They mopped the floor with me!

So on Saturday I went to my first-ever boxing class! Let me first of all say that I don't like watching boxing so for that reason I rarely do. Since this is the case, naturally I would have no idea what I should be doing or how I should even look while boxing, how to punch, etc. So I head into this class and they gave me NO instructions whatsoever. They put us in groups of 2-3 people and we did a circuit of sorts.The different stations were 1) speedbag, 2) heavy bag, 3) sparring - actually I don't know what it's called when you hit the pads the instructors wear on their hands?!?...yeah, that! and 4) sprinting/running. So off we went to our little stations. I did fine but had no idea what I was doing. I learned some while I was going from station to station and then we had to run. I started off fine but then thought I was going to die about halfway around the block. Haha! Yeah, it was funny and humbling all at the same time. So I made a vow to work on my cardiovascular strength and that's my goal for now. Yeah, like I said, they mopped the floor with me! I had a great time but definitely felt out of shape!

Fast forward to today. I went to the gym to take Zumba since I'm loving that and then planned on doing some hams/glutes after. When I got to Zumba I was informed this was the second to last Zumba class they'll be having at the gym. Wha what?!? Yes. Not only that but then I find out that they're planning on having all free classes for the month of October but starting November they're going to charge for classes (boxing and yoga only)! Aargh! I am MAD! But there is some hope. There will be a TRX class, a spin class and a beach boot camp class that will still be included in the membership. And of course my buddy, the PROWLER, will be there. But maybe I'll have to look into yet another gym. NOT happy! I guess I'll be taking a lot of classes in October anyway. Woohoo!

Hope your weeks are all starting off well! Keep a positive vibe rolling through you week. I know I will. I get to visit my friends this week in San Diego! Yippee! I'm looking forward to it! 

My yoga teacher read this quote tonight:

“I am only one, but I am one. I can't do everything, but I can do something. The something I ought to do, I can do." ~Edward Everett Hale 

The great thing is that I joined my new gym yesterday. And so far I LOVE it! I had a great workout on my own yesterday doing a back and legs superset workout. Tonight I went to yoga and I really enjoyed it. It's been years since I went to yoga. The teacher was great and very low-key. It was a great class and just what I needed. And ending the practice with the above quote just brought that practice full circle. I really enjoyed it. She was great. I will definitely take her class again.

I'm loving this weather right now. I like it a little cooler and foggy in the morning. I don't like it like that every day for many days but for a week or so I do enjoy it. And it makes sleeping great. And I think it kind of makes me feel like cooking again. I'll see what happens this weekend. Maybe some new recipes coming soon. Or at least some resurrection of some old ones. We'll just see.

Hope the week is ending well for all of you. Take good care of yourselves. I know I will.

I'm back now! Yes, you can all celebrate! :-)

I know I've been MIA. I have no excuse really. I didn't really have much to write about last week, started a couple of posts but just wasn't into it and couldn't finish the posts. So here I am!

I went to Vegas over the weekend but not for the Olympia. I went to help my friend work and I've decided that I am NOT a fan of Vegas. I know many people love Vegas but I really can't be counted in that group. I thought it was just because I always go there for work. But that's not it. I am NOT a fan of cigarette smoke. And I feel awful each and every time I go to Vegas. You know, itchy watery eyes, scratchy throat, general dehydration, etc. So for me Vegas is out. I don't think I'll be going there. Everything there is expensive...EVERYTHING! I don't mind paying the price for something that I think can't be found elsewhere or is just SO memorable but I don't think that's the case with Vegas for me. Okay...done with my rant! Haha!

The highlight was going to my favorite restaurant Todd's Unique Dining in Henderson. Of course I had the Grilled Skirt Steak on Fire.

So delicious! Yummy yummy! I love that place and it's nice to get away from The Strip. We also ordered the gazpacho with rock shrimp and also the spicy calamari & rock shrimp. It was so delicious! I also ordered the peach cobbler with cinnamon gelato for dessert. I was a lot little stuffed! DELISH!

Onto other news! I have found a new "second home", formally known as a gym! I was trying it out for a week and have decided to join. Can't wait!!!! I will either go tonight or tomorrow to sign up and it's going to be great. I love that it has an outdoor area for working out, has some classes but not too many, and has THE PROWLER!! I really LOVE that thing! This is just the motivation I have been needing. I needed something to get me excited about working out again and this ought to do the job! So yeah for me! Now I can probably get back on track with my workouts and my nutrition. I'll keep you posted!

Things are looking up! And that's ALWAYS a plus!

Such a bargain! Rotisserie Chicken!

I just learned of a very good deal. I went to return my RedBox rental the other night just before it was due at 9:00pm. And since it was at my local grocery store Ralphs I decided I would buy a rotisserie chicken. So I headed over to the rotisserie chicken case. There was a Ralphs employee there that told me she was marking down the chickens right then if I could wait a minute. She had lots of good information. The chickens go on sale for HALF PRICE at 9:00pm. How great is that?!? So I got a whole rotisserie chicken for $3.59! Yes, that's right. I don't think you can even buy a whole chicken (that you still have to season and cook) for that price! AWESOME! To get your rotisserie chicken deal, just head to your local deli at closing time. Some information this fantastic employee gave me:

1) When the deli closes the chickens are marked down half price.
2) There will always be plenty of chickens because they have to have a certain amount out at any given time.
3) They only leave the chickens out for 3 hours in their heated case. Then they remove them and use them in other dishes in the deli.
4) Make sure they scan the discounted sticker! (For example, my cashier didn't do that so I just pointed it out to her and she fixed it.)

So go get your rotisserie chickens tonight. Although my great bargain was at Ralphs I would imagine any grocery store that sells rotisserie chickens does this same thing.

One Year Post-Comp

Wow! One year! I can't believe it's been a year since I stepped on stage in my itsy bitsy teeny weeny light blue stone-studded comp bikini! (that I wore for the 10th time that day...LOL!)

Competing was such a great experience! It was fun and a great challenge and goal for me. I met some great girls through my competing, found some great blogs to follow, and learned a lot about working out, eating for a competition, and how to do a competition. I put in some serious time prepping for my competition. I had a great time and made some lifelong bonds. It was an experience like no other.

Since that competition I have been all over the map emotionally. I stayed lean for quite a while post-comp, only gaining about 5-10 pounds in the first 5-6 months. But then my body caught up. Since about April I've been gaining weight fairly steadily. At the time I was working out well and eating right and gaining weight. It didn't make sense to me. But then I've read more and more about metabolic damage and how you can get this from doing what I did which was a couple of hours of cardio a day, 7 days a week, for months on end. I assume that's the problem. I can tell I'm not quite right and things in my body and mind aren't quite right. I'm steadily gaining weight and haven't stepped on a scale forever. It's been tough. My eating has been slipping and getting worse and worse and my workouts have become fairly non-existent.

Finally last week I decided I needed to do something about it and although my eating is still not quite right I am getting my workouts more back in line. It really helped to read this blog from Marianne at myomytv.com simply because she says that her advice is to start working out and the food will eventually come. This is true, I know. It's happened to me before. The more you work out the more you realize that you have to have the proper fuel to make those workouts the best they can be. So that blog really struck a chord with me! (Thanks Iris for pointing me to that post!)

I had a pretty good weekend. I watched a couple of movies including Waiting for Superman and Soul Surfer.  They were both good. I'm glad I don't have children in the public school system though or I would have been pretty infuriated watching Waiting for Superman. Soul Surfer is just inspiring. Bethany Hamilton is so inspiring and is just an amazingly positive person.

I went to a class yesterday at the gym I'm "trying on". And guess what? I was the ONLY one there! Woohoo! So it was basically a personal training session and it was good and fun. I'm pretty sure I'll join that gym because I really like it. I think it's the kind of motivation I need in my life. And the members seem pretty cool. I'll let you know for sure when I decide.

Hope you all had a great weekend and are ready for Monday to come waltzing in! Happy new week!

TRX, rice cooker oatmeal, Asian tofu!

Yes, I am the little train that could. Up the hill I go...chugga chugga whoo whoo! So I'm feeling better already since I got in a great workout last night and ate fairly well yesterday. I think I forgot to write this before but I'm having some kind of weird aversion to animal protein. Well, not all of it but steak, pork, chicken...nope, not sounding good at all. I'm okay with eggs. Tofu sounds appealing which is kind of weird. Not that I'm opposed to tofu but I don't usually crave it. If you love tofu and Asian flavors, try cutting up some tofu into 1-inch cubes, drizzle with low-sodium soy sauce and grate fresh or frozen ginger over. So yummy! My lunch yesterday was very Asian! I had that tofu, brown rice with roasted seaweed (using the seaweed as my "wrap"), cucumber salad (just sliced Persian cucumbers, rice wine vinegar, stevia, Korean no-salt chili powder mix). Oh yes, it was tasty. Maybe I have to eat that again for lunch today!

TRX and the........ PROWLER!!! WOOT WOOT!
Yesterday I went to my first TRX class! What a great challenge and something different. There were only 3 students in class which was perfect for a first-time class! That way I could get the attention I needed and make sure I was doing it right. It was great fun! I will definitely go again! And the best part? At the end the instructor said, "We're going to finish off with some metabolic work with the prowler!" Yahoo! I was so excited! I've been wanting to try that thing forever. We only had 20# on that thing and it was tough. It makes me even more impressed by Alli McKee's "somebody get on this...seriously" prowler experience from their Train Like a Girl weekend! We did 3 "runs" for about maybe 30 yards or so? I'm bad about eye measuring so I'm not sure the distance. It was AWESOME! I want to do it again ASAP!

Now, onto the next subject...Rice Cooker Oatmeal! Yep, you read that right! I learned this from Kevin Weiss's video below and it's FANTASTIC!

Unfortunately I don't have an electric steamer so I make my eggs the old-fashioned way. Put them in a pan, cover with water, bring to a boil, turn off stove, cover and let sit for 10 minutes, rinse in cold water. This is the recipe I used today and it was soooo delicious! I brought some to my coworker and she asked if I had put sugar in it. Yes, it's that good!

Rice Cooker Oatmeal

2 cups oatmeal

3 cups water

1 cup almond milk

1 apple

2 plums (large) - or it may have been 1 plum and 1 pluot...not sure!

cinnamon

nutmeg

ground cloves

Throw it all in the rice cooker and turn that thing on. Go take a shower and voila! Oatmeal...fresh and tasty!!! LOVE this! I've made it with strawberries and apples, blueberries, mixed berries, apples only (not a big fan of that one), added flax seed oil, or coconut. It doesn't really matter. It's all super tasty! Enjoy!

So there you have it...a couple of recipes that are so simple yet divine and my latest experience! Hope you all have a great weekend! Wahoo! Feeling better and better!

Cute little baby steps!

I must say I'm so proud of myself because I just walked back to the table in our break room where there are all kinds of evils lurking. I didn't reach for the peach pie but I did reach for a butter cookie. But guess what? I stopped before my hand even got there! Whew! Progress! Good job me!

Also I signed up for a TRX class tonight! No, I've never taken it. Yes, I'm a little scared. I know I can handle it but it certainly will be a challenge for me especially since I've been so lazy with my weight training. Oh well. You've got to start somewhere, right? So...here I go!

Stay tuned for what is certain to be a grand aftermath tomorrow...

Lazy Program Begone!!

I was joking around with my massage therapist today about how I've been on the "Lazy Program" and I think it's time I got off of it. Lazy with nutrition, sleep, rest, and exercise. Yeah, I think I've overdone that program. We even joked around about the infomercial for the Lazy Program. "You want another body part to start hurting today for no reason? Try the Lazy Program. Do absolutely NOTHING and see absolute weight gain and feel a new pain every day! Yes, the Lazy Program can be yours today!" And yes, that was funny but it's so pathetically accurate that in a way it's kind of not so funny. Know what I mean?

I don't know what my problem is!!! I really don't. I wrote my TRUTH blog on Saturday and then I proceeded to just completely fall from grace! Well, not really, but what is my problem?!? I keep telling myself to be patient and yada yada but that's really not happening. For whatever reason I absolutely DON'T want to workout at all! I mean, I'll run the stairs with my BF and I'll go rollerblading any day and I did try Zumba for the first time the other day but in general I really don't want to workout at all! Not even a smidgen of a desire. And weights?!? Nope, no desire at all. None whatsoever. None. Zilch. Nada. Zip! You get the idea!

And then I'm stuck in a vicious cycle because I don't feel like cooking or making anything to eat that's not cooked in about 2 seconds or somehow pre-made. And then I feel not so good because that kind of food doesn't sustain me or make me feel good. It DOES however make me feel bloated and lazy, joints feel swollen and achy, body feels puffy, don't sleep as well, feel stuffed up, etc. etc. And all that makes me feel like not working out. So I don't work out and then I don't eat right and round and round and round we go...where we'll stop, nobody knows!!!!

So I had to call in for some help. After all, what are friends for? Well, my friend told me that I just have to do something because if I think I feel bad, add 4-5 more months on top of that and THEN how will you feel?!? Not to mention the weight you will gain between now and then. I give my friend credit. She'll hand it to me straight. Now keep in mind that we don't live in the same state so she hasn't actually seen me but she knows what I'm talking about. I appreciate that kind of honesty though. And she's absolutely right. Sh!t or get off the pot, right? Yep! That's right.

All this bitching and moaning really isn't helping anyone but I can't seem to find it anywhere. My motivation, that is. So, what's a girl to do? Well, ask Nike says "Just do it!" Yep, that's right. Just do the darn thing! I guess as much as I want to let my body tell me what to do, it really doesn't matter what it tells me if I don't listen. And I haven't been listening. So, I'm off on yet another journey and this time I have to force myself to do something until it once again becomes habit. I fell of the wagon. Yes, it's true. And for the first time in my life I didn't feel like working out. AT ALL! I don't remember a time before in my life when I didn't want to work out. So unlike me. I was beginning to question if I was depressed. But I don't think I am. I just feel highly unmotivated so I'm going to force feed myself a little exercise and force myself to eat better. I can only do that for now. I don't expect miracles but I do expect to get back to doing something. I wouldn't feel good if today were my last day of my life. And I have to go with that idea. I don't want to feel like some kinda slouch on my last day of living! That wouldn't be something I'd be proud of. So I must do something. And so I will. Stay tuned.

“When things go wrong, you'll find they usually go on getting worse for some time; but when things once start going right they often go on getting better and better.” ~C.S. Lewis 

TRUTH!

I'm going to be really honest here in this post because I need to let it out so I can move on!

So ever since I was sick a few weeks ago I have had NO desire to do any weight training. I can't explain it. And I have no idea where that is coming from. I have only done weights once or twice in the past 2 weeks. I enjoyed it once I went but I'm really not motivated at all to do weights or any kind of resistance training at all. I haven't been motivated at all to do any kind of working out, to be honest. In fact these are my workouts for the last 2 weeks (going backwards):
Today - Zumba (1 1/2 hours - first time taking it and it was FUN!)
Wednesday - Blading (inline skating for those that don't know) for about an hour or so
Sunday - Track workout
Saturday - Weights
Tuesday - Pilates
Monday - Blading
Saturday - Stairs
So as you can see not much in the working out realm.

And then my food has been wickety whack! Haha! Really I've been eating too much, enjoying too much of the not so healthy food, eating sweets, white bread, oil, fries..yep...that's the truth! I don't believe any of those things are bad for you really. But when you're eating a lot of these foods and pretty much daily then you're in trouble. Combine my very unhealthy eating with my lack of working out and well, I don't feel so great. And it's in this moment that I realize I am definitely not concerned about how I look but truly about how I feel. I feel bloated, dehydrated, swollen...just not good. I understand what's going on here. It's not any shock to me at all. I didn't really "let myself go" but I just haven't been motivated and then the less my clothes fit and the more weight I gain the less motivated I become.

I'm in a vicious cycle that many competitors experience but never talk about. I'm here to talk about it. When I write things like this I definitely worry about others judging me but I have to let that go. I can't hide what's really going on. And I have definitely found that the more open and honest I am the more it helps others that are experiencing similar struggles without an outlet like the one I have, this blog. It's not a pretty picture and it's not something even I want to admit but it's necessary for me. Since I use this as some sort of journal it's important to me to document what is really going on with me, my body and my mind.

So after feeling like poop I know what I need to do:
1) First and foremost, I need to be more grateful for my amazing body and all it does for me!
2) Accept that this is yet another journey I am on. I took a journey to the stage and now I'm taking a journey back to balance.
3) Forgive myself for what I've done to my body and mind. It's okay. I didn't know any better. And as Oprah always says, "When you know better, you do better."
4) Accept my body just as it is right now. Don't berate myself, beat myself up, or wish it into a different state. Accept it and love it for what it is right now. Why loathe something that has done so much good for me?
5) Start taking actions with my eating and activity that make me feel better. Cook healthy foods for myself that are also tasty. Do some resistance work of some sort even if it's just with bands and bodyweight at home.
6) Walk at least 3 times a week. Breathe some fresh(ish) air and go inside.
7) Get more sleep. Turn off all the electronics and get to bed early! How many times have I tried to learn this lesson? Let's not count, okay?
8) Take care of myself. Treat my body as it deserves to be treated! This basically sums up numbers 1-7 but I need to reiterate it for myself.

So I'm learning and growing. And I do understand more and more how your food choices affect your activity ability and level and vice versa. Hope you are all having a fantastic Labor Day Weekend! Yay! I don't have to work Monday! Woot woot! LOVE that! :-)

What do you have? Be grateful for that!

WOW! I don't know if any of you have seen this video but I was totally crying when I saw it! So powerful and beautiful and touching and amazing! Need I go on? Just watch it...you'll see!


See what I mean? Heart wrenching, don't you think? I'm so moved. And it's not just because he's Korean. ;-) I mean I've had some trials in my life but I certainly wasn't homeless when I was FIVE!! So of all the things I am always chasing after I think it's time to be grateful for what I have and what I've had! I had a roof over my head and food on the table all the time growing up. My childhood wasn't ideal but I did have that and I'm grateful for that. I can't even imagine living like that at age 5...or 10...or even 15! Nope! And the fact that he got his GED for elementary and middle school on his own is crazy. As well as getting into high school. He does have formal vocal education in high school, a fact they left out of the TV version for TV reasons but it doesn't change the main part of his story. He lived alone and on his own for 10 years starting at age 5! Wow! Amazing!

This just serves as a reminder to me that I really need to be more grateful than I am! Geez! Look at me...I'm healthy, smart, mentally all here, physically all parts are working, have a job, decent looks, great friends and family, and a sense of humor! I mean, c'mon! What more do I need?!? I better be more grateful! I AM a grateful person but I need to practice gratitude even more than I do! Yes, definitely!

“Feeling gratitude and not expressing it is like wrapping a present and not giving it.” ~William Arthur Ward