Watermelon Waistline

In the Words of Paula Abdul…

December 14th, 2010

As per usual, following my two steps forward from last week, I’ve taken two steps back this week. Well, a step and a half.

For the third Rally Point, I’m up 3.5 pounds to 182.5. This is almost as insane as last week’s five pound loss, but not a good insane like that was.

Most of the week I did really well with my eating, and my exercise is almost always on point. In fact, on Thursday I was down even further than on Monday to 178.5.

Which means that I gained four pounds in four days.

Just like last week when I said I didn’t believe that I lost 5 pounds of fat, I don’t believe that I gained four pounds of fat this week. But something has certainly gone awry this week.

I’d like to blame it on the fact that I’m female and that this is a ‘special’ time of the month, but I doubt more than half a pound is from that. Let’s be generous and say a full pound. What’s the cause of those other three pounds?

FOOD, that’s what.

On Saturday we got together with a few other couples for dinner: Lots of delicious hors d’oeuvres covering a large table, that we all stood around for three hours. One of my main techniques to thwart excess food ingestion at parties is to not linger around the food. That was nearly impossible at this party, and therefore my brain kept rationalizing eating more and more and I gave in to the deliciousness: “Oh I’ll just have one of those.” Two minutes later… “Man, everyone’s commenting on how good that is – I should try it.” Another five minutes and “I don’t want to be rude; I should try the thing the newest guest brought.” And on and on.

Then there were the desserts. I COULD have just had the one cookie (lady locks, my favorite!). But I also had a little sliver of an almond torte cake (so good). And then later I also had a brownie. There were cupcakes, too, but I refrained from eating any of those. We didn’t take any desserts home, either, so I guess that’s something.

I also had a glass of wine and two glasses of cranberry juice with ginger ale.

Am I beating myself up over my choices at one little party? Not really, because it’s just one party. But – if I can so easily fall off the wagon – so to speak – at one party, what happens when it’s a two or three parties? If you think about it, the holidays are really just a long string of parties that at some point, stop being called “parties” and are just “days”.

Also, I know that those choices affected my weight yesterday, and therefore my ultimate goal. Was the cake that good? No. It wasn’t.

So this week, I’ll do better. Over the weekend, too. It’s the last “easy” weekend of the year, since next weekend is Christmas (holy crap!) and the weekend after that is New Year’s. Hell, if I can’t control myself on normal weekends, those two will be detrimental to my goal, so I must prove to myself that I’m stronger than that.

Who’s with me?

Posted in Personal Stories, Trials and Tribulations, Weight Loss | No Comments »

Chugging Along

December 6th, 2010

It’s Monday again, which means it’s the second Rally Point in the Holiday Assault Challenge! There are a bunch of you out there who are officially in this, and a bunch more who have indicated to me that you’re playing along on your own. Regardless, I hope you’re keeping your health in mind as you enjoy your holiday parties and cookie exchanges!

I did damn well this week. I went to a cocktail party on Friday hosted by one of my husband’s coworkers and was very conscious of what I ate. I didn’t deprive myself of anything I really wanted, but I was discriminating as I made my way around the hors d’oeuvre tables.

A little trick? Hold out on the things that you love but aren’t good for you as long as possible. Once you get the taste in your mouth it’s harder to resist, and the longer you wait, the less time you’ll have the taste in your mouth, so the less of it you’ll eat. Probably.

Last week I was 184. This week I weighed in at 179. That’s five pounds! Yay!

I don’t actually believe I lost five pounds of fat, but more likely that my two pound gain last week was due to excess sodium from Thanksgiving.

Whatever the reason, I’m thrilled to be back in the 170s and I’m pleased to be down three pounds from the start of my little challenge just two weeks ago.

So how are the rest of you doing? Any issues that are causing road blocks to your success? Maybe I can help! It’s worth a shot, right?

Posted in Personal Stories, Trials and Tribulations, Weight Loss | No Comments »

Suicides

December 5th, 2010

At Boot Camp on Friday, we did something I’ve never done before: “suicides”. Let me tell you, this exercise is appropriately named.

Often done on a basketball court, this is a speed and agility exercise. There are a lot of variations, but here’s what we did: We stood on a line at one end of a long, flat surface. There were more parallel lines going across the floor about every 5 feet. You sprint to the first line, then sprint backwards back to the starting line. Then you sprint to the second line, then backwards back to the start. Then sprint to the third line, and backwards to the start, etc. There were about 8 lines altogether.

We did this as part of a circuit: The suicides were the first exercise, then we did punches from a horse stance (not at all challenging for me considering I’ve been doing Kung Fu for over five years…), and the third station was step ups or jump ups.

When the instructor explained what we were doing, it didn’t sound too difficult. But holy shit – run suicides four or five times and you’ll understand where the name came from.

Honestly, I was incredibly grateful for the punching station because I needed a chance to recover. The instructor kept saying that our legs might feel like jello, but it wasn’t my legs that were causing me grief – my chest hurt (not so much that I was worried, but enough to remind me that I still have a ways to go in the fitness department!)

I didn’t like the pain, but I did, you know? It felt great to push myself that hard. And I love that I found a high-intensity exercise that will help with both my speed and agility, two areas in which I know I could use some help.

I’ll tell you this much: I’ll be doing more suicides in the near future, whether in class or out. And I’m looking forward to tomorrow’s class!

Posted in Personal Stories, Workouts | 1 Comment »

The Battle of Turkey Hill

November 29th, 2010

You’ve heard the phrase “Nobody’s perfect”, right?

Just call me nobody.

Last Monday, for the start of the Holiday Assault Challenge, I weighed 182. This morning, I’m up two pounds to 184.

Obviously I’m not thrilled about this, but I know it could be a lot worse. I feel like I did okay over the Thanksgiving holiday. My husband and I were in Buffalo visiting my family, and if you know anything about Buffalo, you know you have to eat a lot in order to stay warm.

hahah I kid.

Seriously, though: Was I perfect? No. Was I awful? No. I ate more calories than an average Thursday, but that’s not at all surprising. In fact, I think that’s the idea behind Thanksgiving. Why else would you cook for 10 hours?

And yes, I want to live a healthy lifestyle. But I think that if I completely deprived myself on Thanksgiving, I wouldn’t be living the life I wanted. Again, I didn’t go crazy, but did I eat a piece of pie? Hell yeah. Did I also eat a piece of pie on Friday? Nope!

That’s the thing about special occasions: They’re just one day. So enjoy it (without overindulging) and then get back on track as quickly as possible.

This is me, getting back on track. Mark my words that next week, my weight will be lower, not higher.

Cadets: Today is your first Weekly Rally Point. Send me your weight by midnight tonight! And don’t fret if it’s higher than last week – just do better. (kimberly@watermelonwaistline.com)

Posted in Holiday Assault Challenge, Trials and Tribulations | 2 Comments »

Set a Goal!

November 23rd, 2010

Good Morning, Recruits!

Special Commendations to those of you who sent me their starting weights yesterday! I’m pleasantly surprised by the turnout – especially since I convinced myself I lost most of my readers during my blogging hiatus.

If there are any others out there who neglected to send in their starting weights yesterday but who want to join in, you still can! Email me at kimberly@watermelonwaistline.com.

Next Objective: Set your goals! I mentioned a few possible goals for this challenge – Lose a particular amount of weight, prevent a weight gain, etc. Since this isn’t a contest, we don’t all have to have the same goals, so everyone should set their own, personal goal. For instance, my goal is to lose 5 pounds between Thanksgiving and New Year’s. That’s a little less than a pound a week; I’m cutting myself a little slack over the holidays, but I want to start moving in the right direction again.

Think about what, come January, would make you feel great and ready to continue on, and then email me what your personal objective is (for those of you who didn’t include your goal in your first email).

That’s all I have for now. Keep up the good work, troops!

This is Captain Werner, signing off.

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Holiday Assault Challenge: Start

November 22nd, 2010

Today is the official start of the Holiday Assault Challenge! If you want to get motivated and be held accountable to someone (me!) regarding your eating and exercise habits over the next 6 weeks, join in! Just email me your starting weight at kimberly@watermelonwaistline.com. A number of you have already sent me your current weight, but there are a few others out there who said they wanted to participate that I haven’t heard from today… you know who you are :)

Again, this is not a contest. It’s a personal challenge, from me to you, to be aware of what you’re putting in your mouth and how much exercise you’re getting in during the holiday season. For most people, eating right and exercising is even more difficult than usual during the holidays, what with all the parties and the shopping and the decking of halls.

Most Americans gain weight over the next 6 weeks – many as much as 7-12 pounds! – but you don’t have to be one of them. Take the Holiday Assault Challenge and be confident that when you start out 2011, you won’t have to “undo” the damage you caused over the last 2 months.

As I stated in my introduction to this challenge, your weight will not be shared with anyone else. However, I’m asking you all to share your weights with me, I think it’s only fair that I share mine with you. You might recall (or notice under that photo of me in the corner…) that I was down to 170 pounds earlier this year.

Well, my current weight is 182.

What can I say? Shit happens, folks.

I could be upset or embarrassed about where I am. Ok, full disclosure – I’m a little of both. But more than that, I’m determined to lose those 12 pounds that I regained. There’s no use beating myself up about past mistakes; you can’t unscramble an egg. I know that if I wallow over how much I’ve eaten and how little I’ve exercised, then I won’t be putting my energy into rectifying those bad habits. In fact, if I don’t face where I am today and get back on the right track, I know that in another 2 months I could be up another 12 pounds.

And I won’t let that happen.

So there it is. If you’re embarrassed about sharing your weight with me, stop being silly! I’m just one person (as opposed to the entire internets) and I’ve been a lot of different weights over the years, from as low as 170 to as high as 262.

And every pound in between. Many of them three or four times!

Posted in Holiday Assault Challenge | 2 Comments »

Boot Camp: Second Thoughts

November 20th, 2010

At this point, I’ve taken three boot camp classes. I’m much happier with the second and third classes than I was with the first: They were much more fast-paced and challenging, and I felt like I got a good workout in.

Surprisingly, getting up at 4:30 in the morning hasn’t been all that difficult. And when I get home, I actually feel good: Full of energy and ready to take on the day!

The problem comes around 6pm, when the exhaustion sets in. This past Wednesday, I got so tired at the grocery store after work that I came home, ate something super quick (instead of making the meal I went to the store to buy the ingredients for), and was in bed by 7:30.

And then I sleep until 7:30.

Sleeping for 12 hours straight felt great – and I clearly needed it – but I can’t do that every other day. I also can’t seem to make it to 10pm after getting up at 4:30am. I’ve tried taking naps but I’m so busy with work these days that a midday nap just isn’t in the cards.

The thing is, I’m actually enjoying the class, and – until 6pm or so – I feel great on those days. I can definitely see the benefit of getting up and getting your workout in before work, something I’ve very rarely done prior to this. I just think that it’s too early for me (since I typically sleep in until 8).

But, having this class makes me feel committed to getting up and doing it, whereas if I was working out on my own, I likely wouldn’t get up 9 times out of 10.

Any suggestions? Because if I can’t figure out a way to deal with the tiredness, there’s no way I’ll be able to continue this past my 12 prepaid sessions. And then I’ll be back to self-motivating workouts, which I can do, but it’s not as fun.

Reminder – Official start of the 6-week Holiday Assault Challenge is on Monday! Don’t forget!

Posted in Personal Stories | 3 Comments »

Holiday Assault Challenge

November 18th, 2010

Welcome Cadets!

I’ve heard from a growing number of civilians with complaints about how out of shape they are and that they can’t seem to stop their bad habits. I’m here to tell you that with the holidays rapidly approaching it will only get worse.

Unless you do something to prevent that from happening.

Here is your briefing for your upcoming 6-week mission, should you choose to accept it:

We will be embarking on a challenge to take on the enemies of the holiday season and prevent an encroachment upon our waistlines. In fact, I challenge you cadets to not just defend the current borders, but to take the fight to the enemy and spurn fruitcake, candied yams, and eggnog for a triumphant 6-week weight loss! (Spurn extra helpings of mashed potatoes and pie, too!)

I’ve found that holding myself accountable to others helps tremendously in staying the course. It’s particularly crucial during this time of the year. With that being said, there is no certain amount of weight that you ‘need’ to lose. This is not a contest. This is an individual challenge from me to each of you. I urge you to set a goal for yourself! Maybe your goal is to not gain a single pound over the holidays. Maybe you want to take it a step further and lose 5-10 pounds. It’s completely up to you.

I encourage you all to join in and be held accountable for what you eat and the amount of exercise you get in. Start 2011 feeling great instead 7-12 pounds heavier than you are now… like many Americans will.

Here are the vitals of this mission. Make yourselves familiar with them and prepare yourselves for the jump time and proceeding rally points. Good luck cadets! I know you will be all that you can be in the 6-Week Holiday Assault Challenge.

Jump Time (initial weigh-in): Monday, November 22 (email to kimberly@watermelonwaistline.com by midnight)
Weekly Rally Points (weigh-ins): Weigh in on Mondays (email to me by midnight)
Tour Length: Six weeks. Final weigh-in January 3rd, 2011
Critical Hostile Targets: Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Year’s
WMWG’s (Weapons of Mass Weight Gain): social gatherings, cakes, cookies, PIES, alcohol, family dinners, munching all day long, no exercise, etc
Objectives: Good Eating Habits and an Increase in Activity

Your weight will not be shared with anyone. If you are interested in joining in the 6-Week Holiday Assault Challenge I will do what I can to help you fight the traditional holiday bulge we all fear.

Combat boots not required.

Captain Werner

PS – I swear the theme of this challenge was not inspired by my recent foray into Boot Camp :)

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Boot Camp: First Impressions

November 16th, 2010

Yesterday was my first “boot camp” class. In case you don’t know what that is, wikipedia tells us:

The term ‘boot camp’ is currently used in the fitness industry to describe group fitness classes that promote fat loss, camaraderie and team effort. They are designed to push people a little bit further than they would normally push themselves in the gym alone. Boot Camps often use bodyweight exercises like push ups, squats, suspension training and burpees, interspersed with running and competitive games.

Honestly, I was expecting something super intense that was going to kick my ass.

It wasn’t, and it didn’t.

That’s not to say that it wasn’t a good workout, or that I didn’t enjoy myself, because it was and I did. But it wasn’t the ass-kicking I expected – and was looking forward to. Maybe I’ve been watching The Biggest Loser too much!

The workout we did yesterday started with a strength training circuit with five stations. The stations included things like pushups, squats with resistance bands, lunges and the like. As the instructor explained what we were supposed to do at each station, he kept offering a modified version for those of us whose “first workout” it was, as well as the more advanced version for people who had been there a while. Well, it wasn’t my first workout ever, and I guess I’m not as out of shape as I thought I was, because I did the advanced version of everything.

After that we did some short distance sprinting forwards and backwards. I particularly enjoyed that part, both because I think it will help my running and also because the classes are in a cheerleading gym and the floor was springy.

Again: I enjoyed it, it just wasn’t super intense. If nothing else, I got a workout in where I otherwise might not have. I prepaid for 12 classes (3 a week for 4 weeks), so I’m trying to be optimistic. Apparently every workout is different, so maybe the rest will be more challenging for me? There were three newbies there, after all (myself and N-Cat among them).

I’ll know better in 8 hours, after my second class which starts at 5:30 am. (Have I mentioned that yet?) I’ll be sure to let you know how it goes!

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More Insanity

November 14th, 2010

Yesterday’s run with J-Roc was pretty good. It was fun, at least! Since he hadn’t run since that last 5k we did together either, we decided to do an easy out-and-back two miles. We got to the turnaround one mile in… and then walked back. I think we both wanted to walk at that point, and we both probably could’ve run most of that second mile, but we were enjoying our conversation, and it’s hard to talk when you’re gasping for air!

Oh, and there were no girls yelling mean things out their windows this time.

It felt good to get back out there again. So much so that I got up early and ran again today, finishing before the rain came in. I did an old – short – route I used to run frequently: 1.8 miles in 20 minutes. Slow, to be sure, but I ran nonstop, and I felt good afterwards. That’s really all that matters right now, as far as I’m concerned. I’m sure the distance and slight speed I eventually built up will return with consistent training. I’m optimistic!

Besides running, I’ve signed up for something crazy. Apparantly, my insanity knows no bounds…

I’m taking a boot camp class. I’ve prepaid for 12 hour-long classes, and the first one is tomorrow. At 5:30am.

I don’t know exactly what this class will entail, but I’ve heard some horror stories about boot camp classes and how intense they are. I’ve always secretly wanted to take one, but at this exact point in time, I don’t feel ready for it. I’m pretty sure it’s going to kick my ass.

I’ll keep you posted on the ass-kicking.