What's the dill, pickle?

This is how the Starbucks guy greeted me today when I came in for what appears to be my weekly post-workout treat. I did get a skinny (hazelnut) latte though, I try to mix it up and make good choices most days while indulging every now and then. Anyway, it scares me that I must go their often enough that the people have begun to recognize me (although he still can't remember my name when he writes it on my cup).
It was a good week for workouts, even though I thought I was sick earlier this week (turns out to just be allergies and I am now taking the appropriate medicine to help). With the next two days off I should be able to get in some good cardio. Too bad the weather won't be nice enough to be outside. Maybe Sunday. My favorite Body Pump instructor has apparently sprained her wrist so she has not taught all week. I hope she gets better soon! I feel buffer when she is there.
I am going to have a parent-free weekend! Hurray! I hope I get to do a lot of cooking and relaxing around the house. I will jet out Saturday night to an art opening of a friend of mine. I haven't seen him in months, so even though it will delay cooking dinner it will be nice to see him. I think Don and I are going to an open house Sunday as well. I've looked at this house several times online and we have driven past it. It looks really cute but we can't really afford anything right now, so I regret us starting to look around because I'm afraid we'll fall in love with something too early that we won't be able to get.
Oh! I weighed myself yesterday and was down a pound from when I was down earlier. So that is about 4 pounds lost since I've really started trying. I was scared to actually get on the scale but was pleasantly surprised. I say it's the Body Pump classes and the building of muscle that is helping the most. I heard in class the other day that for ever pound of muscle you gain you burn 50 more calories. Even more reason to start stacking on the weight in class!

Push it... Yeah, Push it Real Good

Usually this song is in my head when it is played during the chest track of Body Pump, but today it is in my head because I am really seeing results from pushing it so hard at the gym lately. I've decided it is basically allergies that have been bringing me down lately, and have upped my Zyrtec to twice a day for now. I normally just take it at night but I think the twice a day has been helping the past couple days. Anyway, back to my Body Pump story. I felt well enough to hit the gym this morning, still a little stuffy but nothing I can't handle. I walked for an hour, increasing the incline up to 12, and keeping it there for quite some time. The treadmill reported that I had burned over 700 calories from this walk, whether or not that is totally accurate, I am sure it was still a good number. Then I went to class. I increased my squat weight again to a large and two mediums and made it through the song just fine. But it was during the abs part of the class that I realized how far I've come since I have returned to class. I made it through the hover the entire time without moving, and when it was over I thought, "That's it? Easy!" The hover has been so hard for me to make it through in the past without giving up and putting my knees down. This excites me because my stomach is my problem area, and if I know I'm getting stronger there, hopefully the strength will begin to wear down some of the fat in that area. So, yay for Body Pump!

On a side note, I'm a little sad to see Adam Corolla voted off Dancing With the Stars last night. Yes, he was not the best dancer, but he was funny and I enjoyed watching him. TV is finally returning which means my social life will end for a while, unless anyone wants to invite me over for some good old fashioned tv watching!

C'mon, it's April!

The weather is making me angry. It is April and should not be in the 40's. I remember times in college when there would be a 90 degree day in April. And what's up with this global warming because it's been so cold for so long? I do think we should be kinder to the earth, but I haven't agreed yet on this warming trend. Until I can wear my summer clothes all year long, the 4 seasons are here to stay.

I blame my illness yesterday on Mucinex D. I think I jumped the gun on taking it yesterday, because I feel a lot better today and yesterday my stomach felt weird and I was dizzy on and off until 6 pm. My coworkers even sent me home because I looked bad. So after a day of rest I am feeling better....not 100%, but better. I did go to the gym, but I only walked for 40 minutes. Hopefully tomorrow I will feel even better and since it is my day off I would like to go to Body Pump and do an hour of cardio.

A Full Head

I did not go to the gym today. Well, not yet anyway, and I don't really anticipate going after work unless I feel totally awesome. Yesterday my throat got worse and I was moving pretty slow at work and today my head feels full of junk. I wanted to just lay down after work but I had to run a couple errands and then my brother and his wife came over for dinner, and Don, Becky & Chance came over for dessert (we were celebrating 2 birthdays). Of course Avery was there, and she always sucks energy out of me. She had many stories about her visit to the zoo yesterday. Anyway, Don stayed after dessert and we laid on the couch and watched HGTV. I was very quiet and did not feel good at all. So I let myself sleep in today and skip my normal Body Pump workout. I just did not want to wear myself out and make myself worse! After all, I need to be well this weekend so Don and I can enjoy time by ourselves for the first time since January. By the way, for dessert my sister made the mint-chocolate brownies that were on the cover of Cooking Light a couple months ago and they were delicious! Totally rich and yummy.

This makes it two days off in a row from the gym, which hasn't happened in a long time. Maybe if I feel okay after work I will walk on my parent's treadmill for a half hour. If I do feel better tomorrow I should still be able to get in 6 hours of workout time, maybe more if I push it Saturday morning. We'll see.

I applied for admission at Metro this morning, it was free, so I figured why not? The more I think about it, the more culinary arts school appeals to me. Hopefully the information I requested will be in the mail today.

Scratchy Throat

I woke up this morning with a scratchy throat. Not good. Don went and bought be some Airborne and Ricola cough drops to sooth the pain (probably drainage). I cannot get sick! I pushed through Body Pump today, I only walked for 25 minutes before hand, and not very strenuously because I didn't want to bother my knee again. Class was good except when the old lady plopped herself between me and the mirror at the beginning of squats. If you can't make it to class on time, don't put yourself in front of other people who were there on time and had strategically placed themselves in front of the mirror!! I went up a little on my back in weight and I think next time I'll add more weight to squats. All in all, a good class. Then I rushed home to get ready for lunch with my sister (and mom). Mexican food, and so not as good as La Paz, but I still ate all the really horrible for you food that was put down in front of me. Then I spent most of the nice afternoon laying on my bed, trying to rest so I don't get full-blown sick. I talked to Don and his friend Bill want's to meet tonight at Barley's to eat and watch the basketball games. Which is cool with me, but probably won't be the best food day I've had in a while. I'll try and stick to my guns and get a good salad.

Here is a plug for the new Shredded Wheat with Strawberries. It is freakin' delicious!! A little higher in calories than the honey nut shredded wheat, but only by like 10 or 20. Plus, there is only like 6 ingredients. How's that for natural? And it's tasty and delicious. If you like strawberries in your cereal, I'd give them a try!

Bad Knee

I finally went and bought a knee brace and I hope this helps. I felt fine when I arrived at the gym this morning, started with 45 minutes of cardio and then I was going to go to Pump. But when my cardio session was over my knee was hurting. Normally this is not a big deal, but when I went to stretch my quads, I could not lift my right leg back far enough to hold on and stretch. This made me sad, because I love Body Pump with Lesley. So I tanned, left the gym and went to Starbucks (bad, but I haven't had a Mocha in a while). On the way home I stopped at Walgreen's and bought a knee brace that I can wear while I'm at work and help stabilize my knee while I stand around on cement floor for 5 hours. I was planning on going to the gym (or working out outside tomorrow) but now I have to go, and I have to make it to class. Going three times a week has really boosted my self-esteem because I can really see the results. Of course, I'll ruin it all when I go out to lunch with my sister for her birthday, but oh well, birthday's only come once a year. Hopefully the weather will be as awesome as predicted and I can wear the new dress I bought last month that I've been dying to wear.

Thank You, Karrie

For finally making a comment on my blog. It's hard to keep writing unless I know someone out there is reading! I don't have a lot of food and workout support here in town. I need all the help I can get. So I have not received any job offers, which is okay by me because I'm not sure if I would have enjoyed that position any more than the one I currently have. I have also began seriously thinking about the culinary arts program at Metro. I've always wanted to cook and I enjoy doing so....Maybe this is because Don and I watched Ratatouille on Sunday but I have been pondering this idea for a couple months now. I'd really like to own my own diner or cafe, but that's a really big dream. I would also be most interested in being a Pastry Chef...which of course is probably the most unhealthy, but I would also like to find healthier ways to fit in sweet treats into every day life. If I pursue this, my current job would be able to be flexible with taking a class or two a semester, and Metro isn't too expensive. Plus, I could get up to 50% off in Tuition Reimbursement every semester (I think so anyway, that's how it used to be). So far my only supporter is Lynn, who told me I could test out any recipes on her. For some reason I can never feel 100% confident in my own decisions and need the backing of other people. I also think that everyone thinks I'm always coming up with these silly ideas that I'll never live out (which is sometimes true) but I am also trying to accept that this way of life is me. I need to accept me. I am the biggest and worst judge of myself and most people probably don't really care what I do with my life and how indecisive I am about what I want to do with my life. I'm just not willing to settle right now. I'm afraid if I get an office job, I would be going against my true self. But then I am unhappy living at home....It's all just a vicious circle right now!
Today was an okay food day I guess. I did have a bagel this morning before the gym (and after cereal at Don's) but I did do an hour of cardio and then Body Pump. I was planning on eating a frozen meal at home but after calling Audrey to see if she wanted company this afternoon, she asked if I would stop at Panera and pick up lunch for her and Lucy (the fridge was empty and she needed to get to the store). So I picked up a sandwich and I had an apple along with extra fruit I brought from home. I did have chocolate today and an afternoon snack of some baked doritos and salsa. But I only had a bowl of cereal for dinner along with a sugar-free chocolate pudding. My problem is the piece of chocolate here, the cheeto Avery gave me there, and never sitting down for a balanced meal because my parent's don't serve them and I don't have my own kitchen to make my own dinner (at least without having to listen to advice from my father on how to cook). That's my excuse for the day. Another hour of cardio tomorrow to make it close to 5 hours this week.