Fitness Friday

Uhm, so... remember when I was all stoked that I busted into the 140s while in Ohio? Well, apparently there's something wrong with the earth's gravitational pull because I arrived home, safe on Sunday night, and by Monday morning I had crept back into the 150s. (Though I suppose it may have also had to do with an impending menstrual cycle.)

This photo is irrelevant. 

Fortunately, with returning home came returning to the Pilates studio. Unfortunately, not having worked out in 3 weeks and not having done Pilates in 4 weeks, I've found that my strength and endurance have regressed.
Not only did I realize that I had reverted back toward my original state of being a weakling on my first day back, but my instructor (who reads this, so everyone wave to Bridget!) decided to throw in some crazy let's-roll-back-onto-our-shoulders-with-our-feet-in-the-air move that I had never done before which only reiterated the fact that I lost a lot of strength over four weeks.

Getting back into spin has also proved challenging. I lost a lot of endurance in my inactivity, unsurprisingly, but hopping on the bike in the first two days of my period wasn't helping either. Intervals (where you go back and forth between seated and standing on the bike) proved really difficult with an angry uterus. Cramps also lead to headache for me, so my two spin classes this week were pretty unpleasant thanks to my own body. Though, even through my menstrual discomfort, I could tell that I still could have pushed myself harder on the bike. I'm hoping to do better in tomorrow morning's spin/power sculpt yoga class. (I've never done power sculpt yoga. I hope I don't die.)

Staying on the topic of challenge, I joined a weight loss challenge. Roo over at Nice Girl Notes started a game at DietBet.com and opened it up to all of her readers. The premise is that you and all the players pay some money; in this instance, it was $20. You submit an official weigh in to the DietBet referees (which includes photos and a secret word) and once it's approved, you're in the game. The game is that you have 28 days to lose 4% of your body weight. If you don't, you're out $20. If you do, then you split the pot with everyone else who reached the 4% lost goal.

So Roo's game has 175 participants putting the pot at $3500. A lot of people would have to fail for me to get a huge chunk of that, but I'd be happy just getting my 20 bucks back with maybe some extra change to toss into Paypal for a rainy day. The game only started on Wednesday, but I think I've been doing well at keeping motivated. My only two things that stand in my way are alcohol and having switched my Pilates membership to 4 days a week to save some cash. BUT! So far, I'm on the right track. My 4% equals out to 6.1 pounds, which would put me at 146.5 on March 13th. Today I am at 150.8, so I really only have 4.3 pounds to go!

I anticipated Valentine's Day being a significant obstacle, but I really didn't do too badly. Jamie knew I was doing this challenge, so he didn't bring me home any sweets to keep stashed in the house. I ate quite healthfully all day and was looking forward to a homemade meal made by Chef Husb. He, for the past week or so, has been adamant about cooking at home on Valentine's Day; he wanted to grill up some nice steaks and pop a bottle of wine. I was so down with that. He even asked me over instant message yesterday if I had any diet restrictions for dinner. (I said no white rice or white potatoes!) Then, about 15 minutes later, he decided he wanted to go out. While slightly annoyed that he changed his mind last minute, I shrugged, "Okay, let's do it."

It was so worth it.

Grilled lamb with polenta and asparagus was my choice, and I think it was a good one. The portion wasn't huge; I ate it all and didn't feel over-stuffed. We split a really fantastic tiramisu for dessert, and even after that, I didn't feel like I over-ate. I felt full enough and satisfied. I did, however, drink a flight of wine at dinner followed by a tall pale ale and a short lager at our local spot to grab good craft brew. I must have done something right, though, because it didn't show on the scale today or in the form of bloating. (I guess I could probably attribute that to massively upping my water intake the past few days.)

My goals for this week include eating smartly, cut back on the alcohol (there's no way I'm giving it up!), and find a way to be active on the days I don't have spin or Pilates.

Do you have any fitness goals right now? How did Valentine's Day affect your diet? (I, honestly, am surprised that I did so well!)