single digit denim

Back to the gym.
Yesterday, I made my way back.  I should point out that when I go to the gym, I go with a specific goal in mind – distance, calories or time.  Sometimes, I go for intensity, but this is rare.  Occasionally, I have a secondary goal, but I’m allowed to let go of that if I’m just feeling beat.

Yesterday, my goal was 60 minutes of whatever I happened to do (be it treadmill, elliptical, whatever).  I got on one of those treadmills where you can set a goal, only for some reason i set a distance goal of 3.8 miles.  I could see that given the pace I wanted to go, it would take me OVER an hour to wrap up.

So I ran.

Go me, right?  Sure.  Only, true to past experience, this caused some serious pain.  My hip started going all out of whack – similar to the motion if you were wearing a heel on one foot, and a flat on the other.  My foot cramps and calf cramps of months past were there too unfortunately.

As it was my second gym visit in a month, I cut myself some slack and stopped at 30 minutes.  I hate doing this, as I don’t get that solid accomplished feeling I like so much, but I’m glad I showed up.

Hello again.  I have once again abandoned my readers for what feels like too-long of a time.  I’m sorry!
My weight: it went up, but it’s come back down in the past three weeks.  It steadily dropped due primarily to tennis and healthy eating decisions.  I’m not quite back in the 230s, but I am confident I will get there!

Me eating:  Well, making better decisions, as mentioned within “weight,” has helped, but consistency is key for me.  And balance.  If I have a heavy breakfast, I lighten up lunch and dinner.  It seems intuitive, but it’s still challenging after years of bad habits.

My skin: Looking good!  I saw the dermatologist last week and she prescribed my last month of Accutane.  I have about 14 days of pills I missed over the first three months, so about 6 total weeks to go.  My skin is silky smooth and I have the added bonus of not having to wash my hair every day (unless I work out of course)!

I would like to get back to a place of near daily workouts, as well as calorie counting.  I have the time, but I am still tempted to pack my schedule with social and church events, not to mention dates with the man.

And of course I would like to find time to blog.
Oh, did I mention I’m doing a 36+ week Bible study with nightly homework (well, 6 nights with a day of rest ), and weekly group study?  Yep.

The last few Fridays, I have stepped on the scale for my weekly weigh-in.  And, there has not been much change at all.  And I think (as I’m behind in my denim/size goal), “Another wasted week.”  A week where I let work get the best of me, in terms of letting me talk myself out of working out.

Let me whine for a second.  Most days, my intention is to work out in the morning, but come the end of the work day before, something inevitably comes up that I do not like doing from home (it’s stuff that ideally requires a desk, or two screens, or print outs), none of which I really have at home.  And so, I opt to take care of it at the office early the next day – thus preventing me from working out.  And this is a very repeatable offense – on my part (for letting it happen) and work (same reason).

Here is what I want to work on over the next two weeks:

1. Fiber-packed cereal for breakfast (with Wheat Germ)
2. Eating lunch “in” for work days
3. Having frozen meals at the ready for dinner  at work for the days I have after-work commitments
4. Tennis 2-3 times per week
5. Gym 2-3 times per week

I would really like to find a step class in the morning.  Body Pump (light weight lifting to music) feels amazingly empowering, but it can make me sore.  Step is more about footwork, and I think will improve my speed and dexterity in Tennis.

ONE SIX.

This is the next size I want to be in: 16.  I had meant to be there by August 31st, but that did not happen.  My 18s are actually a little snug.  My 20s feel great :-/ (though a little loose).  To be fair to myself, this brand was a “small” 20, compared to my “control” brand.

Still,  one-six.  This is the number I want to see on that little white tag in my jeans (or the tag stuck to the belt line, or the long sticker stuck to the back of the thigh – I’ll take any of them ).

Yesterday was a good day (as I sleepily reported last night).  This morning got off to a good start, except for some, err…, tummy issues as a result of not having enough fiber.  I did take a pill to help with that and it seems to be resolved.

Caffeine is still a challenge for me.  I feel very productive when I have it, but I don’t drink soda, don’t care for coffee, and don’t find that plain ol’ iced tea does the trick.  I don’t care for hot tea (or hot coffee for that matter), which is the most convenient and free source of coffee.  And, as many blog posts about iced coffee point out, hot coffee poured over ice is not the same as cold-brew.  Today, I’m having a coffee-shop purchased iced coffee, which is (1) bearable and (2) unfortunately sweetened as I try to make myself like the flavor of cold coffee and (3) not the ultimate solution as it whittles away at my pocketbook.

Accutane is going alright, although I’m still getting break-outs.  I THINK it is as a result of Fish Oil; I take FO for the Omega 3s, but it also makes my skin a little oily.  I never liked the oiliness before, but when my skin is this dry, I thought it would be nice.  However, I’m cutting that out of my routine to determine if it is the culprit.  The thing with Accutane is, I need two consecutive months of no breakouts before my dermatologist and I can discuss coming off the meds.  And, I’d like to be off the meds.  However, the trick here is be on it long enough so that it works for a long, long time.

ONE SIX.