Fabulous Fitness Favorites

As you can see "Breaking Up with the Couch" got a makeover not long ago.  I thought it would be fun to create some additional pages for you to get a glimpse of some of my favorite things.  This post is meant to give you a sneak preview of what's to come on those fun pages running across the top of this one.  Keep an eye on them for updates and additions soon.

Favorite Foods:

During my trek through Weight Watchers World over the last six months, I quickly familiarized myself with foods that could take the place of things I love and still be WW-friendly and taste good.  I'm not a fan of rice cakes or other tasteless sustenance simply because they're "good for you."  Part of my favorite element of WW has been the challenge of finding things that are good to eat while staying within my daily points target.  Here are a few:

Skinny Cow
By far, every dieting chocoholic's dream.  From frozen desserts, to packaged sweet snacks and candy bars, it's real chocolate and real flavor.  I promise you, you will fall in love with their ice cream after the first bite.  It doesn't have that icy, watered down flavor that most diet ice creams have and I really prefer it over most other brands regardless of it's WW-friendliness.  It's a bit pricey (one serving of ice cream is about $1.50), but considering you shouldn't be having ice cream after every dinner anyway, keeping a couple on hand in the freezer for treats is worth it and keeps you from being tempted by a half gallon sitting on the shelf taunting you.

Cary's Sugar Free Maple Syrup
Yum... who doesn't love waffles and sausage for breakfast once in a while?  But, real maple syrup can break the bank and your WW points.  Although I spent several summers in Vermont and love everything maple in its truest form, I gave in and tried a substitute.  I was pleasantly surprised.  Cary's Sugar Free Maple Syrup is as good, if not better than the national brands that you immediately recognize as maple syrup standards.  Two tablespoons are a zero point food (amazing!) and pouring some right on top of some Eggo NutraGrain Whole Wheat waffles with a side of turkey sausage and this girl is in breakfast heaven.  Most restaurants that serve breakfast also have Cary's, so ask for it on your next trip and try it.  I guarantee you'll buy it on your next grocery trip.  Great for diabetics, too!

The Laughing Cow Wedges
A great way to jazz up boring reduced fat wheat thins, The Laughing Cow cheese wedges are only one point per wedge and actually, really taste good.   There are various flavors (the chipotle one being my least favorite), and they are easy to pack or grab on the way out the door for a snack.  They're a bit pricey for my blood, but most stores put them "buy one, get one free" sales pretty regularly.

EVOL Burritos
A recent culinary adoration of mine... I seriously saw someone driving around with a bumper sticker of this logo and wondered what it was.  I went to Kroger that night and saw the same logo in the organic frozen foods.  At two for $4.00, I thought I'd give them a try.  Wow... I was impressed.  Chock full of protein and flavor, these handmade, all natural burritos taste like you swung by Moe's or Willy's on your way home from work.  And they've got that Ben & Jerry's hippy marketing thing down pat!





Favorite Workout Clothes


Danskin

Danskin at Walmart is by far the best bang for your buck.  For $11, you can have a stylish pair of comfortable gym pants and amazingly, they sell them in sizes other than small and medium.  Their t-shirts are crazy comfortable and start at $5.00.  Walmart also carries Hanes Her Way t-shirts that make for great workout wear, especially in the winter because Danskin does not have long sleeves (in my store, at least).  For a girl on a budget who wants to get in shape, keep an eye on the racks of these pants and tops.  Sometimes, they clearance out the off-season ones and really, who cares?  I'm still in short sleeves and cropped pants in November.  Still sweating in the gym no matter how cold it is outside!

Active by Old Navy
Oh, I love these pants.  Crazy comfortable, soft, but durable, these pants are the best I own.  Regular priced, they're a bit steep for me to pay for pants I intend to sweat like hell in and wear out quickly, but when they put them on sale or you have a coupon, you can get them for $10 or so a pair, like I did.  I have a pair of their regular active pants and their yoga pants and love them both.  I haven't tried their sports bras yet, but they look really comfortable and supportive.  Their shirts/tanks are super cute, too, but I'm not comfortable enough with my arms yet to go the tanktop route at the gym.  My trainer promises me that I will be the summer.  Speaking of... I have a coupon that starts tomorrow!



Favorite Gym

LA Fitness... duh.  Best equipment, best classes, best (and hottest) trainers.

Keep watch, friends, as I'll add more and more favorites, and put them on the page devoted to all things I love!  I'm looking for and always open to finding new loves, especially supplements.  Anyone in love with a particular protein and flavor?  Share your healthy, workout loves here!

Bad "Track" Record

Day 1 Weight:  252 lbs.
Day 184 Weight:  219 lbs.
Personal Trainer Sessions Complete:  24
Weight Difference:  -33 lbs.

So, anyone who knows me in real life knows that I'm not really a runner.  Okay, honest truth here, I'm not really a walker.  Being a runner is about as far fetched an idea as me being an astronaut.  Of course, it's possible, but severely unlikely.  If you have ever had a conversation with me about exercising, past gym class horror stories or just physical fitness in general, you have heard, at least once, the story of my witty banter with my college gym teacher.  Actually... I think the real name of the class was "Walking and Jogging."  You'd think I'd be better at this whole walking... and jogging... thing, right?  Silly.  I made an "A" though.  Anyway... on one of the rare occasions that we did actually walk or jog, our professor/coach who needed to justify his salary beyond office hours announced that the last person around the ridiculously lengthy course needed to pick up the cones that designated the path.  I smiled, raised my hand and happily said "Okay, I'll get them."  I'm also famous for my long-standing response when asked if I liked to run:  "I only run if something's chasing me."

Looking back, I think my negative reaction to doing anything faster than the moonwalk had less to do with my ability to do it and more to do with my confidence and self-esteem.  Being overweight most of my life, the constant battle is to suck it in, squeeze it in, hold it in, and don't let it move.  Creating a situation where my body and all of it's extras were allowed and forced to move freely beyond my control was horrifying.  I worried more about how I looked while running (plus, who knows what to do with your hands?! But, I still have that issue, so we won't go there tonight.) and couldn't care less that my prolonged inactivity was just contributing to the overall giggliness.

So, with this lifelong adversity to moving a whole hell of a lot in mind, you'll now better appreciate the seemingly insignificant but realistically monumental challenge that was presented to me tonight.  Bound and determined to get my behind to the gym, despite staying at work late, fighting Atlanta traffic in the rain, dodging and weaving my way in between blaring ambulances, police cars, Hero units, and idiot drivers, I squealed into the gym parking lot, grabbed my overstuffed gym bag and scooted inside.  I scanned my card, chatted with a nice lady about a Mary Kay giveaway for gym members (she gave me free lipgloss), and then slid into the locker room to my favorite changing spot.  I rummaged through my bag, picking out what to wear for tonight's walk/jog when a sudden, dismal realization hit me.  Surely not... I grabbed my shirt, okay... pants, yup... sports bra, okay... socks, got 'em...  Damn!!!  Most of the elements of a workday outfit can seamlessly transfer from the office to the gym.  Shirts, dress pants, regular bras can all function closely enough to not be an issue.  Just last week, I worked out with knee highs scrunched down inside my tennis shoes because I'd forgotten socks.  But, my dear friends, work shoes do not make for friendly gym footwear.  I stood there for a second in a state of half-dressed and realized I had one option:  go home and get my shoes.  I frantically threw the rest of my things back in my gym bag, grabbed my purse and headed out, giving the Mary Kay lady a short explanation as to why I was bolting past her.  She seemed to commiserate and back to the car I went.

As I was driving, I had an argument with myself.  'Really, it's silly to go all the way to the house just to get shoes.  Just take the night off,'  one side of my brain would say, while the other yelled back, 'No!  Get your shoes and go back!  You don't have anything else to do and you'll regret it when you're not ready for the 5K!'  Back and forth and back and forth.  I need groceries too, which is another stop, will I have time?  And damn, I need gas too.  Maybe I should just skip tonight... I pulled into the driveway and now began the real test.  I remembered something someone somewhere said to me once (it was probably my trainer... or someone's stupid inspirational status on Facebook):  "Don't give yourself the option to quit.  The only person who can stop you from doing what you want is you."

I did another 5K on the treadmill tonight, only this time I finished in 56 minutes.  I went back.  I don't know who I am anymore.  The old me would have gone home, changed into pajamas and chalked the gym trip up as a waste of gas, better planning next time.  But, I did it and not only surprised myself, but my Mary Kay later seemed truly shocked that I'd really come back.  I did the same walking/jogging strategy (that they did not teach me in the class of the same name, I'll have you know!) and it felt good.  I was more tired today, but that makes sense.  Going to fight through the pain and sleepiness.  I think spending all this time at the gym and learning how to exercise for the first time in my life from someone who can take the time to focus on what's good for me and my levels of ability instead of an entire class of kids has given me the jolt of confidence I needed to start this training right now.  I'm not worried about how I look or what's shakin', rattlin' and rollin'.  Don't care.  I want to sweat like a pig and run like something's chasing me.

Oh!  But, I did get two smiles and a head nod from a rather attractive gentleman (no, not my trainer) who was on an elliptical behind me when I finished my 5K practice round tonight.  So, I'm thinking there might be something to this whole exercise thing... and that I'm going to use that same treadmill tomorrow and hope he uses the same elliptical.

P.S. I also think I'm going to ask my trainer (more like tell him) to run the real 5K with me.  What do you think??

Mission: Possible

Did these... didn't quite look this good,
but I'm getting there!

Day 1 Weight:  252 lbs.
Day 184 Weight:  220 lbs.
Personal Trainer Sessions Complete:  24
Weight Difference:  -32 lbs.


So, tonight is a big night for me.  First, I got to spend thirty minutes or so with a super hot guy who made me sweat and repeatedly told me what a good job I was doing.  Whew... I was exhausted afterwards.  Okay, okay, it was my trainer.  Innuendo totally intended....  Sorry... I got sidetracked while envisioning that.  I'll stop.  As enjoyable as the concept is.

We worked on my back muscles, which was awesome but super exhausting.  I never think of the muscles in my back being there and needing exercise.  But while Michael was sharing his expertise about the importance of working out one's back muscles (and sharing the reason why super body builders' stomachs poke out.  Do you know why?  According to my ridiculously astute, insanely in shape trainer, human growth hormone makes your internal organs increase in size, forcing themselves against your rib cage and then down and out, creating an overweight looking stomach.  Yuck, right?), I shared with him a critical piece of information:  I want to run a 5K.

I'm sure that Michael has gotten to the point where he can list off my random, changing daily goals, but this one is serious.  At the beginning of 2011, I made a resolution and promise to myself that I was going to run a 5K.  At the time, this coach potato didn't think it was even remotely close to being a reality.  But, I talked it up and carried it with me for eleven months.  And now, with a little over a month left on the calendar, there is a slight glimpse of hope that I might not physically die crossing the finish line.  After three months of training with Michael and making the stairclimber my bitch, I think I might be able to do it.

After we worked out my back (hee hee), I decided to feel what a 5K felt like on a treadmill.  I set that program to a 5K loop and watched as it set itself to 3.1 miles.  I started walking and decided that I would take it in increments.  After a mile and a half, I sped up the treadmill to a pretty good jog for a quarter of a mile.  I did that at each half mile mark. Each time I surprised myself with my stamina and my ability to focus on my breathing (instead of what used to be labored heaving) and my form.  And I kind of looked forward to each jogging increment.  Until I finished.  I did it.  I walked/jogged a 5K.  Granted it took me 57 minutes, but I did it.

And it felt good.  I had this weird drifting feeling in my legs, kind of like I was floating as I took each step after I got off the treadmill.  But, the best part was that I knew I could finish it without dying.

So, while I was accomplishing this monumental feat, I came up with a plan:  go to the gym every day that I can and increase the jogging period by a quarter mile every week until they all just blend together and I'm jogging the entire time.   For three point one miles.  Holy... cow.  And, at that rate, I'll be race ready in one month.

Good thing because I came home and registered for the Jingle Jog in Atlanta on December 10. (Bugs eyes and gasps in fear!)  I couldn't resist this combination of my love of Christmas and my new love of working out.   I'll be adorning my running shoes with jingle bells and accomplishing this lifetime goal and 2011 resolution in less than one month.  And keeping you posted during every quick paced step along the way!  Wish me luck!

Losing and Winning

So, I'm not quite sure what's happened.  Somewhere, at some point, I turned into a gym junkie.  "Hi, my name is Melanie and I'm addicted to the gym."  Okay, maybe not addicted.  I took today off... and didn't break out into the shakes.  Now, my leg muscles do feel neglected and slightly sore from lack of use, but that's probably normal.

I love it.  I absolutely, truly, genuinely look forward to going to the gym, usually on a daily basis.  I've needed new clothes for months.  Remember "The Incredible Shrinking Woman" with Lily Tomlin?  (Oh my gosh, Netflix that movie right now if you haven't seen it.)  That's kind of how I look in my old dress pants.  But, despite my daily impersonations of MC Hammer, I have done nothing but buy gym clothes for the last month and a half.  Cute stuff, too.  I instantly gravitate to whatever corner features yoga pants, stretchy t-shirts and sports bras.  Purses that used to inspire epic episodes of lust have been replaced with trendy gym bags that could conveniently hold my water bottle and protein shake bottle and a convenient pocket so that my earbuds don't get tangled.  You know, important things.

I look at food differently.  I want things that taste good, but there is this voice in the back of my mind that reminds me that, although I won't regret it and make myself feel terrible like the stereotypical dieter, it just won't be worth it.  Except Reese's cups.  Those are worth it.  No talking around that.

I love what's happening to my body.  Really, that's probably the majority of my inspiration.  There are bones between my wrists and my knuckles.  I have a collarbone.  And it's kind of hot.  My calf muscles are awesome.  And by awesome, I mean smoking hot in heels.  My skin has cleared up amazingly, and my hair is as shiny as a movie star's.  For the first time since I was a kid, my knees hurt when I lay on my side for a long time because they're bumping up against each other.  My shoulders have definition and my purse and/or gym bag (mostly gym bag) doesn't slide off with every other step.  My jawline has suddenly reappeared after years of being in hiding.  My cheekbones are almost emerging from their years of softened slumber, but I probably have a few weeks until then.  I'm optimistic, though.

I love that the little voice in my head who used to tell me not to bother, what difference will it make, really?, you can't, you won't, you'll quit, you'll give up, you'll wimp out, you'll flake, you'll never make it, you won't last five minutes, you're not designed to be athletic, it's too heavy, it's too steep, you can't lift that, you'll drop it, don't stand in the mirror, you should have started working out years ago, is absolutely, positively dead.  I drowned her in my sweat.

I get excited about the challenge of cooking and eating within my daily points target.  Finding recipes and unique ways to cook makes me giddy.  Beating the dieting monster and losing weight while never being uncomfortably hungry for one second is like getting a gold star everyday.  Learning that hunger is my body telling me that something is missing and not a sign that I need to immediately shove something edible down my throat is an accomplishment.

So, long story short, I don't know how all of this happened.  Maybe it was the scale dropping on a regular basis.  Maybe it was the fact that I felt lighter simply because I wasn't bogged down with heavy, greasy junk food.  Maybe it was progressing from six minutes of absolute torture on the stairclimber to thirty minutes of dominating that bad boy.  Maybe it was my dreamy trainer.  Yeah... that's probably it.