Back at It

The gym, that is. BodyPump class just murdered me because (a) I haven't been to the actual gym (not counting my apartment gym) since before I got strep so...like three weeks ago...and (b) the instructor changed up the routine so we were doing all new combos. My arms hurt so much now that I almost couldn't drive home. This better be worth it!!

Workout Playlist for April 2011

While I'm sitting here watching Save the Last Dance (don't act like you don't love it) and waiting on my laundry to finish drying, I decided to revamp my workout playlist. I use my cheap little Sansa MP3 player to workout since it's tiny and if I drop it, it's no big deal because (a) it's flash-based so the chances of it breaking are minimal and (b) if it does break, it cost about $20.

I am not a person that can workout without my music. Seriously, if I forget my MP3 player I just turn around and go home, because there's no point. I won't push myself as hard, and I get so bored that it's miserable, and I don't want working out to be a miserable experience. Usually music solves this problem, but I've been listening to the same playlist for the last month and I'm starting to get bored with the same 10-12 songs I listen to every workout. I need to mix it up, so I've taken to the internet to find some new workout tunes.

I've settled on the following songs for my April playlists. Enjoy, and feel free to give me any suggestions!

1. Ridin' Solo - Jason Derulo
2. Better Than Revenge - Taylor Swift
3. Born This Way - Lady Gaga
4. Cowboy Casanova - Carrie Underwood
5. Dancing on My Own - Robyn
6. Evacuate the Dancefloor - Cascada
7. Right Round - Flo Rida
8. Sexy Bitch - David Guetta
9. Beautiful - Akon
10. Miss You Being Gone - The Band Perry
11. Somewhere with You - Kenny Chesney
12. King of Anything - Sara Bareilles

Mid-Month Update: Even More Workouts

I haven't been updating as often with my recipe posts because I haven't been cooking that much (which is bad). Because I'm going to the gym a lot after work with Cathy, we either get something to eat on the way back or have something at her place. She did make delicious pork and vegetable wrap one night that was delicious and low calorie. Since my last post, I went to a lot of workout classes and had my first personal training session.

FYI: You don't look like this while spinning.

I went to spinning on Monday, which was the class I was most terrified of taking, but I ended up LOVING it. I even got a thumbs up from the instructor about forty-five minutes into the class. It was as if something just clicked and I got in the zone and just pushed myself. It was awesome, and I really want to make that a weekly class. On Tuesday we took zumba, which was just ok. It was fun, but I feel like I didn't get as good of a workout as I would have on my own.

The personal training session was on Wednesday. The trainer was very nice, and the exercises we did were good, but I just wanted a more kick-my-ass type training session, and this wasn't it. She did show me how to use a few of the weight machines to target the places I most want to work on toning, but other than that, it wasn't anything special. I have two more sessions left in my package, but I'm not sure if I'm going to buy more or not at this point.

Thursday was an off day, but I did walk a couple of miles downtown for the Blackhawks game on St. Patrick's Day! So much fun. I also ate delicious Mexican food at Chuy's and went WAY over my calorie range. Friday and Saturday were just plain ol' elliptical days with some abs and weight machines thrown in for good measure.

So I'm pretty proud of myself for actually making it to the gym five days this week, but the problem is that I need to reign in my calorie counting. I haven't lost any weight this month (although to be fair I did gain a few pounds while in Rhode Island, and I did lose that) and there's only eleven days left. I definitely think I'm gaining muscle from working out, and I've gotten way more comments about my weight loss from people at work this past week. Even so, I am really going to have to buckle down to meet my goal this month.

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.

Gym Workout Today

Went to the gym (at my apartment complex) for the first time in...I can't remember when. Maybe last summer? Maybe.

I burned 350 calories on the elliptical in a little over 30 minutes. I was worried going in that I wouldn't be able to finish the full 30 minutes, but I surprised myself!

Definitely going more often now. Bonus: there were only two other people at any given point, so that was great. I expected it to be WAY more crowded around 7 o'clock.

I got my charm in the mail today, so I added it to my bracelet. Hopefully I can make this month's goal! I'm afraid it's going to be close, but so far a total of 12 pounds down since January 1!