Turning a Corner

At approximately 11:45 this morning, I had a little breakthrough.

I’ve been feeling pretty down about my body since the marathon. While I’m still working out a ton, there’s no way I can match the crazy-high calorie burn that running 30-45 miles a week provided. And that’s fine. 

While I haven’t usually felt like I was eating like I was training for a marathon in an excessive way, I was definitely able to eat more and not think about it for quite some time. This is probably the longest running break I’ve taken since I started running a few years ago (eff this winter. I’ll be back out there when it’s over), so I’ve been trying to learn all over again how to eat in a way that keeps me both healthy and happy.

I’ve also been working out with a trainer at Uplift for the past few weeks. The classes are amazing, obviously, but I wanted some personal attention for a bit, so I’ve been working out with my buddy Leanne, and she’s delivered. I sort of worried that I’d try to be too chatty with someone I knew, but I’m breathing too hard and don’t want to distract her from counting reps, so that doesn’t happen. I also worried I’d feel dumb failing in front of her after the millionth rep, but what would be the point of working out with a trainer if I weren’t working as hard as I possibly could? 

My typical week in workouts for the past two weeks has been this: 1-2 Uplifting Strength classes, 2 sessions with Leanne, 1 Uplifting Sculpt Fusion (this one is the seriously non-negotiable one. Since I’m paying for unlimited classes at Uplift right now, I’ve been trying to cut back on other fitness spending like yoga, except when I need a good Soul fix, because it’s way cheaper than my old therapist was) and ~2 cardio sessions. 

I had a chat with Michelle, my Uplift Strength Challenge coach, the other day. I’ve been telling her how frustrated I’ve been with my lack of progress. That I know I’m getting stronger, but I don’t feel it or feel like I look it. We chatted for a while, and she reminded me of a bunch of things: that I’ll never go back to where I was, it’s only a few pounds, etc. Those sound trite, but they helped. 

We talked about me keeping a food journal for a few days to be more mindful of what I’m eating. As I stared into our office fridge yesterday, I realized how not mindful I’ve been. How one handful of almonds has turned into another; how I wander over to the fridge to break off a little piece of my dark chocolate (and then do the same when I walk Bailey at lunch), how I snack on chips when I get home from work and open a bottle of wine for a glass to wind down when I get home. 

And all those little things add up. I’ve been so mindful of those since talking to Michelle. I’ve also thought of things I’ve read on Anne’s blog about mindless/emotional eating. Do I really want to eat ___ sugary/crappy thing, or do I just need to get up from my computer for a few minutes? Am I hungry enough to eat an apple right now?

This morning, I took Steph Nieman’s demo class at Peloton. I first met Steph at Uplift (shocker), and I LOVED her. She’s taught at Soul Cycle, Flywheel, Revolve, Barry’s, probably a few other places too? She left NYC for a few months but is BACK and at Peloton.

Peloton is some super fancy bike you can buy for your home and stream workouts right to your home. I live in Manhattan so don’t have room for a bike (and would rather spend that money on classes or shoes) but what a cool idea! I loved her energy at Uplift, but it was seriously off the charts at Peloton. It seems like on the bike is where she truly excels. Her playlist rocked, and the class was filled with her friends (and my coworkers.) There was quite a bit of woo-ing, and I definitely mouthed along when Party in the U.S.A. came on. We were on regular bikes, but she taught on the fancy bike, and our entire class was livestreamed to some people somewhere with Peloton bikes. I hopped up on the instructor bike after class, and DAMN that bike was nice. The ride felt, so so smooth. Peloton actually started as a Kickstarter – read more about them here. 

 

I walked out endorphin-hammered, and we walked back to work. I showered at work (I recognize what a weird statement that is, too), and felt an awesome, unfamiliar feeling as I pulled on my jeans: my stomach felt strong, not bloated. It was just one class, but I feel like I’m turning a corner here. In Chelsea’s class last night, she told us “if your abs are burning, it’s because they’re getting stronger.” And, well, my abs were en fuego.

Oh, and I did a 2:00 plank at a New Balance event the other night. (Brittany did a 5:00 plank to win a pair of shoes, NBD.) I’d already worked out with Leanne that day, so I felt especially awesome that I PR-ed in my plank. 

This weekend’s goals: have fun, don’t ruin all that hard work/progress with eating stuff that doesn’t make me feel awesome, take a rest day Sunday (I’ve been having so much fun with my workouts lately that I haven’t taken a rest day since….?) 

Have you ever felt yourself turning a fitness corner? How/when?