My Cheating Ways

This weekend is where the inevitable wall hits. That place where eating right just seems stupid when there is delicious PIZZA to be had. See I don't know if ya'll know - I have a major issue when it comes to pizza. I love it. True story - I asked my fiance if we could have pizza delivered to the wedding reception . Or have caterers make a pizza buffet.

So you see - I'm a true fan of a delicious perfectly topped pizza.

And I totally gave in yesterday. Ugh. It's okay, as I'm allowed a cheat meal occasionally (and you don't get more cheat then Kim + PIZZA). But it's also hard because I'm the kind of person that usually takes a few days to get over a cheat meal. I'm trying to change that. And get back on the wagon ASAP. With my lunch I brought to work and my protein shakes and snacks. But it's hard, because having PIZZA reminds me of all the goodness I do *not* have in my very organic meals. Cooking with out all the processed sauces and salt (you don't realize how awesome salt is until you can't use it) is really bland. And having all that flavor is making me realize that because my lunch was just not hitting the spot today.

So I'm going to do some research - and treat myself to a food book on how to season food better. It's not easy seasoning food w/ no salt and marinade and I'm just getting bored - which is making that wall really hard to get over. I found a book called the Flavor Bible and I think I may have to snatch it up. If I'm going to eat clean for life - Ms. Dash isn't going to permanently cut the bill for my chicken and potato and rice flavoring. And definitely for fish - I'm about lemon peppered out.

Instead of beating myself up about my cheating ways, I'm going to instead learn from them. The fact of the matter is that I need to figure out how to add more flavor profiles to my food so I'm not so bored. And I need to kick some major behind at the gym. I'm on my own this week - my trainer is out of town. So she's sending me workouts via electrons so I can stay on track. My next scheduled workout is a DOOZY, but I'm excited to get it in. I actually think I *may* take tonight off though (I know, talk about talking out of both sides of my mouth) because I have my most awesome aunt in town from the D and this is really the only night I can meet up with her before she heads back home. And I have to go to pick up some crafty goodness from the other side of the county. She did say she was interested in working out though - so if she is still up for a butt kicking workout, I'll drag her with me. If not, then we'll just catch up as I haven't been home or seen her since AUGUST!!

Snow-tastic Exercise

Since I have about 22" of snow and my girl fitmomma has about 32" of snow - clearly we aren't going to be able to get to the gym today or maybe the next few days. The news is telling everyone to stay home and they gym is smartly staying closed. There are also tons of power outages in the area, so exercise has to take a new form, yes?

So here are some ideas of how to stay fit when you are under snowpocalypse type conditions.

1. Shoveling. This was my exercise yesterday. I spent somewhere in the 3 hr range..maybe more...digging out of my house and then digging my car out. Let me tell you - my shoulders, back, core, and legs (bend at the knees folks!) got a work out that was seriously intense. Now, you have to be careful and remember to take breaks! Shoveling is very hard work and very cardio intense...you need to take hydration and breaks just to stay safe and prevent overexertion. Especially today when the weather is below freezing.

2. Walk. Just like running on the beach, walking on snow gives you a good workout because the surface isn't stable. Get out of the house and enjoy this once in a lifetime record breaking snowfall. Just remember to be safe again, watch out for the icy patches and the cold temps. Be sure to bundle up tight. And make sure you bring a cell phone to call in case of an emergency.

3. Play. Remember being a kid when it snowed? Build a snowman, have a snowball fight with family, friends, and neighbors. Build a snow fortress. Whatever you have in your imagination...just get out there and do it. It's fun and you can get the family and kids involved. Plus with all the stress we have from work, school, and life in general...we really just could all take a break to revert to being 10 again, don't you think? This kind of cardio is really good for your heart.

Those are just some ideas for things you can do to get out of the house and burn some calories. Just be careful! Pay attention to your body for when you are too cold or not feeling well, bundle up, and take breaks. I spent about 3 hrs shoveling yesterday and I am feeling the burn everywhere in a good way.

Enjoy the Blizzard of 2010 if you are in the affected regions and if you are not...enjoy normal winter weather, lol.

My Torturer

Have you heard of this stepmill thing? No? Because I hadn't. Yeah, I heard of a stair climber, but this is a more evil torture device...I mean exercise machine. It's basically a never ending column of stairs that you climb, and keep climbing, otherwise you fall off the cliff. I know it sounds just like a stairclimber...but there is a difference, trust me!

Torture Device - Code Name "StepMill"

Anyway, my trainer, Trainer Amy, likes this thing...a lot. My cardio Rx includes 3 hot dates a week with the stepmill - and she likes to throw it in our sessions. Trainer Amy says that it burns 2-3 times the calories as the treadmill in half the time, and according to my bodybugg, she's right. Tonight was my second appointment with the equipment from hell and as did intervals between levels 1 and 2. Because that's how out of shape I am hard this machine is. And I was pouring sweat and hurting after just 20 minutes. So I guess that means it's working - which is what I pay her the big bucks for.

Tomorrow is my second appointment with Trainer Amy and I'm excited to see what pain she has in store for me. I'm going to be out of town every single day next week and in two different states - so I'm also going to ask her for a plan for while I'm gone.