Dish 22: Dumplings at Margaret Kuo’s, multiple locations including in Wayne, on Lancaster, next to Cream & Sugar, http://www.margaretkuos.com/

A word to the wise: If you intend to take-out from Margaret Kuo’s, you live 20 minutes or more away, and you intend on getting it on your way home from the gym, order extra.

Brian loves pork dumplings, so I ordered the pork dumplings and the spinach and seafood dumplings, so there would be enough for the two of us and we’d get a sampling. And then I figured that I might as well just try one while they were still hot, right? It doesn’t hurt to take a bite in the car sometimes, if you don’t make it a habit. And then I thought that I really should try a bite of each kind, or it wouldn’t really be fair to each flavor. And before I knew it, my evilly ravenous post-gym alter ego had gobbled down her entire portion of the dumplings, and was contemplating whether Brian would be bothered by a tiny set of bite marks on his portion. I thought endorphins made you happy?! They make me happy and EVIL!

So clearly the dumplings are good. Brian and I agreed that they were a strong example of the genre but exceptional in neither taste nor representation of Chinese food as a whole. The casing was more tender and less chewy than I have had, which was lovely, but the fillings were less than complex in flavor. The pork was very standard, smoky, oily, not excessively chewy like some can be, but also not stellar; the spinach seafood had a little more layering of flavor but was a bit bland, like a spinach omelet that’s too light on the red pepper flakes.

I would consider ordering M.K.’s again if local superstar Yangming wasn’t right around the corner—and if you’d like to know what’s good at Yangming, hold the menu open, close your eyes, wave your finger in a circle, and bring it down on the paper. It is one of the few fully idiotproofed menus in existence, a quality which has launched it to immense popularity in this area, and for good reason. Also enjoyable at Yangming: watching the Main Line grayhairs enjoying a classy night on the town.

I love my personal trainer. Or, to put it more accurately, I love the results I get from having visited him. The constant feeling of slight soreness that comes from having worked HARD, the added confidence and the sense of satisfaction from having reached another fitness goal.

Just one problem: I think he might have hit on me today.

I was just wrapping up a solo workout when he approached me to schedule our next appointment. He first asked how The Husband is doing (he goes to the same gym), then we talked about the appointment for a bit. Then he suddenly asked me whether I had recently highlighted my hair (I had) and told me it looked nice. Okay…that’s fine. Compliments are always welcome. But then we were discussing a sports injury I’m dealing with that’s been keeping me from challenging myself. He looked me up and down quickly, then said, “Well, you still look great!”

Um, eeek???

I don’t think it would have rubbed me the wrong way except for that look he gave me…and the fact that The Husband says he’s skeevy and can’t look him in the eye.

So now what? I’ve had a purely professional relationship with this guy for two years and I’ve been really happy with the way that’s been going. Am I making too much of him just wanting to be nice, or am I in for an uncomfortable moment while he stretches me out after our next session?

Awwwwkwarrrrrd…

And here’s the really craptastic part: if I continue to get the creepy crawlies, I’m going to have to start seeing someone else, but I’m not about to switch gyms. Like I said, The Husband goes there, it’s super convenient and there are very few grunters and pervy old dudes. So if I start going to another trainer, is that going to make for even more awkward moments? Would he dare ask me why?

Ohhhhhh there is absolutely nothing good about this one. Except for the fact that it makes for juicy blog material.

–Posted by C.

so ive heard countless stories about one of our staff members (pictured above) gettn buck with the medicine ball at the gym so when i came across this article on sight unseen i was interested.

normally i would plagiarize but since they are fam click the link!

Well the results are in for this week and I have loads of excuses in my head for not hitting my target.  As I mentioned earlier in the week, I was aiming to be under 120Kg today but I didn’t manage it.  I weighed in at 120.1Kg.  Not far off, so it is still a good achievement in 3 weeks, but still a little disappointing.  On the plus side, it does put me under 19 stone for the first time in a long time which I am happy about.

In other good news, I have got under the 31% fat barrier.  I am now 30.4% fat.  I still need to lose at least 10.5% to get me between the ideal 10 and 20% range.  I now aim to be under 30% fat in 3 weeks time.  And I also tried out some running in the gym today after my 30 minute walk on the treadmill (it increases and decreases the incline so it isn’t too easy) to see if I could manage to do 1.5 kilometers.  I managed it in what I think is a pretty good time of 4 minutes 55 seconds and though I was tired when I finished it, I had recovered by the time I wiped down the machine and walked to the weights section of the gym.  Not bad for someone who couldn’t run half a mile without getting a bad back and out of breath as little as 3 weeks ago.

So in light of my almost, but not quite, hitting my target my excuses are as follows: last week was somewhat of a break from the norm at the back-end of the week (I posted about that earlier in the week), I did extra weights yesterday so it is muscle growth from all that, my food is getting put out on the normal plates again, not the small ones (and that is going to change, I shall be having words), and I had my lunch 2 hours late today so it was still weighing me down.

There we have it, those are my rubbish excuses.  Time to move on…

…So after talking through my weight loss and body fat loss with a PT at the gym who took my readings, he said that what I had achieved in 3 weeks (see my weight tracker page) was something to be proud of, that I shouldn’t worry about missing out on my goal by such a narrow margin and that I am obviously doing something right.

Which leads nicely on to what I am doing to get these results:

• Cutting my sugar intake – I drink Pepsi Max instead of Coca-Cola, eat less chocolate, less sugary cereal, less cakes etc.
• Eating more fruit and veg – I used to take an apple and a banana to work, I now add an orange to that.  I have fruit juice in the morning with my breakfast, veg with evening meals every night and I will have grapes or raisins about an hour before bed.
• Drinking more water – I have about 2 liters when I am at the gym anyway, but on top of that I have 2 or 3 tall glasses a day with some Robinsons no added sugar cordial
• Instead of having butter on my toast on a morning, I use Philadelphia light spreadable cheese.  This is only 3% fat compared to around 80% for butter, and also provides me with some protein at the start of the day.
• switched from regular mayonnaise to the extra light variety, totally skipping the light one.  Same great taste.
• Go to the gym and work out for at least an hour Monday to Thursday – I’ll post my gym routine in a later post
• Play two hours of badminton on a Friday

Not only those above, but I also allow myself a treat every week so I am less tempted by things at other points in the week.

If I can make these changes, anyone can.

My latest realisation comes from today’s experience.  I had a bit of a dull day at work, but that happens some times, and thought I was in for an awful workout when I got to the gym and saw it was busy.  Really not what I wanted.

Just to give you an insight to my workout, I usually do a little cardio work, then my weights work and then finish off with the rest of my cardio.

So as the cardio machines were full I decided to do the weights first, today being leg weight day, which provided a nice warm up for my pins.  By the end of that there was one treadmill free and two bikes.  I took the view that I was going to get the biking out of the way first and, whilst I was at it, try to beat my previous personal best.  I not only managed to beat my previous best, but completely obliterate it by what I think is a massive 48 seconds.

I was feeling that good about setting a new PB that I went on and did some more weights before my treadmill cardio so I will get the extra benefit there.

So there you have it, don’t let a bad day in the office (or wherever you work) drag down your workout.  Approach your workout with a clear mind and you will benefit.

Tomorrow is my weekly weigh-in and also the third week so I am going to get my body fat percentage measured too.  I’m hoping for good things

I, like I assume most people do, have milestones with my healthy life change with regards to fitness and weight loss.  I had a bad back end to last week on the healthy eating front.  Circumstances on Thursday lead to me having pizza for my evening meal; Friday saw me skipping badminton to go to the pub with a friend I hadn’t seen in a long time (she lives out of town) and then on Sunday I had cheeseburger and chips for my lunch when I was out with my mother.  All this after my lovely weight loss for my weigh in last Wednesday.

Last Wednesday I set myself a target/milestone for my weight loss, getting below 120Kg for this weeks weigh in.  This was playing on my mind today before the gym thinking how much damage I had done to my goal by this bad spell.  Therefore I had an unofficial weigh-in before the gym yesterday just to see how bad it was going to be, or how much harder I had to work to hit my target.  My current weight (unofficially) is exactly 120Kg, so I look in a good position for hitting this weeks target.

Great! You may think, but as good as it looks, it got my mind thinking in bad ways.  Very bad ways.  When I saw that I had still lost weight despite 3 bad days last week, and  day less exercise, I thought “excellent, I can eat anything and do a little less exercise and still lose weight”.  I half started planning going back onto Coca-cola, having a mars bar at lunch every day and eating a bit more junk food.  Very bad, dangerous thoughts.

Fortunately the sensible side of me woke up and shut those thoughts down faster than they took hold.  I realised that I was able to have this clichéd ‘falling off the wagon’ and still show results because I have worked so hard to get my weight down and my fitness up that it will handle these problems every now and then.

So overall, I am on target for hitting my milestone of being under 120Kg, close to the milestone I set myself to help keep me on track; however I did have thoughts which had me thinking that I didn’t need to stick rigidly to everything I was doing and I could slack off when I wanted and still benefit.

I do worry, though, that some people out there might be in a similar position of hitting their milestones and still managing it despite a few bad days which could really throw them out there unable to get the bad thoughts I had and therefore ruining all of their hard work.

Personally I think milestones are good.  It helps you break down your overall target into more manageable chunks which I feel will help keep you motivated.  However, don’t be drawn in to the bad thoughts I had if you have some days which are less than ideal for your overall diet.

In the grand scheme of things I think it’s important to… well… not be so grand! I think it’s important to set long term goals but then create smaller, more manageable goals to help get to the big finale. In the long term, I’d love to be down a whole bunch of pounds, but since I have no idea what I’ll look like a whole-bunch-of-pounds lighter, it’s more reasonable for me to say that I’d like to be a size 10-ish. (I think) Of course, as I travel on this road to a healthier me, my goals have changed and I know they will continue to change as I move forward. So why focus on the light at the end of the tunnel when you can’t even see five feet in front of your face?

I thought I’d start setting smaller goals and focus on what I want to work on throughout the next few days or weeks. Each month I want to re-evaluate where I’m at and set new goals based on that evaluation. Here’s my February goals:

1. Intentionally exercise 5 days a week. I used to work out religiously six days a week but with grad school and my currently crazy schedule I want to start with 5 days as a goal and work up from there – some weeks I hit 7, some weeks I hit three so I want to be more consistent with my workouts.
2. Turn off the TV and be attempting sleep by 10pm. My body does not function well with less than 7-8 hours of sleep and I need to start paying attention to this and realize that DVR is NOT a priority!
3. No skipping meals! We all get busy, lazy, caught up, caught off guard, and don’t always plan accordingly… it happens. When I eat 5-6 small meals a day, missing a meal is not so good on the body. I can tell a big difference in my energy levels and my workout, so 5 meals a day in February is the goal - NO exceptions! This requires more planning on my part so that when we head out of town for something, or whatever the case is, I have meals prepared to take with me.

What are your long term goals? Short term goals?

Happy Friday, lemonites!

Today I only had two daycare kids coming- a baby from 8-5 and a preschooler from 11:45-5 after his session at the Montessori. However, the baby got sick and stayed home, so after I dropped Sym at school at nine I realized I had a free morning! I texted Taylor to arrange a trip to the gym (I haven’t been at all this week- on Tuesday I had a migraine and yesterday I was just too lazy and tired). I was all excited and then DISASTER! The mom of the preschooler called and told me his school was closed and she needed to drop him off.

So disappointing! I couldn’t really say no, so there goes my trip to the gym, but I am going to have words with her about this last minute changes nonsense. She told me the Montessori teachers were all at a conference so there’s no way they wouldn’t have given the families more than a day’s notice of the closure! I’ve had issues with this family with this sort of thing before- there were a couple times before Christmas when I showed up at the Montessori to pick the kid up, only to find that it was closed, or they were on a field trip, and no one had bothered to tell me. This is unacceptable, especially on days when it’s raining! The plans I made today were spontaneous and easily cancelled, but if I’d known in advance that the baby wouldn’t be coming and I had a free morning I might have scheduled an important appointment that I didn’t want to break.

It wasn’t a major WTF. No catastrophes, protests or politicians. I’m waiting at a complicated three-way overpass just west of my gym, okay?, when — right as I ease into the lane I want behind the last signal — I glimpse two husky guys clocking briskly, in file, along the little-used pedestrian walkway. They are identically attired in black twill pants and zip-up, belt-length jackets, looking a lot like security guards, except that instead of any sort of identifiable insignia they are wearing plastic covered name tags on their breast pockets, not legible at this distance.

The one in the rear is carrying a ukulele.

Then the light changed. I’ll never know.

Nothing profound or profane today, gentle reader.  Lately I’ve run dry of things to write about, so if you don’t see a post that is the reason.  I would rather write when I’m moved to do so, than write for the sake of writing with nothing to say.

If anyone, who has given a passing thought to putting pen to paper, has done so because they were inspired by good writing, most likely they have read J.D. Salinger.  He died today at age 91.  My friend Kathy always had a soft spot for”Franny and Zooey”.  I took me awhile to “get” “Catcher In The Rye”, probably because I had to read it for English class.  I was too busy filling out the study guide to absorb what Salinger was trying to communicate.  I wasn’t a particularly disgruntled or disaffected.  I was just the opposite.  I was, however, aware that this was an adult writing in a teenager’s voice.  The story was for adults, but it was in a voice I recognized.  “Catcher…” was the only Salinger book I read.  I believe it deserves a second reading in this turbulent time in my life.

I realize the posts lately are shorter.  I have gone to The Gym after work every day last week and this week.  Up until yesterday, my routine was strictly cardio on the stationary bike.  Yesterday I set up my routine for lower body and abs.  Today it’s the upper body, and the “official” cardio instruction is next week.  The Gym has been crowded the last two weeks.  I expect the crowds will thin out once the “resolution breakers” begin their disillusion with their workouts.   I will say the views have been nice; there are TV monitors on every bike so I can watch ESPN.

What did you think I meant?

For the longest time, I had viewed my apartment as a temporary situation, a jumping-off point to something better.  I neglected to bring  certain items items out of their boxes because I didn’t think I would be in my apartment too long.  I have come to the realization that it’s time I made my apartment “my space”.  It means bringing in things that reflect who I am as a person.  My apartment bears no resemblance to my college dorm.  There are no Farrah Faucett posters and no illuminated beer signs.  I have wonderful prints from Edward Hopper and Jack Vittriano, and framed vintage postcards.  All my books and music are on display, but not alphabetised.  I make my bed.   This is not a kid’s apartment.

 But there is something missing.  I can’t put my finger on it, but I have a sense that there is something that should be in my apartment that’s not.  I suspect that it’s a feeling of emptiness.  What I can’t figure out what it is I need to eliminate that emptiness, or if it’s anything I have control over at all.

Be gentle with yourself, dear reader.  We are all doing the best we can with what we’re given.

It’s possible that I’m not the world’s friendliest person. And yes, I may be a little judgmental. I may even have said once or twice that I hate all strangers. However, neither of those things have stopped me in the past few weeks from being absolutely accosted by freaks and weirdos at the gym. In a way, it actually makes me feel like maybe I should start being less friendly, because there must be something on my face that looks like I’m willing to engage in interactions with strangers. Especially strangers that are so far out of the realm of normal,.

Now, I know that in the past I’ve admitted to having a few issues/quirks of my own.  I think that should make it all the more believable when I say that this time…it’s THEM with the problem. In a single week, I have had two exceptionally bizarre encounters at the gym. One was weird enough to prevent me from finishing my workout AND from taking a shower.

Encounter 1:

I’ll admit it. The whole nudity thing in the locker room makes me a little uncomfortable. (My issue.) I do feel that the best way to make it bearable is to just accept that you’re getting naked in front of strangers, and just ignore them completely. Therefore, it upsets me when someone breaks this ignoring code and starts talking to me.

A woman tapped me before I started changing to ask me if I had gone to the college whose shirt I was wearing. I had, and she had gone there too. Her first question was, “did you love it?” I thought we could have a few minutes of college-themed bonding and then I could go on my way, so I answered that I absolutely loved my time there. (Which I did.)

Readers, it was a trap. She asked me a leading question (“did you love it” vs. “did you like it”), I answered how she expected, and then she LAUNCHED into a tale of woe as to why she hated it. Her boyfriend was an alcoholic, she was in love with him, but he was in love with alcohol and questionable decision-making. She got an eating disorder. She got rejected from a group of which she accused me of being a member–because I “seemed like I would be.” (I wasn’t! But even if I was, she was 20 years older than me! I didn’t reject her!)

It took me over 10 minutes to extricate myself from this extremely awk situation. And then I had to wear all clothes into the shower, as I wasn’t about to get naked in front of this chick. And I HATE doing that  b/c they always end up dropping on the floor and getting wet/gross.

Encounter 2:

As I mentioned in my open letter, I consider most strangers to be creepsters, and I would prefer that they not talk to me for any reason. This includes gym personnel, unless they actually have something helpful to say. In the past few weeks, however, I’ve been the object of increasingly aggressive advances by this one “How May I Help You” trainer-esque girl at the gym.

She’s tapped me on the shoulder while I’m running, and asked me MANY questions about what I’m doing. Like, hello,  I’m RUNNING ON THE TREADMILL. Asking me why is not a normal thing to do. I usually answer as quickly as possible and try to get back to what I’m doing. She always tries to talk about running, which until this week, I attributed to general (somewhat annoying) friendliness.

However, she took it to the next level recently. I was stretching out one day when I was able to go at an “off” time. The normally crowded mat was empty except for me. I was doing ab work and she came with a foam roller and sat totally in my space. Our exchange follows:

CTG (Creepy Trainer Girl): Hi, oh wow this is SO embarrassing, but I totally can’t remember your name. I am SOOOO bad with names and I just learn so many.

Me: [feeling super uncomfortable, as I've never TOLD her my name]: Uhh…Megan.

CTG: Oh right, right, I’m so embarrassed. I’m Jessica, but I’m sure you know that already. So, you mentioned to me you were training for a marathon and thats hwy you were running on the treadmill. What is your best time???

Me: [in a plank position, my abs screaming in pain, and definitely NOT already aware of her name]: 3:34

CTG: Oh wow, well I’m trying to break 3 hours.

Me: [WHOA! WHAT?!]: Wow, that’s great.

CTG: Yup, yup.

[Insert 40690495604956456094 million asinine comments here, descriptions of her training and injuries, awkward heavy hinting we should run together that I do NOT respond to.]

CTG: So after my most recent injury, it was hard for me to get back into running, but hopefully some day I’ll be able to break 3 hours. Oh shucks. I mean 4 hours.

Me: [WTF!?!!?!? WHO GETS CONFUSED TWICE BETWEEN 3 AND 4 HOURS!]: Oh, great.

I then walked away. Now, this conversation might have been just chalked up as another annoying, awkward, and overly friendly conversation. But something about her vibe and her invasion of my personal space left me feeling a little off. That’s when things got REAL weird.

I left the mat where she had ostensibly been foam rolling but never actually had and went to the other side of the gym to do some free-weights. One minute later, she was standing  approximately 8 feet away from me, arms crossed, just looking at me. Now there were not many people at the gym, so I figured it was a coincidence.

I then walked ALL the way to the other side of the gym after completing 2 sets with the free weights to a pulley machine. After completing my first set, I look up startled to see her again standing about 8 or 10 feet away from me, observing.

At this point, I had one exercise left, but was willing to call it a day and get the heck away from this creepster. So I headed downstairs to the locker room to shower. I opened my locker and was getting towels when CTG walked in! TO THE LOCKER ROOM! WHAT WAS SHE DOING THERE?!!

Needless to say, I put my towels down and high-tailed it out of there.

The first encounter, while weird and annoying, pales in comparison to my encounters with CTG. I really cannot figure out whether it was legitimately creepy or if I’m just over-sensitive. I definitely avoid her at all costs whenever I see her, because she makes me super uncomfortable. Am I a freak or is she?! Or both…?

I had my weigh-in yesterday, and recorded it on the weight tracker page, which showed I had lost a considerable amount of weight, another 1.4kg bringing my total loss to 3.3kg so far.  I think it’s good, and I am proud of how things are going, but some people with a similar weight loss rate might question why this week isn’t as good as previous weeks.  This can, occasionally, lead people to be demotivated from their goals and even fall off the wagon leading into their old habits.

What you need to know is that your weight loss won’t be the same every week for a number of factors.  Some weeks you will lose more weight than others, other weeks you may put on a little bit.  It’s unfortunate, but it can happen.  Simple things such as your body getting used to your workout routine and your diet may lead your body to not shed as much weight as you would like on a weigh-in by weigh-in basis, or worse yet get it to its plateau.

It is also possible that you may have enjoyed a treat which you occasionally allow yourself, and overindulged a little.  I know I did last week, I shared a large plate of nachos with my mother and I undoubtedly ate most of them.  This is fine if it is an occasional thing, you just need to be ready for it come the weigh-in time.

Let us not forget that when we are exercising and pushing our bodies, they are going to become stronger.  Growing in muscle mass to cope with the strain you are putting it under.  Muscle weighs much more than fat does, so as you progress through your weight loss you will inevitable increase your muscle mass which will show on the scales.

Ultimately, you shouldn’t let yourself be demotivated by losing less weight than you did before, any step closer to your goal of overall good health is a good step.  Increased muscle mass is good for you, higher muscle mass means you will burn more calories in a day than before which can ultimately help you in your quest for a better you.

And don’t forget those occasional treats.  Just a little something to remind yourself that it is all worth it, and to reward yourself for all your hard work.  Just don’t over do it.

I’ve decided that not only am I going to lose weight and get fit and healthy, but I am also going to get out and do a 5k fun run over the summer.  Maybe more than one.  There are organised ones out there which are free to enter, and others which will cost to enter.  Because my idea of a “fun” run is not having to pay for it, I am going to go with one of the free ones.  Also, the free ones are held every week so I can do it when I have the time and can build everything up steadily.

I currently have a training plan for me which I have worked out with my personal trainer, and this is up for review in March, so I need to change the plan myself to take into account a training plan for running.  I’ve decided that the best way for me to do this, and I might be wrong, is to just tag the running training onto the end of my regular gym session.  For now it will only be around 15 minutes, but slowly increase.

The trouble is, I haven’t done any race running since I was at school so I am not only out of shape, but out of practice.  I found what I think could be a good tool on-line for getting me into running, and getting me prepared for a run.  Asics have an web based tool to help you gear up for all manner of different runs; 4, 5 and 10k as well as 10 mile, half and full marathons.  Going through the set up will let you put in the days you can train, your current activity levels and the date of the event you are taking part in.  If you don’t select a date, it will calculate when it thinks you will be ready for a race.

Other sections of the website give information on strength and speed training, conditioning, and advice on injury prevention.  All in all it seems ideal for anyone looking to get into running, improve their running, or just help with overall health and fitness.

Give it a go and see if it can help you.

Yesterday I mentioned that I had a bad day in the gym, and outlined why.  Going form yesterday, and the ease at which I seemed to get worn out and my muscles uncomfortable to the point of having to stop, I was feeling apprehensive about todays workout.  More so since I didn’t have a great night sleep again.  I was awake for about an hour in the middle of the night.

I got through my warm up, 15 minutes on the treadmill walking on a cross country setting at 6.5 kph, with no problems and felt really energised.  From there I went and did my leg weights exercises.  Whilst I was doing these my personal trainer was going round the gym chatting to people, because he is friendly like that, and spoke to him about yesterday.  He told me I did the right thing by stopping at when the pain got to how it did.  That put my mind at ease a lot which helped spur me on for the rest of todays workout.

With my mind at ease with all that, I found a new lease of motivation and determination.  I put that to best use when I got on the bike for my interval training which helped me not only power through my full 25 minutes, but helped me set a new personal best on my 10k cycle.  Ok, I never had a personal best before because I could only do about 9k in 20 minutes before I was too tired to carry on.  That gives me a moral victory for gaining a personal best of 21:46.  I went though the full 25 minutes of my workout covering a nice 11.5k.  That gives me two targets to break in future.

So, as my personal trainer said “you will get bad days”, so don’t let yourself worry about the bad ones.  Let it motivate you and push to make up for what you couldn’t before.

Well my workout today was pretty rubbish.  I managed through my high intensity cycling and all the way through the weights session, but I only got halfway through my treadmill session before my legs were aching beyond what I would expect and rapidly heading towards the point which brings on injury.  Not a good sign at all.

It made me think back to what I have done differently in the lead up to today.  All of my gym sessions are done after work, same as the previous two weeks, so that wasn’t different.  Having though of everything that I might have done differently, it dawned on me that I have been tired all day because I went to bed an hour later than normal.  Whilst I still got around 7 hours sleep, I am used to getting 8 every night and always feel reasonably refreshed after that much.  What a difference an hour made.

Therefore I can only assume and conclude that the change in sleep pattern left my body sufficiently fatigued that the gym pushed me too close to breaking point with regards to fatigue.  Early night tonight and see how the rest I get tonight lets me perform in the gym tomorrow.

Remember folks, your body does need rest and it will make you regret it if it doesn’t get the rest it needs and you try to push it.

It’s Sunday night and as usual I have a ton of housework to catch up on- a load of dishes, a bunch of laundry( thank goodness I have a high capacity, high efficiency washer & dryer!), vacuuming everywhere and both bathrooms to clean, as well as the catbox and the hamster cage. Every weekend I swear I won’t let the house fall into disarray and every weekend it does. I just have a hard time motivating myself to clean things around the house when that’s what I have to do all week while I’m working, especially when there are other, funner things I’d rather be doing all weekend!

Friday
After work I managed to squeeze in a super-quick trip to the gym. Taylor and I were supposed to go together on Thursday evening but laziness prevailed and instead we watched tv shows and got poutine from La Belle Patate, which has like, 30 different kinds of poutine! If you’ve never had it, it’s french fries and cheese curds smothered in gravy. Basically, it’s the opposite of working out! To make up for it Taylor went to the gym after he finished work on Friday morning, and I was going to go later that night after Sym’s bedtime.

As luck would have it she was invited to her friend Ali’s house for a playdate that afternoon. She and Ali were in preschool together, but even though she lives just half a block from us she goes to a different elementary school, so they don’t see each other often. Anyway, both girls were going to be coming back to my house at six-fifteen, so I figured that if I left right when I finished work I could get to the gym, run on the treadmill for a half hour (and live tweet it, haha) and get home in time to meet the girls. Normally I hate going to the gym right after work because it’s so busy, but only crazy meatheads work out on Friday nights so it was really quiet. As it turned out I rushed for nothing because they ended up staying at Ali’s until seven-thirty, but at least I got to have a shower before they got back!

After Ali went home and Sym was in bed, Taylor got us beer and Japanese takeout and we watched some Neon Genesis Evangelion. Taylor says I have to watch it with him since he watched the whole of Sailor Moon with me, although he really didn’t. After like, three episodes we were both ready to pass out, even though it was only ten-thirty! Apparently, we’re old now. Oh, and I conquered my up-until-three-every-night insomnia. The trick is to get up at six-forty for work every morning. Seriously, good luck staying awake until three am then!

Saturday
Since I’m no longer a sleep-deprived zombie I was able to get up early on Saturday morning and take Sym out shopping. She’s grown like crazy since her birthday, and most of her pants and jeans were getting to be too short and too tight. She’s really picky about her pants (won’t wear skinny jeans or leggings) and shopping with her can be a huge drag, but the trip was surprisingly painless and fight-free. We went to a few different places but the only store where she found anything she liked was Gap Kids. She picked out some black and navy blue yoga pants, three pairs of jeans, a dress and some glittery flip-flops (early, I know, but she’s preparing for when we go to Hawaii in March). They had an extra 25% off for Sprize members, so I ended up saving $40 on her stuff. That’s how I’m going to look at it anyway. I saved money!

After we got home Ali came over to play again- this mostly consisted of them running in and out of the house shrieking about the neighborhood boys who were having a Nerf dartgun fight outside, alternating with them sitting quietly and reading, wrapped up in blankets. While this was going on I managed to do some dishes and read some of my book (Girlfriend in a Coma, which I hadn’t read in about ten years). Taylor was out getting his hair cut and came home with all his shagginess gone! He also trimmed his woolly beard this weekend and I’m still not used to this new, more streamlined husband.

Sym’s dad picked the girls up and took Ali home at four-thirty. Taylor and I were going to go grocery shopping (what a fun Saturday night activity! Remember, we’re old) but we only got as far as writing a list of about three items before we accidentally fell asleep and had a three hour nap. Whoops! Taylor actually had an excuse- he was up stupidly early that morning, like three-thirty or something ridiculous like that. My mistake was lying down next to him on the bed and letting his energy leech powers wash over me. He is like a black hole of nappiness! I finally managed to drag myself out of bed at around eight and harassed Taylor into getting up and coming with me on a much more minor than originally planned trip to the store, where we picked up the essential food items of Coca-Cola, two different kinds of oranges (blood and pink) and pomegranate-raspberry sorbet. When we got home we watched Friday’s episode of The Tonight Show, followed by Forgetting Sarah Marshall before heading to bed at around one.

Sunday
I managed to wake up fairly early again and after coffee and a quick breakfast Taylor and I headed off to the gym. That’s three times in a week, yay us! We came home to shower and change, and then walked down to Yaletown to have brunch at one of my favorite brunch restaurants, Glowbal Grill. We had our post-elopement wedding brunch there last May. The food is super yummy- today I had wildberry panettone french toast with marscapone cream and a shot of hot chocolate, so amazing.

After brunch we went to a bookstore, where I stocked up on four more books, which should take me about a week and a half to get through. I should probably just cave in and get an e-reader, or ask for one. I do have a birthday coming up! When we got home Taylor was going to help me clean the house, but as we all know that didn’t happen! Instead we both curled up in bed in our cozies and read all afternoon. So much better for the soul than doing chores! Taylor went to sleep at three (he has to work tonight) and I kept reading until Symphony got home from her dad’s around six. She and I worked on our Farmville farms (her Grandma got us both hooked on it), then I got her to tidy her room quickly and tucked her into a pile of blankets and sweaters on the couch so she could watch Ponyo while I started the housework I listed at the beginning of this post. I’ve actually been working on this post on and off for two hours, in between cleaning, reading Sym a chapter of Charlotte’s Web and putting her to bed. Now it’s nine-thirty, everyone is asleep (except for my pest of the cat) and it’s the quietest part of my week. I guess that’s why I tend to leave all my housework for Sunday night- to fill the loneliest hours.

I’ve read a few blogs on here, and seen questions in some places, about how to get into running cheaply.  Mainly because people don’t want to spend loads of money on a pair of trainers for them to go running.  The truth is trainers don’t have to be the top of the range ultra high-tech running shoes, in fact research is pointing towards them being bad for you.

After reading those blogs and questions, and after seeing a guy in the gym the other day wearing a thick hooded top, it got me thinking, do people really know what to wear in the gym, or even out of the gym for the exercise they choose to do?

Obviously this is widely open to people’s opinions, so I welcome suggestions as comments below, and also down to what people like to wear.  Oh, and down to whatever is fashionable at the time I guess, but I don’t follow fashion so I will not count that in this.

The number one, most important, rule in what to wear when exercising is that you need to be comfortable.  Comfortable not only wearing them, but comfortable to be seen in them by others.  I really doubt that many people would be going to the gym in mankinis if they suddenly were the top gym trend.  Some might find them comfortable to wear, but would you really wear one to exercise in?  I very much doubt it (thats 1-0 to me being sensible over fashion I think).

It is important that whatever you wear for your workout will afford you the full range of motion you require through your entire workout.  If you do running and do weights in your training, then really you need something which will give you movement whilst doing both.  It’s no good having clothing which is great for one and useless for the other, it will just pose a danger to yourself.

Footwear is the one which people think is prohibitive with the cost of going to the gym, they see all the gym/running trainers in high street stores retailing at £70+ and will probably be put off with the cost of that straight away.  As I mentioned earlier, these expensive, super high-tech trainers may even be bad for you, so just a normal cheap comfortable pair will be more than adequate.  Make sure you try a few pairs on first though so you can judge which ones are most comfortable.  Take into account that different brands fit people differently and what I think is the best brand for me may not be the same for you.  When it comes to sports footwear, I personally always go for Adidas.  I find they fit me better than any other.  And to help keep the cost of new trainers down for you, visit a discount store to get them cheaper than your usual sports stores, sportsdirect.com always have a sale on.

Bottoms are subject to quite a lot of debate too.  Some people are huge advocates of shorts in the gym, others for tracksuit/jogging bottoms.  With this I think it comes down to personal preference all the way.  If you aren’t comfortable with your legs, be it shape or colour, then you aren’t going to want to wear shorts in the gym, and will hide them with full length trousers.  Whatever you wear, make sure they are appropriate for what you are doing and will let you move as you need to.  From my personal experience, 3/4 length trousers seem to limit the amount of movement which is comfortably possible, so I don’t think they are suitable for in the gym.  That’s just me though.

Which top to wear brings me back to a point I keep making, it really needs to be comfortable to wear and let you move in the way you need to.  Material, however, is up for discussion.  Cotton is the sensible choice with it being a natural material and easily breathable.  There are different names for it depending on the brand, but the principal of these microfiber materials is that they help move the sweat away from the body which helps keep it cool.

Ladies, it’s an obvious point to make, make sure you have the correct support for your breasts.  I’m positive it doesn’t need saying, but I thought I would mention it anyway.

All of the points I have made, I think, are just general common sense.  You need to be appropriately dressed for whatever exercise you are doing.  Designer and branded clothes don’t matter in a gym at all, so you really don’t need to go out and buy the super expensive stuff.  Honestly, no-one cares what brands you are or aren’t wearing.  If they do, then they should spend more time pushing themselves to get the most out of their workout, and you should tell them this.

And should you care what I wear when I work out (to see if I am following my own advice), I wear Adidas trainers, Adidas tracksuit bottoms and a (usually) plain cotton t-shirt.  I’d wear shorts, but I don’t have any suitable for the gym.

I really have become lazy over the past 2 years.  OK, I reckon I work hard and generally by the time I get home (having skirted round Sainsbury’s), its getting close to 7pm most evenings, plus the social life gets in the way – but try as I might, I just can’t get up at 6am to go the gym, so what do I do!?  Well it has been a big fat nothing – and now I am a big fat something!

So, my options – I could go walking more or I could go to the gym.  But I feel so vile I can’t go to the gym until I have lost some weight – such a catch 22 situation!

Monday – Monday is going to be the day, start to watch what I eat and drink (oh heck, I’m out Monday and Tuesday evening!), but really I must find the motivation from somewhere as I have so many clothes I wont wear because I feel too podgy!  Never in my life have I been on a diet, but it looks like that is about to change.

Let’s see how it goes, my aim is to get back to the gym 3 times a week and to get a few walks in inbetween.  Sunday’s are quiet, maybe I just might venture to the gym tomorrow at some point – I know I’d feel better if I did – it’s about positive mental attitude – and I need some!

I had one of those little moments that remind you of your true awkwardness today. It’s easy to forget, sometimes, that you are not actually a cool person. It only takes one minute of idiocy, though, to remind yourself.

I went to the gym today.

Yeah, that’s right.. two times this year. Take that.

There was a crowd at the check in desk and I saw the clerk who sold me my membership not long ago. He smiled and said hello as he reached is hand out. I shook his hand.

“Hey!”

He carefully asked, “Are you just checking in?”

Bah.. uhm yes I am and you want my membership card.. not a handshake. Alright.

I hate moments like this. They may only last a few seconds and there may be very few witnesses involved, but they leave you with the feeling the entire world knows how awkward you are. After you leave wherever you were a strange paranoia follows. You begin to look at people differently. You begin to look at yourself differently. You’re not really cool. You never were, my friend.

Yes, I am overreacting a little. I’ve felt a little out-of-place, though. It’s not just the handshake, although that did result in a solid 15 minute period of humiliation. I haven’t quite found my niche in Los Angeles. The people I love the most are all at the studio and I only have class once a week. Besides that, I have only my roommate, my boyfriend and my neighbors (as in neighbors a block away.. not the odd man next door).

I need to be more social in this life.. I need to get out.

A part of all of this may be from cabin fever. This was the week I was supposed to venture into the world and find another job. This just happened to be the week I had to stay indoors to avoid death by drowning in the streets of LA.

Next week I’m going to brave the world, leave my apartment, find a damn job and maybe make a friend.We’ll see.

If it’s not weight loss you are after but getting fit, I’ve found it is quicker to notice the benefits of regular exercise.  I have been going to the gym for only 2 weeks now and whilst heavy exercise does tire me out quickly still, I have found I am recovering faster.  Much faster in fact.

I first noticed it yesterday when I was doing the cycling part of my fitness and weight loss training in the gym.  I would be out of breath during the hard parts and my heart rate would go through the roof, up to 180bpm.  I did find, though, that during the less intense parts which are designed to help you recover, my heart rate was dropping down to under 150bpm within 30 seconds.  I carried on going at it until my legs couldn’t take any more and thought nothing of it.

Tonight I had badminton.  Not a club match, but club night where all members of the club come along and play against each other.  Because of the limited numbers that were there tonight the matches were very fast turn around.  Finish the match, grab a quick drink whilst the next games are sorted and on again.  Sometimes this was less than 30 seconds, so it should have been very difficult for me.

I found that I was able to go from game to game really quickly and not really worry.  There were times when there would be a string of 4 or 5 points which would take ages to be over and were very high intensity because of the running around the court.  Badminton is deceptively fast and takes a considerable amount of fitness, but I digress.  During these long string of points I found myself getting to the point where I was noticable running out of steam, much like on the bike yesterday.  Then came a small string of 2 or 3 points where I didn’t have to do anything as they were over really quickly.  These gave me the chance to rest and I was fine, like I had only done a warm up.  Usually I would have needed about 5 minutes to recover from something of that intensity.

My point really is that anything you do to improve your health and fitness, no matter how little, can have fast acting benefits.  Don’t get me wrong, you’ll never get the fitness to run a marathon in a month if you can’t manage a mile now, but the benefits are there early on.