Day 27- SpunOut

Spinning was good this morning. I was tired when I woke up but by the time I got to class and was sweating...well I was smiling.

The Christmas season is again making random strangers nice to each other- every person I passed at the Y smiled at me and said "Good Morning".

Workout: Spinning

Food: The Usual

Day 26- Sugar Plums and Candy Canes

I'm the type of person that can be easily bored or distracted. Yes, I like bright, shiny things and I get my class off track because of my tangents about celebrates and their illegitimate offspring. Routine, although nice and predictable, makes me want to jump off a bridge. That being said, I need to try some new classes in addition to what I am doing. I love that exercise makes me feel, I actually love sweating (I don't love the pain part), I love getting up early, but I'm getting a little bored doing the same things. Wizard and I are slowing adding running, which is challenging and I enjoy- but BodyPump and Spinning are pretty much the same. I find myself cheating-and-or-looking-at-the-clock-to-see-when-class-is-going-to-end. Seriously, the only way I get through Spinning is to knock off the time in five minute increments "25 more minutes until the blood will come back to my ass..."

Here is my issue- when I get bored, whether with food or exercise or laundry or daydreaming or whatever, I just don't want to do it anymore (I know, I'm a child). If I wasn't meeting Wizard every morning I would've already given up on the gym and would be spending my mornings cozy in bed instead of in a smelly locker room. So to combat this, I am going to try some new class at the Y over break for a change. I really would like to test out BootCamp or Zumba...maybe even BodyFlow. The pool is even calling to me- maybe I can even get in some water aerobics.

Food is boring to.

Brace yourself.

I am about 90% sure that I am going to attempt going vegan as of January 1st. Besides the weight loss that would accompany a diet change, I also have animal-lover-versus-mindless-slaughter-issues and I want to have a very healthy diet. I don't want cancer. I don't want MS or ALS or heart disease or diabetes. I'm not going to get all preachy here, it's a personal choice. (Dad keep your opinions about my eating to yourself).

Wizard forgot to wake-up before coming to the gym this morning. She forgot breakfast, a book for tutoring, clean clothes for running this afternoon, deodorant, and to put weights on BOTH sides of her bar when doing the chest presses. Apparently, she was on her back lifting the weights and thinking to herself "Why is my right arm so much stronger than my left arm?". Seconds later- mystery solved= no weights on the left side.

I was pretty pathetic this morning myself. The cold has frozen my brain.

Workout: BodyPump and Running 90 minutes

Food: The usual

Day 28- Boo

Reasons why I am crabby today:

1. Grading...does it ever end?
2. The students are going to be out of control this week because of break.
3. My ass hurts from spinning.
4. Snow. Why couldn't my ancestors immigrate somewhere warm and sunny with citrus fruit?
5. Food is rediculous. Why can't we all just get our nutrition from pills.
6. Slow Drivers.
7. Whining.
8. Why am I not skinny yet? I have been working really hard- I should look like Megan Fox by now.
9. My birthday is coming up.
10. Anything. Really. I. Will. Complain. About. Anything.

Workout: Spinning 45 agonizing minutes

Food: The usual.

Day 24- I want to eat a giant chocolate Santa...

I'm not going to school today (I will be grading all day, thank you very much. Either that or getting caught up in a BG marathon and laying on the couch. Which do you think will win out?)

Even though I am not at school, I still got up at 4am and dragged my tried ass to the gym. Why? you might ask yourself. Why would I get up in a-below-zero-windchill-factor to drive across God's green earth to Woodbury? Because I made a commitment to myself. Because I value my health more than my sleep. Because I'm am really starting to like the gym....

Or it could be that I told Wizard I would be there and I know that she would literally karate-chop my head if I didn't show up. Wizard is kinda violent when she gets worked up and since she towers over me...lets just say I want to keep all my teeth if I can possibly help it.

Remember when I said that Wizard was signing us up for all the races in a tri-state area. We are now going to do a diatholon in Oakdale, my home suburb (go Titans!) in May. Wizard signed us up thinking that by then we'll have the running and biking thing down. It now appears that it's going to be harder to do than the Sprint Triathlon. You run three miles, bike something-like-100-miles, and then run 3 more miles. It's the running at the end that kills you.

Shot me now. Run 6 miles? Can't I just have my jaw wired shut?

This morning we did BodyPump (Wizard is doing the Clean'n'Press wrong- she can't manage to get the bar raised above her giant head. I am wimping out of the lunges because they kill my knees. My butt doesn't need to be too high- I don't want to end up looking like JLo). And after BodyPump we ran/walked. I heart my new shoes.

Weighed myself again. Since I weighed myself last week I have lost another 3.5 pounds- add that to the 3.5 pounds that I've already lost- 7 total since last Tuesday. Although, I am severely dehydrated. Wizard is buying me one of those poles that they hang IV fluid from at the hospital that the patients can wheel around with them so that I always have water with me.

Peace out, friends.

Day 23- Old Man Winter vs. Rachael

The battle began this morning at 4am. The alarm went off and my eyes popped open. Like a child, my first thought was "IsSchoolClosedToday?IsSchoolClosedToday?IsSchoolClosedToday?" (One of the pleasures of being a teacher is having a snow day- for most of us it's exciting. For the math teachers it's chaos.) The thing is, now that I get up so early in the morning no one on the phone tree was going to call me for at least an hour to tell me whether we were having school or not.

I crept carefully towards my window, pulled back the curtain and gazed at the winter wonderland. Sigh. We were obviously going to have school today- call it a teacher's sixth sense. Glancing towards the clock I suddenly realized that if I hoped to make it to the gym on time, I was going to have to leave at least 15 minutes before I usually do. Piling on my winter clothes (picture the kid from the movie "Christmas Story" who can't walk in his snowsuit because it's too puffy- my level three winter clothes) it only took me 20 minutes maneuvering through 5 foot drifts of moving snow to get my car moderately clean. Drifting snow kept piling up on places that I had cleared off.

Driving onto the ramp to 694 I was stuck behind someone who is obviously spending their first winter in Minnesota. Semi's were whizzing past us at an astounding 45 miles per hour and I was at a crawling 10. The visibility and speed were ridiculous...I thought, this can't be safe. Good thing I live in Minnesota.

Long story longer, the instructor didn't even show up for Spinning. He lives in...wait for it, wait for it...Hudson. Do you know how far Hudson is from Woodbury? Like, 15 minutes. Do you know how far Brooklyn Park is from Woodbury? Like, five-hours-uphill-the-whole-way-barefoot-in-12-feet-of-snow. Okay...more like 45 minutes in regular condition's or if you are obeying the the speed limit.

So I led Spinning- all four of us. It was awesome. Are we hardcore? Yes. Yes we are.

Workout: Spinning 40 minutes

Food: The Usual

Day 22- Am I done yet...

Things I would rather do than change my eating habits:

1. Get a cavity filled at the dentist.
2. Clean the oven.
3. Go shopping with Meghan (possibly the ssslllooowwweessstt shopper in history- we once spent two hours deciding between a cross pendant or a four leaf clover pendant, seriously).
4. Pick up all the dog poop in MN.
5. Pick up all the dog hair in my house individually.
6. Walk around a California beach in a swimsuit.
7. Gargle Listerine until my mouth bleeds.
8. Watch a wedding shows marathon for an entire weekend on TLC with my sister Leah (who is a brilliant, creative person...and who also wants to be a wedding planner).

Reasons why I need to change my eating habits:

1. Heart disease, diabetes, cancer.
2. I don't have any cute clothes...and I want to shop.
3. I'm afraid of trying to get on a ride at an amusement park- what if I'm rejected because I'm too fat?
4. Airplane seats- nuff said.
5. I would like to live to be 100 and meet my great-grand kids.
6. Underarm jiggle.
7. I shouldn't be able to use my underwear as a parachute.
8. I would feel better inside and out.


Losing weight is the hardest thing I've ever tried to do. It's hard every time I try to do it- it never gets easier. Losing weight is harder than having two full-time jobs, harder than graduate school, harder than backpacking around Europe by yourself. IT IS THE HARDEST THING I HAVE EVER DONE!!! So...to all the skinny people out there who don't have to try- give your fat sisters a couple of breaks. And for all my fat sisters- I love you, keep your spirit up even when the world tries to put you down. And don't listen to Oprah anymore...that lady doesn't know whether she's comin' or goin'.

Workout: BodyPump 60 mins & Walk/Run 30 mins

Food:
The usual

Day 21- I almost puked my guts out...

Friday I didn't post, but I did work out. My mother was so worried that I missed a day of exercise she actually checked with me on the phone to make sure nothing was wrong. Don't worry my dedicated followers, I actually was so busy doing my actual job of - gasp- teaching that I didn't have time to post. By the time I had time, I was too tired. Friday I was in spinning (with the Latina teacher again- her accent works in my favor). Ask Wizard if you don't believe me.

Saturday was a horse of a different color altogether. Saturday was my first day of running. Okay, I don't know if you can really count what I did as running, but Wizard says that it counts and since she is a professional and not afraid of crushing my ego, I'm going to believe her. We did intervals of 1 minute running/2 minutes walking- 10 intervals total. Outside. In the freezing cold.

First, my body went into shock. Luckily, I brought my trusty lab Mufasa along believing the premise that she would pull me when I couldn't go on. Instead she was busy running her leash around my, and Wizard's, legs. Second, my limbs started to go numb. I'm pretty sure that I have never exerted so much energy. I was gasping for breath- I looked like I should be in the intensive care unit somewhere. Wizard didn't know whether to have me put my head between my legs or give me CPR. Runners passing us were giving us dirty looks- me because I am obviously too fat to be running (they probably thought I should be eating a jelly donut somewhere instead of taking up so much space on their precious wooded path- don't mind me for living you asses) and Wizard because she is obviously the dictator of our little duo. I didn't know whether to throw up or cry...so I'm going to go out on a limb here and say that it was pretty difficult for me.

So this is the time when I mention that Wizard and I are running a 5k in February. The first week of February. I have to be able to run 3 miles by the 6th of February. Is she crazy, you may be asking yourself? Yes, yes I am crazy. Crazy like a fox. Um, or more like a fool.

I have officially signed up for the race in February and the Sprint Triathlon in August. I want to invite everyone to St. Paul on August 22(or 23 or something) to see me triumph in the triathlon. If I finish it in one piece, it will be an astounding success.

Spinning today, Wednesday and Friday.
BodyPump and Running, Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday.
(PS- You're all invited to workout with me and Wizard at the Woodbury YMCA every weekday morning at approximately 5:30am- be there or be square.)

Food:
1 Liter of Water
High Fiber Oatmeal with 1 cup cherries
Water
Carrots with 2 TBSP hummus and EVOO
Water
Turkey Chili with peppers, onions, and beans
Pear & Diet Coke
Water
Apple with 2 TBSP PB & Diet Coke
Dinner?

Day 17- Yes, I was doing it wrong...

So today's BodyPump was awesome. I really like in instructor and the moves. Unfortunately, I was doing everything wrong. See, I thought that I was getting the hang of all the moves and it was all beginning to be so easy. I even added extra weight to my bar today. The reason everything was getting so easy wasn't because I was turning into a major rockstar- umm, it was because I was doing the majority of the moves wrong. Yep, that's right. I'm supposed to be working my back and I'm working my biceps instead. The reason the tricep curls were so easy- my arms were to far apart on the bar and I wasn't keeping my elbows in. I was swing the weight up with momentum was I was supposed to be stable and working my biceps. So, after all, it's not easy. My body is aching. My triceps and biceps are burning. Tomorrow I think my thighs will tight in spinning.

Wizard is a little grumpy today so I won't mention too much except to say that she looks fabulous in her lime green sweater.

According to the scale at the Y I have lost 3.5 pounds since Monday. I am seriously doubting that this is true. First, because that would be impossible. Second, because the scale at the Y constantly tells me that it needs a new battery so I think it's just throwing up a random number and hoping that I'll be pleased with it.

Workout: 60 minutes BodyPump

Food:
1 Liter of Water
High Fiber Oatmeal with 1 cup cherries
Water
Carrots with 2 TBSP hummus and EVOO
Water
Turkey Chili with peppers, onions, and beans
Pear & Diet Coke
Water
Apple with 2 TBSP PB & Diet Coke
Dinner?

Day 16- The first day I wanted to ...

stay in bed. I woke up with a pounding headache, and I was so tired. It's December 2, which means I need eighteen layers just to let the dogs out to go potty. I hit snooze on my phone and spent the next five minutes thinking up over one thousand excuses to not go to the gym. Here's a general selection:

#47- It's better for the environment if I don't drive my car so much.

#185- The gym smells like ass and makes me nauseous.

#339- Maybe I could be a sumo wrestler- they are athletes AND get to eat tons of food, right?

#632- Sleep tastes better than thin feels. (I've never been thin, so I can say this.)

Long story short, I was at the gym by 5:20 for spin despite the fact that I wanted to kill someone with my bare hands. The instructor is awesome, the music is thumping, the wheels are turning. I literally had sweat running down my face into my eyes. Seriously, how often does anyone have sweat running down their face? I realize this isn't a pretty picture that I'm painting for y'all, but I was pretty proud of myself. Especially considering I'm hitting the hump- the novelty has worn off the gym, the food is still making me gassy, and everyone else is eating Christmas cookies. There's nothing that makes a fat-person-on-a-diet more mad than watching thin people, who invariably talk about how fat they are, stuffing their faces with cookies, cake, fudge, and ribs (okay, the last one is a stretch). But seriously skinny people, take some pity on your fat friends. Don't ask them out to dinner, don't make or bring them baked goods, and if you value your life, don't ever mention how hard it is to find a size double zero in Levi's. Try finding a shirt that will button in the front without gaping when your breasts are the size of watermelons.

Wizard is getting a little whiny too, luckily we have each other to bitch to. It's not so hard once you get to class, it's the getting up at 4am every morning, spending 15 minutes packing all the food I'm going to need for the day every evening, and going to bed at 7:30pm. I feel like a grandma, but at least the sun is down and it's dark.

Workout: Spin for 45 minutes

Food:
1 Liter of Water
High Fiber Oatmeal with 1 cup cherries
Water
Carrots with 2 TBSP hummus and EVOO
Water
Turkey Chili with peppers, onions, and beans
Pear & Diet Coke
Water
Apple with 2 TBSP PB & Diet Coke
Dinner?

Day 15- Open letter to all the althletic ladies out there...

Dear Gym Ladies-

Your dedication to health and fitness is stunning. I am inspired every time time I walk into the locker room at 5:15am and it is filled with ladies of all ages and sizes. Our common desire for health, defined biceps and beautiful buns binds us into a sisterhood of athletes. May I always be a dedicated member of your ranks.

Sincerely, Rachael Erickson.


So you know how I said yesterday that I was determined to eat healthy...well, I did fine until dinner. Due to a personal crisis in the life of one of my best friends I made unhealthy choices. Yes, I use food for comfort. I have since I was a child and would come home from school and the house would smell of baked potatoes and meatloaf- and that food and smell represented 'home' for me. Hence, I still comfort myself (and others) with food. I am working on substitutes (talking to friends or family, exercise, reading, etc.) but it is slow progress.

Today we rocked BodyPump. I still can't quite figure out the right weights for each set but I am sweating and working my butt off in class, so that's progress of some sort. There was a grunting man in class today, which is distracting and I don't want him to breathe on me! Gross.

My goal is to lose 10 pounds by my birthday which is in approximately 19 days. I finally remembered to weigh myself, so I have a starting point. Wish me luck and stayed tuned.

Food:
1 liter water
High Fiber Oatmeal with 1 cup cherries
Carrots with Hummus and EVOO
1 liter water
Turkey Chili with onions, peppers and kidney beans
1 Pear
1 liter water and 1 12oz diet coke
1 apple with 2 tbsp. PB
12oz diet coke
Turkey Chili or Oatmeal for dinner