So, halfway thru, and at the end point of my callback interviews. A good time to cut the crap, put my head down and f'ing work my butt off. That is the plan. These last few weeks have been ROUGH and by the end of the week I'm generally chowing down chips and skipping workouts. Last week was particularly bad for skipping workouts, though not quite as bad on eating too much.
Goals for this week:
1. Don't skip any workouts!! I don't know when the last time was when I went a whole week without skipping a single one.
2. Don't drink! I've been drinking way too much the last 2 weeks and it has got to stop. Drinking (especially when combined with exxxtreme stress like this past weekend) leads to my face in a bag of goldfish crackers (so not vegan)! I'm going off the sauce for almost 2 weeks, from now until my West Virginia trip a week from Thursday. At which point I will be doing as many cheap whiskey shots as my poor ravaged liver can stand. Or, like, having classy cocktails with my favorite ladies.
3. Eat all the awesome veggies I just bought, and not have to throw any rotten stuff away! Here is a short list of what I just bought on the way home from the gym: cauliflower, tomatoes, spaghetti squash, zucchini, asparagus, carrots, pears, sweet potato, baby arugula. Holy crap, that's so many awesome veggies! Eat them up, while they are still pristine and delicious.
Today's plan
m1: kashi go-lean crunch w/frozen blueberries
m2: almonds, apple
m3: 2 soydogs, 2 slices of sprouted bread
workout: HIIT, LISS
m4: soy protein shake
m5: veggieloaf, roasted cauliflower
m6: veggieloaf, roasted cauliflower
Oh I also bought that Skinny Bitch book, which I went back and forth about for a while but ultimately bought it because hey, I'm already a vegan, so why not read something that vindicates and solidifies my existing beliefs about food? Oy. It is an interesting read, and does have a lot of foul language, as advertised. And it makes me feel thoroughly disgusting about the (ugh!) turkey that I ate while sad-drunk the other night as well as the delicious delicious mozzarella I had at lunch on Friday. And it is definitely strengthening my resolve about veganism, giving up soda and eating more fruit. So, plus one for Skinny Bitch although I'm not sure I'd go vegan just because of being bullied by these pretty girls with dirty mouths, if I wasn't convinced already.
Sunday, September 30, 2007
Thursday, September 27, 2007
Day 40: Inventory
I had another stupid night of drinking and eating too late in the evening last night. I am going to attribute this both to self-sabotage and to stress. On the surface I feel pretty okay about my stress level, but underneath that I am tweaking out because I am spread waaaay too thin and I know there are a lot of things I haven't been taking care of.
Tonight I'm leaving for my very last official interview trip (it's possible I'll take another trip up to check out more places). This is a major source of stress for a couple of reasons: my last trip didn't yield an offer from either of 2 places that I really, really liked. I want to do really well on these ones, so I have better/more choices in the next couple weeks when I have to make a commitment. And also, I am freaking out about whether I'll be able to eat right, exercise, get school work done, and sleep enough. I'm about to hit the halfway mark of this journey, and I can't let things fall apart now.
So. The plan for today: pack my stuff, go to the gym, pick up a couple things at the grocery store & farmer's market, eat the rest of my planned meals, tidy up my room a bit, do a little reading, go to the airport and get to my parents' house.
And I'm planning out what to eat over the next few days. I'm bringing high protein clif bars, almonds and apples with me, and even though it's not ideal to live on those 3 things, they will fill in the gaps between cereal, veggie burgers, etc that I can get at my parents' house. It's only 2 days - I can get through this with no binges of peanut butter, bread, crackers or ice cream!
As for the title of this post: I have made progress in the last 5 1/2 weeks. I have lost around 6 lb. I have gained a lot of muscle tone. I have made exercise and nutrition a very high priority even when things get hectic. I feel good about myself.
Over the next 6 1/2 weeks leading up to the end of this 12 week challenge (which takes me up to the date of my former roommate's wedding, the first time I will have seen her in 6 months!) - I have a few goals and things to ponder. I would like to limit drinking to no more than 2 nights a week, and not get ridiculously hammered each time. I'm going to have to think about how to put this into practice, because I am bad at saying no to a nice glass of chilled white wine or a dirty vodka martini. I want to make sure I actually get into bed early, which is very hard for me lately. I want to make it to EVERY weights workout each week, which has been a big challenge for me. Maybe I could get some resistance bands to make it easier to do that stuff away from the gym... Around 3 weeks from now I'm going to get serious about buying a dress for this wedding, and I want to look hot in it!
Tonight I'm leaving for my very last official interview trip (it's possible I'll take another trip up to check out more places). This is a major source of stress for a couple of reasons: my last trip didn't yield an offer from either of 2 places that I really, really liked. I want to do really well on these ones, so I have better/more choices in the next couple weeks when I have to make a commitment. And also, I am freaking out about whether I'll be able to eat right, exercise, get school work done, and sleep enough. I'm about to hit the halfway mark of this journey, and I can't let things fall apart now.
So. The plan for today: pack my stuff, go to the gym, pick up a couple things at the grocery store & farmer's market, eat the rest of my planned meals, tidy up my room a bit, do a little reading, go to the airport and get to my parents' house.
And I'm planning out what to eat over the next few days. I'm bringing high protein clif bars, almonds and apples with me, and even though it's not ideal to live on those 3 things, they will fill in the gaps between cereal, veggie burgers, etc that I can get at my parents' house. It's only 2 days - I can get through this with no binges of peanut butter, bread, crackers or ice cream!
As for the title of this post: I have made progress in the last 5 1/2 weeks. I have lost around 6 lb. I have gained a lot of muscle tone. I have made exercise and nutrition a very high priority even when things get hectic. I feel good about myself.
Over the next 6 1/2 weeks leading up to the end of this 12 week challenge (which takes me up to the date of my former roommate's wedding, the first time I will have seen her in 6 months!) - I have a few goals and things to ponder. I would like to limit drinking to no more than 2 nights a week, and not get ridiculously hammered each time. I'm going to have to think about how to put this into practice, because I am bad at saying no to a nice glass of chilled white wine or a dirty vodka martini. I want to make sure I actually get into bed early, which is very hard for me lately. I want to make it to EVERY weights workout each week, which has been a big challenge for me. Maybe I could get some resistance bands to make it easier to do that stuff away from the gym... Around 3 weeks from now I'm going to get serious about buying a dress for this wedding, and I want to look hot in it!
Wednesday, September 26, 2007
Day 39: What's your problem, lady?
So. Yesterday was my super busy day, and I was having stomach pain all day. I don't know what is going on with me, but I've been kind of obsessed with my digestive health, and in response or something, my digestive tract is making itself a nuisance. Ew. But anyway, I felt crappy all day, but did make it to the gym for some LISS (skipped HIIT) and then instead of going home, I went to K's and had sushi and chardonnay (doh!). Get it together, lady! What is your problem?
Needless to say, since I didn't get to bed til after 1, I did not get up at 6 and go to the gym. Damn it. So, I'm going to try and go tonight, which sucks because I have so much crap to do. I just feel like I'm flailing around right now and not able to get myself on track.
I mean, all things considered I pretty much am on track - eating has been almost entirely on track. My weight has maintained at an ok place. I just feel like I'm not exercising willpower when there are easy healthy choices. I haven't been open enough with my friends about how important it is to me to stick to my diet and my exercise routine. I try to act all casual about it, which is just silly.
So, what to do? Today, I'm going to (a) stick to the food plan, (b) make it to the gym eventually and hopefully get in my UBWO, but at the very least do some cardio, (c) try to relax and keep on not getting sick, and (d) be productive - do reading, attack some of the clutter that's taking over my room, and pack for tomorrow's trip up to Boston. These are not hard things to do!
Plan:
M1: Kashi go-lean crunch and frozen blueberries
M2: apple, almonds
M3: sandwich, carrots
M4: protein shake
M5: quinoa, brussels sprouts, baked tofu
M6: quinoa, brussels sprouts, baked tofu
workout: UBWO, LISS
drink: lots and lots of water and tea - do not get sick!
Needless to say, since I didn't get to bed til after 1, I did not get up at 6 and go to the gym. Damn it. So, I'm going to try and go tonight, which sucks because I have so much crap to do. I just feel like I'm flailing around right now and not able to get myself on track.
I mean, all things considered I pretty much am on track - eating has been almost entirely on track. My weight has maintained at an ok place. I just feel like I'm not exercising willpower when there are easy healthy choices. I haven't been open enough with my friends about how important it is to me to stick to my diet and my exercise routine. I try to act all casual about it, which is just silly.
So, what to do? Today, I'm going to (a) stick to the food plan, (b) make it to the gym eventually and hopefully get in my UBWO, but at the very least do some cardio, (c) try to relax and keep on not getting sick, and (d) be productive - do reading, attack some of the clutter that's taking over my room, and pack for tomorrow's trip up to Boston. These are not hard things to do!
Plan:
M1: Kashi go-lean crunch and frozen blueberries
M2: apple, almonds
M3: sandwich, carrots
M4: protein shake
M5: quinoa, brussels sprouts, baked tofu
M6: quinoa, brussels sprouts, baked tofu
workout: UBWO, LISS
drink: lots and lots of water and tea - do not get sick!
Tuesday, September 25, 2007
Day 38: Sickness not an option
For like the 8th time in the last 6 weeks I feel like I am getting sick. I am just too run down and stressed! Not good. Fortunately I have an immune system that could throttle a horse. Or some actual expression that makes sense...
So I'm drinking tea, wearing a scarf, and I let myself sleep in a bit. It is kind of silly, maybe, to be getting up super early to go to the gym for HIIT, since I can definitely make that happen any time of the day. It's just the weights that I have to do early (even though I don't want to) because any other time of day I go and can't get access to any of the stuff I need because it's so crowded. GOD I HATE THIS STUPID SCHOOL GYM. Anyway, the point of getting up early for HIIT, aside from ideas about cardio being best on an empty stomach, is to have some consistency about the times when I get up, so that it's not so impossible to get up early when I truly need to (MWF).
Today's my super busy day but thankfully it'll be over by 9 instead of being stuck at school until 11 like the last few weeks. Every other Tuesday will be a super late one and then the ones in the middle will only go til 9. So I will go to the gym at 9, which is not ridiculously late, and I will go to bed immediately when I get home, so as to make it possible to get up early and do weights tomorrow. My legs are screaming from the workout I did yesterday, hurrah. I did stiff-leg deadlifts for the first time in a while and it was great. I really wore out my hamstrings.
Alrighty, no more procrastination - it's reading time, then time for a zillion errands and school. Cannot wait until this week is over and then NO MORE INTERVIEWING, YAAAAY. I will have to go back to a couple places, I think, to make up my mind since at this point I feel really unsure about where I want to work. But I have high hopes about the interviews that are this week, and I have some very good options on the table. I pretty much can't go wrong, so it's not too too much to worry about.
So I'm drinking tea, wearing a scarf, and I let myself sleep in a bit. It is kind of silly, maybe, to be getting up super early to go to the gym for HIIT, since I can definitely make that happen any time of the day. It's just the weights that I have to do early (even though I don't want to) because any other time of day I go and can't get access to any of the stuff I need because it's so crowded. GOD I HATE THIS STUPID SCHOOL GYM. Anyway, the point of getting up early for HIIT, aside from ideas about cardio being best on an empty stomach, is to have some consistency about the times when I get up, so that it's not so impossible to get up early when I truly need to (MWF).
Today's my super busy day but thankfully it'll be over by 9 instead of being stuck at school until 11 like the last few weeks. Every other Tuesday will be a super late one and then the ones in the middle will only go til 9. So I will go to the gym at 9, which is not ridiculously late, and I will go to bed immediately when I get home, so as to make it possible to get up early and do weights tomorrow. My legs are screaming from the workout I did yesterday, hurrah. I did stiff-leg deadlifts for the first time in a while and it was great. I really wore out my hamstrings.
Alrighty, no more procrastination - it's reading time, then time for a zillion errands and school. Cannot wait until this week is over and then NO MORE INTERVIEWING, YAAAAY. I will have to go back to a couple places, I think, to make up my mind since at this point I feel really unsure about where I want to work. But I have high hopes about the interviews that are this week, and I have some very good options on the table. I pretty much can't go wrong, so it's not too too much to worry about.
Monday, September 24, 2007
Day 37: Blah Monday Blah
Well, I overcame the odds by going to the gym this morning. I didn't make it as early as I'd have liked, but when I woke up I was so mad about having to go, but also so hungry so I decided to have breakfast and give myself a bit of a pep talk. Actually, it was more like "Wise up! You'll be so much more angry later when you go to the gym and it's packed with muscleheads and you have to use the weight machines that you don't like!" So, a bit of tough love and some coffee and cereal and I made it out the door.
My weight this morning was ultra high, probably because of the majorly fiber-riffic meal I had last night (it was mega-huge, but low cal). I am trying to train myself to poo in the morning instead of the afternoon (yes I am my own dog and I know, ew). But I'm not entirely sure that's within the realm of possibility. And it's a bit psychotic to do that just to assure myself that my morning weight is the lowest it can be.
However, I did eat pretty much on track today. I added a bit of hummus to nosh on with the extra cauliflower while I was chopping veggies and stuff for dinner. Monday dinners are great, though I really just wanted sicky autumn food because I have a sore throat. I looked at soups in the store but wasn't impressed plus the aisles are so wee that I couldn't stand there for long without getting mowed down by other shoppers. And I contemplated pastina (Italian toddler food, which I adore) but it's too hard to measure out and has high calories and I'd have to put margarine on there which is also high calories and too much bother. I need a scale to weigh things like pasta...
And now I'm posting on here to avoid homework, as usual. Today was a pretty good day, fairly productive but I'm not sure it's enough. I still have loads of work, I'm tired and I just want to watch movies. Gotta just push through some of this work and go to bed early so this sore throat doesn't get worse. I'm such a weirdo when I start to feel sick. I drink lots of tea and wear a little scarf even though it's warm out and I have the AC on. It just feels like the thing to do.
My weight this morning was ultra high, probably because of the majorly fiber-riffic meal I had last night (it was mega-huge, but low cal). I am trying to train myself to poo in the morning instead of the afternoon (yes I am my own dog and I know, ew). But I'm not entirely sure that's within the realm of possibility. And it's a bit psychotic to do that just to assure myself that my morning weight is the lowest it can be.
However, I did eat pretty much on track today. I added a bit of hummus to nosh on with the extra cauliflower while I was chopping veggies and stuff for dinner. Monday dinners are great, though I really just wanted sicky autumn food because I have a sore throat. I looked at soups in the store but wasn't impressed plus the aisles are so wee that I couldn't stand there for long without getting mowed down by other shoppers. And I contemplated pastina (Italian toddler food, which I adore) but it's too hard to measure out and has high calories and I'd have to put margarine on there which is also high calories and too much bother. I need a scale to weigh things like pasta...
And now I'm posting on here to avoid homework, as usual. Today was a pretty good day, fairly productive but I'm not sure it's enough. I still have loads of work, I'm tired and I just want to watch movies. Gotta just push through some of this work and go to bed early so this sore throat doesn't get worse. I'm such a weirdo when I start to feel sick. I drink lots of tea and wear a little scarf even though it's warm out and I have the AC on. It just feels like the thing to do.
Sunday, September 23, 2007
Day 36: I have a good feeling about Week 6
Or anyway, I have a lingering bad feeling about Week 5, which was almost all bad as far as eating went. Last night was not exactly the shining example of getting my shit together. I ended up ordering out Chinese, then having a few drinks at a bar, then coming back and eating all my leftovers! And if that weren't bad enough, ugh, I can't even type it. I had a bagel too. That is a serious, serious binge right there.
So, I got up this morning and I immediately threw on some clothes, got my shopping bags and list, and I trekked down to Trader Joe's to pick up a crapload of important things. I should be set for quite a while as far as non-perishables go, plus I got some tasty brussels sprouts, yay. Maybe this week I'll try roasting them, though I like them just fine boiled too.
Eating for today is going to be on plan or I'm going to start punching myself in the face. OMG. I cannot take the guilt of these late night drinking and eating sessions! It's because I suddenly was on track, I had to go and sabotage it. Well, I'm saying now that I'm not going to let it happen.
Today's plan:
HIIT and LISS
M1: pear and almonds
M2: hummus & veg sandwich and carrots
M3: clif builder's bar
M4: baked sesame tofu, roasted cauliflower, roasted butternut squash (my mouth is watering just thinking of it)
M5: same as M4
Workout and meals 1-3 are done, and I've got all the stuff to do my last 2 meals so I'm about to get things ready to go in the oven for an hour. Hallelujah. Sunday dinners are always good around here. I'm just going to have to keep that bar high all week. Thurs-Sat I'll be in Boston, but seeing as that is my halfway point (!) I'm going to stay mindful, pack lots of good food, and do my best to at least get in as much cardio as I reasonably can.
I need coffee! Time to get psyched about roasting veggies, doing laundry and a crapload of reading. Hoo-ah!
So, I got up this morning and I immediately threw on some clothes, got my shopping bags and list, and I trekked down to Trader Joe's to pick up a crapload of important things. I should be set for quite a while as far as non-perishables go, plus I got some tasty brussels sprouts, yay. Maybe this week I'll try roasting them, though I like them just fine boiled too.
Eating for today is going to be on plan or I'm going to start punching myself in the face. OMG. I cannot take the guilt of these late night drinking and eating sessions! It's because I suddenly was on track, I had to go and sabotage it. Well, I'm saying now that I'm not going to let it happen.
Today's plan:
HIIT and LISS
M1: pear and almonds
M2: hummus & veg sandwich and carrots
M3: clif builder's bar
M4: baked sesame tofu, roasted cauliflower, roasted butternut squash (my mouth is watering just thinking of it)
M5: same as M4
Workout and meals 1-3 are done, and I've got all the stuff to do my last 2 meals so I'm about to get things ready to go in the oven for an hour. Hallelujah. Sunday dinners are always good around here. I'm just going to have to keep that bar high all week. Thurs-Sat I'll be in Boston, but seeing as that is my halfway point (!) I'm going to stay mindful, pack lots of good food, and do my best to at least get in as much cardio as I reasonably can.
I need coffee! Time to get psyched about roasting veggies, doing laundry and a crapload of reading. Hoo-ah!
Saturday, September 22, 2007
Day 35: 7 weeks down
I'm really disappointed in myself about the way this week went. Yesterday was my designated cheat day, largely because I was too hungover to do things like grocery shopping or responsible cooking. So I ate Chinese leftovers for lunch, Korean food (tasty and healthy, but a lot of it) for dinner, then had a few drinks and a bagel when I came home. Those bastardly bagels are evil. However, I ended up walking a lot in the evening since I am retarded and assumed that my train just wasn't running, which in retrospect it was probably just running on the other track. I had to pee so badly! It was a 15 block walk of anger and worrying that this would be the night when I peed my pants right on Broadway in front of people I go to school with.
Anyway. I am on track today, and making do with the food I've got in the house, which is fine for today. Tomorrow I MUST go to the store because I've now run out of everything. I'm going to hopefully get up super early and make a Trader Joe's run, to set myself up for basically the next month's worth of non-perishables.
And then I'm going to read a million pages for class and work out and be virtuous. That's the plan.
Anyway. I am on track today, and making do with the food I've got in the house, which is fine for today. Tomorrow I MUST go to the store because I've now run out of everything. I'm going to hopefully get up super early and make a Trader Joe's run, to set myself up for basically the next month's worth of non-perishables.
And then I'm going to read a million pages for class and work out and be virtuous. That's the plan.
Friday, September 21, 2007
Day 34: Suckitude
So last night I committed cardinal sin #1 of bad eating. I got drunk and ordered Chinese food at 1 am. I haven't done this in quite some time! This week has just been bad, bad, bad for eating. I got it back on track for a couple days and I know I haven't done that much damage, plus I've been kicking ass at the gym for the most part. I think I may have to just move my free day to Friday, at least on most weeks. That's what I've decided today, since I'm too hungover to do anything besides loaf and stare and want to keep eating. Actually the eating part isn't entirely true since I'm a bit queasy but I don't want to eat on plan, I want to eat anything that isn't on plan. So I'm eating relatively little but it's still free day.
Anyhow, the big leap in the right direction which needs to happen is: GROCERY SHOPPING, like for serious. I should have done a major shopping trip and got everything since I know during the week it's too hard for me to get out to the store. I am going to trader joe's tomorrow probably early in the morning to beat the crowd, and I'm going to stock up on almonds, tempeh, hummus, bread, cereal, etc. - all my staple foods. This is important. I do so well (mostly) when I have every single thing I need in the house already. That way I just follow my schedule, make all my tasty filling awesome meals and then I'm golden. But the combination of drinking/trying to be social and not having everything I need in my kitchen is too much to handle. I've also been stressed and all that, but that's not going away anytime soon so I have to work with it, and channel that into working out.
Workouts, meanwhile, have been kind of meditative this week, which is wonderful since frequently I just go to this awful gym and I get angry at stinky people, crowdedness, undergrad girls in hot pants and heavy eyeliner, etc. But lately I've been listening to mellower music, thinking deep thoughts and getting relaxed. It helps that I can be angry during part 1 of my workout (HIIT or weights) and then be relaxed during part 2 (LISS on the elliptical).
So I'm pushing today's UBWO til tomorrow, probably in the early evening, and I'm going to the movies tonight and tomorrow, not having more than a drink or 2 each night, trying to take it easy and get a ton of schoolwork done in the next few days. I have a bit of catching up to do after all these interviews, and it sure didn't happen yesterday or today.
Plan for tonight - tasty/somewhat healthy dinner out (probably Korean) with K, then a movie screening with discussion by writer & director John Turturro (!) and maybe a glass of wine with S and in bed at a reasonable hour. Then tomorrow, it's 100% on plan, lots of good shopping, lots of good homework/reading, and the beginning of a healthy, happy, good week. Optimism is key!
Anyhow, the big leap in the right direction which needs to happen is: GROCERY SHOPPING, like for serious. I should have done a major shopping trip and got everything since I know during the week it's too hard for me to get out to the store. I am going to trader joe's tomorrow probably early in the morning to beat the crowd, and I'm going to stock up on almonds, tempeh, hummus, bread, cereal, etc. - all my staple foods. This is important. I do so well (mostly) when I have every single thing I need in the house already. That way I just follow my schedule, make all my tasty filling awesome meals and then I'm golden. But the combination of drinking/trying to be social and not having everything I need in my kitchen is too much to handle. I've also been stressed and all that, but that's not going away anytime soon so I have to work with it, and channel that into working out.
Workouts, meanwhile, have been kind of meditative this week, which is wonderful since frequently I just go to this awful gym and I get angry at stinky people, crowdedness, undergrad girls in hot pants and heavy eyeliner, etc. But lately I've been listening to mellower music, thinking deep thoughts and getting relaxed. It helps that I can be angry during part 1 of my workout (HIIT or weights) and then be relaxed during part 2 (LISS on the elliptical).
So I'm pushing today's UBWO til tomorrow, probably in the early evening, and I'm going to the movies tonight and tomorrow, not having more than a drink or 2 each night, trying to take it easy and get a ton of schoolwork done in the next few days. I have a bit of catching up to do after all these interviews, and it sure didn't happen yesterday or today.
Plan for tonight - tasty/somewhat healthy dinner out (probably Korean) with K, then a movie screening with discussion by writer & director John Turturro (!) and maybe a glass of wine with S and in bed at a reasonable hour. Then tomorrow, it's 100% on plan, lots of good shopping, lots of good homework/reading, and the beginning of a healthy, happy, good week. Optimism is key!
Wednesday, September 19, 2007
Day 32: Pfew
So I made it to a new low weight this morning, shockingly. Yesterday was SO VIRTUOUS. I didn't make it to the gym early, but I did suck it up and go late, and I kicked ass on HIIT, then ellipticalled for 25 mins. It meant I stayed up a little too late again, but I did manage to hit the gym around 8:30 this morning for LBWO and LISS. I've been pushing myself a bit harder on leg press, because I know even though it feels hard, I can go heavier. Those are very strong muscles, my quads and glutes. So the last 2 times I went, I did 12x70 lb, 10x90 lb, 8x110 lb, 6x130(!), 12x110, then ballet squats 12x20 lb dumbbells. BFL lifting takes a long time on each exercise... Especially when I'm doing leg press and I have to get up to add more weight on I feel like I'm being very territorial. I need to not have a complex about that though, since I know the big dudely dudes in there don't feel bad using a bench for an hour or whatever, even though there's only like 5 benches. I belong there, too.
This morning I signed up for yoga sculpt class at the gym, with K, on Thursday afternoons. So that should be cool, maybe help me get bendy-er. Also, I finally bought the yoga dvd I've been pining for, so maybe it'll come this weekend while my roommate is out of town and I can bend and balance and fall down in the living room. I don't think I'd be embarrassed to do it in front of him, but the living room does kind of block his room so if I'm trying to do downward dog for an hour straight that might get in his way. We'll see, but I'm excited to get it. I also bought the Skinny Bitch book, which I had decided not to get but then it was on sale and I needed to add something for free shipping. Fortunately I already do the vegan thing, mostly, so I'm not going to be appalled by that. I'm interested to see what all the hype is about, aside from the animal rights stuff.
Progress! It's so easy to get down about things when there's no measurable progress, but hitting a low weight today after a big gain over the weekend was pretty sweet. We'll see if it sticks - I think it had a lot to do with the fact that I worked out at 11 last night (and worked out super hard!) so I'll believe it if I see it again tomorrow or the next day.
It's so close to the weekend, at least in my mind. This weekend, as I mentioned, the roommate is out of town, and I'm going to hopefully spend Friday night at home, doing some serious room organizing and cleaning, plus catching up on all the reading I've been letting slide, and probably watch a DVD and have a glass of wine. Or, maybe go see a play... either way, a night of wholesome fun and going to bed early.
This morning I signed up for yoga sculpt class at the gym, with K, on Thursday afternoons. So that should be cool, maybe help me get bendy-er. Also, I finally bought the yoga dvd I've been pining for, so maybe it'll come this weekend while my roommate is out of town and I can bend and balance and fall down in the living room. I don't think I'd be embarrassed to do it in front of him, but the living room does kind of block his room so if I'm trying to do downward dog for an hour straight that might get in his way. We'll see, but I'm excited to get it. I also bought the Skinny Bitch book, which I had decided not to get but then it was on sale and I needed to add something for free shipping. Fortunately I already do the vegan thing, mostly, so I'm not going to be appalled by that. I'm interested to see what all the hype is about, aside from the animal rights stuff.
Progress! It's so easy to get down about things when there's no measurable progress, but hitting a low weight today after a big gain over the weekend was pretty sweet. We'll see if it sticks - I think it had a lot to do with the fact that I worked out at 11 last night (and worked out super hard!) so I'll believe it if I see it again tomorrow or the next day.
It's so close to the weekend, at least in my mind. This weekend, as I mentioned, the roommate is out of town, and I'm going to hopefully spend Friday night at home, doing some serious room organizing and cleaning, plus catching up on all the reading I've been letting slide, and probably watch a DVD and have a glass of wine. Or, maybe go see a play... either way, a night of wholesome fun and going to bed early.
Tuesday, September 18, 2007
Day 31: Come On Now
Yesterday was bad news. I didn't change my meal plan to accommodate those extra calories at lunch, and then after the gym K came over and we had martinis. And sugar snap peas. And then I was drunk and I needed to have a bagel. Ugh! I am up 3 lb today and I know that I can get rid of that if I can just get myself entirely back on track. And did I mention that I didn't work out this morning? The plan now is to go after my journal meeting, which would be somewhere between 10 and 11. This is ok, but it means it's going to be hard to get up early tomorrow, and I need to get there early to do weights effectively.
So, today is going ok so far aside from pushing my workout back till late tonight. I just had breakfast (kashi, blueberries, coffee) and bought a lb of coffee at Starbucks. My wonderful roommate gets up and makes coffee almost every day, which I really enjoy, although he's going out of town tomorrow so I guess I'll have to make it for my lazy self. You know what that means - naked party in my apartment!
Plan for today: spend the morning getting a ton of reading done; eat all my meals EXACTLY as planned; no "noshing" while making meals; go to class; go to more class; HIIT and LISS at le gym late this evening. And then straight to bed so I can get my act together tomorrow and work out early!
So, today is going ok so far aside from pushing my workout back till late tonight. I just had breakfast (kashi, blueberries, coffee) and bought a lb of coffee at Starbucks. My wonderful roommate gets up and makes coffee almost every day, which I really enjoy, although he's going out of town tomorrow so I guess I'll have to make it for my lazy self. You know what that means - naked party in my apartment!
Plan for today: spend the morning getting a ton of reading done; eat all my meals EXACTLY as planned; no "noshing" while making meals; go to class; go to more class; HIIT and LISS at le gym late this evening. And then straight to bed so I can get my act together tomorrow and work out early!
Monday, September 17, 2007
The Continuing Saga of Job Search 07
I think today's interview lunch was one of the highest in calories but also one of the most delicious of all. We went for Chinese food at a very classy place in Midtown. (Who knew there was classy Chinese in Midtown? Not I.) I had hot & sour soup followed by ma po tofu with brown rice. Very tasty, probably very oily but at least it was silken tofu which is not as high-cal as regular tofu. Oy. I'm going to probably cut out my afternoon meal of almonds & pear, and that should just about cover it. How relieved am I to be almost done with this? Not that I can really complain since the meals are incredible, but it does stress me out to try and work around an unpredictable meal. Predictability is the key to my success, so far, and when there's no plan it's hard to feel on track. Next summer is going to be a lot of fancy eating out, but I guess I'll just figure out a plan where I eat a really little dinner and plan for a big lunch, and I'll be having lots of soup & salad or whatever anyway, since there's limited selection for vegetarians/vegans. I did have eggs today, in my soup. I'm nothing if not flexible. But anyway, I will be relieved to be eating my regular sandwich and carrots for lunch and know what's coming next.
Day 30: Still a Fatty
I'm having an attitude problem this morning. I think the only reason I really made it out of bed at 6:30 and went to the gym was because my roommate and his girlfriend were up moving around at that hour so I didn't feel like such a freak for being up early when I don't have to be anyplace until 10. Still, I was nervous about not making it back to my apartment in time to get ready for my interview this morning (sigh - almost done). So I skipped LISS and just did my upper body workout, and maybe I'll make it back for cardio this evening with my friend K.
Eating yesterday was great, although dinner was one of those massive high-fiber feasts that brought my weight up this morning. I'm trying not to think about it - hopefully tomorrow I'll be down a bit, and I can tell by this afternoon that fiber will work its way out. Ideally not until I get back from the interview!
I'm feeling frustrated about not making a lot of progress. This happens, I know - I actually am making a lot of progress but right now it's not obvious since I spent all weekend pigging out and not exercising. I need to give it a few days so I can work that stuff out of my system and pick up the pace for working out. I'm really glad I don't have any more interviews between today and next Friday, since that takes off a lot of the time pressure in the morning.
OK, time to finish getting dressed and ready to go...
Eating yesterday was great, although dinner was one of those massive high-fiber feasts that brought my weight up this morning. I'm trying not to think about it - hopefully tomorrow I'll be down a bit, and I can tell by this afternoon that fiber will work its way out. Ideally not until I get back from the interview!
I'm feeling frustrated about not making a lot of progress. This happens, I know - I actually am making a lot of progress but right now it's not obvious since I spent all weekend pigging out and not exercising. I need to give it a few days so I can work that stuff out of my system and pick up the pace for working out. I'm really glad I don't have any more interviews between today and next Friday, since that takes off a lot of the time pressure in the morning.
OK, time to finish getting dressed and ready to go...
Sunday, September 16, 2007
Day 29?!: Ack!
Man oh man. I have to make this one quick since I've been not-doing a lot of homework for the past few hours since I got up. But this weekend at my parents' house was badness x a million. Ice cream sundae, oily stir fry, a bite of pizza that I suspect had some meat on there, peanut butter on a spoon, you name it! But I'm back in style, and I'm going to overcome the scheduling and laziness issues of last week by going to bed early and getting up early. This week is going to be so on plan it will put Week 1 to shame.
So, week 5. I was really hoping to be in a size 2 by this point, but I'll settle for my old fat jeans (stretchy size 16) feeling like fat jeans again. They hang off me much as they did a year ago, which is spectacular. I have to wear a belt to keep 'em up. This is good, and soon I'm going to need to buy some new jeans anyway since these ones are a couple years old and are looking kind of beat up at the cuffs and seat.
The awesome thing that happened at my parents' house is that they bought me a new pair of sneakers, which I have been desperately needing for a while now. I feel like sneakers are supposed to last forever, but truly they do not, especially when you buy the ones on sale at Bob's as I have been doing for years. So I got a much nicer pair of New Balances courtesy of my dad, and I'm stoked to throw them on and hit the gym in about an hour. Other than that, today's plans involve buying some fruit and veggies, reading a ton, and cooking up a new veggie loaf to throw in the freezer and last me the next 4 weeks of Sunday night dinners. This has been a real treat the last few weeks to have such an easy and delicious thing to heat up. I just need to figure out a way to make it slightly less fatty. There's nuts and beans and seeds in there so it could be tough, but there are some variations I can try out.
So, week 5. I was really hoping to be in a size 2 by this point, but I'll settle for my old fat jeans (stretchy size 16) feeling like fat jeans again. They hang off me much as they did a year ago, which is spectacular. I have to wear a belt to keep 'em up. This is good, and soon I'm going to need to buy some new jeans anyway since these ones are a couple years old and are looking kind of beat up at the cuffs and seat.
The awesome thing that happened at my parents' house is that they bought me a new pair of sneakers, which I have been desperately needing for a while now. I feel like sneakers are supposed to last forever, but truly they do not, especially when you buy the ones on sale at Bob's as I have been doing for years. So I got a much nicer pair of New Balances courtesy of my dad, and I'm stoked to throw them on and hit the gym in about an hour. Other than that, today's plans involve buying some fruit and veggies, reading a ton, and cooking up a new veggie loaf to throw in the freezer and last me the next 4 weeks of Sunday night dinners. This has been a real treat the last few weeks to have such an easy and delicious thing to heat up. I just need to figure out a way to make it slightly less fatty. There's nuts and beans and seeds in there so it could be tough, but there are some variations I can try out.
Wednesday, September 12, 2007
Day 25: Scheduling Drama
Hurrah, hurrah, hurrah. I started to post yesterday but my internet wasn't working and I didn't have time anyway, but I was excited because my weight was down .4 from my last lowest weight of last week! And today, I'm down an additional .4, yay. It's the one awesome thing about getting my period. Hopefully that will keep on going down and then stay down.
I skipped HIIT yesterday, but made it into the gym late last night to do 30 minutes of gossip and stairmaster with a friend. I was doing it on a pretty low setting, so that I could talk at the same time, but that machine is intense. I sweated like a fat man from the moment I stepped on that thing, and my pulse stayed at a medium/high rate the whole time. It was glorious, but also disgusting. So, since I was at the gym until 12 and then took until 1 to wind down... I missed my upperbody workout this morning. I'm going to bring clothes to class and just go from there, but it kind of sucks because the gym is always packed later on. I will just suck it up and remember this so that next week I won't let myself get behind like this. I just got so backed up on sleep the last few days, and I was doing interviews too, so I was just exhausted. Which makes me inefficient at getting work done, so I stay up later doing it, etc, etc.
So today, rescheduled workout aside, I have to stay on task and get shit done. I've got a lot to do today and tomorrow before I take off for Boston, and I cannot let the workouts fall by the wayside. My current workout schedule is totally getting me where I want to be, and I need to ride that success as far as I can. I can't believe I've stuck with this for almost 4 weeks now! Some of my clothes are definitely getting loose, I feel stronger and just better all around. Just 8 more weeks until California and the end of this challenge, when I'll probably take a week to assess and plan, before I move on to either another BFL challenge or some other routine.
I skipped HIIT yesterday, but made it into the gym late last night to do 30 minutes of gossip and stairmaster with a friend. I was doing it on a pretty low setting, so that I could talk at the same time, but that machine is intense. I sweated like a fat man from the moment I stepped on that thing, and my pulse stayed at a medium/high rate the whole time. It was glorious, but also disgusting. So, since I was at the gym until 12 and then took until 1 to wind down... I missed my upperbody workout this morning. I'm going to bring clothes to class and just go from there, but it kind of sucks because the gym is always packed later on. I will just suck it up and remember this so that next week I won't let myself get behind like this. I just got so backed up on sleep the last few days, and I was doing interviews too, so I was just exhausted. Which makes me inefficient at getting work done, so I stay up later doing it, etc, etc.
So today, rescheduled workout aside, I have to stay on task and get shit done. I've got a lot to do today and tomorrow before I take off for Boston, and I cannot let the workouts fall by the wayside. My current workout schedule is totally getting me where I want to be, and I need to ride that success as far as I can. I can't believe I've stuck with this for almost 4 weeks now! Some of my clothes are definitely getting loose, I feel stronger and just better all around. Just 8 more weeks until California and the end of this challenge, when I'll probably take a week to assess and plan, before I move on to either another BFL challenge or some other routine.
Sunday, September 9, 2007
Must be Homework Day
That is, since I'm posting more than once, this definitely means there are other things I am supposed to be doing, such as a gazillion pages of reading, ugh. I was so psyched to come back to school, and as far as actually being here with friends and all, I am glad, but the reality of classes and work is tough. It's a struggle to regain my attention span, although at the moment I am very caffeinated, so I just need to focus that energy onto the text book. Get off the internet!
I have been thinking about how slow my weight loss is going (scale has bounced back up 2.8 lb since the 5 lb loss I was seeing last week) and feeling a bit disappointed in myself, but truly I think I'm putting on muscle on this plan, and I'm losing in a responsible way. My legs definitely look more muscular, and although they're not where they were a year and a half ago (oh, those days were great) I'm working back up to that. I know if I cut my calories really low and did an hour and a half of cardio every day, I could drop weight super fast, but that's not really working with my schedule, and the weightlifting part is important. I cannot do an hour and a half of cardio plus 40 mins of weightlifting, and expect to pass any of my classes, or even make it to them.
Plus the bounce I saw on the scale today is pretty minor considering how much I ate and drank and wasn't hydrated this weekend, and the fact that I'm very menstrual right now. So, I'm hoping that this week of serious discipline (law firm lunches aside) will put me right back on track to see a really good loss by the time I get back from Boston this weekend. I'll probably end up having a cheat-ish meal on Friday night with my parents, but after my awesome self-control the last time I was home, I know I can handle this. It's just one night and one day at home, so I'll stay strong.
OK, back to the books, then I have a scheduled TV break in about 2 hours. Since there's nothing new on I think I'll catch up on some old shows online. I'm going to have to subscribe to Biggest Loser on iTunes when it starts up because I have a meeting on Tuesday nights!
I have been thinking about how slow my weight loss is going (scale has bounced back up 2.8 lb since the 5 lb loss I was seeing last week) and feeling a bit disappointed in myself, but truly I think I'm putting on muscle on this plan, and I'm losing in a responsible way. My legs definitely look more muscular, and although they're not where they were a year and a half ago (oh, those days were great) I'm working back up to that. I know if I cut my calories really low and did an hour and a half of cardio every day, I could drop weight super fast, but that's not really working with my schedule, and the weightlifting part is important. I cannot do an hour and a half of cardio plus 40 mins of weightlifting, and expect to pass any of my classes, or even make it to them.
Plus the bounce I saw on the scale today is pretty minor considering how much I ate and drank and wasn't hydrated this weekend, and the fact that I'm very menstrual right now. So, I'm hoping that this week of serious discipline (law firm lunches aside) will put me right back on track to see a really good loss by the time I get back from Boston this weekend. I'll probably end up having a cheat-ish meal on Friday night with my parents, but after my awesome self-control the last time I was home, I know I can handle this. It's just one night and one day at home, so I'll stay strong.
OK, back to the books, then I have a scheduled TV break in about 2 hours. Since there's nothing new on I think I'll catch up on some old shows online. I'm going to have to subscribe to Biggest Loser on iTunes when it starts up because I have a meeting on Tuesday nights!
Day 22: Tired
My sister left this morning at 5:30 or so, which was good and bad, I suppose. Yesterday my PMS and hangover combined with her inexplicable misery and crankiness had us hit a wall. I don't know what was going on, but I was ready to take her to the bus station last night at 10, because I couldn't handle her sullen teen routine anymore - she is 22 and a married woman. First I got angry because she didn't want to do anything besides play solitaire and chat with her friends on the computer (you came to NYC to do this?!). Then I wished I hadn't dragged her away from it because suddenly we were on some kind of torture march through the city where she didn't want to go back to my apartment so we wandered 25 blocks or so through the West Village, which had her entirely unimpressed.
I haven't let this be a very personal blog so far, at least in terms of talking about people other than myself, and I don't intend to include much of that, since this is about my personal journey and not about me bitching about my family. But this is something I am very troubled about - my sister and I are very close, but she is a person who has a really hard time (or refuses, depending on your perspective) with communication. She's pushing everyone in my family away AGAIN after we finally sort of broke back in. AAAAGHH! It's so, so frustrating, and I get so sick of being diplomatic about it. Be a grownup! Tell people what you need and how you feel!
So, that is weighing on my mind, and I feel badly that I was still angry and frustrated with her at the ridiculous hour that she decided to leave. We're going to have to have a serious talk. But what I need right now is also to refocus on my own life and goals. Today is getting-back-on-track day, for diet & exercise plus for school and other important life stuff.
I haven't let this be a very personal blog so far, at least in terms of talking about people other than myself, and I don't intend to include much of that, since this is about my personal journey and not about me bitching about my family. But this is something I am very troubled about - my sister and I are very close, but she is a person who has a really hard time (or refuses, depending on your perspective) with communication. She's pushing everyone in my family away AGAIN after we finally sort of broke back in. AAAAGHH! It's so, so frustrating, and I get so sick of being diplomatic about it. Be a grownup! Tell people what you need and how you feel!
So, that is weighing on my mind, and I feel badly that I was still angry and frustrated with her at the ridiculous hour that she decided to leave. We're going to have to have a serious talk. But what I need right now is also to refocus on my own life and goals. Today is getting-back-on-track day, for diet & exercise plus for school and other important life stuff.
Saturday, September 8, 2007
Day 21: Don't Ask
Well, the birthday splurge was major. It kind of started on Thursday, or maybe earlier, as PMS set in pretty early this week. So I'm not weighing for a couple days, as I wait for the bloat to pass and get myself back on track.
Birthday was amazing, and I think it was worth it for all the calories, etc, and I did manage to work out for a while yesterday, although I was very tired and sort of hungover so not working as hard as usual. I'm going to make it up tomorrow! And I am off the sauce for a while... I'll be traveling next weekend so I can definitely keep it in check and limit it to maybe a glass of wine with a friend I've got plans to meet up with at some point.
Plan for tomorrow: see my sister off at an obscenely early hour, have a delicious breakfast, get a lot of reading done, HIIT & LISS at the gym, more reading and cleaning, more delicious and nutritious meals and loads of water, maybe some detox tea, more reading, some TV and off to bed early.
Five interviews on the schedule for this week - it's getting very tiring, but I am more confident in each one than the last, especially since I already have a couple of offers that I'm considering. Just a few more weeks and it'll be decision time, hallelujah.
Birthday was amazing, and I think it was worth it for all the calories, etc, and I did manage to work out for a while yesterday, although I was very tired and sort of hungover so not working as hard as usual. I'm going to make it up tomorrow! And I am off the sauce for a while... I'll be traveling next weekend so I can definitely keep it in check and limit it to maybe a glass of wine with a friend I've got plans to meet up with at some point.
Plan for tomorrow: see my sister off at an obscenely early hour, have a delicious breakfast, get a lot of reading done, HIIT & LISS at the gym, more reading and cleaning, more delicious and nutritious meals and loads of water, maybe some detox tea, more reading, some TV and off to bed early.
Five interviews on the schedule for this week - it's getting very tiring, but I am more confident in each one than the last, especially since I already have a couple of offers that I'm considering. Just a few more weeks and it'll be decision time, hallelujah.
Thursday, September 6, 2007
Day 19: ugggg.
Last night = 3 martinis, several delicious dumplings and a mini binge of hummus and bread. In other words, a slight breakdown in willpower, which spilled over into this morning. I didn't do my reading, I didn't get to the gym early in the morning (went this afternoon), I just drank too much and dished with best-friend-K and let loose. I am unenthused about responsibilities.
So, that happened. It wasn't a major calorie problem and I did get in my workout today, but I do kind of feel like a fuck-up about not doing my work. I just had no motivation to get it done. It's the first week of school, tomorrow's my birthday and I just wanted to chill out. I'm not going to beat myself up about it.
Oh, I also didn't go grocery shopping, which means that today I ate soydogs instead of having a protein shake and then had a clif builder bar for M5 just now instead of a real meal. I'm going to a fancy law firm dinner tonight (leaving as soon as I get showered and presentable) where the only vegetarian option is going to be mushroom risotto, and I had to specially request it so I didn't get stuck with steak. So, mushrooms and butter, not really on my favorites list since I'm a mushroom-hating near-vegan, so it shouldn't be too tough to eat the salad and any other vegetable option and ignore most of the risotto. Then come home and go shopping before my sister gets here, if there's time. Fortunately I live in the big city so the store's open 24 hrs.
Not much else to say. I'm worn out from all the stuff that's going on this week, and I'm looking forward to interviews being finito. I got my first job offer today and despite the fact that I think I'd rather be in Boston than NY, and this is an NY offer (at a firm I totally loved, but still NY), I'm tempted to just take it and cancel the rest to spare myself the exhaustion!
So, that happened. It wasn't a major calorie problem and I did get in my workout today, but I do kind of feel like a fuck-up about not doing my work. I just had no motivation to get it done. It's the first week of school, tomorrow's my birthday and I just wanted to chill out. I'm not going to beat myself up about it.
Oh, I also didn't go grocery shopping, which means that today I ate soydogs instead of having a protein shake and then had a clif builder bar for M5 just now instead of a real meal. I'm going to a fancy law firm dinner tonight (leaving as soon as I get showered and presentable) where the only vegetarian option is going to be mushroom risotto, and I had to specially request it so I didn't get stuck with steak. So, mushrooms and butter, not really on my favorites list since I'm a mushroom-hating near-vegan, so it shouldn't be too tough to eat the salad and any other vegetable option and ignore most of the risotto. Then come home and go shopping before my sister gets here, if there's time. Fortunately I live in the big city so the store's open 24 hrs.
Not much else to say. I'm worn out from all the stuff that's going on this week, and I'm looking forward to interviews being finito. I got my first job offer today and despite the fact that I think I'd rather be in Boston than NY, and this is an NY offer (at a firm I totally loved, but still NY), I'm tempted to just take it and cancel the rest to spare myself the exhaustion!
Wednesday, September 5, 2007
Day 18: 5 lb down!
Slow & steady wins the race. I was kind of hoping I'd drop 10 lb in the first week, but that's definitely not possible while you're also trying to build muscle - 5 lb in 2 and a half weeks is awesome, even if the scale bounces back up a little bit tomorrow. And it probably will, if I actually end up going out on this date and eating salty, delicious vegan restaurant food. That's a whole other story. However, I'm going to say that the movement on the scale that I've seen in the past week or so has to do with the added cardio. I'm going to keep that up, to the extent possible, and so far it's not too tough to cram in 25-30 mins of low/med intensity cardio after a BFL workout. Today I decided to push my workout back a couple hours so I could have breakfast first. I can deal with stomach rumbling during a cardio-only workout, but it worries me when I'm trying to lift weights. I wouldn't want to get light-headed. Also, yesterday the gym was less busy when I left (around 8 I think) than when I got there (7).
Improvised dinner yesterday when I didn't have time to go buy broccoli or cook rice: whole wheat couscous (takes 5 min), steamed zucchini and tofu. I was worried that steamed zucchini would taste like nothing, but I liked it and the texture was great. And the couscous was nice, fluffy and filling. So, that's a possibility again for the future, especially since it's so quick.
Tonight I'll either be eating out or I guess otherwise I'd make scrambled tofu or my favorite soba dish with broccoli and tofu. We shall see - I do want to go out with this guy, so I've prepared myself for the idea of eating out.
The only person I've explained the full extent of my fitness plans to is my sister, who's coming to visit this weekend. I emailed her about my eating schedule, so my plan is just to alter my meals slightly so that she can eat the same thing. She's a fitness nut, so I'm sure she'd be happy to have low-cal, high fiber little meals provided to her. I'll have to talk to her a bit more before she gets in tomorrow, and probably do a little shopping to make it work. But I'm glad we can share that so I don't have to be a weirdo about it.
Improvised dinner yesterday when I didn't have time to go buy broccoli or cook rice: whole wheat couscous (takes 5 min), steamed zucchini and tofu. I was worried that steamed zucchini would taste like nothing, but I liked it and the texture was great. And the couscous was nice, fluffy and filling. So, that's a possibility again for the future, especially since it's so quick.
Tonight I'll either be eating out or I guess otherwise I'd make scrambled tofu or my favorite soba dish with broccoli and tofu. We shall see - I do want to go out with this guy, so I've prepared myself for the idea of eating out.
The only person I've explained the full extent of my fitness plans to is my sister, who's coming to visit this weekend. I emailed her about my eating schedule, so my plan is just to alter my meals slightly so that she can eat the same thing. She's a fitness nut, so I'm sure she'd be happy to have low-cal, high fiber little meals provided to her. I'll have to talk to her a bit more before she gets in tomorrow, and probably do a little shopping to make it work. But I'm glad we can share that so I don't have to be a weirdo about it.
Tuesday, September 4, 2007
Day 17: First Day of School
Just a quickie right now since I have about 3 minutes before I need to go run a bunch of errands and pick up reading to do before classes start. First day of school! I am excited but also nervous because I have a very busy, long day ahead and it's only the beginning of the week. I wish I'd gotten a bit more work done last week - I didn't really start with the homework until Sunday and Monday, so I'm not exactly ahead of the game.
Popped out of bed at 6:30 this morning, groggy but motivated, and went to the gym for HIIT on the bike (my ass muscles hurt!) and 25 mins low/med intensity steady state on the elliptical (no resistance, because of ass hurting and general tiredness). I just packed up M3 (sandwich, carrots) and M4 (almonds, pear), and I'll be making my M2 protein shake in a sec, then heading out to the post office and a zillion other places. Class starts at 1:10, and this day doesn't end until around 9:30 pm, at which point I need to haul ass back home and do a bit of reading for tomorrow. Oy! But my date is rescheduled for tomorrow, so that's something to look forward to, and by then my week will be nearly over.
This day requires optimism and coffee, so I'm going to do my best to stay fueled up on both. Time to get going!
Popped out of bed at 6:30 this morning, groggy but motivated, and went to the gym for HIIT on the bike (my ass muscles hurt!) and 25 mins low/med intensity steady state on the elliptical (no resistance, because of ass hurting and general tiredness). I just packed up M3 (sandwich, carrots) and M4 (almonds, pear), and I'll be making my M2 protein shake in a sec, then heading out to the post office and a zillion other places. Class starts at 1:10, and this day doesn't end until around 9:30 pm, at which point I need to haul ass back home and do a bit of reading for tomorrow. Oy! But my date is rescheduled for tomorrow, so that's something to look forward to, and by then my week will be nearly over.
This day requires optimism and coffee, so I'm going to do my best to stay fueled up on both. Time to get going!
Monday, September 3, 2007
Day 16: Feeling Fine
Today I feel much happier and more hopeful than yesterday. That one was a doozy, partly because of some issues that were weighing on my mind and partly because I'm aggravated that the gym is no longer my own little secret place. The undergrads have arrived, sigh.
I didn't get up at 6:30 as planned this morning, but I did manage to crawl out of bed around 8:30, have some breakfast, do a bit of reading and then got down to the gym. I pumped out a decent upperbody workout, though next time I need to increase weight on bench press (yay) and probably change my shoulder exercises, since the upright rows are starting to hurt a bit with the increased weight. And then I hopped on the old arc trainer for a quick 25 mins of LISS, and then as soon as I was done my dumb iPod headphones crapped out. Oy. At least they made it to the end of my workout before the left one started sounding all quiet and tinny. Fortunately I have my big old ugly headphones that the exboyfriend shipped to me in a big box o' stuff not so long ago, so I don't have to suffer all that much. And now I think that when I reach a milestone in weight loss (hopefully soon - hurry up!) I will reward myself with some new ipod earphones for the subway, and continue using the old school headphones at the gym. I don't know if it's a problem with sweating into them or the connector that's starting to fray, but either way I'm blaming the abuse they take at the gym, so hopefully a non-gym pair would last more than 9 months.
This is kind of gross, but I'm thinking of doing some kind of colon cleanse. I don't understand how I could be eating this much fiber and, ahem, "going" this infrequently. My belly feels bloaty, and as I said yesterday it's partially because I'm in PMS mode, but that's definitely not all that's going on. So I'm looking into options but the web sites about these things are all ads disguised as personal web sites. I may just try a salt water flush once a week or so. Seriously gross by all accounts, but if it gets ride of this icky stomach feeling, probably worth it.
Now, I'm 45 minutes behind on my homework schedule and it's starting to feel a bit dire. Plans for the rest of the day include: reading a lot; a trip down to trader joe's to stock up on bread, cereal, hummus and soymilk; cooking up a delicious dinner of sweet potatoes, tempeh and broccoli (hello fiber); and more reading. I really should go buy a first day of school outfit, but I don't think it's going to happen since I don't have time to go shopping. I have bought a few new things over the summer, so I can just pretend that I haven't worn them yet. Anyway, there will be so much more glory in it when I can buy a smaller size. Some of my clothes are starting to get big, but I'm not sure if I'm just imagining it. Hopefully after my period is over I'll see a big loss, and won't screw it up too badly with birthday indulgences.
I didn't get up at 6:30 as planned this morning, but I did manage to crawl out of bed around 8:30, have some breakfast, do a bit of reading and then got down to the gym. I pumped out a decent upperbody workout, though next time I need to increase weight on bench press (yay) and probably change my shoulder exercises, since the upright rows are starting to hurt a bit with the increased weight. And then I hopped on the old arc trainer for a quick 25 mins of LISS, and then as soon as I was done my dumb iPod headphones crapped out. Oy. At least they made it to the end of my workout before the left one started sounding all quiet and tinny. Fortunately I have my big old ugly headphones that the exboyfriend shipped to me in a big box o' stuff not so long ago, so I don't have to suffer all that much. And now I think that when I reach a milestone in weight loss (hopefully soon - hurry up!) I will reward myself with some new ipod earphones for the subway, and continue using the old school headphones at the gym. I don't know if it's a problem with sweating into them or the connector that's starting to fray, but either way I'm blaming the abuse they take at the gym, so hopefully a non-gym pair would last more than 9 months.
This is kind of gross, but I'm thinking of doing some kind of colon cleanse. I don't understand how I could be eating this much fiber and, ahem, "going" this infrequently. My belly feels bloaty, and as I said yesterday it's partially because I'm in PMS mode, but that's definitely not all that's going on. So I'm looking into options but the web sites about these things are all ads disguised as personal web sites. I may just try a salt water flush once a week or so. Seriously gross by all accounts, but if it gets ride of this icky stomach feeling, probably worth it.
Now, I'm 45 minutes behind on my homework schedule and it's starting to feel a bit dire. Plans for the rest of the day include: reading a lot; a trip down to trader joe's to stock up on bread, cereal, hummus and soymilk; cooking up a delicious dinner of sweet potatoes, tempeh and broccoli (hello fiber); and more reading. I really should go buy a first day of school outfit, but I don't think it's going to happen since I don't have time to go shopping. I have bought a few new things over the summer, so I can just pretend that I haven't worn them yet. Anyway, there will be so much more glory in it when I can buy a smaller size. Some of my clothes are starting to get big, but I'm not sure if I'm just imagining it. Hopefully after my period is over I'll see a big loss, and won't screw it up too badly with birthday indulgences.
Sunday, September 2, 2007
bingy
PMS is rearing its ugly head and today, for the first time I really got to the point where I could hardly control myself. However, it has been over 2 weeks since my last binge (I have no clue when the last time was, really - probably sometime in the first week of August). I managed to rein in the urge to eat everything in sight, and the only things I added to my planned food were a few almonds (7=60 calories), and some carrots and hummus (~200 calories all together). So, not great but it could certainly be worse, and at least I rode it out and didn't just pig out. I rounded out the day somewhere around 1825, with a fat content of over 30% (yow).
My belly is so bloaty right now, from PMS and also from the absurdly large amount of fiber I consumed at dinner tonight (roasted cauliflower, vegan loaf, edamame). It's astounding how much of those things you can eat for so few calories, and that is because of the marvels of fiber. Yay fiber. Just gotta keep pounding down that water or else I'll be in trouble later on. Good day for getting in a lot of water, not a good day for getting reading done or appreciating this incredible, gorgeous weather we're having this weekend. C'est la vie law school, but maybe tomorrow I'll throw caution to the wind and do some reading out in the park.
My belly is so bloaty right now, from PMS and also from the absurdly large amount of fiber I consumed at dinner tonight (roasted cauliflower, vegan loaf, edamame). It's astounding how much of those things you can eat for so few calories, and that is because of the marvels of fiber. Yay fiber. Just gotta keep pounding down that water or else I'll be in trouble later on. Good day for getting in a lot of water, not a good day for getting reading done or appreciating this incredible, gorgeous weather we're having this weekend. C'est la vie law school, but maybe tomorrow I'll throw caution to the wind and do some reading out in the park.
False Alarm
No date tonight, postponed to (probably) Wednesday. I kind of feel like I should be more sad, but well, I am not. I'm going to go visit a friend in Brooklyn instead, and check out his new apartment. And eat my regularly scheduled vegan meatloaf, which I'm about to go start defrosting. Yum! New meal plan for M5 and M6: vegan loaf, steamed cauliflower, edamame.
I'm a bit cranky today about dieting, etc. The gym was awful, I only ended up doing 8 minutes of LISS because the elliptical I'd signed up for was broken, as was the second one I tried. I'm going to have to experiment with different times to go there on Sundays and find the time when no one's around. I expected that since it's such a gorgeous day out, no one would be in the gym, but shockingly the place was relatively full. I did bang out a kick-ass HIIT session on the bike, but I know that's just not enough cardio. So, tomorrow I'll work on doing more, and also try to be more zen about the weightlifting, since as far as I can tell, the place is still, shall we say, woman-proofed. I'm going to leave it at that since last week I was in tears, I got so mad. If there were another gym within 10 blocks of school or home, I would deal with the massive expense and just do it, because I know it would make me a fundamentally happier person to be able to work out in a positive environment. Oh, Equinox - why do you have to be so far away and so damn expensive?! ($129/mo dues, plus I'd have to buy a $76 subway pass to actually get there. Ain't happening.)
I'm a bit cranky today about dieting, etc. The gym was awful, I only ended up doing 8 minutes of LISS because the elliptical I'd signed up for was broken, as was the second one I tried. I'm going to have to experiment with different times to go there on Sundays and find the time when no one's around. I expected that since it's such a gorgeous day out, no one would be in the gym, but shockingly the place was relatively full. I did bang out a kick-ass HIIT session on the bike, but I know that's just not enough cardio. So, tomorrow I'll work on doing more, and also try to be more zen about the weightlifting, since as far as I can tell, the place is still, shall we say, woman-proofed. I'm going to leave it at that since last week I was in tears, I got so mad. If there were another gym within 10 blocks of school or home, I would deal with the massive expense and just do it, because I know it would make me a fundamentally happier person to be able to work out in a positive environment. Oh, Equinox - why do you have to be so far away and so damn expensive?! ($129/mo dues, plus I'd have to buy a $76 subway pass to actually get there. Ain't happening.)
Day 15: Date Night
I managed to maintain in Boston, though I did miss one workout, my lower body lifting on Friday. I walked/jogged 4 miles with my dad on Saturday though, and I'm not going to sweat the lifting workout. What isn't great is that the reason I missed it was because I was up late and drinking way too much Thursday night, so when the alarm went off at 6 am I said "ABSOLUTELY NOT."
I'm kind of frustrated at how hard it is to keep this going right now. The hardest part has to do with drinking. It's hard for me not to do it, and when I do it I want to go out and hit the town hard. It's a problem - when I drink I want to drink a lot. If I don't do it, I don't miss it (I miss the social aspect, but not the feeling). But at least I've gotten over the drunk munchies problem. That hasn't been an issue in a long time, and I have it firmly lodged in my head that there can be no eating off plan, I just can't get myself to buy into the idea that there can be no drinking off plan. There's the extra calories in the alcohol (4 beers, a shot and a vodka soda last night = a hell of a lot of calories I didn't need), and then I don't get up at the right time and the next day I feel all off track.
So, be that as it may, the new obstacle for today is that I am going on a date, with a guy who I met last night, a friend-of-friend-of-friend situation. In the last few weeks I've been feeling pretty awesome about being single, which of course is the time when people converge on you and want to tie you down, eh? I hope that I don't become the latest in a series of girls who makes this guy's life difficult, since he kind of seems like the type, but maybe we can date and have a good time together while I also feel free to pursue other things. Anyway, he is super sweet and we'll see where it goes, and we're going to my favorite little vegan place in the city, and I will just do my best not to order the deep fried "soy sensation," which is a frequent choice there for me. I will order something relatively light, I won't eat it the whole thing. I am not going to stress out about this. Weekends are tough and I'm going to have to just push through them and maintain total control during the week when it's not hard.
Aside from that, on the docket today are a HIIT workout, a bit of lower impact cardio, hopefully a trip to Trader Joe (might have to wait til tomorrow) and homework! I can't believe it's homework time already. Actually, I can, because I have read all of 4 pages and now I'm posting on here, so that's pretty typical. I still need to buy most of my books, which I really hope are at the bookstore today since otherwise Tuesday could be a rough day.
Meals today:
M1: kashi cereal, blueberries
M2: hummus & tomato sandwich, carrot sticks
M3: almonds, pear
M4: protein shake
M5: ?? something very light and high-fiber at home
M6: ?? at restaurant
I'm kind of frustrated at how hard it is to keep this going right now. The hardest part has to do with drinking. It's hard for me not to do it, and when I do it I want to go out and hit the town hard. It's a problem - when I drink I want to drink a lot. If I don't do it, I don't miss it (I miss the social aspect, but not the feeling). But at least I've gotten over the drunk munchies problem. That hasn't been an issue in a long time, and I have it firmly lodged in my head that there can be no eating off plan, I just can't get myself to buy into the idea that there can be no drinking off plan. There's the extra calories in the alcohol (4 beers, a shot and a vodka soda last night = a hell of a lot of calories I didn't need), and then I don't get up at the right time and the next day I feel all off track.
So, be that as it may, the new obstacle for today is that I am going on a date, with a guy who I met last night, a friend-of-friend-of-friend situation. In the last few weeks I've been feeling pretty awesome about being single, which of course is the time when people converge on you and want to tie you down, eh? I hope that I don't become the latest in a series of girls who makes this guy's life difficult, since he kind of seems like the type, but maybe we can date and have a good time together while I also feel free to pursue other things. Anyway, he is super sweet and we'll see where it goes, and we're going to my favorite little vegan place in the city, and I will just do my best not to order the deep fried "soy sensation," which is a frequent choice there for me. I will order something relatively light, I won't eat it the whole thing. I am not going to stress out about this. Weekends are tough and I'm going to have to just push through them and maintain total control during the week when it's not hard.
Aside from that, on the docket today are a HIIT workout, a bit of lower impact cardio, hopefully a trip to Trader Joe (might have to wait til tomorrow) and homework! I can't believe it's homework time already. Actually, I can, because I have read all of 4 pages and now I'm posting on here, so that's pretty typical. I still need to buy most of my books, which I really hope are at the bookstore today since otherwise Tuesday could be a rough day.
Meals today:
M1: kashi cereal, blueberries
M2: hummus & tomato sandwich, carrot sticks
M3: almonds, pear
M4: protein shake
M5: ?? something very light and high-fiber at home
M6: ?? at restaurant
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