Weight Loss

Fit with Fitbook: Week 2

/ foodsweatandbeers / 4 Comments

Another week, another dollar.  Only it’s been a week and a day, and I’ve only spent dollars (you know, on important stuff like wine tastings and half-pints of beer). So, in truth, that phrase doesn’t apply, whatsoever.

Another 8 days, no dollars.  BUT I can chalk another week off in my fitbook endeavors.  I’ll be honest, this one wasn’t quite as successful as the first.  Then again, when you have two days where entire daily food entries read “Didn’t eat much other than brie… but there was a lot of brie”, a one pound gain isn’t really worrisome.  In fact it’s somewhat impressive.

I only eat carbs when they're paired with wheels of brie. #healthy

Luckily, the half-pound of soft cow’s cheese that I inhaled over the weekend and the massive quantities of beer and chocolate from Wednesday at Big Boss did not actually translate to the gain that I feared when approaching the scale.  And I’m gonna give a lot of credit to this little guy:

I haven't come up with an official name, but it feels like a fellow

Looking back at my weekly wrap up, here’s a little summary:

  • The Good: Worked out before my glass night on Thursday, avoided my standard fare of pickle chips with my beer buddies, burned 4,140 calories during the week (over a quarter of that was just from Monday’s INSANE workout), and despite a few minor/major bumps on the road, I never fully “gave up” on a day by succumbing to fully eating awful from start to finish
  • The Bad: 2 days where “Brie” was a major food group, skipped dinner on Saturday, missed my workout on Sunday due to kind of feeling sorry for myself (I know rest days are great, but this was just laziness).
  • Notes: Unless I’m like… on an epic vacation, there’s really no need for an entire day of indulgence, it’s nice to treat treats like what they are: special. Meal skipping makes me cranky and hungry and lame. My weekend eats need more structure.
Other updates:
  • This “no soda” thing is really easy now that I’ve stopped, you know, buying soda.  I think it’s one of those “out of sight, out of mind” things.
  • Grapes are nature’s candy.  Seriously. They’ve totally owned my sweet tooth.  Gotta stop at Target to pick up more.

    Grapes should always be eaten out of wine glasses. New life rule.

  • I did my first official “Meatless Monday” last night and it was a SMASHING success!! More on that later.
  • I love the calm post-sweat session where I just sit down in the gym and write up my workout and my daily eats in the fitbook (if you’re interested in getting one, and don’t wanna click through to the last post, here’s a link to the fitbook store!)
  • I forget how amazing wearing a HRM during a workout is. Remind me to never forget that again, thanks.
So yes, abbreviated update:  Weekend spent eating brie by the chunks + overindulgence on Wednesday – two rest days = 1 lb gain
However, I felt so much stronger in BodyCombat and CX30 on Monday, and the moves are getting easier, so I’ll say progress is progress.
UNRELATED: Anyone have a favorite method of cooking 4 lbs of country style ribs/pork butt?  Because when I see it on sale for $6, I can’t resist.  And now I have 4 lbs of meat.  And I live alone. And ate vegetarian last night.
Smooth, Jordan.

 

 

Getting Fit with a fitbook

/ foodsweatandbeers / 9 Comments

Long ago (March 2010, to be more specific), I started Weight Watchers with the help of my mom, aunts, and cousins. I’m the only one of us that really stuck to it, long term (I know that they gradually dropped off the plan one by one), with busy things like children, jobs, running households, etc. I was lucky enough to have a fairly empty plate, though (not literally!) which allowed me plenty of time to focus on meal planning and the like.  It was a fantastic method, for me.  However, after about 6 months, with a weight loss of about 40 lbs, I was working out 3-5 times a week and was much more active in my life. Ryan and I were living together, I started playing volleyball, I met new friends, and started getting interested in craft beer.  The idea of tracking my points was getting a little boring, and there were too many things I wanted to try without adding up points and doing math all the time. Plus, tracking all the craft beers I was drinking was getting a little shameful.

450 calories for 12 oz? I'll take two!

Well, new year, new you, all that jazz. Only it took me a week or two of the new year to really kick into high gear.  After a busy first weekend with all sorts of St. Anthony Hall fun times followed by a crippling sickness (ok, I’m being a baby, it was just a nasty flu), Martin Luther King Day was the start of my new year.  And, since I fare better with a plan, I had a handy tool to help me out.

Presenting the FITBOOK!

My fitbook was sent to me after participating in a little Twitter chat, and it’s been waiting for me to open it up for quite some time, now. When I opened it, there was a WEALTH of information to fill out including weekly goals, daily logs, and spots for inspiration!

Week 1 Wrap Up

The fitbook has room for 12 weeks of recording and normally costs $22.95, with a 4 pack going for $79.95.  The focus is both on nutrition AND fitness, which I like (instead of just tracking my food). There’s not a specific focus on calories, but a more general attitude relative to food (and SMILEY FACES!)

Easy peasy

The left side is for fitness.

Shakey arms are the sign of a good workout, right?

I think this section would probably make more sense if most of my workouts weren’t group fitness classes, but would be great to record weight-lifting sessions.  It’s nice to have somewhere to record my fitness workouts other than just on Garmin Connect, though.

Can't really tote this JPEG along with me

Anyway, I think I just needed a handy, portable way to track my eating and exercise in one location. And, since I can basically palm the fitbook, it works out perfectly.

Note of progress?

At my doctor’s appointment a little less than 2 weeks ago, I weighed in at 178 lbs.  Today’s weigh in? 173 lbs!!  I also tested my body fat percentage, and am happy to report 24.8%.  Making progress, folks.

And, don’t worry, calories or not, there’ll always be room for craft beer…

 

Taking the Plunge… Literally.

/ foodsweatandbeers / 18 Comments

I needed a change, fitness-wise. I was getting bored and, as much as I love to Zumba with the best of them, a girl can’t live on Zumba alone. And then, the other night, at Dick’s, I decided what that change would be.

I grabbed about a dozen different sizes of bathing suits (what the FORK is racing suit sizing?! Luckily I found this website to help with bathing suit size conversion). After wiggling, jumping, hopping, and tugging the bathing suit (which I’ll now refer to as a batherbecause that’s my term of choice) into place, losing any and all sex appeal, and ogling my goodies in the mirror, I knew it was the right move. It’s the TYR Women’s Alliance Team T-Splice Maxback Tank Swimsuit Doesn’t that sound badass?

And, since my mom loves me, she treated me to my newest workout gear.

For whatever reason, I already have goggles. They’ve been sitting next to my tower fan for over a year now and, honestly, I just needed a reason to look fiercer than I normally look.

And, when I was at the store looking at swim caps, I thought “Go big, or go home” and grabbed the neon pink latex cap.

Sexy, Can I?

It’s funny, when I was younger (from about 7-13) I was a HARDCORE swimmer. Practicing all my days (summer and winter), a bather was my second skin, and I was so fast at flipping a swim cap on, you’d think I was born to be bald.  But, when I got to a point where the juice wasn’t exactly “worth the squeeze” I transitioned to the “tall girl sports” of basketball and volleyball, leaving the chlorine and swimmer’s ear behind. As I fiddled with my swim cap, wondering how on earth all my hair was going to get in that latex glove, I actually had to give myself a pep talk.

Come on, Jordan. You’ve done this THOUSANDS of times before. Your head can’t be that big, right?

Well, I was correct and after no more than 4 failed attempts at donning the proper head gear, I was ready to do the damn thing.

No, that's not a picture of 10 year old me. That's yesterday.

I headed over to the pool, dove in, and it just felt so right.  I’ve never liked running, so I can’t just “throw on some shoes and run.”  I can, however, throw on a bather and swim.  So I did.

Reunited, and it feels so good.

I swam 40 laps, alternating freestyle, backstroke, and breaststroke.  After that, I grabbed a kickboard and did ten laps of kicking (again, either freestyle, breaststroke, or backstroke).  I felt so strong, I was breathing hard, and my total yardage was 1,250.  That’s 510 yards short of a MILE!! And I think that’ll be what I can shoot for, next time.

This is the perfect addition to my workout repertoire.  It’s a full body workout, it’s low impact, AND it lets me live out my Mermaid Woman dreams in a safe and healthy fashion.  Win, win, win, all around.

Have you ever picked up a sport or hobby you left for years?  How’d it go?

 

Ain’t That a Kick in the Pants?

/ foodsweatandbeers / 8 Comments

New Years are all about changes, right?

Well, my New Year’s Eve plans weren’t ALL that different from last year.  There was more beer, tastier food, 3/4 same people, but I still got to kiss my beau when the ball dropped!

MWA!

I spent the night with two of my favorite people, Ryan and Rachel, my best friend since middle school.  Coolest part of this NYE in Philly?

We didn’t even have to bring jackets!!

Those summer nights...

Which was great, because there’s no way I could’ve fit a coat into that purse.

I’ll admit, my favorite parts of the night were the dinner before and the champagne and hanging out in comfy clothes after we got home from the bar, but that’s probably because New Year’s Eve always has those ridiculous expectations and expensive cover charges that Thought Catalog summed up so nicely…

Funny thing about this new year. I don’t really have any major goals, at least nothing that I want to put into words. More just a general feeling, or general life directions.  That didn’t stop someone else from inspiring me to kick my fitness back into gear.

Text from my brother on Monday:

Connor: Hope your ride is going smoothly… question…. why did you stop using your heart rate monitor? I thought that was a cool thing.

Me: Battery died, just gotta get one and replace.

Connor: Bummer. Looking forward to its rebirth.

Knowing that my little brother had a) noticed my blog and b) recognized that something was different with my workout regime was just that kick in the pants that I needed (Check out my first Kick in the Pants which jump-started my 40lb weight loss in 2009!).  I popped over to the grocery store and, two super sales later, I nabbed a new CR2032 (the battery needed for the Garmin FR60) and was hard at work.

I only read later how difficult replacing your own watch battery and that most folks recommend taking it to a watch-person (Watch-fixer? anyone have a name for that?)

I’ll tell you what, these tools are NOT recommended for replacing your FR60 battery:

No, No, and NO!

Not my key tool, not some multi-headed screwdriver, and not the utili-tool that Ryan left here…. I felt hopeless.  Until, like a beacon in the night, I spotted it!

Glasses kit to the rescue!

This tiny tool is a precision eyeglass repair tool that I actually got the last time I bought a new pair of glasses. Well, as you can see in the image, I got it working again!! It was itty-bitty work for my giant banana fingers, but it just goes to show that being a four-eyes nerd AND a workout Barbie can pay off.

Ready for action

I guess I just needed someone to remind me why I started using that HRM in the first place.  And the only fair thing to do tomorrow  [despite having to host 3 friends during my fraternity convention weekend and picking two up from the airport (oh and working)] is to hit the gym running. Elliptical-ing. Whatever.

Have you ever experienced a kick in the pants?

Any big plans for the weekend?

Orange You Glad It’s Freezing Out?

/ foodsweatandbeers / 14 Comments

No. The short and  simple answer to that question, for me at least, is no!

When I woke up in my apartment this morning, I was not unlike a groggy, angry bear who was forced out of hibernation too early.

I fear we have awakened a sleeping giant...

I was the opposite of a happy camper. I was an unhappy…. home-dweller.  It wasn’t pretty (as you can see.)

Lunchtime, though, did bring one happy winter reminder into my mind (and, later, into my belly):

The S&P Bears envy their juicy goodness

Navel oranges have made their way into the “cheap” season at my local grocery store, and the former-soccer player and future soccer-parent in me are both elated.

Last volleyball season, I can’t tell you the number of oranges I sliced and wore in my mouth like a neon smile while my teammates nibbled and looked on in confusion.  I flipping love oranges.

Stopping by the grocery store during lunch was also important because I needed some essentials.  Namely, veggies and sandwich thins.

Today after work, I have to head to Durham for some last minute preparations for the North Carolina Girls’ Pint Out Festival of BEERMAS along with some other errands, so I won’t be able to enjoy a home-cooked dinner like I am fond of doing.  Luckily, a can drain and a few chops into lunch, I had prepared both my midday meal and my evening ingredients.

La Banderita for the senorita!

For the lunch version, I whipped up some  tuna salad with low-fat mayo, cucumbers, and tomatoes.  With enough veggies stuffed inside of a wrap, a can of tuna can definitely make two sandwich “innards” for me, so this worked out perfectly.

ALSO, the La Banderita low-carb, low fat tortillas were a discovery of mine when I first started Weight Watchers, and I’ve sworn by them ever since.  With 81 calories, 6 grams of fiber, and 2 grams of fat, they are absolutely a staple in my household, especially for taco nights or quesadilla feasts.

Anyway, the final product was a very colorful wrap with spinach, tuna, avocado, tomato, cucumbers, and a final dusting of the (now empty) bag of Crackerful chips from my Foodie Penpal of November (sad to see them go…)

The giant looms over her meal, ready to pounce

My shadow over the food means I was starving and, promptly after this photo was snapped, scarfed my food down whilst watching Top Chef: Texas.  On the side were some steamed green beans/carrots with a butter sauce and some cranberries, from a frozen pack that was just waiting for me to eat them up.

I took the leftovers of this meal and turned it into a sandwich form for the evening realizing that, while I don’t love to go three meals in a row with the same food, two for me is pretty normal.  I realized long ago that cooking single serving meals was a pain, expensive, and a little depressing.

Now, when I’m in the kitchen roasting up enough vegetables for a small village, I pretend that maybe that village is coming over for dinner. (Fact: They never do, so I just eat their portions gradually over time.)

I’ve got a bag of goodies for later loaded with an orange, a sandwich, and some green beans, ready to take on whatever Durham’s got to give.  And, despite the freezing temperatures (of 50 degrees. I’m a weakling when it comes to temperature), I plan on finishing out No Heat November in style, orange in hand.

And in just two days, I’ll be starting off December the best way possible.  Suds and Santa style!

Just call me Santa's Little Helper

Do you have any fruits/veggies that you anxiously await for each year?

Thanksgiving DOs and DON’Ts

/ foodsweatandbeers / 6 Comments

Good day to you all, and TGIT(before Thanksgiving!)  If you’re as excited about the holiday season as I am (but don’t want to unload all your bank accounts to fund it), check out my Guest Post over at Cynthia‘s blog titled: Rich Girl Living on a Poor Girl Budget!  Curious how I afford my LAVISH lifestyle?  Well ALL is revealed (almost. There’s nothing about the magic beans I got from that shifty salesman when I was a young lass.)

I’m so thankful. This time in two days, I’ll be at home, with my family, maybe even helping out with some sort of recipe. Or maybe I’ll be on our annual Turkey trot (since my family of 7 is made up of a chunk of late sleepers). And, while I’ve had a fantastic past few Thanksgivings with family and friends, this year I’ve decided to make sure that I maximize my Turkey day without feeling awful and sluggish for the next few days. Or weeks. Because yes, that’s happened before.

DON’T get in an accident halfway through your 12 hour ride to Thanksgiving dinner and have to rent a car on Thanksgiving day. 

Uh Oh.

Last year, Ryan and I managed to burst a tire 20 miles outside of Sevierville, TN. 6 hours from our starting point. 6 hours from our destination. On Wednesday night, before Thanksgiving.

You know what aren’t open on Thanksgiving?

98% of rental car places.

A 50 minute cab ride to the airport later, and an all-out, temper tantrum (by me), we got a rental car and THANKSGIVING WAS SAVED!!

DO be able to laugh about it when things go wrong

Oh, Dolly.

In case you weren’t aware, Sevierville, TN is the home of Dolly Parton.

So yeah, if you get stuck, make a new friend! Even if she’s a cardboard cutout of Dolly Parton. Roll with the punches, life’s full of them.

DON’T feel obligated to buy butter in a seasonal shape

RIP Butter Turkey

There’s never any need for a giant thing of butter in the shape of a turkey. And you’ll feel like you have to finish it on Thanksgiving. It’s ridiculous (and hilarious), but spend that money on a sweet turkey shaped…. hat or something.  The hat is much lower in cholesterol.

DO deep fry, smoke, and roast turkeys

Turkey Smorgasbord!

If you can, try a smoked turkey. Try a deep fried turkey. Eat roasted turkey.

They’re all delicious. And all SO different!! Love those turkey options.

DON’T eat every casserole in sight

Six casseroles. Sure, why not?

I think sweet potato casserole is my downfall.

Wait. Scratch that. ALL casseroles. I can’t even control myself. Note to family: If you see me going back for thirds of casserole, grab a wooden spoon and THWACK!

Then, get me a beer. Because that wooden spoon hurt.

DO try a little bit of all your favorites, on a PLATE!

I LOVE variety. I love tapas and appetizer samplers and so Thanksgiving is just my dream holiday. Turkey’s great, but so are mashed potatoes, and mac & cheese and buttery rolls and green beans and I like to try a little of everything. But make sure you limit yourself to what you enjoy on a plate. I’ve found that if I pick and nibble at things without putting them on my plate, I eat MUCH more.

Plate your victuals, and don’t go pickin!!

DON’T forget about dessert!

Pie in the Sky

While I’m no Ed Levine (Read: Don’t fantasize about an all-pie Thanksgiving), I do love pie. In fact, when I was 10, I won a pie-eating contest with pumpkin pie! The prize?

More food (namely a GIANT tub of caramel corn.)  Delicious.

DO spend as much time with your family/loved ones as possible!!

Sisters, Aunts, Cousins, Nieces

That’s what I’m most thankful for, without question.

And even though Ryan will be celebrating his family in Key West (hard knock life, right?) I’ll be thinking about how thankful I am to have such a great beau in my life! (Especially one that will brave Dolly Parton-land with me.)

What are your favorite parts about Thanksgiving?

Any Thanksgiving DO or DON’T you live by?

The Grossest Parts of a Healthy Lifestyle

/ foodsweatandbeers / 16 Comments

**HEADS UP!! This post talks about some gross stuff like bodily functions and fluids. If you’re not into that, go look at this video about Catvertising**

Hey there folks!!

I know I’ve been a bit of a jet setter lately. In fact, I just formally received my A-List Status from Southwest Airlines thanks, in part, to my glorious Chicago trip this weekend!  All that flying can really wear a girl out, though, so I took Monday off from the gym.

Yesterday, I decided to go back and MAN, I was feeling it!  It was sweaty, it was hot (I think NC got up to 77 degrees last night!) and it just felt great.  It got me to thinking a bit, though, about all that goes into this whole “Healthy Living” stuff.  And as much as I wish I could live off cocktails, oysters, and rich scallops every day, the fact of the matter is that I made a conscious decision to live better, be healthier, and that’s what I’ll do (despite the temporary setbacks).  While it’s helped me lose weight and feel awesome, it’s not all glitz and glamor, though. In fact, there are some aspects of “Healthy Living” that are just plain gross.  So I’ve decided to share with you all

The Top 5 Grossest Parts of a Healthy Lifestyle (at least for me)

1. Realization

Afternoon Snack? Why not?

I’ll admit, my former eating habits never felt exactly “healthy” but, most of the time, I just didn’t even think about it.  When you decide to make a change to eating better, though, you have to take stock of what you are eating.  And that initial “stock taking”… to begin with, that’s already pretty gross.

Splitting a large pepperoni pizza used to be the norm. Not a homemade one, either. A greasy, cheesy gooey delivery pizza which left me lazy as a loaf.  The chemicals, the preservatives, the sheer volume of calories and fat that I was putting in my mouth… No wonder I spent the first year after college basically shutting down my body.  In the winter, I hibernated. I was like a chubby bear. The realization of what you put in your body before you decided to take control…. gross, shocking and gross.

2. Fun With Fiber

Sweet Beany Goodness

When I first started Weight Watchers, there was a focus on fiber content in food. It actually went into the equation to figure out the point value of foods. And man, I was all about it. Fiber One cereal, black beans galore, the occasional Metamucil, bran, oats, why not?

Well, as I’m sure some of you are PAINFULLY aware, there’s a song about what happens:

Beans, beans, the magical fruit… the more you eat, the more you poot! (or toot)

Fiber makes you poot. And also, it makes you poop.

There’s no better way to put it. And when my old diet used to consist of carbs on carbs on cheese on carbs, pooping wasn’t exactly something I thought about all the time.

Fiber leads to pooping. And sometimes, that’s gross. Overdo it on fiber, and you may overdo it on pooping. Or at least pooting. And I’m not a doctor or anything, so I don’t have fancy words to say it better than that. Try to find the balance that’s right for you and you can avoid being that stinky (healthy!) person that no one wants to hang out with for fear you’d trample over them on the way to the bathroom.

3. Texture Trouble

Oh yes, they’re oats. (Click on link for Vegan Homemade’s post)

No offense to anyone who loves them, but overnight oats look gross. Chia pudding looks gross.  The texture in some of these healthy foods…. is gross.  Cottage cheese, riced cauliflower, I looked through my photos to see if I had a picture of these from my own files.

I didn’t.

Because they look gross.

The texture of these foods may not be incredibly appealing. That being said, their texture does nothing to detract from their tastiness (though I’m still holding out on cottage cheese). But man, the texture… it took me a while to get over it. Blech.  Oh well.

4. Asparagus Pee

Since I’ve already written about how frequently you pee when you guzzle water like it’s going out of style (as well as some ways to keep yourself busy in the bathroom!), I figured I should focus on another pee-related topic.

Asparagus pee!

I love asparagus.Asparagus is great for detoxifying, it reduces pain and inflammation, can reduce the risk of heart disease, and is just plain good for you.

I love the flavor, I love it roasted, I love it sauteed, I love it steamed, I’ve even had it fried and loved the HECK out of it.  But no matter how you prepare it, the next time you pee, it’s stinky.  It’s a fact of life.  Put asparagus in, get stinky pee out.  Basic math, really.

At the end of the day, though, the benefits of asparagus far outweigh the bummer of asparagus pee.  And really, it’s nothing a quick flush can’t fix.

5. Sweat, baby, sweat, baby!

Drenched

It wasn’t until I started working out REALLY hard that I realized it.

You sweat everywhere!

This is not ground-shaking, mind-boggling news. It’s just that I didn’t really think about it before.  I’ve been to fitness classes where I’m pretty sure my ears have sweat coming from the lobes. For me, the most drenched area (and thus, the stem of my love for capris) is the shin region. I don’t know why, but my shins just pour perspiration. No amount of antiperspirant will prevent me from “pitting out, ” so why bother?  As long as you’re not stinky (does asparagus make your sweat smell , too?) it’s just part of being a human. But group classes and killer workouts have definitely made laundry day come around much more frequently in my household.  An easy price to pay for a fitter future, but gross, nonetheless.

Since I’m not a runner, I’ve never had to deal with bladder control during a race BUT let’s just say that, if peeing your pants is cool, consider Lauren Miles Davis (that’s definitely HER story to share!)

Do you have any particularly gross aspects of your own healthy lifestyle that you’ve learned to embrace?

Dr. Pepper Ten: Gendered Soda Advertising

/ foodsweatandbeers / 17 Comments

I’ll preface this post with a heads up: I took quite a few Women’s Studies classes at UNC. Graduating with a minor in Sexuality Studies, it was bound to happy. And, though I never planned on it, VOILA I ended up a feminist.  The name of my game is equality, women’s rights, and all that good stuff.  Imagine my horror, all that considered, when I saw this little gem on the television:

I’ll give you a moment to digest that.

Got it?

Good.

If you were too busy to watch the 30 second clip, let me give you the cliffnotes version:

Dr. Pepper Ten is a new product from Dr. Pepper that is their take on a “manly” diet soda. With only 10 “manly” calories, no longer will you seem like a lady drinking diet soda. You’ll appear tough, rugged, and bold drinking Dr. Pepper Ten.

And, apparently, it’s not for women.

Poppycock.

I can’t even say that I’m bothered by the “No Girls Allowed” part.  Whatever. I don’t want your stupid soda anyway.

I think what really gets me is this idea that “diet” soda is only for women. Or that men can handle 10 calories but women can’t.  Or whatever inane thought process fueled this ad campaign.

You know what else is 10 calories?

  • 1 navel orange segment
  • A SINGLE Whopper (the malted milk ball, not the burger, crazy!)
  • HALF of a pecan
  • 2.5 pistachios
  • 3 green grapes
(big thanks to Self Magazine for doing that math for us all)
My vote for the least manly looking ten calories?

Pink Lemonade Crystal Light, gentlemen?

This isn’t the first ad campaign that’s been all about gearing a product towards macho men (see: Axe Body Spray, Old Spice body wash) and it’s not the first “diet” soda that is trying to be diet without actually calling itself diet (see: Coke Zero, Pepsi Max).  But the whole idea behind these drinks being more appropriate for males vs. females just seems a little outrageous.

Anyone remember the Diet Pepsi skinny can?

Bottom line: People like the taste of soda, and they also like reducing their caloric intake (whether it’s to be “skinny” like the can or fit like the Dr. Pepper Ten Manly Men). And if/when I see a dude drinking Dr. Pepper Ten, I’m not going to think he’s more manly. I’m going to think he’s insecure about drinking  “diet” Dr. Pepper.

It’s just where my mind’s going to jump now that Dr. Pepper has launched this campaign making me painfully aware that it has less calories than regular Dr. Pepper but more than Diet Dr. Pepper.

We’ll see how this Dr. Pepper Ten fares… I have to admit, I’d love to do a taste test with the 3 Drs. themselves to see where my flavor preferences go.  I figure it’s the same morbid curiosity that drives me to want to try Chick Beer. I want to know if there’s more to this soda than a flashy ad campaign that pushes gender roles down the throats of viewers.

What’s your take on this whole “gendered” soda advertising?

Have you tried Dr. Pepper Ten? What did you think?

Ode to the Awkward

/ foodsweatandbeers / 15 Comments

This post is very near and dear to my heart.

On Tuesday evening, I went to my third Pure Barre class (to see what I thought about my first one, check out my Pure Barre Breakdown).  As I mentioned before, the class may not be means for the tall people, the people who aren’t flexible, or the people without rock hard abs. But it’s a workout to kick your butt. You’ll leave drenched in sweat (or dripping actively on the barre all throughout. It takes all kinds, right?)

Something that I couldn’t help but notice, though, is it’s also a workout for the fashionistas. When you head over to the Pure Barre website, you’ll be treated to images like this one:

And they look so happy, right? (source is Pure Barre site)

Not surprisingly, when I attended my first class, everyone that joined me in the class was wearing…. well, they were wearing this. And I don’t just mean the compression black leggings, the signature purebarre socks and the slim-fitting tank tops. I mean the stone-cold looks on their faces as they tucked their hips, squeezed their fannies, and extended their elbows. I felt like the first class, as well as the one I took on Tuesday, was an hour long photo shoot that we were all supposed to have dressed for.  For comfort reasons, I wore this:

What? Not appropriate for the class? You all don't want celebratory Irish kisses as you squeeze a small ball between your thighs?

I caught myself huffing, puffing, dripping, and grunting, as I do in all group fitness classes. I’ve spoken before on group fitness etiquette and, as a huge fan of group fitness classes, I wanted to write an ode, a thank you of sorts. Not to the classes themselves, but to the people who take them. The people who take them that may not be wearing the right outfit, the folks who give me high fives when I run past them, the ones who can’t kick up to their heads like a rockette and the ones who haven’t the foggiest idea what this whole “rhythm” is.

The one thing I noticed in fitness classes, namely Zumba, BodyJam, Sh’Bam or any class related to rhythm and matching your bodies to the sweet beats blasting from the sound system, is that I have no dancing skills in my body. While other people were trying out contemporary jazz classes at their local dance studios, I spent my time doing lunge suicides and practicing soccer kicks [to no avail, as I sucked and continue to suck at soccer].

I’m not saying that this makes me unique.

But it does make my “dancing” look a lot less like the moves on Dancing with the Stars and a lot more like a jerky, athletic seizure.

Dance move or volleyball block? Now you don't have to choose.

So here’s to us, ladies and gents. The ones who work it out in class despite the fact that our hips do, in fact, lie. They lie and pretend they’re Shakira’s hips and, for a few brief minutes, we can pretend they are.

Waka Waka, nice moves, lady. (click for source)

Here’s to the silent awkward majority. When we go to BodyJam or Sh’Bam and they ask us to arabesque, our poses look something like this:

Is this what you meant? No? Well, I'll just keep doing it.

We won’t be able to do a 480 spin midair while we’re perspiring and rocking out to some new Pitbull remix, but we will work just as hard as any of you who can. When instructors ask me to pony step, chances are they assume that my kicking is an attempt at squishing some spider on the gym floor. 99% of the time, it’s not.

There was the great spider invasion of the YMCA Zumbathon Against Prostate Cancer in 2004, but we’ll forget that ever happened.

As a big thank you to all my fellow awkward weirdos out there, I want to promise you something.  As many overpriced exercise classes I go to, I will always dress in part-neon colors, part inappropriate shirts. They might even have a picture of me on them.

Ok, it's hard to tell, but this is ACTUALLY a shirt I own with a picture of myself on it.

If you feel like flailing like a lunatic in a class, I won’t make fun of you. I will be right there, matching you flail for flail. Whatever.  We’re getting our fitness on, and we’re having a blast doing it.

I just wanted to say this for the sake of anyone who might be nervous to go to their first group fitness class. Every single person in that class was a newbie at one point, and if you’re not sure about it, just do it! Get out there, flail that body, shake it like a polaroid picture, and maybe one day our paths will cross.

Chances are, though, it’ll be as I high kick you in the face in the middle of BodyJam.

I apologize in advance, I still don’t know how to control these long legs of mine.

Group Fitness Etiquette

/ foodsweatandbeers / 14 Comments

Hellloooooo friends!

Even though it’s only Tuesday night, I already feel the weekend peeking around the corner.  Today was a little bit of a breeze, which I just loved. I worked on a different project at work which was both fun and exciting (like that hopeful feeling you get when you first start a year of school as a child, I love that feeling.) And then, I realized through the grapevine that it was, in fact, a very special day.

That day was National Taco Day.

Well, I really didn’t have much of a choice but to celebrate….

iDelicioso!

Bandido’s is my favorite Mexican spot of all time.  And, somehow, I managed to be lucky enough to live near two locations for the past 6 years.  We used to frequent the one in Chapel Hill every Thursday, me and my girlfriends Kinsley and Claire, and we called ourselves the Bandido’s babes. And I hadn’t been there since JUNE!  The splurge was totally worth it and included a black bean enchilada, a soft chicken taco (I ate about 2 bites of the tortilla, then just went for the fillings) and a side of black beans. Of course, everything was slathered in cheese and salsa.

Perfection.

In other news, I finally got back to Zumba today! And I was in an even better mood because I felt like I was rocking one of my favorite workout outfits.

All black everything.

In an attempt to show off my brightly colored bra, I also managed to call out the power of skeletor in the form of MY COLLARBONE!

Hey there, crazy collarbone. Thanks for coming out.

Fortunately, the collarbone went back inside shortly after and just in time for Zumba.  While in class, though, I got to thinking about Group Fitness Etiquette.  As a huge fan of group fitness classes (in particular, Les Mills classes, Zumba, and newly, Pure Barre!), I think about this a lot. I’ve been in amazing group fitness classes, and stuck in rooms where I felt like everyone was actively trying to kick me in the face [cough BODYCOMBAT cough]. But I like to think that I’ve picked up some pretty good bits of etiquette.

1. If you’re ever doing a move where you’re kicking or punching, LOOK where you’re going! No one came to the gym looking for a fight.

2. If you don’t know the moves, or choose to do moves different than the ones that the instructor is showing, don’t stand in the front of the class.

3. When taking classes like BodyJam or Zumba as an extremely talented dancer, showing off a little is okay. Re-enacting the hit film, Fame, is not. We get it. You got skills. Take them to a dance studio or some reality show, you’re making us feel bad.

4. Ok, I’ll hand it to some folks. If you’ve got the confidence to rock just a sports bra and shorts, more power to you. But tiny booty shorts and a barely-there braziere might not be the best fit for a group fitness class.  Especially one with lots of bending and stretching [crotch shots. nuff said.]

5. Do unto others. If someone slips and falls, don’t laugh. Help them up, offer assistance if it’s needed, get ice. Don’t just ignore them. There’s nothing like slipping on the ground mid class and almost getting trampled because no one has stopped (sidenote: I’ve done this no less than 3 times).

6. Have fun. It’s so sad to see folks who look miserable, so if there is anything that can get you hyped up, it’s probably some exercise.  Exercise gives you endorphins. Endorphins make you happy. Happy people just don’t shoot their husbands (or anyone else.)

What are your favorite bits and pieces of group fitness etiquette?

Or… if you’re a runner, what’re some pieces of runners etiquette?