work – Page 9 – Sweat & Sparkle

Rest Day

Where have I been? Nowhere special, just didn’t feel like I had much to say this week. And I have been crazy busy at work and at home, so even when I thought about writing here, the day quickly slipped away from me.

I woke up bright and early today to a chilly, dark morning. I was comfy and warm under the covers, with my cat snuggled up on one side of me and my husband’s arm tossed across me from the other. Let me tell you, just staying in bed was deliciously tempting! But I had signed up for a live Peloton treadmill run this morning, so I reluctantly emerged from the nice, warm bed and braved the chill for a run.

Morning-Workout-Motivational-Quotes

Last night I took the first rest day I can remember in quite a while. I am always afraid if I slow down, I won’t start again. But I felt so tired, drained, and worn out when I got home from work last night, and the last thing I wanted to do was work out. I gave in, got comfy, snuggled up under a blanket on the sofa, and hung out with my husband and my stepson instead.

The rest did me good. Besides my run this morning, I also got a lot accomplished at work today, items crossed off my to-do list, actually making a dent in my inbox. So this is what it feels like to be alert, awake, and non-zombie-like!

Two more days until my weigh-in. This week has been so-so. I have been logging my food (mostly) and I have worked out, except for my rest day. I just feel like I am snacking too much, but I notice that is more on days I feel very sluggish and tired.

I am hoping for at least 2 more pounds gone, but as long as it’s a loss and I am still moving in the right direction, then I am still making progress to my goal!

Shrinking

This morning, a co-worker said to me, “You’re shrinking!” It was the first time someone at work has commented on my weight loss this time around. I assume it’s because I have lost weight before, then gained it back, so no one wanted to say anything, sort of like, “Here she goes again. Wonder how long it will last this time.” Either way, it felt good to start the day with a compliment about my weight loss.

The day after my long run, I gave my body a break and skipped a workout. Instead, I did a face mask, then got into comfy clothes, wrapped up in a blanket, and cuddled up on the couch with my husband. I look forward to that all day! Call me boring, call me tame, call me old, I don’t care: my favorite part of the day is finally getting to snuggle up next to him and relax. I don’t even care what we’re doing. I am not a big TV watcher, so much of the time, I read while he and my stepson have the TV on, or we all talk and make smartass jokes. I am just happy to be at home, cozied up with him.

Last night, my break was over. I did a plyo Insanity workout, then added on a weighted abs workout. My stepson teased me about being stinky. Well, that’s what happens when you get crazy sweaty!

Speaking of Insanity workouts, something funny happened. When I finished my first round of Insanity workouts last year, I sent in my before-and-after stats and pictures to get my t-shirt. It is one of my most beloved and cherished articles of clothing, because I most definitely earned it!

shirtguy

When I gained weight back, I decided I wouldn’t let myself wear this shirt again until I got back down to the 150s, the weight I was when I got the shirt in the first place. When I finally hit the 150s again, I was so excited to yank this shirt out of my dresser…only to discover it is too big!

I don’t remember it being too big when I first got it. All I can think is, since I have been weight training more, I am smaller even at the same weight I was before, if that makes sense. All the more reason for me to use clothing size instead of weight to determine when I have reached my goal.

Progress, Not Perfection

Yesterday was a horrible, frantic, stressful, irritating, poo-poo day. I arrived at work to find a heap of crap that needed my attention, and of course all of it was time-consuming and frustrating to complete. And the entire day, it was like I had an office full of toddlers, endlessly chanting my name: “Mommy, Mommy, my email doesn’t work! Mommy, Mommy, is there something wrong with the Internet? Mommy, I have this weird pop-up on my computer!”

Okay, my co-workers don’t really call me Mommy, but they may as well. It would be flattering how much they rely on me if it didn’t impose on my time and cause ceaseless interruptions. I swear, I wouldn’t be surprised if one of them rushed to my office because they couldn’t tie their shoes, or because the receptionist is lookin’ at them funny.

All I wanted to do at the end of the day was get home. I wanted to see my husband, joke about my rotten day, and leave the day’s stresses at the door.

Instead…I couldn’t get home. I grit my teeth as I inched along in traffic. I could have crawled home on my hands and knees faster! It ended up taking nearly an hour and a half to get home. I found out later it was a car accident that closed the major road, but all I knew at the time was that I wanted to be HOME.

When I finally pulled into the driveway, I was so irritated that I could have yanked off the steering wheel and slung it like a frisbee. I took a deep breath…then another…then about a million more, because I didn’t want to go inside and snap at my husband and stepson or take it out on them. What I really needed was a well-stocked bar and a personal masseuse, but I had to settle for deep breaths, then I finally went in.

I wanted to comfort eat. I wanted to guzzle soda, much on sweet snacks, curl up on the couch next to my husband, and let the hassles of the day melt away. God, it was so tempting. I came very close to caving.

But I knew I would be upset with myself for doing that. I would wake up the next day knowing I had given in to stress and pigged out just because I had a rough day. Sissy!

I put on my workout clothes, announced to my husband that I was going to work out, then proceeded to do just that.

Yay for me, right? Well, mostly. I wasn’t 100% angelic. My stepson, in an effort to be sweet and helpful, went to the store and got drinks and snacks for the three of us. I normally don’t like potato chips, but something about barbecue chips just calls my name like they are fortified with crack. I ate way more of those than I should have, then made myself reluctantly close the bag and put it the hell away.

The good: I didn’t binge. I worked out.

The bad: the damn potato chips

Bottom line, though, after such an annoying and stressful day, I typically would have overeaten and not worked out. So the evening wasn’t perfect, but compared to what it could have been, it was a vast improvement.

My New Favorite Pants

During my lunch today, I decided to take a quick trip to one of my favorite department stores. I am usually a very practical, frugal individual, and I almost always talk myself out of buying things for myself, telling myself “I don’t need that”. Then I end up buying something for my husband or the kids instead. But I figured, hey, I earned all the rewards at work lately, and I wanted a little something just for me.

My “quick trip” turned into a much-too-long lunch break that I sure hope no one noticed. But I’m so glad I went! I found a pair of pants and a top that I love. Best part? The pants are one size smaller than the last pair I bought! I was shocked when they fit. When I tried them on, I had made up my mind I would only spend money on them if I was able to get a smaller size. I fully expected to have to put them back on the rack. Well, they are my new favorite pants 🙂

I am considering one more treat for myself before going back to my boring, practical, prudent self. I have several of Leslie Sansone’s walking workout DVD’s, and I saw on her website that she now offers an All Access Pass, which would let me play every workout in their library: walktv-slide

It would be nice to try new workouts each day and not have to buy more DVD’s just to see which ones I like, or hunt down low-quality videos on YouTube. Has anyone tried this yet? I don’t want to commit to a year of paying for it, since after a few months, I plan to upgrade to more intense workouts. But for now, trying to stay motivated to get back into a rhythm and a workout habit, it would be great to have access to all of those walking workouts.

August 1st already…we have five months left in this year. It’s shameful that I have accomplished so little in the first seven months of 2018, but I have five months to kick it into gear and finish strong.

Back at It

No workout last night, but I swear it’s not the beginning of the end, or me slipping back into old, bad habits. My husband, stepson, and I went out to dinner to celebrate the recent positive changes at my job, and I enjoyed myself thoroughly.

Back at it today, though. My breakfast has been logged, and I will work out this evening, no matter what.