Back by popular demand, I'm hear writing another blog post simply because a good friend of mine texted me last night and insisted I do so.
It has been quite a while since last I wrote on this blog, which is a sad thing when you stop and think about it. At the beginning of this whole project, I was gung-ho for writing every single day (even if I had nothing to write about) and exercising nearly every day, and constantly weighing myself. Now, some of those things have changed.
One thing has remained constant, though. And that is my diet. I am still sticking to the healthy, non-chemically altered foods and consuming things as naturally as they were meant to be consumed. Though I haven't exercised--and have entertained lots of people between the present day and the last day I posted, which means amazing food and amazing desserts--I've still lost weight. In thirteen days of not stressing about anything, I'm still down nearly a pound.
There is a detail I must confess. This whole "making my own food" thing has created a monster within me, mostly because I've found exquisite joy and satisfaction with creating my own... desserts! Lovely desserts made with heavy whipping cream, butter, and sugar. Just last week I made three curds and a custard in about 48 hours, and I made another curd yesterday. I'm obsessed.
But let me tell you about the berry abomination I made last week. I have a delicious recipe for lemon curd that requires lemon juice and zest, among other things. This, to me, as I was logically working out ingredients to substitute, meant juice, and some form of fruit flesh. I had a frozen berry medley in the freezer consisting of strawberries, raspberries, and blueberries, and so I thought if I thawed them and used them whole in the mix, it would somehow be the equivalent of juice and zest. After all, you end up pushing the whole curd through a fine sieve anyway, so any skins or seeds would be caught and discarded.
I stood there and whipped my berry curd in my makeshift double boiler for what seemed to be an eternity, and things were not improving. Have you ever dealt with blueberries before? Well, if you add whole blueberries to anything, not only do they stain your entire outfit and kitchen, but if left to sit, they make whatever they are in gradually firm up. Like custard yogurt. This property, mixed with heat and the mad mixing skills of my hand mixer, made the contents mount up to this sloppy foam of death that tasted great, but was definitely not a curd.
I strained it, added butter, and another 2 eggs and threw it back over the boiler. I'm sorry to say this really didn't help, and the additional egg yolks turned everything from soft purple to weird gray. Not the most appetizing color of a curd.
The soup still wasn't thickening up, so as a final resort, I took a deep breath, turned my head away in shame, and dumped in an entire packet of unflavored gelatin powder. And that crap did its job without a doubt; it transformed it into a berry marshmallow monster. I threw it all into a tupperware and into the fridge it went, where it is still lurking to this day.
But not to worry; since then I have had many wonderful successes, like a lemon curd, grapefruit curd, lime curd, and amazing chocolate pudding. So no worries from me.
3/10/10
2/17/10
Snickerdoodles and Ice Cream
I've decided that as this program carries onward, I'm not sure I'll be posting every day anymore. It's not that I've given up on working out and eating healthy--far from it. It's that nothing inspirational happens every single day when the same routine occurs. So from now on, if there is something worth mentioning, I'll do it. But let's not get worried if I go a day or two without posting.
Yesterday I made one of the best decisions of the week. And that was to treat myself to a Snickers ice cream bar. I figured I owed it to myself, considering I hadn't had one for about two months. So I approached the freezer vending machine and bought me one when I was done eating dinner and ate it up. I was worried the simple sugars would ruin the day for my weight loss as it did on other occasions, but the next morning I found I had dropped another 0.7 pounds for that day.
Later today, a coworker brought in snickerdoodles--my personal favorites--and we all treated ourselves to three or four of them. We justified this by the fact that we were going to the gym an hour later, so a cookie or two or three or four would be no match to the amount of working out we were about to do. Four cookies later, and a very satisfied look on our faces, we were in the gym doing circuit training. Considering I may have gone overboard by the number of cookies consumed today, I feel I owe these little rewards of good behavior to myself. It is this mindset that is allowing this program to work for me.
On another note, my finacee and I are getting engagement pictures taken on March 6th. Hopefully by then I'll have dropped another five pounds so I'll be looking particularly wonderful to be seen alongside my gorgeous future bride during the photo shoots. I'm pretty excited.
Yesterday I made one of the best decisions of the week. And that was to treat myself to a Snickers ice cream bar. I figured I owed it to myself, considering I hadn't had one for about two months. So I approached the freezer vending machine and bought me one when I was done eating dinner and ate it up. I was worried the simple sugars would ruin the day for my weight loss as it did on other occasions, but the next morning I found I had dropped another 0.7 pounds for that day.
Later today, a coworker brought in snickerdoodles--my personal favorites--and we all treated ourselves to three or four of them. We justified this by the fact that we were going to the gym an hour later, so a cookie or two or three or four would be no match to the amount of working out we were about to do. Four cookies later, and a very satisfied look on our faces, we were in the gym doing circuit training. Considering I may have gone overboard by the number of cookies consumed today, I feel I owe these little rewards of good behavior to myself. It is this mindset that is allowing this program to work for me.
On another note, my finacee and I are getting engagement pictures taken on March 6th. Hopefully by then I'll have dropped another five pounds so I'll be looking particularly wonderful to be seen alongside my gorgeous future bride during the photo shoots. I'm pretty excited.
2/14/10
Valentine's Day
I had a conversation with my fiancee yesterday while we were helping my mother with things around the house. I was at the computer and scanned through my log of weight loss, and I noticed that if I lost 0.2 pounds more, I would have lost two pounds total this week. Considering I had a wonderful workout yesterday morning, and I had eaten well, I'm sure another 0.2 pounds would be no big deal at all.
And then I had about the most amazing Valentine's day dinner I had ever had in my entire life last night. There was an amazing salad, perfectly prepared peppered steak with blue cheese mashed potatoes, string beans, butternut squash and beets, and a lovely desert. I have seriously not had such a good dinner (let alone that good of a steak) in probably my whole life. The only other steak I could imagine that could compete with yesterday's was one I had in France.
So that meant my Wii Fit yelled at me this morning when we found out together I had a 1.5 pound weight gain. And, like with before, there was no option for "Valentine's Day Dinner" when I went to explain myself. This means that for the entire week, I lost less than half a pound to show for my efforts, but considering the amazing dinner, I feel it was well worth it.
And then I had about the most amazing Valentine's day dinner I had ever had in my entire life last night. There was an amazing salad, perfectly prepared peppered steak with blue cheese mashed potatoes, string beans, butternut squash and beets, and a lovely desert. I have seriously not had such a good dinner (let alone that good of a steak) in probably my whole life. The only other steak I could imagine that could compete with yesterday's was one I had in France.
So that meant my Wii Fit yelled at me this morning when we found out together I had a 1.5 pound weight gain. And, like with before, there was no option for "Valentine's Day Dinner" when I went to explain myself. This means that for the entire week, I lost less than half a pound to show for my efforts, but considering the amazing dinner, I feel it was well worth it.
2/13/10
With a Friend
Working out, as I've experienced, is so much better when it's done with another person. Everyone wants to look good and impress someone else, so I've found that when I'm exercising with another person, I push myself to do more reps or use heavier weights just so I don't look stupid in front of them.
This is what I've found with the Dirty Thirty weight. While at the wellness center, I've upped some of my workouts to use the Dirty Thirty, and so the soreness is setting in all again. Today while doing the workout with my fiancee and cousin, I did probably half the workout with the 30-pounder. He and I are becoming better friends.
But yeah, because my fiancee and cousin were present, I pushed myself harder than I would if alone. I've found that during the week, I have a hard time wanting to do my goal amount of reps, or having a hard time wanting to do one more exercise simply because I'm alone, and I'd rather be somewhere else or doing something different. So I try to keep things short and sweet.
Either way, a lifestyle change is taking effect, and I keep losing weight. So that means I'm doing something right.
This is what I've found with the Dirty Thirty weight. While at the wellness center, I've upped some of my workouts to use the Dirty Thirty, and so the soreness is setting in all again. Today while doing the workout with my fiancee and cousin, I did probably half the workout with the 30-pounder. He and I are becoming better friends.
But yeah, because my fiancee and cousin were present, I pushed myself harder than I would if alone. I've found that during the week, I have a hard time wanting to do my goal amount of reps, or having a hard time wanting to do one more exercise simply because I'm alone, and I'd rather be somewhere else or doing something different. So I try to keep things short and sweet.
Either way, a lifestyle change is taking effect, and I keep losing weight. So that means I'm doing something right.
2/11/10
The Dirty Thirty
There exists in the workout world at work a routine called the Dirty Thirty. This is when a person takes a 30-pound kettlebell and performs 30 reps of everything they expect to do.
Though I did not manage to perform 30 reps of anything today, I did get acquainted with the 30-pound kettlebell. And he and I are not really close friends yet. That's a good five pounds more than I'm used to swinging, and now I feel it in my entire body.
One day--and some of my friends at work share this dream--I aspire to one day do the entire Dirty Thirty workout, what with 30 reps of everything and all. Perhaps the 30-pounder and I will have to get to be better friends.
Though I did not manage to perform 30 reps of anything today, I did get acquainted with the 30-pound kettlebell. And he and I are not really close friends yet. That's a good five pounds more than I'm used to swinging, and now I feel it in my entire body.
One day--and some of my friends at work share this dream--I aspire to one day do the entire Dirty Thirty workout, what with 30 reps of everything and all. Perhaps the 30-pounder and I will have to get to be better friends.
2/10/10
Family Support
This morning I went to visit my mother who is up for the entire week to tend my sister's children. While we were preparing lunch, she made sure to have fresh turkey that we just cooked in our oven, lots of leafy greens, and some other healthy things for our turkey wraps. She inquired how my diet was going, and she remained mindful of my goal for weight loss.
When it comes to personal projects like these that take weeks and weeks to accomplish, it really is help like this that keeps a person going. The little things like my finacee telling me how proud she is that I'm losing weight, and my mother changing what she might eat normally to what I woud typically eat as lunch. It makes a person feel like they are doing this goal for them, too. Like the weight loss is somehow benefitting others as well.
And this is what truely keeps a person going. It's not the Wii Fit saying you've dropped another pound, but the ones you love validating your efforts.
When it comes to personal projects like these that take weeks and weeks to accomplish, it really is help like this that keeps a person going. The little things like my finacee telling me how proud she is that I'm losing weight, and my mother changing what she might eat normally to what I woud typically eat as lunch. It makes a person feel like they are doing this goal for them, too. Like the weight loss is somehow benefitting others as well.
And this is what truely keeps a person going. It's not the Wii Fit saying you've dropped another pound, but the ones you love validating your efforts.
2/9/10
Most Ghetto Kettlebell Movie Ever
In order to expand my knowledge and increase the diversity of my kettlebell workouts, my sister encouraged me to order a workout DVD from Netflix. Instead of working out to the DVD every day, I decided instead and write down any new material these people introduced.
It was a short blond lady who was completely ripped who was the instructor, and then this really tall, awkward other lady with the perma-grin plastered all over her face. She was the one doing the lower intensity workouts. Though everything was well organized, I really had to laugh at how low-budget the film was. The wall against which they exercised had to be nothing more than a white backdrop, and when they took shots from the sides of these ladies, I could see spots and stains on the walls, like the gym they were exercising in was old and dumpy.
I wrote down some new routine ideas, and I got ready for work today. The only problem is I forgot to bring my security badge, and the wellness center doesn't accept temporary security badges. So I guess I'll have to exercise with my own bell when I get home tonight.
It was a short blond lady who was completely ripped who was the instructor, and then this really tall, awkward other lady with the perma-grin plastered all over her face. She was the one doing the lower intensity workouts. Though everything was well organized, I really had to laugh at how low-budget the film was. The wall against which they exercised had to be nothing more than a white backdrop, and when they took shots from the sides of these ladies, I could see spots and stains on the walls, like the gym they were exercising in was old and dumpy.
I wrote down some new routine ideas, and I got ready for work today. The only problem is I forgot to bring my security badge, and the wellness center doesn't accept temporary security badges. So I guess I'll have to exercise with my own bell when I get home tonight.
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