Let me start off by saying that it is snowing here in the hills and my kids are going on their fourth snow day after going back for one - that's right, one - day of school after winter break. It's snowing and I'm stuck in the house with two adorably sweet but bored and cranky kids. My husband is, of course, out of town.
As if all that weren't enough the cold is making me crave . . .dun dun dun . . . CARBS. Now, I'm not one of those crazy Adkins crazies who swear of all semblance of carbohydrates in favor of animal by-products. But I do try to take a sensible path of carb limitations. I enjoy whole grain breads and whole wheat pasta and I like fruit and sweet potatoes way to much to go cold-turkey. But, sadly, what I'm craving is Aunt Jemima's buttermilk pancakes and/or mashed potatoes. Maybe even a big hunl of pound cake. As if I didn't do enough carby damage over the holidays.
Now here comes the snow and I'm contemplating building a fire in the fireplace. Which of course leads to. . . hot cocoa. I guess it wouldn't be so bad had I actually chopped the wood and hauled it up the hill from the woodpile. But I think we all know that didn't happen.
My question is this. Why does the cold weather lead to natural carb cravings. Is it a comfort food thing that makes us think of when we were kids and would stare eagerly at the (considerable smaller that today's) TV just waiting for the "No school today in___" to flash across the screen. Or is it deeper than that? Are we all just cavemen at heart. Fattening up for the long winter ahead? Is this why all the Russian steriotypes focus on Borsht and Vodka? Surely no body freezes to death in Russia nowadays. Boredom, maybe. But hypothermia? OK, OK, I know I'm being culterally insensitve, but carbs are about to get me and I have to blame someone. And who can we as Americans blame if not the Russians?
I have firm resolve not to let it end badly. I mean, this snow is supposed to last for days. I can't hole up and hibernate - much as I may want to. So, I'm thinking, in the spirit of the end of the Berlin Wall, a compromise is in order. Perhaps a cup of hot cocoa in front of the fire would not be so terrible if I log a few extra miles on the treddy. Plus I have my Wii fit which I love, and my Walk Away the Pounds, and most exciting my new Valerie Bertinelli DVD which came by UPS today. (more on that - the DVD, not UPS - later) I'm having somewhat of a girl crush going on with Valerie right now. Alright, so I'm firing up the DVD player right now. Hot cocoa, here I come. Pancakes, perhaps another day. Like after a marathon or something.
Thursday, January 7, 2010
Monday, January 4, 2010
2009 Year In Review
There it goes. Another year in the books. And turns out my grannie really was right. I really shouldn't have been in such a hurry to grow up, time does indeed go faster. I thought that since this was my first whole year in my weight loss hell journey, it might be beneficial to go over my progress. Kind of a performance review, if you will. I don't really have one of those nine-to-fives so I'm not real up to date on the proper procedure for such a thing. But here goes.
On the up-side I've lost 30+ pounds in 2009. Not exactly setting the world on fire, I know, but still respectable and definately more than I've ever been able to lose before. And more importantly I've managed to more or less keep it off.
I'm proud of the fact that I have lost this weight with good old fashioned diet and exercise. And when I say diet, I don't mean any kind of gimmick. For me it has been more of a change in eating habits all together. It took a while but I seem to have finally found a way to eat in a healthy way that allows me to still eat my favorite foods (within reason) and lose weight. My exercise hasn't been to shabby either. I work out at Curves at least 3 times a week. (I have recently settled on a Mon., Tue., Thur., Fri. schedule). I like the workout Curves gives me because it combines strength training with cardio in an efficiant 30 min. workout that is designed just for women. I also try to get in 30 extra minutes of cardio every day. Some days I'm more successful than others, but I'm trying. I also love DVDs. My favorite is Leslie Sansone's Walk Away the Pounds. I have used this DVD on many a snow day when I couldn't get to the gym.
Something else I'm extremely proud of the fact that -due to said workouts- my arms kind of rock. Yes there's still a little jiggle in the hated bingo-wing area, but there is FINALLY definition. Did you here me, world? I am way over half-way there to sexy arms. Do you have your tickets to the gun show?
And another unexpected, but just as delightful benefit has been that due to my improved eating habits (read: more fruits and vegis, less sugar and fat and white flour. plus a good multi and fish oil caplets) my skin has never been clearer. I mean, I know that we are what we eat and all that, but had I known how dramatically my new lifestyle would effect my appearance, and not just my waist line, I would have gone with it MUCH sooner. Yes, I really am that vain. I mean, I am the girl that never smoked, not so much out of health concerns, but because it causes premature wrinkling and stinky hair. Seriously.
And now for the bad stuff. Yes, I know. But even I couldn't toot my own horn for very long.
The worst is that there have been plenty of times this past year when I could have done better. Not vacations or holidays or anything like that, just everyday old slacking off times that I totally could have done better. Yes, I know setbacks happen and when there is a perfectly good reason for a setback I can accept it a little better. But what I'm talking about is times when I just simply did not do my best. And that pisses me off. It is, as my dad would say, NOT ACCEPTABLE!
And speaking of setbacks, there have been a few.
Summer vaction didn't exactly get me down, but a 3,200 mile, 44 total driving hours, road trip to the great NorthWoods didn't exactly do me any good. For the first thing, I was away from home for 2 1/2 weeks. Away from the gym. Eating out. On the road. Get it? But on the other hand, I managed to squeeze in a decent amount of physical exercise like hiking, walking, and canoeing.
Also this was the year that my husband "Rocked the Stadium of my Heart." (lame, I know, but too cheesy to pass up) We went to the Kentucky State Fair (read: corn dogs and beer) to see Heart and Journey. Awesome show and not too bad as far as food consumption went. I mean, we were at the actual fair for less than 4 hours. Then there was my 30th birthday trip to Oklahoma to see The Black Eyed Peas and U2. That's right, baby, U2!!! Yes the show was AMAZING!!! Thank you, thank you to my wonderful husband for the best birthday gift ever. My ass, however wasn't quite so thankful for the Oklahoma beef steaks and ribs and, well, you get the idea. Not to mention the little French pattisserie located next to our hotel. I know, right, authentic French pastries in Oklahoma City! I was surprised too.
Then there was the holidays. Cue the ominous theater music here. Technically it wasn't the actuall holidays that did me in. I cruised through Thanksgiving (my favorite holiday) and even amanaged to lose a couple of pounds that week. Then there was Christmas. Cookies and fudge and parties and girls night and family get togethers with three different families and ham and biscuits and bread pudding and egg nog. And through all of that I didn't gain a single pound. True, I definately didn't lose any either, but I didn't gain any. Not one. Shew, what a sigh of relief. Whoa there, not so fast, girl! It happened during the week between Christmas and New Years. I gained 4 lbs. What the hell? Did PMS come early this week, I wondered? Not so much. Nothing more complicated than me letting my guard down. The left-overs got me. Did I mention how much that pisses me off.
So now it's a week later and I've almost lost the holiday weight. Only one more pound to go. The snow is piling up outside right now, but none of it can get me down. If I'm stuck at home, I'll just break out my DVDs and, Oh yeah, Wii Fit. Love that stuff.
I guess I haven't done all that I could have done in the past year, but I think that I have lost a realistic amount of weight living a realistic lifestyle. I mean, sure if I wanted to go all Biggest Loser and eat 1600 calories a day while burning off 6000, then yeah I could totally have lost more weight. I'm confident thought that the weight I have lost will stay off. I know this because of my daily weigh in. Yeah I know what they say. It'll drive you crazy. But I have found it very helpful. I have been able to monitor what works and doesn't work from day to day and I'm able to quickly shave off any extra LBs before it gets out of control. I would like to eventually get to a point when I reach my goal weight where I can weigh myself once a week, but for now I'm OK with being a little OCD.
So, 2009, goodbye. You've been a good one. We had our ups and downs but all in all I can't say too much bad about ya'. And, 2010, how you doin'?
On the up-side I've lost 30+ pounds in 2009. Not exactly setting the world on fire, I know, but still respectable and definately more than I've ever been able to lose before. And more importantly I've managed to more or less keep it off.
I'm proud of the fact that I have lost this weight with good old fashioned diet and exercise. And when I say diet, I don't mean any kind of gimmick. For me it has been more of a change in eating habits all together. It took a while but I seem to have finally found a way to eat in a healthy way that allows me to still eat my favorite foods (within reason) and lose weight. My exercise hasn't been to shabby either. I work out at Curves at least 3 times a week. (I have recently settled on a Mon., Tue., Thur., Fri. schedule). I like the workout Curves gives me because it combines strength training with cardio in an efficiant 30 min. workout that is designed just for women. I also try to get in 30 extra minutes of cardio every day. Some days I'm more successful than others, but I'm trying. I also love DVDs. My favorite is Leslie Sansone's Walk Away the Pounds. I have used this DVD on many a snow day when I couldn't get to the gym.
Something else I'm extremely proud of the fact that -due to said workouts- my arms kind of rock. Yes there's still a little jiggle in the hated bingo-wing area, but there is FINALLY definition. Did you here me, world? I am way over half-way there to sexy arms. Do you have your tickets to the gun show?
And another unexpected, but just as delightful benefit has been that due to my improved eating habits (read: more fruits and vegis, less sugar and fat and white flour. plus a good multi and fish oil caplets) my skin has never been clearer. I mean, I know that we are what we eat and all that, but had I known how dramatically my new lifestyle would effect my appearance, and not just my waist line, I would have gone with it MUCH sooner. Yes, I really am that vain. I mean, I am the girl that never smoked, not so much out of health concerns, but because it causes premature wrinkling and stinky hair. Seriously.
And now for the bad stuff. Yes, I know. But even I couldn't toot my own horn for very long.
The worst is that there have been plenty of times this past year when I could have done better. Not vacations or holidays or anything like that, just everyday old slacking off times that I totally could have done better. Yes, I know setbacks happen and when there is a perfectly good reason for a setback I can accept it a little better. But what I'm talking about is times when I just simply did not do my best. And that pisses me off. It is, as my dad would say, NOT ACCEPTABLE!
And speaking of setbacks, there have been a few.
Summer vaction didn't exactly get me down, but a 3,200 mile, 44 total driving hours, road trip to the great NorthWoods didn't exactly do me any good. For the first thing, I was away from home for 2 1/2 weeks. Away from the gym. Eating out. On the road. Get it? But on the other hand, I managed to squeeze in a decent amount of physical exercise like hiking, walking, and canoeing.
Also this was the year that my husband "Rocked the Stadium of my Heart." (lame, I know, but too cheesy to pass up) We went to the Kentucky State Fair (read: corn dogs and beer) to see Heart and Journey. Awesome show and not too bad as far as food consumption went. I mean, we were at the actual fair for less than 4 hours. Then there was my 30th birthday trip to Oklahoma to see The Black Eyed Peas and U2. That's right, baby, U2!!! Yes the show was AMAZING!!! Thank you, thank you to my wonderful husband for the best birthday gift ever. My ass, however wasn't quite so thankful for the Oklahoma beef steaks and ribs and, well, you get the idea. Not to mention the little French pattisserie located next to our hotel. I know, right, authentic French pastries in Oklahoma City! I was surprised too.
Then there was the holidays. Cue the ominous theater music here. Technically it wasn't the actuall holidays that did me in. I cruised through Thanksgiving (my favorite holiday) and even amanaged to lose a couple of pounds that week. Then there was Christmas. Cookies and fudge and parties and girls night and family get togethers with three different families and ham and biscuits and bread pudding and egg nog. And through all of that I didn't gain a single pound. True, I definately didn't lose any either, but I didn't gain any. Not one. Shew, what a sigh of relief. Whoa there, not so fast, girl! It happened during the week between Christmas and New Years. I gained 4 lbs. What the hell? Did PMS come early this week, I wondered? Not so much. Nothing more complicated than me letting my guard down. The left-overs got me. Did I mention how much that pisses me off.
So now it's a week later and I've almost lost the holiday weight. Only one more pound to go. The snow is piling up outside right now, but none of it can get me down. If I'm stuck at home, I'll just break out my DVDs and, Oh yeah, Wii Fit. Love that stuff.
I guess I haven't done all that I could have done in the past year, but I think that I have lost a realistic amount of weight living a realistic lifestyle. I mean, sure if I wanted to go all Biggest Loser and eat 1600 calories a day while burning off 6000, then yeah I could totally have lost more weight. I'm confident thought that the weight I have lost will stay off. I know this because of my daily weigh in. Yeah I know what they say. It'll drive you crazy. But I have found it very helpful. I have been able to monitor what works and doesn't work from day to day and I'm able to quickly shave off any extra LBs before it gets out of control. I would like to eventually get to a point when I reach my goal weight where I can weigh myself once a week, but for now I'm OK with being a little OCD.
So, 2009, goodbye. You've been a good one. We had our ups and downs but all in all I can't say too much bad about ya'. And, 2010, how you doin'?
Thursday, December 31, 2009
New Years Gifts
So it's that time of the year again. That magical time when all of us full-figured gals of the world unite in our self-loathing and think (vainly) that maybe this year, this time I'll actually stick with it. I'll actually lose the weight. Well, you wanna know something? It almost never works. And you wanna know why? Because we set our selves up to fail. We create these totally un-reachable goals. Like, I'm going to lose 50lbs this year. Or, I'm going to work out everyday. Or, my favorite, I'm going to eat better this year. What does that even mean?
Now, I'm not saying these goals are impossible. Not at all. It's just that they are unlikely. I knew all this. And yet I still made New Years Resolutions every freakin' year. Why? I don't know. Why do all the other little lemmings follow that one little suicidal lemming off the cliff? No one knows, they just do.
Until now.
I read a totally awesome post from one of favorite bloggers, Cranky Fitness - a weight loss blog if ever there was one, that seemed to make a lot of sense. The post said that it really all a matter of semantics. Seriously!
Instead of makinf resolutions we should all be giving gifts to ourselves. Well, I'm liking it already. You know I love a gift. Can we register somewhere.
Well, turns out it doesn't work that way. See instead of making these crazy resolutions that are usually given up on by at least Valentines Day, we are going to start making gifts to ourselves for weight loss or health or organization or any old thing. It actually makes a lot of sense. And I have used this tactic in my own life with out even knowing it. Like when I tell myself that by having yougurt for breakfast instead of that doughnut I am going to have more energy and no headaches for the day.
So this year I have a few New Years gifts to myself.
#1 I will give myself the gift of more exersise time and I will do it in unconventional ways. Such as dance-offs with the kids and snoe-shoeing at the lake house.
#2 I will give myself the gift of more vegetables by trying one new vegi a week. I am a notorious vegi-hater and try to get in my servings by huge salads every day, but come on. Even rabbits get sick of lettuce after a while. So I am going to try some of those weirdo vegis at the Whole Foods produce section. Maybe I'll find a few new favorites.
#3 I'm going to devote more time to my blog and give myself the gift of more promotion. When I first started it was purely for my own entertainement, but now I'm thinking I'm gonna go outside the box, so to speak.
#4 I'm going to give myself the gift of (and this is the one I'm most excited about) a cleaning lady. I am a bad housekeeper, not just don't like it bad, but really really bad. I used to be ashamed, but not anymore. I figure those who can't cook eat out. So I am not going to sweat it anymore. It will give me more time for my kids and cooking healthy meals.
#5 I'm going to give myself the gift of more time with my kids. Yes, I'm a stay-at-home mom, but with my husband working away I often have to be two people at once. So with everything else I have going on (see #4) I often don't have time for a lot of the extras that my kids want to do. So thanks to the new cleaning lady I see a lot more park time and Wii Winter Olympics in my future. Bring it on!
So there it is. Hopefuly this time next year I will not be so worried aboout my weight and I will be able to say that my New Years gift giving was a success. Happy New Years and remember to gift the most important person in your life. You!
Now, I'm not saying these goals are impossible. Not at all. It's just that they are unlikely. I knew all this. And yet I still made New Years Resolutions every freakin' year. Why? I don't know. Why do all the other little lemmings follow that one little suicidal lemming off the cliff? No one knows, they just do.
Until now.
I read a totally awesome post from one of favorite bloggers, Cranky Fitness - a weight loss blog if ever there was one, that seemed to make a lot of sense. The post said that it really all a matter of semantics. Seriously!
Instead of makinf resolutions we should all be giving gifts to ourselves. Well, I'm liking it already. You know I love a gift. Can we register somewhere.
Well, turns out it doesn't work that way. See instead of making these crazy resolutions that are usually given up on by at least Valentines Day, we are going to start making gifts to ourselves for weight loss or health or organization or any old thing. It actually makes a lot of sense. And I have used this tactic in my own life with out even knowing it. Like when I tell myself that by having yougurt for breakfast instead of that doughnut I am going to have more energy and no headaches for the day.
So this year I have a few New Years gifts to myself.
#1 I will give myself the gift of more exersise time and I will do it in unconventional ways. Such as dance-offs with the kids and snoe-shoeing at the lake house.
#2 I will give myself the gift of more vegetables by trying one new vegi a week. I am a notorious vegi-hater and try to get in my servings by huge salads every day, but come on. Even rabbits get sick of lettuce after a while. So I am going to try some of those weirdo vegis at the Whole Foods produce section. Maybe I'll find a few new favorites.
#3 I'm going to devote more time to my blog and give myself the gift of more promotion. When I first started it was purely for my own entertainement, but now I'm thinking I'm gonna go outside the box, so to speak.
#4 I'm going to give myself the gift of (and this is the one I'm most excited about) a cleaning lady. I am a bad housekeeper, not just don't like it bad, but really really bad. I used to be ashamed, but not anymore. I figure those who can't cook eat out. So I am not going to sweat it anymore. It will give me more time for my kids and cooking healthy meals.
#5 I'm going to give myself the gift of more time with my kids. Yes, I'm a stay-at-home mom, but with my husband working away I often have to be two people at once. So with everything else I have going on (see #4) I often don't have time for a lot of the extras that my kids want to do. So thanks to the new cleaning lady I see a lot more park time and Wii Winter Olympics in my future. Bring it on!
So there it is. Hopefuly this time next year I will not be so worried aboout my weight and I will be able to say that my New Years gift giving was a success. Happy New Years and remember to gift the most important person in your life. You!
Tuesday, December 29, 2009
The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly
The Good
Cleaning out my closet recently I found a bunch of pants that I can now fit into. Yeah me! Plus I found several other pairs that if all goes well then I should be able to wear this spring. Just in time for their capri-cuteness to be wearable.
The Bad
I manned up to the scales yesterday. Yikes! I gained a bit (3lbs) over the holidays. I'm pretty sure it had to do with the gluttonous amounts of country (read: super duper salty) ham that I consumed. Well, that and the sweets that I tried not to over-do, but come on! I've drunk about 5 gallons of water over the past few days and detoxed with fruits, vegis, and fiber and I think things are getting back to normal. A few days of overindulgence resulting in a week or more of repairing the damage. Totally worth it.
The Ugly
The weather forcast calls for snow for the whole next week. No school + Husband out of town for work = no gym time for mama. Guess I'll have to dust of the workout DVDs and try to do them with two kids frolicking ( read: cabin fever has set in) in the background.
Cleaning out my closet recently I found a bunch of pants that I can now fit into. Yeah me! Plus I found several other pairs that if all goes well then I should be able to wear this spring. Just in time for their capri-cuteness to be wearable.
The Bad
I manned up to the scales yesterday. Yikes! I gained a bit (3lbs) over the holidays. I'm pretty sure it had to do with the gluttonous amounts of country (read: super duper salty) ham that I consumed. Well, that and the sweets that I tried not to over-do, but come on! I've drunk about 5 gallons of water over the past few days and detoxed with fruits, vegis, and fiber and I think things are getting back to normal. A few days of overindulgence resulting in a week or more of repairing the damage. Totally worth it.
The Ugly
The weather forcast calls for snow for the whole next week. No school + Husband out of town for work = no gym time for mama. Guess I'll have to dust of the workout DVDs and try to do them with two kids frolicking ( read: cabin fever has set in) in the background.
Monday, December 28, 2009
The Honey Line
I have just found The Honey Line. To be fair, I have known about it since I saw it talked about on the Rachel Ray Show last year, but I didn't know they had a website until recently and due to a problem w/ my computer (isn't it always something?) I couldn't actually register as a user until today. So as of today I am an official Bee.
What is the Honey Line, you ask? Well it was begun as a project of pro-vollyball player Gabby Reece. You know, she of the mile high legs and yards of hair. She is one of the few strikingly beautiful women who manages to seem like your best friend and mentor all at once. She told Rachel about how she had this network of girl-friends who helped her stay connected and she called on certain friends to help with certain problems and her friends called on her to help w/ their own. They all encouraged each other and everyone just tried to be generally supportive. She called this her Honey Line. What a great idea, I thought.
I have a group of friends (there is about 8 of us) that have been friends for varying amounts of forever. We have been with each other through college, and first boyfriends, and weddings and husbands, and first jobs, first housess, and first babies (and second), and have been there for each other during family deaths and other difficulties. We are better than sisters because we chose each other. We used to get together every week for supper and TV viewing. Now that we're all married and starting families it is more like once a month, but we all try to stay connected through phone, email, and social netwroking sites. Now Gabby has prvided a place just for this purpose. Only expanded.
And best of all, Gabby - as the Queen Bee - provides help to the rest of us in her area of expertise. Health and Fitness. Yay, Gabby! And she provides a space for the rest of us to provide help in our own areas of knowledge.
In the end everyone is connected. Kind of like a . . .hmm . . . hive? You betcha!
My favorite parts of the site so far is the buzz - a place where all the bees interact and can get questions and answers and leave comments for other bees, and the recipe section. They have some great recipes for healthy versions of my favorite food and some interesting sounding new ones that I will definately be trying in the weeks ahead. There is an excellent fitness section, but I haven't quite braved that yet. I have a feeling that Gabby is definately more ambitious than I am. But we will see.
All in all The Honey Line is a great site to check out. At most, you join and find a whole bunch of new connections to bees all over the country. And at worst you come away with a few valuable recipes and/or fitness tips. Give it a BUZZ!
What is the Honey Line, you ask? Well it was begun as a project of pro-vollyball player Gabby Reece. You know, she of the mile high legs and yards of hair. She is one of the few strikingly beautiful women who manages to seem like your best friend and mentor all at once. She told Rachel about how she had this network of girl-friends who helped her stay connected and she called on certain friends to help with certain problems and her friends called on her to help w/ their own. They all encouraged each other and everyone just tried to be generally supportive. She called this her Honey Line. What a great idea, I thought.
I have a group of friends (there is about 8 of us) that have been friends for varying amounts of forever. We have been with each other through college, and first boyfriends, and weddings and husbands, and first jobs, first housess, and first babies (and second), and have been there for each other during family deaths and other difficulties. We are better than sisters because we chose each other. We used to get together every week for supper and TV viewing. Now that we're all married and starting families it is more like once a month, but we all try to stay connected through phone, email, and social netwroking sites. Now Gabby has prvided a place just for this purpose. Only expanded.
And best of all, Gabby - as the Queen Bee - provides help to the rest of us in her area of expertise. Health and Fitness. Yay, Gabby! And she provides a space for the rest of us to provide help in our own areas of knowledge.
In the end everyone is connected. Kind of like a . . .hmm . . . hive? You betcha!
My favorite parts of the site so far is the buzz - a place where all the bees interact and can get questions and answers and leave comments for other bees, and the recipe section. They have some great recipes for healthy versions of my favorite food and some interesting sounding new ones that I will definately be trying in the weeks ahead. There is an excellent fitness section, but I haven't quite braved that yet. I have a feeling that Gabby is definately more ambitious than I am. But we will see.
All in all The Honey Line is a great site to check out. At most, you join and find a whole bunch of new connections to bees all over the country. And at worst you come away with a few valuable recipes and/or fitness tips. Give it a BUZZ!
Reebok EasyTone Review
Yes, I broke down and fell for the hype. I was totally mesmerized by the girl in the commercial in her workout panties, I mean shorts, and glistening legs. And I will say it is a very sexy shoe. As far as looks go, in the fitness shoe department the Reebok EasyTone totally kicks the Sketchers ShapeUps ass. I liked that they looked like real shoes as opposed to the weird moon boot look of the Sketchers. Plus when my grandfather was recently in the hospital I noticed a lot of the nurses wearing them so I figured there must be something to them.
So I bought them. I went for the Go Outside
varitey as opposed to the ReInspire
because, even though they were about $10 more (at around $109 on amazon), like I said before - I like a sexy shoe. They are silver w/ hot pink accents. They are what I immagine Judy Jetson would wear to aerobics class. If her skinny cartoon ass had to go to aerobics.
But enough of what they look like. Do they really perform? The first day I was skeptical. I wore them to the gym followed by a trip to the hospital where I had to park like a mile away and then walk a long way once I actually got in the hospital (it's a really big hospital). I didn't really notice much of a difference. Until I woke up the next day. Holy Crap! The back of my calves were screaming and my butt didn't feel that great either. Not too sore to move, but close. It was like I had done an incredibly hard and new workout even though I had done exactly the same thing as I've done for months.
I have since worn the shoes for about a month. I even wore them for my pre-Christmas two-a-day workouts without any foot pain- which for me is huge. I also wore them for the week-long cleaning spree I did on my 3-story house before my family descended upon me. I have lost about an inch from my thighs which is more than double what I normally lose in a six-week period. (my gym likes me to get weighed and measured once a month, but I don't always make it.)
The only caveat I have with the shoes is that they tend to run a bit small and narrow. I normally wear a 9 1/2 in Nike, but I had to order a 10 in these. Also the balance balls on the bottom of the shoe are rather hard rubber and tend to make a definate sound on hard floors, unlike regular cross trainers which I have in the past employed as ninja devices to sneak up on my kids. Not so with these babies. But oh well.
All in all I give these shoes and A. I can't quite give it an A+ for a couple of reasons. #1 The price. At around $100, they are a bit pricey, especially if you workout a lot and have to replace your shoes often. #2 The small fit. I know every body's foot is different and we all have our issues. But I REALLY didn't want to wear a 10. And lastly, #3, I just don't give out A+s that easily. The shoe would basically have to workout for me before I could give it my highest marks. For all that that matters.
So I bought them. I went for the Go Outside
varitey as opposed to the ReInspire because, even though they were about $10 more (at around $109 on amazon), like I said before - I like a sexy shoe. They are silver w/ hot pink accents. They are what I immagine Judy Jetson would wear to aerobics class. If her skinny cartoon ass had to go to aerobics.But enough of what they look like. Do they really perform? The first day I was skeptical. I wore them to the gym followed by a trip to the hospital where I had to park like a mile away and then walk a long way once I actually got in the hospital (it's a really big hospital). I didn't really notice much of a difference. Until I woke up the next day. Holy Crap! The back of my calves were screaming and my butt didn't feel that great either. Not too sore to move, but close. It was like I had done an incredibly hard and new workout even though I had done exactly the same thing as I've done for months.
I have since worn the shoes for about a month. I even wore them for my pre-Christmas two-a-day workouts without any foot pain- which for me is huge. I also wore them for the week-long cleaning spree I did on my 3-story house before my family descended upon me. I have lost about an inch from my thighs which is more than double what I normally lose in a six-week period. (my gym likes me to get weighed and measured once a month, but I don't always make it.)
The only caveat I have with the shoes is that they tend to run a bit small and narrow. I normally wear a 9 1/2 in Nike, but I had to order a 10 in these. Also the balance balls on the bottom of the shoe are rather hard rubber and tend to make a definate sound on hard floors, unlike regular cross trainers which I have in the past employed as ninja devices to sneak up on my kids. Not so with these babies. But oh well.
All in all I give these shoes and A. I can't quite give it an A+ for a couple of reasons. #1 The price. At around $100, they are a bit pricey, especially if you workout a lot and have to replace your shoes often. #2 The small fit. I know every body's foot is different and we all have our issues. But I REALLY didn't want to wear a 10. And lastly, #3, I just don't give out A+s that easily. The shoe would basically have to workout for me before I could give it my highest marks. For all that that matters.
Sunday, December 27, 2009
Need Holiday Detox
OK, so I technically knew all the things I was not supposed to do over the holidays. And for the most part I didn't do them. I did not eat/sample everything I baked or cooked. Much. And I tried to include some healthy options in my holiday feasting. Most of the time. I did!
But, it was still the Holidays. That time dreaded by every dieter since the history of, well. . . , dieting. I'm guessing that back in the day when everyone worked from sun-up to sun-down and every morsell of food was made from scratch gaining a bit of weight around the holidays was not that big of a deal. I'm also guessing that a bit of padding was not even neccessarily bad when you had to make that early morning frosty run to the outhouse. But I live in the land of Right Now. In Right Now things have to be done yesterday and because of this weird female frienemy competition I indulge in things must be done beyond perfection. So here I am working my chubby little fingers to the bone preparing things like bourbon balls and bourbon cake and bread pudding w/ hard sauce (are you sensing a theme here?) and ham and biscuits and hash brown casserol and, oh yeah, a stunningly beautiful vegetable tray. And I did all of this THREE TIMES. That's right. I'm insane.Have you ever seen that movie "Four Christmases" with Reese Witherspoon and Vince Vaughn? Well, my parents are divorced and while my husband's parents are still married they are from 'Up North'. Which creates difficulties every holiday season in that they are poor planners and no one knows what is going on until the last possible minute. Trust me when I say that three more dissimilar families could not be found in a National Lampoon movie. My thinking that having everyone to our house instead of having to lug the kids all over "Hell and half of Georgia" was not as inspired as I thought.
Now I am puffy and bloated and too scared to get on my bathroom scale. I'm thinking I couldn't have actually gained all that much, if any, because I put my regular jeans on (which, if you recall, I was very excited to actually fit into a few months ago) this morning and they fit just fine. But I just feel blah and sluggish, if you know what I mean. I've had a sugar headache for the past two days, or maybe it's the parental pressure (mine and his), or maybe it's just the damn bourbon.
Whatever the deal is or has been, it ends tonight. I have one piece of sauce soaked bread pudding which I intend to thouroghly enjoy in my big fluffy bed after my nice hot bubble bath. This will be my official I Survived Another Holiday celebration. Tomorrow it's back to the gym and a three day kick in the ass eating plan to get me back on track.
My goal for 2010? To make it the last year that I worry about my weight.
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