and then the cherries came in

Sunday is my day away from the gym.  I got home from church and fell asleep on the couch for a about 30 min, and 3 1/2 hrs later, my hubby woke me up so we could go play in a concert.  Oh my.  Saw my kitchen friend in the drum section and she’s going to help me put up cherries after the concert.  It was hot, and I had to carry my instrument and some of the stuff that always goes with concerts… stand, water bottle, your hubby’s horn, and he carries the stands the mutes and the music (thank goodness!) There must be about 30 pounds of junk in that stand/mute bag!  As we played, these deep dark roiling clouds came in.  It made it at least not as bright, but the humidity is nasty.  I keep sliding off my mouthpiece.  We got back home about 6:00 and started pitting and steaming and processing cherries.  We barely made a dent.  Cherry jelly, candied cherries, canned cherries, and cherry mash to make jam out of. 2 1/2 hrs!  Then there’s the mess to clean up.

When I make my cherry stuff,  I know exactly what is going into it.  It takes 4 cups of sugar for every 3 1/2 cups of juice.  You get about 5 cups of jelly from it.  I can my cherries in juice instead of sugar, so the only sweetness is the cherry taste.  The candied cherries are going into some almond ice cream that I’m going to make later.

I did my aerobic work out yesterday…15 min on treadmill set on mystery hike.  20 min on elliptical with lvl 4 crossramp and lvl 5 resistance, up from the 4 and 4 I was doing last week.  10 min on the stationary bike on lvl 5.

Then we went to the movie, “Chef.”  You HAVE to see this movie!  It is fantastic.  Nothing blows up, nothing invades from outer space, no crime, no violence (except when he attacks the lava cake), has Jon Favereau, John Leguizamo, Oliver Platt, Scarlett Johanson, Dustin Hoffman, and Sofia Veraga.  The language is a bit rough, but if you’ve ever worked in a kitchen, it’s mild.  Buddy with a reconnect with kid flick.  I would Definitely see it again and may buy it when it comes out on DVD.  And it was about food, which I think about a lot… but only healthy food.  Ok I lied.  Fattening, flavorful, delicious, gotta-have-some-more food is what I think about…  then I pass a mirror.  I realize I can never eat for pleasure again.

 

new stuff!

I know all the (torture) machines in the gym, am familiar with all the medicine balls, the slam balls, the bar bells, the dumb bells, the ropes and the elastic bands.  Yesterday I got to play on a new toy.  It’s an adjustable set of straps with handles suspended from the basketball support beams.  You adjust it to about mid thigh then you do pushups! and chin ups from a reclining position! and leaning forward, do triceps extensions.  If you’re brave, you can also put your feet into these straps located just below the handles and do leg exercises.  (But only if you’re very, very fit, and slim, and balanced, and completely insane.)  So you do 12 push ups on these wobbly straps which is harder than doing them on a bench or the floor, then you use a 12 pound medicine ball and slam it into the ground 12x.  Repeat this 3 times.  Then you pull the handles up to your ears and lean back and do 12 “chin ups” which I was surprised I couldn’t do very well.  You intersperse this with throwing the 12 pound medicine ball up into the air 12 times.  About this time, my back started tightening up.  I couldn’t even hold the ball in front after the 1st set.  Went to just the chin ups.  THEN, after you have noodle arms, you put your elbows by your ears with your hands, palm forward, behind your head, lean forward, then straighten your arms without changing your elbow position. Do 12 of those.  In between those sets, you do a V sit parallel to the wall, touch the medicine ball to one side, then throw it up against the wall (and catch it) on the other side 12 times.

*Note to self*  Do Blog immediately after this so that you don’t have to rest your arms after every sentence because you waited until the next day and cannot move…

Bad week for nutrition.  I had 2 breakfast meetings in 1 day, a lunch meeting the next day.  Got stood up on 3 different appointments and couldn’t do anything productive because they didn’t let me know until 15 min after they were supposed to show up.  Dang it!

Weigh in is next week.

 

Bad Mommy

So the last time I had a training session was last Monday.  I was very down because despite my best efforts, I was up 3 pounds.  I beat up on myself, I called myself names.  I threw caution to the winds and ate what I wanted, slept when I wanted, and didn’t go to the gym at all on Tues or Wednesday.  I walked around the baseball park during 6th inning.  I got a phone call that my aunt had died.  I was devastated.  Friday, I had an appointment at 9:00 and training at 11:30, but my mind was not running on all 4 cylinders.  I jumped in the car without my shoes, and by the time I got back to get them, my session was 1/2 over.  Went to a conference and the only exercise we did was walking 1/3 mile to the dining hall and back.

They had the most amazing lunch!  Roast beef sandwich with onions, arugula, spinach and sliced bleu cheese and Dijon mustard.  It was amazing.  And the people around the table scraped off the mustard, threw away the bleu cheese and the spinach.  Cretins!  Also had a pork loin with pineapple, coconut risotto, carrots and broccoli.  Breakfast was spinach and bacon quiche, maple oatmeal, yogurt, and juice. 

I was pretty depressed thinking that after all that hard work, I’d have 2 bad weeks in a row.  Trainer had set the goal at 2 pounds/wk, and said she’d be happy with 1 pound, but we should strive for 2.  I said I’d be happy if I didn’t gain.  So she dragged me over to the scale.  These 2 guys got on before I did, and they were about 6′ and 188 and 182 pounds respectively.  hmmm, I weigh 30 more than they do.  Sigh.  “ok, step up.” “But I don’t WANT to.”  “C’mon, gotta check…”  “oh no, please don’t make me.”  “GET ON THE SCALE!” “yes ma’am”  Closes eyes. 

211 pounds.  I had lost 2 pounds.

We did 4 min on the treadmill at 2.5, with 1 min at 3.  At the same time, I did arm curls with 5# weights.  15 min total but no weights on last 5 min

moved to bike.  Did 4 min at lvl 5 on bike and 1 min at lvl 8.  At the same time, I did alternating triceps extensions for 1 min, and then alternating shoulder presses for a min–5 pound weights.  Held on for dear life at lvl 8.  15 min total, no weights on last series.

Worst Pep Talk EVER

So I didn’t get what I was expecting at my last training (gained weight) and was extra sore.  So what?  “Isn’t that Interesting?”  oops and go on.  But I couldn’t go on.  I sat there and stared out at my car knowing I should go to the gym and do some cardio on Tuesday, knowing I should do some lower body on Wednesday… and I could come up with lots of excuses and no reasons why I shouldn’t go.  But I didn’t go.  I’m ready to give up.  Ready to throw in the towel.  1 bad result.  How dumb is that?  The attitude is “if you KNOW you’re going to fail, why even try?  Why expend effort and emotion and all that is fragile just to be disappointed again?”  And it’s all because of some numbers on a scale.  Measurable progress.  Things to compare.  Why do I let my emotional state control my physical and mental actions?  Is this common? 

I am SO tired of setting these goals.  Any goals.  All goals.  (For this month it’s 2 pounds per week)   I set tiny goals and my trainers and supervisors ask, “Why are you shooting so low?”  “Because I can’t do it.  I set these milestones because you tell me to, but I have no doubt in my mind that I can’t do them, even the minimums.”  “OH!  Well that’s because you fail at your plan!  Work your plan and you’ll reach them.”  Then I show them my notes and my efforts.  “You did all of that and still failed?”  Pretty much.  So if it doesn’t matter, results wise, what I eat or whether I exercise, then why am I doing this?  Exercise, count calories, no carbs, 1 gal water (no I haven’t hit that either) weigh 213.  Sit and play or read, eat what I want, 1 8 oz glass of water every week if I remember, weigh 213.  Well duh.  Short term thinking.  I was 187 when I had to cancel my training sessions 2 yrs ago… I have my work outs, I can do it on my own.  (Didn’t did I…)  JUST GO!  DO!  you’re sore now, but get sore in other areas.  It’s a good sore, not injured sore.  Just a reminder of where your muscles USED to be… 

Arby’s Smokehouse

Cashew Chicken (1/2 order)

no exercise

Good day to walk inside

I went to a funeral today.  At least 1500 people there!  He had more mourners from his volunteer position there than he had coworkers.  What kind of legacy is that?  Well respected in the community, professional hero, loved by the members of his church, and not one person from his workplace showed up to the funeral?  He saved many lives, he was conscientious about his work and his training for his volunteer position.  He was soooo young.  How many from our workplaces would take a day off to come to our funerals?  The true impact we have then is not through our work in the cubical, or the sale of our next product, or the fact that someone’s air conditioner now conditions air, but through the volunteer activities we do where we interact with people. 

So I planned my funeral.  I’m going to get a recording of that skit in Holy Grail where the guy says, “I’m not quite dead yet… I’m feeling better…I think I’ll go for a walk….”  And at the viewing, “Hello Bob, how’s the wife and kids?  Don’t I look like myself?”

I got a message from myfitnesspal ap.  It said I wasn’t consuming enough calories, and if I continue on my present path, I should weigh 203 pounds in 5 wks.  My goal is to weigh 203 pounds in 5 wks.  What’s wrong with this picture?

I got a lap in (1 m) before the rain started.  2.4 mph

Spinach mushroom “fit fare” omelet, chicken sausage, bowl of fruit

Baked chicken, baked potato, banana

Pride and Fall

Ya, I’m a beast, I’m a monster.  Rwarrrrrr!  Except…Saturday night when I went to bed, my shoulder joint started to hurt.  I took 3 Ibuprophen and tried to sleep.  It was a rough night.  The next morning, it was a struggle to get dressed for church!  Sunday is my rest day, so I didn’t go to the gym at all.  I had baked chicken with strawberries and potato salad for lunch, and that chicken carbonara they have over at Fazolli’s for dinner.  I was under on my carbs and only 30 cal over for the day.  But WOW did I hurt!  So it’s Monday and I have to go in for my training…

I confessed my silliness to my trainer… it went like this:  “I did a bad thing”  What?  “I went to the gym on Saturday”  That’s not bad… ” did 20 min on treadmill and 10 on bike”  That’s not bad…  “went to the weight machines.”  oh?  what did you DOOOOO?  “I showed off.  I lifted 20 pounds more and did 7 more reps than the guy right ahead of me.  I felt good about being Arnolina Braunschweiger  (obscure reference to Last Action Hero) and it didn’t hurt at the time.”  But now?  (with consternation on her face…) We did an upper body work out on Friday, you have to let your muscles rest.  “I know, I injured my shoulder,” I said with a single tear rolling pathetically down my cheek.  So for punishment, I got to do a core circuit.  Decline bench 12 crunches, followed by incline bench kick outs where you lie on your back and kick your feet straight out another 12.  Then we went to the assisted ab machine and did 30 crunches with a 30 second hold in the up position for 30 seconds.  Then we went to the sitting ab bench machine and put 80 pounds on the weight and did 15 of those.  Then went to the other sitting ab machine and with feet straight out did 15 ab crunches at 45 pounds.  We did that whole circuit 3 times.  Then we went back to the mats.  I did forearm planks on my toes for 30 s.  Then roll on to back and do a crunch moving left and right touching my heels with my hands like a metronome.  Repeated that set of exercises 3 times.  Then the coup d’grace…It was weigh day. NOOOOOO!  I gained weight even though I exercised and ate what I was supposed to? 

spinach/bacon soufflé from Panera’s

leftover chicken carbonara for lunch

weight 213.5  

Waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa

 

Relative progress

I’m fat and weak and slow and sore.  But…

I had my healthy breakfast today, then I helped a friend move some stuff for his garage sale, and brought home some stuff.  Then I did a little work and went to the gym.  See above… I am sore.  I am not the weight I should be,  rolls of me get in my way.  But…

I went with my friend and we started on the treadmill.  She is much slimmer than I and had hers set on 3 mph, so I thought to myself, “Self, let’s try 3.”  So I did.  And I went 20 min.  Then we went over to the bike, and I did 10 min at lvl 5.  Eh.  See above… I’m slow, but not as slow as I thought I was.

Then we went over to the weight machines.  My friend is not in training with anyone so she does very light weights, I am doing weights 2x a week so I am stronger.  Then this big guy came over to work on the weights.  He was very very big.  Over 6 feet tall and over 300 pounds, but not in muscle.  He wouldn’t have to use a pillow to play Santa Clause.  But still, it’s a guy.  He gets on the chest press machine and sets the weights and does 3 sets… of 5 reps, at 30 pounds.  I am surprised.  Hmmmm.  My friend gets on and does 2 sets of 10 at 15 pounds.  I am not surprised.  I get on and try the 30, then the 40 then settle on 50 pounds,  3 sets of 15.  We go to the shoulder press, and she does 2 sets of 10 at 10 pounds, he does 3 sets of 5 at 20 pounds,  I do 3 sets of 12 at 30 pounds.  Now I’m really confused.  Don’t guys have superior upper body strength?  Then we go to the leg machines.  Leg extensions friend: 2 sets of 10 at 20 pounds; guy: 3 sets of 8 at 30 pounds; me: 3 sets of 12 at 45 pounds.  Leg curls friend: 2 sets of 10 at 15 pounds; guy: 3 sets of 8 at 30 pounds; me 3 sets of 12 at 45 pounds.  He goes to the triceps extension machine and does some over there then moseys over to the bikes to do about 10 min.  See above…I’m weak, but not as weak as that guy or my friend.  And even though I’m sore, I can do much more weight for more reps than either of them.

Both of them hobble out the door, totally spent and sure they’ll be emptying a bottle of ibuprophen when they get home.  I won’t feel this until tomorrow.

I fell off the wagon on my nutrition today.  I had a brownie.  I had a cheeseburger, and I had (gasp) popcorn at the movie.  *hangs head in shame*