Ramped Up Workouts…

…and the discovery of gum.

I got to RIPPED this Saturday and found I had left my full water bottle on the counter! Oh no! The instructor gave me a piece of gum and said it would keep my mouth moist during the workout. I was skeptical and worried I would choke on the gum during the workout. But it totally worked! And I didn’t choke on the gum. Helpful tip for all the folks reading this.

I am back up to a good workout schedule and doing well with it. The old problem of increased appetite is back though. The increased activity is making my body believe it needs more calories then it does. I never do well with this shift. That first couple of weeks is the golden zone and burning more calories without my body having caught up yet. Now that I am past that, it wants more and it’s loud about it. No body no. We are fine. resist the hunger! At least my muscle is starting to show again. Only a touch, but still awesome and I will take it!

How do you combat the increased appetite? Suggestions welcome!

So, So Sore…

…but in a good way.

I went to my first RIPPED class in months on Friday morning. I am STILL sore today, Monday – but it’s a good sore. It hurts in the good way I had almost forgotten about in my workout slump. It’s a nice feeling. BUT – even better – we did the class live and in person. Don’t worry we were outside on a basketball court with a bunch of space between each person. It felt SO good to be back with everyone. It is so much more fun to workout with my little fit family. I was a tad worried they wouldn’t recognize me with my weight gain, but like I recall, it was a judgement free zone where starting over is welcomed and cheered. It made me feel slightly more normal again. I need to be better with the at home workouts because they can’t all be together yet, but for now I am still riding high from the fit fam reunion. Lot of water and more stretching to relieve the lactic acid, but it’s nice to be reminded of my muscles and to wake them up.

Yep, that's why they are so sore, lol! Funny fitness memes for glutes #workouthumar #gymmemes | Workout memes funny, Workout quotes funny, Workout memes

Finding the Motivation…

…to workout on a day I REALLY don’t feel like it.

I had a relapse with the scale and it has not been fun. This quarantine has definitely affected my weight, despite working out 5-6 days a week. Maybe it’s the lack of my very physical job but mostly I think it’s not great eating combined with higher alcohol intake. Either way that number was not awesome. I know better then to let the number on the scale be my workout motivation (because it’s shitty motivation and makes you feel shitty). Letting that be my motivation crashed my want to workout.

So now I am trying to pump myself back up for RIPPED at 5:00 pm. I am going to list all the good reasons I workout. It makes me feel motivated in all areas of my life. Working out makes me feel good. Working out helps quell my anxiety. Doing online workouts with a community during this quarantine is nice – I feel less alone. These are the reasons I am getting my booty up, putting on my cute workout clothes, and doing this workout.

Then I am heading over to perform a seduction because damnit I am beautiful and wonderful at any weight –> and I know a wonderful man who thinks I am too 😉

Can't Wait on Weights…

…to do your live streamed workout!

I did the full live streamed RIPPED class this afternoon. I was afraid I would feel ridiculous jumping around my living room but it worked out really well (helps that my floors are hardwood). However, I do not have weights -which you need for two section of the class. No excuses! I filled up my empty wine bottle with water and put a stopper in them and used those as weights. They were a little light but a whole lot better then nothing. It also helps me justify my wine consumption during this shelter in place thing.

After my workout I went to weight myself and I stopped. I had just worked out and felt really good about myself. Why was I going to possibly kill that feeling with a number that is an ok baseline but doesn’t really mean anything. How do I feel? I feel good and that’s what matters. So I put the scale away and took my shower still on my workout high without the damper of a number on a scale I don’t care for. It was a personal victory – I normally give into the impulse to weigh myself without a second thought. Gotta take the small wins.

Don’t skip your workouts (or whatever it is that makes you feel normal) to the best of your abilities. Cardio is important in the apocalypse – remember Zombieland Rule #1!

Every Time I Try to Get Back on Track with…

…fitness something happens.

I love my RIPPED class. We’ve talked about it before so I wont reiterate that part. BUT back in September a series of unfortunate events lead me to only be able to attend sporadically. The first hurdle was financial. I simply couldn’t afford the membership at the time. Many people came together to ensure that I could continue on my fitness journey – but not till October. So I start attending again in October when I twist my ankle and suddenly I am out for another 2.5 weeks. I get back for two classes and I get 10 day viral plague which knocks me out of another two weeks of classes. I recover and head back to RIPPED and bam another foot injury. That heals about 3 weeks later and I am back at class once again. I think yeah…this is where I get back in the groove and 2 weeks later and PANDEMIC hits and shuts down all classes. I feel like I may never get back into my workout routine. I did the eliptical and tread mill and rowing machine which helped but not quite the same love or workout high as RIPPED. With gyms now shut down I am back to walking. I enjoy walking and feel better about doing something, anything but it isn’t the workout I want to be doing. This is not only for physical health (and feeling better about my appearance) but about my mental health. RIPPED is a release and helps me manage my anxiety. I don’t think I quite realized how much it helps until these past few months.

For now I suppose my walks will have to do. I hope we can get back to the little things that keep us sane soon.

ALSO – since writing this they are offering streaming classes a couple of times a day which is awesome for free. It helps a lot. Another way to be #alonetogether

Convincing Myself That I Am NOT…

…hungry. Mind over matter.

Lately I have been super hungry most of the time. I don’t know if it’s getting back into my workout routine, coming off holiday eating, or my hormone cycle, but I am hungry almost all the time. The kind of hunger that is really hard to ignore. I am trying to convince my body it isn’t as hungry as it is saying it is because I know I don’t need to consume as much food as it wants me too. I know I should shove it full of vegetables but that isn’t what the hunger wants (who wants vegetables all the time?).

I went through a two week phase were my appetite was very low. It was nice. Now it seems to be making up for lost time. So I am trying to do things to distract myself (like write this post) or work or workout or whatever. I know this denying of the hunger is ultimately what my body needs (especially to keep my weight down) but it seems almost crazy to ignore. My body must need these calories right? Is it hunger or is it just cravings for certain foods? How do you learn the difference? This has a been a lifelong struggle for me. Eating for satisfaction vs. eating for health and energy. Working out comes naturally to me – eating healthy does not. Anyone out there experience this and have ant tips?