Feb 6, 2012

Reality Check – Week 5

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My progress this week: -2

My progress so far: -9

HUZZAH! Finally, a little movement in the right direction!

The biggest difference this week was exercise. Not only did I workout five times this week, but I really focused on strength training. So many women think that they don’t need to gain muscle, or that they shouldn’t. This couldn’t be more false! Lifting weights has a ton of advantages, and we should all be doing it. It isn’t just for dudes! It increases your lean muscle mass, which in turn boosts metabolism and burns calories. The stronger you are, the more you’ll be burning calories while you’re just sitting on your ass. How awesome does that sound? It also improves your quality of sleep, can help with back pain, and protects you from horrible stuff like osteoporosis.

Don’t believe me? My favorite magazine has some enlightening articles in the subject:

Women’s Health – The Best Strength Training for Women

Women’s Health – Fitness Face Off, Cardio vs. Strength

Exhibit A: My ass. It shrunk a good inch or two this week. And I swear it feels less jiggly. NO JOKE. My pants are fitting better, and it’s because I’ve been focusing on getting stronger. I challenge you to do the same! (Even if its just squeezing your butt cheeks together at red lights. Because, hey…why not?)

 

 

Filed Under: Health and Fitness · Tagged: , , , ,
Jan 30, 2012

Reality Check: Week 4

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My progress this week: +1

Total progress: -7

There were a couple reasons why this wasn’t the best week for me:

1. Something that can be summed up with three letters, and they don’t stand for Pardon My Sweatpants.

2. The classic excuse we all use, I didn’t have time.

I call it an excuse because that’s exactly what it is. Yes, I was busy, but was I really too busy to find 30 minutes in my day SOMEWHERE to get some exercise? No. My regular schedule got turned upside down, and I used it as an excuse. “Oh, I can’t go today…I have to be at this meeting.” Well, I couldn’t go in the morning as usual, but if I had made it a priority, I would have just gone at another time instead. So I only worked out twice this week; my goal is 4-5 times a week.

And also, we all know that keeping good food around the house keeps us from turning to convenience food. Well, I told my myself that I didn’t have time to grocery shop this week. Turns out, that’s not really a valid excuse for me anymore. I just found out that a local grocery store will let me shop for my groceries online and deliver them for a $10.00 fee. (For my Houston peeps, I’m talking about Rice Epicurean Market. They deliver to more zip codes than you think. Details here.)

So, NO MORE EXCUSES! I just have to MAKE the time instead of trying to FIND the time. Because we all know how that works. “Oh, I’ll write that novel when I find the time.” If I had done that, I would still be going around telling people, “Yeah, I want to write someday,” instead of actually doing it.

Oh, and also…this:

The "Boise" from The Burger Guys in Houston

Yeah…that’s a sausage hot dog, wrapped in potato strings, deep fried, on a bun, with onion-bacon jam. I only had three bites, and hubby devoured the rest, but still. That couldn’t have helped things much. It was really pretty, though.

Filed Under: Health and Fitness · Tagged: , , , ,
Jan 23, 2012

Reality Check – Week 3

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My progress this week: -1

Total: -8

Okay, so you know when, on The Biggest Loser, somebody gets on the scale and only loses a pound, and Bob Harper gets this WTF look on his face, and the contestant starts to cry, “I don’t understand! I worked so hard this week!” and everyone agrees it’s just one of those inexplicable phenomenons of the human body?

Yeah…that’s not what happened this week. I know exactly what happened.

THIS:

IT'S MY BIRTHDAY, BITCHES!

AND THIS:

That's me finishing off a cheesecake milkshake.

I had an amazing birthday with friends. We went for beer and Greek food, then topped it off with dessert and cocktails. WORTH IT!

Old school photo booth at Katz's. We crammed 5 grown women in there! That's me in the last one, trying to eat my friend's head.

Then, the only thing that could have made my birthday any better happened the next day. I got to meet my Author Crush, John Green!!

It's JOHN GREEN! And (surprise!) I'm making a stupid face.

I got all fan-girly and said something stupid, but he and his brother Hank were SO nice. If you’re not familiar, I suggest you GET familiar. His new book, The Fault in Our Stars debuted on the NYT bestseller list for children’s this week. The book is amazing and filled with humor, irony, and emotion so honest, it makes you feel like you’re naked (no vampires, Mom)*. You guys all know how much I love young adult lit, and this guy is THE BEST there is. He and his brother also make hilarious vlogs. Check out their YouTube channel vlogbrothers.

So, all in all, even though I’m only down a pound (hey, it’s better than nothing!) it was a great week. Now it’s back to work!

* every time I suggest a YA book to my mother, her response is, “I don’t really like all that vampire stuff.” And then I shake her violently.

Filed Under: Books and Writing, For Funsies, Health and Fitness · Tagged: , , ,
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