Stuff People Say To Me

I'm in a size 10 and they are getting tight; I don't want to go up to a size 12. I started going to the gym. I'm also going to try the cabbage diet and see what I can take off in two weeks with exercise and diet...

That's ridiculous. One my colleagues when I told her that I had spent 80 minutes at the gym the previous night in order to stave off hibernation syndrome

If you're not losing any weight, why do you need to buy new winter tops? Hazira, one of my friends

I've gained 50 pounds but I'm happy. I'm too busy to cook and, when I'm on the go, I eat fast food. I know that I shouldn't eat fast food but Iranian food takes two to three hours to cook....I'm not small but I'm not too big. I'm still at the point where I enjoy dressing up.

Nice teamwork. Sophie to me after I did some drumming on Patti's forearms after she tackled The Gift of Flight a.k.a The Forearm-Killing route.

There's a Groupon for an advanced rock climbing technique class. A hint? from Patti

I have gray matter. I just don't use it. I'm so into my body.

I drink a gallon of water a day -- not because I like water but because my coach tells me that I need to...You need to drink more water.

Thanksgiving is not really that big of a deal to me. I think we should be thankful every day. Also, people see Thanksgiving as an opportunity to be a glutton and I don't do gluttony. A grappler, stepper and yogi.

Anyone said any interesting stuff to you lately?

Tickled Pink

Tickled Pink is the brand of my sweatpants and that's just what I was when I went to put them on. I usually wear Capri or Bermuda shorts to the gym and I haven't made adjustments to some parts of my wardrobe.

These Tickled Pink pants are a 1x and it reminded me of how much progress I've made.

I went to Compton Hill Reservoir Park and hit the stairs and they didn't hit back. I walked up them -- sometimes two steps at a time. I jogged up a couple of times too.

I also hit a little hill and walked (and jogged) up and down. It was so good to be out of the gym.

I've had five cups of glasses so I'm on pace to get in, at least, eight glasses.

For those of you who stay in The Lou, don't forget that you can climb the water tower on the first Saturday of the month from April to November.

Clunker No More

Patti: ...Bring your climbing gear, you'll need it.

Me: LOL, I like it when you talk to me like that.

It was good to do a little mid-week rock climbing.

I did better today. My last two outings left me feeling like I was regressing. I was on the lookout for foot holds. As most of the books and videos point out, you can stand on your feet all day as opposed to going up a route relying mostly on your arms.

I am a quieter climber. When I first started climbing, I was quite the clunker.

Mike (Patti's hubby) tends to say Have fun storming the castle and watch out for the boiling oil. It makes me chuckle because it does feel like you're going on some wild adventure as you're about to ascend. I've been doing quite a few 5.8 routes. It's still a struggle but I'm making it to the top. This evening's tally:

5.6, Truxton or Bust
5.7, Gymnopaeda
5.8, Rainbow Bright (New Route)
5.8, JW
5.8, Face Plant (1.5 x's)
5.9, One Liner (Attempted)

It was a mixed crowd tonight. I saw a man in his late 60's and a pre-teen who is already skilled at bouldering. How cool is that?

In other news, I've been trying to drink more water. My usual consumption hovers around five eight ounce glasses. On Monday and Tuesday, I had seven glasses and, today, I managed to drink eight. Hopefully, I can continue with the water chugging.

Month-End Review, August

I exercised by the following methods this month:

10 Minute Solution: Fitness Ball, Upper Body Workout, 5 x's

10 Minute Solution: Tone Trouble Zones!, Butt & Thigh Blaster, 1 x

Arc Trainer, 1 x

,

AMT, 1 x

Bicycling, 8 x's

EFX, 1 x

Mowing Lawn, 2 x's

Rock Climbing, 2 x's

Stairmaster, 5 x's

Swimming, 9 x's

Treadmill, 1 x

Walking, 2 x's

I also drank over 100 cups of water. Yay!

Latest Strategy

One of my colleagues peeped into my office and asked if I had changed anything about my diet. Not really I told her. I recently dropped veggie chips but that was about it.

This colleague is the one who gave me Skinny Bitch to read and, although she looks quite petite to me, she still wants to drop more weight. Later, when I saw her by the shredder, I told her that I was trying to stay on top of the water and that I exercise like a maniac. In turn, she told me that she hardly drinks water or exercises.

Forty ounces of water is a good day for me. I know that most experts recommend more but I'm satisfied if I can get down that much. My latest strategy is to eat oatmeal with a banana before I leave for work. Once at work, I drink at least 16 ounces of water before I touch my morning snacks which usually consist of Dannon All Natural yogurt and fruit (watermelon or apple or kiwi et al.). It used to be a labor to get down two cups of water but, now, it's become easier.

My cousin just hooked up with a personal trainer and he recommends that she drink 96 ounces of water a day. I told her that I'm sure that she'll lose weight that way because there won't be room for anything else in her stomach drinking that much water.

I think that I should have also told my colleague that I'm still not eating fried foods, I seldom eat out and I keep track of what I eat. In addition, if I have Annie Chun's Peanut Sesame Chow Mein Noodles And Sauce for dinner, I don't go near the peanut or almond butter in the same day.

And, by maniacal, I mean that I exercise six out of seven days and usually for an hour and I don't use my exercise session as a reason to overindulge -- even if I participate in a half-marathon.

Up Two

I’m up two pounds. I weigh myself just about every day so it could be a normal fluctuation.

Just when I feel like I should be losing weight, the scale heads north.

I’m being consistent with drinking water and I even changed my exercise routine a bit. I’ve decided to hit the StairMaster every time that I go to the gym because it really gets my heart rate up.

I do still eat after 8:00 p.m. which might be an issue but one that I really don’t want to deal with right now.

I subscribe to Losing It! With Jillian Michaels and her How To Take Off Those Last 10 Pounds was timely but not necessarily doable. I barely manage to drink five cups of water a day and I don’t think that 10 cups is realistic but I’m going to make #3 a goal.

Here’s an excerpt from that June 12th epistle from Michaels.

Losing your first 50 pounds might have been tough, but believe me, dropping those final few stubborn pounds is a whole different challenge. The body struggles to hold on to that last bit of fat for survival purposes.

Now, don't get me wrong — you can lose the weight if you want to, but it will require you to muster a tremendous amount of restraint and willpower. If you're really up for it, do the following for 30 days:

1. Cut your sodium to 1,000 mg a day.
2. Drink at least 80 ounces of water daily.
3. Cut out processed foods.
4. Abstain from alcohol.
5. Train at 85 percent of your MHR (maximum heart rate) for 1 hour 5 times a week.

You can do a lot in 30 days — in fact, I can pretty much guarantee you will lose at least 5 pounds. And you'll feel like a rock star!

The Things My Grandmother Gave Me

In a record five minutes, my grandmother offered me Popeyes, greens, watermelon and V8 Diet Splash (10 calories per 8oz serving).

I didn't bother to reiterate that I'm not eating fried foods.

My grandmother insisted that I take a peach fruit cup that she scored from Aldi. Put it in your bag, she said. Then she went back for a plastic fork. Later on, g'ma wanted to give me a biscotti mix (with decorations still lingering) that
she got for Mother's Day. I didn't want to take it but she insisted. When I looked at the ingredients, the fat content was actually not that bad. I'll either try it or give it away. I also left with the hand fan (also from Mother's Day) that I had forgotten last Sunday.

When I was visiting my Aunt Al later on, she asked me if I wanted a soda. No, I say. I can't tell you the last time that I had a soda. What do you drink then?, my aunt wanted to know. Water or green tea, I report.

Actually, I do remember the last time that I had a soda. It was in October and I was fresh off disembarking from a cruise ship. I had half of a white soda which broke an almost two year streak of not having the stuff. I had already sinned greatly -- eating at midnight, ordering room service, one dessert, two desserts, lots of cheese etc. etc. Even though I exercised while the boat was rocking (kudos to me), climbed the stairs and walked laps around the deck, I had a five pound cruise setback. Never, ever go on a cruise (unless it's a fitness one) if you are trying to lose weight. Cruises appeal to your basic human desires and even though it seemed mathematically impossible (an extra 17,500 calories) for me to gain five pounds, somehow it happened and I did not feel good at all about the gluttony.

The Gift of Mint

One of my friends at work noticed that I was drinking mint water. I don't really grow things and I once turned down a neighbor who wanted me to water her plants because I didn't want her to return to yellowed leaves or out-and-out lifeless plants.

Water becomes rather flat to me after drinking it for awhile and in order to drink more of it, I try to lively it up by adding mint or lemon juice. Water with mint (left in overnight) has a subtle flavor. The aroma is a big bonus and I feel treated with each sip.

I had been scoring my mint at Dierbergs. No more. Asmira was nice enough to plant some mint for me. It's amazing how small gestures and things make me happy. I was so freakin' touched. When Asmira handed me the mint, she said don't thank me. What? Of course, that's the first thing that I wanted to do. Then, I wanted to barter. Finally, I just enjoyed the moment. Asmira's gift made me all warm inside even though it was cool and damp out.