Whew. I am POOPED.
After a long day at work, I killed it at the gym today: two hours on the elliptical!
It was actually unintentional: a movie came on and sucked me in. I almost stayed for the whole movie (3 hours!), but I had homework to finish for the Leadership Academy in my office.
Too tired to write more; I have to be up on six hours!
Have a great night, and bon appetit!
Tori
Today was a very, very good day.
Why? Because I woke up with a CRAZY fitness idea and I ran with it.
I live very close to the Cady Way Trail, which is a 6.5 mile shady bicycle/walking trail that cuts through Winter Park. What a lot of people don’t know is that Cady Way Trail connects to the Cross-Seminole Trail, a 23 mile tour that dissects Seminole County, Florida. It leads from Winter Park/Oviedo border all the way to Lake Mary – a solid 30 minute drive down I-4 on a day with no traffic.
My wild idea was to ride my bike (not a race bike, mind you, but a mountain-hybrid) the 60+ miles round trip to Lake Mary for lunch.
And guess what?
I did it!
Here’s how I looked PRE-departure:
Here is how I looked after 31.55 miles (I got lost on a trail detour!) as I sat down for lunch at Dexter’s in Lake Mary:
And, unfortunately, I forgot to take a picture upon arriving home; I was too exhausted and proud of myself to remember!
I tracked my food today purely out of habit, as I burned off WAY more than I could eat — a very good Sunday, indeed.
Did I mention Dexter’s had unlimited mimosas for $12? Don’t mind if I do:
Such a great day! I hope everyone had a stellar weekend and, as always, bon appetit!
Tori
So, the trend of good Mondays has come to an end.
After nearly four weeks of intensive work at the gym and eating right, I managed to completely ruin/sabotage my success in just a few days.
CONGRATS TO ME!
You think I’m exaggerating, but let’s compare last Tuesday (8/20/2013) to this Monday (8/26/2013).
I was so happy, I even took a picture of it:
Ah, sweet memories.
It was a momentous occasion. I was officially lower than I had been since 5th grade.
The difference?
I still hit the gym five days last week. Each time, I burned no less than 400 calories, most days over 1,000 calories.
The only difference was that I cut myself slack on a few days with my diet. I let myself splurge and now I’m paying the consequences. I gave myself an inch and my f*cking weight took the whole damn mile.
Here’s the breakdown of my calories last week, care of MyFitnessPal.com. Let me know when you spot the downward trend:
Monday 8/19/2013:
Consumed: 1,227.
Burned: 1,130
Tuesday 8/20/2013:
Consumed: 2,085 (bad!)
Burned: 1,050 (at least it cancelled out)
Wednesday 8/21/2013:
Consumed: 1,822
Burned: 423
(Starting to notice a trend here? Yeaaah.)
Thursday 8/22/2013:
Consumed: 1,271
Burned: 1,051
(Am I back on the straight and narrow?! Redemption!)
Friday 8/23/2013:
Consumed: 2,380
Burned: 851
(It’s Friday. My only cheat day, I promise…. right?)
Saturday 8/24/2013:
Consumed: 3,710
Burned: 67
(Oh, for fuck’s sake. I literally consumed a pound of excess calories today.)
Sunday 8/25/2013:
Consumed: 1,907
Burned: 91
(Might as well enjoy the morbid obesity.)
Yes, I was very bad last week. But, in doing the math, assuming I need 1,500 calories daily to MAINTAIN my weight and anything over that (that I don’t burn off) results in weight gain, how did I GAIN SIX POUNDS?!?!
Mathematically, it doesn’t make sense.
I consumed a total of 14,397 calories last week. (That just SOUNDS horrific).
Assuming 1,500 to live (and not factoring in my exercise) I should have not consumed more than 10,500. That puts me at a surplus of 3,897 calories – roughly a 1.5 pound weight gain if I round up.
However, adding in my burned calories, which was roughly 4,663 in total cardiovascular/strength exercises (not counting the normal day-to-day living stuff), I should STILL BE AT A DEFICIT for the week.
I should be at: -766 calories for the week net. I should have stayed around the same weight or even have lost an ounce or two.
BUT NO.
I could punch something. I’m debating punching myself.
People often tease me for how regimented I am. For the fact that I count every calorie and obsess over what I put in my mouth. Do you SEE now why I have to do this?! Is this not proof? I allowed myself to eat whatever I wanted for 50% of last week – and still hit the gym hard five days in a row – and I’m up the weight of a god damn baby!
Is there a food baby in my lower intestine or something?! A beautiful, rosy-cheeked six pound LARD BABY rolling around in my duodenum?
UGHHHHHHH.
So angry. So frustrated. So ready to kick this week’s ass.
You thought I was hardcore before… watch me.
~ Tori
I have a really bad habit of jinxing myself through this blog, as I tend to brag about breaking weight barriers or setting a new PR at the gym only to follow it up with a tragic and depressing slump.
All I will say is that I’ve hit the gym five times per week for five straight weeks. The GymPact app is truly a blessing for me.
I’m a cardio-monster lately and have even made it a point to do a strength-training circuit at least twice per week, despite my utter aversion to the “boys section” of the gym.
I’m not going to get too excited, because the weight seems to be coming off a little faster than is normal [and healthy], so chances are this is a bit of water weight.
However, I do seem to be making steady progress and I’m feeling really good about myself.
My goal is 128.5 by October 4th, 2013 [my graduation day from college] and, if I keep this pacing up, it seems like it might be a possibility.
On that note, it’s time for dinner. And a cupcake.
Bon appetit, my friends!
~ Tori
Unlike all of my other “Monday” posts of the past, this is not a depressed, lamenting, regretful, or I-swear-I’m-committed-this-time post. For the first weekend in several months, I didn’t go crazy.
Some wine, some junk food, even a beer or two snuck into the picture.
I didn’t work out at ALL on Saturday, unless you count laying out by the pool with a book as an intensive yoga session.
Seriously, this totally counts as a workout. Creating vitamin D and producing melanin is a lot of work.
This weekend, I did NOT lose my mind and go on a wild, eat-anything-that-fits-in-my-mouth rampage as I normally do.
I even managed to hit the gym on Sunday morning [6 days last week – thank you, Gym Pact!] and squeeze a bike ride in that evening.
As a result of this new-found weekend sanity, my weight did NOT sky rocket this morning.
Yes, slightly up from Friday, but that was expected given the salty snacks and delicious beverages I had consumed the night before. Normally, my weight on Monday morning is 3-5 lbs higher than I was on Friday morning, as the discipline and hard work I’d executed during the workweek is normally shoved into the back, dusty cabinets of my brain, only to be remembered when the alarm clock sounds at 7am Monday morning to announce the return of the routine.
Tonight, after dinner, I was 138.2.
So, despite eating normally all day, I had shed some of the water weight I had carried over from Sunday.
I don’t want to jinx myself… but I think I’m reaching a point of consistency – of healthy routine – with my diet and exercise. Eating well and working out is becoming second nature and I’m finding myself less inclined to binge just because it’s a holiday, a weekend, or a “special” occasion. I didn’t have to think about it this weekend; it just happened that way.
I… I think I might be on the path of cutting this yo-yo string once and for all.
Here’s hoping,
~ Tori
Really, that’s all that needs to be said. Anyone that has followed this blog for more than a week knows that Mondays are the day of the week that are most painful for me as a yo-yo dieter.
Ashamed of my weekend. Determined for my week. Depressed. Committed. Sad. Prepared.
I decided a poem was in order.
Because, really, how can you be depressed when something has a lovely cadence and the words rhyme? A well-constructed poem can make a eulogy sound like a nursery rhyme.
So here goes:
Victoria was a dieter, Who counted every bite. She tracked each tiny morsel, And logged it all by night. She found the time to run, She hardly ever skipped the gym. Every effort that she could make, Her attempt to live life slim. Turning down a slice of pizza, Saying no to each cupcake. Her will power was infallible, Her calorie allowance wasn’t fake. She huffed and puffed and cried, The sweat, it always poured. Yet her body rarely changed, The scale, she, too,abhorred. You’d think one day she’d adjust, And learn to love her frame. But an act of biased futility, Is a handcuff just the same. And so she’ll keep on counting, Deprivation will be her law. Until one day she wins the battle, When her self-doubt does withdraw.Hoping for a good week,
~ Tori
Ah, here we go again.
Yet another re-commitment to my diet. To a better lifestyle. To everything that is good and wholesome and caring for my body.
My weight jumped back up today, which I can only attribute to the massive dinner I had Saturday night at Kobe’s. Soy sauce, noodles, and rice – OH MY!
Good God, they give you a ton of food there. Despite spending 90 minutes on the elliptical and 15 mins running fartleks on the treadmill that afternoon, I couldn’t cancel out the massive amount of calories I consumed in one sitting.
It’s unfair that I can take thousands of calories into my body in just minutes but it takes HOURS of vigorous exercise to burn them back off.
Seriously, was this God’s practical joke on the human race? Make food delicious, readily available, and chock full of calories and then make it ridiculously hard to expend enough energy to burn it off? Then, to top it off, introduce a society that glorifies thinness and collarbones and you’ve got a bona fide eating disorder on your hands.
Sorry, I’m in a bad mood today. I’m just tired of the fact that I work out EXTREMELY hard and then sabotage my own success by pigging out. I love food too much – but it doesn’t love me back.
There once was a lady name Tori, Who, with food, she had quite the love story, They got in a fight – And try as she might, She couldn’t kick its ass out the door-y.[A bit of a forced rhyme, but you get what I’m feeling here.]
Tired of the yo-yo,
~ Tori
Everyone has a favorite.
[Shhhhhhh. Don’t tell anyone, but I sort of like my boy Chihuahua a bit more than my girl. Proof is that he has his own Facebook page and she doesn’t. Whoops!]
Everyone is guilty of having favorites in almost every aspect of their life, including their fitness regime.
I happen to have a favorite type of cardio exercise: the elliptical machine.
If you’ve followed this blog for a while, you probably realize that’s not ME in the photo.
Image source: http://www.ellipticals.us/
I don’t know what it is about this machine in particular, but I can literally spend 90+ minutes on it and feel great. The TV distracts me, I’m often rocking out to some killer tunes, and in some cases, I’m reading a book for the duration of the workout.
Unfortunately, you can have too much of a good thing.
I’m extremely guilty of not diversifying my workout. I have a tendency, especially when I’m tired or not motivated, to do the exact same exercise [60-90 minutes on the elliptical] every time I go to the gym.
For the past three weeks, other than one super motivated day in which I did a strength circuit, I’ve ONLY done the elliptical machine as my exercise.
Yeahhhhh.
As you can probably guess… it’s not helping my weight loss. In fact, as of this morning, I’m up a pound from my starting weight on June 11th.
It’s frustrating, because, despite the repetitious-aspect, I’m putting in effort. I leave the gym pouring sweat. I feel an ache in my legs the next day, which is normally a good indicator that I’ve given those muscles a pretty strenuous workout.
I was reading a few fitness articles online and I discovered there are a couple of major CONS to doing the same workout over and over.
So, with all of that being said, I guess I’ve fallen into the cardio-rut and it’s time to overhaul my workout a bit.
That treadmill is looking mighty sexy. And I’m pretty sure Mr. Stairclimber has been checking me out all night. Don’t get me started on the rowing machine… he’s been dying to bend me over since he laid eyes on me.
Don’t be upset. We can stay friends. I’ll still visit from time-to-time. I’m just not ready for a committed relationship at this point, you know?
I’m glad you understand. I love you and I’ll never forget the joy – and the sore buttocks – you’ve brought me.
Bon appetit, my friends —
~ Tori
Last night, my husband, a team of three professional movers, and I managed to take the contents of our 3/2, third floor condo and move it into our 3/3.5 three story townhouse.
Six hours for 5 people, all in relatively good shape.
I’m exhausted. My legs are so tight, it hurts to walk to the bathroom. My shoulders and arms are so sore, it’s challenging to lift my laptop.
Moving is officially the most strenuous endeavor I know. Fortunately, we’re done. The house, though messy and still full of boxes, is relatively put together. Furniture is on the correct floor, gigantic marble tables are in one piece, and my quads are screaming like they realized they won the lottery and threw away their ticket.
I hope to never do that again. I don’t care if my husband and I have a HERD of children, this is our FINAL home. We’ll invest in bunk beds [free delivery and set-up, of course], and just stack the children into the bedrooms before I ever consider getting another house.
How do people do this so frequently? I have friends that move every 1-2 years. I can’t imagine going through this torture more than 2-3 times in a lifetime. Granted, I moved a lot during college, but I also lived out of plastic Tupperware containers and the heaviest piece of furniture I had was a coffee table from Ikea. Big difference.
On a positive note, I finally unpacked my scale. Going four days without a weigh-in was both glorious and freeing, but I was beginning to panic about the “unknown.” Like I said in my previous post, I normally weigh myself multiple times throughout the day. Going more than 72 hours without a weigh-in was just… strange.
Huh. I’ve been living on take-out and missing the gym, but somehow my weight has gone down and my jeans are starting to loosen up again.
I guess moving truly is the best workout around.
Not that I ever plan to do it again… but it’s good to know.
On that note, time to go grocery shopping and stock this place up with HEALTHY goodies!
Bon appetit, my friends!
~ Tori
One of my favorite exercises happens to be the one that feels LEAST like exercise: riding my bike with my husband.
This morning, we decided to crack out the old mountain/hybrids and go for a ride to strategically check out some homes that we’re interested in. The kicker, here, is that these homes are ALL over town. Literally. There were at least two miles between each property and we set out to see no less than six of them.
For two hours, we trucked around town, crossing from Orlando to Maitland, Maitland back to Winter Park, and then Winter Park back to the Baldwin Park area. If you’re not familiar with the Orlando-area, we biked roughly 22 miles. WOW.
Amazingly, the entire trip was a blast. I never felt tired [until the very end, of course] and I was in good spirits the whole time.
Perhaps the distraction of the sights, of having to meander safely through traffic, and the excitement of seeing our [potential] new home drove out the mental struggle that tends to accompany a long workout. I was entertained and enjoying myself, so it really didn’t feel like exercise. It felt like a fun trip with my husband and a beautiful day to be a Floridian.
This leads me to the conclusion that the easiest way to make exercise a daily part of your life is to make it a daily ENJOYABLE part of your life. Whether it’s a bike ride with your spouse or a kickball class with your best friend, a good workout is most effective if it’s savored and anticipated.
If you’re struggling to incorporate more exercise into your day-today, try riding your bike to pick up the few items you need from the drug store or suggest swapping your ladies night out into a ladies sweat-out and join a boot camp glass together. You can find tons of them – often free – locally by going to sites like http://www.meetup.com!
Chances are, you’ll appreciate the after-effects of a good workout much more than you will a night of heavy wine-guzzling!
Besides, how could you choose to go out drinking over rocking one of these awesome helmets with a friend?
Yes, I wear this out in public. It’s the best!
On that note, it’s back to work for me.
Bon appetit, my friends!
~ Tori
The Memoirs of a Yo-Yo Dieter 