What I'm Reading

I've ramped up my reading of blogs and other sites lately trying to keep my motivation.


Here is what has struck a chord with me in the last week:

And She Ran
A blog I just started following ~ this particular blog post reminded me of me.  How I've used my excess fat as an excuse as to why no on likes me.  But it isn't my fat, it is me!  I shut myself off from the world using my fat.

There's a reason hamsters dont have six packs
Another blog new to me ~ I liked the advice in this one about mixing up the workouts, something I'm trying hard to do!

2 posts from Skinny Emmie:

• Accepting the Struggle A great read on why the struggle and the journey are just as important as the final destination.
• Weight Loss Ninja Although not explicitly a motivational post, to me, since I also struggle to overcome the feelings of inadequacy and self-doubt, it was.  It is necessary to remind myself that the definition of failure can change and even the best laid plans go sideways but that the final goal is always there even if the path to reach it may change. 

Day 2
Another blog new to me that I came across looking for people's experience with skin removal surgery.  When checking out blogs, I almost had a panic attack since I know once I reach my weight loss goal, I will have plenty of excess skin to be removed.  It scares the shit out of me.  The wonderful blogger at Diary of a Former Food Addict just went through surgery for her arms and legs and I'm really looking forward to watching the progress.

Don't just sit around
I came across this when reading the Sweat Science blog at Runner's World.
I sit all day long, and this is a perfect reminder to move on a regular basis.  I find the study quite intriguing as it goes to show that obesity is a very complex issue.

Paying the Price of a Fat Pet
"The problem in pets mirrors that in overweight humans, often stemming from lack of exercise and too many snacks and calorie-dense foods – or, in this case, treats and table scraps – between meals."

So true!  I'm lucky my dog is hyper active and maintains his weight  perfectly.  I only wish my doctor would tell me that "You have a nice figure" like the vet told Haru!

Deprived
A reminder that you shouldn't feel deprived for the whole weight loss journey

Healthy Habits Make Healthy Fatties

A reminder that the number on the scale doesn't mean much in regards to health and morbidity!

For the second spin class....

I survived!

201 calories burned

I'm taking a 30 minute beginner spin class at a local recreation centre about 15 minutes from my house.  4 half hour classes for $12, taxes in.  I can't go wrong.

I figured after my hour long class, that maybe, to prevent my bum from revolting on me, I should ease into this whole spin thing.

I know when people look at me they assume that I never work out, must be in horrible shape etc.  Given that this spin class is at the back of a large, very busy, weight and cardio area, I felt very awkward and unwelcome walking through there to find the spin area.  The class is not separated at all from the rest of the workout area, the benches were about 6 ft from my bike ~ so not knowing this I worse a tight tank top.  BIG mistake.  I felt so self-conscious as we were sprinting because my second wave arm flab was just a-moving.  I caught a glance of myself in the mirror and immediately thought, T-SHIRT next time, big baggy t-shirt.  *sigh*  All these hot young guys do not need to see my arm flab or belly roll.  (hmm... wasn't I just talking about not caring about what people thought last time... apparently I do care)

Anyways, back to the spin class.

There were 8 of us in total.  Four of them were all younger (mid-20s) girls who all knew each other.  One single middle aged lady and then a mother daughter pair.  All were much thinner than I was, other than the mom.  Boy, did I ever feel sorry for the mom.  She reminds me a lot of my mom, shorter, large busted and carrying all her weight around the middle; she was the only person in that gym bigger than me.  About 10 minutes in, the instructor showed us jumps (standing up then sitting down again).  On the last jump, that poor woman slipped, missed her seat and ended up stuck in an incredibly awkward position. Her feet were stuck in the pedals and her knees were on the ground.  Her daughter and the instructor rushed to her side to try to help her up.  Since I was on the bike beside her, I too got up, but there wasn't much I could do.  Her feet were eventually unstuck and the instructor and daughter lifted her up.  She was a trouper.  She got right back on and kept going (however not doing the standing up when we were doing hills) for the rest of the 30 minutes class.  I was so glad that no one stood around and stared at her and I felt nothing but compassion for her.  She was there, she was trying and I really hope they come back for the second class.

I think I will continue with the spin.  I need to definitely work harder on pushing myself.  My average heart rate was only 112bpm.  In boot camps and circuits it ranges anywhere from 130-160bpm.  The class did show me that I do need someone on me to push me in order to get the calorie burn I want when I'm feeling unmotivated.  However, 200 is 200 and it got me moving!  So far, I'm doing well, working out or doing something very active 6 times a week.   I just need to learn to push myself.

Tomorrow morning is our 7 am boot camp class.  Depending on who the trainer is, I'm going to ask them to kill me.  I need my ass kicked after a week of lacklustre workouts on my part.

So I've got the workout thing under control.

Food... *sigh*  How about we don't talk about the 1/2 box girl guide cookies I ate on Monday?  Or the 1/2 bag of mini peanut butter cups I ate till I felt ill yesterday?  My curse is having no healthy snack food in the house and boredom.  I started eating stale pretzels when I got home since I knew I needed something.  I should start my knitting again to keep my hands busy, but I can't motivate myself to go searching for all my needles and cast something on.  I desperately need to go grocery shopping and organise my crafts so I'm not sitting around home doing nothing.

I have a children's birthday cake to do this weekend, so I know I'm going to indulge in a icing and cake batter, so I really shouldn't make cookie dough tonight or eat any of the chocolate in this place.  I don't even have milk to have a bowl of cereal.  I think peanut butter on crackers is what it will be.  I REALLY want to make myself some cookie dough but I am going to be good and resist. I want that number on the scale to be down at least 1 lb on Monday morning.

So to everyone out there: stay strong on your food and don't be afraid to try new workouts; if you fall, get back up!

Aie-Yie-Yie. My poor bum!!

photo courtesy of janeyeseeyou

I did a new exercise yesterday - I attended a free spin class held by my trainer's gym last night.  The trainers are attempting to get a regular spin class going and held a few free classes to see if their clients interested. 

To be honest, I was dreading it.  I spent the afternoon at work alternately telling myself to take it easy, you've had the stomach flu, you can skip the class and trying to convince myself that it won't be so bad and that I need to push myself past my comfort zone to continue and that I needed the cardio.

Well, as you know, the angel on my right shoulder prevailed and I dragged my sorry butt down to the gym for 4:00 pm (yah, stupid freaking time and now i need to make up an hour of work today.)  The trainer holding the class was one I haven't worked with before, but she seemed super friendly and all up for it although there was only 3 of us attending, one of them being the trainer's best friend.  The other thing I really liked about this trainer is that she isn't super thin ~ to be perfectly candid, she has some meat on her bones and doesn't come off as a fanatic or super intense person which is what I imagined most spin instructors to be like.

So... the class... was FUN!  The music was upbeat and positive and the trainer wanted all of us to go at our own pace.  I expected my quads to burn baby burn.  However, they survived just fine.  I even expected my bum to be unbearably sore during and after the class, but during the class, there was enough up and down that it didn't bother me. 

What I did struggle with was 3 things:

    My feet!  Who would have thought that!  The bottom of my feet from where the pedal ended was on fire from about the 25 minute mark all the way to the end.  Luckily, my feet recovered quite quickly from it and seem to be ok doing the walking / shuffling in this morning's bootcamp.

    My arms!  With all the standing up and leaning over, they got quite the workout.  My triceps and shoulders were sore from my workout on Monday and the "hovers" and such moves really tired them out.  I also must have put too much pressure on one of my forearms during the hill climbs and bruised a small part of my forearm.  I don't bruise easy so ouchie!! And this morning, my chest is killing me!  The push-ups in bootcamp this morning suffered from seriously poor form.

    Movement from sitting to standing!  I really struggled with the "jumps" where you quickly transitioned from sitting to standing.  I found my knees wanted to buckle and it just wasn't smooth for me.  When we started doing those, my arms and feet were already done so I generally just stayed in a seated position.


So I mentioned above my bum didn't bother me during the workout ~ heck it was only a little tender while driving out to pick up my dog.  But holy mother of hell, was it sore this morning when I woke up.  Just sitting I wanted to cry.  Coming up from a full situp, when you roll across your tailbone onto your butt cheeks, nearly made me cry in bootcamp this morning.   Even sitting now during lunch at work I'm uncomfortable.


So, will I do one again?  I think so.  It was a fantastic cardio workout ~ 550 calories in 50 minutes and the pain afterwards is similar to the pain after bootcamps, just in different places.   As well, it is something different from the bootcamps and circuit.  I know exactly what to expect and I can completely lose myself in the blasting music.  The local rec centre is holding a 30-minute beginner spin course starting in a week or 2.  I'm thinking that might be a better start for me so my butt and body can transition slower.  Plus, it is significantly cheaper than the $20 per session that my trainers want to charge.  I just hope they don't mind me singing along to the songs!

Do any experienced spinners have any advice?