Pros associated with 7am workouts:

• Energizes me and gives me a great rush that lasts the rest of the day
• I’m not beaten down from a day of stress, so I have more energy
• It’s done – don’t have to think about it for the rest of the day or worry how I will fit it in
• No traffic

Cons associated with 7am workouts:

• I’m too lazy to get up early enough to eat breakfast at home, so I eat in the car on the way and risk disaster
• I’m too  lazy to get up early enough to make coffee, so I wait until I get home and risk caffeine deficiency headache
• It’s DARK when I wake up and leave at 6:30 (who knew?)
• Reiteration – it’s DARK and COLD when I wake up and leave at 6:30

I tried to do day 2 of the C25K running plan today after working out with the trainer, but I couldn’t do it.  Turns out you can’t wear the same pants you wore 60 pounds ago and expect them to stay up while jogging (even if they’re clingy yoga pants).  One jog around the track spent constantly pulling my pants up from halfway down my butt pissed me off enough to make me stop, so I ended up just walking for about 30 minutes.

I have GOT to get new clothes.  Lord knows I don’t need another excuse to blow off the C25K thing.

I am so freakin’ exhausted.  I’ve had a semi-crappy day that I could’ve salvaged by going to pilates, but I skipped it because I thought I needed to attend a meeting. Turned out to be a pointless meeting … so I’m disappointed. VERY disappointed. I can’t believe how much I miss pilates when I don’t go. It’s almost as bad as my cardio jonesin’.

I wish I could juggle things so that days like today (gone over 12 hours, 8 hours between lunch and dinner) don’t happen, but it’s just not possible. Tuesdays and Thursdays are full days of classes for me. I also have a field placement (internship), a multitude of group projects, tons of reading, a husband, a dog, a house, a life. I love what I do and am very happy with my life, in general, but I am increasingly finding that I just have to find time to exercise every day. I’m not happy without it.

I theoretically could’ve gone to the gym after the meeting, but I was starving. I could go now, but I’m too tired. And the dog would die from loneliness if I left again. Really. Or maybe I would?

One positive: I spent about 30 seconds contemplating fast food, but I didn’t do it. I know without a doubt that a day like today would’ve easily been a day full of junk – likely 3 fast food stops – but it just wasn’t. I ate breakfast at home (well, in the car), packed my lunch and waited until I got home to eat a decent dinner. The food issue has been an uphill climb, but it’s slowly but surely getting easier. One more chance to give in not taken today = one more step closer to beating this maddening battle.

I started the Couch-to-5k running plan yesterday and didn’t die, so I think I’m going to stick with it this time. I’ve previously contemplated it, but I was so out of shape that it was absolutely miserable the first time around and just never got around to it the most recent time. The 60 seconds of jogging/90 seconds of walking alternation was very easy this time, which was encouraging, of course, so I added a 5k in April to my list of 2009 goals. (In pencil. Can’t get too excited.)

I did 20 minutes on the stairmaster after the C25K jog/walk and then went to a Triple Threat class (step, kickboxing, weights) with a friend at her gym last night, where I learned that kickboxing is harder than calculus. Seriously. I just couldn’t do it. It wasn’t a physical endurance problem, it was simply a matter of not being able to punch (jab?) the correct arm and kick the correct leg and move in the correct direction. I had fun, but I started to worry that I’d hurt someone.

I meet with the trainer tomorrow and I CAN NOT WAIT. Am I becoming addicted?

I spent 6 non-consecutive hours sitting in the car and 4 consecutive hours sitting in a meeting today (I’m on the state level board of a trade association).  Two interesting things happened (that had nothing to do with job losses, funding cuts, service cuts and all the other panic inducing topics of the day).

(1) Lunch arrived halfway through the meeting when I just happened to be starving. We had relatively healthy sandwich options at the last meeting. This time? BBQ. Greasy meat, chips, coleslaw full of mayo, coke, sweet tea, etc.  I was immediately turned off and completely lost my appetite for maybe the first time ever. ME! The queen of fast food and lover of all things mayo! I ended up eating approx < 2oz of the meat, no bun or sugary sauce, one spoonful of beans, one spoonful of slaw and 4 chips. I vividly remember the joy in scooping baked beans with plain Lay’s, so this shift in thinking is fairly radical. It’s not overly new, it’s just happening more and more and with different foods as I encounter them.  I’m definitely not complaining – I appreciated the lunch.  I am just increasingly turned off by junkier food and am still amazed each time it happens.

(2) I have been freakin’ DYING to exercise all day.  I love the feeling that comes from an intense cardio work out and thought about it sporadically throughout the meeting. I was getting pretty antsy by the time it wrapped up. All day activities are no longer an excuse to not work out.  I’m still very surprised at how strong the desire is to create a schedule that revolves around exercise instead of it being the last priority.

Also, I think I’m losing the padding on my butt. Good lord does it hurt from sitting all day.

My shoulders hurt, my arms hurt, my butt hurts, my legs hurt, my lower back hurts. I feel like I’ve broken some ribs. I seriously thought I wouldn’t be able to get out of bed this morning.

I had a session with the trainer yesterday morning and then went to a pilates class last night. 2.5 weeks of no training followed this week by 2 intense sessions + a pilates class = PAIN. I’m going to try to do some cardio later tonight, but otherwise, I’m not lifting a damn thing.

I added several of the weight loss/health/fat/whatever shows to the TiVo the other day and have started watching them. I added National Body Challenge, DietTribe, and The Biggest Loser. I already watch Ruby, X-Weighted and You Are What You Eat. Oh, and I still have a season pass for new episodes of Work Out, but haven’t watched the show in ages.

Typing it all out sort of appalls me. It looks like a lot of tv watching is going on, but it doesn’t actually seem that way when I’m watching it all. Jon won’t watch any of these shows, so I stockpile them and watch one or two episodes a night when he travels or when I have a free afternoon. Maybe I’m watching more tv than I realize, though?

I watch all of the shows because they’re fun and interesting, but also because I just genuinely like watching and learning from the people on the shows. I like people and I like watching people succeed, struggle, learn, adapt, etc. Watching how different people handle the same struggle I’m facing is fascinating.

My absolute favorite is Ruby. I cry every time I watch the show for reasons that I haven’t actually stopped to think about. I just SO want her to succeed. My other favorites are X-Weighted (the most recent episode – Nikki – is AWESOME) and You Are What You Eat. Minimal drama, I’ve learned things from the shows and I am naturally drawn to the straightforward, firm approach that the trainer and nutritionist take on these shows.

I’m on the fence about DietTribe and The Biggest Loser. I watched the last 20 or so minutes of The Biggest Loser last night and rolled my eyes more times than I can count. The drama is so high on both shows I can barely stomach it at the moment. I may not keep watching and just come back at the end to find out the results, which is what I’ve done with other seasons of The Biggest Loser.

The only negative thing I see coming from watching all of the shows is the constant comparison. I compare my weight, my body, my fitness level, my eating habits, etc. I’m not sure why I do it or what it means because it doesn’t change anything. Just seems a little crazy that I still don’t know where I fit on the fitness spectrum.

So many new things to try … so little time. Yesterday, during my morning run, I started thinking about my exercise regimen for this year and about the new activities I’d like to try. Variety seems to really help me stay in the groove, so I want to mix it up a bit. I’ve had a lot of great ideas the past few months, but thinking about when to fit the ideas in to my schedule has been somewhat overwhelming. There are parts of my old schedule that I really enjoy and don’t want to give up, which unfortunately limits the time available for new things.

I don’t want to give up running. I typically run for 45 minutes on Monday and Wednesday, and for 1 hour on Fridays. I usually run in the mornings before work, and I really enjoy it. It’s kind of therapeutic (it hasn’t always been that way, but that’s another story). I’m pretty much maxed out on the distances I want to go. I’m not interested in training a marathon, but I would like to increase my speed, and maybe start running some 5K or 10K races. There is a local running club that has a group run on Sunday mornings, so I think I’m going to readjust my running schedule to 45 minutes on Tuesday and Thursday, with a long run on Sunday with the club.

I recently became acquainted with a group of guys that practice a Chinese martial art called Yin Style Baguazhang. I met with them a few times and really liked it. It’s a small group that is very focused on improving their skills. They don’t do it solely for the exercise, but I noticed that these guys seem to be pretty fit. It definitely gets your heart pumping and sweat glands working, and believe me, your muscles feel it the next day. No huffing and puffing like with your typical cardio class, though. Most of the exercise is isometric. Some of the exercises they showed me look really simple, but they are hard! Your body just screams “stop doing this!”, but you have to keep going. It’s all about discipline and training your body’s responses.

I don’t see any fun in torturing myself, but no pain, no gain, right? I think this could be good for my body and mind, but this is also something I can’t look at as just exercise. It is a real commitment. To see any improvement, I’ll need to practice (almost) daily. This will have to become the priority over my other training activities. Am I ready to make that commitment? Will Baguazhang burn enough calories and improve my fitness level enough on its own if need be? These are the things I’ve been debating with myself for the past few weeks. Time is the big issue.

I also enjoy going to pilates classes on Tuesday and Thursday nights with my wife.

I also want to start swimming & working out with free weights.

Something is going to have to go by the wayside. Looks like it may have to be the swimming.

Here is the plan I’ve come up with for the weeks when I’m home:
Sunday – AM long run (10K?), then work out at the gym (free weights) if there is time
Monday – 1.5 hr of Baguazhang practice in the morning
Tuesday – 30 minutes Baguazhang and 45 minute run in the morning, Pilates class at night
Wednesday – 1.5 hr of Baguazhang practice in the morning
Thursday – 30 minutes Baguazhan and 45 minute run in the morning, Pilates class at night (optional)
Friday – Free weights at the gym in the morning
Saturday – 1.5 hr of Baguazhang in the morning, then some other activity with Sarah as time allows

Of course, all of the above is subject to life getting in the way. I travel half the time, so I’ll just do what I can on the road. I’m going to have to do the best I can and not stress out about it.

I have been in one hell of a cranky mood the past couple of days. I’ve missed my routine, yet I’ve been dreading it all, too. I’m doing my best to ignore the fact that classes start this week.

I worked out on Friday with a friend who brought me along to her gym, but I didn’t really push it since I hadn’t done any cardio in two weeks and didn’t want to puke in someone else’s gym. I did about an hour: 20 min treadmill, 15 min elliptical and about 25 min bike.

Jon and I went to our regular gym on Saturday, but I wasn’t really into it. I wanted to be there until I got there and had to do something. My ipod was dead, which I learned as I stepped on the stairmaster, of course. I stood there pushing on it thinking it would miraculously turn on, I guess, and actually waffled between wanting to cry and wanting to go home. I was just pissed and unmotivated. I ended up doing 20 min on the stairmaster, about 10 min on the bike and 5 on the elliptical before I quit. I did a few sets on the machines, but I was just sitting by the time Jon finished.

I met with the trainer this morning for the first time in 2.5 weeks and seriously thought I might die. Good God. Even I got tired of my whining.

She weighed me, which I was actually happy about. She records my weight sporadically vs. every week (or every day as I’ve been known to do during my crazier times), so there is typically less fluctuation. I am down 0.4 since the last time she weighed (mid-December). That normally would’ve put me in a pretty bad mood, but I have not counted a damn thing or even really tried to monitor my food throughout the holidays/since that weigh-in. I ate a dessert of some kind EVERY SINGLE DAY while we were in NYC. (uhh … yeah … that no sugar thing was declared during a moment of intense craziness.)

So, two things could come from this: (a) I could be happy that I’ve obviously changed my eating habits enough that even my splurges are reasonable and no longer equal massive gains -OR- (b) I could continue with those splurges and rationalize them since I will at least lose something and weight loss is a slow process, right?

I guess we’ll see what happens.

Well, I guess it’s about time I introduce myself. I’m Jon, Sarah’s husband. Sarah has hinted in past posts about how I’d like to start posting, but with the craziness of the holiday season, it has been difficult to find the time. Now that the new year is here, there are no more excuses! Here I am!

I’m excited about participating in this blog with Sarah. I’ve seen how it helps her keep focused on her fitness goals, and how it has acted as an expressive outlet when she’s frustrated. I can use any help I can get to accomplish my goals, so I’m glad to be able to share my journey. (Thanks, Sweetie, for sharing your blog with me!)

I noticed a trend among some of my friends on Facebook lately: they are all posting pictures of themselves from “way back when.” Jumping on the bandwagon this morning, I posted a few pics of myself from 20-30 years ago. Gosh, I was skinny! I realize that it isn’t very likely that I’ll ever be as skinny again as I was when I got out of boot camp, but it gave me new appreciation for what is genetically possible for this old bod of mine. I’m going to keep that picture in mind as something to strive for. I made some significant progress this past year, so I know I can keep the trend going this year. I’m aiming for a Boot-Camp level of fitness!

Other than becoming fit, I do have one specific New Years resolution. I resolve to not blow it again in December this year! Something about the holidays this year just made me jump right back into my old eating habits. I had done so well all year, and I really thought I had changed the way I ate and viewed food. I guess I’m just like an alcoholic, though, or a cigarette smoker. Give in to that temptation just once, and you find yourself back in a rut of bad behavior. So this year, I am just going to have to say “Bah Humbug!” when all the holiday treats start showing up in the conference room at work. I don’t think this past month of splurging has done too much damage to my health, but it has had a psychological effect. Eating crap makes me feel lazy. I put off exercising and I just feel really FAT, even though I’ve only gained two or three pounds. I am preparing now to come back to this post in December, as a reminder to “Just Stay Fit.”