Well, it happened. I turned 35 yesterday. As is my tradition, I took the day off of work and went shopping for clothes. This was a particularly important task given my weight loss. I used to have a pretty robust wardrobe, but all of those items are now too large for me. I did some shopping last year, but really needed at least a few more purchases to round back out my work wardrobe. It was great to be trying on clothes without getting frustrated about everything making me look fat. And, I came home with quite a lot of great things!
I’ve been very busy lately, with work and the holidays, so I’ve been neglecting my blog a bit. I had several really busy weeks working on projects at work, and I was rehearsing for an annual holiday concert at my church. The concert was really fantastic, and included some amazing soloists, like a 17 year-old bass who was just accepted to Oberlin and whose voice reminds me of Josh Grobin. And I had a lot of work to do, as I was the soprano soloist. I have to be honest – the extra rehearsals cut into my normal gym time, and sometimes made it difficult for me to eat a healthy dinner. But I’ve been doing small and simple activities that have helped me maintain my healthy lifestyle:
- Doing some exercise activity at home when my schedule (or weather – did you hear about our blizzard) prevents me from keeping to my regular gym workouts. This might be something as simple as a 10 minute bodyweight circuit, but it keeps exercising a part of my routine and gets me off the couch.
- Indulging in only the holiday treats I will really enjoy, and not letting one indulgence pave the way for more.
- Eating meals prepared at home and made with whole foods whenever possible.
- Saying, “no thanks” to fatty sides when dining at a restaurant (turned down fries and cole slaw at my on-the-go lunch while shopping yesterday, even though they were included in the price).
All of these strategies have kept my holiday weight gain to, at most, about a pound. And that’s without eating (boring) salads at every meal or passing on the amazing strawberry trifle my mom served at Christmas dinner. And the result was, during my post-Christmas shopping marathon, the size 2 and 4 petite clothes I am used to wearing fit well, and I was able to feel good about adding some new items to my wardrobe.
I’ve also been working towards some goals I set back in the fall. By December 31, 2009, I had hoped to:
- Swing a 20kg kettlebell 20 times consecutively,
- Deadlift 125 pounds 5 times consecutively, and
- Complete 5 consecutive chin-ups.
Early in the month, I exceeded my first goal, swinging the 20kg kettlebell 20 times, and then by midmonth, I managed 30 consecutive swings. I was very excited.
Then, last week, I hit my deadlift goal. I deadlifted 125 pounds five times. Then I set up the bar with 135 pounds to see what I could do, and managed two additional reps. I was pretty excited, as you can well imagine.
I’m still working on the chin-ups, and frankly not hopeful that I’ll get there by the end of the week, but that just gives me something more to strive for in the future.
I also finished the 6th Turbulence Training contest. My intensity just wasn’t there for this contest, so while I maintained my fitness, and grew stronger, I didn’t produce a jawdropping transformation. There were some amazing ones, though, and I’ll tell you a little about the people I think would be a great inspiration for my readers in an upcoming post.
So in planning out a few more posts for my readership, here’s a little preview of what’s to come:
- A recap of the most recent Turbulence Training contest, along with specific role models and inspirations for my readers,
- A review of Rachel Cosgrove’s new book, “The Female Body Breakthrough,”
- An anti-resolution post that encourages QUARTERLY goal setting and changes in habits, and
- A post on how to keep your workout intense, even when dealing with seasonal crowding at the gym.
I hope you come back to read them, and have a very happy New Year!
Popularity: 3% [?]
