreck the next day. Part of the late bedtime was due to my own procrastination, as well as my insistance on taking on more during the day than is physically possible (because yeah, I'm Superwoman like that). On Monday, I stayed up until about 2am working on a strategic vision and marketing plan for the zen kitchen, which is a surprisingly exhausting and somewhat scary activity. I'm actually starting to think like a CEO, and being someone who hated corporate in all its incarnations, this is a very new thing for me. So I'm working through it.

Meanwhile, there have been a LOT of positives this week. I seem to be getting smaller again (although I'm not completely sure how), I was able to complete the marketing plan and create a manageable system to market myself each week/month (with actual milestones to track progress), and I'm about halfway done with the tzk mission statement; now I just have to figure out what makes me unique in the marketplace, and start seriously looking at who my competitors are and how I can distinguish myself from them. In the meantime, I have a few new projects trickling in, and a lot of people asking about my services - which is just LOVELY.

That's all to report for now.

Happiness abounds

Okay, so I haven't been feeding myself that well lately (damnable PMS!) but today, I am in the best mood ever. In a meeting with a potential client (where I was more authentically me and truly effective and clear at What I Do than I've been since I started this business), I realized what I'd been missing - it was that authenticity piece, and that chance to bring a truly well-rounded suite of services to the zen kitchen's clients. For the first time since I hung up my shingle almost a year and a half ago, I was able to communicate with clarity and conviction what I am for my clients - a creative problem solver. Someone who can listen to the challenges you're facing in your business and come up with ideas that can help you turn those problems around. And not only can I come up with the ideas, I have the design talent and creative vision to help you solve those problems on every level, from brand design and print/web pieces to new and simple ways to enhance your customer's experience with your brand. I feel so alive and happy now that I want to squee!

All right - must be productive. But I thought I'd share that as a change from my last few days of whining.

Productivity Notes

Okay, so can I just tell you for a moment how much I love my new laptop? This week has been a flood of meetings and time spent outside the office - under normal circumstances, I'd get absolutely nothing done in that circumstance. But now, with my sexy Mac PowerBook (17" screen too - hazaah!) I've been able to get a fair amount of work done on some major projects with little inconvenience - and, my ultimate goal of being able to camp out in a coffee shop for a couple of hours while I work has now been achieved. In fact I'm doing it right now (tee!)

The last few days have definitely taught me a few things about productivity. Every morning this week I've had somewhere to be in the morning, which ended up requiring me to get up earlyish, take a shower and leave the house. As I went through the day, I've noticed that I'm getting a lot more done - I've been getting where I need to be, I take my files with me on my iPod (which, by the way, makes a PERFECT pocket-sized portable hard drive), and work on things in coffeeshops between meetings. I'm spending a bit too much money this month (okay, WAY too much money), but overall, I'm getting a lot more work done.

I've also noticed that I'm more productive with a clean, sparse desk - so over the next few weeks, I'm going to be looking for more space to store the stuff that tends to overcrowd my desk, and organizing the zen kitchen's office to get rid of the clutter and make it a truly work-friendly environment. I'm thinking I might move more of my crafty stuff into the dining room (I prefer doing crafts there), but I'm not completely sure about that yet.

It's going to get really busy for me soon, so I'm glad to have a moment to get this stuff done now!

Changes

One of the things you notice when you've been working out a lot (at least I notice it) is that your whole body starts to change; the fat is still there to an extent, but everything is tighter, more athletic. I've been doing yoga on a pretty regular basis now for about a month now, and I'm starting to notice a huge difference in my overall shape, especially my stomach. I've still got plenty to pinch, mind, but I swear I can see a six-pack under the flab that has yet to go away. on top of that, my arms are much less jiggly.

It's nice to take notice of things like that once in a while. It gets too easy to focus on the numbers on the scale and refuse to notice the small victories that life is handing you.

Winter weather blahs and blechs

I have to admit, it gets much harder to stick to my daily yoga plan during the winter. I tend to get a touch of SAD, which makes getting out of bed more difficult than I care for it to be (this morning, which is gray and rainy, was nearly impossible), but I'm somehow managing to persevere. The last few days my practice has been limited or non-existent, but I'm going to take some time to do it now before I get into the full swing of the workday.

In other news, I was finally able to get a new (and quite lovely) yoga outfit for myself, as a reward for being so good on vacation. I'm starting to notice now that I don't have as many bulges as I used to have; while I'm certainly not skinny, there's a much leaner overall appearance to my body that I'm quite enjoying.

Not much to report

Except to say that I'm seeing definite tightening of certain areas (especially my tummy, arms and bum), I'm eating more mindfully, and there is a definite Loosening of Pant. All of which makes me very happy.

Now that I'm back in the grind, so to speak, daily yoga is a bit more of a challenge than it was during vacation. There was less of an excuse then—I didn't have jobs to get to, or things to do, and I could allow myself not to have a choice to do it. Now that I'm here, I'm finding all sorts of little excuses not to do it.

My next big challenge is taking control of my time. This means less time checking e-mail and my various online distractions, and more time making lists and getting through them. The New Year has brought with it a few new clients already, so it's time to get on top of things!

Edit: Upon further inspection, I'm also noticing significantly Less to Pinch, another thing that makes me smile.

After two weeks of daily yoga

I'm noticing that I don't eat nearly as much as I used to (although yesterday, exhausted from the lack of sleep that accompanied New Year's Eve at my mom's house, was a definite Off Day). I'm also noticing that I generally have more energy, despite the fact that I desperately need to crash hard and early tonight. But most of all, I'm noticing not only that I'm stronger, but that the uncomfortable tightness that accompanied certain items of clothing just recently has lessened significantly, even though it's still on the tight side.

What I'm saying here is that I'm pretty damn psyched and I want to keep this up.

I'm also saying that I managed to meet my goal of doing yoga every day during my vacation (with the exception of the day I spent walking to the store and cleaning the layer of white dust from renovations that was covering my apartment when I got home, which broke me for a day), which means I get to give myself a reward. So sometime this week I'm going to get myself a snazzy new yoga outfit, probably from Lulu Lemon, but I'm open to suggestion.