Out of Shape Out of Mind?

Unfortunately I achieved my best beach body in March, and no one got to see me in a bikini.  This summer I have spent more time drinking beer than doing cardio.  Basically I'm getting fat.  I'm still hitting up the gym regularly, but not with my former intensity, and I am definitely not eating clean.  My summer job provided me with a college dining hall-style all-you-can-eat-in-one-sitting dinner and I attacked that buffet line like it was going out of style.  I can eat thirteen oatmeal raisin cookies.  After three plates of pasta.  Sometimes I even ordered another dinner after I got home from work.

I am up 10 lbs, which is so not okay.  Starting today, I am publicly announcing (to my -3 readers), that I am going to eat clean, cut down on the alcohol, and take my workouts seriously.  Instead of a carbtastic lunch, I had sliced peaches with Fage 0% yogurt and a drizzle of honey.  Like the Nutri-Grain bar commercial tells us, one good decision leads to a whole day of them.

Just a Civilized Day with My Coworker

Despite an awkward argument over a performance review last evening, A came to stay at my apartment.  We were able to ignore the siren call of karaoke night (thankfully the argument via text message made us a little too late to attend) and get to bed at a reasonable hour.  We had planned the ultimate civilized day since tonight is my last shift at work.

I got up on time.  A did not.  After finishing my morning coffee, I was able to convince him to get out of bed and into his sneakers.  We ran down York and hung a right on 81st Street to check on my car.  Petunia was safely still parked where we had left her and I am happy to report that there was no orange envelope tucked under her windshield wiper.  We continued towards the Park and entered at 79th Street.  A and I ran down through the Zoo and towards Columbus Circle.  We kept going, dodging couples, tourists, and baby carriages (is the Bugaboo still in?) up towards the Reservoir.  I will admit that by the time we had reached the Reservoir run, I was feeling the grit in my lungs and debating if I should quit smoking.  This was no recycled Equinox A/C.  Fresh air hurts.  We ran around the Reservoir and exited the Park at 85th Street.  Our route was at least 5 miles according to Map My Run.

On the way back to the apartment, A and I went to Best Buy for some new headphones.  (Do you feel nauseous yet?  Because writing this is making me realize how grossly coupily this sounds.  I hate people who do this actually.)  We each got a pair of SONY BUMPIN BUDS.  Mine are blue and they are beautiful.  I wanted to take a look in JackRabbit Sports as well.  The staff is so nice in there.  They inquired about our run and weren't pushy at all.  I think I will go to them next time I need a new pair of running shoes.

After showering and packing the car for work, A and I went to Alice's Tea Cup Chapter III for lunch.  I cannot begin to tell you how pleased I am with that meal.  We started with white chocolate blueberry scones and a pot of Alice's Tea.  Now A claims he's not a tea or a hot beverage drinker (no coffee ever?!), but even he liked it.  I thought it was delicious.  I had the curried chicken salad sandwich and A had the grilled chicken with goat cheese and granny smith apples sandwich.  Mine was great, but A's was better.  Overall, the day was productive and civilized.

I (still) Need New Cross-Trainers (again)

The amount of time I spend thinking about, obsessing over, stressing over, and feeling mildly nauseous about purchasing new cross-trainers is actually a little sickening.  These are the pair I am eyeing today.
http://store.nike.com/us/en_us/?sitesrc=usns_share_link&sitesrc=uslp#l=shop,pdp,ctr-inline/cid-1/pid-310407/pgid-310408

I've lost definition in my tricep.

The BOSU is NOT a Towel Rack

Granted I should have come 20 minutes earlier to secure prime real estate.  Yes, I am aware that Yves' classes fill up fast and that it's a dog eat dog world in group fitness.  But what really pisses me off, like tempted to throw my hand weight at you pissed off, is when someone takes a piece of equipment that others would like to use and then just stares at it.  This overweight woman, wearing extremely unflattering workout pants, used her BOSU trainer as a TOWEL RACK for the duration of Muscle Tech this morning.  I could have killed her.  Once, just once in the entire 60 minutes did she even put her foot on it (during body bar triceps rows) and then she got off and didn't even use it for the other side!  Here I am using the mini-step, which I CANNOT stand, and she's got a towel rack.  Said towel rack also took up a lot of her workout space so she was forced to do her half-assed floor lunges in mine.  Unfortunately half-assed effort will not halve her ass.  She did loan me her 8 lb weights (she had 3 different sets) after she was prompted to by the instructor.  So she's not completely evil.

Lessons learned:

1. Show up 30 minutes early because people are beasts.

2. Stay away from overweight people who wear ugly workout clothes.

3. Be considerate and don't take things you're not planning on using.

Too Busy to Eat Breakfast?

Breakfast is the most important meal of the day, but many of us still skip it. If you wake up at 5am like I do, you probably aren't interested in cooking while you can barely open your eyes. I've been making a quick, simple, and surprisingly tasty breakfast to eat before I leave for the subway. It keeps me full until my 10:25am snack (you've got to love the elementary school schedule) and doesn't wreck havoc on my diet.

-Put 1/2 cup dry Irish-style oats into a microwave safe bowl.
-Cover oats with water until just submerged.
-Microwave for 2 minutes.
-Mix in 1 tbsp of peanut butter. (I like Skippy Super Chunk)
~275 calories~

Stress

Although the Mayor has rescinded his decision to lay off teachers, the wonderful time of the year when the excess list comes out is now upon us. Since the hiring freeze went into effect weeks after I was hired, I am at the bottom of the totem pole yet again. FML.

I spent last year having panic attacks over the whole excessing issue while watching NCIS marathons and inhaling seamlessweb orders in my bed. No wonder I was 20 lbs overweight, depressed, and embarrassed to go out with my thinner friends. I clearly was not handling the stress in a productive manner.

This year I will be dealing with my feelings by kicking my ass in the gym. I'm back to under 125 lbs and making good food choices. The sense of accomplishment I get from pushing myself to lift heavier, move faster, and try more complex classes helps me to cope with the feelings of helplessness I get at work.

Incentive Plan

I use a few different incentive plans as part of my overall classroom management. I know from experience how effective incentives can be and that people will radically change their behavior if they want something badly enough.

To help combat my recent lack of motivation (and weight gain!), I have decided to implement my own incentive plan.  For every twelve hours of workout classes, I will buy myself something new for the gym.  Right now I am after a new pair of crosstrainers.  Since I really want a new pair of sneakers, I have more reason to pause One Tree Hill marathons and drag my fat ass off the couch to the gym.  I chose to only reward myself for fitness classes because this keeps me from cheating.  I don't always workout that hard if I go workout on my own and I don't want to get "credit" for a half-assed attempt on the ellipitical.

The annoying thing is that most NYC Equinox fitness classes are only 45 minutes.  On Long Island they are an hour, which makes the whole counting thing a bit easier.  Regardless, I am going for a full twelve hours before I get these shoes.  I have completed 4.5 hours as of last night.

Gym Bag Love

I fell in love with a gym bag. After several purchases, I finally found the perfect bag to bring the basic essentials with me to work so I can hit the gym right after I get back to Manhattan. All the Equinoxes are conveniently located within a block of the subway stops. I have found that I lose motivation if I walk back to my apartment to get changed.

Walking to the End of the World

So last night's anxiously awaited East River run was cancelled. My running buddy was recently accepted into med school and her acceptance package was being held hostage by the UPS warehouse. Don't get me started on how it is absolutely ridiculous that packages are only delivered during the hours that most people are at work and unavailable to sign for them. I digress.

Instead of the run, I volunteered to join my friend on a walk from the UES to 43rd and 10th. It's about 7 miles round trip. We walked along the park and Columbus Circle. The tourists lined up for carriage rides made part of the trip dismal, but on the way back it was quiet and peaceful. We even saw a racoon in a garbage can. I must admit that his presence made me nervous. One of my students last year told me that you should be concerned if you see a racoon and concrete. Granted, she phrased this wisdom a bit differently.

I wore my HRM for the trip to UPS and clocked 295 calories before I paused it. The signal got lost and it was getting uncomfortable so I took it off on the way back. Still, a 7 mile walk is great exercise for a rest day and a good way to catch up with a friend. Hopefully the weather stays nice because I might start my own walking tours.