I hate to admit this, but no less than one day after Jared proposed my mind went immediately to….”Crap, I need to lose weight for the wedding.”  I’m sure I’m not alone in this mindset.  Everyone wants to look their best on their big day and to be fully honest with myself, I look no where near my best.  I’m about 7 pounds over my “happy weight” and there’s jiggly stuff on every part of my body.

Because I’ve been obsessive and extreme about my weight in the past, I refuse to go down this road or even come close to it.  But I still want to be proud of how I look when I walk down that aisle. Proud meaning I’ve been healthy and “loving my body” the months beforehand.

yay, i get to walk down the aisle to this guy!! i really can’t wait!

I googled “wedding diet” and “lose weight before wedding” and of course, a thousand things come up.  It’s all the same advice you’d give anyone trying to lose weight– cut out sugar, ramp up your exercise, eat more protein, etc.  We all know there’s no magic switch.  It takes really hard work.  And lately, I’ve shyed away from that hard work part a little bit.  When I started blogging a year ago, I thought it would actually make me more committed to a healthy lifestyle.  But over the past 12 months, I hate to admit it, but I think I’ve leaned the other way instead.  Life feels like it’s moving so fast, a constant whirlwind, and I haven’t gotten the balance part in check yet.  Plus those 40 hours of commuting every month where I just sit in my car doing nothing has added so much to my stress levels and inactivity time.

So what to do about it? 

1) Stop Complaining.  I’m so sick of hearing myself complain and make excuses, so enough already.

2) Clean Up My Diet in “small” ways.  Too many restrictions don’t work for me (or anyone) so I’ll just focus on a few things.

eat more of this

1. Gluten free– I’ve *mostly* given up gluten these past few months.  Maybe you’ve noticed, maybe not.  I was getting killer stomach aches regularly for the past few YEARS and had other tummy problems, and on the advice of a gluten-free friend, I gave it up for a month last year.  Then I started eating it again, started getting stomach aches again, and then finally recommitted in October (post my September birthday cake eating).  I still eat it when I’m at someone else’s house or at a party, or if something just looks too good, but I’m about 80-20 right now and I haven’t had a single stomach ache since then.  Wow.  So, I need to recommit though and make it 90-10….aside from stomach aches, the less cookies and pastries in my life, the better.
2. Nuts- I know they’re healthy, but I have an unhealthy relationship with them and can eat like 10 servings at a time.  Goodby nuts and nut butters.  I love you, but this just isn’t working and it’s just not healthy.  I’m sure I’ll still eat them once a week, but by saying no, I’ll save myself those extra handfuls and licks of the pb spoon.
3. Fake sugars– I gave this up years ago and now that Jared and I live together, they’re creeping back into my life.  He always makes crystal light fruit punch or iced tea in a big pitcher and I went from avoiding it completely to drinking one or two glasses every single day.  And I even started drinking diet hansons soda again occasionally.  What the heck?! That is so not good for me.
4. The extras.  I have a sugar and snacking problem pretty often.  Those handfuls of chocolate chips I eat after dinner have to go.  So do the miscellaneous snacks I eat at my parents’ house solely because it’s just something different than the things I buy (aka, a scoop of their ice cream, a handful of raisins, a few bbq chips, etc).  Not to mention, I have a bad habit of stealing Jared’s fries or extra bits of his “boy foods” and that’s just not necessary.  It adds up.

My parents always seem to have ice cream in their fridge….ugh!

3) Exercise–  Yeah, I know I’ve said it often lately, but I need to get more of this into my life.

1. A lot of people talk about their exercise journals.  I think I need one.  That way I can be proud of myself and more motivated.  So….I’ll print out something on excel that I can check off each week.
2. Start saying no more.  Sorry friends, but I’m overcommitted lately and need to start saying no to more things so I can leave enough time to go to the gym daily.  I feel better and happier when I have a schedule that allows this and I need to take care of my mental and physical self now.
3. Take more workday walks.  Sometimes I’m really good at this and leave my desk for 30 minutes to walk a few miles around the neighborhood.  With the constant rain and yucky weather lately, I haven’t been doing this as often.  But this can be part of my checkmarks on my journal too.
4. Wine nights to Walk nights.  When I lived within walking distance of the beach and the golden gate bridge, I’d often meet friends after work for a “long walk and talk.”  Our loop was 5-6 miles, took under 2 hours, and we’d get all our chatting in plus some bonus fresh air.  I don’t live that close anymore, though there are plenty of other loops.  We’ve all gotten into a wine habit and so now I’m insisting we move back to Walk nights.

From a walk night to the bridge oh so long ago

And that’s it for now…..I don’t wan to be too hard on myself or make too many “rules,” especially because if I feel too restricted, I’ll probably have me rebelling into becoming unhealthy.  I also think it’s silly to be hard on myself.  This year was great and crazy and busy and I did my best.  I did well considering.  So it’s not about being angry about the past, it’s just about making the future the healthiest it can be.

We’re 95% certain the wedding is Memorial Day Weekend (we’ll be 100% once we officially sign the venue contact) so I have 5 full months of body clean-up ahead of me.  I have to admit that I feel weird posting this, like I’m destined to fail or something, which is a silly way to think, I know.  But I’m going to do my best and make ME and my healthy a top priority again.

– Do you steal bites from your friends, family, SO, etc?
– Are you at your happy weight?
– What am I missing from this equation?
– How much weight did you lose, if any, before your wedding?
– How long was your engagement?

It’s Friday!!! And it’s supposed to be nice weather this weekend- Yeah!

Here are four random Friday things:

1) I started taking Gummi Vitamins….suggested by my doc (she takes gummy kid ones too because she doesn’t like the pill ones either). Ummm, why didn’t I start this ages ago?! It’s like being able to eat gummi bears every single morning. They taste so good, I have a hard time restraining myself from eating just 2 (serving size).

Obviously, they carry much less nutrients than a regular adult multivitamin pill, but I can’t take the regular ones (they make me feel terrible), so taking the kid ones are better than taking nothing.

2) I drink a lot of water. Like a LOT of water every day. I generally carry a HUGE water bottle around all day.

But….Have you heard that they found out that metal water bottles (even the ones that SAY THEY’RE BPA FREE) carry MORE BPAs than regular plastic water bottles? The metal outside is BPA-free, but whatever they line it with inside to keep it clean….is supposedly FULL of BPAs. Sheesh, you really can’t win.

My "old" bottle on the right. My "newer" and smaller bottle on the left

I have no idea if my old metal water bottle was part of the BPA ones, but just in case, I got a new Camelback BPA free bottle. I don’t really think that can fix all the BPA exposure I’ve likely gotten over the last few years, but oh well.

3) Who else is loving the Real Housewives marathons on BRAVO? They are the best thing to watch on the treadmill or elliptical. Bethenny or that Milliondollar real estate show is a close second. Lately, I go to the gym, just as an excuse to indulge my Real Housewives vice. It’s so ridiculous, it glues me to the tv. I can’t believe they all agreed to do another season!

Here I am obviously too enthralled in Danielle and Jacqueline's NJ drama and whether or not "that is like that" to keep up with my workout!

My best friend just bought a house in Franklin Lakes. I’ve put her on Real Housewives sighting watch at the grocery store. She thinks I’m crazy. Haha.

4) I went to an office for a meeting this week, and they had THIS out all the time for their employees!

So awesome, right! I wanted to work there just for the cucumber water.

And besides, then I wouldn’t even have to worry about BPAs!

Happy Friday!

- What shows do you usually watch at the gym? (or would you rather listen to music?)
- What kind of bottle do you drink water in?
- Do they have any neat foodie things at your work? We have granola bars…but that’s about it….
– Do you take a multivitamin??

Ahhh, end of the week….almost.

My day started with early morning baking while sipping coffee.
Ghiradelli Brownies…..from a box, not scratch. Hope this doesn’t make me a bad blogger

The usual breakfast

FINALLY unpacking my suitcase

What a mess

Commute to work- blah

Work Work Work

Lunch and snacks.

This is my typical lunch and snacks this week- sweet potato, 2 hard boiled eggs for lunch, almonds and an apple for my snack....packed into a random shopping bag

More work.

Afternoon walk break to get some fresh air.

Hour+ commute home. I’ll spare you a photo of this “worst” part of every day.

Quick gym workout

Quick dinner. Shrimp+veggies.

And then BOOK CLUB. With wine. This is where I brought the brownies. Sadly, no pics…totally forgot.

So that’s how I spent my day.

You? What’s the best part of your day today?

Happy Monday! Anyone else have a rough time waking up this morning? Sheesh, the alarm at 6:30 felt ridiculously early, I hit it off and then passed out for another HOUR. Haha. But the still-light evenings are well worth it.

This weekend, I had a mini-flu so I mostly layed-low, but I did make it out to the neighborhood Farmer’s Market.

Greeted with the first booth, overflowing with flowers. I love tulips...and tulip season makes me so happy

It was overcast and felt like it was about to rain, but that didn’t stop a big crowd from coming out.

There’s something so fun about buying produce from the sellers. And I am always curious to see what the latest in-season produce will be.

Freshly made apple juice. Um, yum!

First strawberries of the season.

Purple cauliflower.

That’s what I call a sample table! Check out the options.

After a good hour exploring all the booths, I left with bags full of veggies. Will hopefully be no veggie shortage in my house this week!

My only complaint (and yes, of course I have one) is that it really wasn’t any less expensive than if I went to the grocery store. In fact, I think it ended up being MORE expensive. For example, I bought one bunch of kale, about 10 brussel sprouts, and 3 mini cucumbers….and she charged me a whopping $7! Now that I think about it, I think she miscalculated? Whatever it was, that was much more than if I was at an organic market. Oh well. Gas prices are up, so maybe farmers market prices are up as a result?

Do you have a nearby Farmers Market? Is it year-round? How often do you go?

And now for my weekday exercise set-up. I haven’t done this before, but think I need to.

Monday: Swim 30 minutes, walk 1 hour, situps/stretches
Tuesday: Walk 2 hours (in 3 increments)
Wednesday: Run 30 minutes (5k?) morning, walk 1 hour (after work)
Thursday: Walk 2 hours
Friday: Swim 30 minutes, stretches/sit-ups
Sat/Sun: In Tahoe, so probably nothing except for a few walks and maybe some skiing.

Do you do a weekly exercise plan?

In the next segment of my Gym Class Challenge, I went to “BodyART” last night.

I was pretty excited after reading the description:

BodyART: “Ying meets Yang in this class that blends cardio, yoga, and dance based principles.  This workout is therapy for over-exercises and perfect for anyone looking to improve the functionality of the body from head to toe.  Use deep work training to release tension in the body and return it to the roots of what makes it one efficient and functional unit.” 

Dance, yoga, and make my body an efficient unit?  Yes, please!

So here we go: BodyART:

If you’ve ever tried discretely taking photos in a class, you know it’s not easy one bit!  I took two, but they’re terrible quality, so no judgements please

And what was it like?

The class was just what it said– a lot of yoga moves (lunges, downward dogs), a lot of ballet-style dance movements (plie, dance-like arm movements).

The first part of the class was more yoga inspired but with very flowing movements.  Cat & Cow, warrior positions, squats– all with a more dance-like quality to them.

We did 5 minutes of cardio in the middle.  Only 5 minutes?  Yep and it was great to push yourself because you knew it wouldn’t last long.  One of the fun cardio moves–  in plank position and then start running with your legs.  It was pretty cool, def gets your heart beating, and actually fun.

After every segment throughout the class, we came back to child’s pose, which was really nice and relaxing.

Child's Pose. Though looks like everyone in the mirror is doing something different- ha

We ended with stretches, some ab moves, and some dance-like moves.  I’m not a dancer so I have no idea what to call the moves.

Verdict:  It was different.  It felt good to stretch, I liked the music, and it’s fun to dance and get away from “normal” yoga.  My friend who I went with loved the class and plans to go regularly now.

Would I do it again?:  Probably not.  It was fun to try, but I got bored and felt like I could have stretched better on my own.  Also, I’m not into all the classes where they try to strengthen your thighs lately (aka, chair pose and squats) because let me tell you, my thighs are plenty large and muscular…..I want them thinner and those positions don’t seem to be a good fit for my body.

But once again, it was so fun to try something new.  Gym Class Challenge success for a Monday night!

Want to read about my other Challenge Classes?
Cardio Tai Box ,  Spinning ,  Aerial Yoga

Have you tried any new classes or workouts lately?

Ummm,  Anti-Gravity Yoga– what the heck does that mean?  With Wings?  No clue.

Whatever it is, sounded perfect for my “Gym Class Challenge.”

This class is immediately following my regular yoga class and I always see them bringing in these white hammocks.  I have been sooo curious what it’s all about, so I decided to try it this past weekend.

Of course, I looked it up before I went. 

Here’s the gym’s official description ”Anti-gravity yoga wings combines traditional yoga principles with elements from aerial acrobatics, dance, Pilates and calisthenics. …..using a flowing fabric hammock as a soft trapeze, you’ll learn simple suspension techniques to move into seemingly impossible inverted poses to relieve compressed joints and align the body from head to toe.”

I took some pics, but was trying to be sneaky and they didn’t come out amazing, so in case you’re having some trouble picturing what it looks like, here you go:

Cool, huh?!

I walked in and everyone was already ”expertly” hanging up their own hammocks and floating in them.

The room set-up was pretty neat.  The instructor (there were two of them– one to lead class and the other to walk around and help people.  The second one also went around with incense so the room smelled very zen).

Sneaky in-class photo while we were setting up the hammocks

The first half of class was more athletic.  We sat in the hammocks pushing our bodies in different ways, using the hammock as a guide.  We did lunges with one leg resting on the hammock.  We flipped into a “mission impossible” type pose low to the ground.

The second half was more restorative.  We swung on the hammock like a swing.  We did modified downward dogs.  We sat with our legs stretched out.

Another shot of the room

The flips were really fun and I felt a little like I was in cirque de soleil or in my childhood gymnastics class.

It was also really hard.  They say it takes a few times before you get the hang of it, but learning the postures and finding the right balance with the hammock was a challenge.   The hammock allows your body to work muscles (especially some stomach and arms ones) that you can’t reach in regular yoga.  I am sooo sore today!  It’s a good feeling though and so this is definitely a good workout.

Conclusion:

My verdict?  It’s very unique, a good workout, and if you are bored with yoga, it’s a great way to try something new.  The instructors were great and very helpful.  I’m so glad I tried it!  Was a really neat, new experience.

Will I do it again?  I’m not sure.  I like my normal yoga class.  This was different, but I don’t think I liked it enough to go every week.

I’m so happy that my gym offers this class– I’ve said a few times that I’m not a big fan of my gym, but way to go!   I’m def going to tell all my friends to try the class– everyone should do it once.

Do they offer Anti-Gravity Yoga at your gym?  I know it’s taking off in NY and LA, but not sure if classes are offered in other cities yet.  And regardless if they do or not– think you’d try it?

Gym Class Challenge Update—  Remember how I was going to try all those new gym classes to get out of my rut?

Believe it or not, this past weekend, I finally tried the one class I was dreading the most— SPINNING!

This isn't my class, found this online

This was actually sorta  big deal for me.  As I mentioned before, I had a weird fear around Spinning class.  It always seemed so hard core and intense.

When I’ve been at the gym, doing my thing on the treadmill, I can often hear the music blasting through the walls of the spin room and the instructor yelling at everyone.  The people in the class always looked like they were frowning intensely.  And  when they finished, the spinning door would finally burst open amd every single person seemed to be dripping in sweat.

I wasn’t sure that was for me.  I was happy on my treadmill.

Sure, I like to ride a bike.  But I like to do it more leisurely, like in the form of let’s say take a ride to the ice cream store, not while being yelled at.

But people seem to love spinning, so maybe it’s not so bad?  And besides, trying something new was the whole point of my glass class challenge.  I decided it was time that I gathered my courage and actually tried it.  It also helped to keep telling myself, “it’s only an hour…..”

So, enter- Gym Class Challenge: Spinning

And the result?

It was fun!  I actually kinda liked it. 

I got there a little late so there was only one bike left.  The seat was high and I tried to move it, but it wouldn’t budge before the instructor started blasting music and yelling at us, so I just got on anyways and started pedaling.

And pedaled and pedaled.  Hanging in at 100 mph.

The hour flew by!

My attempt at taking a photo without anyone noticing

The music made it so fun and high energy.  The class started at 7:30 am on a Saturday– but even though I came in still sleepy, it only took a few minutes I was wide awake.

I don’t think I put enough resistance on the bike when we were “riding up a big hill,” but it was still challenging.  I could feel the burn (especially in my butt).

Afterward, I was surprised not to be dripping in sweat, but I’ think that’s mainly because the room was freezing cold.  I was sorta happy about that.  And I left the gym ready to tackle my day and feeling energized.

My verdict?  This was a great example of why this challenge is good for me.  I tried something I had been intimidated about and it was actually fun!   It was also a good confidence booster to do something I was unnecessarily afraid of (though now I can’t understand why I would be afraid of the spin room?).

Will I do it again?  Maybe.
I’d still rather go on a leisurely bike ride, but if I feel like doing something different and high-energy, yes, spinning class can do the trick.

Yay, I FINALLY tried spinning!!!!

What’s your take on spinning?  What were your thoughts after your first class?  Any classes or workouts you’re sort of intimidated to try?

Last night, I decided to change things up in my gym routine and went to “Cardio Thai Box,” which is really just a fancy name for kickboxing.

We kicked, punched, jabbed, and uppercutted our way through the hour and I was dripping in sweat.  I felt great after.  It was so much fun and a great workout.  I used to do kickboxing a lot in college, but haven’t really been since.  Can’t believe I had never gone to this one at my gym before!

Random story– in my college kickboxing class, we were doing punches and the girl standing next to me punched her arm out of the socket!!! It was just hanging there and she was screaming!  Always makes me cringe when I think about it. 

Anyways, I’m usually big into my normal routines at the gym and like to workout on my own.  Plus, I’m admittedly a little intimidated by some of the classes.  I don’t know what to expect, I’m not the most coordinated nor can I catch on to a routine that quickly, and truthfully, I probably also have some laziness (hey, I love the elliptical so I’ll just stick with that).  I’m that weird person who loves to workout, but has never been to a spinning class, never done a boot camp, etc.  But since my gym offers a bunch of great “unique” classes (ummm, there’s even a Pole Dancing class), this brings me to……

Blueberry Smiles Gym Challenge!
I need to change up my routine a bit, SO I’m challenging myself to try EVERY class in my gym.  That includes spinning, “Strip Bar,” and the “Buff Girl Workout.”

There are 15 classes, all at varying times (hopefully most I can make work with my work schedule) so I’ll have to be creative to fit them in.

I’m giving myself 6 weeks (until the end of Feb)– I’m house-sitting for the next week, so might not be able to go to any classes, but we shall see.  I’m super excited!

I’ll write reviews of the classes, I’ll prob mess up a bunch in them, but hopefully I’ll find a class that I unexpectedly love (I’m guessing I’ll find a few that I really don’t love either- ha).

Here are some of the classes:

• Vinyasa Heat- (I love yoga, but have weirdly never done a Bikram class)
• Antigravity Yoga with Wings- using a fabric hammock as your prop and as a “soft trapeze.”
• Body Web Bootcamp with TRX- “not only push, pull, hang, and suspend your way to a better body with the TRX, but add a strength training element.”
• Buff Girl Workout- Combo of pilates, ballet, bootcamp, and vintage aerobics
• S.T.A.R. Treatment- Spinning, Toning, Abs and Relaxation
• Strip Bar- Happy hour of sexy, hot cardio.  “This class takes striptease to the next level with the body bar as your prop.  Oh yeah, we’ll make you sweat.”

Thoughts?

QUESTION:
Want to do the challenge with me?

Are there any classes you’re intimidated to try (or just plain, think you won’t like) at your gym?

What’s your favorite class?

I think COFFEE has been the theme of my year so far.  I’ve had another 2 cups today.  Still seriously dragging.

Lunch was a salad with chicken, an orange, and a mini-sweet potato.

Afternoon snack was KettleCorn (from Trader Joes.)  Try their popcorn if you haven’t yet.  It’s really good, natural (the only ingredients are popcorn, sugar, salt, a little oil), and pretty low-cal yet filling.  I never know what to bring for my afternoon snack, but this is a good choice.  And I also had one of the cups of coffee (of course).

Gym Pet Peeves

So, it’s January and time for the gym to be ridiculously packed!  I’m trying to go as early as I can in the mornings this month because I’m hoping it will be less crowded than the evenings.  We shall see.

In honor of crowded-gym-January, I’ve been thinking a lot about my Gym Pet Peeves lately.  I’m usually easy-going, but I do have a few.  I also should preface this with the fact that my gym is really tiny.  It’s close to my house, inexpensive and has all the basics, but it’s also not very modern and pretty cramped as is (making it extra bad in Jan).  I’m being a total complainer and should feel lucky that I have a gym so close and that by Feb it will be empty, but……

Here are my Top Gym Pet Peeves:

1) Not wiping down machines after you workout– Ewwww.

2) Spreading your stuff all over the locker room- This is also likely due to the fact that my gym is small, but if you take an entire bench with your things, there’s a good chance that no one else will be able to fit (and that I’ll trip over your stuff).

3) Leaving magazines on the machines or floor after your workout– Ok, I’ll admit- part of my motivation for the gym is all the gossip magazines.  At my gym, they’re supposed to be kept on a magazine shelf on the wall, but so many people end up reading the magazine and then just leaving it on the floor (to get stepped on)  or on the machine after they leave (so you can’t tell if the machine is being used or not….).  Does this just happen in your gym?  I don’t know why it annoys me and I probably sound anal, but it’s my pet peeve seeing magazines sprawled all over the floor all the time.

4) “Saving” a machine.–  Put your ipod and towel on the machine, then go talk to your friend for 30 minutes (umm, hello, i wanted to use that machine and could be done by the time you’re back).  I don’t think it’s always on purpose and I’m usually too polite to say anything, but ya know, it’s a pet peeve.

It was tough getting out of bed this morning.  I was so cozy under the covers.

But I’m glad I finally did, because it was a beautiful sunrise.

I spent a quick half-asleep 30 minutes on the elliptical reading a magazine and watching the news.  Big political day in Iowa today…..should be interesting.

I started feeling sorry for those celebrities on the cover…..I mean, we all look terrible sometimes (sick, tired, etc), who wants  those pics on the cover of a magazine?!   But, then I remembered that all the publicity helps their career and those pics just come with the job.  No more sympathy (but I’m still glad I’m not them- ha).

I guess the holidays are really over because the street was littered with dozens of xmas trees.  You can’t really see it that well in this pic, but there must have been 15 of them just on this one corner!

Home for a quick breakfast before running off to work.  Egg, banana, and 2 cups of coffee with almond milk.

My fridge ispretty empty and I majorally need to go grocery shopping.  This morning, I saw this list of the “Clean 15″ in my email from Dr. Weil– It’s a list of fruits and veggies that don’t need to be organic.   There are organic, non-organic, “all-natural” options everywhere in the stores, but before forking over the extra cash, it’s pretty helps to know when you’re actually getting your money’s worth.  I was surprised by a few on this list, so wanted to share.

Save your cash!  Here’s the list of fruits and veggies that do not need to be organic:

• Onions
• Sweet corn
• Pineapples
• Avocado
• Asparagus
• Sweet peas
• Mangoes
• Eggplant
• Cantaloupe (domestic)
• Kiwi
• Cabbage
• Watermelon
• Sweet potatoes
• Grapefruit
• Mushrooms

I always buy organic cabbage, mushrooms, and sweet potatoes (i figured, it they are in the ground and i eat the skin,so that would make them full of pesticides, but apparently not) so am totally happy that I don’t have to anymore.

And just because it seems fitting, here are the “Dirty Dozen” of what to ALWAYS buy organic.

12 Most Contaminated

• Peaches
• Apples
• Sweet Bell Peppers
• Celery
• Nectarines
• Strawberries
• Cherries
• Pears
• Grapes (Imported)
• Spinach
• Lettuce
• Potatoes

Did anything on the list surprise you?  What produce do you always or never buy organic?   AND, what did you have for breakfast this morning?