such a snob

I have a confession to make.

I am a food snob.

I watch people; what they eat; what they put into their shopping carts at the grocery store. And sometimes, I cannot believe what people are willingly putting in their bodies.

I think this snobbery comes from the fact that I am so strict with myself about what I eat, the fact that I read labels like crazy, and am so, so careful about what I put into my body. There are no traces of gluten in my diet, and, beginning last week, I've wiped all forms of corn from my food, too (and I haven't had preservatives for a very long time). I feel better than I can ever remember feeling; more vibrant, happier, more alive. I'm more content with my body, fascinated by the way it thrives on these whole foods. My thinking is clearer, my body enjoying every second I spend at the gym.

Sometimes, grocery shopping is a hassle. Sometimes, I do feel limited. But, in so many other ways, it is completely liberating. I love the food I put into my body, now; I take more time picking it out, spend more care when cooking it. I have to go out for groceries a couple of times a week, now; rather than having boxes of food on my shelf, boxes that don't expire for another year and a half, I have fresh foods. Beautiful Braeburn apples. Plump, ripe, red tomatoes. A fresh orange. Eggs. Tender greens. Mushrooms, olives, and mozzarella. A new grapefruit, I love the way my food tastes! If something tastes rather flat, rather "blah," why eat it? If it doesn't thrill you, why waste money, time, or calories on it?

I don't even miss the way I used to eat.

Definitely a Monday...

Definitely a Monday...

I've been fighting off a sinus-ey bug for the past four days, and have been headachey and feeling pretty low the entire time. I've still been persisting in my workouts, because I know that if I just sit here on my butt all day, I'll feel even worse (mentally, if not physically).

I've been gaining muscle like crazy, but my insane weight-drop has stopped, as I knew it would. I didn't step on the scale over the weekend, and I could tell when I woke up this morning that I'd be up a little bit on the scale. Agh. Even though I knew I would be, it didn't help when I actually did see it on the scale.

I hate seeing an increase, and charting today's weight on fitday was harder than any workout (maybe therein lies the problem? ;) ), but I can't let it get me down; really. I'm gaining so much muscle, and my arms and legs look better than they have in years --and my abs? I actually have abs now! I know that I'm looking a little better, and I know that I'm working hard at it, and that it will pay off, in the end. I can't give up, and I can't let this little increase disrupt my routine.

Yesterday I tried on a cute little skirt, and the medium (8/10) was roomy on me. Oh, that's such a nice feeling, and that feeling is motivation in itself!

The gym is closed because there are classes in there right now; so I'm going to go attempt to jog downtown.

Day....10?

Day 10, I think...

I've been religiously tracking my activities, calories (but particularly carbs), etc. on fitday, which is amazing. It records my progress toward my goal, keeps a chart of my weight, and is overall an incredibly useful tool.

I hadn't stepped on the scale yesterday, because I wasn't feeling up to it (I thought the scale might read an increase, for sure, even though I've good), so I made myself face the music this morning. I had enough time to either run errands and then go to class, or go to gym, and then to class. I told myself that if I didn't have a significant loss, or had increased, I would hit the gym; otherwise, if I had lost, I could run my errands first, and workout later today.

I was down again, bringing my total loss so far to 6.5 pounds!

I can't believe how ridiculously fast this weight is coming off. I'm eating well, lots of proteins and vitamins/minerals, some meat, vegetables...basically, anything except for sugar, corn, wheat, rice, and potatoes. I'm eating enough calories, and drinking a bit over 100oz of water a day; and I exercise between an hour and a half/two hours a day...not because I really feel that that much is competely necessary, but because I am enjoying it so much! I love the feeling of knowing that my body is getting healthier, that my muscles are getting stronger and that I'm slimming down.

It's so exciting!!

Unbelievable!!

Unprecedented!

This afternoon, I was in the gym, and decided to make myself stay on the elliptical machine for 10 minutes. The elliptical machine...the one that makes my limbs fly up and I can't ever catch my balance. Ugh.

I was nearly finished with the program when I realized that I was enjoying myself. Previously, "enjoy" and "exercise" have never been in the same thought. Ever. But today, I loved the way I felt when I was exercising! My body was working the way it's supposed to, and I was loving it! So much so, in fact, that as soon as the program was finished, I started it again. 20 minutes on the elliptical! And I can't wait for tomorrow, when I get to do it again!!

VI

Day 6:

It's incredible what a difference even six days makes! I've been tracking my activities, weight, and nutrition through fitday, and it's fascinating to watch the changing charts -- my weight's coming off more quickly than I expected (even though I'm smack in the middle of the most awful time of the month). The muscles that came out of hibernation the quickest were my biceps, calves, and hamstrings, and I can already feel a difference in my abs. Hooray!!

I didn't go to the gym yesterday (day five) because one of my friends came up to spend the day with me. I had planned ahead, however, and spent an extra 50 minutes in the gym on Friday, as well as doing my ab crunches here in my room last night. It was nice to have the day off, but my body has already grown accustomed to getting up early and working out, so when my body automatically woke up yesterday morning at 6:15, raring to go, it took a lot to force myself back to sleep. The "day off" didn't mean a day off from eating healthfully, either; it just meant a day of not going to the gym. And it's funny, but because I'd stayed away from corn, wheat, and sugar for so long before I even began this routine, I have absolutely no desire for any of them.

This morning I hopped on the stair-stepping machine in the basement of my dorm (it has a small exercise area, with two out-dated bikes, a treadmill, a stairstepper, and a huge cushioned mat, perfect for stretching.). A few days ago, just 5 minutes on that beast kicked my butt; it's a tougher workout than biking for five miles! But this morning I opted for a 10-minute pre-programmed workout, and as soon as that one was over, I started over and did the same routine for another 10 minutes. I discovered that differences in posture affect the amount of calories burned (and flights of stairs climbed); in the second 10 minutes (same pre-programmed routine, remember), I burned 40% more calories than in the first, and climbed another 10 flights. All because I stood up straight, chest out, butt in, centering myself!! It also changed the amount I sweated, heh.


NaBloPoMo

I signed up to participate in NaBloPoMo, a NaNoWriMo spinoff. I don't have time to write a novel in November, but I can make time to post each day. I've neglected this blog lately; my posts won't be completely about exercise, either: I'm compiling a list of topics to write on. And if you have any suggestions for a topic (or two or three), please write them in the comment box!

Time for a shower, then Mass!