UNACCEPTABLE

Dear People in my Gym,

It is not acceptable to ask me questions while I'm in the middle of a set. If I am lifting weights, and not touching the machine beside me, there's a good chance I'm not using that machine. There's an even better chance of you not getting a death stare if you wait 13 seconds until I'm DONE the set to ask me if I'm using said machine.

But Skinny Guy On The Weight Floor, you take the cake. I've never, EVER, had anyone actually walk into me while I was mid-set doing cleans. MID-SET. If I hadn't been so entirely blown away by your complete disregard for my safety (I could drop the weights, you could knock me off balance and I could wrench something, ETC. ETC.) and your safety (I could drop the weights ON YOU, you could knock me off balance and I could wrench something currently attached to your body, ETC. ETC.), I would have lost my god-damned mind at you.

Furiously yours,

Still Not Over It.

P.S. Cleans are my new favourite (and least favourite) exercise.

I'm Currently Obsessed With This

Love it.

Things That Make Me Ralph

1. Soggy salad/lettuce.
2. Banana strings.
3. Chicken after 58 days of chicken (not there yet, but waiting for it).
4. Dairy that has even thought about or tiptoed near the expiry date.

Triple-W Monday!

Weigh in, weight loss, wedding dress!

Stat Update:

Start - 153.4lbs
Week 1 - 147.1lbs

Weight Loss - 6.4lbs

Cautiously happy because I've been here before.

I Can't Feel My Thighs

Strange things I've noticed so far.

1. I'm craving green onions like a mo-fo. I have eaten them a lot this week, but still I want more. Bizarre.

2. Everything hurts. Oh wait, that's not strange at all after six months of sitting on my butt and drinking beer.

3. Having a gym that's a three minute drive away is awesome. I repeat. AWESOME.

4. Brushing my teeth still hurts because of some arm muscle that isn't speaking to me.

5. It's primarily my right arm.

6. Drinking a lot of water means constant trips to the bathroom. This is not really strange, except that I feel like my whole day is spent in the washroom, eating, or in the gym.

7. I can accomplish a hell of a lot in a day. Before, I felt like getting to and from work was about my limit. Now, I take the dog to daycare in the morning (YES I'M THAT PERSON), go to work, work, come home, make/eat dinner, go to the gym, shower, do another two hours of work at home, do some sort of housework (ha!), collapse into bed. Repeat.

Lifty, Lifty, MOAR WEIGHTS

You know what's really painful? Washing your hands. And turning a steering wheel. Also, reaching up for, um, anything. What? That's not supposed to hurt? Tell that to my body.

I quite like weight-lifting, even if it is punishing me right now. Frustratingly, there are no free weights in the women's area of our new gym. Let's pause for a rant-y mc-rant about women's areas.

Why Women's Areas in Gyms Make Me Happy and Sad-Panda-Face At the Same Time

Happy - Gyms can be intimidating. Providing a smaller scale workout area is a great way to get newbies used to some of the machines and used to sweating in public (something I have never had a problem with, natch).

Sad-Panda-Face - It's not only women who might feel intimidated when Hulky McSteroid lumbers past you to squat eleventy billion pounds. It makes my inner equality voice squawk a bit.

Happy -As long as I ignore that inner equality voice, it's awesome to have a second option if everyone is using my treadmills. Selfish, but true.

Sad-Panda-Face -There are no free weights. Sweet baby jesus this is annoying. Our last McGym (read: large chain o' treadmill factories) had free weights in their women's area, but only the light ones *deep sigh* but at least there was something. Also, the machines that are in these areas are often "made for women," meaning they are painted in baby blue or pink, have odd weight increments that usually don't go as high, and are "designed for women." As all 5'4'' of me worked out next to a woman who was at least 6'1'' last night, I just don't get how that can be true. Machines adjust. Because people are different sizes. The "designed for women" machines make me irrationally angry.

Bonus Sad-Panda-Face - Exposure in a quieter, less intimidating environment is great - however, if you're limited to treadmills, stairmasters, ellipticals, and six weight machines that focus on inner thighs, you are missing out on a lot the gym has to offer. At least put some kettlebells in there. The power of free weights is that they allow you to try out a huge range of movements - much more than the one movement that ab cruncher has.

Oh Boy, I Love Mustard

Is it sad that already the thing I look most forward to in a meal is the condiment choice for the chicken? Honey mustard, I heart you.

Yesterday's run went well, the bike was slightly um, special. But it got done and that's enough for this week. Today is for legs - yay!

Side note, we just moved into a new place that has more than one bathroom (actually, it has three!). Sweet jesus, why did no one tell me how awesome that it. As a couple, Tom and I have been living in 600sq. ft. of condo or apartment for the entire time - one bathroom. More than one is such a luxury, and I firmly believe it will add years of happy time to our marriage.

Number one relationship advice - have two bathrooms.

Do Arms Have To Go Up?

Because mine sure don't! Yesterday was our first day back in the gym and aside from the annoying part of having to find where all the equipment is, it was great to get back to sweating alongside other people lifting heavy things and putting them down.

All I can say is, thank god my keyboard is not above my shoulders, because my arms are not going that high without much protesting.

And Here I Go Again

Sheesh, you drop off the face of the blog-world for six months and Bloggers get an overhaul.

In other news, it's time for another round of "Stop eating all the cheesecake!"

I could lament about how I am here (again) and have never gotten down to my goal weight (or even within less than ten pounds) but instead I will think MOTIVATING THOUGHTS!

Starting Stats:

Weight (I haz it): 153.5
Body Fat % (bastard scale!): 28.8
Chest (I blame the sports bra): 33.5
Waist (Less if I suck it in): 33
Hips (Child-bearin'): 40.5
Right Thigh (Cause lefty and I aren't speaking): 24.5
Right Bicep ("Okay flex" "SHUT UP"): 12.5

In one month I have to try on wedding dresses. There's the motivation. That and this.

Via http://foodieatthefinishline.blogspot.ca/2010/11/pressure-pressure.html

I see you, Tommy. Time to kick ass.

Recipe: Maple Salmon & Roasted Asparagus

Easy recipes that are healthy are absolutely key to eating well. So I'll try to keep track of the ones I love here! This is so easy, very few ingredients and just pop in the oven.

Maple Salmon:

 http://allrecipes.com/recipe/maple-salmon/

Ingredients

• 1/4 cup maple syrup
• 2 tablespoons soy sauce
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1/8 teaspoon black pepper
• 1 pound salmon

1. Mix ingredients. Pour over salmon. Leave for 30 minutes in the fridge to marinate.

2. Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees.

3. Put salmon in oven for 20 minutes.

Roasted Asparagus

Ingredients

• 1/2 lb (227 g) trimmed asparagus
• 2 tsp olive oil
• 2 tbsp Parmesan cheese
• 2 tsp lemon juice

1. Trim asparagus, toss with olive oil and Parmesan cheese.

2. Put in the same oven as the salmon (400 degrees) for about the same time (20 mins).

3. Sprinkle with lemon juice when it comes out.

Annnnnd dinner.

Goals For This Week

1. Drink water.

2. Plan meals.

3. Stick to planned meals.

4. Shop once.

5. Weigh in only on Sunday.

Annnnnd go!

P.S. Grocery store gave me a gallon of free ice cream. Sigh.

P.P.S. I made these Chocolate Protein Brownies minus the Stevia and water. Yum.

The Number On The Scale Scares Me

So somehow I'm on week three now of Jamie Eason's program. It is still hurt-y, but I am seeing a few changes in terms of specific muscle tone in my quads and arms.

Here's the thing. There are precious few things I've experienced that are as frustrating as working hard and not seeing results. One of them is working hard, seeing results, but having those results not be in line with your goals. I didn't weigh myself for the first couple of weeks of this program, but I did feel like I was getting fitter and losing inches. Then I weighed myself.

ERROR.

No matter how often we read that weight is just a number, it is a brutal slap in the face for someone who is trying to cut weight to weigh in heavier than when they started. Logically, I know there are all kinds of reasons for this, and I know that I'm not supposed to care about the number on the scale. But I do. A lot. I have a number in my head that I want to achieve because I have been that weight in the last, uh, seven years. Wait, what? When did I get so old?

Anywho, I want to be that weight because I remember going for a bridesmaid dress fitting at that weight and being pleased with how my body looked at the fitting (and yes, I know how superficial that makes me sound).

Here's the big truth: I'm scared to go for a wedding dress fitting and hate how my body looks. That's not how I want to remember that moment. Maybe it's stupid, but it's true. I keep losing and gaining the same ten pounds over and over when my goal weight is another ten pounds under that. It's depressing to think that I won't be able to achieve my goal despite putting in a lot of time and effort.

Am I just missing something?

/sad panda rant

Jamie Eason Is Trying To Kill Me

Time for another round of FITNESS PROGRAM!

I'm in the middle of week one of Jamie Eason's LiveFit program at BodyBuilding.com. It hurts me. In a good way, but also in an ouch way.

Hello! I've Had WAY Too Much Coffee.

I went for a 6km run last night which was a) awesome and b) awful. Awfsome, really, as most runs are. You hear about people who are "runners" - you know the ones. The ones that clock mileage like it's going out of style, and every time you talk to them you think "damn you, you magnificent athlete!"

No? Just me? Alright then.

My run yesterday was interesting because I walked a lot (bah!) but I still managed decent splits on kms I did run completely, and overall the time wasn't as horrifying as I thought (6km in 38 minutes, if you care, I don't care, OH GOD I CARE TOO MUCH).

Most of my stopping wasn't because I was winded, so much as my knees were hurting. And not in the normal, ow, injury, way. The joints hurt. Because apparently I'm too fat to be running (obligatory chorus of "you're not fat!" from T, who automatically responds to this, even psychically) or I'm 102 years old. Either way, I creak, creak, shuffled my way to the 6km mark, and that's what's important.

Also, we're getting a puppy. I may blog about this in a separate space because I don't have enough room here for all this cute.

Courtesy Sershan Samoyeds - http://www.sershan.ca/sershan_puppies.html

Operation Wedding Dress

Yes, it's a cliche. It's awful, really. The thought that if you're getting married, you should immediately stop eating until your wedding day to fit into the smallest dress possible. That really isn't my goal with this. I'm finding it very difficult to keep my goals in mind when I'm a) hungry b) presented with delicious forbidden treats. I plan to use the "wedding dress" goal to try and keep in mind the bigger picture than the immediate satisfaction of eating tasty muffins.

Here we go again!

Okay I Was Totally Hiding

Here's the thing. I finished up the last four weeks of our twelve week program with a definite whimper. I did go the entire program without missing a workout (6 days a week for 12 weeks), but the food, oh geez the food.

It wasn't good.

Then it was Christmas, and post-program T and I are almost always out of control. It is very not good. SO.

Final Stats:

Weight Lost - 9.4 pounds. Of which I am back up six to 149 (*string of curse words*).

It's disheartening to say the least. We're back into it now, not with a set program, but with the goal of redoing out sprint tri in May, and completing an Olympic distance a few months later. I'm hoping that by focusing on a fitness goal rather than a loss, I'll have better results. Food continues to frustrate me.