Quick Poll
In the interest of allowing you all on the internet to determine the course of my life, I was wondering. I woke up today with sore legs and semi shin splints, probably from ellipticizing my ass off yesterday and for the past four days. I was going to take a break from working out tomorrow, but should I take a break today instead? Or should I push through? I don't want to lose momentum, nor do I want to hurt myself. (Nor do I have time to figure out an upper body routine and do that instead, which would be ideal. I can always do an upper body workout at home, because I have a video.) WWOD: What would the Ointyites do?
- posted by mo pie @ 6:21 AM

 
Ironically, I Was Wearing My 'I'm Blogging This' T-Shirt
I went to the on-campus gym tonight and it sucked hard. I had to wait for a rickety old elliptical trainer (in the meantime trying a stairmaster-type thing that hurt my knees) and I was so uncomfortable and self-conscious working out with the tiny little undergrads. So tomorrow I am going to go join the actual gym. It seems like a wise investment, and I will manage the budget somehow!
- posted by mo pie @ 4:38 PM

 
Guest Post
SPLENDA HEAD LOVE LOW-CARB ICE CREAM MADE WITH SPLENDA. CHOCOLATE ALMOND FUDGE TASTE LIKE ROCKY ROAD. (FLAPPY TELL ME LOVE ROCKY ROAD.) WISH STORE HAD TOFFEE CARAMEL SOUND SO GOOD TO SPLENDA HEAD!
- posted by mo pie @ 7:11 AM

 
Plan A, Plan B, and Plan Dessert
Well the jig is up! I went in for my workout today and they told me my pass had expired (yeah, like three weeks ago). I was able to work out, and after that a very nice person explained that she would waive the $50 signup fee just for me and I could officially join for $44 per month, and get the free sessions with the personal trainer and all that jazz.

Last time I had a personal trainer, I sort of hated her, and I stopped going to the gym. But let's assume that doesn't happen and I love Chuck, my personal trainer. I still have a problem with paying for the gym. Which is to say, I am on the tightest possible budget. I genuinely think $44 per month is going to break me. (Which it probably won't, which is why I will keep it as Plan B.)

The bottom line here is that in order to stay on my personal track, I need to go to the gym for the next three days. So here's my plan: I'm going to go to the on-campus gym tomorrow and check it out. It's free and they have an elliptical trainer, and unless it's super busy and all my students are there ogling my ass or something, it might turn out to be the (free, convenient) solution to all my problems.

And if that doesn't work, I guess I'll pony up the bucks and sign the contract and suck it up. But I hope it will work.

After the gym, I went to the grocery store to get some more South Beach wraps for lunch. But I guess I was hungry after my workout, because when I started loading groceries into my car I realized that I had bought Jello, Jello pudding, South Beach cookies, and low-carb ice cream. Low-carb ice cream! Bleh! I can already tell this isn't going to end well.
- posted by mo pie @ 4:10 PM

 
Re-railed
My workout schedule was slightly derailed last week by a blizzard, but I made it back to the gym today. I was worried because I spent the morning grading and drinking coffee, but not eating anything, before I went to the gym, and I thought I might be low energy as a result. But it was lucky I didn't stop to eat beforehand, as I was planning, because I got to the gym at 2:30 and they close at 3:00 on Sundays, which I did not know.

Anyway, my fears were for naught because I again did a solid 30 minutes on the elliptical and could have gone longer had the gym not been closing. Plus, again, I had to work harder to get up my heart rate. So I do think that I am getting overall more fit, and that three blizzardy days spent indoors didn't set me back.

As for weight loss, I'm still holding steady, which is a little disappointing. Also, more pictures appeared on the walls, so not as many people have dropped out of the challenge as I was hoping for. What to do?

I've been sticking to the low-carb thing pretty good. Yesterday I was at a Greek place and I ordered the hummus, and asked if they had anything other than pita bread they could serve with it. (And not carrots because I do not like carrots except in the form of cake.) (Also they are bad on South Beach, which I may have mentioned before. Screw you, carrots.) They served me green peppers and cucumber, and that was an awesome snack. I am totally buying cucumbers and hummus next time I go grocery shopping. The moral of the story is that restaurants, even if their menus don't seem low carb, seem to be pretty accommodating about serving food I can eat.

I have to say that I am feeling good about the low-carb way of eating, and it's getting easier, especially since I can now have wine! Which, in fact, I am about to pour myself a glass of. I haven't been as diligent about writing down points, but I think I've been doing okay for the past few days. I do need to write it down, that always works the best for me. I might need to go back to Weight Watchers to get a little book.

Here's the problem: weight loss is expensive! If I had money right now, I would pay for my gym membership (the free one already expired, but they somehow keep letting me work out), and go to Weight Watchers meetings so I could keep track of points, and buy a sports bra, and get some more dumbbells since I can't find mine. I would also buy groceries. Including more of those awesome South Beach chicken caesar wraps for lunch.

And if I were really rich I would just buy myself an elliptical trainer and hire a personal chef. Wouldn't that be handy?
- posted by mo pie @ 2:02 PM

 
The Numbers Game
I was a stressball all day today for some reason, so I told myself I could use another workout. And whaddaya know, it was another 30 minutes on the elliptical! 30 is the new 20!

(Plus, I needed to go to the post office, and unbeknownst to me there was one right by the gym that hadn't closed yet. So that reduced my stress too: I got all eight job applications in the mail today. North Carolina or Sacramento here I come!)

I was also excited to see that I weigh two pounds less than I did yesterday, bringing me back to that 13-pound overall loss. More excitement was that some lady next to the scale said it was nine pounds off, as in I weigh nine pounds less than the HORRIFYING weight on the scale. To be honest, that sounds about right. It's still kind of horrifying but less horrifying is always good.

Also, and this could be wishful thinking, only about half of the people on the wall have their second pictures up. One can only hope that half the field dropped out entirely. Which means fewer people whose asses I have to kick to win the Pile O'Money. See? Math.
- posted by mo pie @ 4:45 PM

 
Great Workout + Change Of Plans
I had a great workout... at least I think it was great.

I stopped for a tuna low-carb wrap beforehand, then headed to the gym to pick up my Crapbag (the prizes: a towel, a water bottle, a breakfast bar--if you have trouble remembering it, just think of a bag of crap) but was excited to get a prize of any sort. Then I hopped on the elliptical and I had a hell of a time just getting my heartbeat up to the cardio zone. I was running on that thing. I usually have the incline at like 6 or 7, and it was up to 11 for the whole half hour. (It goes to 11.)

So I don't know if it's the tiny influx of carbs, or that I'd eaten exactly the right foods, but I had more energy for my workout than I ever have before, and I had to push myself a lot harder to get my heart rate up. Which indicates increased cardiovascular fitness, no?

On the other hand, my weight is still stable, only a couple of pounds down from the start of South Beach. This diet, although it is still a magical tootie diet, is not working for weight loss. And I clearly have a shot to go for the gold, so I'm going to start counting points tomorrow. I'm still going to be eating according to South Beach, but I am going to make sure that I am eating neither too much nor too little. I can't figure out which is my problem, exactly.

But more important than the scale is the goodness of the workout, and the continued happiness of the tootie. As my tootie goes, so goes my nation.
- posted by mo pie @ 8:24 PM

 
Oh My Stars
I just got a phone call from the Pile O'Money people that after the first three weeks, I am the woman who has lost the most weight, and I win a prize. It is probably not a pile of money, but still. I'm winning! I'm winning! That. Is. Crazy. I am totally adding "go to the gym" to my to-do list today even though I am busy and queasy and was going to skip it. No skipping! Gotta keep it going!
- posted by mo pie @ 9:01 AM

 
South Beach Day 14
I dutifully went to the gym today, on the final day of Phase One. Weirdly, I weighed in at only two pounds below my South Beach starting weight, and eleven pounds below my Pile O'Money starting weight. Which means somehow I gained two pounds? Even though I've been following South Beach pretty well?

I say pretty well because I had a run-in with some cookies one night. And a run-in with some vodka and Diet Coke another night. But other than that: perfect adherence. Plus exercise! Plus, my body feels thinner. It's a mystery.

Today is the beginning of Phase Two, and I'm mostly excited about the idea of wine and maybe some fruit, or low-carb Subway wraps. South Beach frozen meals! (Not licorice pizza.) But I'm going to try and be very very moderate until I figure out what's going on with the weird non-weight loss.
- posted by mo pie @ 6:41 PM

 
South Beach Day I Would Gnaw Off My Own Arm Right Now If It Contained Carbs
The thing about the "disappearing cravings" is such a complete lie. I was okay at the beginning, but now I have been fantasizing about carbohydrates for two days. Phase Two starts on Wednesday, and I cannot wait to eat something, anything, carby. Preferably a plate of chocolate chip cookies, but hopefully I can avoid that urge. I don't want to un-do all the progress I've made here. But oh my god, am I getting tired of salads.
- posted by mo pie @ 2:13 PM

 
Sad And Fat
I went to take my sad and fat picture for the Pile O'Money challenge. According to today's weigh-in, I've lost 15 pounds since the challenge started (and six pounds on South Beach) which made me think that surely I was winning! But some guy who saw me getting my photo taken asked how I was doing, and we exchanged stats. He's lost 20 pounds in the same period. How unfair is that? Cheater!

They put the pictures on the walls of the gym, so I look forward to scoping out the competition when the next series of pictures gets posted. I'm also considering joining this gym; it's $40 per month and they cancel your contract if you move. I really can't spare the money, but on the other hand, what price fitness? As for that guy, I plan to kneecap him out in the parking lot the very next time I see him.
- posted by mo pie @ 1:24 PM

 
South Beach Day 8
A long day at work, during which I went straight from class to a meeting with no lunch, and had to watch colleagues eating popcorn and cookies in front of me. But it's all over and I'm cruising into day nine.

I go in tomorrow for another weigh-in and photo for the Pile O'Money challenge. My guy on the phone said, "I know you've been working hard, you'll probably have lost 4 or 5 pounds." I'm afraid that when I've lost 13 or 14 pounds, they'll think I cheated somehow. I didn't! I'll just mention South Beach Phase One.

I am going to go for sad and fat again for photo two. I'm only in the second week; still a long way to go until April 10 (the finish line).
- posted by mo pie @ 8:20 PM

 
South Beach Day 7
I went to the gym this morning and weighed myself, and I've lost 4.5 pounds since starting South Beach, and a total of 13.5 pounds since I weighed in the first time for the Pile O'Money Fitness Challenge. Those are some good results, and I'm happy with them. Some thoughts:

1. The other night I went out for a work-related dinner with colleagues. We went to a sushi place and I had a smoked salmon salad, edamame, and miso soup. Resisting the rice was hard, because I love sushi rolls, but doable. However, I did have a glass of red wine. I figured it can't be that bad, since it's on Phase Two, so I ordered it and enjoyed it. They also give you, at the end of your meal, a free strawberry dipped in dark chocolate from a local chocolatier. Well, I ate that too. And I swear to god, as I bit down, some chemical reaction occurred and my entire body started to tingle with pleasure. It was very, very nearly a full-body orgasm brought on by this chocolate-dipped strawberry. There's no room for guilt in an experience like that.

2. My workouts so far have been confined to the elliptical trainer, and I'd like to add in some upper-body weightlifting as this continues. I am pretty sure I brought both my weights and my Gym In A Box video, which has a nice ten-minute upper body workout. I'm concerned with overdoing it, but I hope this will be a good place to start. After all, if I'm going to be evaluated on my body changing, I need to change my upper half, not just the lower half.

3. I am starting to get really sick of cheese, eggs, and almonds eaten fifteen at a time. I can see why this phase only lasts two weeks, because I don't think it would be sustainable for much longer than that! Weetabix, come back soon! (I can have chicken satay, and she's going to cook it for me. She makes South Beach Phase One totally liveable with her culinary efforts in my direction.)
- posted by mo pie @ 9:47 AM