You Look... Different

Hey-O!  April is marching along at a rapid pace, and I fear I am going to run out of month long before I run out of things that are supposed to get done.  Coming back to post on exercising is a little difficult at the moment because I have the attention span of a goldfish and often forget about the blog when shiny things pass by my window.  Oh well, at least I remembered today.

Yesterday Mr. Kawaii and I had a "date day" out on the town and walked for several hours around a show at a local convention hall and at an outdoor mall while we looked for new and inventive ways to spend our hard earned cash.  Although I no longer use a pedometer, I am confident that we walked several miles over the course of the day and it was so good to be outside moving around.  This past week has been a bit hectic, and unfortunately the workout side of things has suffered, but we made up for at least a little of it yesterday.

As we were out, I bumped into an old friend/romantic interest from back before Mr. Kawaii and I were an item, and after the happy "hello" hugs and chit-chat he leaned back and said, "You look so... different from when I last saw you."  Although I'm not sure how the comment was intended (I mean, I've cut about 2 feet of length off my hair, have traded in my tight fitting office attire for jeans and a company jacket and am visibly a much happier person than I was 5 years ago), I couldn't help but think that he was referring to my weight which is, truth be told, significantly different than it was back then.  Initially I was embarrassed for having become so large, but as I thought about it more I was propelled into a long and thought provoking look at who I was and where I am today.

After the initial horror of possibly being mistaken for someone who has "let herself go" I've decided that while yes, I do look different than I did back then - it is because my life is different.  While it's true that I weigh nearly 50lbs more than I did when the old-flame and I said our last goodbyes, the weight gain didn't come from sitting on ass for several years eating bon-bons.  No, I had a demanding and profitable stint in the food service industry where working 60+ hours a week made exercise an afterthought (the unlimited taste-testing, 3 square meals a day on the house and hundreds of gallons of sugary drinks also helped in producing this weight-gain), moved, got married, traveled, gave up the corporate grind to begin working for myself, supported other local small businesses, took care of my mother full time and have somehow found the time to finish writing a novel.  And further, while others might see me now and compare the roundness of my derrière to the firm bubble of a butt I had several years ago... what would they have thought if they saw me 18, 12 or even 6 months ago?  Truth be told, although I still haven't lost more than 5 pounds since this weight loss revolution took hold, I've dropped from an 18 to a 14.

And so, this morning after pondering this some more (I am a woman after all, so I couldn't just let it go) I find myself shrugging my shoulders and muttering, "who cares what he thinks?" about the whole ordeal.  Although it's true that I'd love to be that svelte size 8 that I was yesteryear, I wouldn't trade my life for anything.  Maybe one day I'll bump into him again so instead of reacting with embarrassment to the statement, "you look so different" I'll be able to muster the courage to ask him why he looks so very much the same.

Wii Played

Mr. Kawaii and I had an unsuccessful round of house hunting this afternoon, and when we came home we had to decide if we were going to hang our heads in mopey despair or find some other way to blow off some steam. In a moment of brilliant healthy and proactive thought, we decided to turn on the Wii and play some Wii Sports games to shake the blues out of our systems.

A few rounds of tennis, 9 holes of golf and a game of bowling later, we both felt much better about the world in general.  It is amazing how a little jumping, waving and twitching around the living room makes the world seem a little brighter.

Guns, Knives and Exercise

I'm hopping on for just a brief moment before going back to enjoying my relaxing day off. :)

Today Mr. Kawaii and I headed to a Gun and Knife show at the Expo Center in Portland and walked through the show for about 2 1/2 hours before finally deciding it was time to stop shopping and head home for some lunch.  We had a great time, saw lots of really cool and interesting things, successfully avoided the hot dog and hamburger stands and got to enjoy being out and about together.

It's been a great day!

Walking and Contemplation

I haven't been doing a great job of blogging (obviously), but I have been trying to get a little activity in as my back has been healing.  Gettting in a few squats here and there, burning calories cleaning up the house after my time stuck in bed and taking short walks have helped me to feel less like a bump on a log.

During the clean sweep of the house, I managed to find a very old roll of film that has been floating around the house for years, and after many reminders from my mom I was able to finally remember to drop it off to get it developed.  After another week, I finally remembered to pick UP said pictures from Walgreens and Mr. Kawaii and I sat down to go through them last night.

The photos ended up being from waaay back during the first Christmas Mr. Kawaii and I spent together (4 years ago).  It was fun to look back to the beginning of our relationship together, but inevitably the thing that I paid the most attention to was how thin I was 4 years ago.  I've gained a solid 50 pounds from that Christmas, and at first I got a little down on myself for my "failure" but on my walk this morning I re-thought my stance.

Back when those photos were taken, Mr. Kawaii and I had only been together a few months.  Just a year before, I had gone through a terrible divorce.  I spent months walking between 3 and 6 miles a day in addition to going to the gym and doing an hour of yoga every morning... I worked out constantly because I was miserable and quite honestly couldn't afford to do anything else.  I was in great shape, but I was unhappy.  I had no friends, no money, was at risk of losing my apartment and was very unsure of whether or not I'd get another paycheck.  Life sucked, and although I fit into some really cute size 8 jeans back then, there is no way I'd want to go back.

I reminded myself again that I haven't gained any more weight in 12 months - which is a huge improvement to where I was, gaining 15 to 20 pounds a year.  All I have to do is keep focusing on finding time in my schedule to get exercise in and continue eating appropriate portions and I'll be able to watch that waistline start to shrink.  I can do it!

Weathering the Wii

It was too crisp and chilly outside this morning to convince anyone to head outdoors for an early morning stroll, so instead I grabbed Mr. Kawaii and we worked up a sweat battling each other on the Wii.  5 rounds of tennis got our hearts pounding, and then a set of bowling helped us to cool down.

It's great to have options like Exercise TV, the Wii and workout videos to keep us moving even during icky weather.  It certainly helps me to feel like less of a slouch!

 

Rooftop Chores, Chutes and Ladders

Today's calorie burning adventure took place on the roof of my house.  As I was checking the mail a few days ago, I happened to look up and see that the entire north side of the roof was sprouting moss by the bucket load. Leaves were peeking out of the gutters, and the house magically added "home maintenance" to my weekly To Do list.

Mr. Kawaii and I headed up the ladder this afternoon when the sun peeked its head out from behind the fall cloud cover.  After a couple of hours of bending over to scoop sloppy leaves from the gutters, traversing the incline to sprinkle moss-killer across the shingles and hunting for loose or torn shingles we were left sweaty, soggy and proud that our rooftop is heading into winter prepared for Mother Nature's worst.

As much as I enjoy hitting the gym for a focused workout, I prefer the opportunity to burn calories while I work on an physically demanding project.  It makes me feel more accomplished, self-sufficient and proud of my own abilities.

So, how's your roof looking? ;)

Shrinking Abs, A** and Appetites

Back in the day, I used to be able to go out and eat a full meal at a diner and clean my plate.  Today, I discovered my days of eating super-sized meals are over and slowly fading in the sunset.  The way I discovered this today was over a basket of fries and pepper-bacon cheeseburger at Burgerville.  Mr. Kawaii and I were out running some errands and decided to stop off and have a late breakfast/early lunch between locations.  Since eating out is now such a rarity, we decided to go big and order a full basket each - no sharing allowed.

I made it through the delicious and juicy burger just fine, but suddenly started petering out mid-way through the fries.  And then, something that hasn't happened at any point in recent memory... I wasn't hungry again until dinner.  It appears that my hunger centers, digestive system and food craving epicenter have all decided that they are suddenly allowed to just shut down when I overeat.  What in the world is going on?!?  It's insanity, I tell you.

On the exercise front, M and I headed out to the track and she laughed at me while we walked along with half the town (Apparently they are coming out in droves to watch the free entertainment).  Imitating the moves of a very fit older gentleman, I shook things up by doing some walking grapevines around a portion of the track on our first lap - VERY tricky with the walking sideways while crossing the legs in front and behind one another.  Amazingly, I didn't fall over although it seemed like everyone on the track was betting on me kissing the pavement as I rounded the bend in the track.

Grapevines completed, I then took to doing walking lunches around the second lap.  Not as much as a balancing act as the previous lap, but after about my 10th lunge I started really "feeling the burn" as they say.  I was determined to keep going though, and spent the rest of the way round pretending I was on a Merry-Go-Round.  I thought M was going to die of embarrassment as I clung to an invisible pole connected to the invisible pony I was riding up and down.

Lap three brought on another move that threw M off every time I did it.  Each time a number, line, arrow or other track marking came into the lane I leaped over it.  The problem for M was that as we walked she got used to me not making crazy or embarrassing movements and then all of a sudden, without warning, I was up in the air and landing with a "thump" beside her.

Finally, the last lap was spent reverse leg kicks.  By now, M was immune to my oddities and chatted with me as if nothing odd was happening, even though the woman jogging with a pink umbrella was staring at me as if I were trying to complete a 3 legged race by myself.  I stared right back at her... I mean, who jogs with an umbrella? On a nice evening?  When there is no rain?  When it's not hot?  When the sun has started descending behind the tree line?  Not I.  I just thrust my legs out behind me without care or worry, surprising and almost injuring anyone who happens to not be paying attention and finds themselves walking behind me.

Still full of energy, I came home and did two different 10 minute ab workouts.  The first one I did was Standing Abs on Fios On Demand.  It was easy, fun, and over before I knew it.  Then I flipped over to 10 Minute Abs with Amy Dixon.  About 6 minutes in, while I was sprawled out on the floor on my belly, arms outstretched and legs kicking behind me in some kind of "I'm pretending to be learning to swim in the kiddie pool but my swim instructor doesn't actually trust me to be in the water" kind of move... my husband walked in.  He looked down at the floor at me, looked up Amy Dixon, looked back down at me and said, "Well, it's not the strangest thing I've ever seen you doing; but it's up there.  Have a nice swim."  And then he left.

Somehow, I managed to keep at the workout for the last 4 minutes without curling up in a laughing ball of hilarity and ended my workout day with two thumbs up and a few calories down.  Mr. Kawaii noted that my waist appears to be disappearing and for some reason the butt of my pants seems to be sagging as my rear end begins to shrink.  It was a great day for fitness, reduction in fast-food cravings and fun in the sun!