Since my last post, I think I've added about 6000 words to my WIP. I'm totally guessing, but I think that sounds about right. I'm very happy about that, and I'm very happy about how well I've been sticking to my new routine.
If you recall my last post, I mentioned that I was going to try to get back to writing 2-3 days a week and working out the same amount of days. I'm happy to report that in these first 3 weeks of the new year, I've been sticking to that. I've been really good about squeezing in an hour of writing time a couple weeknights and then more time on the weekends. It's paying off- I can feel the story starting to wrap itself up. I'm over 46,000 words as of last night, so while I'm not exactly in the home stretch yet, I'm well over halfway done.
As far as exercising, well, I'm keeping up with that too. Even when I don't feel like working out, like yesterday for example. I'd gotten my allergy injections at lunch time (on month 6 of those, only 6 months more to go!), and my left arm had a bad reaction to the shot. It blew up around the injection site and was incredibly itchy for hours. Then I started to feel achy. Sometimes that happens when they up my dosage, I think. Anyway, the point is, even feeling like poo, I forced myself to hit the elliptical for 35 minutes after work anyway. I ended up burning off my entire lunch and the granola bar I'd eaten as a snack. By the time I was done, I was a sweaty mess (as per usual- I sweat like no one's business), but I felt so much better! Who woulda thought?
I'm also trying to watch what I eat during the week. For someone who has a HUGE sweet tooth and loves junk food, this is not so easy. But I'm doing it. I'm eating low calorie lunches and my snacking usually consists of veggies & a little dip or some fruit, no chips or chocolate or random junk. I'm trying not to get obsessive over it, though. Because I can totally be obsessive about food these days. It really is easy to do once you start learning the nutritional information of what you're putting in your body. How many calories one tiny bag of Cheetos has or one miniscule piece of chocolate. It adds up SO fast. And then I start panicking, knowing I'm going way over my calorie goal and there's no way I can burn it all off, etc, etc.
But I'm not trying to lose weight quickly or anything. Just trying to be healthier. And if I want a giant burrito from Qdoba once in a while, that's okay too. It's good to reward yourself now and then for reaching your goals. Or so I tell myself...
Showing posts with label working out. Show all posts
Showing posts with label working out. Show all posts
Thursday, January 17, 2013
Friday, January 4, 2013
S.A.D.
With the insanity of the holidays over, we now enter that time of year in which I tend to go in to Hibernation Mode. If I could remain in pajamas and not have to leave my house- like, ever- I would be completely fine with that.
Sometimes I think I have a hint of Seasonal Affective Disorder. You know, that depression that hits mainly in the winter months due to lack of sun. Most of the symptoms ring true for me- less energy & ability to concentrate, loss of interest in work and other activities, social withdrawl, weight gain, feeling sluggish, etc.
To combat it this year, I'm trying to force myself to stick to a strict routine that mainly involves working out at least 2-3 days a week. I figure the more active I am, the better I'll feel, right?
Of course, today I woke up feeling achy with a sore throat, so I'm not sure I'll be up for the gym tonight. Sigh. Already with the excuses.
Anyway, along with taking care of myself physically, I'm also going to start my writing routine back up- at least two week nights and Sundays. While I was on break from work last week, I wrote shockingly little. Like, so little that I'm somewhat disgusted with myself. I had no motivation whatsoever to do anything. Not only had I planned on getting in some good writing time, I had a bunch of little projects I wanted to do around the house, like cleaning out my desk and the junk drawer in the kitchen, weeding through closets, etc.
I did none of that.
I pretty much stared at the TV watching nothing but garbage (literally, one day I watched a Hoarding: Buried Alive marathon). I did at least manage to read a little, but even that seemed to take more brain power than I had available.
Maybe I just needed some good down time, a break from EVERYTHING, but I'm not usually such a slug like that. This is also why I think SAD may be playing a part. There's always such a big build up to the holidays, and then it's just...over. The presents are unwrapped, the cookies all eaten, the shiny decorations hidden away for another year. And there's nothing to look forward to but dark, cold days and nights for the next three months.
But it's important to me to finish writing this book, this third book that could be "the one". And it's important to me to start querying again, to put myself out there and see what might come of it. This is my dream. And I'm not going to let winter's winds knock it out of my hands.
Sometimes I think I have a hint of Seasonal Affective Disorder. You know, that depression that hits mainly in the winter months due to lack of sun. Most of the symptoms ring true for me- less energy & ability to concentrate, loss of interest in work and other activities, social withdrawl, weight gain, feeling sluggish, etc.
To combat it this year, I'm trying to force myself to stick to a strict routine that mainly involves working out at least 2-3 days a week. I figure the more active I am, the better I'll feel, right?
Of course, today I woke up feeling achy with a sore throat, so I'm not sure I'll be up for the gym tonight. Sigh. Already with the excuses.
Anyway, along with taking care of myself physically, I'm also going to start my writing routine back up- at least two week nights and Sundays. While I was on break from work last week, I wrote shockingly little. Like, so little that I'm somewhat disgusted with myself. I had no motivation whatsoever to do anything. Not only had I planned on getting in some good writing time, I had a bunch of little projects I wanted to do around the house, like cleaning out my desk and the junk drawer in the kitchen, weeding through closets, etc.
I did none of that.
I pretty much stared at the TV watching nothing but garbage (literally, one day I watched a Hoarding: Buried Alive marathon). I did at least manage to read a little, but even that seemed to take more brain power than I had available.
Maybe I just needed some good down time, a break from EVERYTHING, but I'm not usually such a slug like that. This is also why I think SAD may be playing a part. There's always such a big build up to the holidays, and then it's just...over. The presents are unwrapped, the cookies all eaten, the shiny decorations hidden away for another year. And there's nothing to look forward to but dark, cold days and nights for the next three months.
But it's important to me to finish writing this book, this third book that could be "the one". And it's important to me to start querying again, to put myself out there and see what might come of it. This is my dream. And I'm not going to let winter's winds knock it out of my hands.
Tuesday, April 3, 2012
Running Envy
I'm not going to lie: I'm totally jealous of people who can easily run a few miles. If you're one of those people I see effortlessly jogging along down the street, barely sweating or breathing heavily, I sort of hate you.
I don't know why I decided to put myself through the torture of attempting to run again. While I've, ahem, "let myself go" a bit these past few months, I still consider myself in fairly decent physical shape. However, nothing makes me doubt that more than when I hit the treadmill or the neighborhood streets for my walking/running intervals. I keep up a brisk walking pace without an issue, but when the voice in my ears prompts "RUN NOW" (I'm using the Couch to 5K program as a guide for now, but I'm stuck on week 2), I want to pass out and die after roughly 30 seconds. Seriously, why?? What is it about running that kills me??
Granted, I'm only getting out there about twice a week at best right now, but still, after about a month of this I would've thought I'd be getting better at it. Not. So. Much. Maybe I should just stick to spinning or pilates. Sigh.
Anyway, in writing news, I did manage to pound out a few revisions this past weekend, so I'm on my way. Revisions are the worst though, truly. I never feel completely DONE. Like, there's always a way to go back and make it even better.
I also wanted to say thanks to those of you who take a few minutes to read my ramblings. It's always the best feeling in the world when someone tells me they've read something I wrote and enjoyed it. The BEST feeling. So, thanks!!
I don't know why I decided to put myself through the torture of attempting to run again. While I've, ahem, "let myself go" a bit these past few months, I still consider myself in fairly decent physical shape. However, nothing makes me doubt that more than when I hit the treadmill or the neighborhood streets for my walking/running intervals. I keep up a brisk walking pace without an issue, but when the voice in my ears prompts "RUN NOW" (I'm using the Couch to 5K program as a guide for now, but I'm stuck on week 2), I want to pass out and die after roughly 30 seconds. Seriously, why?? What is it about running that kills me??
Granted, I'm only getting out there about twice a week at best right now, but still, after about a month of this I would've thought I'd be getting better at it. Not. So. Much. Maybe I should just stick to spinning or pilates. Sigh.
Anyway, in writing news, I did manage to pound out a few revisions this past weekend, so I'm on my way. Revisions are the worst though, truly. I never feel completely DONE. Like, there's always a way to go back and make it even better.
I also wanted to say thanks to those of you who take a few minutes to read my ramblings. It's always the best feeling in the world when someone tells me they've read something I wrote and enjoyed it. The BEST feeling. So, thanks!!
Monday, March 12, 2012
fatty fat fatty
This weekend, my sister in law and I had a grand ol' time shopping, drinking margaritas and just hanging out together. The good news? I scored 7 books on my to-read list at Half Priced Books, my favorite store on the planet. They practically had to kick us out at closing time. The bad news? We did a bit of clothes shopping, too, and while trying a few things on I realized I have to face facts: I've gone up at least a pant size. This does, however, explain why all my current clothes feel like they're squeezing the freaking life out of me. Sigh. What happened to my super fast metabolism?? It seems like with each passing day it slows down more and more. Getting. Old. Sucks.
However, I felt so awful about this discovery that it actually kicked me into gear and yesterday, after a loooong day I made up my mind to get out and enjoy the beautiful weather by going on a nice run/walk around my 'hood. I still can't run consecutively for any great length of time, but I walked fast and kept setting little goals for myself, like "Ok, as soon as I get to this driveway, I'll run all the way down this road til I get to the parked car" and so on. I ended up being out for just under a half an hour, burned almost 300 calories and went 2.15 miles.
And I felt so much better when I got home.
I mean, sure, the aches were already setting in by the time I got out of the shower (damn hills in my neighborhood are deadly) but I was just so proud of myself for going out and being active. Especially when all I wanted to do was curl up on the couch and relax, maybe nap off some of the margaritas from the night before. Now I just need to keep this mindframe going. If I can hit the gym at least twice a week, and maybe start up a spinning or zumba class too, I'm confident I can shed a few pounds and tighten back up in just a couple months. After all, summer is coming! And with any luck we'll be enjoying the beach in the Outer Banks at the end of July. I'd prefer to not be forced to wear a muumuu down there, too.
In writing news, I still have those last final pages to write. But I have been working on my query letter nonstop for the past week, thanks tosome wonderful critiques from the folks at AgentQueryConnect.com. It's come a long way already from the original version, and I think I'm jussssst about there. After this latest revision I'll probably take a little time to step back from it so I can view it with fresher eyes later. But I'm pretty proud of the progress I've made with it. Getting criticism from people who haven't read the story helps so much, you don't even know. I'm way too close to it and everything seems important to leave in. It's nice to get that kick that says "hey dummy, why is this here?" Ok, they're a bit nicer than that, but you know what I mean.
I'm excited for my Friday off this week, when I plan on writing that damn ending already and hopefully starting revisions, too. I have so many ideas to implement, it's crazy. Super excited to share this story again with my readers when it's revised. Smiley face.
However, I felt so awful about this discovery that it actually kicked me into gear and yesterday, after a loooong day I made up my mind to get out and enjoy the beautiful weather by going on a nice run/walk around my 'hood. I still can't run consecutively for any great length of time, but I walked fast and kept setting little goals for myself, like "Ok, as soon as I get to this driveway, I'll run all the way down this road til I get to the parked car" and so on. I ended up being out for just under a half an hour, burned almost 300 calories and went 2.15 miles.
And I felt so much better when I got home.
I mean, sure, the aches were already setting in by the time I got out of the shower (damn hills in my neighborhood are deadly) but I was just so proud of myself for going out and being active. Especially when all I wanted to do was curl up on the couch and relax, maybe nap off some of the margaritas from the night before. Now I just need to keep this mindframe going. If I can hit the gym at least twice a week, and maybe start up a spinning or zumba class too, I'm confident I can shed a few pounds and tighten back up in just a couple months. After all, summer is coming! And with any luck we'll be enjoying the beach in the Outer Banks at the end of July. I'd prefer to not be forced to wear a muumuu down there, too.
In writing news, I still have those last final pages to write. But I have been working on my query letter nonstop for the past week, thanks tosome wonderful critiques from the folks at AgentQueryConnect.com. It's come a long way already from the original version, and I think I'm jussssst about there. After this latest revision I'll probably take a little time to step back from it so I can view it with fresher eyes later. But I'm pretty proud of the progress I've made with it. Getting criticism from people who haven't read the story helps so much, you don't even know. I'm way too close to it and everything seems important to leave in. It's nice to get that kick that says "hey dummy, why is this here?" Ok, they're a bit nicer than that, but you know what I mean.
I'm excited for my Friday off this week, when I plan on writing that damn ending already and hopefully starting revisions, too. I have so many ideas to implement, it's crazy. Super excited to share this story again with my readers when it's revised. Smiley face.
Tuesday, September 13, 2011
Work it
Last night I attended my first spinning and pilates classes in about a year. Eeeek, a year?? I honestly can't even believe it's been that long. Last fall I gave up the fitness classes to take ballet, which turned out to be a bit of a mistake. Don't get me wrong, I will always, always love dance, but the ol' body just ain't what she used to be. My knees, which I have never had trouble with, started bothering me to the point where getting up out of my chair at work became difficult. I quit going after about 6 classes to give them a break, and then the holidays came around and I quickly lost any motivation to go back to class. I tend to hibernate in the winter. And I also tend to gain like 5-10 pounds, shockingly enough.
Spinning is a fantastic, incredible workout. I feel like I get into this weird zone when I'm on that bike pedaling away. Is it hard? Yes. Do I feel like I want to die sometimes? Absolutely. Do I sweat like a hog? You betcha. But I actually kinda love it. It's the one workout where I feel I really do push myself to do more. And I have always been a huge fan of pilates. But last night for the first 20minutes of pilates class I just could not for the life of me get into a groove with it. I felt clumsy and unflexible and kept falling over, until we finally did the floor work. Then things started going better.
Today I feel pretty good. My sit bones are incredibly sore from that damn bike seat, but otherwise I'm all right. So far, anyway. I'm sure at some point I'll start to notice my stomach muscles are sore, too- that will probably happen tomorrow. I'm just glad to be getting back into the swing of working out.
Exercising is a lot like writing for me. Once I stop for a while, it's extremely hard to get back into it. Falling out of any routine always sets me back. Just like I have to make time for exercising, I have to make time for writing weekly to keep myself in shape creatively.
P.S. I forgot to mention my word count goal for the week in yesterday's post. I'm going to set it at 2500, because I'm not entirely sure what this Sunday will bring, and that's usually my most productive day.
Spinning is a fantastic, incredible workout. I feel like I get into this weird zone when I'm on that bike pedaling away. Is it hard? Yes. Do I feel like I want to die sometimes? Absolutely. Do I sweat like a hog? You betcha. But I actually kinda love it. It's the one workout where I feel I really do push myself to do more. And I have always been a huge fan of pilates. But last night for the first 20minutes of pilates class I just could not for the life of me get into a groove with it. I felt clumsy and unflexible and kept falling over, until we finally did the floor work. Then things started going better.
Today I feel pretty good. My sit bones are incredibly sore from that damn bike seat, but otherwise I'm all right. So far, anyway. I'm sure at some point I'll start to notice my stomach muscles are sore, too- that will probably happen tomorrow. I'm just glad to be getting back into the swing of working out.
Exercising is a lot like writing for me. Once I stop for a while, it's extremely hard to get back into it. Falling out of any routine always sets me back. Just like I have to make time for exercising, I have to make time for writing weekly to keep myself in shape creatively.
P.S. I forgot to mention my word count goal for the week in yesterday's post. I'm going to set it at 2500, because I'm not entirely sure what this Sunday will bring, and that's usually my most productive day.
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