Biggest Snoozer and Meat on a Bone ~ Shannon

Good afternoon everyone,

I am pleased to announce that I am (drumroll in your head)... -1 lb. as of last night, when Jully and I weighed in at the studio in Tenafly. I was very encouraged by the loss. In addition, we had what I thought was a great workout last night. I got there half an hour early to do some cardio before the session and realized as I pulled into the gym, that I was wearing Uggs, not sneakers (Pilates is done shoeless) and that would not be possible. Duh. Virginia put us through a number of exercises that we have done before and are, I am happy to report, getting easier to accomplish with time. We also did some stuff we have never done before. One exercise being this crazy split-like move. I have never been a cheerleader, gymnast or dancer. I played basketball and ran cross-country. "Split" is not in my vocabulary of workout words. Imagine doing this and it explains the exercise (DO NOT attempt at home though): Pour water on your tile floor in your kitchen, put a rollerskate on one foot and move that foot so that you go in and out of a split. It is, by far, against all of my bodies wishes and desires which are not to fall and not to split in any sort of way. I am not a wishbone. Who knows, maybe all this splitting will bring out my inner cheerleader and I'll find a spot as a Knicks City Dancer. Okay, I am making it sound torturous. It really was just something I am not used to but I am more than willing to keep on keeping on. I really love love love our instructor Virginia- she is so patient, yet challenges us.

As far as my food choices so far this week, I have been pretty good. Today, I went on a class trip to Medeival Times. One of my friends whom I teach with went along as well. It was a very humorous experience. The kids got right into the action. As we were rooting vigorously for the blue knight, they started serving the food. I had brought a mini whole wheat bagel with chicken salad just in case and it ended up coming in handy. I am not a big meat eater (I actually just started eating meat again after a stint as a vegetarian that made me gain even more weight- I don't think pasta and potatoes is healthy vegetarian). I also am not a fan of wasting food or any food still attached to a bone. As our maiden brought a big ol' chicken leg, ribs and a potato, I asked for a vegetarian meal. Not quite the Medieval spirit, but I have to draw the line somewhere when I am watching my food intake- and that type of food has absolutely zero appeal to me. I am fortunate in the sense that my tastes tend to lean towards healthy foods, my problem is with the amount that I eat. She brought vegetables and buttery rice as a substitute. So I ate the bagel and veggies. I even resisted the Otis Spunkmeyer dessert cookie. I do love those- they remind me of my high school cafeteria.
After my last post, I went home and caught some of the Biggest Loser on television. One woman lost about 60 pounds in 9 weeks. I am doing this in 20 weeks so that was inspirational but a little scary- what must they be doing to lose that much weight that fast?, so I looked up how much they work out on "the ranch" and was aghast. Um, up to SEVEN hours a day. No wonder! At this point in my journey, aside from Pilates and my occasional run, I am unfortunately not very motivated to work out. I have been working a lot this week, since report cards were due today and when I get home, all I want to do is chill and go to sleep. So, I have deemed myself the Biggest Snoozer. I don't really want to be called a loser anyway, so that works. Joking aside, I have to start working out on my own more. I want that to be part of the lifestyle change.

My goal for this weekend is to work out twice, excluding our session with Virginia Saturday morning and continue to watch what I eat. And avoid meat on bones at all costs- hey, we all have our quirks.