Weight loss Wednesdays: Walking the dog is a total gym

Though it has been gray and unappealing outside, I have managed to take Bailey, my not so brilliant dog, for a several walks. Sometimes she is pretty good. Today we walked past Nunzio and Belmont's house, something about these two make her crazy. I have no idea why these dogs make her nuts (nor do I know their real names) but I am going to count holding her back as an upper body workout along with the cardio, she is like my own total gym.

The eating seems to be improving now that I can cook all my food and carefully plan my meals. Who knows, next week might just be awesome.

This week I plan to add in the "Look Hot in Jeans" workout which starts with some releves. You know a leg workout is on the right track when it starts with a ballet move.

The Tamagotchi: Can that possibly be the most memorable gift?

A while back my friend Pamela was on a hunt for the Mariposa Barbie, it had just come out, an Easter release. Presents are the new Easter basket. Anyways, everywhere she went the thing was sold out, so Kevin and I got in on the fun.

Kevin was so adorable as he made me stop store after store proclaiming "I didn't even know what a Mariposa was before today but I simply must have it." He will be a good/spoiling dad someday.

After two days of searching we found the Barbie. I drove to a mall in a mostly African American area and bought the sparkliest one. Perhaps African American little girls don't care for Barbie in the same way, there were many black and many white versions of the doll still available.

I saw the doll last weekend, in pieces at Pamela's house. As appealing as the sparkly doll is, apparently her large wings were not as fun and seem to fall off easily, proving more of a bother to Emma than a thrill.

It all makes me wonder what lengths my parents went to in order to buy me the perfect gift and whether I appreciated the toy as much as their efforts (mostly mom's efforts) would have deserved. There are a few that I still appreciate to this day, some of them Barbie related.

The Barbie Ice Cream Shoppe, which made real ice cream (maybe twice), and Peaches and Cream Barbie are two specific Barbie ones. I loved that peach dress and her soft curls, and after watching that terrible commercial, I wish she was here to play with right now. There are many other great things I was given through the years, but the Tamagotchi is possibly the strangest of all.

The Tamagotchi - I wanted this stupid digital pet so bad. It was shaped like an egg and had a couple of buttons that could be used to "feed" and "play" with the pet. I remember sitting in the kitchen on Nelson, talking about this toy and then out of nowhere she bought it for me simply for wanting it. It really was a stupid toy and I was a little old to be wanting it, but I still remember how awesome it was at the time and how surprised and happy I was to get it. Makes me smile just thinking about it.

Images from www.wikipedia.com and www.ebay.com

Recital, who doesn't love sequins?

This past weekend was my dance recital. My many amazing friends and family were there, and I was so glad to have their support.

Dance has always been such an important part of my life, and like most things we hold dear, you don't feel the true weight of it until it's gone. That's what made this year so special. I knew I loved it before, but the pain of not having it, now that is something.

Five of my lovely classmates, and I mean it, wonderful people and beautiful to boot, are leaving class for college and life. They will be leaving something behind, a part of them. My friend Andrea, also back in class these days, and I have been discussing how much we missed it while we were in college and how they can't possibly be prepared for the loss they will feel. Dance provides an outlet for creativity and stress. It is a place that is challenging and supportive and rewarding. It's filled with relationships with people you may never have approached in your day-to-day life but whose personalities add so much to your own that they truly shape the person you are to become.

I wish nothing but luck and happiness to all the girls and I hope one day, when we all have kids, that they will dance together and grow as we did.

Weight loss Wednesdays: an excuse

So much has changed in a week. I was going to write about how good I feel about my job. SAE World Congress was a great experience, and I am starting to work better with team members I was previously struggling to find common ground with. Though dieting and exercise were terrible after a very busy work week, the team building was priceless.

But I can't say that any of it is true. In my mind those were the happenings of last week. The reality is, the company has no money, they find my skills strong and my work good, and my personality is, well, too much for them. As Casey put it, they are vanilla and I am a sundae bar.

Seriously, who wouldn't want a few sprinkles and some hot fudge?

The truth is, I am happy. I am glad I will no longer be commuting away 12.5 hours a week of my life. I will be able to use those to hours to move my body, and cook. I will have time with my family and time for myself. It is no fun to be let go, no matter the reason but I think I will find work that is right for me. Actually I may already have. I came home on Monday and there was an offer for some freelance work sitting in my in-box. I start next Monday. Life can be funny like that.

Weight-loss will occur, next week. Even though I won't be eating a whole tub of superman, I did feel entitled to wallow in a snicker sundae from Mickey's.

Weight loss Wednesdays: dinner is too late

Since it is 11:01 and my dinner is cooking I have to say my goal for next week is start eating earlier and more frequently. Some how I have found myself so busy this week that I am not eating until almost midnight. That is a must change.

A portion of my late nights can be attributed to work, (BOO) but a lot of it is dance rehearsal. My physical activity plan is join more dance. It is the best you can feel, it's rewarding on physical and emotional levels, mentally challenging and a lot of fun.

If dance is not your thing I recommend joining some kind of summer activity.

Softball (365 calories an hour)
Volleyball (292 calories an hour)
Golf (329 calories an hour)
Hiking (438 calories an hour)
Basketball (584 calories an hour)

Get out there and do something challenging that you truly enjoy. It won't even feel like work, just intense fun. To look at calorie burn more specific to your weight and check out your other favorite activities, click here.

TV is Back, ahh true love

Tonight there is a new:

My Name is Earl

The Office

Scrubs

ER

and 30 Rock (for the 2 people I know that even watch that show)

So you can guess what I am doing. Enjoy TV being back on the air. Ahh, can you feel it, couch potato is settling in. Better be careful not to let my sitting effect weight loss Wednesday. Perhaps there will be some squats during commercials.

Weight loss Wednesdays: what not to read

Wednesday is upon us and it is time for an update, but first, what not to read.

Oxygen Magazine

I bought this magazine mostly because of the marketing tactics placed all over the cover.

Glute issue, Start Now, Instant results (which I know is a lie but maybe it was good advice), 37 butt sculpting moves, 25 easy tips, 10 things you don't know about your glutes!

And that is not even all of them. I bought it because I am always in the mood for some good reading on fitness, healthy diet and tips to making my butt look like, well, the cover model for the issue.

Tosca Reno, a columnist for the mag wrote a review of her own book and how it will help me "eat clean." It was basically a giant advertisement for the book with a touch of content, was no one else available to review the book? Perhaps one of the other major columnists (her husband) could have handled the task.

The editing in this magazine goes in and out of sounding like a high school paper. Some of it is pieced together seamlessly, with beginnings, middles, ends and even a purpose, but, too much of it is thrown together in static thoughts with no details. There is repetitive confusion in many of the articles.

From a Q and A section:

Q: I like long-distance running. However, I'm concerned about my lack of
butt roundness. Is it running that keeping me from having rounded glutes?

A: It depends on whether you are a sprinter or a long-distance runner. Sprinters
usually have well developed glutes. Long-distance runners are invariable light
framed or even downright skinny, and therefore have non-existent butts. If you
were to take up sprinting you would be certain to improve your butt
contour. The choice is yours.

Did this mystery writer not start by saying long-distance was in fact her thing? And what a response. Ugh.

This magazine had more advertorials and special ad sections than most and offered low quality content. Every piece of advice was "just follow the workouts shown in this magazine and you'll be on your way." At no point did it suggest going to a trainer to learn proper techniques and, even suggested that by doing the workouts of stars like Jessica Biel and J-Lo that my butt could look like theirs. Oh my, genetics is just not going to let that happen.

So to wrap up, you now know all you need to about this magazine. If you are looking for some quality content pick up a Self or Fitness instead.

On to the weight loss, workouts have been good, it is probably time to amp up the intensity. Where food is concerned, I have really been watching what I eat but I think I may need to cut out even more. I am going to go over the food list and let you know what I think needs to go. First on the list is probably my Wed. pizza plus combo from Shield's, but a slice of pizza, salad and a bread stick for $4.99 is such an awesome deal it will be hard to resist.

Talk about wanting to puke

No, I am not pregnant! But thank you Kmart clerk, not only for asking but for following up with...

"Oh, you're just fat in the middle then."

"Yep, that's me, fat middle"

See, that is what happens when you are overweight but not so overweight that it's obviously a weight issue. Everyone asks if your pregnant! To all my friends that carry weight in a place other than your belly, congrats. I was thrilled to have lost 7 pounds, now I just feel like it makes me look more like I am pregnant. Hope I can lose 7 more soon, and a few from my belly this time.

Sweet came back! and Recital info

Today there were some fabulous homemade cookies at work and yeah, I ate a few. I am glad I did. I can't help it, food is a reward.

So off I went to the gym to pay for my indulgence. I have to look good, meaning not terrible, when recital comes around in a few weeks.

If you would like to attend the info is:

Friday, April 25, 2008 or Saturday, April 26, 2008

7:00pm - 9:00pm

Sterling Heights High School
12901 15 Mile Rd.
Sterling Heights, MI

Tickets are $13.00 in advance and $15 at the door. If you would like me to buy yours please get your money to me.

If you are coming Saturday the plan is to head out to the bar after I show off all my time spent at the barre, so let me know and I will reserve a seat for you! lgibalawarren AT gmail

Weight loss Wednesdays: Maybe I lost my sweet tooth?

I have not heard much about the sweet tooth, other than of course, having one. But what if you wish to extract this tooth or stop its incessant cravings, or, kick start them back up? Well, after much will power and giving up caffeine I think I may have found a way to say "No cake, you look pretty, but I am not that interested." It's like falling in love, you know there are other foods out there but you are happy with what you have, and wouldn't want to mess up a good thing. But this isn't love and I want to cheat on healthy food in the worst way, I just can't seem to crave it.

I go to the cupboard and I don't even want a cookie, I am at the store and I breeze right past candy. This alone makes life so crazy I hardly know what to make of it all. This week has not been a fantastic workout week. Three workouts and two were yesterday and today.

Excuse number 1: I was too busy, and I was. There was something going almost every day.

Excuse number 2: Walking around Perrysburg is working out. I did say no to the Schakolad but but by the time we got to the bakery I needed to eat something. *I saved half my brownie for Kevin.

Excuse number 3: Kevin was really sick and he needed me. I can't always be the priority.

But no excuses! I am sorry and I am back on the work-out-wagon. My walking buddy and I officially need to up the ante. We finished our walk today and realized that 2 miles was no longer enough to wear us out. We'll be mapping a new route in the morning.

I finished my dinner an hour ago and here I sit waiting for the craving. I did indulge in a some Bear Naked Granola, but that hardly counts as a thin mint. Maybe I'm crazy, but for as happy as I should be that I'm craving the right foods, I am terrified that I may never crave the decadent desserts that I know I love.