Abs Anonymous!

Hi. My name is Mariann.

I'm an ab-aholic!

It's only been 24 hours since my last ab workout. I feel great!

It's just that...well...

I'm getting that "urge" to do some crunches. I don't know what it is...I can't go a day without them.

I know I should be resting from my ab workout yesterday, but the soreness, the burning pain - I crave it. I desire it more than chocolate. I can't get enough.

Can you help me?

One More - go one more!

Superchick has a new song out that has become THE workout song for me:

It feels like I have lost this fight
They think that I am staying down
But I'm not giving up tonight
Tonight the wall is coming down
I am stronger than my fears
This is the mountain that I climb
Got 100 steps to go
Tonight I'll make it 99

One more Go one more Yeah, yeah
Don't stop now
Go one more Yeah, yeah
One more Go one more
Go one more Yeah, yeah

I have everything to lose
By not getting up to fight
I might get used to giving up
So I am showing up tonight
I am my own enemy
The battle fought within my mind
If I can overcome step one
I can face the 99

There's a lot of mileage in this message!

Don't stop. Keep going. When things get rough, stick it out.

It's a message of overcoming the obstacles we might face - whether they are working out, weight, job situations, marriage, children, life situations...whatever we might face, we can have the courage, the strength we need to overcome.

So let me challenge you - one more, go one more! Whether it's a step, an hour, a day...whatever! Go one more - don't give up. Don't give in.

Just Say No - It's Only Day 4!

It's day 4 of the Me-Diet. I'm doing well. The food is good. I know...I know...I said that yesterday. But IT'S TRUE!!!

Anyways, a vendor decided that today would be a good day to send some fresh-baked (and warm might I add) cinnabuns, danishes and donuts. And, they included the all-time best, JELLY DONUT!!! I am so sad...

As soon as they placed those donuts on the snack/dessert table (which happens to be in my cubicle - now very, very sad am I), I grabbed my morning snack - PEANUTS (just a small handful ) and a plum (which wasn't very ripe). I ate those items like my life depended on it. Then, I washed them down with a bottled water. Now, even if I wanted to eat that one lonely jelly donut, I couldn't. I'M TOO FULL!

My cubicle neighbor thought that she'd help me out - she wrapped the jelly donut and put it on her desk for me to grab later. There's a bet on how long I'll go without giving in and partaking of the goods. So, I moved them. Yep. I did it. I put them out on the community shelf. All of them. All of the cinnamon buns that are still warm with the glazed topping, with nuts or raisins - they're on the shelf! The danishes with lemon and raspberry or cheese - they're on the shelf. The donuts, fresh from the bakery, ON THE SHELF!

You know what the best part of the shelf is - if I were to walk by now - there would only be empty boxes with the aroma of pastries still there. The pastries are all GONE! As soon as word gets out that there's anything on that shelf for free - the ravens come out and scavange for their morning morsels.

To all my critics out there - KUDOS TO ME! (You can't see it, but I'm patting myself on the back).

My waist will thank me later. My scale will reward me. My conscience will not be seared. I SHALL NOT BE MOVED!

My anti-pastry - RESOLVE, DETERMINATION and PEANUTS!

Diet - day 3.

Today is Day 3 of "me...on a diet". Let me tell you, the cooking for this diet is time-consuming!!! I spent over an hour yesterday just chopping veggies, mincing garlic and ginger and blending black beans into a wonderful soup.

The food is great, but so stinking time consuming! I guess that's why we become so accustomed to canned or jarred or frozen meals. They're convenient. The taste is OK, but that's the price you pay for convenience. The recipes for this diet are wonderful. The food is so tasty. We had to buy so many spices/condiments, herbs and sauces/oils. Black Bean Soup never tasted so good.

Last night, we cooked up some rice pilaf with salmon. The salmon was marinaded in a dressing made up of balsamic vinegar, olive oil, garlic, ginger and honey. Yum!! The pilaf had "glazed" onions and red peppers in brown rice. Tonight, we are having pasta primavera. I'm loving these recipes.

My roommate is graciously participating in this event with me. She does NOT need to be on a diet, but she's going to eat what I eat. She has been constantly thinking about food. She keeps asking what she can/cannot eat; what can she eat next; what's for dinner...it's making me laugh. I personally have been feeling like it's A LOT of food. But, I do what I have to do...:)

I had a deduction on the home scale today. NICE! A little boost like that never hurt. I will update the weight on my dashboard after weighing in at the gym, since that's the scale I'm using as my guide.

Well, only 2 hours until I go to the gym. I didn't go this weekend. I ran on Saturday and walked yesterday. Today is a strength training day! Yeah. Gonna flex some muscles. Workout those glutes. Firm the flab. Maybe I should consider an exercise video by that title, "Firm the Flab". Ha! Maybe I should just stop now and go back to work!

Me...On a Diet!

Since my doctor recommended I read, "You...On a Diet", I've been slowly making my way through the book. It's been a few weeks now and I finally decided that I would put into practice the "YOU" diet that is recommended.

So, my roommate and I went through the menu online and chose our menu for the week. That was Step 1. Then, we printed out the grocery list for all the ingredients that we would need. Step 2. After, we went to the grocery store and found all the items on the list. Finally, we stood at the register and tried not to be too shocked at the final total.

Before I go into the heart-pounding, mind-numbing total of the grocery bill, please let me tell you that the most I've ever spent for a grocery trip for 1 week of groceris was somewhere around $110. Imagine my surprise and shock when the total came to over $230 - FOR TWO PEOPLE!!!

I'm just thinking, "THIS BETTER be worth it!"

The cashier said we challenged her knowledge of produce. Let's just say we went through the produce aisle and pretty much picked up one of everything! The bagboy jokingly commented to us on the way out, "Enjoy your vegetables!"

So, it's day one of ME ON A DIET. Breakfast was good. I didn't think I'd like the lunch salad, but it was amazingly good. I had my banana snack and now it's time for my afternoon snack. I am not feeling hungry, not feeling like I'm being denied anything (that will come when I go to play mini golf tonight and everyone gets ice cream after). I feel full! I feel satisfied. My fridge is overflowing with a plethora of produce. My body is happy for the healthy choices, and the 2 mile run this morning.

So far, me on a diet - not so bad. I'll keep you posted on how it goes.

Training is cheaper than Therapy - and more effective!

I used to think that waking up in the morning and feeling every bone and muscle in your body was just a sign of old age or general laziness. Now, I'm thinking differently.

By no means do I consider myself old. Neither do I consider myself lazy. But lately, getting out of bed in the morning is just plain ol' painful! This morning, I had everything I could do to lift myself to sit up in the bed. EVERY muscle in my back is singing out in chorus to me today - from the base of my neck to the base of my rear!

I knew that yesterday's training session would leave me tired and sore, but I did not expect this! Every time I yawn and stretch, I feel it. Everytime I lift my arm anywhere close to shoulder level - ouwwwww. Please don't ask me to lift anything! Even lifting that cup of decaf to my lips is causing me to have second thoughts about drinking coffee.

On a sad note, I only have 2 more training session remaining. :(

I will definitely miss that time of butt kicking each week. I know that I have the knowledge base and the discipline to continue on in the direction I've been heading, but there's something therapeutic about that one hour on training each week. My trainer and I were discussing this very fact yesterday - as we were talking about different types of people that go to therapists week after week and never take the advice of the therapist. (That's why I love Dr. Phil. His no nonsense "You need to get over it and move on" is exactly what we need).

Training is very similar. I could go get my whoopin' for an hour each week and do absolutely nothing with it through the week. What does that bring me - $60 less in my pocket (which is significantly lower in cost than a therapist) and not much else but a few sore muscles a couple days of the week. If you really want to get something out of that investment, you have to take what you learn and invest it throughout the week. Go to the gym. Put in the cardio time. Put in the strength training. Change up the diet. That's the only way to see the results!

I'll miss my time of "therapy" but I know that I've learned from that time. I've made the investment.

Now it's time for me to move on...and in the words of Dr. Phil, "You need to get over it."

I Love Mondays!

The title has you intrigued now - doesn't it???

Let me be very clear. I hate Mondays from the perspective of going back to work for the week or getting back into the routine of the "stuff" you have to do...but, I love going to the gym on Mondays. They make the best work-out days.

Why? Well, let me tell you.

The weekend is a time to relax and unwind from the busyness and stress of the "stuff" you do all week long. There is a physical and mental relaxation that comes. But on Monday, there's this "I gotta get to the gym" mentality that just kicks in. I just wanna bust my tail and get all the workout I can get in over my lunchbreak.

Plus, I just like going to the gym!

So, I went to the gym yesterday with a craving to work out my arms. I don't know the reasoning behind it, but I want to be able to do a pull-up (or at least cross the monkey bars just once without falling). So I decided to turn up the volume on the workout.

Here's the workout:
1. Lunges on the cattle shoot (technical name - uh....I dunno). Basically, it adds weight to your lunges on your shoulders. I did 3 sets of 20.

2. Push-ups with 12 lb weights that I lift when I went up on the push-up. I did 3 sets of 12.

3. Tricep curls. 3 sets of 15.

4. Shoulder Pull-downs - 90 lbs. Yep. 90. If I'm ever going to do a pull-up, I need to up this weight tremendously, but 90 lbs is a good start. I had been only using 45 lbs. on this machine, but I had been thinking about it and knew that I could do more!

5. ABS. (My personal favorite). Today, I laid on my back, holding onto the pole behind my head. Then, I lifted both legs up over my head, lifting my butt off the ground and touched my legs to the pole, then to the left of the pole and then to the right of the pole. One. Do it 10 times. Twice.

That was basically it. Since I was working out with a co-worker and we upped all the weights and intensity, we didn't have time to do much more.

We ended in a nice stretch and a shower.

This morning, my back (pecs) are sore. I can feel that. My stomach is a bit sore too, but that is to be expected.

Today is Tuesday - CARDIO Day! Whoo hoo.

I'm thinking of mixing it up today and doing a circuit of 12 mins on the arc trainer (I call it the gazelle), 12 mins on the treadmill running and then 12 mins. of racing on the bike.

Oh, I love Tuesdays too.