Sweat Management

Sweating has been a hot topic (pun intended) on my blog and many more lately so I thought I would share a few things that have helped me manage it a little - mostly to spare the people around me from having to see me dripping or worse, get any on them.

I'm that girl at the gym that Gigi wrote about yesterday. The one with all the "gear". I will spend ANY amount of money to make myself comfortable while working out.

Okay here are my new "favorite things". If I was Oprah I would give you all one of everything!

The Halo Headband - I bought mine at REI
This thing is great. I spent $12.95 on a sweat band because I didn't like the way the traditional sweatbands look but this one blows the old school ones away. It's made of anti-microbial material and there are some pads on the inside that block the sweat from dripping in your eyes. It's a miracle people. No sweat in the contacts is a beautiful thing and it looks cute!

The Paktowl - Also purchased at REI
I started using these on the 3-Day and have bought a new one to use in the gym. They are ultra-light, super absorbent towels that come in a pouch. They are pricey but they last forever (if you don't lose them like I do) My gym provides towels but they are too big and rough and they always slide off the machine. This one has a tag that unsnaps and you can hook it on something. I also like it because it's more subtle than the huge white towel when I'm wiping myself off. Damn I'm seriously more worried about my appearance than I thought I was!


Incase ipod armband - bought at Target

Fat [Free] Me posted about her smelly armband at the gym and motivated me to finally buy a more comfortable one that was washable (and hadn't been chewed on by the dog). I love this although if you have skinny arms it would probably be too big. I'll let y'all know when mine falls off because my arms are too skinny ;) Thank you for everyone who suggested to put my headphones on before I put my shirt on. Awesome Idea I never would have thought of. Now I can wait until the Motorola wireless headphones are cheaper! I still find it weird to walk around listening to my own soundtrack. I feel like I'm in a movie!

I'm done plugging sweat management products now. No one has paid me to review these or anything but Al Roker said it was over 90 degrees in 80% of the United States today so I'm sure I'm not the only one having "issues".

Have a great day everyone!

How much did she lose this week?

ZERO!

That was of course expected after my 7 pounds in 7 days. I'm thrilled that has stayed off!

I really need to get back in the gym tonight but I got 5 hours sleep due to my concert last night. It's going to be tough to drag myself there but I wore my workout clothes to work as extra motivation. My ankle is killing me from standing for 5 hours but it was worth it. One thing that's great about being obsessed with being at the front of the stage is that there was no opportunity to go to the bar. My friend was kind enough to get some water through the crowd to my sister and I who were up there dancing like fools. It was great fun and I'm sure I burned some good calories...I was tempted to wear my heart rate monitor but that's just a little over the top ;)

Time to work toward that next goal of 10%. Bring it on!!

Hot-lanta

I'm actually happy to be back at work today in my dark and cool office. I must have changed clothes 10 times over 2 days because I haven't stopped sweating! There is still so much I want to get done outside and it's looking like most projects will have to be done in the very early morning hours or put off until the fall. I just keep reminding myself that the sweating helps the pounds come off. I did manage to drag myself around the neighborhood for a good walk with the dogs.

I did sort of okay this weekend despite the fact that nothing really went as planned. It was supposed to be a nice quiet one but ended up being as action packed as ever. At least we blew up the baby pool and sat with our feet in it for a while. We're so classy ;)

I had great intentions for the week until I realized I have a concert to go to tomorrow and I should have planned on going to the gym tonight instead of taking my usual break on Monday. I guess I'll do BL Yoga at home tonight and then get back in the gym on Wednesday. There never seem to be enough hours in the day but I'm trying so hard to make it all work.

Saturdays walk in the heat proved to me how much better shape I'm in and that gives me the motivation to keep going. I felt strong and athletic sweating bullets and was proud of my pace!

Here's to a good week ahead...

7 in 7. I've learned my lesson!

I have literally kicked my own ass this week. Last night I was laying limp in a pool of my own sweat on the stretching mat and thinking about how hard I worked all week. A weeks worth of work to lose the 7 pounds I gained the 10 days previous. Totally not worth it. I have managed to lose all those pounds this week but I wish like hell they were "new" pounds. I'm going to remember this week when I'm making decisions about eating and drinking.

I'm proud of myself for what I've done this week but I have this underlying fear that I'm still working at it like there is an end to it. I'm hoping it will get easier as time goes on.

Hope everyone has a great weekend!

Back on the scale

Even though I didn't do my official weigh in at weight watchers this week, I've managed to lose 5 of the 7 pounds I put on over the past 2 weeks. I think I will be ready to go back again next Wednesday. That just proves to me that it's never "real" pounds when you pack it on that fast. It was just all the excess water and crap I retained from eating and drinking like a maniac.

Today will be my 3rd day in a row at the gym. I've noticed something interesting about working out after work. I have mentioned that I was trying to become a workout in the morning person but doing it after work instead of sitting in traffic has made me a MUCH nicer person when I walk in the door. I think my husband enjoys my happy but sweaty face walking in the door instead of the enraged, crazy woman that comes home after an hour commute in some of the worst traffic in the country. Now I sing out loud as I drive home on the near empty highway with the sunroof open after a good 45 minutes of stress relieving exercise. It's a burden on him to walk and feed the dogs and start dinner but it's working for now and we have a little routine down. I will try to make up for it and insist he relaxes a little more on the weekend.

I'm feeling so much better today than I did at the start of the week. I'm back in control and I have absolutely no obligations this weekend (on purpose!) I applied for some more jobs too. Lets hope that phone rings one of these days. I worked so hard finishing my portfolio website hoping that will get me some interviews! Time for lunch!

Sweatin' up a storm

It's ridiculous hot here in the ATL the last few days and I have to say it's taken a little toll on my energy level. Especially after work on the way to the gym but I've been dragging myself there and feel great for it after. I'm missing the pool because of the sheer joy of diving in on a 95 degree day but sweating my ass off on the treadmill or the elliptical helps me lose more. Maybe I should bring my bathing suit and jump in at the end of a sweaty workout.

How do y'all choose your workout plan? Do you have a plan or do you just do what you feel like doing that day? Should I just listen to my body and do what it wants to do?

Last night I just felt like doing the elliptical instead of the treadmill even though I'm trying to work on my running. I'm such a planner that I feel almost guilty if I stray from the PLAN but it feels good and relaxing to sometimes not have a plan. Almost rebellious :) Maybe I'm relaxing a little in my old age?!?!

Thanks for all your comments regarding the best friend and the wife. The comments were all so right on that I can't believe there were answers in front of my face. I guess sometimes I need a neutral opinion! I will use all your wisdom to deal with the situation in the future and think more about me, my husband and our goals.

Hope everyone is having a great week! I'm not going to ww today but I've lost 3 of the 7 pounds I put on over the last 2 weeks. I'm working hard and that's what matters today.

Peer Pressure

Once again, I cannot believe it's Monday again already. Waking up to face this week was not easy. I'm still 20 grand less motivated and I've managed to gain 7 pounds in 10 days. Is that even physically possible while doing week one of C25K?

I've been giving into peer pressure for the first time in my life at almost 40. Not sure why other than the fact that I have someone else to consider now and my decisions affect my husband too.

My husbands best friend and his wife have plenty of money and constantly want to go out and eat and drink. We have both told them time and time again that we can't afford it right now - the money and the calories - but they continue to invite us out every weekend. After a while I feel bad always saying no. I want my husband to see his best friend and I don't want to never have any fun.

The obvious answer is to go along and not drink and eat and enjoy the people you are with but what if you DON'T enjoy the people you are with and some tequila makes it more tolerable? Don't get me wrong, I love my husbands friend but his wife has given up her corporate job to live her dream of being a photographer and now she's making a ton of money without even being good at it. I cannot relate to any of that right now and shudder every time she talks about being able to do whatever she wants. Am I jealous? yes.

Another wonderful solution would be to just send my husband out with his best friend. Simple. Except for the wife of the friend won't let the husband out of her sight so I once again feel bad sending my husband out on his own to be with the both of them. Why are women like that? I'm so happy to see my husband go out and have fun while I have some quality HGTV time.

Yesterday I gave in. We spent $125 we didn't have, and I woke up feeling like crap and crying over the scale. Totally not worth it. Add in the not wanting to go to work (which is awful right now) and I'm a bit of a mess.

Sorry for the long and oh so negative post but I feel better for getting that out. I'm waiting for some grand revelation on the career front but we are in such a holding pattern in the industry right now I don't think there will be an answer for a while. In the meantime, I'm going to finish my first week of C25K which hurts so much but feels so good at the same time. I have good food planned and am not drinking a drop of alcohol for the next 10 days. That should help, at least with the scale woes.

I hope everyone had a great weekend. Thanks for all the suggestions on the headphones and running. I never thought about putting the cord in my shirt and that works so well! Y'all are such a big help and now I can wait until the price on the wireless ones come down. I appreciate the support SO much. (((Group hug))) Here's to a good week ahead! *raising glass of water, not tequila*

I think I like running a LOT

So I'm officially doing the couch to 5k program just because I wanted something to follow to increase my running and was too lazy to figure out a plan for myself. My body craves running (and sometimes yoga) which is a brand new thing for me. Maybe it's the invention of the i-pod that helped. Maybe I need the mental release. Maybe it's because I see progress so quickly. I guess I shouldn't care why I like it but the purpose of this blog is for me to explore what works and doesn't work.

One thing I find odd is that when I do the running part of the workouts, I feel less strain on my legs the faster I run. One would think it would be a good idea to start running slower but it hurts me to shuffle along and feels better the more I'm actually running. It probably has to do with the G-force of the flying fat!

I have no specific running goals other than to complete the C25K program and then buy myself some new sweet running shoes from a real running store. In the mean time, I'm searching for a comfortable armband for my i-pod and may eventually invest in some wireless headphones. I'll spend any amount of money to keep myself happy while exercising!!

Hope everyone has a great weekend. I have a ton of social obligations as always but I have to keep control this weekend since I totally blew it last weekend. Feels great to be back on track!

back from stay-cation

Somehow my week away from my husband turned in to my own little stay-cation. I think it's because I desperately wanted to be on an actual vacation. I woke up at 2am hungover from my week of debauchery and declared it over. I don't regret it all that much. I had a great time with my best friend, hung out with my mom and relaxed more than I have in a while. Just like vacation. And just like vacation, the scale says I'm up 5 pounds. I wouldn't have gotten on it except for the fact that I wanted to know what drinking 100 bottles of wine would do to me. Ha! Now I know!

My husband comes home today. I see his tiny plane on the Continental website finally over this continent. I miss him and the dogs miss him and I swear I had no idea how much work he does around the house until I had to do it all myself. How do single mothers do it? I'm only a single mom for a week to 2 dogs. There are people that do this full time WITH kids. I realized this morning that I have not gotten the mail once!

My first thought after hauling my fat butt off the scale this morning was "I'll start again on Monday". Why the hell would I wait and gain another 5 pounds in the mean time? I'm back on it today and will back in the gym tomorrow. I'm sure that I will have quickly lost my ability to run any distance at all but I'll do my best.

I guess the moral of the story is that I enjoyed my time off from worrying about points and exercise and just about everything else. My job is not over, I just took a sabbatical.

How much did she lose this week?

+1lb.

I should probably just accept the fact that this is going to happen to me once a month although all the drinking I did last night combined with the chicken fingers I ate didn't help much either! I met a friend from Art School last night who I haven't seen in 13 years. It was so much fun!

Regrets? Yes. Moving on? Double Yes!

I dropped my sweet husband off at the train this morning. I miss him already and he's not even out of Atlanta yet. He flies to Newark and then Edinburgh later on this evening. It's a long trip and I just wish I was with him.

I will be fine while he's gone. Aside from 2 Oreo truffles my neighbor made, I have nothing in the house that's dangerous. My plan is just to eat like we normally do and since I won't be able to go to the gym, I will wear my heart rate monitor on my dog walks to make sure I'm working hard enough. I might even try a little wogging outside although with the 2 of them I'm not so sure how easy that would be!!

Hope everyone is having a great week so far.