I had my weekly morning training session with Sam this morning. Before I headed to the studio I stepped on the scale at home and was pleased to see an almost 6 lb loss for the week. Once I got to the studio and weighed with Sam, his scale showed a 7 lb loss! Either way, I'll take it!
His diet wasn't really all that hard to follow. I got used to the hunger feeling and having very few options in menu choices. I discovered a few things new that I liked, which is always a plus. I think one of the biggest things I'm taking away from this is while I generally do always eat pretty healthy, it really comes down to making the best choice from my options, and not just an okay choice if I want to see dramatic results.
So now I'm entering week 2 of the Sam Plan. There are a few additions to my meal plan. For my snack, now I can eat a whole orange instead of just a half. I also can eat an apple for my second snack. Hopefully this will mean my hands will smell less and less like oranges all day long. I can also eat a small serving of yogurt as a late afternoon/early evening snack. That will really be good on boot camp days because I'm used to having just a little something an hour or so before, which I have not been able to do this week.
Sam and I also discussed the cheating factor. I told him that I still want to eat my Chicken Fried Rice at Wanfu on Friday night and that on Sunday evening I have a going away dinner for a co-worker at Baby A's, and I wanted to be able to eat Mexican food. He okayed both of these dinners, which is fabulous! I haven't felt guilty about my little cheats (1/2 a piece of cheesecake yesterday, a cookie on Tuesday, a 1/3 of a big cookie on Monday) because I've been eating so few calories and still exercising. Since I'm having to big cheat dinners this week, I'm going to try to limit it to that and nothing else. Wish me luck!
Sam has satellite radio in the studio and for my first few months of training he kept it pretty ghetto. The last month or so he's had it set on the 90's Alternative station and that has taken me back to my high school days! This morning while I was warming up on the treadmill, Our Lady Peace's Superman came on. I was really shocked to find that I still knew all of the words even though it's been YEARS since I heard that song. Naturally, I thought about how I was first introduced to OLP by Keaton Modi back during our mIRC days. It made me giggle to think of his silver Eclipse with the blue racing stripes and the time he came to meet everyone he chatted with on mIRC at my house and we met him in the driveway and he stayed in his car. My mIRC kiddos will always hold a special place in my heart, so many hours of my life in high school and early college were spent in our various chat rooms. Sometimes I just really feel the need to call someone a DCW, randomly kick them, or slap them around a bit with a large trout. Oh, the memories...
Thursday, August 21, 2008
Tuesday, August 19, 2008
Creature of habit
Have you ever thought about how we easily fall into our routines? I am very much a creature of habit. In the shower I wash my hair first, then condition, then wash everything else while the conditioner sets in. When working a closing shift at Bath and Body Works, I always start with completing the Merchandise Sales Report (it lists everything we sold during the day so the shelves can be restocked), I then gather the trash, and after the store closes I sweep first.
Since I've begun going to boot camp with Bunker I've gotten into a weekly dinner schedule, too. On Mondays and Wednesdays we stop at Potbelly for sandwiches and on Friday we have Wanfu Chinese. At Potbelly I always get the Turkey and Swiss on wheat and at Wanfu I have the Chicken Fried Rice. You would think eating at the same place every week and eating the same thing would get old after almost a year of doing so, but it hasn't! I look forward to my weekly Potbelly and definitely my weekly Wanfu. We've gotten to know the people that work at both places and occasionally we benefit from free stuff, which is always appreciated.
Last night I realized that I had fallen into a routine that I wasn't even aware of. Bunker, Andrea, and I take turns paying for our food. I hadn't realized that I had started always paying on Monday, Andrea on Wednesday and Bunker on Friday. We get to the register and I go for my wallet and look up and realize that no one is even looking at their wallet. I had every intention of paying for it, but made a comment about how no one even attempted to pay for it themselves and that's when the payment schedule was pointed out to me.
I like having my routines, it makes life more comfortable. However, given my new Sam Plan diet, I did vary from my usual turkey and swiss sandwich last night. I had a veggie salad topped with some turkey and it was very tasty! I didn't even end up using dressing! Speaking of which, as of this morning I've lost 4 lbs, so all is going well. It hasn't been as bad as I thought it would be and I'm getting used to the almost perpetual state of hunger that I'm in.
Since I've begun going to boot camp with Bunker I've gotten into a weekly dinner schedule, too. On Mondays and Wednesdays we stop at Potbelly for sandwiches and on Friday we have Wanfu Chinese. At Potbelly I always get the Turkey and Swiss on wheat and at Wanfu I have the Chicken Fried Rice. You would think eating at the same place every week and eating the same thing would get old after almost a year of doing so, but it hasn't! I look forward to my weekly Potbelly and definitely my weekly Wanfu. We've gotten to know the people that work at both places and occasionally we benefit from free stuff, which is always appreciated.
Last night I realized that I had fallen into a routine that I wasn't even aware of. Bunker, Andrea, and I take turns paying for our food. I hadn't realized that I had started always paying on Monday, Andrea on Wednesday and Bunker on Friday. We get to the register and I go for my wallet and look up and realize that no one is even looking at their wallet. I had every intention of paying for it, but made a comment about how no one even attempted to pay for it themselves and that's when the payment schedule was pointed out to me.
I like having my routines, it makes life more comfortable. However, given my new Sam Plan diet, I did vary from my usual turkey and swiss sandwich last night. I had a veggie salad topped with some turkey and it was very tasty! I didn't even end up using dressing! Speaking of which, as of this morning I've lost 4 lbs, so all is going well. It hasn't been as bad as I thought it would be and I'm getting used to the almost perpetual state of hunger that I'm in.
Friday, August 15, 2008
The Sam Plan
Every Thursday morning I drag myself out of bed at 6:30 am and head to Body Mechanix for my weekly personal training session with Sam Houston (yes, that's his real name). I've been doing this since Sam left 24 hour fitness and opened his own studio in January. The fact that I have actually made it out of bed every single Thursday morning for the last 7 months is amazing in itself because I am NOT a morning person, and sometimes I contemplate marrying the snooze button on my alarm.
While I am in good physical condition, have lost some inches, and feel great about myself... the scale pretty much refuses to budge. It can be really frustrating hovering around the same 5 lbs or so for a few months, but I've kept my sanity by realizing that it's okay if it comes off slow... that means it will be just that much harder to put it all back on.
I guess Sam has had enough, though. Yesterday he put me on a CRAZY diet for the next week or two. His goal? For me to lose 10 lbs really fast. I'm going to just assume that he knows what he's doing since he's been doing this for quite some time... plus it's just 2 weeks, and I'd love to see the scale make some movement, too.
I was going to wait until Saturday to start this craziness, but decided to get a jump start this morning since I got to leave work a little after 8:30 last night so I had some time to do some shopping. I am going to state upfront that I do plan to cheat tonight.... I need my Wanfu Chicken Fried Rice! But I'm going to make that my one and only cheat this week, I will even refrain from my twice-a-week trips to Potbelly after boot camp with Bunker and Andrea.
Here's what I'm going to be eating:
Breakfast: 2-3 eggs, cooked however I want. So that means I'm going to be eating scrambled eggs, because that's the only way I can cook them! Ha!
Mid-morning snack: 1/2 an orange
Lunch: Any kind of protein (chicken, fish, etc.), side salad with Italian dressing
Mid-afternoon snack: other 1/2 of the orange
Dinner: Any kind of protein (chicken, fish, etc.), side salad with no dressing
I think my post-dinner snack will probably be my arm. Maybe I'll move onto a foot or something as the week progresses. I think by letting everyone in on the fact that I have this crazy diet for the next two weeks might pressure me into sticking to it, hopefully. Wish me luck!
While I am in good physical condition, have lost some inches, and feel great about myself... the scale pretty much refuses to budge. It can be really frustrating hovering around the same 5 lbs or so for a few months, but I've kept my sanity by realizing that it's okay if it comes off slow... that means it will be just that much harder to put it all back on.
I guess Sam has had enough, though. Yesterday he put me on a CRAZY diet for the next week or two. His goal? For me to lose 10 lbs really fast. I'm going to just assume that he knows what he's doing since he's been doing this for quite some time... plus it's just 2 weeks, and I'd love to see the scale make some movement, too.
I was going to wait until Saturday to start this craziness, but decided to get a jump start this morning since I got to leave work a little after 8:30 last night so I had some time to do some shopping. I am going to state upfront that I do plan to cheat tonight.... I need my Wanfu Chicken Fried Rice! But I'm going to make that my one and only cheat this week, I will even refrain from my twice-a-week trips to Potbelly after boot camp with Bunker and Andrea.
Here's what I'm going to be eating:
Breakfast: 2-3 eggs, cooked however I want. So that means I'm going to be eating scrambled eggs, because that's the only way I can cook them! Ha!
Mid-morning snack: 1/2 an orange
Lunch: Any kind of protein (chicken, fish, etc.), side salad with Italian dressing
Mid-afternoon snack: other 1/2 of the orange
Dinner: Any kind of protein (chicken, fish, etc.), side salad with no dressing
I think my post-dinner snack will probably be my arm. Maybe I'll move onto a foot or something as the week progresses. I think by letting everyone in on the fact that I have this crazy diet for the next two weeks might pressure me into sticking to it, hopefully. Wish me luck!
Thursday, August 14, 2008
For my furry four-legged friends
It's hard to believe that the kitties have been in my life for two years now! I never thought I would be a cat person, pets have never held my attention for very long... but now when I'm gone from home for a few days I miss my furry little friends. And let's face it, with the romantic horizon pretty bleak at the moment, they might be all I have in life for quite some time.
I had considered getting a cat for a while before I moved in with Ashley. Ashley and I had discussed it some before we were roommates and shortly after moving into our place in Cedar Park, Ashley decided it was time for cats. We went on a couple outings to a few animal shelters before we journeyed to the Austin Humane Society that fateful morning. Ashley had decided that we were each going to get a cat, both female, and both sisters. We saw Smokey and Giada (they were already named) and they were so pretty! We took them to play for a bit and decided that those were our kitties.
It turns out that Ashley has a shorter attention span when it comes to pets than I do, and after about two months she was pretty much done with the kitties. She still did more than her part to take care of them... feeding, watering, and cleaning out the litter box, but they didn't get hardly any play time with Ashley. I remember when they were tiny and would lay on my tummy or curl up at my feet when I'd nap on the couch. Now, they're much bigger and they only want to lay on me if I'm petting them.
What amazes me the most about my two cats is how different they are from each other. They really have polar opposite personalities and it's funny to watch them interact. Smokey is the dominant kitty. She always gets to eat first whenever it's feeding time. She waits by the door to greet me almost every day and follows me from room to room wherever I go. She also has never met a stranger and runs up to anyone who enters the apartment and almost always automatically lays on her back for them to rub her belly. I say she's my dog-like cat. She's also an attention-whore and gets jealous any time I'm petting Giada and she'll jump up on the couch next to me or come sit on the back of the chair to remind me that she's there and would love for me to spare some attention.
Giada is afraid of the world. She's very shy and timid when it comes to outsiders, and often hides as soon as someone enters the apartment that she doesn't know. Smokey will jump right into my lap, but Giada prefers to sit on the floor next to the couch looking up and staring at me until I reach down and pick her up and put her in my lap. For discipline, I squirt a water bottle in the cats' faces when they're bad. Giada never has to be sprayed, but she runs away whenever she sees the bottle if I'm going to spray Smokey. I'm constantly saying to Smokey, "Why can't you be more like your sister?" Giada never wakes me up at 5 am, never claws at the furniture, and never tries to go through my purse and pull everything out.
I love my kitties and I'm glad they're in my life. It's fun to have someone to cuddle with when you're lonely and they're actually pretty dang entertaining. Last night as I drifted off to sleep I heard something pawing at the door. I thought Smokey was probably pawing at the book case trying to pull down a book, but it turns out that Giada was pawing at Smokey who was on the outside of the door trying to get in my bedroom but Giada wouldn't let her! Some of the funniest things I've seen have occurred when I've been woken up in the middle of the night to kitty wrestling at my feet. Now if only they could learn how to clean out their litter box themselves, I'd be in heaven!
I had considered getting a cat for a while before I moved in with Ashley. Ashley and I had discussed it some before we were roommates and shortly after moving into our place in Cedar Park, Ashley decided it was time for cats. We went on a couple outings to a few animal shelters before we journeyed to the Austin Humane Society that fateful morning. Ashley had decided that we were each going to get a cat, both female, and both sisters. We saw Smokey and Giada (they were already named) and they were so pretty! We took them to play for a bit and decided that those were our kitties.
It turns out that Ashley has a shorter attention span when it comes to pets than I do, and after about two months she was pretty much done with the kitties. She still did more than her part to take care of them... feeding, watering, and cleaning out the litter box, but they didn't get hardly any play time with Ashley. I remember when they were tiny and would lay on my tummy or curl up at my feet when I'd nap on the couch. Now, they're much bigger and they only want to lay on me if I'm petting them.
What amazes me the most about my two cats is how different they are from each other. They really have polar opposite personalities and it's funny to watch them interact. Smokey is the dominant kitty. She always gets to eat first whenever it's feeding time. She waits by the door to greet me almost every day and follows me from room to room wherever I go. She also has never met a stranger and runs up to anyone who enters the apartment and almost always automatically lays on her back for them to rub her belly. I say she's my dog-like cat. She's also an attention-whore and gets jealous any time I'm petting Giada and she'll jump up on the couch next to me or come sit on the back of the chair to remind me that she's there and would love for me to spare some attention.
Giada is afraid of the world. She's very shy and timid when it comes to outsiders, and often hides as soon as someone enters the apartment that she doesn't know. Smokey will jump right into my lap, but Giada prefers to sit on the floor next to the couch looking up and staring at me until I reach down and pick her up and put her in my lap. For discipline, I squirt a water bottle in the cats' faces when they're bad. Giada never has to be sprayed, but she runs away whenever she sees the bottle if I'm going to spray Smokey. I'm constantly saying to Smokey, "Why can't you be more like your sister?" Giada never wakes me up at 5 am, never claws at the furniture, and never tries to go through my purse and pull everything out.
I love my kitties and I'm glad they're in my life. It's fun to have someone to cuddle with when you're lonely and they're actually pretty dang entertaining. Last night as I drifted off to sleep I heard something pawing at the door. I thought Smokey was probably pawing at the book case trying to pull down a book, but it turns out that Giada was pawing at Smokey who was on the outside of the door trying to get in my bedroom but Giada wouldn't let her! Some of the funniest things I've seen have occurred when I've been woken up in the middle of the night to kitty wrestling at my feet. Now if only they could learn how to clean out their litter box themselves, I'd be in heaven!
Monday, August 11, 2008
Weekend with the fam...
I spent the weekend in Lufkin this weekend because my little cousin Blake got married! It's weird that the baby (he's 22) is the first one to get married, but I guess stranger things have happened. While I was home I was able to get in lots of quality fam time including a dress-up playdate with Ella and Eric and lunch at the cabin on Sunday. I love my family and enjoy the time I get to spend with them when I visit. It would be much nicer if it didn't require a four hour car ride to get there, though! Thought y'all would enjoy seeing some pictures from this weekend.
Eric and Ella
Eric and I playing "Pretty, Pretty Princess"
First cousins at Blake's wedding: Jay, Brad, Blake, Amanda, Me, Courtney, and her daughter Kirsten
Eric and Ella
Eric and I playing "Pretty, Pretty Princess"
We played dress-up and Ella dressed Eric as a bride. The dress was too long so Mama Brook made some adjustments. He went from bride to stripper in 2.5 seconds flat!
First cousins at Blake's wedding: Jay, Brad, Blake, Amanda, Me, Courtney, and her daughter Kirsten
First cousin on the other side of the fam, Me and Kathryn
My fam at the wedding. We clean up nice!
Another family outing, Nac for my Chi Omega GrandLil Sister Amber's Graduation
Ella, Eric, and Cadence rocking after lunch at the cabin.
Friday, August 8, 2008
R.I.P., Billy Clyde...
Texas lost a great political mind last night. My friend, Jim Warren (known as Billy Clyde in the blogging world), passed away a little after 9 last evening with complications due to liver disease. Marcia and I had plans to visit him this afternoon, guess it just goes to show that you shouldn't put off until tomorrow what needs to be done today.
I met Jim when I began working at the Capitol in Representative Talton's office. He was a frequent visitor to our office during Session and was always entertaining. Hailing from Huntsville, he immediately took a liking to me because we shared East Texas roots. He loved to talk about Charlie Wilson and Arthur Temple and Lufkin football. Marcia has always carried the nickname of "Big Mama" and Jim quickly deemed me as "East Texas Mama".
His family has long been involved with Texas politics and Jim boasted quite the political resume himself. Like a lot of people lobbying at the Capitol, Jim worked his way around the Capitol for a good bit of his adult life. He knew just about everyone who mattered anything to Texas politics.
I will miss my friend. I will always remember him for the countless (and slightly inappropriate) marriage proposals I received, lunches at the Austin Club that were never complete without their famous Pecan Ball dessert, his unique laugh and his humorous anecdotes, and his insightful and hilarious blogs about Texas politics (you can check them out at www.yougottaplayhurt.blogspot.com and www.politicalhottubparty.blogspot.com). RIP, Jim, you will long be remembered in the Pink Dome.
I met Jim when I began working at the Capitol in Representative Talton's office. He was a frequent visitor to our office during Session and was always entertaining. Hailing from Huntsville, he immediately took a liking to me because we shared East Texas roots. He loved to talk about Charlie Wilson and Arthur Temple and Lufkin football. Marcia has always carried the nickname of "Big Mama" and Jim quickly deemed me as "East Texas Mama".
His family has long been involved with Texas politics and Jim boasted quite the political resume himself. Like a lot of people lobbying at the Capitol, Jim worked his way around the Capitol for a good bit of his adult life. He knew just about everyone who mattered anything to Texas politics.
I will miss my friend. I will always remember him for the countless (and slightly inappropriate) marriage proposals I received, lunches at the Austin Club that were never complete without their famous Pecan Ball dessert, his unique laugh and his humorous anecdotes, and his insightful and hilarious blogs about Texas politics (you can check them out at www.yougottaplayhurt.blogspot.com and www.politicalhottubparty.blogspot.com). RIP, Jim, you will long be remembered in the Pink Dome.
Monday, August 4, 2008
It's going to be a dry month...
I have decided that I am not going to drink during the month of August. No, I do not feel like I am an alcoholic nor do I think I have a problem with drinking too much. I am doing this to get a jump start on my 1/2 marathon training and to get back on track after a hectic and slightly lazy summer. I gave up alcohol for Lent and didn't have a problem, so I'm confident that this month long abstention will be a breeze.
Most people who are not drinking find it difficult to go out to bars and have fun. It doesn't really phase me much. Friday after boot camp and our weekly Wanfu dinner, I ventured downtown to meet up with my friend Michelle and some of her friends. People-watching can be quite entertaining when you're completely sober and I don't mind playing the role of designated driver one bit.
The rest of the weekend went really well with working at Bath and Body Works, going for a little 4 1/2 mile run with some friends, and enjoying dinner and a little Rock Band playing at Bunker's on Saturday night.
I'm very impressed with myself and how well I did on the 4 1/2 run. Two weekends ago Andrea and I went for a run at Brushy Creek and I was struggling to get a mile. This weekend, I just kept telling myself to keep a steady pace and to not push myself to run too fast and I did MUCH better. I walked less than 1/2 a mile of the run! I think the time difference also helped. Two weeks ago we ran at 8:30 a.m. and the last half of the run the sun was beating down on my face. Saturday we started at 7:30 pm and it was almost dark by the time we finished... much more pleasant to run in! I also kept a more positive outlook about the run with having Andrea, Sarah and Drea there.
1 weekend down, 4 to go!
Most people who are not drinking find it difficult to go out to bars and have fun. It doesn't really phase me much. Friday after boot camp and our weekly Wanfu dinner, I ventured downtown to meet up with my friend Michelle and some of her friends. People-watching can be quite entertaining when you're completely sober and I don't mind playing the role of designated driver one bit.
The rest of the weekend went really well with working at Bath and Body Works, going for a little 4 1/2 mile run with some friends, and enjoying dinner and a little Rock Band playing at Bunker's on Saturday night.
I'm very impressed with myself and how well I did on the 4 1/2 run. Two weekends ago Andrea and I went for a run at Brushy Creek and I was struggling to get a mile. This weekend, I just kept telling myself to keep a steady pace and to not push myself to run too fast and I did MUCH better. I walked less than 1/2 a mile of the run! I think the time difference also helped. Two weeks ago we ran at 8:30 a.m. and the last half of the run the sun was beating down on my face. Saturday we started at 7:30 pm and it was almost dark by the time we finished... much more pleasant to run in! I also kept a more positive outlook about the run with having Andrea, Sarah and Drea there.
1 weekend down, 4 to go!
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