Weigh in Monday - 2/28/11

Weigh in Monday will be back next week - I have to work all day and will be missing my meeting :o(

The good news is that I tracked almost every day this week, ate well and stuck to my goals pretty closely - hoping next week is the same!

Weigh in Monday - 2/21/11

Sha-na-na - lost a pound! I didn't make all my goals this week (I tracked 4 out of 7 and wanted 7 of 7; ate out a bit much), but I did manage to keep it under control in other ways - limited adult beverages to two evenings with a three drink max and stuck to this - even on Valentine's Day! Those calories add up folks.


Next week: more eating at home - my goal is eating dinner in 4 days this week; more exercise (want to ride to work on Saturday) and getting that 7/7 tracking goal!


Today's weight loss: 1 lb
Total weight loss: 4.2
Pounds left to lose: 25.8

Nightclub Cardio - AKA shake it like you'r sellin' it!

I love dancing. I'm not good at it, I'm not coordinated and I can't always *bring it* but I still really, really enjoy it. A few years back, Erin found out about a new thing in town called Nightclub Cardio and we all decided to give it a whirl. Man am I glad I did!

Not knowing what to expect, we all arrived at a literal nightclub and registered. There were all types of people there - big, small, uber fit, not-so-fit and everyone in between.

The class turned out to be less of a dance class and more of an aerobics class, which was actually much better. I can do aerobics, but in a dance class I tend to spaz out (see: Alla and Sarah's adventure at a hip hop class and the resulting spin into a super hip hop gentleman who was super nice about it). It's like dancing for the coordinationally challenged!

I have no idea why I love it so much, but every class there is a time when I'm smiling so hard I start to giggle. It's not an easy class and sometimes I'm dying whilst doing some sort of squat thrust, hip jiggle thing, but it's so so much fun. I do recall the male instructor once tell us to "Shake it like you're sellin' it!" and bursting into laughter while shaking it. Like I was sellin' it. So much fun.

So now Nightclub Cardio has become one of my favorite ways to vary my workouts - it's always different, always fun and gives me a whole hour of intense cardio for the week. It's the perfect bridge between bootcamp on Tuesdays and Thursday!

What ways do you like to mix it up when it comes to exercise?

On Nerdiness

Are you a nerd? I am - I have always been a nerd and will remain a nerd for life. A nerd is not a dork (mega socially inept), a dweeb (intelligent and socially inept) or a geek (intelligent and obsessed with some niche; Probably also socially inept). A nerd is more of a generalist, mixing equal parts of awkwardness, strange hobbies and a decent knowledge base.

My nerdiness falls more on the awkward end of the spectrum: I'm enthusiastic, sort of ADD and talk SUPER LOUD sometimes. I also talk a lot. A LOT a lot. Lots of talking coming out of my face.

As a young person, this proved more of a liability than an endearing quality when it came to fitting in and, as you can imagine (and as you may have experienced personally), a fair amount of teasing came my way as a result. Now that I'm an adult, it's usually better but not always - there is always going to be someone that doesn't get it. And that's ok.

It took me well into my 20s to get cool with the fact that I was, well, not cool - and to realize that this was the greatest thing ever. Some of the most awesome people I know are nerds. Nerds tend to be much easier to talk to at cocktail parties, much more fun to enjoy lunch with and probably the best people to know if you end up on a game show or something (seriously - phone a friend that knows a variety of things about a variety of things? Awesome.)

Nerds usually don't take themselves too seriously and, to me, that's where the awesomeness lies - they're willing to be nerdy because that's just how they are. Being around someone who is cool with who they are is liberating - it gives you space to be yourself too.

That's why I love nerds and why I'm proud to be one. (This is now feeling like an essay from elementary school - "And in conclusion, nerds are great. The End.")

My new Sew Weekly post is up!

In this one, Ryan the Gabbart joins us for a photo shoot, Erin takes 5,000 photos out in the cold (THANKS ERIN!) and we get a peek at some special socks.

Get out there and finish the run.

I'm a quitter by nature. Sometimes it's a liberating experience - like knowing when something isn't working and being willing to move on (Good!) but it can also be just an easy way out of a hard situation (Bad). 

Losing weight is tough. It's tough to rein in your diet or get your butt into a gym or out to walk. It's equally tough to not see hard results week after week. 

Maybe you gained, maybe you plateaued or maybe you just lost a little. Even if you are a positive person, it's easy to beat yourself up for not putting up the "big numbers" like they do on weight loss shows. It's also very easy to start backsliding - "What's a burger for lunch going to hurt? Why shouldn't I drink another margarita?" and so on in this fashion until BAM: you're back to where you started or worse. 

Don't punk out. Take it from this lady*. When some as*hole jumped out of the bushes and attacked her, she not only fought back, but she was also instrumental to putting him away for good. He also happened to be the same person that killed Chandra Levy.

If that wasn't enough, she returned to the scene of her attack 9 years later to finish her run. Because she wanted to finish what she started. While she ran, she thought of her kids, saying "If I had a family crest, I would make this the motto: We get back up, we finish the run!"

Finish what you start, keep going and don't get discouraged. We all have burdens to carry - whether they're light or heavy, like this brave woman - but we have the power in us to overcome them.

*hat tip to Christina who shared this on Facebook!

Weigh in Monday - 2/14/11

Whoops! Apparently they wrote down my stats wrong for last week, so the loss was .4 and not .6 as previously posted. However, this week WAS a .6 loss - so BAM! 


What worked: tracking in a new 3 month journal (instead of sporadically online)
What didn't work: limiting eating out; will refocus this week!


Today's weight loss: .6 lbs
Total weight loss: 3.2
Pounds left to lose: 26.8

My new Sew Weekly post is up!

Posting fail! I meant to share this yesterday, but was distracted by an epic party. Here's the project that might keep me off next season of Hoarders, plus a sneak peek into my sewing room!

Weigh in Monday - 2/7/11

BAM - 1/2lb loss! I know that's not a huge, "holy shit how did they lose so much weight" kind of loss like on the Biggest Loser, but honestly, that's so much better. 1/2 a pound means that the things I have changed this week are working in a realistic way and it's showing on the scale. 

This week, eating mostly at home was the name of the game except for Saturday night's GIRL'S NIIIGGHHTT with Erin and Sunday night's Super Bowl of Friendship at the Novos. Also, I made it to both of my bootcamps and shook my butt at Nightclub Cardio (post coming up this week about NCC and it's awesomeness!). 

On most days, I had balanced, healthy meals and an appropriate amount of food. Other days I had a few "bad food" items, but enjoyed them and moved on - case in point: I ate the heck out of bacon wrapped dates on Sunday, as they are the official friendship food of our group, and didn't regret it one bit. That's what I like about Weight Watchers - flexibility. Even though the progress can be slow at times, I'm learning to live - and eat - in the world and that's something I can sustain long term.

This week's goal: eat 4 days out of 7 at home for all meals and make it to both bootcamps, NCC and add one 30 minute walk to the mix (weather permitting: otherwise, it will be a date with the elliptical at the gym).

Today's weight loss: .6 lbs
Total weight loss: 2.6
Pounds left to lose: 27.4

UPDATED: 

Today's weight loss: .4 lbs
Total weight loss: 2.4
Pounds left to lose: 27.6

My new Sew Weekly post is up!

My new Sew Weekly post takes us into the world of Chambray, which is so hot right now. Like Hansel.

January Resolution Recap!

I'm a huge fan of measuring success in touchy feely terms (i.e. no hard facts to back up anything I say). I would love to say that I'm a serious, quantifiable result type gal, but alas - I'm not!

There is definitely a place in the world for metrics (how could you know how far you've gone without knowing how many feet there all in a mile?), but when you're dealing with resolutions it's personal.

Here's my "touchy feely" January Resolution Recap:

• Fitness was a win - all month I have missed only 1 workout and really felt it. I think my body is loving the exercise and I'm really enjoying bootcamp!
• Pants - they're noticeably looser! Even a tight fitness shirt that has not fit in a year, fits. 
• Sewing - I have 4 brand new outfits that I have sewn myself, thanks to the Sew Weekly Challenge!
• Meditating - nope. Didn't do it yet. March will be meditation month!
• Vegetarian - still can't spell it. Did eat a few great vegetarian meals this month and will get some more in there next month!

So there it is - January in a nutshell; On to February!