Tag Archives: jillian michaels

Small Tweaks for a Big Difference

I lost a good portion of my weight by making dead-easy (but also boring) meals like chicken patties with plain brown rice and plain broccoli. Healthy but incredibly boring. I used to look at recipes and think there were too many unhealthy ingredients–too much milk, sugar, cheese, whatever it was.

The more I read health blogs, the more I realize that there are plenty of ways to make healthy food that’s not boring (and that even an “unhealthy” meal I make myself is still probably healthier than its restaurant/takeout equivalent), and I’ve been trying to cook and entertain more lately. Slowly, I’m turning grabbing takeout for at least half of my meals into trying to cook as much as possible so I can save money. I mean, what good is losing all this weight if I can’t buy fun clothes????

I’m also REALLY trying to become a morning exerciser/more organized person. (Um, maybe these are actually BIG TWEAKS.) While I usually don’t make it to the gym in the morning, even I can roll out of bed and into my living room to do a workout DVD and a few minutes of yoga. And if I have a few more minutes, instead of reading blogs (which, although I love, is honestly a HUGE time suck for me), I can do something productive like cook. Which I did for the second day in a row BEFORE WORK. I sauteed some spinach, onions and chicken sausage to add into my risotto.

But to be honest? The one habit I’ll never give up? Hopping on my scale every morning. After losing 50 pounds, I need to know that I’m keeping it off. And if I didn’t hop on every day, I wouldn’t have realized that I freaked out on Monday and was just retaining a little water–just from pumping my body with lots of water, the scale already says 4 pounds less than it did on Monday.

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Oops, that’s not a change 🙂

Also, I’m really honored that Tina named me one of her “health heroes” in her latest Health.com post. Tina is definitely one of my favorite bloggers, and I’m lucky now to also call her a real-life friend, so it really means a lot to me! Also, I’m in good company over there.

Ready to PUMP YOU UP!

So remember how I posted last night that I was going to meet Ashley at the gym this morning?

I tweeted about it, too.Picture 18.png

And then I slept just late enough that I wouldn’t be able to make it. I should have left by 6:15 to allow extra time for waiting for the subway and still make it there a few minutes before 7. I woke up at 6:10 and texted back and forth with Ashley. Sure, I could have taken a cab…but I guess I just didn’t want to go badly enough. Frustrated with myself, I snoozed so long that I overslept a little and even totally forgot to grab my oatmeal on the way out the door, so I bought some at work. (But brought my own Barney Butter.)

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Lunch was a free (yay loyalty cards) soba salad.

Since the holidays, I’ve had a hard time getting motivated to work out. I’ve been busy, I’ve been sick, etc. I can make all the excuses I want, but the reality is that I just haven’t been making it a priority.

I have a black-tie function coming up on 3/5 and two half-marathons next month. It’s time to get serious, yo.

What does that mean?

  • Sticking to my training schedule, which Lizzy so kindly redid for me. (But being okay with having to modify things, sometimes.)
  • Cutting back on the booze.
  • Cutting back on the bread and pasta.
  • One yoga day a week.
  • Two strength training days a week.

(Also, everything I wrote here.)

I’ve been feeling softer around the edges lately, which is definitely a result of too many treats and too many refined carbs in the past month or so. It’s also definitely a result of a lack of strength training lately, which I realized in the spin class I snuck in during lunch.

This is obvious, but…you feel stronger when you strength train. You also burn a ton more calories. The kind folks at K-Swiss sent over a snazzy pair of their Tubes sneakers as well as Jillian Michaels’ Six Week Six-Pack and Master Your Metabolism. I’m definitely going to incorporate the DVD into my schedule at least once a week, and I plan on looking at the book to see if there are any tips I can incorporate into my diet.

How do you switch things up when you start feeling a little soft around the edges?