Welcome Back!

So it has been quite sometime since I have blogged. After the Low Car Diet ended, so did my motivation to work out thus the blogging stopped. I was thinking today, while looking in the mirror and being horrified, that I should start blogging again. When I write things that other people are reading, I tend to keep myself more honest. The weather is getting nicer which means less clothing is being worn and I am not able to hide myself under a heavy sweater. I know I have said this before, probably more times that I can count, but I need to start getting my butt in gear!

Working out after work is something I can't seem to get into the hang of. Once I walk into my apartment I tend to plant myself on the couch and then don't move. Also, I am NOT a morning person. Trying to wake up any earlier than I have to is close to impossible. I realize that something has got to give and either I need to get to the gym after work or start waking up an hour earlier. If any of you out there in cyberland have tips I welcome them!

I hope that since I am starting to blog again I will also try to live a healthier life style because I need things to write about. Now that the weather is getting nicer I have an excuse to walk more and spend more time outside. If anyone ever wants to go for a walk, count me in!

The big winner

I found out yesterday that I won the Low Car Diet challenge. I am so excited and can't believe that I won :) It just shows that hard work and dedication sure do pay off. The big prize I won is a folding bicycle that unfortunately I am too short to ride. I tried twice! I think that I am going to sell the bike on Craigs List and use the money to buy a bike that I can actually ride. I also won $100 to Berry Chill, $100 to zip car, a free yoga outfit and mat from Lululemon, $50 to lettuce entertain you, another free month at Equinox and a free spa treatment at J. Gordon Salon. It amazes me how this experience that has changed my life has also given me so many fantastic prizes! They told me yesterday that my blogs actually broke the website one day because I wrote so much. That isn't quite surprising seeing as I always have a lot to say. I think that blogging is one of the things that helped me win and I plan on keeping it up.

I am excited to continue at Equinox for another month and hopefully I am able to continue with my current level of dedication to the gym. I think one of the things that will keep me motivated is the Bucktown 5k in 7 weeks. I signed up for it and hope to achieve my goal of completing it in under 45 minutes.

Speaking of running, it is time for me to go to the gym.

The end, but really just the beginning

Today is the final party. My 30 days are up and the challenge is over. I can't imagine how quickly the month passed. A lot has changed these past 30 days. I now spend at least 3 but usually 5 days in the gym and am starting to enjoy it a little more. I also truly think about what I am eating before I put it in my mouth and most of the time have been making smarter choices. I feel like a different person! I am so proud of myself for actually completing everything I said I was going to. Initially I wanted to lost 14 pounds which did not happen. Though the scale did go down, which is all that really matters. I have noticed that I am sleeping much better and have more energy during the day. I feel great!

I took today off of work because there is a party for us starting at 2pm at a bar in the West Loop. I am curious what is going to happen and if they are going to announce a winner of the contest. My plan is to do some laundry, clean my place and run before the party. It seems like a lot, but I think I can get it all done.

I haven't decided what I am going to do now that all my free memberships are up. I plan on joining a gym and would love for it to be Equinox, but I don't know if that is going to be possible. No matter what I am going to continue with the life changes and keep up the blog. I found that writing about what I am doing makes doing everything easier :)

xoxo

I HATE RUNNING

I feel the need to make it clear. I HATE RUNNING! I don't understand those people who love running, its like people who love brussel sprouts. It just doesn't make sense! I don't love vegetables, but I sure do love Pepperoni Pizza or French Fries, you get the point. I would much rather be sitting on the couch, eating the aforementioned pizza while watching crappy reality TV. With that being said, I LOVE the feeling I get after running. I feel great and re-energized. I also love that I know I don't have to do it again for at least 24 hours. What started me running is that I decided to try and run a 5k. I downloaded some podcasts called couch to 5k and I listen to then while running. So far I am on week 2 of 9 and can't imagine running a 5k in 8 weeks, but I guess I will have to wait and see.

The spray tan I got is fading nicely. I was worried that I would look strange as it fades. The only problem areas I have are behind my knees and under my arms because I am not as good about exfoliating those areas. I was them but I must not scrub hard enough. I learned from this tan and will do better the next time. I think that I am going to schedule my second tan for this week Wednesday so I am tan for the final Low Car Diet Friday.

I can't believe that my 4 weeks is up on Friday. The time has sure flow by quickly. I am proud of myself for sticking with the workout for 4 weeks. I have not been as vigilant with the diet, but that is something I am going to be working on the coming weeks. I hope to sign up for a membership at Equinox but I will see after the LCD ends Friday.

I will keep you all posted as I plow through this last week. I hope to make this week my best one yet!

me....tan....no way!

So it has been quite a while since I last posted. This week has proven to be busy for me which means that I haven't been hitting the gym as much as I should be. For the first two weeks of this adventure I was lucky because I didn't have any commitments after work and was able to go straight to the gym. This week I have had something every single night, except yesterday.

Yesterday after work I got my Berry Chill and grabbed the 36 Broadway bus up to the Equinox in Lincoln Park. The plan was to work out and then get my 1st of 2 Ortanic spray tans. I left myself plenty of time to exercise and shower off my stench before the tan. I hit the treadmill and did some interval training. My goal is to be able to run the Bucktown 5K in October so I have been trying to increase the amount of running I am able to do at one time. Yesterday I did my best yet! Hopefully I will be able to run a solid mile straight before the end of August. I am almost there :)

The spray tan was a new experience for me, but one I can't wait to do again. The spa at Equinox is beautiful and is where they do the tanning. The tan is actually airbrushed on by a person. I was worried that I would feel uncomfortable about someone seeing so much of my body (I had a tankini on, but pulled up the top so my stomach could get tanned) and being so up close and personal with me. The girl who did the tan made me feel extremely comfortable and it also helped that the two ladies before me were bigger than me :) The girl who tanned me warned me that I was going to turn quite dark over night but that most of the color would wash off in the shower and leave me with a healthy glow. When I woke up this morning and looked in the mirror I was extremely shocked. I looked like I had become another race over night! She was right that it washed off in the shower because the water coming off me this morning was brown. I now look like I went away and came home with healthy color. Everyone at work today could not believe how natural it looked. People who I haven't seen in a while came up to me and asked if I had been on vacation. I have one more tan to use and can't wait to use it!

Today I had a meeting after work and was not able to go to the gym, but I will be back in full force tomorrow. Hopefully I can run even further!

XOXO

The Weekend

I finally got to speak with the Registered Dietitian who came up with our diet plans. Part of our responsibility to him is to keep an electronic record of our food intake. Having to write everything down really makes me thing about what I am eating. The goal is for me to eat about 1500 calories a day and work out at least 30 minutes 5 days a week. I was pretty good with my eating during the day today because I brought both breakfast and lunch to work. Dinner was not so easy. I went to a friends house who was having a BBQ and there was so much wonderful food. I tasted everything :) I will have to be extra vigilant the rest of the weekend and make sure to exercise a lot.

Work today was pretty stressful and normally I would turn to food for some emotional eating. I was so proud of myself today because I stuck to only eating what I brought to work. One of my coworkers brought a huge tub of vanilla ice cream and chocolate sauce to work today but I resisted. I knew that after work I would be able to indulge in some delish Berry Chill. I was able to get about 40 minutes of cardio in before the on-call pager for work went off and interrupted my workout. I don't get cell phone service in the gym so at that point I stopped so I could deal with work stuff.

The weather was perfect tonight. I had such a great time sitting outside and hope that it is nice again tomorrow. The plan is to wake up and hit the gym in my building before heading up to the roof and catching some rays. I will be wearing sunscreen, of course, because the sun is unhealthy and not part of the low car diet :)

Wish me luck!

Week Three

Today officially started week three. I have to say that I am so proud of myself for sticking with this as long as I have. I hope that working out and eating smart both become part of my daily life. I didn't work out the past two days, which made going to the gym today that much harder. Also, I had a raging headache that just wouldn't go away. I tried to make it through the gym today but was only really able to do weights and not much cardio. Hopefully tomorrow will be better :)

The teacher that subbed for the class I took Sunday came up to me in the gym today to see how I was doing. I was impressed that she remembered me and even more impressed that she mentioned seeing me before I even took the class. She teaches a class similar to the one that I take on Sundays called Evolution. I plan on taking her class and hopefully I will like it as much as the ones I take on Sunday.

Tonight I went to $1 burgers at Duffys again. After tonight I vow to NEVER GO BACK on nights it is raining. Apparently Duffys hosts a dodgeball league on Thursday night that plays outdoor. They were rained out tonight and overtook the bar. It took almost an hour to get my burger. I ordered my burger plain without a bun, seriously that is just a patty! I can't believe how long it took. I realize that it was a dollar but so not worth it.

I am bummed that I can't take my class on Sunday. I have a YLD board training that starts at the same time as my class. I hope to be able to motivate myself to at least run on the treadmill in my gym downstairs. Also Monday night I have something after work that is preventing me from getting to the gym. Next week is going to be quite challenging! Tomorrow is also going to be challenging. I am going to a friends house for a BBQ. I tend to eat everything in sight when presented with delish BBQ food. Hopefully I can control myself and still enjoy what I am eating.

We will see how I do. Wish me luck :)