So yeah... back again

Man, it's been a while since I've updated this blog.

Let's put it out there - last year got me stressed about my weight. Months of working out led to a 2-pound weight GAIN by the end of it, and after moving to Watertown, a 20-minute drive from my gym, I finally ended up giving up on the gym for a couple of months at the beginning of the year.

However, things have changed since February.

After a three-month hiatus from the gym, I finally made an appointment with a nutritionist and got myself back into the gym. Started off slow with 45 minutes of cardio 4-5 times a week, and moved my way up a month later to 45 minutes of cardio 3-4 times a week and 2 days of strength training+cardio. Also, started cutting out most refined carbs and making carbs and cheese a much smaller portion of my overall caloric intake. And, I actually managed to break my fast food habit which, though minor, was a major contributing factor to keeping weight on.

The result? So far, I've lost 17 pounds in the last 3 months, and I'll likely lose another 3-4 this month.

Life is good.

Losing weight this time around has been a very different experience than it was the previous two times I lost weight. Both at 15 and at 25 (the two times that I'd gotten up to the level I was at last year), I switched my diet to a relatively carb-heavy vegetarian diet, high in beans and rice and pasta with maybe some eggs. This time around, I actually had to cut down my portions of rice and pasta to a much smaller portion of my overall meals, and while I'm still building my meals mostly around fresh vegetables (which makes me just so happy!), I'm finding that moderate amounts of meat and fish have become a necessity. Tofu just doesn't do for me what it used to.

All things considered, though, I feel loads better, and look a heck of a lot better than I have in a while. And personally, I can't wait until my size 14s are too big!

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.

On weekends and workouts

So, after nobly intending to head to Healthworks on the last two weekends, I have come to a temporary conclusion that it's just not going to work - I don't want to make time for the gym on Saturdays or Sundays.

This, however, doesn't mean that I don't want to work out. In fact, I spent most of yesterday walking around downtown Boston with my boyfriend; we went to Chinatown for dim sum followed by seeing Ratatouille at Park Street, and then walked from there through Beacon Hill to Nick's place on MIT campus - estimated time about an hour and a half of walkng. Today, I wandered down to Harvard Square to pick up some necessities (okay, so maybe they weren't NECESSITIES) and had lunch at Oxford Spa on Oxford Street in Cambridge. Estimated time: an hour and a half of walking. Not half bad, I must say. I'm probably going to fit in a fair bit of yoga as well, but I'm not sure what type, as I also am doing some work and packing today.

So, given everything, I think I'm okay with not going to HW on weekends - as long as I know that I'm exercising, and I'm getting there most days during the week, life is still quite 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.

Well, I'm fat.

So the verdict is in - I'm fat. Although I have to say that I guessed pretty well about my current status - I've lost some weight in the last week or two, and the scale told me just about what I expected to hear. And don't worry - I'm not stressed out/angry about it. Honestly, I'm not even really worried about it - because I know it's going to change.

So, to the stats:
Height: 5'9"
Weight: 205 lbs

Body Mass Index: 30.3 (JUST over the obese line)
Body Fat Percentage: 34.9%

Measurements (I'm remembering most of these from the top of my head, so they might be off a bit)
Waist: 43 in
Bust: 44 in
Underbust: 37 in
Hip: I want to say 42?
Thigh: 27.5
Calf: I think 16.5?
Tricep: I think 13.5.

I'll have to double-check the numbers when I get back to the gym today for yoga (didn't get a workout today; just the preliminary stuff), but that's about what she wrote.

What's fascinating about this experience was how calm and - frankly - not upset I was when I heard the numbers. Sure, they're higher than I like, and I still get a twinge of "what the hell" when I look in a mirror (especially when I'm working out), but right now, I just know that it's a starting point, and that all of these numbers are going to change.

So, that said, the goals are:
a) get down to a comfortable size 8;
b) have more energy and focus throughout the day (which is something I'm already achieving)
c) stop getting winded when I reach the top of the stairs in the gym (i.e. three flights of stairs)
d) strengthen my core so that I can do more powerful yoga practices.

I'll re-check all the numbers once a month, and check in with myself periodically to see how I'm feeling, how things are fitting, etc... and every time I lose a size (or achieve a pose I haven't been able to before), I'll celebrate. With what, I haven't determined yet.

I have to admit - this is pretty exciting!

okay, yes, well - it HAS been a long time!

So, it's been a while since I've updated all the occasional readers out there as to the stuff going on in this area of my life, and I thought I'd break the habit of ignoring this humble blog, especially since now things are actually happening.

This month has been amazing on multiple fronts. For one thing, I have been getting tons of work lately, which has been exhilerating but a bit scary. Through my talks with la lovely therapist and with my amazing lifestyle/business collaborator, Brenda Stanton, I looked within and realized, through waves of concern and panic over whether I can actually be productive with all this work on my plate, that all of the various times that I've been truly productive and happy in my life, I've worked out every day.

So, I made a promise to myself. If one of my new clients came through (one that came in quite randomly about a week and a half ago, and thus was thoroughly extra income), I would join Healthworks in Cambridge and start working out every day.

And, I got the client. So now I'm a Healthworks member. It's been a week and a half, but I've exercised more in the last week and a half than I was able to do in the last month. So far, the changes have been amazing already - although I haven't gotten the eating thing completely handled yet, I've definitely been eating better than I was before, I've been sleeping better, relaxing, and amazingly productive. And - this is important - I CAN BREATHE AGAIN! Whenever I get to a certain weight (and I've been at this weight for over a year) I have horrible breathing problems, especially when I'm exerting myself. But today, I was able to get all the way up three flights of stairs without getting TOO winded - still a bit, but hey. It's progress.

I'll probably post more as the week unfolds, but thought I'd share this for the moment.