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endorphins

Back in the Saddle


saddle

Originally uploaded by unicornodeath

I do not know what that spell of shakiness was about. It was so weird. I wasn’t really DOING anything differently, but my head was all messed up. After I wrote that, I went to a Zumba class and then worked out on the elliptical thingie. That pretty much snapped me out of the funk (as I figured it would). It was strange though.

Yesterday I went to a fabulous Nia class. (I admit I am really attached to Nia in a way I do not see happening with Zumba, even though Z burns more calories. It’s not just about the calories)

Last night I had a GREAT BIG new Foodie McBody idea. I’m not ready to announce it yet, but suffice it to say I have something exciting, fun and kind of scary brewing in the brain. I’ll let you know soon if I actually put it into motion.

Today our WW meeting was packed! All chairs taken, some people sitting on the steps. Exciting energy. I hope my new meetings also fill up this week!

8

Why I Need to Exercise (Almost) Every Day

I’ve actually exercised probably 6 out of 7 days, most weeks, for the past several months. And on days that I don’t I realllly feel it. I’m cranky and irritable and depressed. It’s kind of strange. I was never quite sure about this endorphins thing, but now I am a true believer. And it’s hard to fathom that I actually had years of not feeling very happy, and that was my “normal.” Now I feel like it is normal to be pretty happy – I mean REALLY happy, and enthusiastic about life- most of the time, and when I don’t feel that way, it’s like something is wrong.

I know that I used to think that it was best to exercise 5 days a week. Which is very good! Especially compared to my 2x a week (if that) in previous times. But then the question would be, what days would I NOT exercise?

Yesterday I had all intentions of going to cardio boxing class at 6pm. But I worked until 5, and I really wanted to cook dinner at home, and the logistics of it were just impossible. So I told myself I’d exercise after dinner. My EA Sports Wii thingie even came in the mail. But I was too tired. (or so I told myself) and so I didn’t do anything. And my mood just dropped and dropped as the evening progressed, and I went to bed feeling crummy.

Today, I wasn’t sure when or how it was going to happen. I thought, I might not do anything today either. But I don’t think I’ve skipped TWO days in a very long time. I had gotten up really early to take my daughter to the airport. So by 4pm I was super sleepy. I really wanted a nap.

I Twittered aboutt this. (I LOVE TWITTER, in case you haven’t noticed!) Some people suggested that I nap since I probably needed to. But a bunch of people said (rightly so) that if I exercised, I’d probably feel a lot better. I hemmed and hawed and in the end I decided to “walk” down at the track near my house. It was low pressure and I figured it would be better than nothing. But when I got there, there were already two women on the track. One was in her mid-sixties and the other had to be in her 70s. The 60-something woman was RUNNING. (slowly, but running) I was wildly impressed, seeing her white hair bounce around. I thought, come ON, I can do that. So I walked two laps (1/2 mile) to warm up and then I figured I’d run as long as felt OK.

I ran for 30 minutes nonstop. It felt SO SO GOOD. I was so happy! and not sleepy anymore. And certainly not grumpy.

I went to the grocery store and got some very delicous black bean burgers, and turkey burgers. Then I found those super thin hamburger buns which made me very happy. Guess what? The black bean burgers were less than half the points of the turkey burgers. The super thin buns were one point each. YAY!! I added cheese and avocado, I went crazy.  And they tasted really, really good.

Anyway, it was a good day. And it reminded me once again how good it feels to move around. I am really really happy when I have nice sweat rivulets running down my face. So I’ve decided that my default will be to do SOMEthing every day. And if I can’t for whatever reason, then that will be my rest day, but when I get up it won’t be “do I exercise today?” but rather “what/where/when will I exercise?”

This is so new. And so good.

7

Great Workout + Another Happy Clothes Moment

I have a much biggest post I want to write today but not sure the schedule will allow. But I did just have a happy moment I have to share!

I had this really nice blouse last year, one of my favorites. It was dry-clean only but somehow it got tossed into the washer. AND the dryer. It shrunk down tiny tiny. There was no way I could squeeze into it. I wrote it off. I made a note to one day donate it somewhere or give to one of my small friends. 🙂

WELL. Today after I got out of shower, I was standing there perusing my closet. I put on some black pants. Then I glimpsed my long-lost pretty blouse. I wondered… could it be possible?

IT FIT! IT FIT! IT FIT! I am wearing it now. I am doing the happy Snoopy dance.

In other brief news, I had the best workout this morning.  Normally I do two circuits of this rather grueling workout, with my trainer. I usually have to rush off after that (it takes an hour total) and besides, I’m pooped. And usually I work out with just him. (which is great) But today the gym was very busy and these two guys, whom I have worked out with in the past (more than a year ago) ended up showing up at the same time. We all worked out together. I was so pumped!! It just boosted my energy 100x more to have two other people to work out with. So I told my trainer I had some extra time, and I wanted to do 3 circuits. His eyes popped out and he got all happy and psyched and so the three of us did three.  I was really happy. I had done more than I thought I could do. I was about to leave, and this one guy got this gleam in his eye. He goes, “Four?” And I just knew I had it in me. I could feel my engine revving. “Yeah!”  So we did the fourth circuit and I was so adrenalized and happy and proud and full of energy. It was a long, intense, two hour workout. I felt so happy when I left.

Then I came home, showered, and put on my shrunken shirt!! Hee!!

Much better day than yesterday.

2

Bad Day/Good Day

Yesterday was just one of those super funky days.  Today has been a very good day. The difference? E-X-E-R-C-I-S-E.

So yesterday I got up with good intentions. I put on my workout clothes.  Drove my daughter to school.  My plan was to come back, eat breakfast, charge up my iPod, work out on the erg machine, then shower and go to work. (luckily, or unluckily, I have a VERY flexible schedule and boss)

I had been thinking that maybe I ought to add back some “good carbs” into my eating. I’ve been eating more eggs than I can count, mostly egg whites.  So I thought to change things up I’d have a little oatmeal. Now, I am not a huge fan of oatmeal. I loooove “smooth” hot cereals like Malt O Meal but not sure how it compares health wise. I remembered seeing an ad for Starbucks “Perfect Oatmeal.” I got the oatmeal and was quite charmed by the tiny little packets of brown sugar, chopped nuts and dried fruit. I passed on the sugar, and added about 1/2 packet each of the nuts and fruit. Then I ran into someone I knew and chatted for a while. MISTAKE. When I got to my car, there was a bright green $45 parking ticket. BOOOOOO.

I came home. I was upset. I added up my points for the oatmeal etc and was mad when I realized it was more than I’d anticipated/wanted. I went into a funk. I started fooling around on Twitter/Facebook and before I knew it, hours had passed. I kept saying, “I ought to go exercise” but I didn’t. Then I started feeling HUNGRY and that made me even madder. Damn that oatmeal!!

I ended up not exercising at all. I had to go somewhere and didn’t have time to exercise AND shower, and I really needed to shower. I was in a funk. For some bizarro reason I had the weirdest, strongest craving for HOT DOGS all day. Really? Hot dogs? Why crave what is basically a NON food but really a piece of garbage? I don’t know. But I could not get hot dogs out of my mind.  My brain was crawling with hot dogs.

Fortunately, I practiced some deep breathing and managed to get through the day without eating any hot dogs. I was in a big rush. I ordered Indian food takeout. I ate much much much too quickly although did not eat any naan or rice. It was good but I probably ate too much. (note to self: buy food scale next time at WW) Went out to see a friend’s performance. Bought a bottle of water at intermission. Went to bed vowing to have a better day today.

TODAY, I woke up and after driving girl to school, went straight to my trainer. He was fa-bu-lo-so. He gave me a great Biggest Loser type workout. I felt like Sione. He kept hooting and yelling, GIRL, you are really BRINGING IT! I was happy and sweaty.

I have been having some hip muscle pain for the past couple months -first the inside of my hip (groin) and then it migrated to the outside. My trainer’s bodyworker came in and he so very generously GAVE ME half of his time with her. She had just done this workshop on hips and she was eager to try out all her new tricks. I was so excited!! She worked on me for 30 mins and when I hopped off the table I felt like a million bucks. Seriously. It was sooooooooo good. (note to self: schedule more bodywork)

Then I had a pre-existing appointment to go to this chair massage place (yeah! another bodywork) with a friend. We each got mini 15-minute chair massages which was great since this one focused mostly on my neck and shoulders. YAY. Then we had lunch and I had a very satisfying/modest bean soup, Mediterranean salad and a few steamed clams. All good.

I feel sooooooooooooo much better today.  It’s like a different universe.  I have to remember this every single day. If I don’t get my dose of endorphins, I feel awful. If I do, everything is easier.

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