Working Out & a Sense of Humor

Recently I mentioned that I have lsot 6 lbs as I try valiantly to lose the baby weight. A few people asked me how I am doing it, so I thought I would post a bit about it.

I have been going to the gym 3 times per week and dieting. My diet is basically as follows:
No dessert every day. I only eat dessert once a week (Saturday) and I have whatever my heart desires. During the week for my sweet fix, I eat hard candy, yogurt, or fat free pudding. Still has some calories, but beats a piece of strawberry cake or chocolate chip cookies any day.

Otherwise, I am eating reasonable portions. I usually eat Smart Ones by weight watchers for lunch. Snacks-apple, almonds, mozzerella string cheese, yogurt, granola bars. For dinner, just whatever I cook or warm up. Last night was steak soft tacos. I just try to keep the portions appropriate. So far it is working. My clothes are fitting better. Unfortunately, I gained 1.5 lbs back. Brandon keeps telling me it is muscle, but I do not appreciate the scale going rogue on me. I like measurable results. Nice little numbers that pat me on the back and tell me how great I am doing. Hopefully, the scale will cooperate again soon.

For my workout routine, I have to give a shoutout to my friend Kelly. We were talking around the first of the year about our resolutions to lose weight, and she gently reminded me that when I go to the gym I need to work really hard and sweat. I continued thinking about this after our conversation, and considered that she might just have a point there. Afterall, the only 'exercise' I was doing if I went to the gym was 30 mins of brisk walking on the treadmill, and then home. Usually though, I would swing by chik-fil-a and get a chicken biscuit (yes, the deep-fried one) to thank myself for working out. Do you see a problem here? Yeah, kinda wasted that 30 minutes, huh? Oh, and upon greater reflection, I realized that I had not been getting all that sweaty. So, I vowed to start anew with a different plan.

For Christmas, I asked for and received the following:
-A cool pink gym duffle
-Ear buds (headphones) for the treadmill--so I can hear the TV rather than reading lips
-Aveda Shampoo (small bottles) for my gym bag.
-Mini bottles of Bath and Body Works shower gel & lotion
-Work out clothes

I know these may seem like small things, but it helps me stay motivated. I figure if using good fancy shampoo and yummy smelling bath stuff motivates me to work out, then rock on! I only use those when I go to the gym.

There is more to the story, but let me get to the work out part since a few people did ask. So far, I do the following:
2 days per week
30 minutes on the treadmill walking at 4-5% angle/running 10-12 minutes in the middle. and then finishing up with walking fast at that incline.

*I also do the eliptical machine but have decided that the super fit people created that machine to torture the rest of us. I avoid it when I can.*

After the cardio, I do arm machines, not a fan of free weights, for another 30 mins. Then I do abs and back exercises, and stretch.

On the third day, I do 30-40 minutes of cardio and then do 30 more minutes of leg machines. Then abs and back exercises, and stretch.

So, that is what is working for me. Now, in case you were hoping that there is more to the story, I will try hard not to disappoint. Recently I gave another triplet mommy a key piece of advice "Hang on to your sense of humor. You're going to need it". At the time it didn't seem so profound, but when I caught Braylen yesterday 'playing' with the soap pump in the bathroom, I realized just how critical it is to laugh it off, and to laugh at yourself. So it is in that spirit that I tell you the following stories.

Let's go back for a moment to that conversation with Kelly about working out hard and really sweating. I was on week 2 of my new workout plan, and was walking on the treadmill when her words came back to haunt me. I'll admit that I did cuss her a little,(love you Kel) but I began running. I got good and sweaty as I was told to. I had come prepared with my sporty new gym bag and all of the cool washy stuff so that I could leave the gym squeaky clean. So I finish my work out and get in the shower area only to discover that I had forgotten a towel. I asked at the front desk, and got "No, we don't do that anymore". Well, I had to be somewhere, so not showering was not an option. I would just have to improvise. So, I got in the shower, got all squeaky clean and then tried to figure out how to go about getting dry. Drip dry? Nope, I am a lot of things, but a streaker isn't one of them, and the locker room was full. Next...papertowels? Maybe, but that would involve an element of streaking, and our gym has those weird automated paper towel dispensers so I would be standing there naked and waving at the dispenser for far too long for my comfort. Hmmm....Finally I decided that the outside of my work out clothes were relatively clean, at least when compared with the inside that were sweaty. So, I promptly turned them inside out and wrapped my hair up in my t-shirt and blotted my body dry with the outside of my sweatpants. Nice, huh?

I wish that I could tell you that this was the last of my forgetting. One would think the prospect of streaking and drying oneself with scartchy paper towels would leave an impression. Evidently, I am a slow learner. Since that time, I have forgotten a myriad of small things-socks (2 or 3 times) I just wear my shoes without;A hairbrush-2 times (just run my fingers through it and go); a shirt--that one was tricky. Thankfully I had my fleece jacket and just wore it like a shirt. Those were all moderate issues, slight irritations, but nothing life-altering. Flashforward another week. I finish working out. Take my shower. Dry off with my towel. And go about the business of getting dressed. I reach in to pull out my underwear, and to my surprise that white pair of underwear that I grabbed from the dryer is actually a white, shortsleeved t-shirt, size 24 months. Now if this isn't a dilemma. And yes, before you ask, I did give a good deal of consideration to trying to make the t-shirt work, but I was pretty sure it was a no-go. So now what? Fortunately, I just had to go home from the gym, so I slipped into my thankfully loose jeans and prepared to get home quickly to adjust my wardrobe. Then Brandon text messages me to tell me that we need Rice Milk for the kiddos. As I walk to my van, I am thinking Ok, slight change of plans, but it's ok. Just run into Kroger, get what we need, and get out. Not a big deal. And I also thought This commando thing is WAY overrated, and I have no idea how you boxer people do it! But that is a conversation for another day, seeing that this has already become way more personal than I intended. On with the story. I get to Kroger and get the handful of items we need, and turn the corner to go to the potato chip isle and there stands my PASTOR! EEEKKK! It is one thing to go commando riding to your house. It is another to go commando to Kroger. But it is a different animal entirely to go commando to Kroger and nearly run over your Senior Pastor with a grocery cart. I wanted to die. Ofcourse he did not know of my unmentionables predicament, but I knew, and there he stood. THANKFULLY, MERCIFULLY, he did not make eye contact and I slipped into the cheese isle. *Whew* That was a close one. I sort of lingered in the cheese isle, and then the frozen foods before finally slinking to the front, checking out, and getting home. (and changing clothes)

All I can say is Good Grief! I wish I could say that this sort of thing never happens to me, but it would be a boldfaced lie. If you know me very well, you know by now that there is always a story. I often say "some days I hate being me". I dont really mean that the way it sounds, I just mean that I wear myself out sometimes. I am forever finding myself in some goofy Seinfeld situation, and just laughing at myself. I considered not sharing this ever so personal story with you (many of you strangers) but then, we all need to laugh, right? I take my own advice, and hang on to my sense of humor for dear life. I defnitely need it. :) Hope you have a good Wednesday!