Back from Vacation!

I haven't posted in a while because I have been on vacation! I went to visit Alicia in Providence, RI for almost a week and had such a good time. It was definitely a last-minute trip planned about two weeks in advance, which is something that I never do since travel is the one thing I do get crazy anal retentive tendencies about, but I'm so glad I did. Full disclosure: I didn't stick to my calorie limits (and didn't intend to do so - not what a vacation is for), but I did log all my calories every day. Still up a few pounds from where I was before vacation, but I'll get it back down.

Did I mention the Lady Gaga concert in Boston? And how she had a giant fish puppet that she called the Fame Monster? And how we had floor seats about ten feet away from the stage? Best. Show. Ever.

Now that I'm back, my co-worker/friend Cathy and I have decided to combine forces in a Memorial Day Challenge. Our goal is to lose six pounds a month (minimum) until Memorial Day, but the focus is on going to the gym five days a week and doing something active the other two days (going for a walk, dancing, whatever). This ties in with my Lenten promise - working out at least five days a week at the gym until Easter. I've decided to join 24 Hour Fitness so Cathy and I can easily work out together, and all the group classes are free!

I'm focusing mainly on cardio, so I have been working on the elliptical for 40 minutes doing intervals. I try to get an elliptical with the arm movement - it's funny how much of a difference that makes! That puts me at about 450 calories burned according to the elliptical machine. We're also alternating strength training for abs, arms/back, and legs/glutes. This is where Cathy comes in handy - the first day we were doing abs, she had us do 30 reps of front, left, and right crunches (that's 90 total) and then looked at me and said, "Okay, now let's do two more sets!" I almost murdered her, but I would never push myself that hard on my own. Same thing with actually getting to the gym; it's so much easier to talk yourself into going when you make plans with someone. 

We even went to a class this morning called Kickboxing Boot Camp. The instructor was probably about 7 or 8 months pregnant and bouncing around the gym like she didn't have an almost fully-grown child in her uterus. I kept that in mind when I felt like I was going to die during the workout. I really liked the class though and I'm definitely going to try out the other classes available to keep me from getting bored. I'm still a little intimidated going into the gym, but everyone seems so friendly that it makes me less nervous every time I go. 

One other change since I posted last time - since I burn at least 400 calories per gym session, and I've found that my 1200-1500 calories a day wasn't cutting it while I'm burning all these calories at the gym. I haven't been grazing for food like that all year, and I was going nuts trying to find something that would keep me full after dinner. So in order to avoid a mental breakdown, I've decided on gym days, I can eat up to 1800 calories if I feel like I need it; with the exercise factored in, that still puts me at 1400 total for the day. We'll see how that goes over the next couple of weeks and I'll adjust it if I'm not seeing the results on the scale. 

To leave on a happy note, I celebrated St. Patrick's Day at the Greenville Ave. parade yesterday, and it was so much fun!! Lots of green, ridiculous costumes, and pretty much the only day of the year when morning drinking in the streets is socially acceptable - what's not to love?

I wish I could wear this headband every single day.