Monday, March 31, 2008

Signs, signs, everwhere there's signs....

Eating healthy foods would be a whole lot easier if there were no such thing as a fast food commercial, or husbands. Husbands love to bring home foods that are a complete death knell to all the willpower in the world. Mine loves to tempt me with the fact that I wouldn’t have to cook. Not fair! What mom in her right mind would rather cook some boring, healthy meal than get to eat scrumptious food someone else made? Ok, well, some people out there are fabulous cooks, and the junk from take-out places is far lower than their standards. But for me, the take-out is somehow more glamorous - sad, yes?

Then there are the commercials. It kills me how long the thought of a hamburger stays imbedded in my brain after a fleeting glimpse of one on television. It’s crazy. And then the hamburger begins to enter into my thoughts for the rest of the day. Time to dust the hamburger, oops, I mean the dresser…..time to turn on the hamburger, oops, I mean the dryer. I know - that completely makes me sound like a mental case. However, it’s true, I took marketing classes in college, and the fact that those images remain in my mind like that just means they are doing what they’re supposed to do. They’re supposed to make people crave, desire, and drool over that hamburger. And let’s face it – fast food burgers are sub-par. I can definitely make a much better tasting one at home, on my grill. For some reason, though, I still only want THAT store’s hamburger.

So in my constant battle with the commercials and my husband’s cravings, I’ve managed to find some sort of balance. Meaning, the scale is headed in the right direction, even though I give in to those impulses from time to time. It’s sad that I’m surprised by this, but it’s such a simple answer as to how, too. It’s exercise. That is the ONE cure-all out there for the expanding waistline. No pill, diet, program, or hypnosis tape will work as fabulously as merely putting on your cross trainers and going out for a brisk walk. Adding in some squats will make your next morning painful, but it sure improves the rear view.

Why didn’t I remember how good it felt to get to eat a little more because I was working out? Why do I let myself stop working out, ever? The answer, unfortunately, is laziness. Being a couch potato is far easier than hopping onto a treadmill or lifting some weights. Surely just sitting still and watching television is easier than, say, doing sit ups while you’re watching.

It sounds like such a small change, doesn’t it? Here’s the big secret – it works. I feel like I’m the incredible shrinking woman because of my new addiction to Spin, and karate. Add to that the fact that I’m sleeping better at night too, and it feels like I already hit my goal weight. I can’t believe how much I’m challenging myself with lately. I even took karate, AND hit the gym, AND swam this past Saturday! And I signed up to run a 5K! Take it from me, I don’t normally run unless there is something large and fast chasing me. But something in my head said, you can do that, you can run 3 miles. The strangest part is that I still have days where I have to push myself to do it. I can’t fathom why, since it feels so darn good when I’m done. Guess the old couch potato roots are still there. I need some of that weed killer to get rid of those tubers, I tell you!

Thursday, March 27, 2008

Does this skirt go with my bike?

Hi, I'm Deanna, and I'm a Spin addict. Spin, for those who don't know, is basically biking. On a stationary bike with no brakes. And a 45 pound flywheel. So you can't stop. And the seat hurts your rear end so bad until you do it a few weeks that you wind up standing a lot. Oh, and there's music. In a perfect world (or gym) you have a kickass instructor with killer music. I happen to go to a perfect gym! YAY Spin!

I hurt my knee in karate a few weeks back, and my orthopedist wanted me to rest it for 2 weeks. I was somewhat happy to get to slack at karate (I like it, but it's more for my hubby and kids). But not being able to Spin? TORTURE.

So last night my two weeks were up. My knee felt pretty sound, and I was given the clearance to go to Spin as long as I wore my neoprene brace. YAY!

Well, yay until I tried to get dressed to go. None of the workout pants I own that fit me will fit over the brace. And the brace both does not work, and does not feel good, over my workout pants.

I wound up having to break out the - GASP - bike shorts. Yes, yes - I still own bike shorts. How very 1990's of me, yes? The problems with my bike shorts are many. They're a half size too small. They're too short, even when I'm thinner. They're also OLD. Read: they are getting thin in the butt. Uh oh.

I put them on, put on my huge t-shirt, and my brace. I wish I could have gotten a picture. It was spectacularly horrible. Picture, if you will, pasty white long legs, topped by what looks like a big gray beach ball. I looked like a black and white picture of a lollipop.

So I started trying to find something, anything, to wear over these shorts. I'm unfortunately between sizes at the moment, so the pickings were slim.

I settled onto my favorite work out SKIRT. Yes, you read that right - SKIRT. There's background to the skirt - bear with me, please.

I like to participate in Breast Cancer support walks and runs. I've walked the 3-Day twice (yup, 120 miles total!), crewed it once, and walked the Y-Me Mother's Day race last year (and will run it this year). The skirt I found last night is from last year's race. I've worn skirts to these events because I feel bad for the women and men who must walk behind me. I can't wear loose shorts, unfortunately, because my thighs rub together. There, I said it. Lovely picture, right? So I usually wind up wearing tight workout pants, but don't want people behind me to have to stare at my rear encased in stretchy fabric. It's not a sight for the faint of heart, if you get my drift. So I made skirts with pink ribbons and other things on them to wear over the pants/shorts. (The one I made for my last 3-Day has "Hey Cancer, Kiss THIS!" on it, and big ol' pair of lips on my cheek.)

So I put on this skirt with my little pink ribbons and looked in the mirror. It was laughable, but still better, to my way of thinking, than the scary bike shorts.

I got the kids ready, got into the car, all of it, figuring my spin instructor would get a kick out of the skirt, since she has a thing for tiaras! Alas, it was not meant to be! Sadly, as I was getting my younger son out of the car, he sneezed. On me. More specifically, on my WHITE skirt. There was no wiping it off. This skirt needs to be laundered. So I had to take the darn thing off and wear my scary, stretchy, nearly-see-through pants!

I wish I had pictures - but then again, the imagination is far more colorful I'm sure.

I do believe I'll be heading to the store prior to next week's class - or else carrying the skirt until I get the kids into the day care center.

Wednesday, March 26, 2008

My First Blog!

Aww, momentous occasion! This is my FIRST blog. But I'm following the trend, bowing to the peer pressure. As a hopeful-author, I'm thinking this will be good for me, yes?

So a few things.

Why the title? I'll tell you why. Carrots should taste like cheetos. They're the same color. Why is one healthy, and the other has more calories, fat, etc? Whoever came up with healthy food needs to do a bit more R&D and come out with "New and Improved - Carrots!" Extra strength lettuce would be nice too. Basically, I'm always in a battle with my mind and body to get to - and then maintain - a good, healthy level of fitness and weight. So I'm sure a lot of what I post here will wind up referring to my frustrations, or successes, of that struggle. Battle, more like.

Anyway. I'm Deanna - I just turned 31. I am a mostly-stay-at-home-mom to two boys, ages 7 and 4. When I say mostly-stay-at-home-mom I mean that I DO work from home to make extra money for the family. But it's not a full time job or anything, so I pretty much refer to myself as a SAHM.

My husband is 37. He is also losing weight, or at least - working on it! He also travels for work quite a bit - so again, that will probably wind up somewhere on this blog!

So that's a small snapshot of the person at the keyboard. I hope that what I write will entertain - please comment and critique! Thanks!

 
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