The Best is Yet to Come

..or rather MY best shot. This whole HIIT thing sucks! I’m just not sure that getting to the gym at the buttcrack of dawn and sweating myself silly is so much fun. Actually, it’s NO fun, no fun at all. But, it’s supposed to work wonders, so I guess I’ll get up and do it again tomorrow morning. Ugh.

My thanks to the man on the bike next to me this morning cracking the whip and not letting me slack off, even though I seriously wanted to. And thanks for waking me up, driving me to the gym, giving me coffee afterward and then taking me back home to a nice, warm shower and fresh coffee.

Yes, I know I owe you a huge debt of gratitude and fully plan on repaying all of your diligent butt-kicking, motivational speech giving, morning waking-upping, early morning jogging, and everything else you have done to support me and encourage me to be my healthy best. I promise to repay you with lots of smiles, increased flexibility, no more jelly-roll and a firm, round backside. Oh, and lots of that other stuff if you know what I mean.

Ugh……..somebody make it STOP!!!!!!!!!!!

I am even more motivated to put a greater effort into my cardio so that I can hit my weight/bodyfat targets and refocus back to lifting weights. Obviously, I will keep doing some cardio, but I will be happy to be able to only do it ONCE a day, instead of twice like I am now.

All those years of sitting on my fat butt were definitely NOT worth it. It is very interesting that so many people don’t realize or pay attention to the way food affects our psychology. It’s called "comfort food" for a reason! Duh, food CAN help ease stress and mental angst, and of course it tastes good…..otherwise, nobody would be obese!

It’s not like I woke up one day and said to myself "Hey, let me see if I can take my current size 8 (135 lbs) and pack another 120 pounds onto my frame just to see what it looks like".

I have a hard time biting my tongue when people bash on overly fat people for two reasons:

1. I know that nobody makes a conscious choice to be FAT. It’s not as though I was eating that tasty piece of deep-fried Culver’s cod with french fries and tartar sauce and thinking (btw a 3 piece cod dinner is something close to 1,000 calories) - "if I just eat one more piece, I’ll weigh even more and look more disgusting in the mirror" - NO, I was thinking to myself "mmmmmm, this is YUMMY!!!!" - wonder if Friends is on….It’s simpler to do what is EASY and requires the least amount of effort. Yes, people are generally fat because they are sedentary and LAZY (and hungry). Much less effort to just go with your taste buds when picking out your next meal than using your brain to calculate your protein/carb/fat content. Much more fun to chill out eating ice cream and watching the boob-tube than enduring another sweaty session on the elliptical in the gym.

2. I also know that nobody needs to STAY fat. Get off your ass and do the work. Heck, if I can do it, anybody can. No, I was not obese as a child, quite the opposite in fact. But, once I hit my mid-20’s I got fat and lazy. The depression from a bad relationship didn’t exactly make it any easier. BUT, unless you have a medically diagnosed condition, and even then there are treatment options, there is NO EXCUSE for being grossly overweight. It’s not about being ripped like ChickenTuna or built like Jay Cutler, but rather aiming for a weight within the healthy recommended range.  Anything beyond that is a bonus.

OK, must stop blogging and go do some more freakin’ cardio - cuz’ this jelly roll around my middle has GOT TO GO!

OK, so it wasn’t THAT far away, but I am thrilled that each time I go jogging I’m getting further and further with less need for a break each time.

Had a pretty decent workout in the gym yesterday, went and did squats - 1 warm up set, 1 set of 5 at 135 and 1 set of 5 at 140. Went up pretty easy. Looks like we may be changing up my workouts a little bit to put more focus on cardio since I already have solid muscle, but really need to focus on eliminating the extra fat.

No more jelly roll for me, I’m sick of it!

Morning cardio - approximately 45 minute jog/walk/run and 1 hour of cardio in the evenings. M/W/F - most likely the ellipticals at the gym after my 20-30 minutes with weights, and on T/Th/Sat - 1 hour jog/walk/run in the evenings.

I’m also sticking very consistently to my nutrition plan and making a very focused effort to get my hydration level up. I’ve been averaging around 42%, and really should be closer to 60%.

Still need to take some new progress pics and measurements, will definitely do within the next week, probably when I hit 189.9. I plan on taking them now weekly to really monitor my progress.

Oh well, that’s all for today. Must go and do some work now.

Happy Tuesday!!!

It’s time to take some new progress pics and check my measurements. The last month was not exactly abundant with stellar progress, but I’m not going to beat myself up over it.

The good news is that #1 has now helped me to enjoy running again, and I can see my legs getting leaner and my calves are starting to develop more. I’ve NEVER had calves, neither have my mother or sisters. So this is really fantastic!

I got off the train this morning, headed over to the office from Union Station and, of course, the Veterans are handing out poppies today for Memorial Day.

 SO, I pass one of them and he looks right at me, so of course I feel like I have to acknowledge him, so I tell him that I need to get some change and that I will come back later for one. His reply to me? “No you won’t….” in kind of a snotty tone……to which I reply “wow, that was pretty rude”…one of the other vets said, “don’t worry, he’s just like that”.  I am annoyed by his assumption that I don’t care, and that I truly won’t come back.

This brings up multiple issues for me. Being the chatty kind of gal that I am, of course I plan on detailing all of them below for your reading enjoyment.

A. Why I took offense to his comment:

1. In my family, we ALWAYS donate and ALWAYS have poppies. We also fly American flags and put out extra for Memorial Day and July 4th. Being that my stepfather (bless his soul, he passed away 2 years ago in May - right before Memorial Day) was a decorated combat vet who served in Vietnam with the Army, my sister and brother-in-law were both in the Air Force, my grandfather was a combat vet in the Army in Korea and also boxed in Army fights, one of my cousins was a fighter pilot in the Air Force and flew combat missions during Desert Storm (he now flies for Southwest), another cousin was in the Army during Desert Storm and now serves as some sort of diplomatic something or other to some embassy……..and I’m sure I’m forgetting someone, but you get my drift. It’s not as though I come from a family or background where we do not honor the Armed Forces or its members.

2. My favorite man, commonly referred to on my blogs as #1, is also a decorated combat vet, and not only that, was a green beret serving in Iraq. Trust me, I do my part to show appreciation to my favorite serviceman as much and as often as I can!

3. My past man, and current friend, is an Army recruiter, he’s #2 to anyone who has followed my romance saga from the beginning of my blog - this is who I dated during 2006 while #1 and I were apart for 3 months.

B. Why I am completely saddened by his comment

He surely has to have put up with a lot of bullsh!t from other people to be so negative. And that sucks. I am quite positive that many people walk by these vets as though they are invisible, or make some brush-off comment just to get away, which is what I am sure he assumed I was doing.

Our servicemen and women are the very reason we have the freedoms that we have now, and that so many people are quick to complain about because their ignorance has blinded them is very disheartening.

I love how these big-mouths can go out and claim their right to free speech and then turn around and use that right to rip apart our military and its members, at the same time that those service people are the ones who fight to keep that right alive for us and also try to address wrongdoings being done unto others less fortunate living in countries where freedom is not something taken for granted.

I know how horrible it was for my stepdad when he came back from Vietnam, and have seen the shrapnel scars on his arm from his tour. I know about the night terrors and that he witnessed horrors that he could never speak of because they were just that traumatic. I remember hearing the stories, not very often because he didn’t like to speak of it, about how cruelly he and his fellow soldiers were ridiculed and hated simply for doing their job.

I also know how much being over in Iraq changed #1’s life when he returned - namely, it changed a lot of his personal relationships and changed the course of his future.

The freedoms I happily enjoy are only there because somebody else fought for me to be able to have them. The freedoms I will enjoy tomorrow are only there because our servicemen and women will continue to fight to preserve them.

To all those people complaining about how horrible our government and military are, might I kindly suggest that you pack up your sh!t and move to Canada or Mexico…..better yet, how about Iraq? Then come back and tell me how bad our country is.

I’d write more, but I have to go make a donation to the vets to get my poppy.

….or at least, on the bb.com front page!

I had no idea that my blog was featured on the bb.com front page until I saw the profile comment from my good friend Thorra. Of course, then I scrolled down and saw the message from bbcom developer. Thanks!

Wow, I will definitely agree about the new job - which I still absolutely love. The fact that my predecessor was more hype than actual productivity and had a sour disposition has made my transition into her place very smooth indeed.

As for the man, yes, he IS great…..and I’ve been nagging him for a while to put his info up on Bodyspace, since people come up to him in the gym all the time and ask him what he does to stay in such great shape. He finally caved and let me create his profile……but, in the interest of anonymity I will not be shouting it out from the rooftops, as he really is more interested in providing advice to those who ask him for it and now he can simply direct them to his Bodyspace, and then get on with his own crazy, intense workout. Otherwise, we get stuck in the gym for 2+ hours, and that really bites.  Of course, bb.com is also the best resource out there for anyone seriously seeking quality advice, so it makes perfect sense that way too.

And, yes, the boobs are new, but they are all mine! Had a reduction done after much contemplation. Many people have PM’d me asking about it, and I’m always happy to provide any advice or information that I can. It’s one of the best things I’ve done for myself and would not hesitate to do it all over again. Plus, it helps that my great man really likes them! AND, I can RUN again!!!! No black eyes!!! (unfortunately, the achilles tendinitis is still an issue, but we’re managing that one quite well, so far. I still hate getting up in the morning to go jogging/running, but #1 is a SUPER motivator, even when I think he’s pushing me too hard).

And, finally, I have now lost over 60 pounds. WOOHOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Jeepers, there’s only 48 more to go! Ugh! But, at least I have two great trainers - #1, and Martin in our gym who helped #1 prepare for his bb competition in March. And yes, all I hear from Martin is "cardio! cardio! cardio!", and now #1 is reciting it as well. Aaarrrggghhhhhhh……..

Sorry I’ve been slacking a little on my blog lately, and I promise to be better!

I’m back to normal after my major thyroid screwup from the doctor’s office! AND, I ran this morning! Went with #1, and he was quite impressed. You see, I haven’t run at all since I was 14 and the doctor told me I had acute recurrent Achilles tendinitis - basically, I had motherfcukin shin splints that hurt terribly when I ran. So, I never had to run or jump in gym class for the rest of my educational career, which in hindsight, is probably not such a good thing. So this morning we went for a 30 minute run around the neighborhood, and yes, there was some walking mixed in there, but not much! The happy note about this is that I don’t have any bad pain from my run, since I put some extra heel pads in my right shoe - my right leg is 1/4 inch shorter than my right, which is the cause of my aching pain. So, I get to get up at 5am tomorrow and do it again…….except that we did squats tonight in the gym and may decide to just walk really fast if our legs are super sore. What’s even scarier is that I’m actually looking forward to running, when I haven’t felt like that in years! I used to be in track and ran sprints and did high jump, so this slow jogging thing is kind of foreign to me, but I think I’ll learn to love it - especially if #1 runs a little in front of me so I can get some first clASS scenery!

I would have thought that by now, after being back on my thyroid pills for a week after that idiot nurse screwed up my refill and I missed my pills for 2.5 days, that I’d have my normal energy levels back.

Not so.

On top of the energy lull, I’ve put back on a few pounds and since my energy is so low, just getting on the elliptical is a chore, much less pedaling. And yes, I notice it the most right around my midsection. Sucks big time.
I’m still having a harder time than usual in the mornings and getting the total energy slump right around noon. Totally sucks. AND, I’ve been doing some research to show #1 that I’m not really nuts, and have found that there is a connection between hypothyroidism and increased allergy symptoms, chronic sinusitis and allergic rhinitis. Wish I’d known that one a long time ago….

Speaking of sinuses, I haven’t had to take any Pseudoephedrine in a couple days….I was desperate over the weekend from all of my recent sinus pain and headaches and  found my neti pot, or as I affectionately refer to it, my  "snot pot". It really sucks at first, but I definitely notice a difference with the sinus irrigation.

Check out www.sinucleanse.com for more info, and a somewhat disturbing video of what it looks like to pour water into one nostril and have it come out the other……I have their plastic pot for travel and a really pretty ceramic pot from the health food store.

#1 has offerred to take some new pics for me on Friday after work……

I’m ultimately aiming for something that looks like THIS: (and, uh, yeah, I’m aware that that will take a LOT more work, and potentially a tummy tuck too!)

and I just don’t really feel like retyping the whole thing!

Cliffs notes version:

*love new job

*major thyroid problems in the last week (stupid nurse)

*sinus issues too

*been super tired from the two previous items

*#1 is my favorite motivator, and scenery

*had fun shopping last night - both picking out clothes for me when I hit my goals, and new jeans for #1 - wow, what an a$$! It’s absolutely perfect.

Will add details later if I feel like retyping the whole mess.