reclaiming me

I logged my food on SparkPeople for three days, then got rather moody the third night and ate sourdough bread. With melted butter. And cinnamon sugar.

Let’s just say I haven’t logged the past few days. At this point, I’m almost counting on the challenge to help me get my butt back in gear because I’m most definitely in neutral, if not reverse. On the bright side, my husband and I had a lovely date night last night with a 3-course meal and a bottle of wine. Now you *know* we’re splurging if we pay the 100% markup to actually drink their wine by the bottle. But oh…it was fabulous.

Today is a quintessentially lazy Sunday. It’s noon and I’m still in pajamas. Maya is still in pajamas (heck, might as well keep her in them for her nap at this point). Mike says he’ll head to the gym, but is taking his sweet time. I love Sundays.

Until I finally get my act together, I’m thinking maybe I should commit to doing at least a little something each day. From that same post I mentioned before, I’ve got this as a suggestion:

There are many moves that can be done everyday and don’t even count towards an off day workout or a regular workout. Those moves are classically known as Target Pop moves for spot reduction, glucose maintenance or hormonal control.

• In the AM - -Primary Back Stretch (plus, TTT double dips for those with hormonal issues or midsection concerns)
• After meals –Hoe Downs.
• In the PM –Organs In Place, Awesome Legs and Diva Derriere (Pretzel before DD for those with hip pads or butt uplifting concerns).

I think I’d be doing the TTT double dips. PMS was hellish this month (first month off the pill), and since we’re now TTC, it’d be good for me to continue to wean from antidepressants without actually feeling insane.

Tomorrow is Measurement Monday, so we’ll see how I’m doing with barely working out AT. ALL. A second round of measures (and photos) will show up next Saturday for the beginning of the Challenge).

Tags: Self-Motivation by Allison
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The motivation still isn’t there, but if I wait for it to return, I might find myself another inch or two in the hips bigger before it does. So, I joined SparkPeople for tracking what I eat (and my water intake) and we’re moving on. My (in my head, at least) schedule for the next week or two is this: 2-3x TWO or other full body workout per week, 3-4x cardio per week. Right now, I’m aiming for MWF cardio and TTh TWO — with anything on the weekends being a bonus (hiking!).

I got a copy of Ladybug!

So, having a new workout, and feeling in the throes of some harsh PMSiness (yes, that’s a word. I just used it, so it must be a word.), I decided to give not just Ladybug workout, but the COMBO a try.

Oh, I like. I felt/looked like a bumbling idiot through a good part of it, and I clearly need to sit back and watch the whole thing again before I actually do the workout next time. At least I watched the form tips this go ’round, so I wasn’t completely unprepared.

The after-feeling of Ladybug is different. Where I felt almost hyper (the hiking high) after TWO, I feel more Zen and all-is-well-in-my-world afterward. That’s pretty impressive, when you consider that I was working myself into a teary mess this morning.

Over all, even though I’m still looking at 43.5-44″ hips, and a pile of clothing I purchased in December (with the idea that by now, they’d be loose) that don’t fit, I still feel good. Good is…well, good.

Oh, and I’ve decided that I will treat myself to some sort of shorts/top workout getup for my contest photos. I don’t really want to pose in swimwear, but something that shows more skin than yoga pants would probably be good. I want to be a grand prize winner, damn it — and go to the Safety Harbor retreat for free. Maybe I’ve gained all this CRAP in my hips just to be more impressive later, right? I can dream.

Tags: Daily Log, Self-Motivation, Feeding Myself by Allison
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Pair of jeans that fit
the body I have NOW:

$1.51
(okay, after a $20 credit from Eddie Bauer “friends”)

Haircut that finally rid me of the
bodywave-turned-out-to-be-a-bad-perm
AND will let me graciously regrow my hair:

.

$75
(I nearly choked. Won’t be going back there, but BOY does it feel good.)

Feeling like myself again, even
though I’m wearing a size 14:

PRICELESS.

Tags: T-Tapp, Photos, Self-Motivation by Allison
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Step it to the Max.

Ah, I needed that. Now I want to hike. Seriously!

If today continues to be a workload-light day, I might pick up Maya early and hit Atalaya Mountain. The weather couldn’t be more perfect, and how *light* I feel after doing SITTM confirms (for now, anyway) for me something I suspected: I need less isometric “weight” workouts, more cardio. If I consider B/R TWO to be a weight-training exercise, it makes sense that I should really only be doing it 2-3 times per week at the most. Cardio, on the other hand (like hiking, running, and now SATI/SITTM), is something that my body likes almost daily. When I’ve been in my absolute best condition, I was lifting twice per week, but doing a walking/running workout that is quite similar to SITTM (I did arms while walking on the uphills) on a near-daily basis.

At least, I sure hope this is the ah-ha I needed. A mere few days ago, I felt rather zen about my size, as in, “when it’s ready, my body will drop.” As of yesterday afternoon, and definitely this morning, I felt downright pissy. I even caught myself doing a self-comparison to a couple other moms as I dropped off Maya at daycare (and found myself to be huge and frumpy next to them). What the f***? I don’t usually DO the highschoolish comparison thing! Ugh. At least I recognized what I was doing fairly quickly, slapped myself around a little, and had a Chai.

On that note, I got my chai with milk. Yes, milk. Since I’ve still been feeling bloaty/big, I figured that milk must not have been the culprit. Now, I itch. Everywhere. The worst parts are the backs of my knees, upper arms, and inner elbows. Is this psycho-somatic, or do I really have an issue with milk? Guess I need to find out.

Back to workouts, SITTM does *not* feel like a total workout, as in “oh my god, you can’t possibly do that two days in a row.” It just feels like normal cardio, as if I might do SATI after PBS and before TWO, then do SITTM on my “off” days, perhaps with abs added in. Eh, who knows.

Two days and counting until the Santa Fe workshop. Guess I need to make sure I have all the ingredients for Tortilla Soup in the house…and stock up on Dos Equis and limes!

Tags: Daily Log, Self-Motivation, Feeding Myself by Allison
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Woo-hoo!

If you look at my calendar, you will see that I’ve decided Sunday counted as my starting point. So, in theory, today marked my fourth day, and I am officially in bootcamp.

Today, I remembered to add OIP/HF before TWO — I kept meaning to do it after PBS, before Plies, but always forgot. OMG, that really helped me with awareness of keeping a tighter tummy during my workout. Foci of the day: lift the ribs, pull in the tummy, shoulder back more during moves where I was losing that, such as Torso Twist.

Oh, I also about halfway through the workout, remembered that I’ve been meaning to breathe. It’s not that I’ve been holding my breath for 50 minutes or anything (I am, after all, still alive) — more that I think I’ve been in the wrong part of the breathing cycle during twisting moves. Remembering to time the exhale to the twist made a difference of perhaps 1-2 more inches of twist in TT for instance. Nice.

I’ve found my NK flow. I was already glistening by the end of PBS, damp by the end of Plies, and downright sweaty by the end of Reach-Scoop. Throwaway move? Heck, no. I love that one.

Can you tell I’m hyper?

The kidlet is home from school with a tummy bug, but napping (hence my uninterrupted workout), and we’re going to head to Colorado a day early, since they’re projecting snow for Thurs/Fri. Clinic in 3 days, yippie!

Tags: T-Tapp, Daily Log, Self-Motivation by Allison
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